James Breen swimming through the sunrise – Photo by Karina Palmarino

Phil White, creator of the Kingdom Games held in Lake Memphremagog, explains its origins and growth, “We started the Kingdom Swim 15 years ago in Vermont in 2009 on the last Saturday in July. The event included courses of 10 miles, 3 miles, 1 mile, and shorter distances just for kids. We added a 6-mile swim (now 10 km) in 2011 and a 15-mile swim (now 25 km) Border Buster in 2014. Each year, on Friday evening before the swim, we host a Memphremagog Costume Parade down Main Street in Newport, Vermont to welcome swimmers and kayakers to town, followed by a pasta dinner on the shores of Lake Memphremagog.”

Kingdom Swim – July 25th 2026

Kingdom Swim has long been included in list World’s Top 100 Open Water Swims.

In addition to the swimmers who will participate in the Kingdom Swim for the first time, this year there will be a reunion of Swimmer Scouts who have swum the 25-mile length of Lake Memphremagog from the southern shore of Newport, Vermont in the United States to the northern shore of Magog, Québec in Canada, In Search of Memphre, 

This year, 14 of 70 of these Swimmer Scouts have already registered, including the historic four who have completed a 50-mile two-way crossing of Lake Memphremagog:

• Margaret Rivard (18, Newport, Vermont with Darcie DeBlois-Rivard as her escort kayaker, MSF bio here, IISA bio here)
• Vera Rivard (21, Newport, Vermont with Kevin Rivard as her escort kayaker, MSF bio here, IISA bio here)
• Stephen Rouch (46, Kingston, Pennsylvania with Zoe Blake as his escort kayaker, MSF bio here, IISA bio here)
• Sarah Thomas (44, Conifer, Colorado with Ryan Willis as her escort kayaker, MSF bio here, IISA bio here)

The Swimmer Scounts were are returning include Charlotte Brynn, Austin Frazer, Susan Knight, Natalie Lang, Greg O’Connor, Bethany Bosch Oprendek, Bill Shipp, Amanda Smith Dakowicz, Elaine Kornbau Howley, and Paula Yakauskas. Most will be swimming the Border Buster, which already has 24 Busters signed up. We can’t hardly wait to see them strut their stuff with a victory lap around Province Island.

Others who making the return trip to the Northeast Kingdom include Nadine Ford, a scallywag from North Carolina who has organized a team of eight Emerald City Swimmers and 6 kayakers. Karen Nazor and Ben Bryant are two other scallywags who lead posses of swimmers from the Harpswell and Brunswick areas of Maine.  Nazor did the same thing with her Harpswell Open Water Swimmers during the 2026 Memphremagog Winter Swimming while Ben started a USMS Masters Swimming program when he moved to Brunswick and he’s busy flipping swimmers from the pool to the open water. Austin Frazer of San Antonio, Texas, the first to sign up for the Swimmer Scout Reunion when it was announced. As he did, he also signed up his 10-year-old daughter Fiona for the 1/4 mile youth swim.  

In Search of Memphre

White recalls the history of In Search of Memphre. “Ten years after 9/11, the Search started on September 11th 2011, just after midnight against brutal head winds barreling down the lake. At one point it got so bad, I turned to my crew, Kristian Pearson and said, ‘Shoot me now, so I don’t have to watch these swimmers die one at a time.’ 

But, when the sun finally rose, six swimmers were safely on their support boats and four were still swimming north (Liz Fry, Charlotte Brynn, Greg O’Conor, and Elaine Kornbau Howley). They went on to complete the 25-mile cross-border swim between Vermont and Québec.  Since then, 70 Swimmer Scouts have completed at least one crossing, with four individuals and two relays completed the 80.4 km two-way crossing.

These swims are dedicated to promoting a more open border with our Canadian and Mexican friends and to seeking our elusive, but swimmer-friendly, lake creature, Memphre. They are conducted with the support of Barbara Malloy, Vermont’s First Lady Dracontologist, who has documented over 180 sightings since 1816 (see About Memphre).“

The logistics of the swim have evolved and significantly improved over the years. There are now three escort pontoon boats and a corps of trained, experienced, and battle-hardened escort pilots who know Lake Memphremagog by day and by night, fair weather or foul.  They include Gary Coburn, Karina Palmarino, Phil White, Vera Rivard, Margaret Rivard, Ben Bryant, Bill Brown, and Cynthia Needham who offer multiple, mid-week, three day windows throughout the spring and summer, escort one to three swimmers per window, and pick the best weather day of the three to make the crossing.

