Charlotte Observer: Charlotte swim coach banned for life after sexual misconduct charge

Jamie Thomas finally banned for life. It took a very long time to process this ban and people should ask USA Swimming why?  (In fact I will ask and post the reply.)  This all began back in November 2013. 

In fact South North Carolina has had 9-coaches charged with sexual misconduct since 2012. Absolutely despicable. Sounds like a serious cultural problem that needs addressing. 

From the Charlotte Observer:

 On Monday, the sport’s governing body announced Thomas’ permanent suspension for violation of the USA Swimming code of conduct. The suspension means he is prohibited from coaching or owning one of its club teams. 

 “The safety of our athletes is our top priority,” USA Swimming spokesperson Karen Linhart said. “It’s very important to have the right people in our sport, acting in the ways of our code of conduct and doing the right thing.” 

 USA Swimming initially suspended Thomas following his Sept. 18 arrest in Opelika, Ala., on a pending sexual misconduct charge. 

[Link]

RIO Games in trouble: A "Plan B" is being floated to have some of the events moved to different cities.

The 2016 Olympics is a socio/political mess thus far. Even governing chiefs are raising their voices and one in particular, International Tennis Federation chief Francisco Ricci Bitti. "...called the situation "very serious" and said "we are scared."

As I write this 2,000+ Olympic venue construction workers are on strike because of the precarious working conditions. The strike there has been aggressive and warning shots have been fired into the air suggesting workers and security guards are quite at odds with each other.

From the Courier Mail:

“....Leaders of 18 different federations spoke out about Rio’s troubled preparations in a meeting with Bach and the IOC board. All but one — volleyball — raised serious concerns. 

The general feeling is that we are in the most critical situation in the preparation for the games that has happened in the last 20 years at least,” said Francesco Ricci Bitti, head of the Association of Summer Olympic International Federations.

Ricci Bitti said the sports raising the issue of a “Plan B” were referring to venue plans, not moving the games.

“We are not at this stage,” he said, adding that basketball, for example, could consider playing some games in Sao Paulo if the Deodoro venue won’t be ready.

[Link]

Emerging economies often have environmental problems however one problem in particular, according to the The Guardian, could actually "kill" the sailing venue before it is even built.

From the Guardian:

"... Construction on the second largest cluster of venues in northern Rio, in an area called Deodoro, has yet to begin. Work on the Olympic golf course has also been delayed.

Severe water pollution in Guanabara Bay, the venue for Olympic sailing, is a growing concern with a test event scheduled in August. IOC officials have said they will not risk athletes' health if the water is unsafe. ..."

[Link]

But what about the pool? That venue was built in 2007 for the Pan American Games. The upside is that the pool is built. The down side is that it was built 7-years ago. Arguably, since FINA will not allow techsuits and insists on "tech pools" instead, don't expect a myriad of world records to be set in 2016.

Stephanie Rice retires from swimming - A swimming career "obit" from Yahoo sports

Unfortunately she will be remembered for the dumbest thing a celebrity can do: Tweet a gay slur on Twitter and believe you can take it down in time before it becomes globalized. That is what she did and the consequences came quick. It was 2010 and that slur cost here a luxury car contract and even the car they gave her had to be returned.

Rice was the Missy Franklin of Australia winning three gold medals in the Beijing Olympics Games. Her shoulder ultimately blew out and I suspect her interest in the sport as well. See the vide above.

From Yahoo News:

The beginning of the end of her swim career came in December 2011, when she underwent surgery to repair a torn tendon in her right shoulder. With plenty of physiotherapy and cautious training, she won both IMs at the Australian trials four months before the London Games, but the shoulder failed to hold up to more rigorous training ahead of the Olympics.

"Steph has been wrestling with this since London," Bohl said Wednesday in a telephone interview with The Associated Press.

"She couldn't get the best out of herself there, but with what she endured, she didn't want to retire with question marks. She wanted a year or two to think about it."

[Link]

Sad day when a young lady has to "fold her cards" and give up the holy game of swimming. May her second act be adventurous, fruitful and endearing.

Ian Thorpe is in trouble: "Australian swimming legend Ian Thorpe in intensive care and may lose the use of his left arm after 'contracting a bug during surgery' in Switzerland"

It has been a lousy year for Ian Thorpe, a man who has suffered depression issues for the better part of a decade and now this troubling news:

From the Daily Mail:

The 31-year-old gold medallist is receiving treatment for an infection after receiving surgery at a hospital near his Swiss home of Ronco sopra Ascona. Thorpe was flown to Sydney, where he is in intensive care, and his close associates fear that he could lose the use of his left arm, Network Seven reported.

[Link]

In a world where Nike is "Speedo" and Alberto Salazar is "Mark Schubert" - Track & field athletes want to rise against the empire and unionize!

Track & Field athletes inspired by the concept that both college football players and basketball players can unionize is taking the ruling by the National Labor Relations Board quite seriously. They are now talking about unionizing too after an all too powerful coach arguably gamed the rules at a track & field event.

From the Wall Street Journal: 

"... The discord follows two disqualifications at indoor nationals in February. Both cases involved runners coached by Nike coach Alberto Salazar, which prompted opposing coaches, athletes and competing sponsors to question Nike's influence with the USATF and how the body applies its rules. USATF rejected claims that anyone received special treatment.  

At the meet, as Brooks-sponsored Gabriele Grunewald sprinted to victory in the final leg of the 15-lap, 3,000-meter race, she clipped the heel of Nike runner Jordan Hasay, who finished fourth. Mr. Salazar, a three-time New York City Marathon champion, protested the result on the grounds that the contact impeded Ms. Hasay. Ms. Grunewald eventually was disqualified, though some people said the process deviated from USATF rules. 

Ms. Hasay later withdrew the protest amid backlash, and Ms. Grunewald was reinstated as the winner. 

In the men's 3,000 meters, Nike runner Andrew Bumbalough was disqualified for interfering with Galen Rupp, who was coached by Mr. Salazar and also is sponsored by Nike. Mr. Rupp came in second, while Mr. Bumbalough, who wasn't coached by Mr. Salazar, finished eighth. ..." 

[Link] 

Some supporting "players" in this "movie" that I did not mention in the title of this post are Brooks and Saucony (shoe company rivals to Nike).  They are the TYR and the Arena swimsuits of the sport.

In 2008 USA Swimming was essentially a marketing arm for Speedo. No other suit company could advertise in the USA Swimming magazine but Speedo. This rue was so ironclad that when a TYR logo appeared on a TYR sponsored swimmer in an article, it was ordered to be airbrush off the athlete's suit. Speedo, back then, owned all the marketing and advertising opportunities much like Nike currently has with US Track & Field today. 

Now I don't want to be racially offensive but the following analogy is going to apply. It is not hyperbole but rather a fact and the definition fits: There is a profound amount of track & field athletes that are of African descent. These athletes like many of their ancestors are now second string "share croppers" to their governing body.

A share cropper, (usually a former slave) would take out a loan from a landowner to buy seeds and tools. This sharecropper would work the land and a percentage of the crops when harvested would go to the landowner as payment. The crop amount delivered to the landowner was about half or maybe a little less than what was grown. On face value this seems fair, but the landowner set the prices that he would pay for the harvest which would be significantly less than market value. Since the sharecropper had no access to the markets at large. The end result was that the Negroes did all the work and the landowners made all the money.

Now enters the NRLB ruling that would allow Northwestern athletes to unionize. Well, it's now time for USA Swimming athletes to considering unionizing too and here is why: You the Olympic athlete are nothing but a "sharecropper." You are slaves to US Swimming. You have no access to royalty payments from the USOC, the IOC, or the advertisers. (About $30-million per year.) This includes royalties from all the Sports networks across the globe and even the royalty rights of your likeness well into in perpetuity.

