Southern California Aquatics SCAQ Swim Club

Sports Agents vote: Who will be the 2012 Summer Olympics "Lindsay Vaughn"?

2012-01-27T16:17:00.000-08:00

What totally took me by surprise was that Ryan Lochte was not even in the top three; he came in fourth behind Missy Franklin.

From the Washington Post:

"... “It’s an intriguing story,” Wallechinsky said of the Phelps-Lochte drama that could develop. “But trying to sell a U.S. versus U.S. rivalry, where the characters don’t really hate each other, sometimes that’s a little rough. It pains me when, sometimes, you see media pitching a rivalry between two athletes who are actually friends, just for the sake of creating a rivalry.” ..."

[Link]

Now consider this possibility: What if Phelps races Lochte in two events and beats him? Phelps essentially refuses to leave the pool a defeated champion and Ryan settles for a place within his tall shadow. Subsequently, Phelps can pretend he may swim in Brazil in 2016 and still collect a paycheck. Lochte will be relegated as being the "Matt Biondi" of the sport. A great athlete who was much appreciated but not really known outside swimming circles.

What if Phelps doesn't race him at all? What if Phelps is content to just swim the 100-and-200 'fly and the IM relays? Four-gold medals easy! Olympic winning streak continues and Phelps is the de facto champion of the Olympics for the next 100-years-or-so. Who will ever be able to score 12-gold medals in an Olympic career?

For Lochte to be the face of the Olympics he will have to either beat Phelps in more than one event or win no less than seven gold medals.

That's my opinion but i suspect Missy Franklin will steal the show.

A spectacular 50-meter pool in Hong Kong!

2012-01-27T11:38:00.000-08:00

Though a bit garish for my taste this Kennedy Town swimming pool in Hong Kong is quite ambitious and quite a landmark. Obviously swimming is taken quite seriously in the east.

The western world should take notice that while our skylines are seemingly stagnant those in the east are surpassing ours in both style and functionality. There are 21 public pools in Hong Kong and Hong Kong is smaller than Los Angeles county California.

For more incredible photos of the pool, go here to DesignBoom.com: [Link]

Time lapse photography of the 'London Aquatics Centre' moving from nothing to something!

2012-01-23T14:44:00.000-08:00

The London Aquatics Center is practically finished. This is a beautiful facility and the surrounding environment will be just as aesthetic.

Here is a link to a time lapse video of the Aquatics center being built: [Link]

Here is a link to the London Aquatics Center webcam or just come back to this post: [Link]

Interview with best selling novelist and open water swimmer: Matt Bondurant

2012-01-20T00:28:00.000-08:00

Matt Bounurant has a new novel out called The Night Swimmer; a beautiful work of Gothic fiction that can be sampled here at Amazon or here at the blog in a previous post: [Link]

Matt exchanged emails with me and we spoke directly about open water swimming.

SCAQ: You have written a new book that has an open water element to it; an island eight miles off the south coast of Ireland called Cape Clear. After doing a Google search on the island, this place is no stranger vicarious swimming. Can you describe what it is like swimming out there: The water temp, the conditions, and especially the tides? 

MATT: The waters around Cape Clear and that part of Ireland are some of the most dangerous in the world. It is a veritable ship graveyard out there. The weather is notoriously bad, quick to change, and generally rough all the time. I wanted to try and do a swim from Cape Clear out to the Fastnet Rock Lighthouse (6 mile round trip) which has never been done before, but after consulting local swimmers and others I determined that the chances of getting decent weather would require me spending the whole summer there. The water temp is generally consistent, from the gulf stream effect, usually around 64, dipping lower in the winter. There is a lot of marine life: seals, puffins, sharks, whales, including Killer Whales. The south bay of Cape Clear is a protected harbor with glorious calm (relatively) water, excellent visibility (maybe 20 feet), a beautiful green color, loads of fish, bottom weeds, starfish, etc. It is a very intense place to swim. The is what immediately drew me to this place as a setting for a novel, and it is what compels the narrator of The Night Swimmer, a young woman named Elly.

SCAQ: You placed 2nd in the Beginish Island 4-Mile open water race in Ireland. That is not an easy swim. How did you train for it, what was your strategy and why that race for it is definitely not an easy one?  

MATT: Because The Night Swimmer is set in Ireland, with the narrator doing most of her swims off the coast, it seemed natural that I would need some experience in that water, doing that kind of distance. I have a long history with competitive swimming, and I’d done a variety of triathlons over the last ten years, but I really hadn’t done anything like that distance or in those conditions. So I just signed up and figured I’d have to deal with it when I got there.

As for training I did a couple warm up swims, including a 5K in Florida – which of course was very different conditions, 80 degree water, 102 air temperature, full sun, I almost got heatstroke – and a few shorter things, just to get a sense of doing some open water distance. I was swimming at least two sessions a week with a Masters team here in Dallas (Dallas JCC) and then doing at least 2-3 other cardio sessions, usually running or elliptical in the gym along with some weights. I spent my whole young life looking at the bottom of a pool (as I’m sure many of your readers did) and after I quit my college team I vowed I would never do that many hours in the pool again. So maybe 3 swim training sessions, perhaps 4K each, is about all I’ll do these days. I rely on my running and other cardio to make up the gap, and I find that the cross-training method really works well and I don’t get bored or burned out.

My strategy for the Beginish Island race was essentially the same as it is for most of my races: go out fast, die, and then struggle in to the finish. I was a sprinter in my competitive days, and I am unable to do much in the way of pacing myself. I always want to go as fast as I can, and I want to try and win. We were put into waves based on our seed times, and as I just made my time up (I think I said 2 hours) because I’d never done 4 miles in the North Atlantic before, I was put into the very first, or slowest heat. The water temp was about 62-64, which is pretty damn cold, so when they said go I took off and didn’t look back for a while. I got way out in front and basically didn’t see another swimmer for the whole race. There was a long talk before the race about the route and certain reefs, rocks, buoys, currents, and other obstacles, but to be honest that was all forgotten and I was just keeping the island on my left at a reasonable distance and slogging it out. The western side of the island was horrendous, big swells, spray, currents. I was swimming up on side of the swells and at the crest I would come out of the water and smack down the other side. Once my goggles were actually knocked off my face. Every once in a while I saw a safety boat or kayak but really I had no idea what I was doing or where I was. The last quarter mile was a real struggle. I actually stopped and floated on my back for a few minutes, contemplating vomiting or quitting. But I am a vain creature so I gutted it out to the beach and when they said I was the first swimmer in I couldn’t believe it. I finished in 1:34, a full half-hour faster than my seed time. They also told me a seal followed me right at my toes for the last several hundred yards, which is wild. I guess I’m glad I didn’t know it at the time.

SCAQ: That is so cool! What inspired this work of modern Gothic fiction if I may call it that?  

MATT: The book is inspired by Richard Yates’ great novel Revolutionary Road, the short stories and journals of the American writer John Cheever, Herman Melville’s Moby Dick, and Shakespeare’s The Tempest. All of these works play a large role in the story.

SCAQ: What was your first open water ocean experience and where?  

MATT: Like many people my family always went to the beach in the summer. I’m from Virginia so we went to Virginia Beach, or Ocean City or Rehoboth Beach in Maryland and Delaware. I always loved the ocean. I went to graduate school to Florida State in large part because it is about 45 min away from some world-class beaches. I did a lot of surfing, bodyboarding, bodysurfing, anything in the water.

SCAQ: What is your race day meal, ritual, or process?   

MATT: When I did the Beginish Island Swim in Ireland I got up and ate a full Irish breakfast, which is as you likely know a giant plate with fried eggs, three kinds of meat, beans, toast. Probably not a good idea. When I did The Around the Rock Alcatraz race last summer I was more conservative, eating a banana and a power bar. Lots of water and hydrating sports drinks. I don’t warm up. Never really did, and I like to save my strength. I was successful as a sprinter in my youth because I can get my heart rate up very fast. I figure in a race that is longer than a few minutes I have plenty of time to warm up. I’m also – unlike my narrator Elly – not very fond of cold water, so I don’t get into it before I have to.

SCAQ: Thank you very much, Matt, thanks for visiting.

Novelist, Matt Bondurant, who 'Outside Magazine' has compared to WIlliam Faulkner has entered the SCAQ blog!

2012-01-18T21:24:00.000-08:00

In the SCAQ Blog vernacular, "Matt Bondurant writes like a boss and he swims like a boss too!"

Matt Bondurant has been compared to several literary giants such as William Faulkner,  Cormac McCarthy and others. Also of note, one of his novels, The Wettest Country, is being made into a major motion picture staring my favorite English actor, Tom Hardy, (Inception, Layer Cake.)

His open water resumé is just as stellar: Here is a guy that placed 2nd in the Beginish Island 4-Mile open water race in  Ireland working out just three days a week.Tides in Ireland are not like the tides in California. When the tide goes out, you are 1/4-mile from where you started.

I am going to interview Matt and post his answers in the next day or so but best of all he let me reprint a excerpt from his new novel, THE NIGHT SWIMMER. You can get here at Amazon; (Note: I get no commission or royalty as is my policy and I was not paid or compensated in anyway to post my kind feelings toward this book.)

This work of Gothic fiction looks very  promising and after reading this excerpt, I am going to tear into it this weekend.

Here we go, hope you enjoy

The BBC shipping report was clear that Friday morning. I ate a double breakfast of fried eggs and sausages washed down with a carafe of Eileen’s bitter coffee. I thought of my husband snoring through a hangover in a pile of blankets back on the mainland, his jug of filtered water and aspirin on the nightstand. The wind whistled thinly through the muslin curtains and my skin began to hum. I missed Fred. In my room I snapped on my solid orange tank suit then my jeans and sweater. Then in the kitchen I mixed up a protein shake in a squirt bottle and a thermos of chicken soup for O’Boyle to feed to me in the water. Eileen watched me curiously as she rucked the dishes and made tea for her husband reading the paper, the parlor fire crackling with fresh peat.

Out for a trek again, I said to her.
Ah, Eileen said, well enjoy it then.

Dinny’s boat was tied up at the quay, the motor running, the two of them sitting on the steps drinking tea out of large clamshells. Dinny’s boat was a short fishing trawler of the kind you see rotting in boatyards and harbors all around Ireland, chipped red and white paint, a short cabin to shelter in for sudden blows, a flat transom good for hauling up nets and traps.

What say we call it off, O’Boyle said. Instead go back to my caravan and have a few cans?
No way, I said. We have good weather.

The day was chilled and grey, but the seas running only a foot in the harbor, and the reports called for a calm, slightly overcast day, winds mostly westerly, which meant I would be fighting a headwind on the way out, but would be pushed in on the way back. O’Boyle poured some tea in a shell and held it out to me.

In honor of your voyage, he said. A shell for the maiden of the sea.

I drank a bit, it was gritty and sour, but tasty. I finished it off then drank from my water jug, loading up on fluids. When I disrobed O’Boyle turned away and shuffled the nautical charts but Dinny sat on the wooden stool that served as the captain’s chair and watched me, smoking a hand rolled cigarette, his face composed and serious. He tapped the ash on the deck, the white stubs of his fingers like grubs. His watch cap was cock-eyed and you could see the mottled remains of his ear, now just a swirl of scar tissue. He didn’t miss a bit of my preparations and I suppose it is possible that Dinny hadn’t seen a real woman this close to naked before.

I put on latex gloves and slathered myself with lanolin, getting it extra thick in my underarms and neck area where the chafing was worst, with a healthy dose between my legs. In the open ocean the sea-lice would try to burrow into your warm parts, and heavy lubricants kept them from attaching. I slipped on a “hothead” insulator cap and then a latex cap over that. Most people who drown on long ocean swims, such as the English Channel, die of hypothermia because their brain temperature drops. They feel fine; their mind is telling them they are okay, there isn’t much pain, and so they stay in the water until their body shuts down and they go under. I knew that my arms and legs would go numb as the blood retreated into my chest, but if I kept my head warm I would be less likely to suffer such dangerous delusions. It would take a lot longer for me to become hypothermic than most people, but that didn’t mean it couldn’t happen. There is a reason why far more people have reached the summit of Everest than have swam the English Channel. A dying mind is a strong magician, especially in the water. When I swam I paid attention, I listened to my body.

I hit my wristwatch chrono and dove into the harbor. O’Boyle and Dinny would lead the way, staying a bit off to my left so that I could see them in my normal left-side breathing pattern and so that I wouldn’t spend the whole swim eating diesel fumes.

I stroked out while Dinny drew the boat up ahead of me in position. At the harbor mouth I stopped for a moment and fixed Fastnet in my sightline. The sky over the lighthouse hung low with cirrus clouds, swirling like a river, heavy with rain. The swells were perhaps up to two feet and I could feel the gentle tug of the northern current. The water was cold enough that I would need to keep moving, so I motioned the boat on and started stroking, going into a five stroke breathing pattern, stretching it out and rolling my shoulders.

As I swam away from the island the water moved from soft jade to forest green. A quarter mile out of the harbor the visibility was shot, the water murky black speckled with particle matter, krill, and the occasional drifting wrack or other seaweed, solitary circular jellyfish doing their slow convulsions. I did the first mile in twenty minutes, which was a bit quick but I felt strong. I hit a few heavy patches of floating weed and at one point I had to climb up and crawl over the stuff, my body out of the water, shuffling along on my elbows and knees. On the boat O’Boyle was sitting in a folding chair drinking a can of beer. Dinny had a transistor radio tuned into a mainland pop station and the baleful anthems of Robbie Williams floated across the water, alternating with the crackling of the sea and the rushing sound of my own body.

When I reached the mile and a half mark I knew something was wrong. A warmth in the pit of my stomach, intestinal churning, and at first I thought I may have to endure the humiliation of an open-ocean defecation with O’Boyle and Dinny circling nearby. I wasn’t fatigued but my arms felt wooden and disconnected, and I started loosing my stroke count and my breathing became lopsided. I looked at my hands and they were still fleshy and pink. Flaming red meant the body was struggling to fight the cold, and white meant numbness and real danger. The lighthouse didn’t look any closer but that was a common optical illusion for open water swimming. The weather was good, the water conditions decent, I knew I wouldn’t get many chances. There was a gentle tug that pulled through the center of me, a subtle current that kept my arms moving, my eyes on Fastnet. I just had to keep going.

I passed into the second mile and over the deepest part of my swim and my visual perspective was shot. Occasional specks moved and darted in a way that suggested they were alive, but I had no way of knowing how close they were. My hands entered in front of my face like desperate white fish springing into the darkness. Despite this I knew the floor of ocean was dropping away, the spaces opening up, I felt it in my skin, in my heart. It even seemed like I could see that depth. It was a glorious feeling. I felt absurd, like a spider crawling across the back of an elephant.

The boat was still up ahead, though a bit too far away and fading to the left, the diesel engine chugging softly. O’Boyle and Dinny had their backs to me, looking over the other side, leaning over the gunwale, pointing at something in water. The boat continued on, now heading southerly, away from Fastnet. I couldn’t fathom what they could be looking at in the water, but to see them in that crappy little boat, bobbing on the sea, slowly tailing off to the south as the wheel spun freely, suddenly struck me as extremely poignant and sad. I clutched my knees and let myself float, head back, rising and falling with the swells.

After some time I opened my eyes and discovered I was closer to the lighthouse; the surf was pounding on the rocks and etched stone blocks of Fastnet, maybe a half-mile off. I figured I would just go on without O’Boyle and Dinny, get to the lighthouse and back on my own. The nausea was gone, and rather than fatigued I felt explosive and strong, and I powered up and over the swells. I felt like I was flying out of the water, my body rising, the fierce winds whisking under my belly and legs.

The sky and sea grew darker, the clouds roiling in formations over Fastnet, the beacon shining like an opening eye. The lighthouse, now the height of my forearm in front of me, seemed to move; the light wasn’t rotating anymore, rather the sea and all of its contents, including me, was rotating around it, as if the lighthouse was some kind of pivot around which the world turned. I spun around but the boat was nowhere in sight. I checked my watch and found that another hour had gone by, which was impossible. A sudden feeling of vertigo struck me, like I was standing at the edge of a great height, and when I looked down into the water I saw streams of light erupting from the bottom of the sea, like long strands of golden seaweed, thousands of feet down, pulsing with energy, winding their way up around my feet. I hung face down in the water like a limp marionette, watching. It was the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen.

Then I began to gag, and when I lifted my head I vomited a heavy gush of fluid which spread around me on the water like a golden moat. I was treading in a sparkling stew of light and shadow, wavering forms wending their way around me legs like ribbons of fluorescent life. This was when I became afraid. ...

Here is a link to Mat's personal site: [Link]

ALL BLACK

2012-01-17T22:03:00.000-08:00

[Link]
[Link]
[Link]

Trailer for the new movie "Shark Song" - Tagline: "Jaws met the opera!"

2012-01-13T13:33:00.000-08:00

Daniel sent me this: "...this seemed perfect for folks interested in open water swimming but who may be a bit intimidated by the sea-life..."

Bryan Woodward, Once listed as a 'Gator Swim Club' head caoach was arrested for solicitation of a minor.

2012-01-11T10:12:00.000-08:00

Bryan Woodward was arrested for solicitation of a minor in a federal sting operation. His photo and any reference of being affiliated with the club has now been removed. All that is left is a Google cached page listing his accomplishments.

From the Google cached site:

"Bryan takes over the helm of Gator Swim Club after spending a year as the program's Head Age Group Coach and Asst International Group Coach. During his first year with the club, Bryan helped Gator Swim Club finish in the top 10 at each championship level meet including a 4th place finish at the Long Course Florida Age Group Championships; the programs best finish in team history. The club was also Combined Team Champions of the Long Course Speedo Sectional Championship. ... [...]

[Link]

Swimming World has more details regarding the arrest:

GAINESVILLE, Florida, January 11. BRYAN Woodward, the head coach of the Gator Swim Club, was arrested on charges of the use of a computer to solicit a child for sex and for travel to seduce a child for sex according to a source close to the situation. ...

[Link]

Both the Gator Swim Club and USA Swimming are obviously going through the motions to insulate their team from potential harm.

The Gator Swim Club is quite a successful club and I am hoping that they have, or will employ a "no ONE-ON-ONE contact policy." I have written several blog posts stating that a policy like this is the best protection policy that a club or USA Swimming could implement yet it keeps getting shouted down. Words like "inconvenient" keep coming up.

If the Gator Swim Club does not have a "no ONE-ON-ONE contact policy" I hope they will consider it now and let the press and the bloggers know about it.

John Trembley, the University of Tennessee swim coach under fire at 'Swim News'

2012-01-08T15:39:00.000-08:00

Craig Lord of Swim News does a quasi hit piece on a coach named John Trembley, of the University of Tennessee. He was recently "relieved of duties" with no reason given. I did not bother to run the story because... there is no story yet, just some guy getting fired.

The article at Swim News goes to great lengths to play up the possibility of fraud, mayhem or something sinister and it is all sprinkled with nothing more than speculation. He discusses the resume of the detective investigating the case making him sound like a supporting actor from a imaginary TV show called "Law and Order: Tennessee Pools."

