@sfchronicle: Shrieks and laughter filled the air Sunday morning at Aquatic Cove as hundreds of swimmers plunged into the chilly bay water to celebrate a milestone anniversary for women in the local swimming community. This month marks 50 years since women gained entry into the previously men-only South End Rowing Club and Dolphin Swimming and Boating Club after suing the longstanding San Francisco athletic clubs for discrimination on city-owned property. Vanessa Marlin, president of the South End Rowing Club, organized the Sunday swim-out and breakfast to honor the first women to integrate the clubs, including some in their 70s and 80s who remain members and regular bay swimmers today. “They didn’t simply walk through a door that had finally opened. They helped transform the club on the other side of it,” Marlin said. “That is our legacy — one generation opening the door, the next walking through it, and each generation holding it open wider for those who follow.” Members of the rival clubs, which sit adjacent to each other on Jefferson Street at the edge of Fisherman’s Wharf, came together Sunday to honor the occasion. They swam and rowed out into the cove to form a giant “50” with their bodies and boats. Read more via the link in our bio. Credit: Jana Ašenbrennerová/For the S.F. Chronicle

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Monday 21 September 2026 02:00:27 GMT