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April 2012


Greetings!

This is a busy time for coaches! We wish you success with your programs and thank you for your dedication.
 
Swimming for Life!
Your Friends at U.S. Masters Swimming

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Club and Coach Services
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Need help getting your club up and running?
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Club and Coach Services Director: Bill Brenner

 

Northwest, AZ, NM, South Central, Dixie: 

Susan Ingraham.

Midwest, East: 
Mel Goldstein
 
Free marketing materials are available for USMS programs. Caps, stickers, brochures, etc. 

Small club? Just starting out? Don't have an advertising budget? We have created free templates that you can use to promote your program, your swim meets and your open water events.

Hand Pitch and Sculling Drills
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by Coach Cokie Lepinski, Swymnut Masters

Teaching Hand Pitch with Scull Drills

Y Scull

I'm a coach and a swimmer. As I swim my workouts, I'm constantly reflecting on how something feels, and how to best relay that feeling to my swimmers. Recently, my thoughts have been focused on hand pitch. The pitch of our hands is essential to all four strokes, and even starts and turns, but conveying the hows and whys to our swimmers can be challenging. Read more... 

Do You Have Your USMS Certification Yet?
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Opportunities for Certification
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The USMS Coaches Committee and Club and Coach Services have developed new curricula for Level 1 and Level 2 USMS Masters Coach Certification. The new courses are taught in classroom settings throughout the country. Participants receive a "Certificate of Participation" once they finish the class. If participants wish to become certified, they must join ASCA and deliver to ASCA the completed tests from the coursework and the application for USMS/ASCA Masters Coach Certification. ASCA will grade the tests, process the applications and deliver the certificates.   

 

April 21-22 Cleveland, Ohio - Online Registration - Walk ups only
May 5 Phoenix, Ariz. - Online Registration - Only a Few Spots Left
May 12 Great Barrington, Mass. - Online Registration   
May 13 Boston, Mass. - SOLD OUT 

June 2 Indianapolis, Ind. - Online Registration 

Aug 25 Minneapolis, Minn.

Sept. 7 ASCA World Clinic, Las Vegas, Nev.*
Sept. 12 USAS Convention, Greensboro, N.C.*   

  

*Hurry, sign up for a courses before fees are increased on September 1, 2012. These courses often sell out.

 

Are You Going to Spring Nationals?
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Club and Coach Services Director Bill Brenner in Greensboro    

Bill Brenner If you're going to be at Spring Nationals in Greensboro next week, be sure to introduce yourself to Bill Brenner, our Club and Coach Services Director. Look for him at the registration desk, on the pool deck or email him at bill.brenner@usms.org if you would like to arrange a meeting. He'd be glad to answer all your questions regarding the Masters coach certification program and club development.
2012 Marriott USMS Summer National Championship
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Omaha, Neb. July 5-8, 2012
Omaha Online entry is also available for the 2012 Marriott USMS Summer National Championships. This unique championship will be held in the same pool as the USA Swimming Olympic Trials in Omaha, Neb. Teams with 20 or more registered will have reserved seating closest to the pool deck. The competition pool has 10, 9-foot wide lanes. The warm-up pool has eight 50-meter lanes and an additional six 25-meter lanes. Visit our USMS Facebook page contest for a chance to win a four-night hotel stay in Omaha for these nationals. Read more...
2012 Marriott USMS Summer Nationals July 5-8
2012 Marriott USMS Summer Nationals July 5-8

State-of-the-Art Blocks at Summer Nationals
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Track Start Blocks for Omaha

Myrtha Track Start This block from Myrtha includes a special timing platform that is designed to provide the athlete with a more stable base for the "track-start" take-off. Specifically, the footrest permits swimmers to start with the back leg at a 90-degree angle, obtaining an ideal position for the launch. This solution allows the swimmer to gain up to one tenth of a second in start signal reaction time. These Myrtha blocks will be featured for use by competitors at the 2012 Marriott USMS Summer Nationals. Sign up today...
Event Marketing Tips
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by the Professionals at Active.com
How are you marketing your events?
Big event   

With so many options available, it can be difficult to choose the best way to promote your swim meet, open water swim or clinic. Many coaches are seeking innovative and cost effective ways to promote their events. Traditional methods include distributing flyers at the pool and local businesses. Read more... 

