Eliza Cummings will attempt a 20 mile crossing of Cape Cod Bay tomorrow. Her blog (read at least the last few posts) is here
Remember how easy it is
Honor how hard it is
The first part is about remembering that
at the end of the day it is just swimming. It is just stroke by stroke,
kick by kick, moving through water—something that I have done since I
was a child and something that I have been intensely training at for
months/years. Compared to all the training and preparation I have done,
the swim itself is easy. It is moving from point A to point B and then
it is done. Easy.
The second part is about not dismissing
the incredible feat of the crossing and training that I have already
completed. It is also about recognizing that it is hard—it is a mental
and physical challenge that at times will make me want to say “I don’t
want to do this anymore.” BUT, I will honor the struggle of the swim and
move through it, appreciating it for what it is but not letting myself
become overwhelmed by the difficulty.
Like a challenge? Start training for the tenth annual Highland Lakes Challenge in October. Five lakes in five days. I've done two ('07 & '11) and am considering trying a third. Info is here
Lake Travis HS just re-posted their opening for a head swim coach
Rice University is hosting a Mutual of Omaha Breakout Clinic on the 11th with San Antonio's Josh Davis. Info is here
Clare got to experience a little of Mt. Moosilauke last month. Found a short video someone shot of one of the many steep parts. Probably shouldn't take Rover:
Also, it's been shown that cheaters benefit from their doping even after they're caught, serve suspensions, and return to the sport as "clean" athletes.
They compete and take away competition and podium spots from the kids who were always clean.
We need to:
Kick out dopers for life,
Delete tainted records,
Strip medals from dopers,
Award those medals to clean athletes, and
Shame other sports into doing the same!
Swimming can't do it alone. We need all sports to clean up their acts.
When Johnny Homer fails his PED test, what if his team had to forfeit all games he appeared in that season?
Penalizing a team for one jerk's personal failings sounds pretty harsh, doesn't it. Wouldn't it work, though?
You can bet it would clean up MLB in a big hurry. Ball clubs would do plenty of in-house testing and get rid of dirty players on their own, knowing missing out on playoff spots would cost them millions in revenue.
If only owners would get serious. Stop with the slap on the wrist for a first offense. Go straight to lifetime bans and forfeited games. If folks want to see more home runs, use a livelier ball and/or shorten up outfield wall dimensions.
Anyone out there still watch le Tour? Rampant doping in cycling has turned their sport into a joke.
It doesn't matter if they're "sub-twenny in the fitty free" or "watch battery runs out in the five hunnert free" - they can still be ACADEMIC All-Americans.
If you want to get your kids recognized as such, you need to join NISCA. Print a paper application here
In addition to making your athletes eligible for Academic A-A recognition, you'll also get a million bucks in liability insurance, along with six (6) issues of the NISCA Journal.
We all know "polo" and "assault" go together, right? The game's all about what you can get away with when an official isn't looking.
Unfortunately, this story's about more than just yer average suit-pullin', nut-kickin', elbow-in-the-teeth water polo match. Read more here and here
Dabrowski, now a student at Monmouth College, said she let out a yelp
but continued playing, though she then fouled the player in question
and served a time out. Footage said to be from the match appears to show
Dabrowski later crying at the edge of the pool, and she said she
reported to a female coach that "he touched me." "I was angry
because I couldn't think anyone could do that," Dabrowski said on the
show. "He has a mom. He probably has a sister. ... How could he even try
to do something like that?"
Pretty shocking stuff. Read the Texas Sports release here
"Our program is in a very good spot," Kubik continued. "Eddie continues
to amaze me with his ability to keep things fresh and new, and the team
we have returning might be up there as one of the best teams we've ever
had, in terms of personalities, in terms of caring about one another
and in terms of continuing on the tradition that was established well
before we got here. Whoever replaces me will inherit a fantastic group
of students who are exceptional athletes, and, more importantly, are
exceptional people."
Cannot put into words how much Kris Kubik has meant to all Longhorn swimmers and, in particular, to our very own Bobby Button.
Pics from 2014 swim banquet:
Question on mind of every UT guy entering senior year:
Who will take over as UT Swim Banquet Master of Ceremonies?
Most in the swimming community know - at least we think we know - Shirley's story. We know she's that kid from California who got cheated out of medals/records in Montreal back in 1976, right?
Babashoff, along with Chris Epting, gives us, as Paul Harvey would say, the rest of the story.
