"... Create a Professional Swim League, and a new aquatic industry will be born.
Just as snowboarding was born out of skiing and then was launched into the X Games, so could a Professional Swim League evolve. We have a responsibility to create an environment that attracts new products and companies into the aquatic family. If we encourage new product growth within a pro league, then advertising and sponsorship dollars would surely carry over into funding pure, traditional competitions.
To limit technology in order to preserve a sport is to limit the growth of an industry. By creating an entirely new racing environment, FINA's world records would remain pure within the Olympic movement, and a new industry would be born.
The time has come to split the pie and make two. ..." -- Brent Rutemiller
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0) A mission statement
Example: To land a man on the moon and return him to earth safely by the end of the decade. -- President John F. Kennedy
1) Define the Scope
Budget, operational talent, space, equipment, all of the above from "zero to hero!"
2) Define a Timeline
There will be many timelines within the project but a solid date and venue would really put an impetus on getting it done.
3) Assemble the Project Team
"I's got skillz" - technical experts, operational experts, PR & marketing ninjas, etc.
4) The Project Team Defines all the Necessary Milestones
This includes both the big stuff like, securing the venue and fireworks show, to supplying cookies and milk for the timers.
5) Develop a Baseline Plan
The project leader takes the milestones above and assembles all the necessary milestones in subsequent order. Such as: who is responsible for each step and when are they getting it done. resubmits to the experts for tweaking and finally forms the baseline plan
6) Execute the Plan - Monitor the progression, meet and talk about it, and document everything!
Also, note, have a "Plan-B" , "Plan-C" , and "Plan D" for every milestone execution in case something goes wrong. Especially for the stuff that could not possibly go wrong. The stuff that may go wrong is generally easy to fix. The stuff that can't possibly go wrong is generally really hard to fix.
The site covers world-wide news, events, results and hall-of-fame members. A new ranking list for open water swimmers is set to also be launched, scoring athletes based on performances around the world.So I took it for a test drive: The page is compact and will visually work well on a laptop. The two sections that really stood out for me were: Events and Results, but as mentioned above other content includes News, Rankings, and Hall of Fame.
There’s also an option to track key events, such as the forthcoming World Championships in Rome, live via Twitter. 22,000 people followed the open water events during the Beijing Olympics without the service having been having been heavily promoted.
blueseventy openly acknowledges that they own the site so this is not an "astroturf site" but rather a "grassroots" contribution. I have a sneaky suspicion that Steve Munatones is helping out so that in itself is quite an endorsement if I am correct.
I will say this, the first thing I clicked on, I learned something new. It is called The Beaufort Wind Force Scale which measures sea conditions on a scale of 0-12 with zero being glassy and 12 listed as: "Ride of the Valkyries." (Just kidding, number 12 on the Beaufort Wind Force Scale is 14-meter-plus surf with foam and spray permeating the air but more bluntly, your standard issue big hurricane.
The Beaufort Wind Force Scale (also known as the Beaufort Scale) is a widely-used empirical measure for describing wind velocity based mainly on observed sea conditions. For example, it is used in the following context: The referee made reference to the Beaufort Scale when he made the public announcement about the abandonment of the world championship race.Finally, the site is new so some of the content has to be fleshed out like the Rankings page which empty right now but the rest of the site has valuable info and I definitely have it bookmarked.
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Steve sent us this! Every time I see Steve's name on a comment, I get a bolt of adrenaline up my spine and I think, "crap, I must have screwed up again!"July 3: NSWIS swim star Andrew Lauterstein has moved himself well into medal contention for this month's World Championships in Rome by breaking the Commonwealth and Australian record for the 100m butterfly at the Giorgio Armani Swim Meet in Milan overnight. DAVID MOASE reports...Lauterstein became the fourth fastest 100m butterfly swimmer of all time and just the fifth man under 51 seconds when he took 0.2 seconds off his previous best of 51.12 to set the new mark of 50.92.
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The Georgio Armani meet; How cool is that? I want to swim in that meet... No, strike that, I want to swim at a Bell & Ross swim meet and if you win, you get one of those cool watches that look like they came from a vintage German airplane!
So, this says two things to me: One, the Arena X-Glide is the new Jaked. Two, Speedo is essentially disowning the LZR like Nike did to their product.
