The Blue Lightning swimmers are fast, practice hard and have great fun.
The swim team is a great way for children to learn competitive swimming techniques and develop lasting friendships with children from several private clubs.
BLUE LIGHTNING SWIM TEAM
The Detroit Golf Club Blue Lightning Swim Team participates in the Michigan Inter-Club Swim Association consisting of 14 area private clubs. Children ages 4 to 17 are provided with the opportunity to swim competitively. Parents join their children to make up the enthusiastic cheering sections that encourage swim teams in their inter-club competitions throughout the summer.
In the past, some of the Detroit Golf Club swim stars have gone on to stardom in college.
Michigan Inter-Club Swimming Final 2008 Standings
Blue League White League
Birmingham Athletic Club 5-1 Country Club of Detroit 0-6
Detroit Golf Club 4-2 Dearborn Country Club 1-5
Detroit Yacht Club 2-4 Grosse Ile Golf & Country Club 3-3
Great Oaks Country Club 1-5 Grosse Pointe Hunt Club 2-4
Grosse Pointe Yacht Club 3-3 Oakland Hills Country Club 4-2
Lochmoor Club 6-0 Red Run Golf Club 5-1
Plum Hollow Country Club 0-6 Western Golf & Country Club 6-0
MICSA HISTORY
The Michigan Inter-Club Swimming Association (originally called M.I.S.A. and later changed to M.I.C.S.A) was formed in the spring of 1940, as a result of interest in competition swimming by several area clubs.
Clarence Pinkston, Olympic platform diving champion at Antwey in 1920, swimming coach at the Detroit Golf Club from 1938 to 1950, and swimming director of the Detroit Athletic Club from 1927 to 1961, was instrumental in the development of the swimming association. His wife, Betty won the women’s springboard diving championship at the Paris Olympics in 1924 and the platform championship at the Amsterdam Olympics in 1928. Betty Pinkston was the first female double Olympic diving winner and between them, the Pinkston’s- husband and wife- won seven (7) medals in three Olympics. Betty also coached the swim team at the Detroit Golf Club. At the International Swimming Hall of Fame in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, the Auditorium is named the Clarence Pinkston Memorial Auditorium and the original flag he was presented with at the 1920 Olympics is on display as well as M.I.C.S.A. medals. Clarence and betty was the first husband - wife team taken into the Swimming Hall of Fame. Interestingly enough, Betty originally took up swimming on her doctor’s recommendation to help in her recovery from a severe case of diphtheria when she was eight years old but by age twelve she realized her true passion was diving.
The six original clubs of M.I.C.S.A. were the Detroit Golf Club, Detroit Boat Club, Detroit Yacht Cub, Flint Country Club, Grosse Pointe Yacht Club and Oakland Hills Country Club. Pine Lake Country Club participated in the 1940 League Championship Meet but never became a member of the Association.
The Detroit Golf Club hosted and won the first M.I.C.S.A. Championship in 1940. The meet consisted of seventeen (17) events and four (4) relays. The Detroit Golf Club won the Championship scoring a total of ninety-nine (99) points. To date the Detroit Golf Club has won a total of fourteen (14) M.I.C.S.A Championships second only to Grosse Pointe Yacht Club, which has won fifteen (15). Lochmoor Club has the third most wins with thirteen (13) M.I.C.S.A. Championships. The trophy given out to the winning coach at the League Championship meet is still called the Pinkston Trophy in honor of our first DGC swim team coach Clarence Pinkston.