The 'Surf Bus' takes inner city kids from Los Angeles to the beach so they can learn how to surf and play!

SCAQ swimmer Bill I. sent me this article from Pete Thomas over at the L.A. Times regarding a very nice surfer named, Mary Setterholm, who has started a non profit to help inner city kids who in some cases have never seen the ocean to come out and play in it. Imagine living 10 miles from the sea and never having an opportunity to see or experience the ocean? Mary Setterholm couldn't live with that so she started the "Surf Bus." That is so cool!

Snippet from the article: "... At the South Seas House, about 40 children are kept orderly by activities director Carlton Stubbs. That's a condition they will not violate on this special morning.

Once on the bus, though, they loosen up. Many chatter and smile. A girl in the back hoists a sheet of white notebook paper with a smiling blue stick-figure and the lettering, "We Love Surfing."

Some, however, remain quiet, as if going off to war, so foreign and daunting is the mysterious ocean.

Stubbs, who has been involved with the L.A. Surf Bus for four years, says the program offers obvious physical benefits while enabling the children "to overcome fears of swimming and to discover the calming effects of the ocean. ..." [Link]

This is an amazing idea and an even bigger accomplishment in my opinion. Exposing inner city kids to the beautiful beaches we have here is very important on so many levels. Kids become motivated to swim, to surf, to see and experience beach culture with it's affluence and beauty, and to share it with people with different races and income brackets.

Believe me, it is way "outside their box." 50% of Los Angeles inner city kids will not graduate high school. I am certain that experiencing something this magic will make motivate many to learn how to swim and surf and by exposing them to something better could make a difference in school. It costs a lot of money to live near the beach.

LA TIMES: 'TYR' sues 'Speedo' and 'USA Swimming', Coach Mark Schubert and Erik Vendt

UPDATE: Here is the legal brief that TYR filed: [Link]

Thank you so much to the reader who sent it!

I am going to try and get the brief and post it. I am no lawyer but I think TYR has a case. A huge one and USA Swimming will be forced to capitulate or face the consequences of their "for profit" ventures presented to the public at large. Most notably that USA Swimming is not allowed to profit from the subject of their non-profit status and yet they are doing just that.

As for Mark Shubert who is coach of the USA Team - This snippet to me illustrates an ethically severe conflict of interest on Shubert's part if this allegation is true. Especially note the part in bold. Here is a snippet: "... before the LZR debuted, the court papers said. His enthusiasm extended to what was called a mandatory team meeting at the Short Course World Championships in Manchester, England in April, telling swimmers that they would "have a two percent advantage if they wore the Speedo LZR technology," according to the lawsuit.

"Schubert also arranged to have a fitting session during the mandatory team meeting where athletes were instructed on how to fit the Speedo LZR suit and position the LZR suit to the body," the complaint said. "TYR-sponsored athletes in attendance expressed discomfort at Schubert's unsolicited comments."

Speedo has long been linked to USA Swimming, in a commercial sense, and in court papers TYR maintains that Schubert "is a paid spokesman for Speedo. ..."

( Read as a PAID spokesperson for Speedo being PAID to tell the American team in Manchester, England during a mandatory meeting that the product he is being PAID to represent is 2% better than any other suit and that they should wear it.)

As for USA Swimming: Here are three reasons why they may be acting in economic interests rather than in the interests of producing good swimmers:

1) Wasserman Media Group "Marketing deal"
2) Speedo endorsement deal - Speedo Tip of the Week
3) Spanking Floswimming for actually promoting swimming.

As for Erik Vendt: If you promise to wear a suit in exchange for a salary; you wear it. Embarrassing your sponsor not only tarnishes their name, but makes you a potentially fatal brand investment down the line. Also, there is that breech of contract thingy!

Here is a link to Lisa Dillman's article at the L.A. Times: [Link]

Photo above came from non-governmental body, non-profit, USA Swimming.org

'Speedo Lazr' discussed in the L.A. Times - Sidenote: I can't believe that they didn't retouch out his "$1.50" in the photo below

This article sent to me by blogger Trevr. I am astonished that the LA Times didn't color correct this photo but rather published a JPG of it with the "Photoshop levels" blown out so badly that you can literally see though the dark parts of the suit; (Note below the knee and how the skin shows though). Consequently, the highlights on his "$1.50" are so extreme that one can see how well or how meekly he may be endowed. Poor guy; and look at Amanda Beard, her face reads as if she is thinking, thank goodness Phelps is the focal point. But enough about my problems...

The L.A. Times article tackles the controversy regarding the Seedo Lazr. Here is a snippet:

"... French swim officials, in particular, complain that the sport is beginning to resemble Formula One racing. The turbulent times for swimming and the focus on technology is reminiscent of the changes in tennis and golf, when wooden rackets and old-school clubs went to the back of the garage for good, replaced by their sleeker composite cousins.

"I'm an old swimmer," said Furniss, who won a bronze medal in the 1972 Olympics. "An old guy who is old school in a lot of stuff. But the reality is you look at any sport, any equipment, whether it was a bamboo pole in the pole vault going to fiberglass. . . . In swimming we're doing the same thing. We're just doing it in the water. ..." [Link]