For the record, I recommend the athletes sponsored by Speedo simply " ...Live by the sword and die by the sword." To change suits disrespects your sponsors and makes you, the athlete, look unreliable as a product endorser.
i.e. You race in the suit and if you lose, you eat a bunch of humble pie; every, single, freaking, crumb of it! Then you congratulate the winner graciously and you go look and see how many more days left on your contract or you renegotiate for loyalty money. But what do I know? - Not much! - All my medals are tin.
Fall on your sword!
The Opposite House is so glamorous and so well designed that it looks like a set from a James Bond movie. I didn't ask to see what a night or a fast weekend would cost since I am sure I couldn't afford it. Never mind, I had to know! It is actually affordable considering they offer you "off the hook luxury." I picked a fast weekend in August and it was only $268 a night for a "creative space." Very nice!
If I can swim in the WaterCube and I can swim the open water venue, this place is on my radar!
Found at NotCot.org.
Poor woman! Brought her to tears as well. If I was the official I would have looked the other way and let her race or I would have held up the race up so she could change. Think Dara Torres hooking up Therese Alshammar in Beijing when she held up the race so Alshammar could change.
"... Speedo is discussing whether to allow swimmers it sponsors to wear rival manufacturers' new high-tech suits."The brand is continuing to evaluate the situation internally," Speedo vice president for marketing Craig Brommers said in a statement Tuesday. ..."
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Deep down I am thinking that Speedo is going to write the LZR off since there is less than 6-months left in the year. I also believe, and you can call it a personal bias that I have, that FINA "feels their pain" and will hook them up in 2010 by wiping out several speedsuit companies with the stroke of a pen.
While Australian swimmers, coaches and Mr. Craig Lord will cheer this news, swimming will have fewer events and lower paid athletes as a result.
Above is a shot of world record holder in the 200 breastroke, Rebecca Soni, wearing a Speedo LZR at the 2009 TYR SwIm Meet of Champions.
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Styles start at $199.99
BBC Sport has quite a rant from Mark Foster."..."Michael Phelps is the best swimmer in the world but someone wearing a Jaked suit will beat him if he's using a Speedo suit - they are that effective." [...]"Phelps is sponsored by Speedo and won't be able to wear this Jaked suit. Speedo will have to make a new suit for him."..."
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I saw the A7 at the TYR 2009 Swim Meet of Champions and but I thought is was a Titan. I was very wrong and I should have taken a photo. >.<
"...Leveaux describes FINA's U-turn on its May 19 decision to ban all 100% polyurethane suits "completely incomprehensible ... on the limits of incompetence". He failed to understand how it was possible for FINA to accept an unmodified Jaked01 while other 100% poly suits had to be modified. "They started a process but they don't know where they're going."From the TYR Press Release Iposted earlier today:
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Leveaux wants to wear the TYR Titan; simple as that. Phot author: Jmex60
"...This revised ruling prevents our athletes from having access to our comparable technologies that TYR has developed and are similar, or the same, to those approved by others. Not only does this create an unlevel playing field, it also presents the possibility of athletes choosing not to compete in international competition until there is clarity. This would be an unfortunate detriment to our sport. ..."
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This was just sent to just me minutes ago:"... HUNTINGTON BEACH, CA – June 25, 2009 – Based upon the declaration issued by the FINA Executive on June 22, 2009, TYR is content with the inclusion of 37 swimsuits on the official “FINA 2009 Revised List of Approved Swimsuits.”
Among these technologies immediately available for use are Tracer Light, Tracer Rise, Tracer A7, Fusion, and Sayonara. We are looking forward to their success at the upcoming World Championships in Rome.
However, TYR has had additional suits rejected by FINA that consisted of similar fabrics and are engineered similarly to those by other manufacturers that received approval. These suits from TYR were submitted specifically to maintain fairness to our athletes on the possibility that those definitive technologies were approved. TYR was not provided any reasoning from FINA, or testing results, as to why our technologies of equal development were not approved while others were passed based upon no modifications (as previously requested from FINA).
Our understanding now is that certain manufacturer’s were allowed the ability to “submit arguments” defending their suits. This does not comply with the Dubai Charter which distinctively asserted “FINA has established its own independent control/testing program.” Why has the burden now been placed upon the manufacturer to persuade FINA when they have already secured their own protocol?
