Taking a dip into fitness

TAMPA -- When 89-year-old Thelma Donovan went to college, she wanted to get a degree to coach and teach physical education. At the time, opportunities for women were more numerous in the medical field, so she earned a registered nurse's degree instead.

She was almost a Canadian. She and her husband lived in Sugar Hill, N.H., just south of Canada's border. They owned and managed a nursing home, which was a good fit with her nursing background, but she still wanted to to be involved with physical education.

Donovan, a widow, sold her nursing home in the late '70s and became restless. She worked with an elementary school hot-lunch program for three years before moving to Tampa in 1981.

"In starting a personal exercise program, I started walking, which was good," she said. "I also started a non-water exercise program. They said it would be slow and easy, but it wasn't. I believe, for me, water exercise is the way to go.

"I started in the program as a student and really loved it. I learned to exercise my body on a regular basis, and it felt good. That was almost 20 years ago, and yet it still helps me feel good and have more energy. When my teacher moved on, I was given the opportunity to take over and have been doing the teaching ever since."

For the past 17 years, Donovan has been teaching aqua exercise from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays at Bobby Hicks Pool next to Robinson High as part of the Tampa Adult Education Program.

This month, her classes will move from the Bobby Hicks Pool to one at the Boys Club on Manhattan Avenue. The outdoor pool near Robinson High has no heat.

Her efforts in teaching and leading the classes earned her the Teacher of the Year award in 1993.

"When you are in the water, you lose 90 percent of your body weight," Donovan said. "Because of that you can move your body ways you aren't able to out of the water. Yet you still get the full benefit of working the muscles and joints. All of us who have been exercising together stay pretty fit for our age."

When not exercising in the pool, the dozen or so students in Donovan's class get together for other activities: sewing and quilting, going to lunch together and watching TV soap operas.

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