Lord mentions how this particular detective usually investigates: "...fraud, forgery, embezzlement and other financial crimes...." Sigh, aren't most crimes financial in nature and what if this isn't a financial crime at all? Perhaps detectives in the real world actually investigate all sorts of crimes rather than specialized ones?

Somehow Craig Lord got a hold of a rumor that coach Trembley's contract has definitive rules in it that can get him fired:

"... Trembley's contract is said to define gross misconduct as "theft or dishonesty; gross insubordination; willful destruction of university property; falsification of records; acts of moral turpitude; reporting for duty under the influence of intoxicants; illegal use, manufacture, possession, distribution, or dispensing of controlled substances or alcohol; disorderly conduct; provoking a fight. ..."

[Link]

If the above summation is real; which I doubt since one can get fired for any of those reasons without a contract, could it be possible that simply yelling at your boss or having either an alcohol problem or otherwise be possible cause as well?

Why does Craig Lord play up the embezzlement card? The potential for theft, falsification of records, etc. etc. without any factual evidence? Why does he even hint it?

"I don't do hit pieces often, but when I do, I post facts and links, not speculation an innuendo. Stay thirsty, my friend."

Artist Shepard Fairey who created the Obama poster does an about face and embraces... "The Splash of Truth?"

2012-01-04T11:30:00.000-08:00

Actually that is the visage of Guy Fox, the icon of all things anonymous which includes: the Occupy Wall Street movement, The Splash of Truth, and posters to the blog .

In 2012 I will continue to accept anonymous comments since we participate in a sport where people are punished for voicing their opinions.

to wit: I believe Steve Munatones was one of those punished when FINA removed him from open water events for voicing open water safety concerns. Don't believe me? Check this post out: [Link]

If you would like a free "We are the Hope sticker" from noted artist Shepard Fairey go here to StickerRobot: [Link]

This is an informal Request For Discussion (RFD) - Swim workout notation system that is understandable in every language!

2012-01-03T13:29:00.000-08:00

[UPDATE: This post was accidentally deleted when i saved an update. I have reinstated the post and included a sample notation workout. Please look at the notation I made, critique it and make it better. - TA]

This is a formal Request For Discussion (RFD) for the creation of a swim notation system that will allow for easy translation from one coach to another, one swimmer to another, despite the disparity in language or culture.

Premise: Music has used a notation system for nearly 1,500 years thereby allowing us to play music from as far back as the 6-century BC.[1] Ballet has it it's own notation format that has allowed ballets from as far back as 1844 to be recreated.[2]

Currently, swim workouts use varying forms of notation, sometimes simply written in language form, and those more ambitious simply using math symbols. It is said that "Mathematics is the language of the universe..." hence that could be a good "starting gate" to launch our "race."

When searching for swim workouts across the web, I have found that there is no published standard as to how workouts should be notated. What this RFD should have as it's goal is a way to create a standard that is interchangeable in any language. Hence my math reference.

Some day the Smithsonian may request Bob Bowman's notes as to see what Michael Phelps swam on an average day; a standardized notation format will allow for no interpretation and provide a true interchange of knowledge.

Once these details are worked out, a Wikipedia article would be written with a glossary of terms and symbols therein; (We could also do this concurrently), and you the contributor will know that you have moved the sport forward.

Sample work out in one's native language. Header should include: Type of workout, author, date, swim club or swimmer.

Header Example:

Distance Free 3,650 Yards
Designed by Susan Suomu, altered by Tony Austin
1-2-2012 Culver City Plunge
SCAQ swim club

Next comes the body of the workout. The workout should be listed in sections such as: Warm-up sets, transitional sets, main set warm down. topics can be added such as "drill set" and others with total individual yardage included for each section, math notations denoting the set organization and interval times

Body:

Warm-up: 1200-yards
400 Swim
4 x [2 x 75s Free + 1 x 50 Kick]
75's descend by :05 seconds each round starting at 1:15
Kick interval @:55

Main Set:

Total Yardage: 2100-yards
4 X 150's @ 2:00, 150 fast @ 1:45
3 X 150's @ 1:55, 150 fast @ 1:45
2 X 150's @ 1:50, 150 fast @ 1:45
1 X 150 @ 1:45, 150 fast @ 1:45

Recovery Set:

Total Yardage: 50-yards
1 x 50 Swim, easy

Warm Down:

Total Yardage: 300-yards
12 x 25's Free @ :40
25s descend 1-4, 5-8, 9-12

Total Workout Yardage: 3,600

2012 Polar Bear Swims - Who let the bears out!

2012-01-03T11:52:00.000-08:00

The snappy dressers of Milwaukee represents with a slideshow of ~~swimmers~~ polar bears getting busy!

From Molly Synder's blog:

"...And so when I learned Anita was going to do it again, that she was going to dive under to wash off some of 2011's pain and loss, I decided I would do it, too.

Funny thing is, Anita talked me into doing it in '06, and again in '08, but I did it again this year not because she talked me into it, but in solidarity to a true friend. So here's to new memories in 2012, Anita, and mark my words, I am never, ever doing this again. [Link]

Snappy dresser takes a bath at Coney Island too. New York Daily News has the details. [Link]

Welcome to Vancover, Now, quick, let's go home! Anybody who greets you in that sort of attire... well, it;s nature's way of saying "don't touch!"

About 1500 people came out on a five-degree and overcast afternoon to witness 355-registered swimmers take the plunge into five-degree waters at Centennial Beach. [Link]

We'll see how super they are in about .01-seconds.

Honestly, it's stupid enough to be jumping into a hole in the ice, but to do it with bulky outfits, shoes, and some serious male compensation issues. No, that's not smart. Welcome to Wisconsin. Go see the slideshow: [Link]

Slide show and a movie of the Halifax polar bear swim at the CTV NEWS site. [Link]

This polar bear swim took place at Loony ~~Dock.~~, Scotland No, really! See comment section for explanation.

I must say that the polar bear swimmers at Loony ~~Dock~~, Scotland are definitely the most festive. [Link]

200 polar bears invade Charlottetown Harbour, in where else, Canada! [Link]

Swimming World tackles the American Swimming Coaches Association (ASCA) certification process!

2011-12-30T08:10:00.000-08:00

Swimming World is as perplexed at ASCA's certification process as I am. Publisher, Brent Rutemiller, patently confronts John Leonard of the American Swimming Coaches Association and forwards his reply.

From Swimming World:

Recently, a letter was sent out to a number of swim coaches by the American Swim Coaches Association (ASCA) informing them that they would lose their certification level if they did not renew their annual membership with ASCA.

This letter told the coach that "you will lose your certification level when your membership expires—meaning that you cannot represent yourself as a Level 3 certified coach to parents, employers or potential employers."

This sentence stopped me in my tracks. ..."

[Link]

I am impressed by their follow-up in this subject which was discussed here in early December and I am sure USA Swimming is taking note. The letter in question was published to the comments section of a post I made in early December. I formally published it in a blog-post on December 3, 2011 - [Link]

The end result of questioning ASCA's certification process could lead to a better certification process and added protection for children. We all want that.

Thank you to those that have "schooled me," have commented on the posts at this blog and have sent me material to publish. All of you are really having an profound impact on this sport in such a remarkable way. Thank you to Swimming World for following up on this.

Prediction: Michael Phelps Olympic Program

2011-12-29T16:23:00.000-08:00

Michael Phelps has made it clear that he will swim a shortened program in London 2012. It is a testament to his greatness that I all ready consider him a member of our next Olympic team rather than waiting till US Nationals to make this CERTAIN.

Now, if I was a greedy sports agent; (emphasis on filthy greedy), and I had Michael Phelps' ear, I would tell Phelps to undertake a shortened program that was risk free. In other words, leave the stage with nothing but gold in your hands. Leave undefeated and be considered the giant of the Olympics. No bronze medal, no silver, leave the theater with five gold medals only. Silly to consider but a mixed bag of medals would be interpreted as a "felled giant." Sports Agents don't like that brand. They like the word undefeated for when the press asked if he was now officially retired after winning 5-gold, I would insist he recite the following script. "Gee, I had so much fun out there that I may have have to rethink retirement. Maybe I will swim in 2016?" Blam! Speedo is forced to resign him for a couple more years just in case he does want to swim some more for Speedo does not need to see Phelps beat their suit in a final Olympic games in 2016.

So what events would I suggest he swim: 100-fly, 200-fly, 200-IM and the relays. I would tell him to skip the 100-free which I know is a Cardinal sin as is avoiding the 200-free as well. Listen, I am a greedy sports agent and I don't want my hottest property seen as dishing out a mixed result.

Now if I wasn't an example of a "greedy sports agent" for I do obviously have that little something they don't have; (a soul), I would want him to swim the 100-free and the 200-free and accept his anemic chances against Cielo, Bousquet, Bernard, Magnussen, and Nathan Adrian.

So what about Lochte?

Enter the next "Lindsay Vonn" who is poised to become the next face of the Olympics. He does not have to be Michael Phelps and win everything but he needs to medal in everything and get lots of face-time and be his usual charismatic self. This will get him on a Wheaties Box and some modeling gigs too I suspect! What will he swim, EVERYTHING! "Jeah, bro. Come at me!"

Flavio Bomio: FINA Technical Open Water Swimming Committee may have molested over 20-boys! - Coaching certification must be overhauled!

2011-12-27T21:59:00.000-08:00

Swimming is suppose to be fun not dangerous!

Currently FINA has replaced Flavio Bomio who is suspected; (I am using the word politely), of molesting 20-boys.

Here is a snippet from his resume:

Flavio Bomio of Switzerland was formerly the director of the Bellinzona swimming club in Switzerland and the Honorary Secretary of the FINA Technical Open Water Swimming Committee (TOWSC) that is responsible for advising, analyzing, appointing, investigating, studying and recommending rules, regulations, protocols, procedures, equipment and specifications regarding the preparations and execution of open water swimming events sanctioned and organized by FINA, the world's governing body of aquatics.

[Link]

First off, he obviously wasn't very good at it when you take into account the tragic loss of Fran Crippen due to high temperatures during an open water race in or around Dubai. Also there was that near fatal race at the 2011 FINA World Championships of Swimming.

Secondly, here is a guy that was lauded throughout his career yet he was absolutely the most dangerous coach you could put before a male child if the allegations "...of sexual misconduct with 20 alleged victims..." as posted at the SwimNews are true.

Both our national and International governing bodies are really good at both collecting money and event execution. They are all really bad at certifying coaches and setting up guidelines as to how to protect kids. Sadly, this statement is not hyperbole.

FINA, USA Swimming and the United States Olympic Committee must reboot how they do the business of certification. To do this reboot is simple: first they have to recognize that they are over their heads and the people they are paying to be competent at certifying coaches are as well. As for USA Swimming, do they really have faith in ASCA at this point after having to defend themselves in court?

Governing bodies must engage professional institutes such as the American National Standards Institute (ANSI), the National Organization for Competency Assurance (NOCA) perhaps Sig Sigma, or even the Association of Test Publishers (ATP). They must recognized that training and certification are two different disciplines and must remain autonomous from one another.

Reference:

The American National Standards Institute (ANSI), Standard 1100, defines the requirements of meeting the ANSI standard for being a certifying organization. According to ANSI Standard 1100, a professional certifying organization must meet two requirements:

Deliver an assessment based on industry knowledge, independent from training courses or course providers.
Grant a time-limited credential to anyone who meets the assessment standards.

[Link]

A real world example of the above: a student in college decides that they want to be a lawyer. They finish their basic studies, apply to law school, get accepted, complete their courses and get a diploma. The next step of the process is to go take the bar exam for their given state. It is here where an independent body steps in and tests their knowledge. Note that the law school did not offer certification but rather a diploma. It was an independent agency that offered the certification not the school itself.

USA Swimming has entrusted the American Swimming Coaches Association to certify coaches. They charge a coach for materials and then they test them from what I hear, in an open book fashion; (Correct me if I am wrong). Subsequently, a certification is then rendered.

Essentially the coach is paying the teacher to be the certification body and that sets up economic conflicts of interest. (Use your imagination here - in other words, why not just pay double and "buy" the certification without doing the training?)

The way coach certification should be done is to have two separate organizations, one that educates and one that validates that education through testing. The certification body could also be the vehicle to which background checks are conducted.

Granted, most coaches come from "mom & pop" swim teams and these coaches are not training to become brain surgeons. I accept that but a lack of competency and ethics for a sport that has so many problems has to be implemented. Joel of the 17th man in a private email said it best with this article:

"This is American sports' Catholic Church moment"

"... Penn State defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky. Syracuse assistant basketball coach Bernie Fine. AAU president Bobby Dodd. Philadelphia Daily News sports columnist Bill Conlin.

And that's just since November.

ABC News revealed in 2010 that 36 swimming coaches had been banned by USA Swimming for allegations of sexual misconduct, including molestation and hidden videotaping of children in locker rooms. ..."

[Link]

I took the photo above of the two brothers: The one on the right is currently diving across the SCAQ Blog masthead. The one on the left is studying to be an architect.

Sean Collins, Surfer, CEO of Surfline taken suddenly by a heart attack!

2011-12-27T20:07:00.000-08:00

Before 1990 it was impossible to be both a surfer and a responsible individual at the same time. If a friend called who lived near the beach and said, "Topanga is goin' off, Zeroes and Heavens too." You dropped everything, missed appointments, deadlines, anniversaries, and scooted off to go surfing.
When Sean Collins arrived he was able to interpret the dark arts of satellite photos, buoy reports, and how low-pressure and high-pressure systems way out at sea affected the surf. This allowed surfers to "make appointments" if you will, schedule vacation days, trips, adventures allowing surfers to have a more robust life in and out of the water.

Collins died this this week playing tennis in Orange county of a heart attack at the age of 59-years-old.

Not to get philosophical, but why not? In my view, Sean Collins, gave more than he took. I don't care how much money he made or did not make from SurfLine, he made a sport I adore much easier to participate in and for that I thank him.

From The L.A.Times:

A Southern California native and Seal Beach resident, Collins began surfing at the age of 8. After graduating from Wilson High School in Long Beach, he attended Long Beach City College and worked as a professional photographer, waiter and bartender.

Along the way, he developed a passion to complement his surfing: poring through the National Weather Service library and studying faxes from around the world to predict swells. In 1984, he joined a fledgling company called Surfline, which offered surf forecasts by phone, then left to start a rival company called Wavetrak.

Collins bought out Surfline in 1990 and, five years later, launched its online version. According to the website, nearly 1.5 million people visit it every month.

[Link]

SCAQ Masthead: Happy Birthday Trevor -

2011-12-27T17:10:00.001-08:00

Trevor is flying by the SCAQ Masthead today to celebrate his birthday!

USA Today: "Ryan Lochte loves racing Michael Phelps, ready for challenge"

2011-12-23T13:10:00.000-08:00

UPDATED: to fixed typos and explain myself better.

How many times have we heard that phrase, "...loves racing Michael Phelps"...? I sort of forget that Lochte felt that way after the first 30-times I heard this "mantra" but by the 50th-time-or-so, it began to sink in.

Why is Ryan Lochte always repeating that he "...loves to race Phelps?" We have been hearing that as far back as 2008 and we all know it is true. We categorically knew it was true when we watched the two race each other in the 400 IM in Beijing. We also know it is sincere and we do feel how hungry he is to do it too.

It's as if Lochte is a young gunslinger who is looking for Phelps in the streets of "Dodge City" to prove he is the best in the west. It's as if he wants to be known as the gunslinger that had a quicker draw, a faster shot, and thereby replaced Phelps as the "new sheriff in town." With all the cowboy metaphors out of the way, I suspect there is an economic interest to all of this as well.

By intertwining his destiny with the best swimmer ever in the media interviews, I suspect that this is presumably a PR ploy by his handlers so as to "draft" off of Phelps' name recognition, his stellar accomplishments, and thereby potentially get him a bigger post Olympic paycheck if Lochte can defeat him.

Do I think he will beat Phelps? I don't know, but the odds favor Phelps since I suspect he will be swimming a less demanding program than he did in Beijing. My premise is that Phelps has handlers too and his London Olympics is not about accomplishment anymore but rather legacy. If he so chose to ignore Lochte and just swam the 100-fly, 200 fly, and a medley-relay, their would be no "gunfight" and Phelps would finish off his Olympic career unbeaten in two consecutive Olympics thus remaining "the fastest gun alive"

From USA Today:

Lochte beat Phelps in their two common events at the 2011 World Championships in Shanghai, the 200 free and the 200 IM, en route to five golds, compared to four for Phelps. Neither has confirmed which races they hope to swim in London.

"I'm in the perfect shape that I've ever been in in my entire life," Lochte said. "I want it really bad. It might not seem like it right now, but come when the time's right, I'll be ready."
"The guy's got his eyes on some big prizes," Busch said, "so just watch him go."

[Link]

ABC News Review: 'Michael Phelps: Push the Limit' for 'Kinect!'

2011-12-23T12:33:00.000-08:00

It is not a positive review but it is constructive. A video game journalist and G4 video game reviewer named, Adam Sessler, even warned before this game was made that: "...Swimming — in even a Mario game — is a miserable experience - Kotaku"

I think an analogy would be the ballet. Imagine playing a 'Bolshoi Ballet' dance game? The nuance and such would only be appreciated by dancers and those that appreciate dance much like a swimming game would only be appreciated by swimmers.
From ABC News:

"... Then the race begins and you're stuck attempting to swim in a very strict rhythm for 400 short meters. Go too fast and your stamina will deplete, then get ready to receive sixth place in a swimming video game.

The entire game consists of variations of strokes and course lengths. It feels like the title would have been better as cheap downloadable content or packaged in a larger Olympic sports world. At least keep with the swimming theme and give us diving as an option.

[Link]

A dirty Joke: A prominent coach, a FINA committee member and a pedophile walk into a bar... He orders a drink!

2011-12-22T17:42:00.000-08:00

Swimming World has posted an article about the arrest and the potential admission of guilt to molestation charges by a member of the FINA Technical Open Water Committee, Flavio Bomio. I say potential for I don't know how reliable the Italian press is in these matters. The article Swimming World links too states he admitted to having 'several relationships" with minors after two hours of interrogation.

It is mentioned that FINA suspended him immediately.

From Swimming World:

Bomio currently serves as a member of the FINA Technical Open Water Committee, and the Ticino News reports that Bomio was about to depart for a training trip in Florida with several young boys from Switzerland.

[Link]

FINA is the "Vatican" of for international swimming. It's now time for them to take this problem very seriously and suggest strong guidelines such as the one I have been begging for: Adopt a no one-on-one policy between coaches and children.

Rooftop Pools from 'Askmen'

2011-12-22T11:39:00.000-08:00

Rooftop Pools: Askmen showcases exotic pools high above the empire!

The 'Casio G-Shock: G-Rescue' watch: A great gift for a Navy SEAL, surfer, or swimmer

2011-12-21T11:24:00.000-08:00

Casio makes military grade timepieces. This is a bold statement that is not hyperbole nor am I paid to say this. One of their brand lines the, 'G-Shock,' is a favorite of military professionals throughout the world especially Navy SEALS who work in and around the ocean. Many use the G-Shock-G-Rescue.

