The History of Arden Hills

In 1954, the Arden Hills Swim and Tennis Club opened under the single proprietorship of the late Sherm Chavoor. This private club on the outskirts of Sacramento, offered simple tennis and swimming facilities for members and an area training center for competitive swimmers. What occurred in the next three decades soared far beyond anyone's wildest expectations as the Arden Hills Swim Club produced a combined total of 31 Olympic medals (21 Gold medals) and set more than 200 world and American records.

One of the swimmers in Chavoor's well-honed clan was a confident and electrifying performer named Mark Spitz. Winner of nine Olympic Gold medals and recently named among ESPN's top 50 athletes of the twentieth century, Spitz prowled the Arden Hills training pools en route to one of the single most sensational Olympic performances of all time in the 1972 Munich games. Triple Gold medalists, Debbie Meyer and Mike Burton along with several other Olympic greats went on to make history and create a dynasty that few clubs have equaled in the world of competitive swimming.

In 1985, after an illustrious career, Coach Chavoor retired and the club was purchased by the current ownership. Almost immediately the club embarked upon an aggressive redevelopment process designed to dramatically expand the scope of the club's facilities. Since that time, Arden Hills Country Club has built an impeccable reputation for the finest event catering and dining services available in the Sacramento Valley. To club members it seems as if every year the club provides exciting new facilities and amenities at a surprisingly affordable cost. Never was this more true, than in 1998 when the club unveiled a spectacular new 50-meter pool. The Olympic-sized training pool fulfilled a design envisioned by Coach Chavoor and was completed just six years after his death in October 1992.

Famous sportscaster, Howard Cosell, once remarked of Sherm Chavoor, "...he is the only swimming coach I've ever heard of that can't swim..." Though this was more or less true, Coach Chavoor instilled in his swimmers the drive to excel - to swim harder, longer and faster than ever before thought possible. That legacy lives on today. Our ongoing commitment is to remain the standard by which health and social clubs are measured.

Arden Hills Olympic Medal History