TYR has continuously followed the guidelines set forth by FINA, as well as, the spirit intended by the “Dubai Charter” established in March. The Charter stated that, “FINA brings together athletes from around the world to compete on equal conditions,” but at this time it is simply not the case. TYR, our athletes, our federations, and our coaches are being placed at a disadvantage for our compliance.
In the interests of our athletes and federations, our counsel has formally requested, from FINA, the testing results of those specific manufacturer’s suits and the testing results of the similar TYR suits that were not approved.
This revised ruling prevents our athletes from having access to our comparable technologies that TYR has developed and are similar, or the same, to those approved by others. Not only does this create an unlevel playing field, it also presents the possibility of athletes choosing not to compete in international competition until there is clarity. This would be an unfortunate detriment to our sport.
FINA claimed, in the Dubai Charter, that the Bureau would “revise the requirements for swimsuit approval with the aim of making them more clear, simple and transparent.” They have failed measurably in this regard.
Again, in the best interest of the sport, and for the basis of clarification on FINA’s own guidelines, TYR has requested a response from FINA by Friday, June 26th. If sufficient correspondence has not been met, TYR will pursue appropriate legal remedy at that time. ..."
Keirin is essentially a sport where cyclists sprint for victory within a velodrome. Betting is allowed and in a single year the Japanese bet as much as $15-billion dollars.
Found at the TYR website:
"... TYR, [along with other contributors, met with] the Today Show to kick off its annual 'Lend a Hand' goodwill road trip by surprising 'A Chance for Children Foundation' with more than $420,000 in donations. ..."
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From Lane 9 News:
PHOENIX, Arizona, June 24. SOMETHING that was missed in the initial world record ratification report from FINA released earlier this week is that Russia's Anastasia Zueva could actually wind up losing a third potential world-record performance, according to various reports.
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In my opinion the Russian Swim Federation and her coaches failed her. They should have been right on top of this from the moment the horn went off to the moment she left the building.
The photos above come from i-swimmer in Russia and the whole page has many more photos of Anastasia and statistical info as well.
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Well, in FINA's case it could be Roland Schoeman but Roland would rather have it be we the swimmers!
FINA have until now exerted far too much control on the world of swimming. We as swimmers and the major attraction behind any national/international swim meet need to finally stand together and unite as one voice so that we can help control our sport.
Day in and day out decisions are being made for us by FINA, it is clear that our international representatives sitting on FINA's board are unable to make a significant impact and aid us.
I am trying to establish a swimmers association where we will gain back some power in the world of swimming. That we will have a greater say in matters of significance.
If you feel strongly about this please join this group. If not then feel free not to.
This is only a first step, after the group is established and we have enough support we can look at officially starting an association and getting further legal assistance.
-- Roland Schoeman
On projects, there is, or should be, a “rallying point”. Such a “rallying point” could be related to achieving the central objective of the project. One project, years ago, which is quoted quite often, is the project that the United States undertook - at the direction of President John F. Kennedy - to land a man on the moon [and return him to earth safely]. The simple act of landing a man on the moon was the single, clear, stated objective – or “rallying point”. Whether it is some sort of mission statement or truly an objective, there does need to be a “rallying point” for a project that is, beyond any shadow of a doubt, the shared goal of the team.I will throw in the first idea but I am sure your ideas will be grander and more exciting: Create a professional team league that is overwhelmingly inspiring to watch, is tremendously suspenseful, and is an absolute visual spectacle on a wide-screen TV!
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[blueseventy CEO], Steve Nicholls, commented: “We were confident in the scientific evidence that our suit could not trap air and are grateful for the support of Huub Touissant of the University of Amsterdam in presenting our case to FINA. We felt strongly that we would not need to make any alterations to it and we’re delighted that the right decision has been made without any form of bias.
“The last few weeks have certainly hurt us, with minimal sales in the period of not being on the list. However, we have been continuing with production to ensure availability for when the decision was reversed.
We now look forward to the World Championships, where we will have suits available for any swimmers wanting to try them out. We have been in continuous communication with swimmers throughout this period and this announcement now confirms their suit choice for Rome. They can now continue their preparation without this distraction.(We came to the meeting with a big stick and written on the stick were the words "class action lawsuit.)
"Prior to the latest announcement by FINA, blueseventy had consulted Lawyers to get an injunction against the decision. On consultation with FINA they encouraged us to instead go through their own review process which we have done." Nicholls added.