Shirley's been on a real roller coaster ride. Without giving away too much from the book, let's just say she had a very, very tough childhood.
Babashoff was a regular in Swimming World magazine as a teenager. We all read about the training under Mark Schubert at Mission Viejo. Remember hearing about those Animal Lane workouts with guys like Brian Goodell?
The '72 Munich Games had been highlighted by Mark Spitz's seven golds. Both our men's and women's teams had performed very well.
Shirley teamed with Jane Barkman, Jenny Kemp, and Sandy Neilson* to win the 400 free relay with a world record of 3:55.19, shaving three seconds off their previous best.
Over the next few years, Shirley went on a record-breaking spree, shattering World and American records. Her performances at national championships and the '76 Trials were outstanding.
Expectations were very high for Shirley & the rest of our swimmers in the '76 Montreal Games.
Leading up to those games, the media was all over Shirley. A young Skip Bayless got his feelings hurt when he actually had to work (and wait) for a chance to interview Babashoff.
It was Skip who got the whole "Surly Shirley" thing going.
Since the '72 Olympics, some writers have found shy little Shirley to be big surly Shirley. As records fell in her wake, she seemed more and more aloof. Her smile, always Mona Lisa crooked, appeared to be a scowl. Her laugh, before quick and warm, seemed rusty. Her obsession for supremacy had curtailed her bike-riding, softball- and volleyball-playing and body surfing. All work and no play made Shirley a very cranky girl.
What a first-class jerk! Take it back, Skippy!!
Click to enlarge the pic below and read the entire article.
For the Spitz-less US men, it turned out to be one of the most dominating performances in Olympic swimming history. Unfortunately, a doped women's squad from East Germany stole what would have been a gold rush for our gals.
Kim Peyton, Wendy Boglioli, Jill Sterkel**, and Babashoff took The Last Gold in 3:44.82, more than ten (10) seconds faster than the record set in Munich.
Shirley's is a story that's not just for the competitive swimming community. It's a story y'all should share with your "non-swimming" friends.
Yes, even those divers and water polo players!
Tell them it includes Shirley's account of a creepy one-on-one meeting with OJ Simpson, if that's what it takes to get them interested.
You won't be lyin'!
*We know her now as Austin's Sandy Neilson-Bell. She and husband Dr. Keith Bell put on numerous open water events and raise big bucks for local causes.
**Yes, the same Jill Sterkel who swam and coached at UT and is still with the Longhorn athletic department.
A pair of new pools are being built in Tyler. Above is a shot of what will be the TISD outdoor long course facility. Read more here
The Tyler school and club swimming community have hoped for years to
have a pool in the Rose City capable of hosting swim meets.
With Tyler ISD and Tyler Swim Academy opting to build separate projects, Tyler soon will have two pools that fit that bill.
Tyler
ISD’s $3.9 million Olympic-sized (25 yards by 50 meters) outdoor
aquatics center is nearing completion, located next to the Career and
Technology Center on Earl Campbell Boulevard, and it's scheduled to open
in mid- to late August.
Tyler Swim Academy, which is partnered with
Metroplex Aquatics of Dallas, also expects to complete construction in
the fall of its own 15,000-square-foot enclosed indoor swimming facility
(25 yards by 25 meter pool) at a cost of $750,000, located on the
corner of Bascom Road and Spur 248.
The two groups both had been using the
district's aging swim facility, but the district's decision to build a
new pool and form its own swim club meant Tyler Swim Academy and other
non-TISD groups needed to find a new pool.
Former athletic director Daryl Gross Negligence announced he was canning the men's and women's swim teams in 2007. It was a slow death. The end came in 2011. The Daily Orange article on the program's demise is here
The program got the axe June 1, 2007, when Athletic Director Daryl
Gross announced Syracuse would cut the men’s and women’s swimming and
diving teams and add a women’s hockey program beginning in the 2008-09
season.
Gross pointed to the outdated facility and the financial difficulties of building a new one as reasons for the cut.
‘If we are going to have a swimming program here, then it’s very
important that we have the resources to do it the right way,’ Gross said
in an article published in The Daily Orange on June 1, 2007. ‘Part of
those resources would be getting a new natatorium, a new pool facility,
diving and all those type of things. The cost for those is enormous, and
they’re costs that we can’t put into it right now.’
Gross was such a danged fibber! ASCA's John Leonard pointed out:
‘In my opinion, they made a poorly informed decision and didn’t want
to hear from their own alumni and community folks about why those
decisions were wrong,’ Leonard said.