Swimming Saves Lives Grant Opportunities
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Grants Available 

SSLIn 1998, USMS formed its charitable giving arm that is now branded the Swimming Saves Lives Foundation. SSL focuses its resources on the vital lifesaving and lifetime benefits of swimming. In addition to drowning prevention, swimming has a positive impact on health
conditions like obesity, cardiovascular disease and diabetes, which afflict millions of people in the U.S. The Swimming Saves Lives Foundation provides grants to programs that support the lifelong benefits of swimming. For more information on grants available, including a $1,000 college grant, go to the Swimming Saves Lives page on USMS.org.
What Rule is THAT?!
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with
Kathy Casey
The Coaches Ask and the Rules Chair Answers
Cathy Kasey

Q: The new breaststroke pullout rule says a dolphin kick is permitted during the first arm pull. There are two ways I see and teach the dolphin kick in breaststroke; one is before the first arm pull and the other is during the first arm pull as stated in the new rule. If I follow the new rule literally, the dolphin kick before the arm pull would not be legal. Is this true?

 

A: Yes, that is true; doing the dolphin kick before the start of the first arm pull would be a disqualification. It's not a new rule; it's a new interpretation. The language of the rule has not changed since January 1, 2008; "a single butterfly (dolphin) kick ... is permitted during or at the completion of the first arm pull" (101.2.3), not before the first arm pull. The language of the interpretation has changed from "any lateral or downward movement of the hands or arms" initiating the first arm pull to a "separation of the hands" initiating the first arm pull. The separation of the hands has to be an observable separation. Follow the new interpretation and the rule literally.

 

Q: One of our swimmers was swimming the 1000 free and a teammate was counting. They had agreed that the counting would be in descending order (show "39" first). After the first 100, the referee told the counter that was illegal and made him switch to ascending order. Was that correct?

 

A: No. The USMS rule is 102.10.6D (and the USA-S rule is 102.6D), both of which state, "The count may be in ascending or descending order."

 

For any questions about rules contact Kathy Casey, USMS Rules Chair 


Masters Coaching Opportunities
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Looking for a Coach? Looking for a Team?
Coaching on Deck
USMS maintains a discussion forum on usms.org to match up coaches and teams. The Coaching Forum has several current threads posted; check back for frequently for updates. And remember, if you are hired in a position or you hire a coach, please update your posting to save time for others who follow you to this helpful forum.
 
Please Support USMS Partners!
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      TYR       TriSwim      Swimoutlet.com    
       SPEEDO NEW 5_11    Nike New 5_27Mythra   
       Marriott Logo     Kiefer Stacked      Kastaway Swimwear         
       Hammer Nutrition    2010 Finis Logo Black     Endless Pools  
      
      Colorado Time Systems    blueseventy     Aquasphere
   
      Agon Swim       All American Swim Supply    Active Network


          
Affinity Partners
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          ISHOF
  
           Exercise medicine          Chammyz


Media Partners
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Bearcat Masters   Swimming World   


About Us
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About U.S. Masters Swimming
U.S. Masters SwimmingU.S. Masters Swimming, founded in 1970, is a membership-operated national governing body that promotes health, wellness, fitness and competition for adults through swimming. It does so by partnering with more than 1,500 adult swim programs across the country; promoting information via the bimonthly member magazine, SWIMMER, monthly e-newsletters, STREAMLINES, and website, usms.org; and by sanctioning and promoting pool, open water and virtual events and competitions. More than 55,000 adults are registered members of U.S. Masters Swimming. 

About STREAMLINES for Coaches
Coach talking U.S. Masters Swimming encourages all U.S. Masters Swimming coaches to subscribe to STREAMLINES for Coaches. However if you would rather not receive this update, please do not click the unsubscribe button, as that will remove you from all other USMS 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 for Coaches service or sign up for the monthly members' newsletter, STREAMLINES, and/or STREAMLINES for Volunteers, a bimonthly publication.