I recently gave a G-Shock, G-Rescue; (under $100), to my best friend. We have been surfing together since we were 17-years-old and I picked the G-Rescue primarily for both the graphical tide & moon phase views built into the interface. Note the G-Rescue has a stopwatch function that produces split times as well.

After sending him the latitude & longitude coordinates for his favorite surf break; (easily found online HERE via Google), providing the mean tide interval averages; (Found on the same NOAA page), this is what he had to say:

"... I just finished programming my watch, it was actually pretty easy! I just checked the tide indicator against a tide book and its dead on! I also checked the moon phase and it is dead on as well! I'm stoked. It will also show you tides and moon phases for any date through 2099.

Thanks ... its an awesome watch.

[...]

Sadly, to further prove my statement that Casio creates military grade time-pieces, they have a secondary model they sell for just $8.00 which is also nicknamed the "terrorist watch." Here is a Wikipedia article about it if you are interested: [Link]

GPS Watches for swimmers and runners: In most cases more accurate for swimmers than runners?

2011-12-21T07:08:00.001-08:00

The New York Times has article regarding the deficits that GPS watches have. These deficits include inaccurate times, distances, and laps due to trees, buildings, road curvature and other obstacles that impede information from bouncing from the satellite an into to your watch at specific intervals.

I posit that open water swimming and in most cases outdoor pool swimming would would have fewer issues since the spaces we swim in are generally open areas. Indoor pools are obviously off limits.

Regarding a race director who gets nasty emails by competitors who accuse the director of an inaccurate course due to their own personal GPS data had this to say...

From the New York Times:

Mr. Thurston has gotten so used to the complaints that he actually has a generic e-mail reply. No, it says, the course was not wrong. Your GPS device was.

“If someone wants to go to mat on it, I ask them to go to a 400-meter track and run on the inside lane for 12.5 laps. That’s 5,000 meters,” he said in an interview. Then, he tells the runner, check the distance on your GPS device. He guarantees it will not be 5,000 meters.

[...]

[Later in the article] But Mr. Helton is not throwing his watches away. He has three GPS watches and uses one nearly every time he runs. Then again, unlike most areas where I run, his routes do not have large trees, winding roads and poor satellite reception. On his routes, Mr. Helton said, his GPS device is accurate to within 10 feet of where he actually is.

[Link]

Note, that Mr. Helton runs is in an area that gets great satellite reception, no real trees or buildings in the way, hence his accurate readings. Open water, especially in the ocean which GPS was originally designed for, would probably be the most accurate use of GPS. I place strict emphasis on the word 'probably' for your mileage may vary... Quite literally.

The article is a must read if you are considering a GPS. Lots of observations and how the systems work and I really want to emphasize that GPS systems for swimming is a real option, but they these systems like vectors not sine curves; (straight lines versus s-cures), and should really be considered.

UPDATE: From Rob at RobAquatics - Boy did his mileage vary. See below photo:

He had this to say in the comments section: "I've found mine to be pretty good in open water, but not the pool. I did a test in a 50 meter pool and got some pretty creative results."

Gene tweaking turns a simple mouse into the "Incredible SCAQ Tony Hulk"

2011-12-19T10:17:00.000-08:00

Doping use to be black & white till the doctors, plastic surgeons, and scientists got involved. Plastic surgeon, you ask? Yes, but I will talk about that one later.

Scientists have gene-tweaked a mouse so as to shut off a hormone that probably prevents any mammal from becoming extraordinarily strong. In fact, not just strong, but capable of supreme endurance too. The animal also became more resistant to the cold and how is that for a warm-&-fuzzy side effect? But wait, there's more: No harmful side effects or a shortened lifespan has been detected in any creature that was tweaked. Do you believe it? Well, I don't for every functional change in a system will have a side effect.

That hormone that their gene tweaking suppressed was ultimately created and/or determined by natural selection to be there for a reason. Taking it away is going to effect something or some other system. Here is an easier way to say how I feel "...the candle that burns twice as bright only lasts half-as-long" -- Dr. Tyrell from the film, Blade Runner.

From Gizmag:

"There are now ways to develop drugs for people who are unable to exercise due to obesity or other health complications, such as diabetes, immobility and frailty," says Ronald M. Evans, who led the Salk team. "We can now engineer specific gene networks in muscle to give the benefits of exercise to sedentary mice."

Auwerx describes molecules such as NCOR1 as "molecular brakes" that slow down the activity in genes. Releasing these brakes through gene manipulation increases that activity level, providing more energy to build muscle.

The benefits of releasing those molecular brakes don't stop at increased muscle strength. The stronger mice also saw improved endurance, and were capable of running both faster and longer before tiring, covering twice the distance of normal mice in experiments. Researchers say the mutated mice were also more tolerant to cold.

[Link]

In reality steroids are genuinely legal if dutifully and ethically prescribed by a doctor. Gene tweaking will be legal as well as is breast reduction surgery is now. Example: Romanian tennis player Simona Halep shot up 450-places to number 47th-in-the-world after undergoing breast reduction surgery. Her earnings for 2011 were estimated to be $286,373 - and this does not include endorsements.

Rhetorical question: Could breast reduction surgery decrease the 50-free time of a female swimmer who has a breast cup size that is above average?

I must state that the article below is not about a woman who sacrificed her breast function simply to be a better tennis player but more accurately her antipathy towards her breasts after Romanian doctors prescribed her steroids when she was young to presumably to save her life after becoming much to thin. She was also suffering back pain and introversion.

The author, Liz Jones, chimes in with her own result after having breast reduction surgery which should sell most women on the gravity of such a decision: Despite terrible scarring the surgery consequently led to her losing all feeling in her nipples and an inability to breast-feed if she so chooses to have children. She also writes about how intimate relations for her with the opposite sex were devastated.

Warning: Moderately graphic photo for most American workplaces of exposed anatomy on an operating table - This from the Daily Mail:

Last week, she was knocked out of Wimbledon by Serena Williams, but still deems the operation a success.

Her decision, however, has been widely condemned — ‘slice off part of your anatomy for money and trophies?’ sums up the online consensus.

But as an athlete, her body’s ability to perform is everything. She experienced back pain, too. I am sure also she hated the whistles and cat calls when she was trying to focus on her game.

[... Now the author's experience below]

I looked, I thought, much younger (I was still barely 30!) and so much more in-keeping with who I was, who I am: Not a sexual person, not a mummy, but invisible.

But what of the effect on my career? I can’t say the operation solved my underlying fears or neuroses but I did feel more confident at work.

[Link]

Note: Simona Halep has leaped up in the rankings a full 450-places to number 47. This proves that there are body modifications one can do without the use of drugs that can make a person more enhanced. Lance Armstrong now has a carbon fiber collar bone now after a bad fall on the bike, Tiger Woods had Lasik eye surgery making him a better golfer, Simona Halep is winning more and definitely making way more cash than most gold medalist swimmers.

So would I personally gene-tweak to be a better swimmer? Absolutely not! But I would gene tweak if it would make me live longer, have a higher quality of life, have no cognitive side effects and not get so cold in the winter. Should I or anybody else be disqualified for trying to be healthier, better looking, or recover and/or be saved from a child hood illness?

The rules will have to adapt.

Chris DeSantis spent 100-minutes with USA Swimming CEO Chuck Wielgus

2011-12-19T08:19:00.000-08:00

Chris DeSantis interviews Chuck Wielgus - here is a snippet:

"...I asked him later whether he thought USA Swimming members had a right to be disappointed in his leadership. He admitted that he felt badly about his performance in the ABC 20/20 interview but followed that up with a defense of why he did not do well. He cited that the 20/20 interview was the only disappointment that the USA Swimming board had in him. ..."

[Link]

I just can't think of anything funny to say so I will say this: This interview has now elevated swim blogging into a quasi-journalistic endeavor. Perhaps in the eyes of the law bloggers are not journalists but to CEOs, marketeers, and PR people, we are now a hybrid that has to be considered. :-P

Thanks Chris!

NYC Triathlon to triathletes: Promise that you have swam 1/2-mile in open water and we will let you do this race.

2011-12-18T10:08:00.000-08:00

Two people died this year doing the the New York City Triathlon hence the event planners want to make the race safer by having people promise that they have swam at least a 1/2-mile in the open water before entering. In my opinion this sounds more like a "legal-out" than a serious drowning prevention plan.

Many years ago I did an Ironman in Kona, Hawaii. On the application I had to mention races I had completed so as to prove my "street cred" to even be considered as an applicant. In other words I had to have a resume that could be verified that I actually was fit and capable to do it and they had people checking these results.

Why can't the NYC Triathlon event planners adopt a similar strategy or perhaps sponsor open water clinics which athletes would obviously pay for so as to qualify these people for the event ?

From CNN:

"... The race takes place in a nearly one-mile stretch of the Hudson River, between 82nd and 99th streets. Korff says swimmers often count on the river's stiff current to help improve their swim time, but it's important to make clear that just because the swim leg is "fast" doesn't mean it's easy.
"A lot of people will, if they haven't swam in open water, they get to the Hudson, and they'll start to panic," he says. "We want people to know that you can't just put on a wetsuit, lay on your back and float."
[Link]

That last paragraph is summarily pathetic. The truth is you can float on your back if you are comfortable in open water. One would think that NYC triathletes would know this. The USA Triathlon governing body should look into this matter and set some new guidelines. Their waiver is summarily a "civil litigation prevention plan" more so than a drowning prevention plan.

Engadget: Wearables Garmin's Forerunner 910XT sport watch begs to become your new swimming buddy!

2011-12-17T11:21:00.000-08:00

This went passed me in October, sorry I missed it. This would be quite a watch for triathletes and open water swimmers. I am actually considering it for open water training; here is why - GPS mapping.

Endgadget's partial synopsis:

"... With a price tag of $400, it's certainly intended for the most dedicated (or affluent) jocks, but for the outlay of cash, you'll find it provides detailed metrics such as swim distance, pool lengths, along with stroke identification and count. It even goes so far as to report one's SWOLF score, which is a measure of a swimmer's efficiency (calculated as the number of strokes to swim a lap, plus the time to travel said distance). ..."

Now more details within the press release posted at Endgadget:

"... With Forerunner 910XT, swimming will never be the same again. Designed for both open water and pool swimming, Forerunner 910XT is water resistant to 50 meters and is Garmin's first multisport watch to offer extensive swim metrics, including swim distance, stroke identification, stroke count and pool lengths. It also computes a user's swolf score – the sum of the time for one length plus the number of strokes for that length. For example, 30 seconds plus 15 strokes equals a swolf score of 45. Swolf is a measurement of swimming efficiency and, like golf, lower is better. The 910XT's robust design and easy operation make it suited for other water sports, including paddle boarding, kayaking and windsurfing to name a few.

[I am critical of the stroke count philosophy. Janet Evans had a high stroke count and her records lasted for decades.]

When an athlete is ready to jump out of the water and onto the bike, Forerunner 910XT moves easily from wrist to handlebar with the optional quick release and bike mounts. Forerunner 910XT categorizes multisport activities in one workout and can also log transition time in the process, so triathletes can analyze their performance from start to finish. And with up to 20 hours of battery life, even hardcore endurance athletes can push themselves further than ever.

[Link]

The press release and posting is much longer, I suggest you check it out.

What powers Speedo’s FASTSKIN³ swimsuits - Invista Lycra fiber does

2011-12-17T09:36:00.000-08:00

Here is a very interesting article about composition of the FASTSKIN³ swimsuit. By the way, and speaking of the FASTSKIN³, I suspect that Speedo's arm-hole, suit-entry, system for females will presumably be made available men in 2013 when tech-suits come back from their "temporary exile."

From KnittingIndustry.com:

"... The FASTSKIN³ Super Elite Swimsuit uses the highly innovative HYDRO-K ZONE 3D FABRIC which contains Invista's premium fibre for swimwear - Xtra Life Lycra fibre. The varying counts of Lycra fibre knitted throughout the fabric help to create the graduated compression across different body zones.

For female swimmers, Speedo has developed an innovative Arm Hole Entry system which makes the garment easier to get on and off, yet still providing maximum coverage of fabric over the body, and thereby optimising hydrodynamic performance. The high Lycra fibre content helps to create the extreme stretch and recovery required for the athlete to physically fit into the suit through the armhole. ..."

[...]
Long-lasting, beautiful fit

Up to 10 times more resistant to chlorine than standard elastane

Resists "bag and sag"found in swimwear made with standard elastane

Ensures swimwear has stretch and recovery power and fits like new for longer

[Link]

Summer Sanders: You can't train to be the "best in the world" without loving it.

2011-12-16T12:16:00.000-08:00

Sanders says that you MUST love what you are doing if you are going to be the best at it. I respectfully disagree with her. I think you have to be gifted and have a professional approach.

Actor Marlon Brando didn't love his job and he would only perform if you paid him an outrageous rate yet he redefined acting. He also made some really bad movies into watchable ones.

Boxer George Foreman didn't like to hurt people and in a comeback fight at Caesar's Palace against Gerry Cooney, Foreman begged the referee to stop the fight because Cooney was taking to much abuse from his powerful punches. (His request was less than 2-minutes into the second round) - Note, Foreman won that fight with a brutal knockout punch and eventually reclaimed the heavyweight championship title in 1994 at 45-years-old despite his adversity to violence.

People are great for whatever reason but love is only just one component. There is a "B-Final graveyard" out there filled with swimmers who trained harder than anybody, loved the sport more than anybody, yet did not become the best. There is also a "champions' graveyard" with guys like Mark Spitz who never worked as hard as many of the "B-finalists" but found himself as a great athlete via an act of God or otherwise.

From ESPN:

"...That's amazing! Michael Phelps is not just amazing for winning eight gold medals in one Olympic Games, but for having the desire and passion to go for his fourth Olympic team.

What drives each athlete is different. Some long for more medals, others long for faster times, but the bottom line is when it comes to the Olympics, money can't drive you. A paycheck doesn't get you the gold medal. It still comes down to fire, passion and love for the sport.

[Link]

To all my anonymous posters both critical, informative & splashy, Starbucks is so down with you!

2011-12-16T11:25:00.000-08:00

Originally seen at at BoingBoing.net the visage of Guy Fox, the face of all things anonymous winks and wishes those in the know a happy holiday!

Bullied kid teased for not knowing how to swim drowns!

2011-12-14T14:12:00.000-08:00

Attention students: Permitting your peers to be bullied is the moral equal to "joining in on the fun" or bullying the victim yourself. It leaves a lifetime worth of scars and in this case led to an accidental suicide.

Either say something or report it.

In Wenatchee, Washington Antonio Reyes is dead. He will never get a chance to be cool, kiss a girl, go to a prom, or be a man.

WENATCHEE, Wash. — A Wenatchee freshman who drowned in the high school pool missed the swimming assessment in the first week of class while sitting on the bleachers and was kidded when he said he didn’t know how to swim, according to a police report.

Antonio Reyes had entered the pool Nov. 17 with other students in his physical education class and was last seen treading water. Students in the next class found him at the bottom of the pool.

[Link]

Where the F*** were the lifeguards, coach or adult supervision?

SOPA: I could be censored by monopolies I upset if a particular congressional bill passes next week.

2011-12-13T11:47:00.000-08:00

Here is my letter to my Congressman... 0oops, it got censored by a particular association I can't mention!

████ ████ ████████! ████ job is to ███████ the ████████████ not █████ it ████ ██████████ and █████████ ████. The ████ █████████████ the ██████. As you ████ Van ████ is a ████ █████████. Do you ██████ ████ to put ████ low ██████ ████████████ in the █████ █████ of █████ ██████ ████ ███████ ████ ██████████ or ████████ ████ of a ████ ████ █████ and ██████ to ███████ on it?

Don't ████ ████ ████████████ ████ me and my █████ ████ ███████ ██████ to be mad at ████████. The 60-███████ ██████ was bad ██████.

I've censored the following, in protest of a bill that gives any corporation and the US government the power to censor the internet--a bill that could pass THIS WEEK. To see the uncensored text, and to stop internet censorship, visit: [Link]

Men's 200 Individual Medley A Final - 2011 SPEEDO Junior National Champs - Meet record too.

2011-12-09T12:33:00.000-08:00

Ryan Murphy has heart and vicious kick; you could surf upon the wake his kick makes!

I want to thank Swimming World for allowing a comment I made to a John Leonard guest editorial to stand despite a request to have it removed!

2011-12-09T10:15:00.000-08:00

There have been allegations that Swimming World is a "yes-man" to both USA Swimming and even the American Swimming Coaches Association. Fellow bloggers have criticized them as well especially a website called, US Swim Scandal, authored by an under-the-radar-group known as the Splash of Truth has as well.

In September 10, 2010 John Leonard the CEO, wrote a guest editorial for Swimming World entitled FINA Changes Course; Thank the Captain! The crux of the editorial was to thank FINA for not becoming less "...autocratic" as Leonard put it and still allow input via a vote from the coaches and federations. Read that as Federation CEOs & Coach Association CEOs only thereby allowing them a vote on how FINA should do business.

Here is a snippet:

FORT LAUDERDALE, Florida, September 27. JUST as FINA was about to wreck itself on the rocks of autocratic Rule by its Executive Director and Honorable Secretary, the steering wheel has been turned by its President and his good influence on the FINA Bureau.

President Julio Maglione has proven himself a friend of the Federations, the coaches and the athletes by arguing the case for Federation input into the proposals to be put forth for next summer's FINA Constitutional Congress. He made his case so strongly during the Bureau Meeting in Uruguay last weekend that an initially-oppositional Bureau swung all the way around and unanimously agreed to allow all Federations to contribute ideas for the good governance of the sport.

[Link]

To put my frame of mind in perspective, I was seething at the time that coaching bodies and federations put the swimmers last and here was a guy using politics 101 to put forth what I viewed as an erroneous opinion that FINA was now "democracy." My take was that swimmers have no real say or real vote in anything a federation or a coach association does. (Imagined if national team swimmers had a vote on salary compensation?)

Subsequently I wrote a shrill, emotional response and I am told that John Leonard was not impressed. So much so that he wanted to know who I was and have the comment removed immediately - Swimming World, to their credit said NO WAY! Both Brent and Jason would have not buckle. When i was told of this, I asked if I could rewrite it and put my name it. With no hesitation they agreed and off I went. I made the comment even more shrill and ultimately more ungrammatical.

To say Swimming World is a "yes-man" is not true, far from it and it is my belief everything they print is the most accurate news you can get.

Here is a snippet of what I wrote a sproof:

John, It's my belief that you have set up a de facto monopoly in the swim coach certification market by way of USA Swimming's endorsement of your outfit. Subsequently, I suspect you have personally profited greatly from it. That is my opinion after looking at the salaries of the USA Swimming executive team.

What annoys to no end about ASCA is that if a mom-&- pop swim team wants to be certified as a USA Swimming club, there is a strong push to have their coaches certified through ASCA if the mom-&- pop swim team coach has no college degree equivalent. (See USA Swimming's silly points system for club certification as a reference).

[...]

Finally, it is my opinion, [the] ASCA standard of becoming the "creme de la crème" of coaching is to find a kid with some talent who can post a US Nationals qualifying time which subsequently [would make] you a "superior coach" is both garbage and a lie?