I have always felt that USA Swimming athletes should unionize and now is the time.  Carpe diem, or, seize the day, athletes.

Tony Austin

Possible NCAA Unionization could destroy both mens and womens swimming at top schools!

Yes, it would be "game over" for all not profitable sports because football & basketball players would make an extraordinary amount of money & benefits and have no need for scholarships. Thus, Title IX would become a meaningless relic from an antique age.

Prologue: The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) a couple weeks ago ruled that the NCAA Northwestern football players can unionize. This is the moral equal of starting a fire on a dry patch of weeds in Yellowstone Park. If the colleges and universities cannot extinguish this potential unionization "fire"utterly and completely, then "Yellowstone Park" (or University profits) will go up in "flames."

Football and basketball players, if unionized, would be considered employees of the school. These players could collectively negotiate salaries, medical care, and probably pensions too. This will be expensive. Scholarships would be over and that leads to Title IX issues.

On face value it seems like the female gender would have a bit of an advantage here but in fact they do not for the Title IX law would become obsolete. The Title IX law states that scholarships must be doled out equally amongst men and women. However, would football players need scholarships if they were legally marked as employees of the school? These kids would probably be making hundreds-of-thousands-of dollars per year so why offer scholarships? Why would a school give a scholarship to a football player if their union is making the schools pay salaries, health insurance and pensions?

From Brietbart 

 "...Title IX requires whatever additional medical and educational benefits Northwestern football players—and those at other universities forming unions negotiate—be extended to athletes in other sports with equal aggregate amounts spent on men and women. 

[Link]

What would happen to Title IX if suddenly there was a surplus of female scholarships versus male scholarships? (Presuming that all male and basketball scholarships were virtually erased off the books?) What incentive would a college or university have to increase the number of male scholarships to match the amount of females receiving them? Thus, they kill female scholarships.

Yes, fewer sports for women especially swimming is the way this unionization thing is looking.

Chat log conversations between Michael Phelps and Bob Bowman regarding Phelps' comeback?

Anonymous hackers sent me some chat logs from IRC from who they believe is Michael Phelps and Bob Bowman talking about a comeback. Boy, these two are nothing what we think they are. Oh, and quite possibly Susan Woesner of USA Swimming's Safe Sport arm shows up as well!

<<***Bob_CoachDaddy> has entered the room

<<***GAOAT> has entered the room

<<***RL_Jeah> has entered the room>

<<***Pete_the_Van> has entered the room>

<<*Bob_CoachDaddy> Hey Michael. What a bad day it’s been! I come to the pool and all my male age groupers do is talk about this cartoon called My Little Pony’ or “Ponyville” and this “Friendship is Magic” crap. It’s really pissing me off. They are not acting like boys, they should be talking about Call of Duty frags or something. They have now turned my kick sets into a social kicking party and they sing songs to the cartoon as well. It’s driving me crazy, driving me nuts. How long will it take for this Pony-crap to run it’s freaking course?

<<*GAOAT> I don’t know, Bob. Probably like a few more years. I mean Sailor Moon took a whole decade or so before it finally ran it’s course.

<<*Bob_CoachDaddy> Yeah, whatever, Sailor Moon. You bet… So, speaking about kick sets, These boys need a better role model out there in the pool. Somebody much more inspiring than pink & blue horses that eat glitter for breakfast and fart rainbows & stars into the sky at lunch. Our team, our pool needs… Well, even America needs some inspiration. We need the Greatest Athlete of All Time to come back and show us all how it is done. And that person is Mr. Michael Frederick Phelps the II. You with me? We were taking about you returning to the pool Last week and you said you would show up on Monday but I didn’t see you this morning. Any explanation?

<<*Pete_da_Van> Bob, Sailor Moon was great show and deserve all the accolades and the national syndication it deserved. 

<<*RL_Jeah> JEAH! Sailor Moon!!!!!!!!!!!

&lt;*RL_Jeah> Fighting evil by moonlight

<<*Pete_the_Van> Winning love by daylight

<<*Pete_the_Van> Never running from a real fight

<<*GAOAT> She is the one named Sailor Moon.

<<*Bob_CoachDaddy> has left the room

——

<<***Bob_CoachDaddy> has entered the room

<<***GAOAT> has entered the room

<<*GAOAT> Hey Bob,it’s me. I’m coming to you with my tail between my legs. I am going to need your help? I gotta figure out how I am going to do this and I’m scared. I’ve know I’ve done it four-times before but I don’t know if I can do it again. I need your help, Bob. It’s bad this time, and I need that intellectual magic, the guidance and that experience of yours to figure this all out.

<<*Bob_CoachDaddy> Ahhh, the Prodigal son has returned. Thank you Michael. Thank you, Thank you, Thank you. I knew you would make the right choice. You have so much talent, I have all the confidence in the world we can do this again and we will do it better. YEssss. Thank you God!

<<*GAOAT> Okay, this is what I need…

All we have to do is get you back in the pool. You know, maybe once a day and and then in a week-or-two I will have a program all worked out so we can get you ready for the Grand Prixs at the end of the year. The Grand Prixs will build up your confidence and YOU ARE GOING TO WIN THEM MIKE!; 

I am so glad you finally made you contact. I was so worried. I have not slept in three days, and I am tired all the time. Yesterday when I was on deck yawning, I accidentally swallowed my whistle. You know what it is like swallowing a whistle? Every time I burped I sounded like I just got kick in the nuts.

<<*GAOAT> To much information, Bob.  

<<*Bob_CoachDaddy> You’re right! Never mind. Enough about my problems. Don’t worry Mike, it’s going to be OK… We start out with building a base, then some daily stretching with some light weights.

<<*GAOAT> You don’t understand. I want to get this wired and not screw it up. There are huge pluses and minus here that I don't fully grasp. Bob, I gotta do this right.

<<*Bob_CoachDaddy> There is only pluses here, Mike, and your mom will love Brazil.

<<*GAOAT> Bob, This is not about swimming. I am trying to wire these speakers I just got in the mail from Amazon. Do I put + wire into the - holes, and - wire into the + holes?

<<*Bob_CoachDaddy> You’re kidding me right?

<<*GAOAT> No, I am not. Little Wayne is coming over and I’m afraid if I get it wrong his music will play backwards like I am Satanic or something.

<<*Bob_CoachDaddy> has left the room

——

<<***GAOAT> has entered the room

<<***Bob_CoachDaddy> has entered the room

<<*GAOAT> Hey, Bob! Great job at that age grouper meet. The kid has a great backstroke.

<<*Bob_CoachDaddy> Thanks, Michael, I will tell him you said so. He will be so flattered. Why don't you come back and join us? You might have some fun yourself. How bout tomorrow. I will set it up with your agent and we will send out a press release.

<<*GAOAT> Did you celebrate?

<<*Bob_CoachDaddy> Oh, we sure did but it didn’t work out too well for me!

<<*GAOAT> What do you mean?

<<*Bob_CoachDaddy> I stopped at CVS and I bought a couple cases of Coca-Cola and those really hot Doritos that the kids like. I get myself some Mountain Dew so I can wake up a little bit. (The whistle is still driving me crazy) Anyway, one of kids thinks it would be really funny to shake up one of cans of Mountain Dew and have it spray all over the place when I open it.

So we go in the office to watch some of the meet video on my laptop and everything is going fine. Everybody is swimming well, having fun, laughing, and then this kid hands me THE can of Mountain Dew; (of course it’s one set to splash and fizz all over), and like a sucker I take it. 

<<***SafeSport-COP_SharonStone> has entered the room

So I am watching this kid on the laptop, and I pull it open and it explodes all over the keyboard and the monitor! I am like Oh God, Oh, God, Oh God. So I grab it really it fast turn it upside down and try to shake it all out. And the kids are all screaming and running for the door and I just want to tear into them.

