In Memory of Craig Mather, contributions to our 501(c)3 can be made to: Rogue Valley Masters Swim Team, 10888 Corp Ranch Road, Ashland, OR 97520, or click here to use PayPal.

Rogue Valley Masters began in 1984 in Ashland, Oregon, when Daniel Meyer Memorial Pool opened in Hunter Park. A few local lap swimmers organized an All-Comers meet which drew several adult swimmers, and a group, consisting of Dan Gray, Craig and June Mather, Frank Phillips, Greg Frownfelter, Geri Mathewson, and Leo and Marianne van Dijk, and others, began RVM as a US Masters swim team. Since Daniel Meyer was a summer pool only, pool time was secured at the Southern Oregon University pool, where RVM swam consistently 5 to 6 days per week until 2015, when SOU demolished their pool.

Since June of 2015, RVM swims at Daniel Meyer Pool outdoors in the non-summer seasons through a special joint lease agreement with Ashland School District, Phoenix School District and Southern Oregon Water Polo as lessees of the facility from Ashland Parks and Recreation Commission. We are one of the standard users of the pool in the summer when the pool is open to the public.

In 1985, Greg Frownfelter took over a triathlon event that had been held at Howard Prairie Lake in previous years, and transformed it into an open water swim only. The Southern Oregon Lake Swim event was born, and has been running every year except two (2000 and 2015) at various lakes in Southern Oregon.

Since 2002, it has been held at Applegate Lake, where it is now known as the Applegate Lake Open Water Weekend, a part of the Oregon Masters Swimming open water series. There have been many distances swum over the years, ranging from 200 meters (as part of a stage race in 2003) to 10,000 meters; the current schedule is concurrent 10K, 5K and 2.5K swims on Saturday, and a 1.5K on Sunday followed by a 3 x 500 meter pursuit relay.