The team, which averages around 150 members per year, welcomes swimmers of all abilities, from beginners to veteran triathletes to former Olympic hopefuls.Ĭredit: Provided Smelts members Russ Klettke, Tom Ernsting, Seth Hoff in 1993.īradley Dineen, a swimmer who has been with the Smelts for 29 years, describes how in the early days, the lack of legal protections for LGBTQ individuals led to logistical challenges. Masters is a membership-based nonprofit that hosts sanctioned events and supports more than 1,500 swimming clubs around the country. Masters Swimming events around Chicagoland and the Midwest and built community around a love of the sport. The club was almost exclusively gay men and Patronsky at first, but now includes many more women, as well as a few more straight swimmers.įor more than 30 years, the Smelts have competed in U.S. Patronsky was the only one using the dedicated pool time, and instead of keeping the pool divided between him and the rest of the Smelts, he just joined the team. The Chicago Smelts, which jokingly stood for “Sensitive Men et Lesbians Together Swimming,” was a mostly gay and lesbian advanced swim club - and they were seeking a home for regular practices. LAKEVIEW - In 1988, Ross Patronsky was the only Masters swimmer at Lakeview’s Gill Park, often swimming laps with the pool to himself.
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