I am publicly thanking Swimming World for allowing my comment to remain at their site so as to dispel any allegations that they are soft, wimpy or cave in when there is pressure to support a particular political point of view under threats.

Michael Phelps' age group record falls - Could a new vanguard of great American swimmers be emerging?

2011-12-08T22:04:00.000-08:00

On July 5, 2010 Ryan Murphy broke Aaron Peirsol's 13-14 national age group record in the 100 backstroke. Note, he has knocked off another age group record formerly owned by a guy named Michael Phelps.

Could a new vanguard of great American swimmers be emerging? I think so.

From Lane 9 News:

AUSTIN, Texas, December 8. BOLLES' Ryan Murphy certainly was the headliner on the first night of swimming at the USA Swimming Short Course Junior Nationals held in Austin.

Murphy crushed the boys 200 IM with a 1:45.77 to clear David Nolan's 2009 meet record of 1:46.26. Murphy, 16, bettered a U.S. National Age Group record in the 15-16 division previously held by Michael Phelps with a 1:46.30 since 2002. Jacob Pebley placed second tonight in 1:46.62, while Bolles' Teo D'Alessandro earned third in 1:47.20.

[Link]

SPLASH ON EM (Official Video) - Can you name the Olympians?

2011-12-07T15:11:00.000-08:00

Katie Hoff "autotuned" in there as well. I see Edwin Mosses in there too.

Google said they will give me $100 if I allow advertising on the blog

2011-12-07T11:58:00.000-08:00

Nope, violates my mission statement to not accept payment of any kind. This includes: advertising, gifts, favors, food or free rides.

Women's 100m Freestyle A Final - 2011 SPEEDO Junior National Champs!

2011-12-07T08:50:00.000-08:00

Simone Manuel with a refreshing win. She has a very powerful pull with an impressive turnover. WOW!

Men's 100m Freestyle A Final - 2011 SPEEDO Junior National Champs!

2011-12-07T08:43:00.000-08:00

Now here is a real horse race; about 1/2-a-second separates first place through to 8th-place and it wasn't lane-4 that won it either!

Sex Abuse Lawsuits: Was ASCA nothing short of a firewall made of dried straw?

2011-12-03T19:47:00.001-08:00

USA Swimming was set up as the "National Governing Body" (NGB) for the sport of swimming via an act of congress. This act of congress is known as the Ted Stevens Amateur Sports Act; a federal law that establishes certain basic standards for certifying coaches and governing the sport of swimming.

Soon thereafter, USA Swimming obviously decided to outsource the job of certifying their coaches to the American Swimming Coaches Association (ASCA). This action was executed presumably to allow the core management of USA Swimming to focus on event planning and national meets rather than coach education & quality control.

I suspect lawyers recommended the following criteria for establishing an outsourced coaching certifying body:

Have this professional coaching organization do all the work necessary in creating the best educational swim content as possible.
Have this organization maintain an ethics code that would be aggressively enforced.
Conduct background checking of potential coaches applicants so as to protect the kids.

If the points above were indeed mandated for a competent certifying body, then it is demonstrable that ASCA has failed USA Swimming on two-out-of-the-three-points above. Subsequently, USA Swimming has had to take the reigns by creating an educational site, a reporting infrastructure, and finally conduct background checks since ASCA never ever attempted to implement these obvious steps.

ASCA was suppose to be a firewall of protection for kids, coaches and USA Swimming, but their firewall was evidently made of "dried straw." When news of the Andrew King case suddenly went viral that firewall was as combustible as a match.

To clarify, when the Andrew King news broke I was outraged and went right for the keyboard. A few weeks later I was contacted by a few victims, then I got contacted by a producer at ABC, and suddenly we had two news documentaries regarding the event hit both cable and network TV. I am not stating this to "toot my own horn" I am stating this to illustrate how USA Swimming lost control of a very serious issue that was definitely on their radar for a very long time.

Next damage control had to be done: USA Swimming suddenly had to become "pro" overnight in a subject they had never done before. To be both blunt and crass, they figuratively had to change "ASCA's dirty diapers" by creating their own online educational program; (which I majorly endorse), and their own method of reporting thereby cataloging who is considered too dangerous to coach.

One would expect that the certifying body chosen to protect all those involved would have created such an obvious "bullet-proof" process since that is what they were paid to do, right? As a result of not having those procedures in place USA Swimming is now mired in several lawsuits and is busy doing a job they entrusted ASCA to do.

Here is how USA Swimming coach certification works:

To get certified as a USA Swimming Coach; (presuming you have not been grandfathered in before the Ted Stevens ACT was enacted), you must go to a second party known as the American Swimming Coaches Association (ASCA) for certification.

After paying ASCA a fee for courses, tests, materials and such, a coach is awarded a "level" rated from 1-to-5 that quantifies their accomplishments.

To get a job with a USA Swimming sanctioned club you must have ASCA certification. if you look at the job postings for coaches at USA Swimming or ASCA, these "ninja levels" determine a coach's income depending on which "level" they have attained.

Level 1: Finish a course called the foundations of coaching.
Level 2: You learn about swim technique
Level 3: Physiology school
Level 4: Administration school
Level 5: Leadership school and get a swimmer into USA Nationals

So, send in your money and climb the five rungs of the ASCA ladder and you can command a higher salary.

Now it gets worse: Once you have attained a particular level you can possibly have your level revoked if you don't maintain that accomplishment with a yearly fee. Here is a letter from ASCA sent to coach who wants to remain anonymous:

Coach,

I see that you were an ASCA Level 3 Coach. I am sure that is very important to you!

I am not sure if you are aware but you lose your certification level when your membership expires. Meaning you cannot represent yourself as a Level 3 certified coach to parents, employers or potential employers. You have taken the time to get the Level 3 status, why not keep it?? It is important to keep your ASCA Membership current, that is why I am dropping you a friendly reminder that you membership is expired!

Please renew by calling 1-800-356-2722 as soon as possible, so that you may continue your Level 3 Certification status. If you are no longer coaching or retired, we would like know that too!

If you have any questions do not hesitate to contact me.

Kimberly Witherington
Certification Coordinator
American Swimming Coaches Association

5101 NW 21st Avenue, Suite 200
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33309
tel: 1-800-356-2722 / (954) 563-4930

Imagine graduating high school and having to pay a yearly fee to be considered a high school graduate? Imagine a nurse having to pay a yearly fee to be considered a registered nurse? Imagine a lawyer having to pay a yearly fee to be able to practice law?

[Wow, I got that wrong! several professional organizations to make you pay to play. My apologies]

To me, ASCA sounds more like a trade union than a certifying body - Who do they represent: The Coaches, USA Swimming or the Kids? It is my belief it should be all three.

On March 19, 2010, I published a post stating that if USA Swimming did not make changes, The US Senate would get involved. To my chagrin nothing happened but now that the Penn State tragedy has occurred, A senator by the name of Robert Cassey from Pennsylvania is now going to hold Senate Hearings on both child abuse and neglect.

From his Press release:

"... I know you share my strong commitment to protecting children and, like all of us, have been troubled and distraught about the child sexual abuse allegations coming out of Pennsylvania State University. No child should ever be subjected to sexual abuse. And no adult should ever turn a blind eye to such abuse. If any of the allegations coming out of Penn State turn out to be true, the gravest of crimes will have been committed against the most vulnerable amongst us.

Unfortunately, I have seen these types of crimes first-hand. I started my career as a social worker in Baltimore – helping at-risk and abused and neglected children. While working with the Baltimore City Welfare Department and Catholic Charities, I saw how child abuse can destroy a family and ruin a child’s life.

In an effort to keep our nation’s children safe from predators, I have spent years – as Chairwoman of the Commerce, Justice, and Science appropriations subcommittee – working to ensure that Justice programs give federal, state and local law enforcement the tools they need to prevent, investigate, and prosecute crimes against children...."
[Link]

I suggest in the strongest of terms that USA Swimming send several executives to that hearing and articulate what they are doing to alleviate this crisis in our sport and what responsibility they will take for the failings of what I believe was their "straw firewall."

Finally, it is my belief that the executives of USA Swimming should do an audit regarding how well ASCA has preformed over the years, asked their own coaches as well and asked themselves if there is something better. I suspect there is.

Perhaps coach certification as it is practiced today should be broken up into components such as education, ethical behavior, and investigation. In other words three separate organizations that bid for that contract. This suggestion should be sincerely evaluated and this question should be asked: Is ASCA truly organized enough to be certifying coaches as capable, safe and moral?

To add my two-cents as I usually do, ASCA is an organization that let it's corporate filing lapse in Iowa. Does that fact instill a sense that they are competent "firewall?"

See this post for details:

"...After doing the research, I conclude that Sarah is absolutely correct stating that the American Swimming Coaches Association corporation filing appears to be inactive in Iowa. I won't venture to make judgments on the repercussions or conclusions of what that means but it sure does sound like the American Swimming Coaches Association has some paperwork to do?

Calls to the Iowa Secretary of State office yielded the following answers: Iowa Secretary of State office 515-281-8993 - Pam was the person Sarah talked to and she confirmed the American Swimming Coaches Association corporation status terminated in 1992.

Calls to Florida yield the following answers: Fl Non-Profit Corporations (850)-245-6052 - Mary Ann was the person Sarah talk to and she confirmed the American Swimming Coaches Association foreign non-profit status is indeed located in Iowa. She suggested the Fl Dept of Revenue might be interested in the fact that his Iowa corporation has lapsed. ..."

[Link]

Rebuttal from Coach Klein:

Hi Tony

Coach Ira Klein here, past president of ASCA, VP of USA Swimming and past employee of USA Swimming. To shed some light, or truth into your article. ASCA was created in 1959 almost 20 years ahead of the Stevens Act. It was created by coaches like Councilman and Daland and the late Phil Hansel was the first president. It was and remains an avenue for coach education. John Leonard is the third CEO of this organization. Under his leadership formal education was created as well as certification and a code of conduct for coaches, ahead of the one at USA Swimming.

The problem is that you do not have to be a member of ASCA to work as a coach, membership is completely voluntary. There were never any lawyers involved creating the points you claim. Since membership with ASCA is voluntary there is no way for it to conduct background checks and enforce USA Coaching registration. You put way to much onto the relationship between the organizations.

In all of the things ASCA has done, education, certification, code of conduct, they have been the number one leaders in all sports and the USOC and other NGB's follow their lead. It is easy to pontificate in a blog on what should have happened but I have never seen you anywhere trying to make things better or using your all knowing crystal ball about what should be done. Monday morning quarterbacking is great for the couch potatoes but try getting into the game for a change and putting yourself on the line for others.

And Tony, whether you know it or not you are entwined with SOT and you should investigate the background of the 'anonymous' author of that site. It might turn you stomach to know who you are in bed with.

Coach Ira Klein, proud member of ASCA and USA Swimming.

My Reply:

I am not "in bed with the Splash of Truth" SOT, That was quite a stretch to say that. This post came about through a conversation during a chat I had with a individual with whom I respect. My rhetoric is also significantly different than SOT.

As for coach employment: Please see the job postings at ASCA and USA Swimming which carry a "Level certification" needed to get a job.

See this post I made as well: [Link]

Another reader corrected me regarding having to pay a professional fee to maintain a license. I will correct that paragraph and acknowledge that I was incorrect. Please see the correction above...

As John Leonard, I find him unmeasured as revealed in this dialog between he and I and I find him somewhat crass and angry but that is just my opinion.

See this post I published which reveals letters between he and I some months ago: [Link]

As for making things better with swimming: Yes, I have made things better with swimming; (Thank you notes from ABC and ESPN were real morale boosters). Consequently, USA Swimming really put together a strong reporting and education program. Perhaps it was on the way, but those two shows on both national TV and cable accelerated the process a great deal and that can't be denied. Others have thanked me as well, those with medals and those that support them. Even moms, dads, and victims too.

I want to see a national governing body that spends more than 51% of it's gross profits into the subject of their non-profit. I want to see national team members make a living wage. I was told they now make $36k but I can't confirm. I want to see more reasonable salaries for executive positions and I want a coach certifying body more capable than ASCA. No one has been able to refute that ASCA was asleep at the wheel in regards to validating coaches as safe to put kids in front of.

I appreciate your measured rebuttal - Perhaps ASCA would in be in better hands if you ran the joint.

It's their turn: Summer started today in Australia

2011-12-02T16:01:00.000-08:00

Publish Post
We'll just have to wait 6-months!

Fastskin-3 released - Swim media perplexed!

2011-12-01T12:12:00.000-08:00

I am curious about the material and I have an email into the Speedo, Aqualab designer. In that email I ask about the material, any hydrophobic coating, stitch-differences when compared to the Fastskin-2, their feelings about the potential return of techsuits in 2013, and I blatantly ask what is more better and different about the suit. Hopefully I get answers today.

The Daily Mail does a profile on the new suit and it appears that only Commonwealth countries are covering the launch with enthusiasm.

The Daily Mail drops a "decontrsctionist" bomb in their headline stating:

"...Hopefully it won't be banned this time:"

I am so down with that sentiment. It is refreshing to hear a successful newspaper state the obvious about technology and sport - people want to see something that has never been done before, they do not want to sit done with an almanac and compare numbers. to wit: The average person watching the Olympic Games is not going to compare Chloe Sutton's 400-free time to that of Sippy Woodhead circa 1983. They want to see a spectacle.

I will cut to the chase - From the Daily Mail:

"... The components all work together to streamline a swimmer's body. Speedo claims that swimmers will gain an extra 11 per cent in oxygen economy by wearing the system - allowing them to swim stronger for longer. It also reduces skin friction drag by 2.7 per cent and full body drag force by 5.7 per cent. ..."

[Link]

That is an extraordinary claim. The American press is not embracing this like the Commonwealth press is. Some colleagues who cover swimming and some of my friends who closely watch the sport have chatted about it to me and most feel the claims about skin friction and oxygen economy are seemingly incredulous and we want to see the studies, tests etc. etc.

'Speedo' to release a new version of their 'Fastskin' model - teaser photo included!

2011-11-26T11:29:00.000-08:00

Speedo invited me to an event in New York which will introduce their new Fastskin model for the Olympics. It's called the Fastskin³ or if you are a math geek, the "Fastskin-cubed." [Link leads to basic math page.]

The invitation was kind of cool looking and I will post it once the event is over so as to share the images. For now the teaser shot above possibly features the new Fastskin³

From Speedo PR:

SPEEDO GAINS FINA APPROVAL FOR FASTSKIN³ TM

World’s Leading Swimwear Brand set to Unleash its Newest, Pioneering Swimwear Innovation

LOS ANGELES (November 25, 2011) – Speedo is set to unleash its newest pioneering swimwear innovation after gaining FINA (Fédération Internationale de Natation) approval for a concept which is a world first for the sport of swimming – the Speedo FASTSKIN3.

The ground-breaking new development will be unveiled globally on Wednesday, Nov. 30, 2011 and will be worn by Team Speedo USA superstars Michael Phelps, Natalie Coughlin, Ryan Lochte, Dana Vollmer, Tyler Clary, Katie Hoff, Jessica Hardy, Christine Magnuson, Peter Vanderkaay, Kate Ziegler, Kara Lynn Joyce and Garrett Weber-Gale, and Speedo-sponsored international stars Rebecca Adlington (GBR) and James Magnussen (AUS), and many more, throughout the coming year.

Developed in Speedo’s top-secret global research and development unit, Aqualab, the brand has collaborated with world leaders in sports technology and science along with a number of the world’s leading swimmers to produce what is by far Speedo’s most advanced swimwear design since the introduction of new FINA regulations in January 2010.

The name FASTSKIN is known within the sport of swimming as being synonymous with Speedo’s reputation for pioneering new swim technologies, and FASTSKIN3 sees the famous name underpin an entirely new swimwear innovation.

Swimming phenomenon Ryan Lochte has led the early acclaim for FASTSKIN3, saying: “I’m like a single force, now I’m unstoppable.”

Speedo International President David Robinson said: “We are set to unveil an innovation that will inspire our swimmers and revolutionize the world of swimming once more. Everything comes together on Nov. 30 and we can’t wait to unveil the results.”

The new Speedo competitive swimwear range for 2012 will be available in December 2011, along with the 2012 Team Speedo Collection, a new line of deck wear and team apparel inspired by Speedo’s top stars, which will also debut at the Nov. 30 event in New York City. The event will also showcase products from Speedo’s 2012 Active Recreation and Swim Fitness lines.

I can't go due to work commitments but I am going to try and get an interview with their designer.

A swimmer named Mercedes Gleitz helped make 'Rolex' what it is today in the marketplace!

2011-11-19T22:47:00.000-08:00

I bumped into this while searching for reasons why Rolex would sign up Tiger Woods as a brand ambassador after being dropped by Tag Heur. The answer to that question is in the article and it is not as obvious as you think.

I post the article to show how high the pedestal for swimming once sat. So high in fact that that a female swimmer had the credentials to change how Rolex marketed itself for the rest of the century and beyond thereby contributing to the creation of a $5.5-billion company.

How Rolex became "Rolex" in the marketplace - From Slate Magazine:

"... The final secret of the brand: sports marketing. Rolex essentially invented the practice, according to Thompson. When a swimmer named Mercedes Gleitz crossed the English Channel in 1927, wearing a waterproof Rolex, Hans Wildorf marketed the bejesus out of the fact that the watch had survived intact. Rolex now sponsors countless golfers, tennis players, yachters, and adventurers. The longtime Rolex slogan is “A crown for every achievement”—meant to conjure feats of athletic prowess, exploration, and, yes, gray flannel corporate advancement. ..."
[Link]

Wait, isn't ASCA suppose to be the "watchdog" to ensure coaches are credible and safe to be around?

2011-11-18T15:04:00.000-08:00

Here is a thought I shared with a friend:

Hello XXXXX,

[...]

I got to get to that ASCA post! - My premise is that they are the certifying body that USA Swimming outsourced the job of certifying coaches to. If anyone should be the "watchdog" making sure USA Swimming coaches maintain respectability it was suppose to be ASCA.

Tony

Since those who read this blog are more educated and better versed into the black arts of the American Swimming Coaches Association (ASCA), I ask you to ponder these question and if you like tell me what you think privately or in the "Replies" section:

1. Is ASCA equally responsible or primarily responsible for ensuring a coach is credible and safe to be coaching kids?

2. Should ASCA have been the doing background checks instead of USA Swimming?

3. ASCA is paid to be the professionals that ensure the best coaches possible for USA Swimming - Are they?

4. If you were the USA Swimming CEO: would you find a better certifying organization, take the job in-house, or would you try and fix them?

The photo above? That was a 13-year-old age-grouper who grew up to be quite a swimmer. Her name: Dara Torres!

Major NASA discovery: A great lake exists on a moon of Jupiter!

2011-11-17T21:19:00.000-08:00

A water related story from NASA. If Jupiter has water, it could feature some sort or organic life.

Personally I think the odds of life in the universe are quite high; however, I think the possibility of intelligent life or an advanced civilization like ours is highly unlikely. Just think how many animal, fish, reptile, bird, fungi, and bacteria phyla have existed? It has to be in the trillions-and-trillions yet only was one form of life out of all of them was intelligent. That is just a snippet of the odds against a planet having intelligent life.

