Ted Haartz
R.I.P. Ted Haartz.–You will be missed.
On behalf of the New England LMSC board and membership, our deepest condolences go out to Ted’s family and friends. Our Masters Swimming community owes a huge debt of gratitude to this USMS past president, International Swimming Hall of Fame inductee, New England LMSC Hall of Fame inductee, and New England Masters Swim Club founding board member and trailblazer. For more information about his many contributions and accomplishments: https://www.nelmsc.org/hof/2020/pool/ted-haartz
The family of Frederick H. “Ted” Haartz, 92, are sad to announce his passing on January 1, 2021, not related to Covid. He was surrounded by his immediate family in his final days. Ted leaves behind his wife of 65 years Alicia (Lee) of Green Valley, AZ, sons Douglas and his wife Judy of Sudbury, MA., Alexander and his wife Heidi of Reno, NV. and Benjamin and partner Brigid of Milford, MA. Granddaughters, Nicole, Emily and Julia and Grandson Ryan and his seven great grandchildren, Avery, Presley, Cooper, Olivia, Callie, Riley and Theodore. Ted also leaves many lifelong friends within the Masters Swimming community which he was a part of for the past 45+ years. Services will be private.
- 2020 Inducted into the New England LMSC Hall of Fame (Pool Performance)
- 2019 Inducted into the New England LMSC Hall of Fame (Contributor – NEM Trailblazer)
- 2013 Inducted into the Masters International Swimming Hall of Fame
- USMS Records
- Pool – 30 lifetime individual; 21 lifetime relay, 2 currently held
- USMS All-American
- Pool – 59 individual (413 points), 19 relay
- USMS Top Ten – 492 individual, 81 relay
- NELMSC All-Time Top Three – 25 points
- Club: New England Masters (NEM) (1971-2005)
- USMS Profile
USMS Profile
Ted Haartz, a former collegiate swimmer from Tufts University, turned his sights to Masters Swimming in 1970 after reading about the first Masters meet in Amarillo, TX. He competed in the second Masters National Championship in Amarillo in 1971. He became a charter member of the New England Masters Swim Club and quickly progressed to volunteering at the national level.
Ted received the Captain Ransom J. Arthur M.D. Award (USMS’s highest honor) in 1976 as a result of his volunteer service. Notably, he established and maintained Top Ten Times for Masters Swimming in all age groups and relays, commencing with the first Masters Nationals in Amarillo, TX, in 1970. This was in the days when that meant hand writing and typing results! Ted was a key player in the formation of the original 55 Local Masters Swimming Committees (LMSCs) that governed Masters Swimming on the local level.
He quickly rose to positions of leadership in the fledgling national organization while it was still a part of the AAU and trying to establish its identity. He served as national president and for many years as a swimming official. Significantly, Ted took charge of the effort in the late 1970s to separate Masters from the AAU, which allowed Masters to become a more independent organization that could raise its own funds, write its own rules, and determine its own destiny. At the 2013 U.S. Aquatic Sports Convention, Ted was inducted into the Masters International Swimming Hall of Fame.
The following is from an October, 1977. NEM News profile of Ted:
Reasons for participating in the Masters Program: ‘Swimming has become my recreation, exercise, and a release for the tension I encounter in my daily life. I believe that I eat better, sleep better, and am generally healthier because of a regular routine of physical exercise. I also thoroughly enjoy the companionship and friendship of the hundreds of other Masters swimmers with whom I have come in contact.’
After his retirement and move to Arizona, Ted, of course became involved in his local group and switched to Arizona Masters. However, here in New England we still consider him one of our own and thank him for his contributions to the sport.