[PacMasterUpdate] Pacific Masters Update Valentines Day, 2005

pacmasterupdate at PacificMasters.org Mon Feb 14 01:21:20 EST 2005


UPCOMING EVENTS
PACIFIC MASTERS MONTHLY MEETING
The Pacific Masters  February monthly meeting will be February 16th 
at Heather Farms, in Walnut Creek.

TAMALPIAS  1650
For those swimming the one hour swim they can also enter the Tam one 
hour postal.
	http://www.pacificmasters.org/comp/05tamscypostal.pdf

PACIFICA RELAY MEET
The Pacifica Relay meet will be Sunday, February 27th. The meet sheet 
has been posted. You enter only on the day of the meet. Now is the 
time to get your team mates together to form a team and have fun 
competing against other teams.
	http://www.pacificmasters.org/comp/schd.html

RINCONADA SPRING SHORT COURSE MEET
The Rinconada Spring Short Course meet returns to the Rinconada Pool 
in Palo Alto on Saturday March 12, 2005. The pre entry deadline is 
March 02.

STRAWBERRY CANYON INVITATIONAL
The Strawberry Canyon Aquatic Masters Invitational Meet will be 
Saturday March 19. PreEntries must be received by March 9th.
	http://www.pacificmasters.org/comp/schd.html

PACIFIC MASTERS OFFICE CLOSED THROUGH THE 18TH
Nancy Ridout is at the Olympic Training Center with Master swimmers 
who are learning the latest training techniques there. She will be 
back on the 18th.

RESULTS OF THE USF VALENTINES DAY MEET
The results of the USF Valentines day meet have been posted on the 
web site. Thanks to Barbara Byrnes, Bryan Andrews for directing the 
meet; and thanks to all of USF for putting on the meet and for the 
use of their 50 meter pool
	http://www.pacificmasters.org/comp/results.shtml

START AND TURN CLINIC
  USMS Coach of the Year Scott Williams of the Olympic Club will host 
a clinic to prepare competitors for the upcoming short course Pacific 
Championships in April.  The focus will be on  starts and turns in 
the Olympic Club's new indoor facility. 

Space is limited to 50 participants.  

	Clinic Date:  Sunday, March 27
	Time:  4:00 to 5:30 pm
	Location:  The Olympic Club, 665 Sutter Street, San Francisco
	Cost: $25

NEW LOOK FOR USMS WEB SITE
The USMS web site has undergone a transformation into a new modern 
look. The transformation has included navigation and how the 
information is conveyed to the web surfer.
	http://www.usms.org

ARTICLES ON USMS WEB SITE
There are articles of the month on the USMS website. The latest 
article is on hydration. There are many articles about swimming and 
swimmers on the web site:
	http://www.usms.org/articles/articledisplay.php

STREAMLINES
The latest issue of Streamlines has been posted. Streamlines is a 
newsletter about and for the management of United States Masters 
Swimming. Everyone is invited to read it.
	http://www.usms.org/admin/nycu.php

USMS ELECTIONS
Elected Officers and Directors on the USMS Board of Directors ("BOD") 
are elected by the members of the House of Delegates at the annual 
meetings. The elected BOD positions and their election schedule can 
be found in the current USMS Code of Regulations and Rules of 
Competition (Articles 505: OFFICERS and 506: BOARD OF DIRECTORS). 
Processes for the election are governed by the current version of the 
Election Operating Guidelines.  Information about the elections is on 
the USMS web site
	http://www.usms.org/admin/election05/
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New Coach Midnight Article

Counting down to the 2006 FINA Masters World Championships at Stanford !

Yes, it is true I have had a bit of 'writers block' -- but nothing 
like having a World Championships in one's own backyard to get one 
interested in writing about swimming again. So, I will be writing a 
more less monthly article on ways to prepare -- both mentally as well 
as physically for swimming at the World Championships at Stanford in 
2006.

First of all, one has to decide if they even want to or can swim in 
said event. If you have already swam in one previously -- you know 
they are quite the experience:  expect some 6,000 plus Masters 
swimmers across all age groups, and from many different Nations and 
all  'speeds'  to congregate over the period of some 6 to 8 days at 
the same pool.

So, if one has decided to swim; you first have to ask yourself:  Am I 
doing it for the unique experience that a Masters World Championships 
can give me just by being there, or do I want to commit myself to 
performing at my best level in the hopes of placing high in the 
competition within my age group ?  Either decision is a viable one 
when all is said and done.

If you are going for 'the unique experience' -- you will get it -- as 
an example, at one World Championships that I was at --  I was 
"amused" at seeing swimmers from other countries step outside between 
races for a "quick smoke" !!   Not quite what I was used to.

  Just being there and partaking of the pageantry and rubbing 
shoulders with swimmers from a multitude of backgrounds is something 
one should not miss; especially as it is in our own backyard ! If you 
can make the time standards -- and yes, there are 'time standards' 
for each and every event -- plan on attending, it will be worth it.

If you are going with the mind-set of trying to place as high as 
possible in your age group; you should do a little 'background 
research' first. Some things to consider, and there are more than I 
will list for sure, are:

1) What events would I probably place highest in?  And these may not 
necessarily be your best or favorite events -- so you will need to 
look at past World Championships results;

2) Who will be my competition (and their 'times') -- and who is 
'aging up' into my age group in 2006;

3) When the Event Schedule is published you will need to look at that 
as it will make more sense to probably swim only one event per day, 
or at least be able to 'clump' 2 events close together on a 
respective day -- so, get 'creative' as far as event selection !! 
Remember -- the 'days' will be long with some 6,000 plus swimmers 
entered.

So, set your sights on Stanford in 2006 and let the process begin !!

Coach Midnight   

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LOOKING FOR GOOD LINKS THAT TELL ABOUT THE SAN FRANCISCO
We are looking for good web links that  would tell visitors about the 
San Francisco Bay Area. These links would be for the XI FINA World 
Masters Championships web site.
  please email your suggested links to mailto:links at pacificmasters.org

thank you.




Have a good week

michael
For information about Pacific Masters Swimming, go to 
http://www.pacificmasters.org
-- 
michael w. moore
michael at mwmoore.org