Now how is that for an argument starter?

Bring it!

French coach in China: “When you’ve got a gold medal here, you’re somebody. When you have a silver, you’re not.”

2011-11-17T15:13:00.000-08:00

One company is actually paid big bucks to predict the medal count of each nation. When discussing their business to the New York Times, snippets about Australia's and China's abject desire to win sneak in.

From the New York Times:

"...But Infostrada is not always the bearer of glad tidings. The Australians, to cite another example, have been losing medal-table momentum since staging the smash-hit Summer Games in Sydney in 2000.

“They have decreased step by step every Olympics in overall medals, and we are seeing that line is going further down,” Timmermans said.

The Australians won 58 medals, 16 of them gold, in Sydney and were fourth in the overall medal table. They were fourth again in Athens in 2004 with 49 medals and fifth in Beijing in 2008 with 46.

Australians continue to make sport a local and national priority, and from their small population base of about 20 million, they produce a remarkable number of top-flight athletes in a variety of sports. ..."

[Link]

The Olympics features nothing but recreational sports yet the desire for a country to use those sports as a public relations activity to brand their country as "superior" or "so very boss" ultimately classifies the Olympics as a commercial.

I think there is something very powerful here. On face value all this is absurd and yet the countries carry on like it is a battle - a nation is great not by the athletes it creates but by it's ideas.

Take Japan for an example: Their GDP (Gross Domestic Product) is nearly twice that of Russia and is more economically successful than any nation in the European Union. It has few resources than India or Russia but it has turned it's ideas and innovation into gold!

Ideas are a better investment than athletics.

Michael Phelps signs two-year shampoo deal with Procter & Gamble

2011-11-17T14:43:00.001-08:00

Michael Phelps signs a presumed seven-figure deal to be the spokesperson for Procter & Gamble's, Head & Shoulders shampoo. P&G is stoked!

However, It reminds me of that Kurt Vonnegut quote when the United States had landed a man on the moon: “For that kind of money... the least [NASA] can do is discover God.”

In other words, for a seven-figure sum USA Swimming could have bundled the whole mens national swim team in a licensing deal and paid them 5-digits each to be the spokespeople. (Except for Lochte and Phelps since their rates are too high.)

Australia Swimming does that kind of stuff. (I have seen the contract.)

"...Michael Phelps is a three-time Olympian and one of the most iconic global athletes of our time," Belen Carazo, the director of global communications for Head & Shoulders told Reuters ahead of the announcement.

"We feel that Michael Phelps is a great ambassador for confidence -- when performing at the highest level of sport, there is simply no room for doubt."

P&G said the contract with Phelps would run for two years, until 2013. The company would not reveal the financial terms of the deal although industry experts said the swimmer's fee would almost certainly be a seven-figure sum. ..."

[Link]

I bet we see Michael Phelps in 2016 in Brazil - What else can he do for a second act? A million-reasons that all contain the name George Washington in them can be rather compelling so I am not buying Octagon's rhetoric as written in the article.

So, if I was USA Swimming, I would be hitting up health clubs, airlines, supermarkets, and finally shampoo and cosmetic companies.

Bangor Daily News: Does panic cause death in triathlete swimmers?

2011-11-16T15:27:00.000-08:00

Panic is an overly harsh emotion to say the least. Panic is synonymous with either "life or death moments" or in it's milder forms: "Employed or fired." Thus, no swimmer or triathlete has any business trying to emulate a prepared athlete on race day if there is a potential for panic. Nerves are one thing, abject panic is another.

The writer investigates the cause of triathlon deaths. Should this person have ever been racing in the first place? - From The Bangor Daily News

"... In my first triathlon about 15 years ago, I was in a huddle of wet-suited men about to wade into a lake in Maryland when an acquaintance next to me offered a singularly useful piece of information.

He said it was common for people to have panic attacks in the swim leg of triathlons, which are races that consist of swimming, cycling and running various distances, in that order. He’d done a few. We knew each other from training three mornings a week in a bright, clear Olympic-size pool.

“You’ll see. Within the first hundred yards or so, a couple people will swim right to the shore. They’ll be freaked out. The race will be over for them.”

In a minute, we were standing in water so dark you couldn’t see anything a foot below the surface. The bottom was squishy underfoot. It was not yet 8 o’clock in the morning. The wet suit, which I’d put on only a few times before, was tight around my chest and cold as the water seeped in.

The starting horn screeched.

Fifty or 60 of us, all wearing identical swim caps whose color denoted the age and sex of our starting group, began to swim. We collided and had our faces bumped and kicked as we made our way into open water. Within a few minutes my heart was racing, I was breathing fast and I was scared to death, although I wasn’t exactly sure why.

I rolled onto my back to calm down and let the pack move on. As I sculled slowly, I looked to the shore. Two men were climbing out on all fours.

I think of that day each time I hear that someone has died in a triathlon. ..."

[Link]

If the first time you ever swim in the ocean or a lake is on race day; you are not properly prepared. Racing add lots of random issues that you can't practice for like colliding bodies, choppy water from all the thrashing, and of course race day adrenaline. To add complete inexperience to the mix is a recipe for a very bad day.

Some Tips: Try being a moderately strong pool swimmer which means being able to swim a mile in under 35-minutes while holding a 2-minutes-per-100-yard pace or better. If that is hard, you may be over your head - join a masters swimming team and get swim-technique instruction. I do not endorse those "swim fast plans" that suggest by just doing swim drills alone you will be a great swimmer. Drills are tools for practice but you need to swim laps with good coaching.

Swim at least 6-times in the ocean or a lake as a "dress rehearsal" weeks before your race. Even do a warm-up swim on race day to prepare yourself for the cold water and reduce the nervous feelings you may have. It really helps. (Yes, I do that sometimes and it reduces nervousness by 50% - your experience may vary.)

When I do the Alcatraz Sharkfest, I swim a day or two before at Aquatic Park to get acclimatized so to speak. When I jump off the boat into the water on race day, I am prepared for how much it is going to hurt. I also know how long it will take for the pain to go away and for my body to get use to the water. This includes hyperventilating and/or a fast heartbeat. (I try to be one of the first people in so when the race starts, I am nearly use to the water.

If you are slow, go towards the back. Trust me, it is easier to follow than to lead.

Every great athlete knows when to quit. Failing only makes you better. Why suffer a lifelong injury or death when you can learn by just avoiding it. Even the great Julie Moss took herself out the 1983 Ironman mere miles from the finish to protect her body. Use that "failure" to inspire you to train better.

If any friend or athlete encourages you not to wear a wetsuit by insulting you for wearing one, remember that this is a recreation and don't let anyone bully you into how you should participate in it. Those people have the compensation issues not you. I myself will only swim in an open water race without a wetsuit if the water temp is over 65-degrees and the sun will be out. I am there to have fun not to prove anything.

The Alcatraz Sharkfest swim has about 800-competitors who swim the race each year. 120-swimmers choose not to wear a wetsuit. Without the wetsuit division and with only 120-swimmers able to compete, the race would be too expensive to put on and most likely would be canceled. Wetsuits are good for swimming and allow for lots of open water races to occur. Don't be ashamed to wear one.

Caveat: I am not a coach nor am I a champion - all of the above advice comes from personal experience alone. These tips are simply bits of information I have learned throughout the years.

Available for Download - David Berkoff evidentiary emails in the Jane Doe versus USA Swimming/Indiana Swimming lawsuit!

2011-11-15T11:38:00.001-08:00

I have a time- stamped lawsuit complaint filed November 10, 2011 with the Marion County Superior Court Civil Division, signed by the clerk Elizabeth L. White that I promised to make available for download but I have a problem...

At the bottom of the document is some email-related evidence to validate statements made in the complaint by Jane Doe's attorney. This includes reference emails between David Berkoff, to Mike Saltzstein, Ken Stopkotte, and others. One email even includes Mr. Berkoff requesting "scuttlebutt" on two or more blacked-out names or situations. Who or what was he asking about and why was he asking? Where do his loyalties really lie and would you trust him if you were part of the USA Swimming management? Another question: Why would he say such things to these people with so much commitment and emotions?

I have no problem posting a public document but I do have a problem revealing email addresses and phone numbers. I promised to make the document public and I actually uploaded it for download but I am having second thoughts in regards to the privacy of those concerned. Hence, I am going to post the David Berkoff evidentiary portions of the brief above but black out the email addresses and phone numbers myself.

Click on the images above to read them.

I have received the Jane Doe versus USA Swimmig lawsuit brief filed in Indiana!

2011-11-13T15:55:00.001-08:00

I have read the lawsuit brief from cover-to-cover but there is a caveat - a large caveat: The brief I received is not time-stamped by the court meaning it may not be current, it may not the original submission, or in an extreme circumstance it may be fabricated. I suspect that this alleged brief is real. I also want to note that it removes the unverified and presumed accusation that USA Swimming had received a complaint directly from the victims and did nothing. In other words this brief may be considered more favorable to them than the press has been.

With that in mind, this brief is still an extraordinarily hostile document towards the offending litigants and is a serious indictment on USA Swimming, John Leonard's American Swim Coaches Association (ASCA) and the culture therein. These organizations have summarily been indicted for not just dragging their feet but purposely stonewalling background checks among other rules that would have prevented a lot of travail and suffering.

The accusations below are made by a current USA Swimming Board Member quoted within the brief:

Pages 13-through-15 of the alleged brief:

Jane Doe, by her Father and next friend,

Plaintiff

vs.

United States Swimming, Inc.
Indiana Swimming,
Metropolitan School District of Lawrence
Township,
Christopher Wheat,
John Diercks, and
Amanda Juntunen Cox,
Defendants.

[...]

Line 88: [...] USA Swimming Knew Its Coaches Were Sexually Abusing USA Swimming Young Girls, But Consciously And Recklessly Refused To Adopt Any Athlete Protection Policies, And Even Enabled Predator Coaches And Covered-Up Their Crimes By Refusing To Timely Investigate Molestation Complaints And Moving Sexual Predator Coaches To Another City

88 Continued: At various points since at least the early 1990’s well intentioned athletes and volunteers inside USA Swimming attempted to address the rampant sexual abuse in the sport. In the early 1990’s, then USA Swimming Board of Director David Berkoff (a former gold metal Olympic winner and now attorney in Montana who has regained a position on the USA Swimming Board) headed a “sexual abuse subcommittee” for child protection, principally a thorough background screening program on coaches. The subcommittee’s recommendations were staunchly opposed by the swim coaches lobby called the American Swim Coach Association (“ASCA”) and its Executive Director John Leonard. Mr. Berkoff stated:

“The issue of sex abuse of swimmers was something that I raised to the (USS) BOD in 1990 or 1991. I suggested background checks and a formal code of conduct. That was shot down by coaches as unfeasible and intrusive. As you all know, it took 7 years from the date that we formed an abuse subcommittee in 1992 to get a code of conduct in place [in 1999] and 13 years to get background checks implemented [in 2006]. A few of you have mentioned that you made similar recommendations to USAS and that these requests fell on deaf ears.”

USA Swimming Knew Its Coaches Were Sexually Abusing USA Swimming Young Girls, But Consciously And Recklessly Refused To Adopt Any Athlete Protection Policies, And Even Enabled Predator Coaches And Covered-Up Their Crimes By Refusing To Timely Investigate Molestation Complaints And Moving Sexual Predator Coaches To Another City

88. At various points since at least the early 1990’s well intentioned athletes and volunteers inside USA Swimming attempted to address the rampant sexual abuse in the sport.

“I am also a former swimmer and swim coach who has witnessed the very slow reaction of USA Swimming to sexual abuse problems.....The problem as I saw it at the time [when serving on the USS Board of Directors in the early 1990’s] was that there was a paralysis of action. No one wanted to report it because they feared either political repercussions or a slander law suit. Perhaps this fear was understandable since there were no rules, no guidelines, no code of conduct and no discussion until relatively recently. I co-chaired a USA Swimming co-committee in 1992 or 1993 when I was an athlete representative on the BOD. We discussed the issue of abuse and what to do. All on the subcommittee were very concerned. John Leonard, the now President of ASCA [American Swimming Coaches Association], was on the subcommittee and he was pretty critical in moving the issue to the forefront. Our committee did compose the initial abuse guidelines. One of the ideas that I had at the time was to require background checks. I recall that it was not feasible because of technology and cost. I resigned from the BOD in 1994 for other reasons.” (emphasis added).

89. In yet another email, Mr. Berkoff is critical of both USS Executive Director Chuck Weilgus and the manner in which USS has failed to investigate sex abuse claims against its member coaches (see Exhibits A and B). States Mr. Berkoff:

“There is no way that I can support Chuck Wielgus being in charge of the decision to investigate a charge of abuse or not. That decision must be made by an independent entity. Any claim should be investigated as is the law in Title VII sexual harassment claims.”

Let it be known that I had endorsed David Berkoff to be elected back onto the USA Swimming board but once elected, it was as if all of the above rhetoric was seemingly forgotten. [Backpedal insult involving jumping into a speeding car moving in the opposite direction at very great speed deleted...]

There has not been a public peep out of Mr. Berkoff in regards to any of the above accusations since taking on his new position other than to endorse USA Swimming policies and it's CEO. Now his words are being used against USA Swimming and he is going to have to clarify, retract, or endorse his accusations. I personally think it will be a reasonable question to ask Mr. Berkoff how he feels now or what has possibly changed since being elected.

As for the American Swimming Coaches Association or (ASCA) - if the accusations below are true, how can this guy actually look at himself in the mirror each morning? Now here is why I say that:

"... Line 101: When the official Code of Conduct was enacted in 2009, the language relating to mandatory reporting changed, again at the urging of Mr. Leonard and the American Swim Coaches Association (“ASCA”), to when a coach is “convicted” of a crime as opposed to being “under investigation” by a police agency. ..."

Convicted? I am all for the presumption of innocence but I am also inclined to believe in "safety first" especially when a potential witness is in close proximity to alleged predator. There is this concept called a "suspension." However, I am more inclined to believe that John Leonard; (the same guy who threatened to sue me), cared more for the coaches than he did for those being coached. Why is it that the idea of suspending a coach under police investigation was seemingly out of the question for this guy? The kids being coached should always be the focus. Why wasn't it the focus in 2009 for ASCA and USA Swimming?

Now, here is the conclusion - Perhaps if both organizations put the kids first instead of spending inordinate amount of resources via lawyers trying to figure out how to pass the buck and not get sued, perhaps they would never have to worry about getting sued, or passing the buck in the first place?

We seemingly have two organizations here that are more concerned with profits rather than protection and that is the sort of culture that got USA Swimming into this mess in the first place.

When I get a brief that is time stamped I will provide a link for download.

I put together a timeline based off the USA Today article regarding the Christopher Wheat/USA Swimming molestation lawsuit in Indiana!

2011-11-12T10:12:00.000-08:00

2001: It is alleged that swimmers - note the plural tense - told two assistant coaches at Lawrence North about Christopher Wheat's sexually inappropriate behavior. These allegations were then forwarded to, John Diercks, the head coach at the Lawrence swim club who is alleged to have never bothered to contact law enforcement officials about these allegations. That same year Christopher Wheat resigns.

2003: Christopher Wheat is hired back at Lawrence North club by John Diercks. It is further alleged by the victim's attorney, Jonathan Little, that Wheat was hired back despite that USA Swimming, the Lawrence school district and even Indiana Swimming knew of these allegations and allegations made by parents as well.

2009: Text messages to Christopher Wheat and a coach named, Amanda Cox, the McCutcheon High School swim coach and head of the youth team Maverick Aquatics, strongly suggest if not prove that Coach Cox also had knowledge of his behavior:

The text messages in question referenced from USA Today:

Wheat, in the messages, admits to having a relationship with a young girl. He describes her as the "blonde one" and names her friends.
Cox says "OK! That's was imy (sic) first thought."
Wheat describes being depressed and tells Cox the girl's mother had chaperoned a sleepover at the new pool the previous day -- and both Wheat and the girl were there.
[Wheat]: "Her mom kept asking me what's wrong … I wanted to say well I have been making out and the like with ur daughter … and well she called it quits earlier today" and "now I have 4 years with her … ugh … who knows where this one goes …
[Cox]: "D`amn"
[Wheat] "what"
[Cox] "Age"
[Cox] "But good catch … now put her back in the lake and chalk it up as an experience, smile about it occationally (sic), and upgrade to college … Or a vacation w/ boys."
[Link]

Upgrade to college? Vacation with boys? It sounds as if they are talking about "sky miles" or "travel options." How absolutely pathetic and degrading!

The victim's attorney as quoted by USA Today categorically states that swimmers and parents knew of Wheat's sexually abusive behavior and even forwarded these allegations in some way to the USA Swimming organization, The Lawrence School District, and Indiana Swimming. This is a bold statement and it sounds like there is a minimum of four witnesses here and it is alleged that nobody called the police, nobody advised that the police be called in so as to investigate and nobody bothered to ban the coaches.

These allegations will be easy to prove or disprove: Were there emails, stamped letters, phone records to any of the above organizations? If so will the memberships or these organizations still remain apathetic and not ask for a regime change?

Unfortunately, I think they will.

USA Swimming releases a statement regarding the recent sex abuse lawsuit filed against them in Indiana!

2011-11-11T10:24:00.000-08:00

To the left of this post is the pedophile that sexually abused a swimmer in Indiana. His name is Christopher Wheat and he subsequently pleaded guilty to his crime and is now serving time.

The text messages he sent admitting guilt were severely creepy on many levels - the primary content that really disturbed me is that he definitely knew that what he was doing was not only illegal but that he seemingly could not control it. The link below has some snippets of the conversation.

Below is the complete statement as quoted by WTHR.com from USA Swimming in regards to new lawsuit:

"We have received several press inquiries related to a press conference given by an Indiana attorney announcing the filing of a lawsuit against USA Swimming and Indiana Swimming. At this time, USA Swimming has not been served with a suit so we are not in a position to comment on these claims. However, to the extent that the attorney has claimed that USA Swimming has a culture of protecting pedophiles, that is categorically untrue. There is nothing more important to USA Swimming than the safety and well-being of its 300,000 members. For that reason, the organization has developed one of the most comprehensive Athlete Protection Programs among Olympic Sports.

"In addition, the attorney's allegation that USA Swimming had been warned of sexual abuse by Chris Wheat is also untrue. The first instance that USA Swimming learned about abuse by Chris Wheat was when we were notified of his arrest in September 2009. Upon learning of the arrest, USA Swimming immediately implemented the process to expel and permanently ban Chris Wheat from USA Swimming which was accomplished shortly thereafter in December 2009."

[Link]

I cannot fine the lawsuit brief - The crux of the USA Swimming statement and the allegations therein are summarily the old Watergate cliche: what did USA Swimming know and when did they know it. If the answer is as that say, September 2009, as firmly stated above, then the allegations are a non-issue and people like me should acknowledge their integrity.

If a complaint was sent well before the arrest which the accusers state was in 2008, then this is pretty serious.

