About Us
Learn about our team, coaches, leadership, and history.
Welcome to the Montgomery Ancient Mariners. We are a group of more than 200 adult swimmers, ranging in age from the 20s to the 80s, who work out at pools across Montgomery County. We participate in low-pressure, coached practices at indoor and outdoor pools in North Bethesda, White Oak, Olney, and Germantown every day of the week. All speeds and abilities are welcome, and the only stroke you need to know is freestyle.
Some of us train to compete in swim meets, open-water competitions, and triathlons. Some of us join for the fitness and health benefits that come with structured workouts. Still others come for the camaraderie and friendship. But all of us swim because we love the water.
Explore our team’s history and operations in depth:
- Archive: Team documents and our full newsletter archive plus Pandemic Workouts (2020-2021)
- Photos: Photos from our meets, events, and practices through the years and ANCM Service Award recipients
- Team Records: Team records and ANCMs in the USMS Top 10
Tom Denes, Head Coach
Kennedy Shriver Aquatic Center, Sunday
Tom swam competitively at the University of Wisconsin and began masters swimming and coaching in the early 1990s. He received his Level 1 and 2 American Swimming Coaches Association (ASCA) certifications in 2013. Tom has authored four books on swimming.
Peter Johnson
Kennedy Shriver Aquatic Center, Thursday
Peter was in the Coast Guard for five years and served for a year onboard a cutter performing search-and-rescue missions. He joined the ANCMs in 1995 and has been coaching the team since 2007. Peter is a USMS masters certified coach.
Cathy Gainor
Kennedy Shriver Aquatic Center, Friday
Cathy has been swimming since she was eight. She swam at Paint Branch High School and taught lessons at MLK in summers during college. Cathy joined the ANCMs in September 2003. She received her Level 1 and 2 ASCA certifications in 2013.
Leon Wells
Martin Luther King, Jr., Swim Center, Monday & Wednesday
Leon swam competitively at Tennessee State University. He coached DC PR’s masters swim team, Rockville Masters, and Virginia Masters at Chinquapin Aquatics Center. Leon assisted coach John Flanagan at Haines Point. He joined the ANCM coaching staff in 2009.
Joe Redmon
Olney Swim Center, Tuesday & Thursday
Join Joe for practice at the Olney pool on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
Sandy Kweder
Olney Swim Center, Saturday
Sandy has extensive experience swimming, teaching swimming, and being a meet judge and referee. She is an internal medicine physician who has often prescribed exercise regimens to her patients. Sandy has USMS Level 1 and 2 ASCA certifications. She is having a blast at Saturday morning practices at Olney!
Kathy Kirmayer
Olney Swim Center, Variable
Kathy was a sprinter back in college, but when she returned to swimming years later, she embraced the open water. She’s done swims around Key West, across Long Island Sound, and completed “3 Seas in 3 Days” in Israel. She fills in as needed at Olney.
Chris McPhaul
Kennedy Shriver Aquatic Center, Tuesday
Chris was head coach/coordinator of the winter swim program at Tuckahoe Recreation Club in McLean, VA, for 14 years and coached with John Flanagan’s Morning Masters Swim group, L4 Swimming, Capitol Sea Devils, and Carderock Springs Swim Club.
Dave Harmon
Variable
Dave has been swimming with the ANCMs since 1990. Before that he swam in age group competitions as a youth and on his college swim team. Dave has competed in many USMS meets and open-water competitions, such as the 4.4-mile Great Chesapeake Bay Bridge Swim.
Board
Board members are registered ANCM masters swimmers who volunteer for a variety of duties. They are approved at annual Board meetings for one-year terms. Board members are responsible for enacting and enforcing team policies, handling finances, registering team members, compiling team swim records, preparing newsletters, maintaining the website, and organizing team social events, such as the annual Albatross Open swim meet, picnic, holiday party, and brunches. At-large members provide additional input and assistance. All coaches are Board members.
Officers
President: Cathy Gainor
Vice President: John McCaffrey
Secretary: Tom Denes
Treasurer: Pam Blumenthal
Newsletter Editor: Julie Goldberg
Webmaster: Alex Lunardi
Registrar: Todd Moses
Social Committee: John Russell
Recordkeeper: Jeff Roddin
Members at Large
Jeff Dubin, Peter Johnson, Sangeeta Bhargava, Jody Gan, Dave Harmon, Nanci Sundel, Kate Fisken, Kara Permisohn, Dottie Buchhagen, Carlo Piceno
Head Coach
Tom Denes
History of the Montgomery Ancient Mariners
1990s
- Early 1990s – Montgomery County Recreation Department (MCRD) offered masters swimming at the Montgomery Aquatic Center and paid coaches, Heidi Hoth. directly. Several founding members of the team swam in the program
- Apr 1991 – Ancient Mariners formed as a USMS team. Tom Denes: first team President
- Mar 1993 – Ancient Mariners (ANCMs) held first Albatross Open
- Sept 1993 – Premier Swim Inc., owned by Clay Britt, awarded contract to run the masters program as a public-private partnership. All swimmers required to be USMS registered as Montgomery Masters. As a compromise, the two teams combined to form the Montgomery Ancient Mainers (ANCM)
- Dec 1993 – First issue of newsletter, The Rime. Editors: Heidi Yacker/Kathleen Costello
- Dec 1994 – Montgomery Ancient Mariners, Inc. established as 501(3)c non-profit
- Nov 1997 – ANCM newsletter: Dottie Buchhagen
- Nov 1998 – ANCM Website launched. Designer/webmaster: Dottie Buchhagen
2000s
- Aug 2000 –Long Course Nationals in Catonsville, MD. ANCM men placed 2nd in Medium Team division
- 2001-2005 – Tom Denes ran program as subcontractor to Premier Swim, Inc
- Jul 2001 – AMCM Nick Olmos Lau swims English Channel in 13 hrs. 41 min
- Aug 2002 –Long Course Nationals in Cleveland. ANCM women’s team placed 2nd in Small Team division
- Jun 2005 – MLK 50-meter outdoor pool opens for masters practices
- Oct 2005 – Jeff Roddin: second team President
2010s
- Nov 2013 – Dave Harmon: third team President
- Aug 2014 –Long Course Nationals at the University of Maryland. ANCM men placed 2nd in Medium Team division
- 2019 – Jeff Roddin wins the Ransom Arthur Award; 2019 USMS rulebook dedicated to Jeff
2020s
- Mar 2020 – ANCM program shuts down due to global COVID pandemic
- Jun 2021 – ANCM program restarts after 15-month break
- Oct 2021 – Clay Britt inducted into Masters International Swimming Hall of Fame (MISHOF)
- Oct 2021 – Cathy Gainor: fourth team President
- Oct 2021 – Newsletter editor: Julie Goldberg
- Aug 2022 – Contract with Montgomery County awarded to ANCM
- Nov 2023 – Redesign of website: Committee – Dottie Buchhagen (Chair) and Hannah Rubin with, in the early stages, Todd Moniot and Mia Garcia-Cortez
- Nov 2023 – Webmaster: Alex Lunardi