The Wild Bill Swim & Paddle Challenge
Donation protected
HI!
My name is Jenn Yorzyk Triger. This year hosts the inaugural “Wild Bill Swim & Paddle Challenge” in memory of local swimming legend Bill Yorzyk, my dad.
The Challenge is for fun, fitness and to match funds for cutting-edge water treatment in Bill’s beloved Quaboag (North Pond) and Quacumquasit (South Pond) lakes.
A Love of South Pond
Yorzyk and his wife Carrol moved to South Pond more than 30 years ago, drawn by the quiet wooded setting, fish and wildlife, and the clear lake water perfect for swimming. When the purity of the lake water was threatened, the Yorzyks and other lake-dwellers founded the Quaboag Quacumquasit Lake Association (QQLA). QQLA is dedicated to preserving and protecting the quality of Quaboag (North Pond) and Quacumquasit (South Pond) lakes and the surrounding watershed through the promotion of responsible, effective environmental policies. Proceeds from the Wild Bill Swim & Paddle Challenge will help fund a matching grant to benefit the Quacumquasit Pond Phosphorus Inactivation Project that was recently approved and funded by the Federal Clean Water Act.
A Swimming Legend
Yorzyk won an Olympic Gold Medal in the 200-meter Butterfly event at the 1956 Summer Olympics, shattering world records, just seven years after learning to swim as a freshman at Springfield College. He was a five-time NCAA All American who set a total of 11 World Records. In the 1970s he used his swimming skills, diving experience, and knowledge of physiology gained through swimming, and his medical training and experience, to assist in the development of diving tables still in use today. Yorzyk swam competitively into his 70s and passed on his love of the sport to his sons and daughter.
Lake water in his veins
Although Bill learned to swim at Springfield College as a freshman-year requirement, he learned to swim the competitive strokes in a lake in New Hampshireover a summer, beginning what was a long partnership between Bill and Swim Coach Charles Silvia. That lake experience led to the creation of an unprecedented 2-beat dolphin kick and Yorzyk’s Gold Medal. As he swam for the next 50 years, Bill also became an anesthesiologist and was a groundbreaker in pain management.
Donations to the Wild Bill Swim & Paddle Challenge will further the continued fishing, boating, swimming and memory of Bill in North and South Ponds.
Please visit our lake! We welcome you with open arms!
You can find more information about the event and the lakes and
Bill at
www.wildbillswim.org
My name is Jenn Yorzyk Triger. This year hosts the inaugural “Wild Bill Swim & Paddle Challenge” in memory of local swimming legend Bill Yorzyk, my dad.
The Challenge is for fun, fitness and to match funds for cutting-edge water treatment in Bill’s beloved Quaboag (North Pond) and Quacumquasit (South Pond) lakes.
A Love of South Pond
Yorzyk and his wife Carrol moved to South Pond more than 30 years ago, drawn by the quiet wooded setting, fish and wildlife, and the clear lake water perfect for swimming. When the purity of the lake water was threatened, the Yorzyks and other lake-dwellers founded the Quaboag Quacumquasit Lake Association (QQLA). QQLA is dedicated to preserving and protecting the quality of Quaboag (North Pond) and Quacumquasit (South Pond) lakes and the surrounding watershed through the promotion of responsible, effective environmental policies. Proceeds from the Wild Bill Swim & Paddle Challenge will help fund a matching grant to benefit the Quacumquasit Pond Phosphorus Inactivation Project that was recently approved and funded by the Federal Clean Water Act.
A Swimming Legend
Yorzyk won an Olympic Gold Medal in the 200-meter Butterfly event at the 1956 Summer Olympics, shattering world records, just seven years after learning to swim as a freshman at Springfield College. He was a five-time NCAA All American who set a total of 11 World Records. In the 1970s he used his swimming skills, diving experience, and knowledge of physiology gained through swimming, and his medical training and experience, to assist in the development of diving tables still in use today. Yorzyk swam competitively into his 70s and passed on his love of the sport to his sons and daughter.
Lake water in his veins
Although Bill learned to swim at Springfield College as a freshman-year requirement, he learned to swim the competitive strokes in a lake in New Hampshireover a summer, beginning what was a long partnership between Bill and Swim Coach Charles Silvia. That lake experience led to the creation of an unprecedented 2-beat dolphin kick and Yorzyk’s Gold Medal. As he swam for the next 50 years, Bill also became an anesthesiologist and was a groundbreaker in pain management.
Donations to the Wild Bill Swim & Paddle Challenge will further the continued fishing, boating, swimming and memory of Bill in North and South Ponds.
Please visit our lake! We welcome you with open arms!
You can find more information about the event and the lakes and
Bill at
www.wildbillswim.org
Organizer
Jennifer Yorzyk Triger
Organizer
East Brookfield, MA