Sexual Abuse lawsuit filed against USA Swimming alleging no action taken after a child abuse claim was made.

2011-11-11T07:13:00.000-08:00

This one is from ESPN: I personally don't think the article was written very well; (I should talk, right?), but it does seem balanced towards each side.

There was a coach in Indiana; (why does Indiana keep coming up in these lawsuits?), and his name was Christopher Wheat who coached for the Lawrence Swim Club there. He eventually pleaded guilty last year to two counts of felony sexual misconduct with a minor and one count of felony child solicitation.

Apparently it is being alleged that USA Swimming officials didn't take action after complaints of inappropriate sexual behavior by Christopher Wheat took place. USA Swimming denies it but if there is another "This matter should be kept confidential by both you and us Chuck Wielgus email" out there stating much the same thing then the organization must take responsibility for it.

From ESPN:

"... USA Swimming, in a statement released Thursday night, said it has not received a lawsuit but denied the claims made by Little. [The child's attorney]

"To the extent that the attorney has claimed that USA Swimming has a culture of protecting pedophiles, that is categorically untrue," the statement said. "There is nothing more important to USA Swimming than the safety and well-being of its 300,000 members. For that reason, the organization has developed one of the most comprehensive athlete protection programs among Olympic Sports."

According to the lawsuit, the girl's mother called Tony Young, the sports development director for Indiana Swimming, in 2008 to complain of abusive training methods and sexually inappropriate behavior by Wheat with a separate female swimmer. Young allegedly ignored the complaints instead of reporting the incident as required by Indiana law.

"In addition, the attorney's allegation that USA Swimming had been warned of sexual abuse by Chris Wheat is also untrue," the statement said. "The first instance that USA Swimming learned about abuse by Chris Wheat was when we were notified of his arrest in October 2009." ..."

[Link]

More details and a "mugshot" at the IndyStar : [Link]

Surfer with a Jetski assist "catches" a 90ft wave! - He actually called it surfing!

2011-11-10T14:44:00.000-08:00

Using a Jetski to catch a wave and calling it surfing is like using a "Ecureuil/AStar" helicopter to land you on top of Mount Everest and then after walking down from the mountain stating you climbed it in record time!

Surfing is not water-skiing onto a behemoth wave while standing up in a fixed position with a surfboard attached to you feet and/or ankles. How can you call it surfing when a Jetski Chauffeurs you around like a rich old lady into the wave at 25mph so as to remove all the athleticism, dexterity and both gravity and momentum concerns? (Yea, yea, yea, water-skiing takes skill but it is not surfing.)

What would Olympian Duke Kahanamoku; (3-gold medals, 2-silvers), the founder of modern surfing think of being towed into a wave by a machine that spills oil and gas into the sea?

Riding the "biggest wave in the world"with a Jetski assist is nothing short of "vanity surfing" and definitely illustrates some serious personal compensation issues therein. Ken Bradshaw was the first to display his "peacock feathers," now it is some guy named Garrett McNamara is apparently a bigger "peacock" now.

From the Mail Online: [Link]

Chad Le Clos on Michael Phelps

2011-11-06T09:29:00.001-08:00

From Xinhua:

"...The 19-year-old said the success of American phenom Michael Phelps showed it was possible to compete in multiple events, though his foremost strength was still in the butterfly races.

"So I am just trying to maximize my potential. You know, just to see how many events I can swim. It is not easy swimming a lot of events back to back. I am preparing myself for the future," he said. ..."

[Link]

I beleive in GOSwim.TV - There is no better coaching resource!

2011-11-04T21:19:00.000-07:00

I should have asked first before posting this but how good would this blog be if I measured my words?

I got some screen grabs from some of the Go Swim videos and I making a few banner ads for them pro bono. Here is just one of them featuring Brendan Hansen.

People learn with the eyes and by practicing. Watching a Go Swim technique video before a workout meets 50% of that requirement. TRY IT! A great coaching resource to say the least.

Go Swim videography has produced the best instructional technique videos ever bar none - [Link]

Therese Alshammar loves walls - she also loves winning!

2011-11-04T15:42:00.000-07:00

You do your fastest swimming either in the air on off the wall. Alshammar glows at both! Therese Alshammar once again dominates in Short Course Meters racing in Singapore!

To say that Ian Thorpe "Fizzled" is both ignorant and biased!

2011-11-04T14:47:00.001-07:00

This is Ian Thorpe's first race in 5-years. Per his own words he said he had forgotten how to swim whenhe returned to the pool yet he was very glad to be back. In other words, he missed the pool rather than his "golf game" or next casino ground breaking!

Though he is swimming through this meet, he finaled, his turns looked magnificent and it was great to see him race.

Swimming World should be more measured when qualifying a great as they did using the hyperbolic adjective, "Fizzled," to describe his 7th place result in a final. We never see such adjectives when Phelps bombs a race but we do get to hear his excuses.

Here is a guy who has gone for zero to a FINA final in less than a year place three seconds behind the world record holder in the event, Chad le Clos! Libby Tricket placed 5th in her return to swimming, Did she "fizzle" too? What outrageous rhetoric!

SKY News has a much more measured response to his race than Swimming World. Has quotes too:

Thorpe, returning to competitive racing for the first time in five years, took plenty of positives from his result in the 100m individual medley final on Friday night, saying it was a great starting point in his return.

The five-time Olympic gold medalist improved on his heat swim to clock 56.33 seconds in the final, and was particularly pleased with the butterfly and backstroke legs of the swim.

And the 29-year-old was far from pleading for patience after the performance, saying he hoped and expected to improve quickly as he aims to win a spot on Australia's team for next year's London games.

'I don't expect patience.. you know, people want to see me do well and see me do well quickly ... I'd prefer to do that and I'd prefer not to wait,' Thorpe said.

'It is what it is... I haven't swum for a long time and I've got to take stock of where I was 12 months ago to where i am now.

'I'm in a final, swimming, reasonably well.. I'm happy and I've made improvement.'

[Link]

More to come...

Who would win in a fight: Ian Thorpe, Eamon Sullivan or James Magnussen? We will find out next week!

2011-11-02T11:32:00.000-07:00

Thorpe will be swimming the 100-free - I hope he "storms it" or puts in a time on par with his best. It's funny how an athlete can not only be an underdog but barely a dog at all and still be the focal point of a sport within the ~~Common Wealth~~ Commonwealth. (Google search trends validates that statement.)

As for Ian Thorpe: For the ~~Common Wealth~~ Commonwealth countries, Ian Thorpe is their swimmer. He hangs with both royalty and indigenous Australians. He is liked from the the upper class and down through to the struggling underclasses. He will be racing Eamon Sullivan next week:

From the Herald Sun:

Thorpe officially starts his comeback in a World Cup meet in Singapore tomorrow by competing in the 100m individual medley.

Sullivan may also race Thorpe in the 100m freestyle in the final World Cup leg in Tokyo next week.

"I had not even thought about it," Sullivan said, with a laugh. "I did not even know he was doing it (freestyle). I thought he was just doing IMs and all weird events."

"Look, I am looking forward to it but at this point of the preparation it isn't about competitors at all. It is about how I am racing and the stuff I am doing. It is more about practice than thinking about beating people.

"It is a completely different ball game than when you are coming up to Olympic trials. Especially where I am at at the moment it is not in my mindset to worry about other people."

[Link]

UPDATE: Who is more ripped: Thorpe or Lochte? - A video interview with Thorpe with an amazing silhouette of his physique.

[Link]

This is a factual headline: "...Athletes Seek Out Stem Cell Therapy!"

2011-11-02T10:42:00.000-07:00

So I am cruising around checking out stem cells stocks between doing some design work for Virgin Mobile US and and a presentation for WEN shampoo. Lo' and behold the most eye-opening headline I have read this year from the website called Seeking Alpha: Read. Decide. Invest. pops onto my radar

The article needs this preface: Using stem cells gathered from a patients' own fat - a procedure that yields more stem cells than from a person's own bone marrow, a super healing product may have been created.

"Good Sign For Cytori Therapeutics: Athletes Seek Out Stem Cell Therapy!

Based on Hedrick’s research, Cytori Therapeutics has invested over $200,0000,000 to develop and patent its Celution® technology platform, a technology that quickly and efficiently extracts rich concentrations of ADRCs from small portions of fat, and to develop supporting disposable instruments that are used to treat various human maladies. This is the big bet that has yet to pay off for shareholders, but the ground work is certainly being laid. Adipose has a distinct advantage as a source of regenerative cells in that it contains 300-500 more stem cells than bone marrow, is easier on the patient to extract and does not come with the moral baggage associated with embryonic stem cells. ..."

[Link]

I am not an investor in Cytori Therapeutics, nor was I paid or directed to post this article for any sort of exchange or quid pro quo deal. I do own a stem cell stock which I won't mention and I own it because their work is addressing a field which could have positive effects for someone I hold very dear. I post this report because it is weird on many philosophical levels. Are we at a point where rich people can heal faster than poor people? I think so - it has probably always been that way. How much would you pay or go in deep in to debt to alleviate a chronic pain, a failing body part, perhaps correct your vision or fix your hearing? For real, answer in the comments section.

FINIS Stroke Lab: Video notation software for coaches and swimmers!

2011-10-31T13:47:00.000-07:00

Video clinics are vital if you want to master swimming for you have to see what you are doing from a "2ND person point of view" to truly implement a stroke correction. Then when you do it takes at least 100,000 meters to make it permanent.

I am not endorsing this product but I am endorsing what FINIS is trying to accomplish - a video markup or notation software product that allows coaches and swimmers to truly drill down into the minutiae as to what needs to be corrected or strengthen!

You don't necessarily need a video mark-up to implement stroke correction, but the notation will help you to remember the details.

"Ear Dough" from New Zealand by a company called Kahlm

2011-10-31T12:57:00.000-07:00

As you know, I accept no gifts, money, or otherwise for posting info about products but here is product that I am quite interested in using: Ear Dough by Kahlm.

Ear Dough looks like it offers solid ear protection for both racing and surfing and that is why I am interested.

I use wax when I race or surf and I hate how non-pliable the wax becomes and/or even hard to get out. This stuff looks more flexible, more pliable and more efficient.

Here is a link to the the Kahlm site for more info: [Link]

Happy Halloween - Scary deep sea fish carved from a pumpkin "analog" called a squash I think!

2011-10-31T12:03:00.000-07:00

From the greatest pumkin carver of all time: Ray Villafane

See a scary viking, football players, a medusa and much, much more at his epic pumpkin carving site: [Link]

For NCAA swimmers the month of March is fast approaching

2011-10-29T09:42:00.000-07:00

...And Kenyon College can so taste a championship too. From the New York Times:

"... We are seeing the kind of energy we didn’t see a year ago,” said Bakk, a senior from McFarland, Wis.
His fellow senior David Somers, from Gaithersburg, Md., said, “We know what is at stake.”
The words “at stake” are Kenyon code for regaining what the men feel is naturally and rightfully theirs. The 31 consecutive men’s titles are, by far, an N.C.A.A. record in any division in any sport. The individual who presided over 29 of those, Coach Jim Steen, is back for another season poolside. (He missed two titles because of sabbaticals. He also presided over 19 women’s championship teams at Kenyon, including 17 in a row.) ..."
[Link]
Kenyon College men's swimming and dive program: [Link]

Swim coach Todd Sousa sentence to 16-months for sex crimes - Victim once an avid swimmer now depressed and avoids the pool due to the abuse.

2011-10-29T08:52:00.000-07:00

I don't have any details about the sentencing only that it is 16-months. (Could he be paroled?)

In California we pay $47,500 a year to house and care for an inmate. So, not only do we have an underage victim who has been "sentenced" for the duration of her depression however long that may last, we Californians have nearly a $70,000 bill to flip for this loser. Economically, I suspect I am only scratching the surface here in regards to consequences. Sousa will be unemployable when he gets out and probably have his rent paid by the state for who knows how long...! You know, I could go on-and-on.

Finally, I suspect parents in Orange County after reading the morning paper may choose to put their child into tennis, golf, or some other sport rather than swimming.
"The evil that men do lives after them; The good is oft' interred with their bones..." - William Shakespeare, Julius Caesar.

From the Orange County Register:

"... The girl's mother and stepfather in a victim-impact statement given during Friday's sentencing hearing indicated that their daughter had once been an avid swimmer but now avoids swimming and is depressed, according to the District Attorney's Office release. ..."

[Link]

2010 USA Swimming Demographics: Open letter to USA Swimming.

2011-10-25T10:46:00.000-07:00

Was just going over your 2010 USA Swimmer Membership Demographics and I noticed that those who chose to answer the ethnicity question or what race they are totaled only 53.2% of your clientele. Out of that 53.2% a whopping 75.5% of those members were white. Second place was Asian coming in at 9.2%, Mixed race coming in at third at 7.5%, The Hispanic race coming in fourth with coming with 5.2%, and finally African American, Pacific Islander, Native American, and “other” rounding out the last 2.6%.

The average USA Swimmer is a white female, She is 12-to-13-years-old, and is more likely to resign for another year than her male counterpart. When compared to new members, 50,627 were female versus 37,712 males – there is almost a 13,000 member deficit.

Your retention rate is 69.4%, you had 286,900 members in 2010. (I believe you had 300,000-plus in 2008?)

Hence, My recommendation to the USA Swimming Board of Directors: when numbers dip, so should the bonuses. If the medal count dips, so should the salaries. If there is a gender gap, throw some money in that genders direction. You're a non-profit, spend some money and please don't profit on the backs of 12-to-13-year-old girls.

I also want to note that this is not a letter to begrudge the lack of out reach to ethnic or less affluent communities; I know you have tried with several programs but to little avail. Ultimately, you are suppose to be professionals at this and you should have seen this cultural debacle coming for decades. I do encourage you to come to Los Angeles and see how successful L.A. has been in teaching Hispanics how to swim. You will note that L.A. allows kids to swim for free in highly supervised lifeguard areas all year round and offers other incentives for inexpensive “learn to swim programs as well” – It truly is a template for how your “learn to swim programs” should be conducted.

Your mission statement is to build the sport and field an Olympic team but you have left that up to Michael Phelps, the NCAA and the “creatives” at NBC to make our athletes look sexy and tell a story every four years. Well, Michael Phelps is less than a year away from retirement, the NCAA is shedding swim programs like a dog shedding fleas in a flea-bath, and our potential Men's USA Olympic team for 2012 is not looking that strong on paper as it has in previous years.

Your CEO is paid nearly a million-dollars-a-year yet your numbers are flat, or more accurately dipping. As Michael Phelps use to say, "...This is a wake-up call, ...have work to do, ...Not where we want to be!"

USA Swimming Membership Demographics PDF: [Link]

BBC Sport: "Ryan Lochte could upstage Phelps & Thorpe in 2012"

2011-10-22T13:41:00.001-07:00

Steve Perry is thinking like a competitor or more accurately an odds maker who has to create some sort of a gambling wager to pull in some revenue for his casino. With Perry's own Olympic accomplishments behind him he should be thinking more about legacy and meaning rather than a simple bet prediction.

Here is his set-up, ...err, his premise from BBC Sport:

"...Everyone seems to be talking about those two but they have both come out recently and said, 'Hold on a minute, the guy who's looking amazing is Ryan Lochte'.

So there is the potential for the media to be focusing on the wrong people.

Lochte was the first guy ever to break a world record unaided by a suit and took Phelps out in two of Phelps' main events at the World Championships earlier this year, the 200m freestyle and the 200m medley.

[...]

As for Thorpe, it is remarkable what he is doing. He has been trying to quell expectation but I don't think he's quelling it enough - I can't describe how big a struggle it is going to be for him.

[Link]

Michael Phelps, 500-years from now, will probably be the only Olympian history will remember; That is if the Olympics are remembered at all. In the near term, beating Ian Thorpe is way more significant an accomplishment legacy-wise than beating Ryan Lochte. Phelps beating Lochte and winning a gold medal holds no meaning here - He's won gold medals 8-times in a row; what is there for him to prove? It only means a soon-to-be-retired-great was beaten while simply honoring the final years of his contract.

Enter Ian Thorpe: How many times has the great Michael Phelps out touched, out raced, or out lasted Ian Thorpe? The answer is never; not even on a relay. That is where the real legacy issue lies.

If by some miracle Ian Thorpe steps up and out touches Michael Phelps, there will always be that asterisk, that footnote, the glaring historical fact that Michael Phelps was never able to beat an Australian by the name of Ian Thorpe.

This could be the "Rocky" moment of 2012 and/or the bragging rights for who was the greatest freestyle swimmer ever.

Michael Phelps has finally changed his typical "Wake-up call/I have work to do" rhetoric at the FINA world cup meet in Moscow!

2011-10-21T13:46:00.000-07:00

We use to hear him explain away or qualify his loses; now he is taking a more positive note. The guy went two-for-five in Moscow which is rather anemic for the world's greatest especially when you compare that to his past accomplishments. (Note I don't care how close the 200-free was or his 200-back win. Michael Phelps is "Mr. Walls" - he redefined how they should be attacked and in my opinion SCM should be a world in which he utterly dominates.) Nonetheless, I am impressed that he is motivated to win, is exhibiting sportsmanship and is seemingly prepared but is he really in the "...best form since 2008"?

From APF:

BERLIN — Multiple Olympic gold medallist and world champion Michael Phelps insisted on Friday that he was in his best shape since his historic 2008 Olympic year. [...]

"I'm in best form since 2008. I'm a lot happier and in better shape than last year. In 2009, I took six months off after the Games. I was in the worst shape of my life," said Phelps.

"The important thing is not what happens today but down the road. I have time to change things and prepare and get ready. Hopefully I'll improve small things.

[Link]

Now here is he is quoted in the Telegraph:

“Two years ago I swam in a couple of World Cups, but I didn’t swim as fast as I wanted to.

"Now I think I’m in a lot better shape than I was then, and if come in with some faster times I will be happy and satisfied.

"The last couple of weeks we’ve had good training and I just want to see where we stand right now..."

[Link]

The 'Holy Grail' of this blog is to find a photo of Gwen Stefani Swimming 'Fly in High school - We are so close!

2011-10-21T10:36:00.000-07:00

Hats' off to the Swimmers Daily who found this photo of the multi-talented Gwen Stefani grabbing a lane line for a school photo. Gwen Stefani, a local "grrl" from Orange County , California went on to be the "front man" for the band No Doubt for almost 20-years; a band her brother founded. She then enjoyed highly a successful solo-career doing duets with Moby and others. She started a clothing line called Harajuku Lovers which embraces Japanese pop-culture sensibilities and she has won and has been nominated for numerous Grammy awards.

She is definitely more charismatic than Lady Gaga, credited her image to the early work of Madonna flat out saying that she was a xerox of her early career and has battled her weight and self image since the sixth grade. Obviously she is winning that battle.

Thank you Jason for posting it on my Facebook wall!

"Sea floor skimming jelly fish" - A potential new species!

2011-10-21T10:24:00.000-07:00

Calling someone a 'sea floor skimming jelly fish' would make a great insult too - to wit: "You are about as smart as a sea floor skimming jellyfish."

