I was interviewed by the 'Wall Street Journal' today!

I got a phone call today from a writer with the Wall Street Journal asking me about my viewpoints on the potential tech suit ban in US Masters Swimming.

One question that came up was what will I do if a tech-suit ban takes effect at the Masters level in January? I replied that I would continue to wear my tech-suit but if I am not able to step up to the blocks and at least get a time before being DQed, I would not compete in the USMS in 2010.

I went on to say that there are open water-events I can do like the Alcatraz Sharkfest, there was the LMU fund-raiser for the womens team, that sprint triathlons had a nice ring to it, and I would even stage my own swim meet. (Something I was going to do at the USMS level through SCAQ but now that it is probably unlikely.)

If I am quoted, I will let you know when it comes out.

A swimmer died racing the Alcatraz Challenge today.

The blog post is over at 'Just add water', my favorite open water swimming blog. Acatraz is not an easy swim. When I see articles about dogs, children, toddlers swimming from Alcatraz to the mainland I get real mad because it cheapens how hard it actually is to swim. It is NOT an easy swim and it is the hardest open water swim I have ever done and a swim I take very seriously. Last year I swam a total of of seven, 2-mile ocean swims as well as swimming 3-4 days a week in a pool to prepare. [Link] SF Gate Article with photos [Link]

UPDATE: This comment by Sylvia deserves front page listing regarding the Alcatraz death: "... Exactly! Even though I swim Alcatraz on a regular basis, there are times when I know I'm pushing my limits. (See last Friday afternoon's swim [post]. [Link]

While swimming it is an accomplishment for anyone, it is tough. When the kids are out there (1:1 or more coverage) and in wetsuits in the morning (much calmer water) I preface that it isn't at all the same as an afternoon skin swim with high swells and chop.

Any open water swimming is "swim at your own risk".

Years ago a woman entered one of the Alcatraz swim races and after 10 minutes in the water it was clear that she was having problems. Come to find out, she didn't know how to swim and thought this would be "a cool place to learn". ..."

I have to repeat, this is the hardest swim you will ever do.

On June 10th I escape from "the rock" for the fourth time, you can too in September!

On June 10th I will be in San Francisco to swim in the annual Alcatraz Sharfest swim for the fourth time. (That's me above.) Last year I finished 65th in the men's wet suit division, or "wuss" division as David Horning puts it, and I finished 87th out of 960 entrants overall. (I am bragging to compensate for how bad I suck in the pool.)

This Sharkfest swim is sold out but the South End Rowing Club of San Francisco has a race as well which will be held on September 15th. There are about 2 dozen spots left so if you want the adventure of a lifetime I recommend this swim. Click here for details [Link]

The South End Rowing Club was established in1873 when text messaging was called Morse code and the locomotive was the only way to fly. With all that history under it's belt, this club knows has to know the San Francisco Bay.

"Just Add Water" has entered the building

I found the coolest, open-water blog for the San Francisco Bay area. It's called "Just Add Water." It has lots of amazing info regarding Alcatraz swims, the South Coast Rowing Club, Nutcracker swims which are swims form Candlesteick Park to Aquatic Park and these swims nicknamed the Sunriser Swims where you jump off a pier to begin the swim and end up on the other side of the city when you're finished. Great adventures therein. My kind of people. Here is a link to the site and I have also included a permanent link in the right hand navigation: [Link]

How the open water events are timed at swimming world championships

Look how cool the timing is done at at the FINA World Championship of Swimming open water event. It appears you swim back to your starting block and push it. At the Alcatraz Sharfest we wore chips around our ankles and we had run a short distance to the "hot point" for our times to be read. This is so much better.

In the picture to the right: the brave, the strong, and the fast, Larisa Ilchenko tells the world she is number one. Those blotches on her face and arms are probably jellyfish stings.

The Playa Del Run races are coming up where you can either swim, run or do both.

I use the Play Del Run races a s a tune-up for Alcatraz. They are a lot of fun and make a great practice race for triathlons or swim events. Details here at Playa Del Run. Oh, and that handsome hunk on the front page is ME but I have no affiliation with the race!

Here is the race schedule:

Race #1	Mission Bay	April 29, 2007
Race #2	Santa Monica	May 20, 2007
Race #3	Huntington Beach	June 3, 2007
Race #4	Playa del Rey	July 22, 2007
Race #5	Solana Beach	August 19, 2007
Race #6	Malibu	September 8, 2007

Why I support college swimming!

I gave $530 to the LMU pool last summer to help support their team. Soon, a brick will be dedicated at the pool with my eldest son's name carved on it. When you donate money to college swimming you are supporting programs that will elevate both swimming and the community at large in several different ways.

Three reasons why we should aggressively support college swimming:

1.) College swim teams provide outstanding pools for masters swimmers and those that want to be swimmers such as triathletes and kids.

At the time of this writing there are about 10 pools open in the city of L.A. available for club or masters swimming. (This excludes the Los Angeles Unified School District pools since they have their own schedules and priorities such as PE, water polo and school swim teams.)

L.A. has a population of nearly 4 million people and with 10 pools total to represent 400,000 citizens each, this is obviously not a big enough aquatics infrastructure to support quality club swimming. College pools, on the other hand, are more interested in both swim clubs and masters programs so more college pools means more quality pools for triathletes and clubs.

2.) College scholarship opportunities for like-minded athletes.

Cullen Jones; (pictured above), is tied with Gary Hall as my favorite sprinter. Cullen goes to North Carolina State University and is majoring in English with a minor in Psychology. Hailing out of Irvington, New Jersey, a town that has a 17.4% population which is below the poverty line, Cullen attends NCSU as a result of a swim scholarship.

It is looking pretty good that Cullen will be a member of the US Olympic Team come the 2008 Beijing Olympics and it wouldn't be a stretch to say that he may break Popov's 50 meter long course record between now and then. He would be the first American of African heritage to hold that record.

Swim teams are yet another sporting opportunity to get bright individuals into a cool university. Let's not allow these opportunities to fade.

3.) The sport itself, which includes future Olympians, master swimmers, swim clubs, triathletes and even sprint triathlons will evaporate if college teams fade away and pool construction halts. This is a variation of reason number one with the added threat of non-competing pools being converted for other real estate functions. If there are no teams, why own a pool?

What you can do? Donate to college swimming programs or withhold donations to schools that plan on dropping swim programs. Write or call the NCAA and demand that they defend all Olympic related sports especially swimming.