Swimming

New Gay/Lesbian Swim Club in Long Beach

For gay and lesbian swimmers living in Long Beach, Calif., there are few choices when it comes to joining a swim team. If they want to swim close to home, they can join a straight swim team. If they want to swim with other gays and lesbians they can either drive up to West Hollywood  or down to San Diego. Up to now, none of those choices have been very appealing.

Finally, a group of men and women have banded together to form the "Long Beach Grunions Swim Club" to bring US Masters Swimming to the Long Beach gay community. US Masters Swimming (USMS) is a national  organization of more than 42,000 members that provides organized workouts, competitions, clinics and workshops for adults aged 18 and over. The Grunions are  open to all adult swimmers (fitness, triathlete, competitive and  non-competitive), and are dedicated to improving their fitness through swimming.

The club president, Sergio Rodriguez says "We are Long Beach's all-inclusive, gay, lesbian, bisexual, fast, slow, totally cool and incredibly fun swim club, there is no other swim team like us here in  Long Beach!

Having started with just a handful of swimmers, the club continues to grow and prosper with new members joining every week. Each practice now has  25-30 swimmers in attendance. Each swimmer workouts with others in their own skill set: beginner, intermediate and advanced. The practice sessions are coached and the coach tailors the workouts to those experience levels.

"Anyone is welcome, no matter your ability. Come on out and have a good time, get some exercise and improve your skills," Coach Erik says.  "Don't let the Masters name scare you away, it is just a fancy title for an
adult swimming group."

The Grunions meet 3 times a week at local area pools for swim practice.Women are encouraged and welcome. Check the Web site at  for specifics.