This Jelly fish looks more like a "Sci-Fi" machine rather than a creature and it's uniqueness as an aquatic creature has inspired me to post it.

From National Geographic:

"..."This is a special kind [of trachymedusa jellyfish] which, instead of floating around in the middle of the ocean"—as most jellyfish do—"floats just centimeters above the bottom, with its tentacles touching the seafloor," team member Monty Priede said. "This is a very unusual thing." ..."

[Link]

SCAQ is also swimming in the Redondo Beach Pool - Here is one of their workouts!

2011-10-08T10:22:00.001-07:00

Is that a nice pool or what? The Redondo Union High School is on the corner of Diamond Street & Pacific Coast Highway. SCAQ coaches masters swimming workouts there and the club I belong to is building a presence in the Redondo Beach community. A perfect place for Redondo masters swimming or any sort of Redondo swimming if you ask me.

Here is are a couple of workouts that Clay Evans sent me which he gave in that pool; (Clay is a silver medalist Olympian from the Montreal Olympics):

DISTANCE LADDER CLIMBING:

"... This is one of my favorite Master’s workouts for distance and it takes only one hour. This workout was first given by Andre Burres an Olympian; [200-fly] and a SCAQ coach who passed away in an accident while jogging to coach a SCAQ workout over a decade ago.

It is all swimming, but go ahead slip some kicking in on your own if you need to.

This is one set of 3,900 yards/meters, there is no rest between ladders. If your 100's intervals are more than 1:50 you will need more than an hour or cut back. I gave this workout in Redondo Beach Monday with all other swimmers from the South Bay (Manhattan Beach, Torrance, and Hermosa).

Round one:
100, 200, 300, 400, 500 - Free Rest about 30 seconds all the way through. With each swim the effort gets harder as you get warmed up and the 500 is a 100% effort. Get your times!

Round two:
100, 200, 300, 400 with no extra rest between rounds and throw out the 500. Concentrate on the 400 as an all-out effort .

Everything leading up to it is faster than the first warm up round.

Round three:
100, 200, and 300 again, knocking out the 400 but the 300 is all out. These sets have no extra rest in between.

Round four:

100, 200 and the 200 is the fastest swim yet.
Next a 100 extra easy recovery swim
Next a 100 all out.
You are almost done! Hang on for one last effort:
50 easy
50 sprint
200 loosen down

That is 3,900 of distance done fast and furious. The workout quickly stacks up the yards and it will relate to my next workout, a Middle Distance set given the next day.

I define "Distance Workout" as averaging less than 10-seconds rest per 100 and a main set of around 2,000 or more. I prefer the workout to lead into the next workout of the week. The workouts relate and help swimmers understand and prepare for improving their swimming.

Directions to Redondo pool: [Link]

Is this suit from French swimsuit maker 'Aquadeus' filled with "awesome and win" or what?

2011-10-06T12:56:00.000-07:00

TYR and Speedo certainly are not offering suits that look this good, look that fast, and look soooo sexy!"

The Europeans are actually doing something with swimwear because they actually care whereas the American companies don't. They just "throw adjectives" at us!

I like the company so I am putting a link to them in my links column!

Here is a link to the Aquadeus Blog page: [Link]

Here is a link to the Aquadeus Facebook page: [Link]

Here is a link to their store: [Link]

Okay everybody cheer up - It's always summer on the inside!

2011-09-28T12:09:00.000-07:00

A bunch of kids recreate the Bellagio fountain - originally found at NotCot.org

WADA to relax ban on Clenbuterol for you can absorb it by eating beef products?!

2011-09-17T19:02:00.000-07:00

Should, Jessica Hardy have been eligible to go to the Beijing Olympics in 2008 if WADA understood the doping drug known as Clenbuterol prevalence in the food supply?

Perhaps an injustice has been committed?

It appears meat eaters in some parts of the world may have low levels of this drug in their system most likely due to the lax standards their respective governments impose at the "meat incorporated" plants residing in their respective countries.

From BBC News:

"... Clenbuterol is a powerful drug used to treat asthma, but it can also help build up lean muscle mass and burn off fat.

The drug's growth-promoting ability has also found favour with beef farmers, particularly in China and Mexico.

The fact that humans can ingest the substance inadvertently by eating beef is putting pressure on Wada's rules, which deem the slightest trace to be a doping infringement. ..."
[Link]

New species of dolphin discoverd in Australia

2011-09-16T08:10:00.000-07:00

A population of 100 dolphins in Port Phillip Bay and 50 in the Gippsland Lakes on Australia's southern coast have been proven to be genetically unique from dolphins anywhere else in the world, Monash University doctoral researcher Kate Charlton-Robb said in a university release.

"We're very pleased to announce that yes it is a new dolphin species, and I have called it Tersiops Australis," Charlton-Robb said in an interview with Radio Australia.

[Link]

The Atlantic Mag - The NCAA: "an unmistakable whiff of the plantation."

2011-09-15T10:56:00.000-07:00

USA SWIMMING 2008 990 PUBLIC INSPECTION COPY PDF

Found at ebookbrowse.com

This quote was the most articulate quote I have ever read regarding the exploitation of athletes at the college level.

It is also my opinion that this quote is applicable to the USA Swimming management and how the national team members are treated. Here is the quote in it's entirety:

"... Slavery analogies should be used carefully. College athletes are not slaves. Yet to survey the scene—corporations and universities enriching themselves on the backs of uncompensated young men, whose status as “student-athletes” deprives them of the right to due process guaranteed by the Constitution—is to catch an unmistakable whiff of the plantation. ..."

"...Enriching themselves on the back of student athletes!" that phrase could easily be applicable to just about all the National Governing bodies within this country; most notably the execs at USA Swimming. Consider this alteration of the above phrase: "...enriching themselves on the backs of 10-to-15-year-old girls..."

I pick the 10-to-15-year old girl analogy because that is the overwhelming majority or what the average USA Swimmer looks like. The average USA Swimming participant is white, and between the ages of ten-to-fifteen-years-old.

Here are the USA Swimming demographics: [Link]

These are the salaries of the executive brass at USA Swimming in 2008 - see page 34-35. The CEO of USA Swimming is listed on page-34 as making $636,651 but on page-35 there seems to be an addendum; (correct me if I am wrong), but an additional $139,192 has been added. If that is an added dollar mount to his salary his salary figure would be approaching $800,000. See above or go here: [Link]

What have these girls & boys been provided by USA Swimming that they did not have to pay for? This is suppose to be a non-profit and I ask you what do they receive that they do not have to pay for? Coaches pay for certification wheres kids pay to play and compete. This is a genuine question.

Now, I ask if the below solution that an NCAA team was about to attempt the only way a professional swimmer with USA Swimming can a earn a share of the money that is doled out to USA Swimming when each Olympics rolls around?

"... NCAA v. Regents left the NCAA devoid of television football revenue and almost wholly dependent on March Madness basketball. It is rich but insecure. Last year, CBS Sports and Turner Broadcasting paid $771 million to the NCAA for television rights to the 2011 men’s basketball tournament alone. That’s three-quarters of a billion dollars built on the backs of amateurs—on unpaid labor. The whole edifice depends on the players’ willingness to perform what is effectively volunteer work. The athletes, and the league officials, are acutely aware of this extraordinary arrangement. William Friday, the former North Carolina president, recalls being yanked from one Knight Commission meeting and sworn to secrecy about what might happen if a certain team made the NCAA championship basketball game. “They were going to dress and go out on the floor,” Friday told me, “but refuse to play,” in a wildcat student strike. Skeptics doubted such a diabolical plot. These were college kids—unlikely to second-guess their coaches, let alone forfeit the dream of a championship. Still, it was unnerving to contemplate what hung on the consent of a few young volunteers: several hundred million dollars in television revenue, countless livelihoods, the NCAA budget, and subsidies for sports at more than 1,000 schools. Friday’s informants exhaled when the suspect team lost before the finals.

If only that team had won, where would USA Swimming athletes be?

If it is considered in the coming year at some Grand Prix or even in London, would a Michael Phelps or a Ryan Lochte support the athletes at their side? I doubt it but this swimmer knows this, USA Swimmers are exploited from the top all the way down to the bottom. Though USA Swimming is a non profit, how much money actually goes to the subject of their non-profit versus what the subject of their non-profit pays into it?

Finally, one can argue that NCAA athletes get scholarships. So, what about the scholarships? Is that a form a payment?

“...Scholarship athletes are already paid,” declared the Knight Commission members, “in the most meaningful way possible: with a free education.” This evasion by prominent educators severed my last reluctant, emotional tie with imposed amateurism. I found it worse than self-serving. It echoes masters who once claimed that heavenly salvation would outweigh earthly injustice to slaves. In the era when our college sports first arose, colonial powers were turning the whole world upside down to define their own interests as all-inclusive and benevolent. Just so, the NCAA calls it heinous exploitation to pay college athletes a fair portion of what they earn.

[Link]

Please read the article.

Lynne Cox: the greatest open water swimmer ever will be doing a book signing here in Los Angeles on September 22,

2011-09-15T10:04:00.000-07:00

Diana Nyad is a great open water swimmer but she is no Lynn Cox. See Diana Nyad's GPS map of her attempted swim from Cuba to Florida: [Link]

Lewis Gordon Plough, the guy who swam at the North Pole, swam in or around the MT. Everest locale and other exotic locations can't even touch her either. See the YouTube of his North Pole event here: [Link]

Lynne Cox's resume is so long and so accomplished that I suspect it will never be matched or beaten and that is not hyperbole.

So if you live in "Lost"Angeles or will be coming to L.A. Lynn Cox will be visiting the Pages bookstore in Manhattan Beach next Thursday at 7 p.m. on September 22nd. Go and meet here and ask her questions too; it will be worth it.

The store is located at: 904 Manhattan Ave, Manhattan Beach, CA 90266. Here is a link to the Pages bookstore website: [Link]

Included herein is a list of some of her accomplishments to back up my statement that she is the greatest open water swimmer ever. When you read it, pretend the narrator for the PBS show NOVA who also happens to be the narrator for the Dos Equis "Most interesting man in the world" commercials is reading this list to you:

In 1971: at age 14 Lynne swam across the Catalina Channel with a group of teenagers from Seal Beach, California . They swam a distance of 27 miles in 12 hours and 36 minutes.

In 1972 at age 15 Lynne swam across the English Channel and shattered the men's and women's world records with a time of 9 hours and 57 minutes.

In 1973 at age 16 Lynne returned to England and broke the men's world record for the English Channel a second time with a time of 9 hours and 36 minutes.

In 1974 at age 17 Lynne returned to the Catalina Channel and broke the men's and women's world records with a time of 8 hours and 48 minutes.

In 1975 Lynne became the first woman to swim across Cook Strait between the North and South Islands of New Zealand. Her time was 12 hour and 2 1/2 minutes.

In 1976 Lynne broke the men's and women's world record for swimming the Oresund between Denmark and Sweden with a time of 5 hours and 9 minutes. And she broke the men's and women's record that same year for swimming across the Kattegut between Norway to Sweden in a time of 6 hours and 16 minutes.

In 1976 Lynne became the first person to swim across the 42 degree F waters of the Strait of Magellan with a time of 1 hour 2 minutes.

In 1977 Lynne became the first person to swim between three of the Aleutian Islands.

In 1977 Lynne became the first person to swim 8 miles around the Cape of Good Hope in a time of 3 hours and 3 minutes.

In 1980 Lynne was invited to speak at Tokyo Medical College and to participate in a swim around Joga Shima Island.

In 1983 Lynne swam across the three Lakes of New Zealand's Southern Alps.

In 1984 Lynne swam across twelve major waterways across in the United States.

In 1985 Lynne swam "Around the World in 80 Days" by swimming 12 extremely challenging waterways some that had never been attempted.

In 1987 Lynne became the first person to swim across the Bering Strait as a way to open the US-Soviet Border for the first time in 48 years with a time of 2 hours and 6 minutes.

In 1988 Lynne became the first person to swim across Lake Baikal and had a cape in Russia named after her.

In 1990 Lynne swam across the Beagle Channel between Argentine and Chile as a way to promote cooperation between the two countries. She became the first person in the world to complete this swim.

In 1990 Lynne swam across the Spree River between the newly united German Republics.

In 1992 Lynne became the first person to swim across Lake Titicaca from Bolivia to Peru.

In 1994 Lynne swam through the Gulf of Aqaba from Egypt to Israel and from Israel to Jordan tracing the progress of peace between the three countries.

In 2002 Lynne became the first person to complete a 1.2 miles in Antarctica, from the ship the Orlova to Neko Harbor in a time of 25 minutes.

In 2007 Lynne swam the Northwest Passage Swims: Greenland, Baffin Island, Prudhoe Bay, Chukchi Sea.

If you want to be more amazed, go check her site: [Link]

Five swimmers considered missing: Major sea search was mounted after they all forgot to check in after an open water charity event.

2011-09-13T20:34:00.000-07:00

Does this illustrate how difficult it is to hold an open water race or what?

From The BBC News website:

Watch manager Maddy Davey said: "Obviously with nine swimmers missing, it was a matter of great concern

"We wouldn't deter people from raising the alarm, but lessons were learnt for organisers and participants to check-in at the end of the event. ..."
[Link]

DesignBoom: on the London Aquatics Center

2011-09-13T15:51:00.000-07:00

DesignBoom.com has a glorious portfolio of the London Aquatics Center. This structure may be the last great pool built for an Olympic Games. I would like to believe that other great pools such as this will be created as a cultural accomplishment but after seeing what happened to the Athens pool and now the Beijing Aquatics center being converted into a silly water park, I am not optimistic.

The popularity of the Olympics is waning and the popularity of swimming may be waning with it for the Olympics is truly the only "Superbowl" for competitive swimming.

From DesignBoom:

Construction for the 'london aquatics centre' for the london 2012 summer olympics by zaha hadid architects is now complete. capable of holding 17,500 individuals at one moment, this facility will be the venue for the swimming, diving, synchronized swimming and water polo events. sheltering the sports events, athletes and supporters is an aluminum clad steel roof which spans 160 meters in length and 90 meters at its widest point. three substantial concrete columns effortlessly support the 3,000 ton sweeping overhead structure. the double curvature parabolic structure visually evokes the form of an undulating wave. on the interior, 850,000 tiles surface the pools, changing facilities and and floors. the cluster of concrete towers including the three meter springboards and diving platforms were formed and cast onsite.

[Link]

Athlete Protection Officer Susan Woessner gives a carefully parsed interview to Swimming World - Some good news therein!

2011-09-13T11:33:00.000-07:00

Generally speaking I do not like the way USA Swimming conducts their business; especially their finances, but I am satisfied with how efficient they are in declaring an offending coach radioactive.

USA Swimming's Athlete Protection Officer Susan Woessner; (visualize Sharon Stone from the film: The Quick and the Dead"), gives a highly measured, highly parsed interview to Swimming World. However, it does contain good news. Though the article is mostly talking points this paragraph not only shows promise but could be a turning point for the sport:

Swimming World Magazine:

What do you think needs to be improved upon for Athlete Protection, and what do you think is really working the best?

Ensuring the full membership understands all aspects of the Athlete Protection program has been challenging and some aspects of the program have taken time to develop. Next week we are launching an online athlete protection education program, the completion of which is a mandatory part of membership. We will also be launching an age-appropriate education program for our 300,000 athletes and their parents later this fall.

To develop the program, we partnered with Praesidium, the leading child protection education organization in the country. Education is the cornerstone of our athlete protection effort, and this piece of programming is an integral part of our efforts further empower our membership to be advocates for safe sport.

Awareness of the need for athlete protection programs is high. We see this through many channels. Clubs are using the athlete protection section of our website as a resource. 30,000 non-athlete members have completed our augmented background checks. Clubs are also embracing the pre-employment screening guidelines and our members are willing to use our reporting structure to call out inappropriate behavior.

[Link]

I am thrilled by this news. It's my belief that this is a significant step to winning the battle against pedophile coaches but why did it take something so obvious, and so inexpensive to implement some two-years to create?

Nonetheless, I am glad it's happening.

I don't like drug cheats but...

2011-09-13T08:29:00.000-07:00

The Guardian has a report from the "Drug Control Center at King's College London wheres Prof David Cowan, director of the center has stated emphatically that would be the "..."riskiest yet" for anyone using illegal methods to enhance performance."

The article has a fascinating writeup on how scientists are have realized a way to detect blood doping; (blood doping: the practice where one's own blood is collected and reinserted back into the body at a later date so as to create an over supply oxygen carrying more oxygen carrying red blood cells). Scientists have figured out a way to calculate the age of the RNA within the reinserted blood so as to detect it.

From the Guardian:

Cowan said many of the hurdles to detection of blood transfusions have now been overcome. "A few years ago, scientists discovered there are processes going on in red cells [as they age outside the body]. We've been looking at the different RNA that's present and been able to identify those that are clearly changed in stored blood."

[Link]

At my job we have dramatically increased our client base to include financial institutions and European telecoms. Without getting into details regarding what we do, our company has instituted a drug policy since we are interfacing our technology with their clients to help drive sales.

My first reaction was; ("Oh great, are we going to be treated like Olympic athletes whereas we are ambushed at odd hours?), but after reading the policy I found it incredibly fair, honest and quite private. It included scheduled appointments, mandatory drug tests scheduled post a serious accident, and best of all the results are between you and your employer ONLY!

Contrast that to what Olympic athletes endure: A positive test is broadcast globally in most cases well before a second sample is tested. Hence, as Mark Twain once said: "A lie can travel halfway round the world while the truth is putting on its shoes,"

When Jessica Hardy tested positive she eventually admitted to testing positive by blaming or suspecting that it was supplements she was taking. Hardy really had no time to appeal or explain due to the aggressive Olympic trials schedule and the demonstrable lousy project-management of the athlete test samples by USA Swimming. I am still bitter that Tara Kirk did not get to go to the Olympics in Jessica Hardy's stead but I concede that Jessica Hardy had no time to mount a defense, an explanation or the ability to cross examine the results. Hardy was declared a doper and removed from the team and consequently USA Swimming declined to follow the rules and allow Tara Kirk to swim in her place.

It's extraordinary how many mistakes USA Swimming has made in the past four-years ranging from an anti trust lawsuit, child abuse lawsuits, poor drug test management, poor athlete compensation, forcing an athlete who followed the rules and qualified to swim for our country to stay home, and finally execs making 6-figure incomes with the USA Swimming CEO's salary approaching the million dollar a year range but I will save that for later. (Also, why do I feel I am missing some others as well?)

Recently Cesar Cielo tested positive for a banned substance but was exonerated or more accurately forgiven for the offense. Nonetheless, he did test positive and it was blamed on something he inadvertently ingested. Whether he should have been forgiven or not is arguable but his privacy, as well as Jessica Hardy's medical privacy should have been respected till the final outcome was declared.

In no other professional sports do athletes have to give their constant whereabouts, activities and vacation plans as if asking a parent permission to go to out and play. Athletes deserve privacy - if they test positive who really needs to know and why? I say just their employer and the athlete. Why they did or did not make the team is both the employer and the Athlete's business only.

