40 Years of Fun, Fitness And Friendship For Gladstone Gropers Swimming Club 

The Gladstone Gropers Masters Swimming Club has recently celebrated its 40^th Anniversary in the community, with more than 650 members over its lifetime from all walks of life – doctors, lawyers, surgeons, politicians, tradies, teachers, cooks, nurses, librarians, engineers, accountants, business owners, and so many more, with one thing in common: the quest for fun, fitness, and the true friendship of being a Gladstone Groper.  

From a Sunday morning gathering of enthusiastic swimming parents in 1986 around the kitchen table at Sandra and Reg Pugh’s place, the decision was made to establish a Masters swimming club in Gladstone, as the founding members wanted to have the opportunity to swim against same-age-group athletes. Originally, the swimming club was to be named the “Guppies”, but the members found that they could have more fun and impact with the tongue-in-cheek name, “Gropers”. In a less politically correct time, the club had fun with the brand, including singing “We Will Grope You” to the tune of Queen’s “We Will Rock You”, their classic “Grope, Grope, Grope!” war cry that would ring out at carnivals and events, and even taking it so far as to appear at the National Titles with handprints on the backsides of their swimming togs. While that form of swimwear may not pass the national standards in the present day, the Gropers are still proud of their iconic and cheeky branding.