[PacMasterUpdate] July 22, 2001

pacmasterupdate-admin at PacificMasters.org Sun Jul 22 23:03:37 EDT 2001


UPCOMING EVENTS
   PACIFIC MASTERS OPEN WATER CHAMPIONSHIPS - DEADLINES THIS WEEK
The 2001 Pacific Masters Open Water Championships will be held in 
Santa Cruz the first weekend in August. Medals will be given to the 
top five finishers in each age division.
	http://www.pacificmasters.org/comp/schd.html
On each short meet sheet there is a link to the full meet sheet. The 
Rough Water preentry deadline is Monday July 23. The Pier to Pier 
Swim deadline is July 26th - no race day entries and the Cruz Cruise 
preentry deadline July 25th.

   LAKE DEL VALLE 2X1 OPEN WATER RELAY
The Manatees 2x1 Lake Del Valle Open Water Relay will be August 19th 
at Lake Del Valle near Livermore.
	http://www.pacificmasters.org/comp/01mamow.html
   PINECREST OPEN WATER SWIM
Pinecrest Lake Open water swim is August 25th at Pinecrest Lake (east 
of Sonora)
	http://www.pacificmasters.org/comp/01tuol.html

IN THE NEWS(PAPERS)
SF Chronicle wrote a story about children who are afraid of the water.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2001/07/22/LV210939.DTL

George Haines Article in the Chronicle
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2001/07/15/SP184089.DTL

Eric the Eel of the Sydney Games
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2001/07/15/SP184089.DTL

Swimmer Lenny Krayzelburg  maintains high profile in Israel
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/news/archive/2001/07/18/sports1636EDT0381.DTL

IF YOU HAVE MOVED OR IF PACIFIC DOES NOT HAVE CORRECT ADDRESS
If you have moved or if Pacific Masters does not have your correct 
mailing address, please notify Nancy Ridout about your correct 
address. You can do that by filling out the form on
	http://www.pacificmasters.org/admin/members/memberupdate.shtml
Filling out the form will ensure that your get your copy of Swim 
Magazine and the Pacific Masters newsletter in a timely basis.

USMS NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP BIDS
Bids for the 2003 Long Course, short Course and Long Distance 
National Championships are due August 13th. For questions on the bids 
for Long Course/Short Course contact Sandi Rousseau at 
Championship at usms.org . Direct questions on Long Distance Bids to 
Sally Dillon  at LongDistance at usms.org .

(Editors note: This year the Long Course and Short Course Nationals 
were held on the West Coast, next year Short Course is in Hawaii and 
Long Course is in Cleveland. The only way the west coast will get the 
short course meet is if no one bids from the East IMHO. I doubt that 
the House of Delegates would vote for Long Course on the West Coast 
for 2003. Open Water Championships is far more open and clubs should 
consider hosting a long distance championship. If your club is 
interested in hosting a long distance championship, please contact 
Jim Wheeler jwheeler at sanselmo.org )

2002 RULE BOOK COVER
The design 2002 Rule Book Cover is selected by the Rule Book 
Committee. It is an open competition to anyone. No cash award, but 
the winner knows that his/her design will be  on 5000 copies of the 
USMS Rule Book.

If you are interested in submitting a design contact Meg Smath, Rule 
Book Committee Chairman at RuleBook at usms.org .

MAY I HAVE ANOTHER SERVING OF BASIC FUNDAMENTALS, PLEASE
Even the most proficient of swimmers will occasionally review the 
fundamentals of swimming to assure he/she is swimming in the most 
efficient manner.

So what are some basic, yet very important, details that all swimmers 
need to attend to? First off, to move though water most effectively 
one needs to be 'relaxed' -- not like laying back in your recliner 
with a cold beer (though that certainly is a good definition) -- 
rather, are you 'flowing' through the water; or are you fighting for 
every yard?

If you think about it, water supports you from the effects of 
gravity, so to move forward all you have to do is 'anchor' your hands 
and apply enough force to get you going  -- then relax, build up 
'hand speed', and let your momentum carry you forward into your next 
stroke cycle. There is no need, and it is actually 
counter-productive, to have all your muscles contracting for all 
their worth throughout the full length of each stroke.

Now that you have got your self moving down the pool -- the trick is 
to have the 'drop-off' after each stroke minimized by decreasing 
'frontal resistance' as much as possible.  Course, we cant do 
anything about decreasing the resistance the column of water you are 
moving through will encounter as it hits that "midsection" you meant 
to take care of with that new diet everyone has been talking about -- 
but that's another story.  However, you can do a few things to 
minimize resistance.

Most important, is moving through the water without excessive 
'side-side' action, AND by being as level as possible.  If your head 
is elevated  --- your legs will sink, or if not you will have to 
exert a lot of energy (ie, wasted energy) trying to counterbalance. 
So remember to keep the head low to bring the feet up and your body 
'in-line'.  Likewise, if you tend to 'cross over' your mid-line under 
your body during your pull you will either have a 'zig-zag' motion 
going down the pool, or you have to compensate by kicking harder on 
the 'off side'. Both of which cause increased energy expenditure -- 
with no increase in your forward speed.

Now, read that last sentence over again if the full implication has 
not sunk in -- the really gifted athletes pay attention to the 
details and 'move' in such a way as to travel the "greatest distance 
with the the least amount of energy expenditure" -- and so can you if 
you just pay attention to "The Basics".

    Coach Midnight

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If you wish to contact the Update about editorial and news matters please email
	michael at pacificmasters.org


have a  good week

michael
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