Still Afloat Father, 73, Helps Make Sst A Family Affair

It’s not exactly a case of “The Old Man and the Sea,” but when the Spokane Swim Team decided to expand, it went for an experienced hand.

And all of the expansion was all in the family.

Three members of the Terhaar family - Joe, 42, Phoebe, 40, and AnnaMarie, 35 - already were lined up to compete this weekend with 1,500 other entrants ages 19 to 95 in the Masters National Swimming Championships (Short Course) at Federal Way, Wash. Julie and Peggy Zappone will be there, too.

So will the “new” blood, two more Terhaars - Joe, Phoebe and AnnaMarie’s sister, Paula, and their 73-year-old father Frank - along with Julie and Peggy Zappone’s sister, Marceen.

With the Terhaars, SST already had three siblings sharing the pool for the first time in 20 years. Now, it’s four siblings and a grandpa.

“I’m not the swimmer in the family … my kids are the swimmers,” says Frank Zappone. Maybe that’s true because he only swims 60 laps a week at the YMCA.

“He doesn’t really care about the times, Joe Terhaar says. “He’s really in it so he can see his kids and grandkids.”

Frank says “they make me do it.”

He does admit his swimming is not just for camaraderie, but for exercise. “You get out, you’re tired, and you really feel good.”

From the days when he rode his bike five miles to swim in an old frog pond, Terhaar stayed away from competition until 1988, when he entered a relay race at a masters regional with Joe, Phoebe and AnnaMarie.

His wife Elaine remembers when the race was called.

“That was funny! The announcer announced it … ‘Now we have a 400-meter relay. Well … Terhaar, Terhaar, Terhaar, Terhaar.”’

Joe Terhaar said the family’s swimming tradition started at their grandfather’s cabin on Lake Coeur d’Alene.

“My silly dad, he’d get out of bed first thing in the morning,” he said, “and he’d dive in the cold water and he’d swim from our dock all the way over to the point and back. We’d all just go down and dive in after him, just like little ducklings following the gander.”

Joe, Phoebe and AnnaMarie have been involved in competitive swimming since. All three swam at Central Washington University and in AAU meets. Joe was the first to compete at the national level, placing seventh at the NAIA Championships in the 400-meter Individual medley.

Elaine Terhaar feels that the rigorous schedule for swimmers keeps kids out of trouble and helps them focus on their grades.

“He spent all day, every day there (at the pool.) I always knew where Joe was … finally.”

The Zappone family has been involved in Spokane swimming for more than 40 years.

Jack Zappone, father of the competitors, became involved with the Spokane Swim team and helped make it possible for swimmers to travel to various meets. He was also instrumental in bringing national events to the area. Marceen Zappone launched her competitive career at one of those meets.

This weekend, she will join her sisters in the 100-meter breaststroke, the 50-meter freestyle and the 50-meter breaststroke. Julie Zappone also has qualified for the 50-meter butterfly and the 100 individual medley.

All swimmers can compete in at least three events, but they can qualify for as many as three others by posting times as fast as the best times from the last nationals.

The other Spokane Swim Team member is Steve Vela, a schoolboy sensation for SST in the 1970s. Still considered the team’s most competitive swimmer, Vela is a likely candidate to finish among the top 10 in his events.

Win or lose, team members know they will enjoy the camaraderie and the exercise. That’s what masters swimming is about - fun, fitness and fellowship.

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Photo

MEMO: If you would like more information about Masters Swimming programs, telephone Alene Zanders at (509) 448-5250.