<<*SafeSport-COP_SharonStone> You are a sick, sick man, BOB! I will be calling you at high-noon tomorrow, pervert! And you better pick up!

<<***SafeSport-COP_SharonStone>has left the room

BWAAAAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

<<***Irv-Muchnik> has entered the room

<<*Bob_CoachDaddy> What did I say? What did I do? Hey, is that Muchnik that just enter the room? Oh [Expletive deleted]

<<***Bob_CoachDaddy> has left the room

<<***GAOAT> has left the room

——

<<***GAOAT> has entered the room

<<***Bob_CoachDaddy> has entered the room

<<*Bob_CoachDaddy> Just got off the phone with USA Swimming's Safe Sport division. Talk about something taken out of context. WOW! - Let's cut the crap,  Micheal. I have been punished enough. Doctor "Rear Admiral" says the whistle is stuck inside my colon and you don't want to know what it sounds like when I break wind or what it's going to take to pull it out.

Yes-or No? Do you want to come back and swim? I need closure, Michael.

<<*GAOAT> No, I don't want to.

<<*Bob_CoachDaddy> I figured that. I will leave you alone. Send your mother my best, she is a good woman.  

<<*GAOAT> But I am coming back. I am going to jump into the pool. Swim everything you tell me to swim. I am going to measure my words. Pretend I am the male version of "Missy Franklin" and I promise that everything that comes out of my mouth with be all about truth, justice and the USA Swimming way. I will be a good sport. Make no excuses and I will swim all the relays you put me on. Then I will wrap myself in the American flag, win or lose, and smile as best that I can and force myself to go to the closing ceremonies and pretend I am the happiest man in the world. 

<<*Bob_CoachDaddy> Why, Michael? Why do this to yourself?

<<*GAOAT> Because I learned that happiness is overrated. Right now I am getting nothing done but getting good at a couple of recreational sports. Unfortunately, I can't do anything else but be an icon, a swimmer, or both. If I swim, my mother and sisters will never be wanting for food or shelter, and those watching me will get a little inspiration or some relief.

<<*Bob_CoachDaddy> I will see you at 6:00 AM tomorrow morning. Oh... Thanks Mike. 

<<*GAOAT>>; APRIL FOOLS, SUCKER!

Adults & age-groupers take note: The poisonous pee byproducts lurking in swimming pools can affect multiple organs

Live Science did an "English" translation of a study regarding the health effects on the body when kids or adults pee in a swimming pool. It's not pretty. Pointblank the study states that swimming in such a "swill" can when inhaled, affect your lungs, heart, and central nervous system [read as one's nerves & brain]. So, peeing in a pool not only hurts you, it hurts everyone even the non-swimmers on deck.

I imagine that the health effects of this practice in an indoor pool would be worse.

From Live Science:

They found that two chemicals, cyanogen chloride and thrichloramine, are formed by the reaction of uric acid [otherwise known as pee] and chlorine. When inhaled, these chemicals are known to affect multiple organs, including the lungs, heart, and central nervous system. So it seems that peeing in the pool has its own punishment — it’s just too bad it affects everyone.

[Link]

Let's not make a "swill" out of the water we swim in. Encourage kids and teammates to be responsible.

Photo: flickr/tano_d’ere

Reggie Padilla: Surfing while playing the alto sax

I surf, I can play an alto sax so I gotta like this guy.

London Olympic pool now open for the swimming public - Come one, come all!

For the pool to be "swimmable" they had to remove 15,000 temporary seats at the edges and cover the sides of the pool with windows. It seemingly works very well. I don't really like this architect very much for I find her designs a bit repetitive but the London Olympic pool is a majestic spectacle and I look forward to swimming it. 

China on the other hand really dropped on their grand aquatics center. Gala to see England is more industrious.

SCAQ may challenge Great Britain's masters swimmers to a meet. (Ooops! did i just say that? The keyboard may have been drinking here.)

 From Dezeen: 

In a statement released ahead of the centre's reopening on 1 March, mayor of London Boris Johnson said: "After a post-Olympic makeover, London’s majestic aquatics centre is now flinging open its doors for everyone to enjoy, whether an elite athlete or enthusiastic amateur." 

[Link]

They paid the rent but will they be able to use the pool - "Poolitics" slams a swanky block in Manhattan?

I read the article three times and I still have no clue how New York manages it real estate and the ownership issues therein. For instance, people in L.A. rent apartments whereas people in New York buy apartments. A landlord in Los Angles owns the apartment building but in New York "co-ops" can own the building. We call those people investors or stock holders.

Hmmm, Co-op? Isn't that something hippies did in the 1960's in places called communes and pig farms? I digress,  there are only 150-pools in Manhattan and most of them really suck. With that in mind pools are such a scarce resource there that there is a lot of "poolitics" surrounding which higher "forms of life" get to use them.

From the New York Times:

"... And now it has become the object of a dispute that threatens to divide the city within a city that is the venerable London Terrace apartment complex in western Chelsea — the four taller buildings on the corners, known as London Terrace Towers, and the 10 smaller buildings in between, known as London Terrace Gardens. [Read as really swanky gentrified apartments] 

At issue is how much the landlord of the Gardens buildings should pay the Towers, a co-op that collectively controls the pool, so that Gardens renters can continue to swim, work out in an adjacent fitness center and lounge on a nearby roof terrace. A 20-year deal runs out at the end of the month, and some renters in the Gardens worry that they will lose access. They fear that co-op owners in the Towers have concluded that continuing to share the three facilities would hurt property values. ..." 

[Link]

Let's take a step back here and consider what New York is - I have only been to New York once and when I was there I spent three days walking through the whole place, ten miles a day, just to see what life there and on the streets was all about.

A lot of people envy New York: John Lennon once said that if the United States were the Roman Empire than New York city is Rome. Though I agree with that statement one thing must be clear, New York is nowhere near being an urban paradise or otherwise.

Consider this: New York is so overly centralized and cramped that the upper class mentioned in the article has to go to a roof top to lounge in the sun. Their beach water is dirty, and their pools scarce and fought over by people with the most money. Prices there are expensive and the weather is formidable. The only thing to envy about New York is its centralized art districts such as Soho, Broadway, the Met.

So when you are laying on deck in the sun waiting for your next event or walking to pool through a meadow or a field of wheat to get to workout you have more space more freedom and less hostility than John Lennon's Rome.

BTW, Ringo Starr had a different take on where to live. I saw him driving a 1956 something with flames on the side of the car and a big smile on his face driving through the Santa Monica mountains. Ringo Starr's "Rome." - I predict Rome 2.0 will be either be Shanghai or Los Angeles.

Techsuits in Ice Skating competition but not swimming.

That's not a swimming techsuit circa 2008. That is a suit worn by Olympic speed skaters sanctioned by their governing body so the sport could evolve and become more exciting rather than staying put somewhere in 1972.

I look forward to the day when our sports "primo uomo" (the male version of a prima donna) lays down his techsuit and goggles and gives up the holy sport of swimming for golf or whatever. I wish he would leave the stage and allow another slew of "tenors" to "sing."

I look forward to the day when swimming is filled with dozens of "primo uomos" because – well, because the playing field will then be leveled and swimming will not be a sport where only one or two genetic freaks, or those who cheat, can be the center of attention.

When the "Greatest of All Time Leaves" the pool, the techsuit will return form its temporary exile and once again the standard of living of swimmers via world record bonuses will buoy incomes for both themselves and swim suit companies alike. Finally they will be able innovate again and make a living.

Hey kids, you too can turn your bed into a swimming pool.

Yes you too can dream about lane-4  victories while you sleep between the lane lines. No diving though!

