Editor’s note: The following is an excerpt from an online article by Sarah Lloyd ’17 published in Swimming World Magazine about Professor of Humanities Tim Shutt, who has announced every home meet for the Kenyon swimming and diving teams since 1986. Lloyd writes about the connection swimmers have with Shutt, who is “easily recognizable on Kenyon’s campus because of his trademark suspenders, flannel shirts and Indiana Jones-esque hat.” The full article is available here.
Tim Shutt goes above and beyond when he announces swim meets. He not only announces the typical heat, lane and swimmer script, but he also acts as a commentator during races. He keeps tabs on splits and is amazingly accurate when it comes to predicting final times, a skill he credits to his years at Yale when he took splits by hand. After being involved with the sport in some manner or another for over 57 years, “one gets good at these types of things,” he muses.
But even more important, he takes the time to get to know the Kenyon swimmers. He is a regular at the freshman orientation meeting hosted for new swimmers, frequents the pool deck during meet warmups, and is always in Peirce Hall during lunch to comment on the “tables of greatness” as he strolls through. “Shutt brings a nice, positive atmosphere to Kenyon swimming,” says Christian Josephson ’16. “I really like that he always comes on deck in between sessions to congratulate us,” adds Hannah Lobb ’16. He loves the swimmers and the swimmers love him.
Fernando Rodriguez ’04, senior assistant swimming coach at Kenyon, reflects on the service that Shutt has done for Kenyon swimming. “Shutt has been the voice of Kenyon swimming for over two decades and was well-established as a staple of our program when I arrived in August of 2000. He is a wonderful man with a wealth of knowledge of our sport and experience in the swimming community that, combined with his unique voice, makes him the most exciting and interesting championship announcer I have ever heard. We are lucky to have him as a colleague at Kenyon, and surely swimmers of past, present and future are all honored to have their names announced through the loudspeakers by this fascinating man.”
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