Pacific Masters and United States Masters Swimming are partnering to present  Protecting Athletes: The Open Water Safety Conference which brings together open water and triathlon event directors, and event competitors to discuss the best practices and case studies in risk management and open water event safety.

The goals of this conference are to help the sport understand how to best plan for and ensure safety in open water swims conducted in oceans, lakes and rivers for swimmers of all ages, backgrounds and abilities.   

The annual spring Rinconada Meet will be held March 12th at the Rinconada Pool in Palo Alto.  You are encourage to enter on line, which you can do until 11:59pm on March 9th. The 1000 Free must be pre-entered. You can deck enter the rest of the meet.

The Strawberry Canyon Aquatic Masters Short Course Yards meet will be held on Sunday 27 March. You must preenter for the 500. You may deck enter for the rest of the meet. You can enter on-line until 23 March at 11:59PM.

The 2011 Pacific Masters Swimming Short Course Yards Championships will be held at the Delores Bengstron Aquatic Center, Pleasanton, California  8-10 April 2011. Swimmers are encouraged to enter on-line (on-line deadline 11:59 PM Wednesday 30 March).

Pacific Masters Swimming Open Water Season is nearing. The meet directors has their annual meeting last week, hearing from Jim Wheeler and Kevin Lennon about the inherent dangers of Open Water Swimming.

The San Mateo Parkside Mile meet sheet has been posted as well as the Lake Del Valle Swim.

The Lake Sonoma Swim has been cancelled and the Open Water Committee is reviewing venues for the 2011 Pacific Masters Open Water Championships.   

Swimming State Championships on Saturday, March 26 (8:00AM start) at Avery Aquatic Center, Stanford University - for male and female athletes age 50 and over. First, Second and Third place awards by age group. Register on line at www.bayareaseniorgames.org or call 650.323.9400 x 18 for an entry blank or more information. Entry deadline is March 15, 2011.

The 2011 California Senior Games Championships (also known as the Bay Area Senior Games) with 24 sports and an expected 2000 athletes are presented by BASOC - the Bay Area Sports Organizing Committee.

The Bay Area Senior Games (March 26-April 3, 2011) will host a one-day Health & Peak Performance Conference on Saturday, March 26, 2011 from 9 am to 5 pm at Stanford University. "The missing dialogue in our national debate on healthcare is personal responsibility," says Anne Warner Cribbs, 1960 Olympian and CEO of the Bay Area Senior Games. "At this conference we will offer information and discussion to empower our choices and fuel our vision for living a long and healthy life." 

Conference itinerary and speakers for the Health & Peak Performance conference are available and registration is open on this website registration page for $30 per person while space is available. Sign up today! 

The Northern California Swimstitute will be hosting A thriathlon clinic with Dave Scott 30 April - 1 May. More information can be found on the Swimstitute web site

Registration has started on the US Masters Swimming 2011 Short Course Yards Championships that will be held in Mesa Arizona. The Arizona meet will be the closest National pool championships for the next two years.