[Link]

Ian Thorpe found dazed, confused on a Sydney, Australia street - He has elected to go to rehab

Confronting addiction is commendable, rehab is a courageous decision, being honest about it helps others.

I am just going to come out and say this: Australians feel intense shame over the "A-word", the other "A-word" and finally the "R-word" Read as Alcoholism, Addiction and Rehab. Look how Ian Thorpe's mouthpiece aggressively tries to keep alcohol or drug abuse out of the story.

Read between the lines from this article:

SYDNEY (AP) -- The manager of Olympic swimming great Ian Thorpe says the five-time gold medalist is in rehab after being found disoriented on a Sydney street early Monday morning by police responding to a call from residents.

James Erskine told the Australian Associated Press that Thorpe was affected by a combination of antidepressants and the painkillers he was taking for a shoulder injury.

Police spoke to Thorpe after residents near his parents' home in Panania in Sydney's southwest reported a man allegedly breaking into a van. He was taken to Sydney's Bankstown Hospital for assessment and was later transferred to a rehab facility.

''He is in rehab for depression,'' AAP quoted Erskine as saying.

[Link]

As mentioned above, the hospital sent him to a rehab center and NOT a depression treatment center. Is that a red-flag or what?

Huge drinking culture in Australia and that can't be denied. 8% of the population has been beaten up or assaulted by a drunk and other alcohol related statistics there are just as dismal. Australian consume as much alcohol as Russians and even their beer ads in the United States brag how big their Beer cans are.

Australian Alcohol Stats: [Link]

So, we just lost Academy Award winning actor Phillip Seymore Hoffman over the weekend after he was found dead with a needle in his arm and perhaps as many as 50-bags of heroin under his bed.

Here are some quotes from users and ex-users about being an addict:

"All any drug amounts to is tweaking the incoming data." -- William Gibson

"I ain't no preacher but drugs have killed a lot great men" -- Neil Young

“I have absolutely no pleasure in the stimulants in which I sometimes so madly indulge..." -- Edgar Allen Poe

“Drugs are a waste of time. They destroy your memory and your self-respect and everything that goes along with your self esteem.” -- Kurt Cobain 

“Selling my soul would [have been] a lot easier if I could just find it.” -- Nikki Styx from The Heroin Diaries

“I think if you were Satan and you were settin around tryin to think up somethin that would just bring the human race to its knees what you would probably come up with is narcotics.” -- Cormac McCarthy, No Country for Old Men 

“Whether you sniff it smoke it eat it or shove it up your ass the result is the same: addiction.” -- William S. Burroughs

Ian Thorpe rumored to enter rehab to address depression and alcohol addiction - One report says no!

The YouTube video above states his manager has posted a statement that he has not entered rehab, but an article posted earlier today by the Mail says he has.

The worst kind of drug addict or alcoholic is one who knows that they are an addict and could care less about doing something about. 

The most courageous and inspiring alcoholic is one who tackles the problem, seeks to be rid of it and makes a public declaration that they need help.

I hope this gets clarified soon

From the Mail:

"... The swimmer said he also felt the need to stay silent about his depression, thinking it was a 'character flaw'.

'Not even my family is aware that I've spent a lot of my life battling what I can only describe as a crippling depression.’

He admits in the book that he is ready to speak to his parents about his depression, but this is the first time he has been reported to have sought treatment. ..." 

[Link] 

Lorde Underwater - Voice over track while she dives, swims and plays beneath the surface

She is one smart girl. I read in Rolling Stone that she reads Sylvia Plath; a poet from the early '60s, she hangs out with Taylor Swift (a woman who is quite good at business), and that Lorde makes all of her artistic and business choices herself. And she is only 17.

The Vieth Report - WHEN THE ATHLETE IS A CHILD: An Assessment of USA Swimming’s Safe Sport Program

The Vieth report has been released: [Link]

I am going to "toot my horn" and a "very large tuba" for the rest of you who have contributed to this subject... 

I am happy to say that most if not all changes that were suggested on this blog are within the Vieth report begging for immediate implementation. Well done guys!

The past two months have been difficult for me; (I have an eventful life)  and these recommendations within this report has made a great start to my new year. 

To be clear these changes, soon to be taking place within USA Swimming, were brought about by the victims, the disenfranchised coaches, an ex-board member, the Safe Sport arm of USA Swimming who in the last three years has had swim uphill against internal politics, and finally you the readers.

I thank all the readers who debated me, schooled me, informed me as to how child protection should be done. I even thank the those that posted anonymous or overt insults for you kept this topic going and made me look even more credible despite my lousy spelling and grammar.

It's now time to blog about swim workouts, jellyfish, and racing.

Under Armour, a Michael Phelps Sponsor, also sponsors Duck Dynasty! - Will USA swimming get dragged into this?

I had never watched an episode of Duck Dynasty till their bearded patriarch began shooting his mouth off in an issue of GQ Magazine. Therein were 12-ugly-quotes which I found to be crass, unmeasured and piously judgemental.

Duck Dynasty is an amazingly successful show which caters to 14.6-million viewers thereby generating incomprehensible amounts of money for its cable network A&E. This scripted show is ostensibly designed for affluent urbanites to laugh at Louisanna Hillbillies and the rural poor to adore.

One of the shows sponsors is Under Armour (UA) and they also sponsor USA Swimming's very own Michael Phelps. When Philip Robertson went of on his pious rant about gays and how alluring vagina's are, UA quickly pulled out a tired and disingenuous PR phrase to get them out of the proverbial "hot water." It went something like this:

The Advocate:

“The recent comments in the GQ article are not reflective of Under Armour’s beliefs and do not represent our point of view,” Under Armour told the Business Journal. “As a company, we are committed to diversity and inclusion and believe in treating everyone equally and with respect.” 

Duck Dynasty currently averages 14.6 million viewers and has become a merchandising empire – raking in more than $400 million in related retail sales – it seems unlikely that A&E, or the quack pack’s advertisers, will dump the most popular reality show of all time..." 

[Link]

My rebuttal to that PR gem is, if you believe and are committed to diversity and inclusion and believe in treating everyone equally and with respect, then why are you paying people who don't? But then it gets worse; much worse.

Phillip Robertson, in 2009 suggested that men marry 15-16-year-old girls because it is the smart thing to do. Is the deep south actually that 3rd? - NO, it is not! But, pedophiles and their fellow "travelers" are. Young girls to these people are nothing more "sexbots and chefs" and their "men" are their "overlords."  See the video above.

This is absolutely unforgivable but let me "land this plane" quickly and explain why this suddenly has brought both Michael Phelps and USA Swimming into this mess.

It is my belief that Michael Phelps will be coming out with his own signature suit line via UA just like the deal Michael Jordan has with Nike. (Do you see where this plane is landing now?) If Phelps does do a signature line deal with UA he will suddenly have a "dog in the fight" and will have to defend his business unit that endorses a reality star that advises men to marry and sexualize 15-to-16-year-old girls.

What if UA wants to sponsor a USA Swimming event or the governing body itself? How will USA Swimming look trying to help UA sell swimsuits to 15-year-old girls when UA sponsors a pedophile talker like Philip Robertson?

The sex abuse scandals are not far behind USA Swimming (if at all) and this fiasco will be political fodder for GLADD and other groups to possibly talk about their policies and who they take money from.

Oh the tangled web we weave. Phelps should have stayed with Speedo or gone to Arena. More professional in nature, policy and branding.

What Happens to Your Body During a New Year's Polar Bear Plunge? - Not pretty!

Bumped into a article about a cold water study that piqued my interest: A must read for any of you "polar swimmer cubs" thinking of taking the plunge tomorrow. Be prepared.

By the way a polar bear swim for me without a wetsuit on is 65-degrees! Any temp lower than that is not a water temp, it's lousy ice skating.

