Ned Denison of the International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame announced the induction of Phil White as its newest Honor Contributor.
Denison explained the well-deserved recognition, “Starting in 2009, Phil has played a central role in creating a series of swims in a remote area of Vermont, known as the Northeast Kingdom. They include Kingdom Swim (2009), Willoughby Swim (2010), In Search of Memphre (2011), NEK Swim Week (2013), and the Memphremagog Winter Swimming Festival (2015) These swims have drawn thousands of swimmers from all over the USA, Canada, Mexico and the world. The Northeast Kingdom has emerged as “an unlikely mecca” of open water swimming.“
Steven Munatones recalls, “Phil had a long-term vision and an infectious enthusiasm that equally stirred up locals and people from all over the Americas and Europe. He created a new vocabulary from the Clubhous and Be Kind to Your Yacker Week to Swimmer Scouts and Hookers to new events like Vampire Swims, In Search of Memphre, and the Triple Crown of Lake Monster Swims (or the cryptozoological Triple Crown). He worked hard, but made tough swims fun. He is an incredible leader and motivator as well as a seasoned escort boat pilot and a very prolific documentarist of all the swims that he organized.
He did not just create words and events, but an entire year-round ecosystem of the sport. He literally built a gathering spot for open water swimmers worldwide in his neck of the Vermont woods. He earned the respect and gratitude of literally thousands.”
Denison continued, “Phil built these open water swims with a skeletal crew, over 125 volunteers, and the support of Newport City and local businesses. He co-founded the Northeast Kingdom Open Water Swimming Association (2010), the Triple Crown of Lake Monster Swims (2015), the Vermont Open Water Swimming Hall of Fame (2017), the Vampire Swim (2017) and Project Welcome (2024).“
He was named to Vermont Sports 30: People and Organizations who have significantly impacted Outdoor Recreation in Vermont during the past 30 years (2020). Phil received the 2019-2020 Marathon Swimmers Federation Service to Marathon Swimming Award and the Jim Doty (IMSHOF Honoree) Award for his devotion to swimmers (2022). In 2023, he was inducted into the New England Local Masters Swimming Hall of Fame: Honoree Contributor.”
“He not only build an infrastructure, but also develop the next generation of boat pilots, escort kayakers, and winter swimming ice cutters,” hailed Munatones. “His organizations like the Memphremagog Winter Swimming Society and the Kingdom Games completely changed the sports landscape of Vermont. He managed the safety aspects of events held in the brutal cold with water temperatures that ranged as low as -1.1ºC) to marathon swims where lightning is a constant threat.
And what I always greatly appreciated about Phil was that he provided the full race results and swim times. He never failed to add colorful descriptions of his events, and included the names of all the volunteers, pilots, and support crew. He included everyone’s ages and home towns, and a variety of information – all factual, many humorous – that are provided unique descriptions of his events – for the competing swimmers and their friends and family who were not there. He is a very rare man, a race director who understands the value in sharing and distributing information to the global community “
© 2026 Daily News of Open Water Swimming
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