Firsthand—experiences with aging
By Claudia Parliament
Returning to synchronized swimming after a 32-year hiatus has significantly altered my life. When my high school coach retired in 1993, several of us organized a show in her honor. We enjoyed it so much we started a masters synchro team, the Minnesota Northern Pikes, and since 1995 we have competed at the annual U.S. Masters Championships. My middle sister and I are the oldest members on the team, at ages 71 and 75. In our most recent national competition, our six-member team placed second in our age group category.
My youngest sister, who competed nationally and internationally in her youth, returned from California in 1998 and became the head coach of a local club. She asked us to help with coaching. Currently, the club has more than 80 swimmers, ages 8 to19.
What keeps me coaching 5 days a week, 10 months a year? Primarily, it is the engagement with young women. Often, they start at a tender age with limited body awareness and control and leave as self-confident, poised women with life skills of teamwork, goal-setting and focus. I have a 10-year window to watch them progress, longer than a classroom teacher or high school coach.
What keeps me swimming twice a week with our masters team? The friendship of teammates, the benefit of staying fit with the strength and flexibility needed to compete, and the satisfaction of feeling better about myself, both mentally and emotionally. In addition, synchro is s a sport with few sports-related injuries—no broken bones, torn ligaments, falls or crashes—a concern as we age.
Conclusion: stay active, engage in a project, and do something you enjoy, perhaps bringing forward skills or interests from your youth.
If you would like to share a firsthand experience related to health and aging, please contact Ron Anderson, UMRA Cares Committee, at [email protected].
News
This will be a new regular column where you can find organizational tasks that need your help! We are currently looking for help researching a new UMRA Membership Database and URVC volunteer database, and a co-producer for UMRA's Zoom webinars. See more details:
Beginning January 1, 2027, the University of Minnesota is making updates to medical plans, the pharmacy vendor, and the Wellbeing Program incentive that apply to retirees and dependents enrolled in these plans.
The University of Minnesota has had a presence at the Great Minnesota Get-Together for 167 years. And on September 3, 2026, UMRA made its Minnesota State Fair debut to talk with fairgoers (on Seniors Day) about retirement and to promote opportunities to volunteer through our University Retirees Volunteer Center.
Like all of us, UMRA member Barbara Heinemann has been reflecting on 9/11 and life in the 25 years since then, with mixed feelings.
December 31 is the application deadline for UMRA’s 2027 Professional Development Grants for Retirees competition. Retirees from all five University of Minnesota campuses are eligible to apply. We invited Brad Hokanson, professor emeritus, UMN Department of Design Innovation, to tell us about the work supported by his 2026 grant to promote teaching creativity in high schools.
Meet UMRA member and volunteer extraordinaire Kay Louis. She devoted her career as an Extension educator — “bringing the University to the people” — to developing and providing programming for adults and youth.
The UMRA membership year runs from July 1 through June 30 of the following year. If you haven’t yet renewed your membership for 2027, it’s definitely time to do so!
UMRA has a Facebook group that is open to UMN retirees and others with close ties to the University, for posting messages about anything University- or retiree-related. Learn more.
UMRA hosted delegates from 14 of the 18 schools in the Big Ten for the 2026 Big Ten Retirees Association conference in July. It was described as “the perfect collaboration” by two delegates we invited to share a few of their key takeaways from the conference.
Developing communication skills is the focus of two programs needing volunteers this fall: the “Reader/Writer Program,” assisting students in Minneapolis Public Schools grades 7-12 to develop literacy skills; and “Partners in English,” engaging in conversation with adults for whom English is not their first language.
After being unexpectedly sidelined at the outset of her retirement, Pam Snopl now enjoys doing many of the things retirees get to do, including reconnecting in person with family and friends, going to museums and weekday Minnesota Twins games, reading, and writing.
UMRA member George Swan retired in 2021 after 30+ years at University Libraries, but still returns to campus to visit one or another of the libraries at least twice a week in his current role as a student/retiree.
UMRA’s Professional Development Grants for Retirees program is an annual competition for grants to support projects related to retirees’ research, instructional history, new scholarly or creative interests.
UMRA needs everyone to renew their membership for the coming year. Thank you if you’ve already renewed! If you haven’t, please renew right away.