From KMBZ.com

Blood Chemistry: 

"... Still, the excessive breathing can change your blood chemistry," said Dr. Thomas Traill, a cardiologist at Johns Hopkins Hospital. "Breathing too much can draw carbon dioxide "off" your bloodstream, which changes the pH of your blood and decreases its levels of ionized calcium.

"When ionized calcium goes down, muscle membranes don't function properly," Traill said. As a result, muscles quickly weaken or can even cause a swimmer to become temporarily paralyzed, he said. "You hear every now and then of people falling out of boats and drowning in cold water when they're only a foot from the dock," Traill said, attributing this to the uncontrollable hyperventilation. "The important thing for the polar bear swimmers is that they shouldn't do this alone, and they shouldn't do it out of their depth. ..."

[Link]

59.3% of child deaths in Bangladesh are death by drowning

People in Bangladesh have it so incomprehensibly difficult that our homeless population most likely have five-or-ten-times the standard of living that the average citizen has there.

From Wikipedia: "...Bangladesh is one of the world's most densely populated countries with 150 million people, 26 percent of whom live below the national poverty line of US $2 per day. In addition, child malnutrition rate rates of 48 percent, in condition that is tied to the low social status of women in Bangladeshi society.

Bangladesh needs sweat shops but that is another topic for an econ blog

This article from The Atlantic states how swimming lessons are becoming a national issue and here is why:

"... Seventy-five percent of drownings happen within 65 feet of home, and a horrifying 7 percent of young victims drown in buckets (large storage vessels are common in Bangladesh, where there is often no running water). Below age one, pre-term births, asphyxia, and sepsis are the most common killers of newborns. All this is occurring in a country that is mostly at or slightly above sea level, and one of the most vulnerable in the world to rising water levels and climate change. ..."

[Link]

The Copa Nadal Race: Spanish Revelers take part in a 104-year swim tradition in 56-degree water.

The Copa Nadal, is a 200-meter swim race with a 104-year history. According to Gawker The Copa Nadal Race has only skipped three years when the Spanish Civil War interrupted proceedings between 1936 and 1938.

Go discuss at Gawker: [Link]

From Barcelona Yellow:

"...The Barcelona Christmas Swim has nine different catagories with a limit of 130 swimmers in each. Registration is usually open until 18th December. There are usually around 450 swimmers and always among them some swimming Santas, who brave the chilly harbour water temperatures, which are about 13 degrees Celcius [That's about 56-degrees] on Christmas Day in Barcelona. 

[Link]

Loving the polka dot "tech suit." There is a picture of the guy from the front out there too.

Our sport is overwhelmingly caucasian - Swim culture hasn't exactly embraced those of African descent!

Hotel owner pouring acid in the pool while black people swim in it, ca. 1964 pic.twitter.com/mXXMXeS5XK
— Historical Pics (@HistoricalPics) December 21, 2013

[Edited to correct typos]

Our sport is overwhelmingly caucasian! Asians & hispanics are making remarkable contributions as well but those with dark-brown skin have been culturally discouraged from participation.  Even in the last 5-years we have seen witnessed pool incidents where those with dark brown-skin have been ostracized from the pool.

Whose fault is that? Ultimately, western culture and our own founding fathers who often wrote and said many disparaging words about Africans and their culutre. When someone like George Washington or Thomas Jefferson, men whose heads are carved into a mountain like "godly icons", speak such bigotry, those words will resonate for centuries. But here is what they did not know...

The African gene or the negroid gene is the dominant gene of humanity. This has subsequently been proven via mitochondrial DNA analysis and it has become widely accepted by anthropologists that all races have traces of negroid ancestry. (Dominant genes do not mean racial superiority so don't call me racist or an apologist.)

Just recently a monogamous negroid couple gave birth to a caucasian offspring. No cheating or promiscuity was involved. The DNA was checked and validated to have come from both birth parents. To be blunt this is something caucasians can't do, nor can any other race. This is what makes the African negroid gene the parent of humanity: [Link]

There is no superior race just genetic diversity. (Culture is a different topic unrelated to race) Light skin does better in the snow, dark skin excels during a hot day on the Savanna.  Think Maria Sharapova in a Russian mink walking in the snow in Saint Petersburg versus the late Hakeem Olajuwon strolling through the forests of Nigeria on a hunt. Flip the locations for each individual and both would be more miserable than the other.

Pick any professional sport and the participation those of African descent is overwhelmingly high. It's a shame that blacks do not have the same opportunities or cultural desire to go swimming. I suspect the reasons are related to the above photo; abject prejudice and bigotry. For centuries the "fathers & mothers" of humanity have not been accepted or wanted and who wants to go swimming where they are not wanted?

This trend continues today.

All swans are white! - That is till you see four black swans surfing in Australia

I call this a "black swan event" don't you? I knew black swans existed but I never knew that black swans could surf.

A diver turned into a 13-foot tall bronze: "How I Made The Golden Mean Sculpture" by Carole Feuerman

Some of the greatest masters in history, Vermeer, Caravaggio, and even Rembrandt traced their subjects using prisms and mirrors to cast reflections onto their canvases so as to get an exact replica of what to paint. If you want to see a reference to back up this statement please see this snippet from the movie Tim's Vermeer: [Link]

This 13-foot tall bronze by Carole Feuerman is extraordinarily ambitious and I commend her for sharing the process she used for producing this artwork. In fact, this piece took over 8,000-hours and was quite educational for me to watch. Now with that out of the way I have to say that the final result was simply disappointing.

Metal and stone are quite beautiful unto themselves but the painting or PVD coating of this bronze (unclear how she coated it all in black) is just simply overwrought with racial undertones. To be more clear, what disturbs me is that she put a white athlete into "black face"and then "pimped him out" with a gold-plated cap invoking cultural images of "ghetto fab."

She openly states that her intention was to illustrate something about the athleticism and grace but to this viewer she only celebrated the diver's skin tone and vanity.

Why not use a diver of African descent and why the gold plated cap? It just looks so garish and crass and erases the purpose of the composition. Since gold is such a rare earth element the cap becomes a de facto focal point and for this viewer...(not to beat a dead horse but since the horse is dead anyway)... it conjures up all sorts of "hip-hop clichés" that just makes me want to take the palm of my hand and place it right into my face.

Don Schollander - First To Win Multiple Swimming Golds - Tokyo 1964 Olympics

Don has a great stroke but the start dives back in that day looked very... What is the word? - Yes, the word is theatrical the same way a "triple-take" with rotating head and overly surprised look as seen in farcical comedies.

Love the girl in the stands trying to look dignified while holding back tears. Carpe Diem, girl! (Click that link now!)

ERROR - Mixed up [Richard] Shoulberg with Don Schollander - I thank an anonymous poster for pointing out this egregious error. Here is the former text as reference to the error: I wish him well and I hope that his administrative leave from Germantown Academy is a temporary exile only and that nothing sinister or the more usual swim "poolitics" was involved.

SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS ON MITCH IVEY: Mitch Ivey, famed swim coach, banned for sexual misconduct

Shouldn't the man running USA Swimming (Chuck Wielgus) step down? Why is he still there?  If this was any other non-profit or professional sport organization he would have been summarily banished before the ink dried in the newspaper.

Even Pope Benedict XVI resigned allowing the organization to reboot and allow a more benevolent Pope to move the religion forward. Not so with USA Swimming. Though it's Executive Director knew of a sexual abuse claimed that was made in San Jose (as covered by the Mercury News) he kept it secret. Though he was humiliated on the ABC News program 20/20 and arrogantly refused to apologize to the victims. (He refused to step down.) I could go with several other sex abuse situations but one should ask, why is it that USA Swimming won't demand his resignation so the organization can reboot and move forward.

