For over fifty years the Athens Bulldog Swim Club has been promoting swimming excellence in the greater Athens area. Founded in the 1940s as the Athens Swim Club, the team provided generations of Athens area youth an opportunity to participate in year-round competitive swimming. Throughout the 50s, 60s and 70s the Athens Swim Club succeeded in making a name for itself on the local and state level, but it was not until 1981, when Harvey Humphries took over the duties of head coach, that the program acquired national recognition. An Assistant Swim Coach at the University of Georgia, Humphries added Bulldog to the Athens Swim Club's name, and ABSC has been making its presence felt on U.S. Swimming ever since.

Under Coach Humphries, ABSC swimmers have won gold five times at Junior Nationals, four times at Senior Nationals, and twice at the World Student Games. ABSC women's teams have twice finished in the top 10 at U.S. Nationals, while the combined men's and women's teams finished in the top 10 teams at Nationals in 1995. Notable ABSC alums include NCAA All Americans Kara Manglitz and Paige Wilson, World Student Games Champion Christine Stephenson, NCAA Champion Matt Buck, and U.S. Olympic Gold Medalist Sheila Taormina. Most recently three ABSC swimmers represented the United States at the Sydney Olympics--Gold Medalist Courtney Shealy, Silver Medalist Kristy Kowal, and 6th place finisher Amanda Adkins. Talented young swimmers continue to come up through the ranks, as demonstrated by a number of ABSC age groupers earning national top 16 rankings

As United States Swimming enters the 21st century, the Athens Bulldog Swim Club can look toward an increasingly bright future. With its home base at the University of Georgia's state of the art Gabrielsen Natatorium, ABSC has access to one of the premier training facilities in the world. Add to that a staff of experienced coaches, and a team philosophy that emphasizes stroke technique, a good work ethic, and fun, and you have the elements of swimming success...
Bulldawg style!