Bruce Lee on H2o

2011-09-11T10:45:00.000-07:00

"Be formless... shapeless, like water. Now you put water into a cup, it becomes the cup. You pour water into a bottle; it becomes the bottle. You put water into a teapot; it becomes the teapot. Now water can flow, or creep or drip or crash! Be water, my friend..." - Bruce Lee

USA Swimming's Executive Director Chuck Wielgus is quite ill.

2011-09-09T12:13:00.000-07:00

I am coming in late on this: Mr. Wielgus apparently survived a bout with colon Cancer in 2007; (which few people survive), and now he is on mend recovering from cancer surgery complications which I hope are nothing more than an inconvenience rather than a scary threat.

This is not the way I want to see Mr Wielgus leave his position as CEO at USA Swimming so I wish him best and his family as well.

From Swimming World:

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colorado, September 9. JUST days before the United States Aquatics Sports Convention is to begin in Jacksonville, Fla., Swimming World has learned that USA Swimming Executive Director Chuck Wielgus is currently on medical leave due to complications from cancer surgery.

More details at the site: [Link]

Now, my opinions which will probably land this swimmer in some hot water and as usual I don't care! You ready? Here they come: Does USA Swimming have a succession plan in place if things go untoward in the next few months or ensuing years for Chuck Wielgus or does USA Swimming even need one? What do they really do each day?

USA Swimming is no Apple, Coca-Cola or General Electric but if a chief executive is ill it is the board of directors responsibility to put in place a succession plan and what better place to work one out but the USA Swimming convention next week.

USA Swimming management and who will be in charge will be a serious issue next week and I suggest those with a vote help effect a smooth transition as we slide in an Olympic year.

Italian sprinter Filippo Magnini races two dolphins in a close contest!

2011-09-08T12:49:00.000-07:00

From Mercury News.com:

"...The captain of the national swimming team raced a pair of dolphins—King, 19 years old, and Leah, nine-years old—at a specially arranged event in a swimming pool in Torvaianica, about 30 miles (50km) south of Rome.

The dolphins had to swim about twice as many lengths as Magnini, but... "

[Link]

You have to click on the link to see who won!

Video: Music project using gold fish to create sound - Imagine the sounds swimmers would make?

2011-09-08T12:42:00.001-07:00

Quintetto promo from Quiet ensemble on Vimeo.

From Vimeo:

"Quintetto" is an installation based on the study of casual movement of objects or living creatures used as input for the production of sounds. The basic concept is to reveal what we call "invisible concerts" of everyday life. The vertical movements of the 5 fishes in the acquariums is captured by a videocamera, that translates (through a computer software) their movements in digital sound signals. We'll have 5 different musical instruments creating a totally unexpected live concert.

The installation was born with the collaboration of the Aesop studio . In 2009 Quintetto wins the third prize at the "International contemporary art prize-Celesteprize" - Berlin.

USA Swimming "Diversity Consultant" caught up in allegations of sxual misconduct!

2011-09-07T11:55:00.000-07:00

Ben Sheppard is his name, a coach for the Oakland Undercurrent Swim Team. If this is true than this is over-the-top disturbing to say the least - worst of all he was a "consultant" for USA Swimming. They sure do know how to pick them, huh? Is this the second or third one?:

From the East Bay Express:

In at least four instances, the 35-year-old coach allegedly sent messages of an inappropriate nature to girls who were his former or current swimmers. One young woman, who wished to remain anonymous, said Sheppard sent her several Facebook messages on her eighteenth birthday in February. In transcripts of that conversation obtained by this newspaper, which began at 9:34 p.m., Sheppard initiated conversation with the young woman by wishing her happy birthday.

After some back and forth, Sheppard grew coy, and wrote "just let me say it and ignore me if you want ... simply put, as crazy as it sounds I had such a crush on you ... and then some."

"It was really weird," the young woman recalled by phone. "At first I didn't think it was him. I thought it was somebody hacking his page. He was like, 'Oh please don't tell anyone.' I didn't say anything in the beginning because I thought I was the only one. I don't want to mess up the team or make a big deal of it. I thought it was such a cool program."

[Link]

I am told this individual was a member of Pat Hogan's staff. I am calling on all swim bloggers, swim news organization and journalist to summarily audit the successes and the failures of USA Swimming for the last four-and-a-half-years and subsequently publish their results.

If memory serves me correct and it often does: There has been an anti trust lawsuit, sexual misconduct lawsuits, two documentaries on the sexual misconduct therein, the mysterious firing of the national team coach, outrageous salaries versus the near poverty level pro swimmers endure, tax forms that look as if more money is spent on the comfort and aid of the executive staff and their entourage rather than what is spent on the subject of their non-profit: i.e. Adolescents, teens and national team members.

Publish it all, link to references so the the USA Swimming members at large can see this and "dethrone" those individuals who sit on the board and who have allowed an executive staff to live so well and hurt our sport so much!

You, the swimmer at large, can effect change far more than this blog ever could. Please make them stop this nonsense by putting people on the USA Swimming board that you know personally. People who are fed up with their "Marie Antoinette" compensation policies and their "wolf in sheep's clothing" child protection policies as well.

Fire these bums now! Take action! NOW!

Flattery will not get you on the blog but Jason Lezak will!

2011-08-24T15:23:00.000-07:00

Can you name the Olympians?

Fort Bragg: Also known as "Glass Beach!"

2011-08-24T14:56:00.001-07:00

From Colossal Art & Design:

"... In 1967 the North Coast Water Quality Board closed the area completely and initiated a series of cleanups to slowly reverse decades of pollution and environmental damage. But there was one thing too costly (or perhaps impossible) to tackle: the millions of tiny glass shards churning in the surf. Over time the unrelenting ocean waves have, in a sense, cleansed the beach, turning the sand into a sparkling, multicolored bed of smooth glass stones now known as Glass Beach. ..."

[Link]

More at Wikipedia: [Link]

And even more at Fort Bragg.com: [Link]

There is a very nice collection of macrophotography at the site.

Paul Yetter of T2 Aquatics has a blog - He also coached Katie Hoff

2011-08-23T11:19:00.001-07:00

Paul Yetter has a blog and it is full of stats, analytics, and swimming related opinions. Way better than my blog and in my sincere opinion this blog should be in the number one position at Google for swim blogs since it is for both coaches, swimmers and is very well written.

A swim formula for predicting IM times based on past individual performances :

I found through this process a way of predicting Katie’s Medley performances, based upon the results (times) of her 100 and 200 Fly, Back, Breast, and Free. This method of prediction seems to work with many athletes around the world. The formula is this:

Take the athlete’s 200 Fly Time + 200 Back Time + 200 Breast Time + 200 Free Time to get an “800 time” …..divide the 800 time, and add 5-10 seconds.

The same formula can be applied to the 200 IM. Take the athlete’s 100 Fly Time + 100Back Time + 100 Breast Time + 100 Free Time to get a “400 Time”….divide the 400 time, and add 5-10 seconds.

Here’s a practical example of how this works. Katie Hoff’s 200 “Stroke Times” in 2004 were as follows:

2:12.1 Fly + 2:16.0 Back + 2:30.4 Breast + 202.1 Free (9:00 total)….divide 9:00 and get a 4:30, add 5-10 seconds and you get a range of 4:35-4:40. Katie swam a 4:37 that year to qualify for her first Olympic Team.

By 2008, Katie had made some big improvements. Here’s how 2008 went:

2:11.0 Fly + 2:09.9 Back + 2:29.7 Breast + 1:55.7 Free (8:46 total)….divide 8:46 and get a 4:23, add 5-10 seconds and you get a range of 4:28-4:33. Katie swam a 4:31 that year to set her 2nd 400 IM World Record.

[Link]

The Secret Life of Swimmers over at "Fubiz"

2011-08-22T16:16:00.000-07:00

A photo gallery of before and after shots of... guess what? Swimmers!

Great photo gallery at Fubiz: [Link]

'Levis 501 Jeans' Commercial circa 1992 pays homage to the 1968 move: "The Swimmer" which stared Burt Lancaster.

2011-08-21T21:19:00.000-07:00

Yes, swimming, swimmers and pools are sexy. Why isn't there a reality show based on swimming and swimmers? Have you seen the crap on Discovery channel as of late? Sons of Guns, Ice Truckers, Deadliest Catch, Pitchman, American Chopper, and soon a show about launching anvils into the air with dynamite.

Let's be serious, there are men out there whose chests are wider than their wastes, who don't smoke, don't have to compensate, and are both strong and graceful in a sport that could almost 1/3-of-the population if they accidentally fell off a docked boat.

On a ranking of 1-to-10 with a ten being best, I give the commercial a 10. It's colorful, sexy and very "Americana."

Vintage swim ad Friday: This one for 'The Jantzen International Sports Club'

2011-08-19T11:03:00.000-07:00

I think I have become an authority on Jantzen swimsuit ads of the past. Yes, it is official, they are filled with a bit of subtext I suspect?

Witness these jolly men hanging out next to a Hobie Longboard; which was the Channel Islands surfboard of its day, with one holding up next to it is a commercialized version of a skateboard which was available in toy stores everywhere.

Both the surfboard and the skateboard feature color patterns that obviously mirror those colors used in the Jantzen swimsuit products. Also, and I don't know if this was intentional, the first man has no hair on his chest, the second, some hair and the third, lots of chest hair. Was this an attempt at diversity?

Now finally, notice the product box in the lower right hand corner; makes you feel like your joining a seriously dedicated men's club don't you think?

New York Times: "Are crunches worth the effort?"

2011-08-17T07:48:00.000-07:00

Apparently, evidence demonstrates that "ripped abs" are for "show" but there is a small caveat: Those with weak cores should strengthened them:

From The New York Times:

No one needs to perform hundreds or even dozens of crunches, said Brad Schoenfeld, a professor of exercise science at Lehman College in the Bronx and an author of a newly published review article about core exercises titled “To Crunch or Not to Crunch.” And while everyone needs some basic minimum of core strength — getting up out of a chair requires a certain amount of core strength; serving a tennis ball requires more – “six or eight crunches would be plenty,” he said, “and only a few times a week. ...”

There is also a procedure in the New York Times article as to how one can do a correct sit-up without injuring lumbar or cervical discs. The abstract linked to above says crunches are not friendly to spine health.

The question is, how important is it to have a "ripped" core for swimming?

This study listed at the National Institute of Health seems to support that there comes a time when your core is strong enough:

Abstract: Development and validation of a core endurance intervention program: implications for performance in college-age rowers.

The objective of this study was to examine the effectiveness of a core endurance exercise protocol. Forty-five college-age rowers (age 21 +/- 1.0) were assigned to either a core training group [core group] (n = 25), which took part in a core endurance intervention exercise protocol, or to a control training group [control group] (n = 20), which was not given any specialized core training. Training took place 2 days per week for 8 weeks. Trunk endurance was assessed using flexion, extension, and side flexion tests, whereas a variety of functional performance measures were assessed (vertical jump, broad jump, shuttle run, 40-m sprint, overhead medicine ball throw, 2,000-m maximal rowing ergometer test). The results revealed significant improvement in the two side flexion tests for the core group (p < 0.05). Interestingly, significant differences were noted in the trunk extension test endurance times for the control group (p < 0.05), but not for the core group. No significant differences were found for any of the functional performance tests. In summary, the 8-week core endurance training program improved selected core endurance parameters in healthy young men, but the effectiveness of the core intervention on various functional performance aspects was not supported.
[Link]

As for me I have never been happy with my core strength which could be the result of seeing too many "ripped abs" in billboards, magazines, beer commercials, and music videos. I suspect actually doing the sport you do will give you the abs you need unless it is running.

USOC will collect $100-million when 2012 Games go Live - they will only spend $17-million of it on athletes!

2011-08-13T12:04:00.000-07:00

The United States Olympic Committee (USOC) sent 596 athletes to Beijing; (310 men and 286 women), and they all competed in 27 out of 28 Olympic sports. If the same number goes to London, the USOC will paid out $17.2-million in what they call “logistical and operational support in sending teams” which is only a fraction of the money they take in. $17.2-million sounds like a hefty amount but it is not. That number works out to be $28,523 for each member and some is obviously shared sending coaches as well. Now, this does not mean that each member was handed a $28,523 check. The phrase "logistical and operational support" is essentially a nebulous region or a complete mystery to all of us. Could they be spending some of that money on USOC owned "logistical and operational support services?" Reference: [Link]

When I worked at Disney, every board meeting I attended with the executive staff was catered by Disney owned services. Anything thing that was purchased had to be purchased by Disney properties such ABC, ESPN, etc. etc. Disney was essentially paying themselves and their markup probably to dilute earnings within the various business units. Most Fortune-500 do that. This is one of the reasons that the average motion picture never turns a profits.

So, referencing the first paragraph, what are they doing with the remaining $87-million? Why don't they throw in another $20-million for the athletes in the form of a salary? Wait, then they would only have $65-million dollars left over to spend on their employees. So, what do their employees make?

These are 2009 numbers:

Total compensation for 22 high-level executives equaled $6.5 million, and 66 of 473 employees collected more than $100,000 apiece. Tops were chief operating officer Norman Bellingham at $663,369, former chief executive officer Jim Scherr at $619,507 and chief communications officer Darryl Seibel at $367,779.

[Link]

In 2009, they collected about 200-million in revenue

Now, let's keep in mind these salaries are not being handed out by a Fortune-500 company but rather, a non profit... A non profit.

Example: Let's say I start a charity and my job is to take care homeless people. What percentage of the dollar amount received should this charity put towards the subject of their non-profit? i.e. the homeless versus the employees and the organizational costs that is suppose to assist them?

In this case the USOC is spending 43% of their income just on salaries alone that nearly triple the national average with and only 17% on the athletes.

Here is how the costs and profits break down in 2008, I reference this since an Olympic year is coming up:

"...It generated $280.6 million in total revenue, $133.9 million more than in 2007, helping offset $231.1 million in expenses, including $71.4 million on athletes and national governing bodies of Olympic sports, $39 million on employee compensation and $25.2 million on training center costs. ..."

[Link]

So, in my opinion handing money to the USOC or even USA Swimming and expecting it to trickle down to the athletes is an absolutely absurd notion. You might as well hand the governing bodies a pitchfork and watch them shovel nickels and dimes in the athletes general direction and hope some of them roll down the to the road to the kids that support these governing bodies.

This really is a racket and should be investigated by the IRS:

"... The USOC issued $43.3 million in grants to 37 NGBs, including $4 million to U.S. Ski and Snowboard, $3.4 million to USA Swimming and $3.2 million to USA Track & Field. It spent $11.5 million on 22 Paralympic sports. ..."

Read more: [Link]

...All from a $200-million pot! Disgraceful!

Vintage swim ad Friday: This one for 'Ralph Lauren' circa 1980's

2011-08-12T14:38:00.000-07:00

This one From Ralph Lauren actually is a totally functional design that would even work as a swim suit. It covers the shoulders from sunburn and is extraordinarily sexy; but then again, all of Ralph Luren's stuff is a classic and never really dates itself.

Found at Glamour Splash: [Link]

And that's not all, I went to the GlamourSurf.com website as the watermark denotes and to my surprise, the site actually sells vintage swim suits from years gone by...

GlamourSurf.com: [Link]

Hey Pro Swimmers: Chinese tennis star Li Na is making $42-million a year and she isn't selling just tennis rackets!

2011-08-10T16:14:00.001-07:00

This post is for pro swimmers only. Memo to you: Forget suit manufacturers go to people like Ralph Lauren, Tom Ford, Proactiv or Armani. Then throw in some car companies, insurance carriers and such. Also give these guys a call...

Shenzen Daily.com:

"... Li Na, the first Chinese player to win a major tennis title, [The French Open] is set to become the world’s second-highest earning female athlete after signing endorsement contracts worth at least US $42 million. [...]

"We could do five more endorsement deals but she just doesn’t have the time," said [Max] Eisenbud, a vice president at... IMG ... who signed Li in November 2009. “It’s incredible."

[Link]

Damn straight it is incredible!

I wish you luck I want you all rich!

Diana Nyad: forced to abandon 103-mile swim from Cuba to Florida

2011-08-09T06:47:00.000-07:00

It was a courageous effort, no doubt. Diana swam for more than 24-hours straight and appeared to be swimming a better than 2-miles-per-hour pace. That is kick ass!

I don't think that there has ever been a 60-year-old woman, or man, who has ever accomplished such a feat. I don't think I could and I am an experienced open water swimmer.

Diana was not "chasing windmills here." Like Don Quixote, she was more of an inspiration than a "crazy swimmer;" that is if you can call a 55-mile swim a failure. If anything I am more inspired by this "failed attempt" to get more healthy and chase some windmills of my own.

Here is where she ended her swim, just a little more than half way: [Link]

(CNN) -- Endurance swimmer Diana Nyad, who attempted to become the first person to swim between Cuba and Florida without a shark cage, was forced to abandon her effort early Tuesday morning -- roughly halfway through her journey.

Nyad was vomiting when she was brought aboard a boat at 12:45 a.m. Tuesday -- 29 hours after she jumped into the water Sunday.

"I am not sad. It was absolutely the right call," she said.
[Link]

Two triathletes die during the swim portion of the Nautica New York City Triathlon on Sunday!

2011-08-08T15:56:00.000-07:00

When death occurs in a triathlon, more often than not, it's always the swim portion; always!

Lap swimming is no way to train for a triathlon swim! even the New York Times says so; there, memorize that triathlete!

Clay Evans once told me this: If you are training for an open water race in the ocean and you have never swam in the ocean before and the first day you do will be on race day, it is a requirement that you be able to break 1-minute for a 100-freestyle.

I argued that my first open water race was in the ocean and that I lap swam in a pool to train. He countered that I spent 20-years surfing up and down the coast so I had plenty of ocean experience. He is right. The ocean is no lake.

I have to believe that fitness, technique, conditions, and age are a factor in these deaths though there have been swimmers who are quite fit and well practiced but have died too. I suspect those swimmers are in the minority but the ones they were trained most likely had heart pre-conditions that made them susceptible to death.

Other factors could be a blow to the head, perhaps being "dunked" in act of "revenge." Yes that happens.

Swimming is an extreme sport and I wish triathletes would sign up with Masters Swimming programs.

Here is what the New York Times had to say:

Harris’s study in The Journal of the American Medical Association recommended that triathlons screen participants more stringently to require certification in open-water swims.
“That might be hard to implement,” Harris said Monday.
But Burke said next year’s triathlon might require such a certification, as well as others.
“We might require some certification like, ‘Have you been checked by a medical professional in the last eight months?’ ” he said.
[Link]

Or how about a questionnaire? Have you raced in the ocean before, what event, what was your time? Have you swam in a USMS sanctioned swim meet? What was the event and what was your time. Then stagger the swimmers accordingly.

I see an opportunity for the US Masters and they should seize on it.

The photo above was taken by Diane as ducks line up for the for the "Swim, Quack, Fly" race held every morning at Balboa Lake near my house in Los Angeles.

Diana Nyad: More than 1/3-the way to Florida!

2011-08-08T12:13:00.000-07:00

Google and CNN are "GPSing" her while she "beasts" the strait like no one else can! You what? I think she needs to veer to the left a bit.

CNN/Google [Link]