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Pacific Update


 
   
Week of January 20, 2020  
In This Update
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In this issue you will find information on upcoming pool events and other information of interest to the local adult swimming community.
 
The next issue of the Update will appear on February 3, 2020The deadline for submissions is Wednesday, January 29, 2020. 
 
Stay fit,
The Pacific Masters Swimming Committee
EVENTS AND CLINICS
2020 Short Course Yards Season Preview

2020 began with two terrific meets:  the Santa Rosa Resolution meet and TOC 1500 meter swim.  With a new year, we start a new Age Group Standings page.  Check out our preview of the 2020 Pacific Masters Short Course Yards swim season, put on your goggles and join the fun.  We have an excellent lineup of meets  this year, with opportunities for swimmers of all ability levels. Full Article.
TAM Miracle Mile Postal
January 1-February 28

Swim a mile and help fight lung cancer. 50% of the proceedings will be donated to Go2 Foundation for Lung Cancer (formerly Bonnie J. Addario Lung Cancer Foundation). As in previous years, team efforts are encouraged.TAM Masters has donated over $14,000 over the past seven years using swimming as a resource to benefit our community.  Information  and Registration.
USMS One-Hour ePostal Nationals
January 1-February 29

Swim as far as possible in one hour in any pool you choose that is 25 yards or longer. Event results are sent in electronically so you can compare yourself to other swimmers doing the same event. Some people do the One-Hour ePostal event for competition, while others do it for fitness; all who wish to participate are welcome. TAM Masters is hosting this National event. Information and Registration.
Coaches Eye Clinics for New Masters Coaches
February 8-June 27

Masters coaches who are either certified Levels 1&2 (or not) and who are interested in developing skills in teaching swim technique are encouraged to the following Coaches Eye Clinics.  These clinics are for you if you have less than three years experience coaching masters.  Additionally, these clinics are geared to equip individuals registered with USMS who are considering becoming a masters swim coach. The cost is $20 per session.

After each session, a discussion and a time of questions and answers will follow.  All sessions are on Saturdays, 9:00-11:00 a.m. at the Albany Aquatic Center outdoor pool in Albany, CA.  

February 8 - Starts and Breakouts

February 29 - Freestyle

March 14 - Butterfly

March 28 - Breaststroke

May 9 - Open Water

June 13 - Backstroke

June 27 - Individual Medley Turns

 

Each session is limited to six coaches on a first-come first-serve basis.  Contact Carol Nip, Clubs & Coaches Chair, raysun@comcast.net,  to reserve your spot.
Swim Clinics in the East Bay
February 8-June 27

Beginner-to-Intermediate masters swimmers who need help with certain aspects of technique may attend any of the clinics listed below. Each session is limited to twelve swimmers.  Cost is $30 per clinic, and will be held  Saturday mornings, 9:00-11:00 am at the Albany Aquatic Center  in Albany, CA.

February 8 - Starts and Breakouts

February 29 - Freestyle

March 14 - Butterfly

March 28 - Breaststroke

May 9 - Open Water

June 13 - Backstroke

June 27 - Individual Medley Turns

 

These clinics are offered by Pacific Masters Swimming to their members who live in the East Bay.  Living in the East Bay, however, is not required for participation.  Registration.
Splash and Dash Sprint Pentathlon 
February 22

This meet is short and sweet with 50 yard races in all strokes, capping the pentathlon with the 100 Individual Medley.  Special awards to high point winners in each age group.  To add to the morning fun, relays are offered to swimmers who may want to top the day with the 200 Free Relay or the 200 Medley Relay.  Both relays will be mixed (2 men and 2 women).  Warm lunches will be sold at the meet.   Information and Registration.
The City Mile
February 23

After Albany's short and fast events, distance swimmers will have another shot to race the following day at the San Francisco City Mile.  Held at City College of San Francisco, this meet offers the season's first opportunity to swim the 1650 short course yard freestyle race.  This meet is unique in that swimmers are recognized for finishing within two seconds of their seed time.  Entries are limited to 96 swimmers, so sign up early!  Information and  Registration.
PACIFIC MASTERS NEWS
A New World Record 
50 Year Old Freshman Twelve Years Later

Over the weekend, a new world record entered the books at The Olympic Club meet.  The "50 Year Old Freshman," now in the 60-64 age group,  swam the 1500 meter race in 19:35.32.  By three seconds, Suzanne Heim-Bowen broke Laura Val's 2011 world record of 19:38.63.  Way to go!  Suzanne, the 50-year Old Freshman is still fresh after all these years.
Pacific Masters Monthly Meeting
February 19

Our next Board meeting will take place on Wednesday, February 19 at 7:00 pm by conference call.  All members are encouraged to attend.  For details, please contact Chris Ottati, Administrator.    
EDITOR'S NOTE
Why We Swim
Pacific Masters Swimming Author

Humans, unlike other animals that are drawn to water, are not natural-born swimmers.  We must be taught.  Our evolutionary ancestors learned for survival; now in the twenty-first century, we swim in freezing Arctic waters and piranha-invested rivers to test our limits.  Swimming is an introspective and silent sport in a chaotic and noisy age; it's therapeutic for both the mind and body; and it's an adventurous way to get from point A to point B.  It's also one route to that elusive, ecstatic  flow.   These reasons, among many others, make swimming one of the most popular activities in the world.  

Why We Swim is propelled by stories of Olympic champions, a Baghdad swim club that meets in Saddam Hussein's palace pool, modern-day Japanese samurai swimmers, and even an Icelandic fisherman who improbably survives a wintry six-hour swim after a shipwreck.  New York Times  contributor Bonnie Tsui, a swimmer herself, dives into the deep, from the San Francisco Bay to the South China Sea, investigating what about water - despite its dangers - seduces us and why we come back to it again and again.

Bonnie Tsui is a U.S. Masters Swimmer with Albany Armada Aquatic Masters.