Helena Ridley Masters Swimmers

10/22/2024

Congratulations to our friend just over Montana's western border in CDA, Mike Hamm!

08/28/2024

Workouts at Capital City Health Club resume next week on the same schedule as before (Tu/Th 5:30-6:30 p.m. and Su 8:30-9:30 a.m.). Coach Peggy will be gone through September 8, but members will be writing workouts for the group. See you at the pool!

07/25/2024

At the Paris Olympics, USMS member Dylan Woodhead will play as a wing defender for the USA Men's Water Polo team. In addition to this lifelong dream coming true, Dylan’s family members and friends get to attend this year's Games, and the team has a good chance of medaling.

He credits the lessons his mother taught him about a positive mindset for his career success in the pool. "Your mindset isn’t about the negative, it needs to be about the positive. Use your body of work as a mental boost to approach the competition. It doesn’t matter how you feel, it’s how you think on the day. It's all about getting into your flow state."

Dylan spent his childhood among members of South End Rowing Club. His parents competed in swimming events regularly as SERC members. Once he’s finished with the Games, he looks forward to taking on some open water swims, including the Trans Tahoe Relay.

Good luck at the Games, Dylan—USMS will be rooting for you and the whole team!

07/16/2024

https://www.facebook.com/share/9hRFh1W3EUMJzgWn/?mibextid=xfxF2i

Flora Wong is a survivor of the Second Sino-Japanese War, a businesswoman, a Helena Hall of Fame athlete, and the honored woman behind Flora Wong Day.

07/15/2024

Happy Flora Wong Day! Please join us TONIGHT at Helena's city commission meeting for Mayor Collins' proclamation, then gather with Flora's friends and family at the Gold Bar immediately after. The meeting begins at 6 p.m. and the proclamation is near the beginning of the meeting. We plan to head to the Gold Bar soon after the proclamation. The meeting will be held in room 330 of the City-County Building. If you're not able to join us in person, you can watch the meeting online at https://us06web.zoom.us/j/81862350992

06/21/2024

Kitrick had a nice time drop in his 200 fly today. His next race, the 500, is tomorrow morning. The first heat of the 500 is at 6 a.m. MDT. Kitrick is in heat 10, lane 5. You can watch his race live here:
https://www.usms.org/events/national-championships/pool-national-championships/2024-pool-national-championships/2024-spring-national-championship/2024-spring-nationals-coverage?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR3zu_rlob4eh6xBGuXXTQ-yKio2S1fBSRaUOjrfdnPHNg-Sz8GU67QXOYA_aem_ZmFrZWR1bW15MTZieXRlcw

Welcome to our coverage of the 2024 USMS Spring National Championship, which includes race videos and a list of records broken throughout the meet.

06/19/2024

Best wishes to Kitrick Rhodes, who is in Indianapolis for the USMS 2024 Spring Nationals! He is swimming the 200 fly tomorrow, the 500 on Friday, and the 1650 on Monday. You can track his performance here:

Swim events for Kitrick Rhodes (BSMT) Age Group 35-39: Entries, Psych Sheets, Heats, Lanes, Timeline, Results, Places

04/09/2024

Flora was a long time Helena masters swimmer. She has 130 USMS Top Ten swims, three individual All-American swims, was part of two All-American relays, and was featured in the January/February issue of SWIMMER magazine. Her son, Poy, is a current member of the Helena Ridleys. Thanks for the heads-up, Jim Dole! https://www.facebook.com/share/p/WssWxtzrt51YibMk/?mibextid=Nif5oz

Flora Lee Wong was born October 1, 1928 in Boston, Massachusetts. In 1936, she and her family boarded a passenger ship in Seattle for a twenty-one-day passage across the Pacific Ocean to Hong Kong. They settled in their new home in Guangdong Province, China. Although the boys in the family received an education, Flora and her sisters spent most time working to help provide for their family.

In January 1947, Flora married Helena merchant Charlie Wong, who traveled from Montana to Hong Kong to meet and marry her before returning to the United States. The two wrote each other frequently while she waited in Hong Kong for her visa. She was finally able to emigrate and join Charlie in Helena on December 10, 1948. By 1955 Flora and Charlie had four girls and one boy in their growing family. Charlie was the owner of Wing Shing Grocery at 108 South Main. In 1967, Flora joined the American Business Women’s Association, and inherited Charlie’s business after his untimely death in 1968. Flora closed the store in November 1970, and opened, in partnership with George and Irene Wong, the Chinese Kitchen and Oriental Gift Shop on Euclid Avenue in August 1973. In retirement, she participated in competitive running and swimming, and was named the Montana Big Sky Athlete of the Year in 1999. She was also honored as a member of the Helena Sports Hall of Fame in 2009.

Photograph: Montana Historical Society Photograph Archives. PAc 2009-11.3. Flora Wong circa 1948.

04/09/2024

We had a great time at the state meet in Butte this past weekend! Will and Kim had some great swims in their first-ever masters swim meet. Bryce and Kim broke several state (LMSC) records. We were able to remember and honor Charlotte. We even had some time to catch up and get to know each other a little better outside of the pool. Thank you to all Ridleys who participated, and a special thank you to Erin, Jayme, and Martin, who drove down from Helena to help time and cheer. Hopefully, we will see more of you joining us next year.

Link to results:

04/04/2024

A $115-$120 million mega-sports and entertainment facility known as The ARC has been proposed at the Lewis and Clark County Fairgrounds.

03/31/2024

Registration closes at 11:59 tonight. Have you registered yet?

4/6/2024-4/7/2024: USMS Swim Meet, Individual Registration, Butte, MT - Register Now!

03/14/2024

Last day to register for the state meet before the entry fee goes up! What are you waiting for?