Perhaps he has 900,000 reasons why he should not resign and they all contain the name "George Washington."

How can anyone trust this organization with an executive director like THAT?

From The San Jose Mercury News:

Nancy Hogshead-Makar, a three-time Olympic champion at the Los Angeles Games in 1984, welcomed USA Swimming's ban on Ivey.

"It's imperative that all coaches know what the rules of the game are," said Hogshead, who swam for Ivey at Concord. "They can't see old coaches with a long record of sexual abuses" go unpunished.

Hogshead, senior director of advocacy at the Women's Sports Foundation, had testified in USA Swimming's initial investigation into Ivey two years ago.

Nancy Hogshead-Makar, a three-time Olympic champion at the Los Angeles Games in 1984, welcomed USA Swimming's ban on Ivey.

"It's imperative that all coaches know what the rules of the game are," said Hogshead, who swam for Ivey at Concord. "They can't see old coaches with a long record of sexual abuses" go unpunished.

Hogshead, senior director of advocacy at the Women's Sports Foundation, had testified in USA Swimming's initial investigation into Ivey two years ago 

[Link]

And it took two-years to get him banned because they needed a victim to come forward. One of the first victims committed suicide. Why wasn't a family member a good enough witness?

The photo above is Olympian Nancy Hogshead-Makar one of the greatest swimmers ever. She has "street cred" as an advocate and a swimmer. They should have been taken more seriously.

The Daily Herald: "Michael Phelps has rejoined the U.S. drug testing program..."

Speaking of WADA we have Michael Phelps "Keeping his options open" which means you should read that quote as "...if he can win he is coming back."

From the Daily Herald: 

"...If I decide to keep going and swim again, then I'll compete," Phelps told the AP in an exclusive telephone interview from Minneapolis, where he is attending an Arena Grand Prix meet this weekend. ..."

[Link]

If you go to the Speedo website there is no photo, poster, or mention of Michael Phelps.  Phelps' contract is obviously well past over and he has seemingly found greener pastures with Under Armor.

Here is a behind the scenes video of Michael Phelps training in Under Armor gear: [Link]

If Michael Phelps does return to the "holy game of swimming", I predict that you will see him wearing his very own signature line of Under Armor swimsuits just like Michael Jordan or Maria Sharapova's line from Nike.

New IOC President tells WADA that $500-billion is spent on anti doping efforts hence thier budget is plenty big and cuts its scheduled fee increase in half!

UPDATE:  The annual budget for WADA is 28-million. I was corrected on Twitter by @ringsau @wada_ama but the fact remains that the IOC says $500-billion is spent on dope testing and I may have presumed incorrectly that WADA oversees the efficacy of those tests. I do know that they are the final arbiter on suspensions and punishments and WADA enforces the World Anti-Doping Code. With that said, they are the reason why $500-million is spent each year on doping controls. My take is that 1/2-billion dollars is too much and would be better spent elsewhere; Athlete salaries may be a good start.

[...]

I am here to discuss the greedy nature of those that collect the real money from Olympic sports and today the subject is WADA or the World Anti-Doping Agency.

Swimming has a doping problem (among others) as do all the sports and each year both professional and Olympic sports bodies collectively pool a bunch of money and hand it over to WADA so as to purify the sport from drug cheats.

How much money does WADA receive to take on this task? Well, imagine if you gave every single living person in America a $1.00 bill. I'm talking everybody: Babies, toddlers, children, teens, adults, senior citizens including those in hospice care etc. That sum would equal $300,000,000 and WADA would still have $200-million left over to spend on anti doping efforts.

90% of the sports WADA tests are recreational in nature and the athletes involved in most cases are lower middle class or subsisting at the poverty level. The professional sports are a joke when it comes to testing. Instead of surprise visits from WADA officials that swimmers and other Olympic hopefuls have to endure, sports like American football and baseball have appointments scheduled two-weeks or more in advance.

New IOC President Thomas Bach is under fire for wanting to reduce the scheduled fee increase of the 2% to WADA down to a 1%-increase and WADA is not amused.

Here is what IOC boss Thomas Bach had to say as quoted in the Telegraph:

Bach called on Wada to spend its budget more efficiently, something [he] was confident would happen under the new code it is set to ratify in Johannesburg on Friday. 

[He said] “If you want to describe it with a headline: quality comes first, then quantity,” Bach said. “If you improve the quality then you may not need the number of tests you need now. 

“This is why the new code would be very helpful, because it allows for it and is going exactly in this direction.”  

Meanwhile, Bach refused to be drawn on what action the IOC would take were Jamaica or Kenya to be declared non-compliant with the WADA code because of their recent doping problems. ..." 

[Link]

With their staggering half-billion budget, consider what one can do with a half-billion dollars?

First on the list is that they could start their very own space program.

That's right - for $300-million they could build and launch an Astra Satellite that can deliver the following services...

1. High speed internet
2. Digital TV
3. HDTV
4. Digital Radio
5. 3D TV

...And still have 200-million leftover to take care of it and rent the heck out of it to 2nd-world countries like Russia and India.

...Or if they were more ambitious and they wanted to take over a failed state, WADA could purchase more than fifty M1-Abrams tanks and staff an army of over 20,000 mercenaries to go take over a failed state of their choice.  (The US only needed 14-M1-Abrams in Afghanistan)

....If they had even more loftier goals WADA could fund 500-startup businesses throughout the world with a $1-million "angel investment" each but then again, catching drug cheats in sports that are only televised every four years is an  important task and I am sure the $500-million is well spent on all that urine they are collecting so as to make sure that such sports as curling and archery are clean and sportsmanlike, don't you think?

Now this is extreme swim training: Inside the Coast Guard's Rescue Swimming School

The United States Coast Guard is the most underrated and most underfunded aspect of our armed forces. While in time of  peace most of our armed forces, (Navy, Air Force, and Army) summarily do drills and busy work to keep sharp the USCG is out there confronting armed smugglers, refugee crossings, small boat rescues, and other maritime safety duties. They are not only a defense force but also sanctioned as a policing body. Each member is highly skilled and one of the most import skills in that outfit is the ability to swim in extreme conditions.

Mens Journal has a robust article on how coast guard rescue swimmers are trained to swim in the most hazardous conditions - many are called, few are chosen:

From Men's Journal:

"...The average attrition rate of the program is 50 percent, but it varies wildly among classes. The class ahead of Via and Piasecki's, which is just about to graduate, began with 15 members and has only three left. Senior Chief George Marinkov, A-School's 52-year-old director – who appears to be chiseled out of granite – was one of only two members of his class to graduate.

The candidates follow a strict daily regimen of physical conditioning, practicing rescue skills, and coursework, starting at 7 am for up to three hours of dry-land training. Then they get in the water, where Kiest puts the group through excruciating physical paces. They swim sidestroke while holding a 10-pound brick aloft in one hand. "Buddy tows," pulling a partner in cross-chest carry for hundreds of yards, follow. Then they drop their bricks 12 feet to the bottom, shuttling them forward as far as they can before surfacing for a single breath of air. Kiest watches closely to make sure nobody takes two. He knows that no amount of instruction can prepare a class for the endless unpredictability of ocean rescues with life-or-death consequences. As if to remind himself of this, he has a tattoo on his calf: a pair of fins, a snorkel, and a mask clipped to a rescue hook, emblazoned with the A-School graduation numbers of the four swimmers who have died in the line of duty since the program's inception in 1984. The notion of self-sacrifice as the highest sort of valor is deeply held in the Rescue Swimmer community. It's even in their motto: "So others may live." ..."

[Link]

If the Discovery Channel trailer is not enough for you, the NBC Nightly News has a stunning gallery of the students participating in this arduous course - sample image below. to see more click here: [Link]

All across the "swim-osphere" is the mugshot of a young woman named Stephanie North banned for life by USA Swimming.