2026 Start List for the 25 km Border Buster

1. Regan Billingsley, 50 Naples FL Eric Dinges, escort kayaker
2. Charlotte Brynn, 60 Newport VT Cynthia Needham, escort kayaker
3. Kerston Corns, 26 Scottsdale AZ
4. Emily Fogle, 34 Brooklyn, NY Morgan Liston, escort kayaker
5. Austin Frazer, 41 San Antonio TX Rachel Frazer, escort kayaker
6. Libby Garland, 55 Brooklyn NY
7. Susan Knight, 55 Kennebunk ME
8. Samantha Kraft, 30 Minneapolis MN Jean Kraft, escort kayaker
9. Natalie Lang, 49 Watertown, MA Gordon Lang, escort kayaker
10. Jay Martin, 59 Epping NH Cindi Martin, escort kayaker
11. Emilie Moore, 57 Saint Petersburg FL Julie Harn, escort kayaker
12. Greg O’Connor, 57 Natick MA
13. Bethany Oprendek, 41 Wallingford VT Leon Oprendek, escort kayaker
14. Margaret Rivard, 18 Newport VT Darcie DeBlois-Rivard, escort kayaker
15. Vera Rivard, 21 Newport VT Kevin Rivard, escort kayaker
16. Stephen Rouch, 46 Kingston PA Zoe Blake, escort kayaker
17. Brianna Sargent Merrill, 46 Candia NH Dwayn Merrill, escort kayaker
18. Samantha Scharf, 31 Raleigh NC Sarah Russek, escort kayaker
19. Spencer Selby, 28 Alberta CL Eddie May, escort kayaker
20. Bill Shipp, 69 Mitchellville MD
21. Mo Siegel, 74 Piermont NY Eri Utsunomiya, escort kayaker
22. Amanda Smith Dakowicz, 40 Portsmouth NH Anne Torrez, escort kayaker
23. Sarah Thomas, 44 Conifer CO Ryan Willis, escort kayaker

2026 Start List for the 10-mile Kingdom Swim

1. Nicole Ameduri, 48 New York NY Jennifer Merrick, escort kayaker
2. Christine Copper, 56 annapolis MD michelle burget, escort kayaker
3. Frederique Garnier-Johnston, 45 Boston MA Scott Johnston, escort kayaker
4. Elizabeth Harding, 52 Charlotte VT John Holtz, escort kayaker
5. Mackenzie Hartung, 39 Kennebunkport ME Sam Hartung, escort kayaker
6. Kelsey Kinderknecht, 33 West Somerville MA James East, escort kayaker
7. Catherine Laurier, 49 Montreal QC Michel Paradis, escort kayaker
8. Caitlin Love, 28 Brooklyn NY Memory Apata, escort kayaker
9. Joanne Navilliat, 60 Escondido California dan navilliat, escort kayaker
10. Susie Paul, 54 Phoenix AZ Chris Reap, escort kayaker
11. Dana Price, 55 Scottsdale AZ
12. Catherine Taylor, 63 Concord CA

2026 Start List for the 10 km Kingdom Swim

1. Margaret Andrews, 62 Brookline MA Christopher Haley, escort kayaker
2. Sarah Barcello, NC Amy Williiams, escort kayaker
3. Lana Burl, 50 Knoxville TN Chris Burl, escort kayaker
4. Kysa Crusco, 50 Manchester NH Tyler Edsall, escort kayaker
5. Anita Dinwiddie, 72 Louisville TN George Dinwiddie, escort kayaker
6. Tina Heck, 54 Sheffield VT
7. Lauren Holder, 40 Newport VT Brian Holder, escort kayaker
8. Jesse Horowitz, 26 Westport CT Irene Horowitz, escort kayaker
9. Kian Karimi, 32 Baltimore MD Katie padgett, escort kayaker
10. Rosey Kelly-Miller, 26 Bath ME Benjamin Bryant, escort kayaker
11. Nellie Lamb, 23 Worcester VT Aiden Hawkins, escort kayaker
12. Fiona Larsen, 35 Richmond VT
13. Laura Malieswsk, 56 Westmore VT Margrethe Mentes, escort kayaker
14. Michele Riley, 56 Silver Spring MD Jack Riley, escort kayaker
15. Emily Tucker, 37 Knoxville TN William Norris, escort kayaker
16. Julian Vasilkoski, 39 Boston MA Amy Azzaro, escort kayaker
17. Alejandra Velez, 38 Aberdeen NJ Jazmin Velez, escort kayaker
18. Yang Zhang, 32 Weston MA

2026 Start List for the 5 km Kingdom Swim

1. Lee Banks, 64 Jericho VT Michael David Banks, escort kayaker
2. Kriston Feldpausch, 56 Charlotte NC Mark Feldpausch, escort kayaker
3. Nicholas Kaledin, 70 New York, NY Peter Lind, escort kayaker
4. Tom Kerr, 59 Bethesda MD Johnny Allen, escort kayaker
5. Andi Kornfeld, 59 South Salem MY Kevin Daum, escort kayaker
6. Nicole Oliphant, NC Heather-John Montero, escort kayaker
7. Laura Ruberto, 56 Phoenix AZ
8. AJ Sparrow, 28 Brunswick ME
9. Elizabeth Steele, 62 Sugar Hill NH Matthew Steele, escort kayaker
10. Doug Suitor, 58 Woolwich ME Emma Suitor, escort kayaker
11. Carla van de Walle, 60 Burlington VT
12. Cathy Williams, NC Nadine Ford, escort kayaker
13. Paula Yankauskas, 71 Hyde Park VT

2026 Start List for the 1-mile Kingdom Swim

1. Johnny Allen, 59 Sonoma CA
2. Merre Bacot, NC Estelle James, escort kayaker
3. Erin Cochran, 44 Lincolnville ME
4. Kristin Davis, NC Nadine Ford, escort kayaker
5. Celeste Fagan, 70 Gilford NH
6. Katie Hudon, 39 Sterling MA
7. Dasa Lipovsek, 60 Pepperell MA
8. George Randall, 68 Derby VT
9. Crissy Suitor, 59 Woolwich ME
10. Vicki Victor, NC
11. Suzanne Walker, 59 Lopez Island WA
12. Augustine Wiah, CA
13. Anna Zelinsky, 58 Morrisville VT

2026 Start List for the 1/4-mile Kingdom Swim

1. Fiona Frazer, 10 San Antonio TX

© 2026 Daily News of Open Water Swimming

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