Capt. Ransom J. Arthur M.D. Award

Recipient:	John Spannuth
Year:	1988
LMSC:	Florida Gold Coast

John Spannuth was involved with the International Swimming Hall of Fame from its first year in 1965 and has served as president of the American Swim Coaches Association (ASCA). He founded the World Swimming Coaches Clinic in 1969, which is run by ASCA. At the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU), John served on many committees including Age-group Rules, Women’s Olympic Swimming, and Joint International. He also served as the AAU Aquatics Administrator.

Fulfilling Ransom Arthur’s vision, John acted as meet director for the first two adult swimming competitions.  The 1970 event was titled the “1st Annual National Masters Swimming Championships” and the 1971 event was called “U.S. Masters Swimming Championships”. Both were sponsored by the ASCA and Amarillo Aquatic Club. Through John’s efforts, the AAU agreed to sanction subsequent Masters National swimming events. The 1972 events were held in San Mateo, CA (SCY) and Bloomington, IN (LCM) and titled “National AAU Masters Men’s and Women’s Swimming Championships”. John also served as the meet director and founder of the first Masters YMCA Swimming Championship in 1976. Indeed, John Spannuth has been the embodiment of swimming and is the recipient of the 1988 Capt. Ransom J. Arthur M.D. Award