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If you have not heard of this event, you should "check" it out. Basically, you make a commitment to swim all 18 pool events in a single year, and check them off on the T-shirt. Each year's T-shirt sports a different theme.
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Really Cool Website of the Month
Indy SwimFit knows how to keep their team informed and motivated. With up-to-date announcements, programs and events, this Indianapolis club is one of the most successful in the country. Check it out: 
indyswimfit.com
To be considered for RCWOM, please make sure that your team's website
includes the current USMS logo and Join/Renew membership button. You
may submit your team name and web address to the USMS for consideration
at press@usms.org
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Our Sponsors Support YOU!
Please Support Them
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What About You?
Do you have a story to tell? We are always interested in
hearing from our members about their swimming experiences. We may
feature your story on the Web, in STREAMLINES, or in SWIMMER magazine. Write to us at press@usms.org.
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Greetings!
The Ides of March are almost upon us. For a lot of us,
that means gearing up for short course nationals or big open water swims. Several
of our sponsors are offering tech suits at extremely reduced rates, just in
time for the big meet.
In this issue of STREAMLINES, Walnut Creek Masters coach
Kerry O'Brien introduces us to the three-element Free/Back Combo Drill that
will reinforce some basic long-axis stroke technique. Open water swimmer and
coach Marcia Cleveland paints a vivid picture of panic in open water swims.
For the swimmer who is unconcerned with competitive pursuits,
USMS member and open water swimmer Mark Cibula shares his experience with
swimming meditation, reminding us that sometimes just the peace and beauty of
being in the water is enough to quiet the stresses that compete for our
attention.
Look for the March-April issue of SWIMMER in your
mailboxes in the next few weeks. Several technique features will come in handy
-- especially come relay time in Atlanta. For open water swimmers, SWIMMER
takes a look at just a few of the many large and unusual open water swims
around the world.
And if the Ides of March (technically the 15th)
don't bring enough mischief, St. Patrick's Day is two days later. If your team
has a special St. Patrick's Day practice, send us a photo. We'll choose the
best ones for a future issue of STREAMLINES.
Swimming for Life
Your Friends at U.S. Masters Swimming
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Free/Back Combo Drill
by Kerry O'Brien, Walnut Creek Masters
 This Free/Back Combo Drill is a drill that anyone can
incorporate into their training. We've mentioned time and time again the
importance of head position and body alignment and this drill focuses on both
of these elements as it transitions between freestyle based and backstroke
based swimming. You can use this drill during your warm up or cool down before
or after a backstroke set and is great for triathletes as an opportunity to "take a break" from the typical all-freestyle triathlon workout. This drill can
be swum short course or long course.
There are three elements to focus on while performing the
Free/Back Combo Drill: - Rock-steady head position
- Shoulder/hip rotation
- Constant kick
O'Brien, USMS Coach of the Year recipient, explains each of these three elements and how to improve them. [Read more]
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Has This Ever Happened To You?
By
Marcia Cleveland
It can happen if you are experienced or a
novice.- It can happen in any type of water: calm, rough,
salt, fresh, ocean, river, or lake.
- It can happen during a race or merely during a
calm dip, and at any point in a swim: start, middle, end.
- It can happen when you are surrounded by the
Pack or when no one is near you.
- It's a basic survival instinct.
- Even though I've spent thousands of hours
training and racing in open water, it still happens to me sometimes.
What is it? [Read more] |
We're on YouTube
Visit our newly updated USMS YouTube channel.  Each week we upload new videos about Masters swimming from all over the country. See all of the coaches, swimmers and supporters talk about their club or special events. Subscribe today to make sure you get all of the updates as these great stories are published. Who knows, maybe you and your club will be featured next. |
By Mark Cibula
 "I dove into the lake, sinking down into the water, immediately
feeling the silence. I could no longer hear my friends talking on the
shore. There it was. Peace; aloneness with water and nature. Floating
five feet below the surface, I could look up and see light and look
down into the beautiful blue water. Fish swam by. My muscles felt calm
and smooth in the gentle motion of the water. The softness and coolness
felt good. I was present."
If you feel a certain peace from swimming, you are not alone.
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By Daniel Slocki, Speedo Sports Marketing
 Hypothetical situation: You are 12 years old and you just
joined a soccer team. What is the first thing your parents had to do? Buy you a
team uniform.
Now fast-forward 30 years. You have just joined your local
Masters swim club, what should be the first thing you do? Well, why should the
answer be any different from 30 years ago? [Read more] |
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Now Accepting USMS Award Nominations
 The Ransom J. Arthur Award Nominations
are due March 15, 2010 and the award will be presented at the USMS
Short Course National Championships in Atlanta, Ga. The following nominations are due by July 1:
- USMS Coach of the Year Award
- Dorothy Donnelly USMS
Service Award
- Kerry O'Brien USMS Coaches
Award
-
USMS Club of the Year Award
-
June Krauser USMS
Communications Award
-
USMS Fitness Award
-
USMS National Championship
Meets Award
Please read the nomination information for each award, which includes the nomination form and guidelines. You may email Sally Dillon if you have additional questions. |
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Tech Suit Blowout
 Finis, Blueseventy and TYR are dropping their prices on technical suits allowed by USMS for pool competition through the SCY season, which ends June 1st.
FINIS Hydrospeed suits that fit this category are
$20 as of right now.
FINIS AMPhibian Polyurethane suits are also on sale
for up to 85% off.
 Blueseventy is offering the 2009 Nero for a reduced price of $100. After June 1, 2010, USMS customers will then be eligible for a special 30% off buy-back program.
TYR Aquapel and Aquashift suits starting at $29.99,
only while supplies last. Visit Kiefer for more information.
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We've Got Spirit!
Max Multisport's Masters in Chicago, Illinois, is a team comprised of all women (every once in a while the male coaches are allowed to join them in the water). These ladies aren't afraid to put up a little competition at local meets. This team may be small, but their fast swimming is enough to place well at local and regional competitions.
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About U.S. Masters Swimming
U.S.
Masters Swimming, founded in 1970, is a membership-operated national
governing body that promotes adult health, fitness, wellness and competition through
aquatics. It does so by partnering with more than 1,000 adult swim
clubs across the country that offer swim fitness programs, promoting
information via the bi-monthly member magazine, SWIMMER, monthly e-newsletter, STREAMLINES, and usms.org; and
by sanctioning and promoting pool, open water and virtual competitions. More than 50,000 adults are registered members of U.S. Masters Swimming.
About STREAMLINES
U.S.
Masters Swimming encourages all U.S. Masters Swimming members to
subscribe to STREAMLINES, however if you would
rather not receive this update, please do not click the unsubscribe
button, as that will remove you from all other U.S. Masters Swimming
National Office mailings. Rather, please click on the "Update
Profile/Email Address" link at the bottom of this email. Here you can
select to discontinue your STREAMLINES service
or sign up for the monthly coaches' newsletter, STREAMLINES for Coaches, and/or STREAMLINES for Volunteers, a quarterly publication
Header photo by Cokie Lepinski.
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