Courtesy of Aqua Knuckles, a SwimSwam partner.
The Aqua Knuckles Fall Classic will be held on Sunday, Nov 15th, 2026. This is a short course meters meet for masters swimmers hosted by Spartan Masters.
Meet information and signup can be found here.
Eligibility for this meet will be any swimmer 18+ who is registered with US Masters.
Cash prizes will be awarded to any swimmer achieving an individual Masters world record ($100/ world record) and to any relay achieving a masters relay world record ($200/relay). There will be a SKINS race with a $400 individual cash prize for the champion – with an additional $100 going to the SKINS champion’s team from event partner DermaSport. There will also be raffles and exceptional food and drink at the meet, including ITO-EN, the official meet hydration drink.
Many swimmers and teams will be competing for Masters World Records on November 15th including Olympians Casey Barrett (Canada) and Tasi Limtiaco (Micronesia). Casey, who placed 11th at the 1996 Olympics in the 200fly as a twenty-one-year-old, is morphing into a sprint breaststroker! Should be interesting!
Event partners include: Aqua Knuckles, ASP (Aquatic Sports Performance), Swim Faster by Joao Mescolote, DermaSport, The Swim Guy, and SBR Sports TriSwim.
Last year’s inaugural Aqua Knuckles Fall Classic in 2025 was a very fast meet packed with excitement from start to finish!! U.S. Olympian Natalie Hinds was present at the meet representing the brand deboer, where Natalie serves as Director of Partnerships and Customer Success. Thirty-six masters swim teams were represented at last year’s Aqua Knuckles Fall Classic, including the host team – Spartan Masters, Rose Bowl Masters, Fullerton FAST Masters Team, Mission Viejo Masters, Novaquatics Masters, and many more.
Two certified Masters SCM Relay World Records were set at the 2025 Aqua Knuckles Fall Classic:
- The Spartans 200 mixed medley relay team of: Ralph Porrazzo, 33 (Back), Brandon Fischer, 36 (Breast), Amy Okada, 27 (Fly) and Madison Kennedy, 38 (Free) – 1:46.11
- Fullerton’s 200 free men’s relay team of: Calvyn Justus, 30, Ethan Luc, 25, Sean Kao, 31, and Sidney Kao, 27 – 1:29.28
Olympians competing at last year’s meet included Artem Selin (Germany), Calvyn Justus (South Africa), Marina Spadoni (El Salvador), Santo Condorelli (Italy/Canada), Santi Grassi (Argentina) and Casey Barrett (Canada). We hope to see many of these Olympians return – and maybe more!
Spartan Masters has been coming up fast in U.S. Masters Swimming since being founded in January 2025. The team placed 9th at U.S. Masters 2026 Spring Nationals in Greensboro, North Carolina last spring and placed 6th at U.S. Masters Swimming 2026 Summer National Championship in Sacramento in August. Several Spartan team members hold National Age Group records including Daria Chebotareva in the 50 back and 100 back SCM for the 25-29 age group, Mario Marshall in the 100 fly SCY for the 40-44 age group and Chris O’Grady for the 100 breast SCM in the 18-24 age group. What other ones should be mentioned? Spartan Masters is also very lucky to be co-coached by Australian Olympic swimmer Sheridan (Burge-Lopez) Sanders (1988 Soeul) and U.S. Masters NAG record holder Mario Marshall!!
The 2nd annual Aqua Knuckles Fall Classic is sponsored by Aqua Knuckles. Aqua Knuckles are training aids worn during swim practice for competitive swimmers and anyone who wants to move faster through the water. Aqua Knuckles are double silicone bands slipped over the ring and middle fingers of each hand. They are sold in pairs and follow ring finger sizing, though many swimmers prefer a snug fit.