First and foremost: presume her innocent. An orange jumpsuit does not make you guilty.

It was April 19, 2012 and a Canadian Coach in Ontario named Trent McNicol was accused of child molestation. He had been coaching for for the Whitby Dolphins and had produced 40 provincial champions over the course of his career. McNicol was named Ontario swim coach of the year in 2001 and had other accolades as well but on that fateful April day the bottom fell out from underneath him:

From the TheStar.com: 

"...When he was charged, with no criminal record or previous allegations, McNicol was held for 24 hours and granted bail under conditions including avoiding places where children under 16 might gather. That meant parks — and swimming pools.

He had to temporarily leave his family behind in Whitby and live in his native Brantford under the supervision of his father. Durham police issued a news release with his photo, inviting other victims to come forward. None ever did. The story was splashed all over the news.

McNicol lost his job of six years with the Whitby Dolphins Swim Club. Swim Canada, Swim Ontario, the Coaching Association of Canada and the Canadian Swimming Coaches and Teachers Association all summarily revoked his credentials.

[Link]

Even this blog jumped in and I must say I was bit accusatory till one day a year or so later I got a letter detailing how Coach McNicol's life was devastated and how how the charges were found to be without merit. I immediately corrected the very blogpost I made on the subject.

Mr McNicol's later said the following:

“To have it behind me is great,” McNicol said in an interview. “But I now have to spend the next — who knows? — six months, 20 years, rebuilding what I once had.”

My process on how to compete safely in an open water race

I am not an Olympian nor am I a pro and even though I have done 7-Alcatraz crossings, about a dozen 2-mile pier-to-pier swims, an Ironman in Hawaii, and have been surfing most of my life, I still consider myself a mere average student of the sport and by no means a master, an expert or a coach in any way.

With that in mind, I do have experience in this area and I want to share my process so that ambitious swimmers may possibly learn from it. I encourage other swim bloggers to peer review this post and/or publish their own process since no other governing body seems to be doing so.

Here goes:  Your first race should be a simple one. A race that does not exceed a mile and is conducted in comfortable a setting.  A race that features glassy water and a location where the sharks and sea monsters are probably far away on business. I have never heard of an open water swimmer being attacked during a race in Los Angeles and we have several here ranging from hundreds-of-yards to miles-upon-miles. Pick a simple one.

This is the process I use for a safe open water race that is over a mile long; it's called the Alcatraz Sharkfest Swim. Every time I do an Alcatraz swim I am somewhat fearful, or more accurately, I am scared but I use those negative emotions as an inspiration to make sure I do it right. I will use the Sharkfest race as an example event.

1) Be prepared physically. Do not enter an open water race if you never have practiced in an open water setting. However, if you are one of those unfortunate citizens that does not have an ocean or a lake nearby or that you live in environment that is too harsh to practice in an open water setting then you must be able to swim a mile in a pool in under 35-40-minutes. (Swimming under 30-minutes is exponentially better.)

2) I come to the Alcatraz Sharkfest race at least a day early and sometimes two-days early and I do practice swims in Aquatic Park. This allows me to emotionally adjust to the water temps

3) The night before the race I do not overeat for there is nothing worse than swimming with indigestion in the morning. For breakfast I eat fruit and drink water only; you milage may vary but after the race it's eggs Benedict and Champagne for now it's time to celebrate

4)  Pre-race, I do a warm-up swim for about 500/600-yards to prepare my body for what I call the "water-temp shock" - Knowing how cold it is beforehand is in my opinion a lifesaver. When it's time to jump off the boat there will be no surprises as to how much it will hurt.

When I jump off the boat into the cold water of the San Francisco Bay it's thrilling beyond belief but for my Mediterranean-style body it is summarily painful and shocking. Once submerged my face, hands and feet feel like like they have been submerged into a vat of melted ice salted with acupuncture needles. (Yeah, it's that bad for me. My Anglo-Latin DNA (English/Italian) favors water over 68-degrees.)

Once I break surface I usually do a very slow butterfly so that I can get my face and hands out of the water for some brief respite rather than keeping it dunked while doing freestyle. It takes no less than 5-minutes for the shock to go away and that five minutes feels like a1/2-hour.

In cold water you will hyperventilate and your heart will start racing before you even take your first stroke, so swim slowly (as in slow motion) till you are breathing naturally and your heart has calmed down. I make sure I am one of the first people to jump off the boat so I can swim to the start and thus spend 10-minutes or so acclimatizing to the cold water. It works for me and as a result I can swim fast when the horn blows.

5) I always line up in the front and at the edge of the pack. I feel entitled to line up at the front because I come to the Sharkfest race in shape and prepared. In the Alcatraz Sharkfest races that I have competed in I have consistently placed in the upper 30% of the competitors . (I even got a third place trophy in my age group once) But even if you are slow aligning yourself at the edges of the pack provides cleaner water and less drama. If you feel that you will place in the bottom 30-percentile-or-lower then go towards the back so you are at least 10-feet away from the nearest swimmer. It's safer to pass people than to be swam over (I have been swam over so I know) so start slow and finish fast.

One year at an Alcatraz Sharkfest race the Cal Poly water polo team swam over me during a Plan-B swim due to the original course being cancelled due to intense fog. Since it was a time trial I should have started with the slower people and enjoyed the clean water. I am just over six-feet and I weigh about 195-pounds but these guys made me feel like I was a bloated cork in a toilet. Don't get in the way of faster swimmers; it's humiliating and dangerous for both of you.

6) When the horn sounds I swim hard because I am warmed-up, acclimatized and subsequently this allows me to swim at 70%-of-all-out-sprint. After two-hundred-yards I am free from the masses and can relax and pace.

7.) Be aware of your body: Internally be able to take inventory of your heart and lungs. Do they hurt, are they faltering, do you need to rest, do you feel anxiety? If so, take that rest and evaluate if you should resign or continue. A GREAT athlete knows when to quit and uses that failure to inspire and educate themselves for a better race next time. I know this because I once nearly drown in an Alcatraz swim. Failing is a good thing! See the post.

8) If you are swimming without a wetsuit in cold water, after the race you must get warm fluids into you as  soon as possible. If you can't get warm fluids immediately, go for a run to heat up your core and then get some clothes on. But quite frankly, drinking warm fluids is easier than running so get that hot coffee or whatever.

Finally, I repeat that I am not an expert, just a swimmer who has an opinion and a process. I hope it helps.

Make it 53-triathletes dead since 2007 - Man dies today in the "Pumpkinman triathlon" in Las Vegas

Swimming is an extreme sport and so few people get that. I once called for triathletes to get swim a certification for certain distances via the United States Masters Swimming (USMS) but what do I know? I suppose 10-deaths a year is an acceptable casualty for the United States Triathlon governing body. How lame and tragic.

From the Sacramento Bee: 

"... LAS VEGAS -- A 59-year-old man died Saturday while competing in the swimming leg of a triathlon in southern Nevada.

The Clark County Coroner's Office says Patrick Hayden was pronounced dead at 9:30 a.m. at Boulder City Hospital. ..."
[Link]

ESPN Sunday: Trouble Beneath The Surface - 52 Triathlon deaths since 2007!

Oh God, I ave so much to contribute to this topic that entails mass starts, cold water, hot water, and the abilities of the swimmers who compete. With that mentioned ESPN is doing an investigative report on the subject which I endorse and will watch it Sunday and have more on it Monday.

