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Congratulations to the Mon Valley YMCA Women's and Men's Master Swim Teams for both coming in 2nd place at Championships. The championship meet was held at the Spire Institute located in Geneva, Ohio on April 11 and 12, 2015.

Back Row: Gary Porter, Kelly Yurkovich, Ed "Dickens" Bishop, Richard Dick Middle Row: Walt Bianchi, Aaron Braddock, Maureen Patton, Rick Weslager, Ashley Krieg, Erika Dean, Amy Dunay

The Spire Institute is a newly built facility used as a public sports complex. The swimming pool has 10 lap lanes and is standard Olympic size (50m in length). It is also an Olympic and Paralympic designated training site.

The women's swim team consisted of Amy Dunay, Ashley Krieg, Erika Dean, Kelly Yurkovich, and Maureen Patton. As a team, they earned a combined total of 238 points, earing second place in their division. The men's swim team consisted of Aaron Braddock, Gary Porter, Rick Weslager, Walt Bianchi, Ed "Dickens" Bishop, and Richard Dick. As a team, they earned a combined total of 257 points, earning second place in their division.

Coach and team representative Amy Dunay describes the team as "a great opportunity for members of all ages to come together and make lasting friendships with people who have the same interests as you in swimming." She also adds, "A little competition is great for everyone."

The current members of the Mon Valley Master Swim Team ages range from 21-75 years. Newest member Erika Dean had this to say about her first experience swimming competitively: "Competing on the Masters Swim Team has given me the opportunity to challenge myself physically. I have met a lot of interesting people, made a lot of new friendships and have fallen in love with the sport."

The team is sad to say goodbye to member Richard Dick, who will be moving out of the area. Richard has been a huge asset to the team for 3 years by taking over the role of Secretary and Rules Interpreter. He also offered team inspiration and encouragement every chance he got; not to mention being a go-to person for his skill at the breaststroke. When asked about his experience, Richard said, "Swimming on the Mon Valley YMCA Master Team has been one of the best things that has happened to me." We are sad to see him leave, but wish him the best of luck on his next chapter in life.

The Master Swim Team season runs from September through March. Each member chooses what meets and events they want to participate in. Competition Meets range in distances from 25 yards to 500 yards in all four competition strokes and are usually held on Sundays. If anyone is interested in becoming a member of the Mon Valley YMCA Master Swim Team (18 years and older) please contact Amy Dunay at 724-483-8077 or amy@monvalleyymca.org.

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