Among their concerns: The price tag Gross quoted for the new
facility, $35 million, was ‘way too high,’ Leonard said.
Mark Coyle did nothing as "interim" athletic director. He was 'Cuse AD for just eleven (11) months after the Gross departure.
Let's hope that someone with upstate NY ties and big-time connections in the sports world can fix things at Syracuse University!
This week, USA Swimming Rules & Regulations Committee Chair Jay Thomas sent out this info:
The NCAA and NFHS have adopted rules which permit
the use of tape under certain circumstances.
There now appears to be some confusion regarding the application of USA Swimming Rule
102.8.1E.
The following interpretation of 102.8.1.E is presented to provide clarity to the use of tape in USA Swimming competitions.
Article 102.8.1E states in part, …“Any kind of tape on the body is not permitted unless approved by the Referee.”
Common sense should prevail. The following uses of tape are generally permitted in competition:
1.
Wound protection and closure.
Band-Aids, dressings, ”Butterfly” type, etc. are normally permitted with
no advanced notification to the Referee. When the tape to hold a
dressing in place completely circles a major limb or the dressing is
exceptionally large in size, advanced notification to the Referee is
recommended.
2. Taping of fingers or toes. “Buddy Taping” no more than two (2) injured fingers or toes together should be
permitted. Advanced notification to the Referee is recommended.
3. Tape to secure medical alert bracelets and pendants, religious objects,
etc. should be permitted. Advanced notification to the Referee is recommended.
4. Tape to secure medical devices. Example – insulin
pumps, ostomy bags, etc. should be permitted.
Advanced notification to the Referee is required.
The following uses of tape are
not permitted in competition – irrespective of whether a Doctor’s note has been presented.
1. Elastic Therapeutic Tape is never
permitted. 2. Kinesio Taping is never permitted. 3. Any other taping intentioned to provide compression or support to muscles, ligaments,
tendons or joints (except as stated above) is never permitted.
Yes, "common sense should prevail," but we all know it doesn't always prevail...
Next, an "in case you missed it" note on a some NFHS rules changes released in April. This from Sandy Searcy:
At its March 21-23 meeting in
Indianapolis, the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS)
Swimming and Diving Rules Committee approved a change to the freestyle portion
of the individual medley and medley relay as it relates to body position.
An addition to Rule 8-2-4c will read
as follows: “The final leg of the individual medley and the medley relay
requires the swimmer to be at or past vertical toward the breast before any
stroke, kick or propulsive motion.”
This revision was one of several
changes recommended by the Swimming and Diving Rules Committee and subsequently
approved by the NFHS Board of Directors.
The committee also approved a change
in the current practice of determining a final time when a touch pad malfunctions
in a lane. Searcy said that research has shown that the current practice of calculating
the average difference between the primary and backup timing systems, and
adjusting the backup time in the malfunctioning lane(s), does not improve the
accuracy of the times.
“Using the backup time without
adjustment results in a final time that is just as accurate and avoids a
mathematical exercise which is both time-consuming and difficult to perform
during a meet,” Searcy said.
In addition, the committee defined a
deck change as “changing, in whole or in part, into or out of a swimsuit when
wearing just one suit in an area other than a permanent or temporary locker
room, bathroom, changing room or other space designated for changing purposes.”
Beginning with the 2016-17 season, any team personnel/competitor involved in
“deck changing” will be assessed a penalty for unsporting conduct, which would
disqualify an individual from further participation in a meet.
In diving, the committee approved
two rules changes and made three revisions in the official diving chart. In an
effort to minimize risk, the committee ruled that a dive is failed if, in the
diving referee’s opinion, the diver “performs an additional bounce(s) on the
end of the board after the culminating hurdle.”
“The forward approach shall begin
with not less than three steps and finish with a hurdle, defined as a jump off
one foot to a landing on both feet at the end of the board,” Searcy said. “The diver
should not be permitted to perform an additional bounce just prior to the
takeoff.”
In Rule 9-5-5, the committee added
clarity and consistency to the balk call, requiring a diver to actually
commence, then stop the dive.
In the official listing of approved
dives, the committee eliminated the Flying Back 1 SS (212) and the Flying
Reverse SS (312), and added a new dive – the Forward 2 SS 1 Twist – with degrees
of difficulty of 2.6 (tuck) and 2.7 (pike).
Easy to see why a high school "Swimming" rule book would require but a small fraction of the paper used for our "Swimming & Diving" one...