Here is a trailer for the show:  [LINK]

From ESPN:  

"Something is obviously happening in that first swim leg. Something in that swim leg has gone amok, and it’s probably not one thing, it’s a combination." -- Jackie Wiggins, talking with ESPN.com’s Bonnie Ford about her husband who died in a May 2011 triathlon

"When things tend to go wrong in the swim it’s a tough animal because you’re in the middle of a major swim lane and it’s not like you can drive an ambulance up to the athlete." -- Bill Burke, triathlon race director, talking with Outside the Lines’ T.J. Quinn

Today on ESPNFrontRow.com, Producer Greg Amante describes the behind-the-scenes making of Sunday’s OTL piece.

Guests on Sunday’s OTL:

John Mandrola (Cardiac electrophysiologist, Louisville, KY)

Larry Creswell, MD (Associate Professor of Surgery at the University of Mississippi)

LA Times: O.C. swim coach Todd Sousa gets 16 months in sex assault case

Details emerge on what this swim coach did and why he was convicted.

I want to offer up a potential process that would curtail most sexual abuse situations and create more employment opportunities for female coaches. Using simple math: Women should coach the girls and men should coach the boys.

Most pedophile incidents are heterosexual in nature, therefore segregating the sexes could probably reduce instances of sexual abuse by 90%-or-more.

For those kids that want otherwise, then implement a no one-on-one policy. I would like to see swimming clean itself up to the point where it becomes the de facto sport to send your kids into. Currently it is not and is probably the least certain in regards to the potential for sexual abuse.

From the L.A. Times: 

An Orange County swim instructor has been sentenced to 16 months in state prison for sexually assaulting two teenage females he met through coaching, authorities said Tuesday.

Todd Robert Sousa, 39, co-owned and taught classes for a swim school that offered lessons for children and adults, according to the Orange County district attorney's office.

He was accused of assaulting two 15-year-olds at an Orange County hotel in September 2009, prosecutors said. He had sex with one of the victims after she turned 16.

[Link]

Sport drink doping: "dendrobium orchid extract" is really a methamphetamine analog... or is it?

A new over the counter "energy drink" has hit the market with a "drug" in it that has never been tested in human beings. The "drug" N,alpha diethylphenylethylamine looks exactly like meth but is not as strong.

From Quartz:

Though the makers of CRAZE, Driven Sports, claim that the active ingredient in their supplement comes from “dendrobium orchid extract,” said the statement, researchers could find no evidence that the substance they found in CRAZE comes from orchids or even that it exists anywhere in nature, leading them to conclude that it’s a synthetic drug.

[Link]

But then a late stage semi-retraction

"... After publication we reached Marc Ullman, of law firm Ullman, Shapiro and Ullman LLP, which represents Driven Sports. Ullman said the NSF International study presented too little data to allow others to check the methodology and lacked a “reference standard,” a substance used as a comparison in evaluating new substances. The researchers, he says, also didn’t clarify whether they tested for another form of diethylphenylethylamine (N,beta-DEPEA), which he said would show up as the alpha form (N,alpha-DEPEA) in tests that don’t try to distinguish the two. Unlike the alpha form, the beta form “doesn’t have methamphetamine-like activity,” Ullman told Quartz. “It’s just grossly irresponsible for these authors to make the claim that CRAZE contains a designer drug.” We have also contacted NSF International for comment...."

Nonetheless, swimmer beware. You could get DQed a significant suspension over stupid, overly marketed energy drink or drinks.

California Governor Jerry Brown vetoes bill giving sex abuse victims more time to file lawsuits!

From the L.A. Times:

"... In an unusually detailed three-page veto message released Saturday, the Democratic governor, a former Jesuit seminarian, said the bill raised questions of equal treatment of public and private employers. Pointing to a centuries-long tradition of limiting the period when legal claims can be filed, Brown said institutions should feel secure that "past acts are indeed in the past and not subject to further lawsuits."

He also argued that the legislation, which would have in part lifted the statute of limitations on sexual abuse claims for one year to allow some childhood victims to file lawsuits, was "unfair" because it singled out private organizations, such as Catholic dioceses and the Boy Scouts. Public schools would not have been affected by the bill, something Brown called "a significant inequity." ..." 

[Link]

Victims and lawmakers on the other hand were devastated. Assemblyman Roger Dickinson, a Democrat from Sacramento said it best: "....Nobody believes that someone who has perpetrated sexual abuse, especially against a child, should escape accountability for that kind of behavior..."

One has to ask if the upper management at USA Swimming, and by upper management I mean people like Chuck Wielgus and his pack of poodles who hired the lobbyists to defeat this bill, are popping Champagne corks in celebration?

U.S. Naval Academy Men’s Swimming and Diving Team Senior Class recreates the Marine Corps Memorial at Bottom of their Pool

CBS reports:

Swim team members reenacted the raising of the flag at the bottom of a pool and posted the photo on Twitter Wednesday. The caption reads simply, “Navy Men’s Swimming and Diving at its finest.”

Rosenthal’s photo won the 1945 Pulitzer Prize for Photography and became the inspiration for the Marine Corps War Memorial.

The memorial is also called the Iwo Jima Memorial and is a dedication to all the marines that lost their lives in service to the United States. As mention above the sculpture itself is also a recreation of a photograph that Associated Press photographer Joe Rosenthal took of marines raising the flag after the battle for Iwo Jima Island during World War II

At the time it was considered a meaningless battle in that it had no strategic importance whatsoever or so said the Chief of Naval Operations William V. Pratt during an interview he gave in April of 1945. Others argue that the island was of strategic importance because Japanese fighters stationed there would harass B-29 bombers and one of those bombers would have been the Enola Gay which dropped the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima

22,000 Japanese soldiers died versus 216 taken prisoner. The American losses were much higher. The reason for the high casualty numbers on both sides was that the Japanese refused to surrender and the Americans refused to leave.

This sort of ethic happened often during World War II; neither side would retreat, surrender or take prisoners. It is an accomplished fact that he Battle of the Bulge was the European version of "Iwo Jima."

I commend these swimmers' dedication and the love for what they are supporting. It's noble, commendable, and certainly appreciated. I will say that I am gravely disappointed at how badly our armed forces are paid. How poorly they are utilized when sent into harms way. How unappreciated they are by the last few sociopaths who have held the presidency. If the last four Presidents truly cared about our soldiers then the Veterans Administration wouldn't be the slow motion train wreck that it is.

TUCSON (KGUN9-TV) Police arrested a swimming coach at Mountain View High School on child porn charges.

Sent to me late this evening by a regular reader:

TUCSON (KGUN9-TV) - Police arrested a swimming coach at Mountain View High School on child porn charges after an investigation by the Tucson Police Department.

Sgt. Chris Widmer from TPD tells KGUN9 that Bruce Rock, 49, was arrested after an investigation showed he was uploading child porn to a social media site.

[Link]

Here is his bio at the Pima Aquatics Site:

"...Coach Rock was raised in Orange County CA. He started competitive swimming at the age of 4 and continued to the age of 18. Coach Rock played competitive water polo in high school and one year of college, at Santa Ana Junior College. After his swimming career ended he started training and competing in sport of triathlon. Coach Rock completed numerous triathlons including Iron Man California in 2000(2.4 mile swim 112 mile bike ride and a 26.2 mile run). 

Coach Rock moved to Tucson in 2004. He started coaching the Pima county league team at the Northwest YMCA in 2007. He built the team to become a SAAA team and eventually a USA swim team. Taking many age group and senior swimmers to swim at the AZ state meets, sectional and junior national qualifying times. 

Coach Rock is ASCA level 3 qualified and has many years as a USA head coach and high school head coach at Mountain View High school. He is married and has 2 kids attending college in Tucson. He is looking forward to building Pima Aquatic Club to be a very competitive team not just in Tucson but in the state of Arizona.

[Link]

It was also suggested that a child may have been exploited. Any witnesses or people connected to this club who may have information regarding this arrest or incident of alleged abuse should contact the Safe Sport arm of USA Swimming right away.