The Navy Masters Swim Team is comprised of recreational to international caliber Masters Swimmers who have all have one thing in common:

"We like to have fun     ...     We like our Pool      ...        and our coaches"     

but most of all     "We love to ... SWIM !!!"

Team History

Our team started just over three years ago when Tony Zezza (our coach) through morning and lunch time workouts, realised the calibre of swimming that existed in and around CFB Esquimalt could produce a decent Masters Swim Team.  From this point, more formal practices started and the word hit the street about the great workouts which were happening 3-4 times a week in the Naden Pool.  

The Team's biggest breakthrough came when the swimming group put forward a proposal to register as a "Masters Swim Team" and join Masters Swimming Association of BC (MSABC). With great support from the CFB Esquimalt PSP (Personnel Support Programs) Organization, Navy Masters joined MSABC in September 2000 and hasn't looked back since. The Team benefited from belonging to such a strong inter-Team/Club support network in Victoria which welcomes each others members to team workouts. Navy continues to welcome visiting registered Masters Swimmers to our team workouts.

Since then, more and more of us just starting showing up with the hope that we too could learn a thing or two about swimming.  For some of us it was quite a feat in the first few months for Tony to convince us that we could do a 300 meter freestyle without stopping at each end for a breather.  As time went on the 300 meter warm-ups became 400 meters, freestyle became mixed and Tony had indeed convinced us not only to increase our distance and speed but also to concentrate on "Style before Speed" and "Making Every Stroke Count." 

There are a few of us that have joined the Navy Masters to learn and improve on swimming so that we may compete in Triathlons.  The team has been an outstanding place to learn fundamentals about swimming, stroke technique and has helped many people to swim distances that they never thought possible before. Navy has used the new pool at the Naden Athletic Center (NAC) for the last year which is a great pool for fitness and swim training.

For the already seasoned swimmers that joined the team, the Navy Masters Swim Team has been an excellent environment to build and continue to refine swimming skills. A few of the team members have worked there way from local swim meets, through Provincial, National and International Short Course and Long Course Masters Swim Meets, setting age group swimming records along the way.  Most recently, Navy Masters was announced as the Maritime Forces Team of the Year, including Heather Beynon as the Canadian Forces (CF) Female Athlete of the Year Award.