Pacific Masters May meeting will be held at Heather Farms 18 May 2011. There is a buffet at 7:00 pm followed by meeting at 7:30. All clubs are invited to send a representative and all members are invited to attend.

Pacific Masters is proud to announce that Q Swimwear will be sponsoring the Open Water Points Competition. Q Swimwear provides unique and cutting edge swimming products to enhance the competitive swimmers enjoyment of the sport.

 The winner of each division age group will receive a Q Swimwear swimsuit of the swimmers choice. The swimmer can choose a regular swimsuit or  one of their suits designed for competition.

Pacific Masters Swimming Open Water Points Competition has two divisions for 2011; Category 1 Suits and Category 2 Suits. For a description of Cat 1 and Cat 2 suits go to http://openwaterpacific.com/swimsuit.html  Updated description of the competition can be found at 

  http://openwaterpacific.com/rules.html

Spring Lake A one mile loop. Water temp is normally in the mid 60's, but last year, it was closer to 70 degrees. There are some weeds. This swim is always very well run; they will have you out of there by 11:00 am, even if you stay for the awards. Parking is easy. Nice green lawn to sit on. Post event snacks provided.  

One of the biggest swims of the year. Once again, Lake Berryessa is part of a USMS open water series, USMS H2Open.  This is a very popular swim that brings in the crowds. You'll find Masters swimmers, age groupers and triathletes. 

Water temp is comfortable. But you never know what conditions will be like at the start of the swim.  Plenty of parking and a shuttle runs frequently to haul you and your stuff from the parking lots. Bring a chair because the grass is full of foxtails and there are only a few picnic tables to sit at. You can pre-order a lunch...or bring your own food.  [ Registration ]

Lake Del Valle is always a great swim.  Beautiful location.  Expect a crowd.  On the drawing board for this year:  an elite division and on-line registration.  The 1.5 mile swim is being stretched by about 100 yards = 2.5K. If you're new to open water swimming, try the � mile swim. It's run first.  For a good workout, do both. Plenty of parking. A good place to bring your kids: they have a swimming area that is roped off. Post event snacks provided. 

A new long course meet for Pacific Masters at the new College of San Mateo pool on 26 June - details to follow.

Be sure to save the weekend as this will be a great time for coaches to meet and network with other masters coaches from the area. For swimmers, it is the time to work on technique in preparation for the Long Course Championships that will be coming up soon after or for that open water swim.

Coaches Chair Cokie Lepinski and her committee have been working dilligently  to bring an exciting  weekend for coaches and swimmers at the Excel Weekend - Focusing on Technique and Heart. 

Olympian Rowdy Gaines will be the keynote speaker for the coaches conference, in the early afternoon he will meet with swimmers on the deck an in the water.

Cal Berkeley Coach David Duden will be working with swimmers on Advanced Techniques for Competitors. Coach Duden had a must success season this year as Cal won both the NCAA Division 1 Mens and Womens Swimming Championships.

The Number of spaces is LIMITED for both coaches and swimmers. If you would like to attend, you should register as soon as possible as the space will fill up quickly. For the swimmer wanting to improve their technique, this is the place to be.

Detail are on the Excel Weekend website.

The competitions will be held at Stanford University Aug 2-6 and Aug 8-12 respectively. We anticipate 2,000 swimmers, 4,000 friends and family and 1,500 spectators daily. These events are a key part of gearing up for the 2012 Olympics Games in London. Swimming is among the hottest sports today and these races will be broadcast live on NBC.

You can show your support for USA Swimming with a small donation and have your club's name listed on the Friends of Swimming pages. For details, please contact either John Guislin or Helen Mendel

It is anticipated that this event will sell out, so please goto www.usaswimming.org  to get your tickets today.