On the surface, the length Bill Powell swam Saturday morning is hardly significant compared to his weekly workout distance.

But don’t think the 82-year-old is taking these laps for granted.

“It’s tradition, but it’s also incentive,” Powell said. “Around March, I say I have to swim 82 lengths in April, I have to get my butt to work. Once you lay off for a while, it’s hard to get back. I just stayed up with it.”

Powell took a different approach to his annual tradition that started in 1983. The retired legendary swim coach swims his age in laps every April 13. For 35 years, that ritual took place at the pool that bears his name at Western Kentucky University, where he coached for 36 years until 2005.

He changed up the location Saturday for the 36th annual swim, choosing to help RACE Aquatics at the Warren County Aquatic Center.

“The chance to do that for a cause is good for me,” Powell said. “I normally just do it, swim my laps and go home, but if I can make a difference in someone’s life or make it easier for those guys over there, why don’t I do it?

“I never thought of that. I just went over to the pool and swam.”

Powell started his birthday tradition at 8 a.m. and finished about 45 minutes later. RACE Aquatics opened its Sprint-A-Thon meet shortly after, and young participants were to pay $82 for their entry fee to honor Powell’s age.

The money used for entries will help fund equipment and go toward needed improvements at the pool.

RACE Aquatics coach Neil Romney wants to install acoustic panels at the center.

“It’s difficult to instruct,” Romney said. “They may hear noise out of your mouth, but they can’t decipher what you’re saying. If we can dampen the echo in here, it may improve not only instruction, but swimmer safety because it will make it easier to be heard if we do need to get someone’s attention immediately and it will reduce the baseline sound intensity, which has been measured as high as 95 decibels at meets.

“We’re hoping to at least start on that fundraising project.”

Romney moved to Bowling Green in October and didn’t take long to get connected with Powell, who now helps RACE Aquatics part time as an assistant coach. He said Powell didn’t hesitate when he proposed the idea of using his swimming tradition as a fundraiser.

“He’s going to help us out and we are most grateful for it,” Romney said. “I hope our parents, if they don’t appreciate his stature that they will come to appreciate it. The kids certainly like working with him and they’re glad to see him and get the chance to learn from him.”

Powell is still spry for his age, which he credits to his dedication to health and fitness through swimming. A native of St. Joseph, Mich., Powell learned to swim as an 8-year-old when his family bought a house on an island only accessible by boat. His workout regime is a two-mile swim a few times a week. Swimming 82 laps Saturday, which he completed in 41 minutes and 15.66 seconds, is just over 1¼ miles.

He moved to Bowling Green and became WKU’s swim coach in 1969 and amassed 425 wins, a mark that at the time of his retirement was the second-highest win total in NCAA Division I men’s swimming.

Powell underwent surgery in 2011 to repair a damaged vertebra, a procedure that could have ended his recreational swim activities had it not been for his pristine health. One doctor told Powell he wouldn’t make it out of the surgery alive. Another at Vanderbilt assured the then 75-year-old Powell he wouldn’t have any concerns.

“I was supposed to be laid up for I don’t know how many weeks and I was doing everything normally,” Powell said. “As soon as I got home from the hospital I got in the pool. Six weeks later, you wouldn’t have known I had back surgery and now I don’t have a problem at all since I had the surgery.”

Each birthday swim is another benchmark that motivates Powell to keep going. Helping the local competitive swim community with his efforts makes the journey that much more enjoyable.

The water provides an escape from Powell he wants to enjoy as long as he can.

“I try to concentrate on my strokes and I just lose myself in there,” Powell said. “I don’t worry about anything when I’m in there. We had hard times a couple of years ago. My son had a terrible accident, my daughter was diagnosed with cancer and they told her you have seven years to live. That was eight years ago and she’s doing great. My wife got breast cancer at the same time.

“All those things heaped on me at once. I just swam it off.”{&end}{&end}