Members of the Olympic Club's National Championship team.

Olympic Club Wins USMS Spring  

National Championship

The Olympic Club out swam 269 teams to win the Local Club USMS Spring National Championship in San Antonio, Texas. With 57 swimmers, the O Club amassed 2310 points. Their total also outdistanced Colorado Masters Swimming by 454 points, the Regional Club winner who had 75 swimmers. Regional Clubs draw their swimmers from wide geographic areas. Local Clubs generally swim in one location.

 

We asked Laureen Welting, the Olympic Club Aquatic Manager and Master's coach, about the team's success and about the Olympic Club Master's program.

 

Q: You've had great success and terrific turnout for the big meets (the O Club also won last year's nationals at Santa Clara). What's the secret to your success?

LW:  We try to create a positive environment, with under H2O music, and above H2O speakers during the practices. We also started something new this year, where we have "practice records", and it has become a real motivator for the younger crowd. They look at the "practice records" and they all want to get their names on the board. It is a lot of fun to coach them when they are as enthusiastic about swimming fast! We don't do ANY garbage yardage, and I try to keep the workouts interesting and never the same.  We don't put any pressure on the members so it is a lot different than their college experience.

 

Q: People are really curious about your program and especially your ability to recruit great talent. How do you do it?

LW: The Olympic Club has a number of very attractive draws. Great facilities with 2 exceptional pools, a downtown location that is convenient to city residents and workers, plenty of pool availability, a committed coaching staff, the Club's legacy of athletic excellence and great camaraderie among the team members.

 

The Club attracts swimmers through word of mouth. We also do a really fun event every spring.  Since 1998 we invite the Senior Cal & Stanford swimmers to join us for a night at the Club. We get a lot of UCLA, USC, Yale and Harvard swimmers as well as a few from outside the area. We have an all you can eat buffet in the formal dining room and introduce them to the possibilities of Masters Swimming. The fun part is when they tell about their most memorable swimming experience. Their stories are all over the place and it is a real chance for them to learn about the program and the Club. Many of the graduates stay local, work in the City and join the Club. A number of them are people who vowed they would never swim again.

 

Q: How large is your team?

LW: Currently we have 225 members. People think we just have a bunch of remote members. Actually almost all of our members train at the Club. Total membership in the Olympic Club, including the golf club, is 8000.

 

Q: There is a perception that people are on "swimming scholarships." How does membership work?

LW: All of our swimmers pay the monthly membership fee. There is also an additional monthly food and beverage charge that you must use or lose. We don't own our parking lot so people who drive must pay for that. The Olympic Club may seem expensive but our members obviously see the value. The only break is for athletic members who get a discount on the initiation fee if they will compete and make a long term commitment.

 

Q: Seems like you and Paul (Carter - Aquatic Director) have a pretty full plate.  Where does the Tahoe Relay fit into your duties?

LW: Wow, where to start....It is a yearlong process, and starts the month after the race in July.  It is a lot of work, and even after 15 years, I always breathe a sigh of relief when it is over!  It is a great event. We always have 16 Olympic Club teams of six that compete there, so it is a big focus for us.

 

Q: Any big plans for the future?

LW:  Continue to improve upon my coaching skills, and continue the tradition of "competitive swimming" after College for many years to come, so that we will have more swimmers in the older age groups moving forward.

 


A Most Unusual Meet

Recently Stanford Masters Swimming hosted what might be the most unusual meet in the annals of the sport. It included:

2 Teams, 2 World Records

Shortest meet in history - 15 minutes.

Fewest events - 1

Fewest heats - 2

Fewest teams - 2

Lanes used -1

Highest percentage of world records - 100%

Every swimmer set a world record.

 

 

The Story

Stanford Masters Swimming has a men's team that wanted a chance to swim the 400 LC meters medley relay. Not seeing the event on any upcoming agenda, Tim Edmonds, Stanford's Masters Coach, requested a USMS sanction to stage a special event - a meet with only the 400 medley relay. The meet was announced on Pacific Masters Swimming's web site but garnered only 2 entries - the 160 plus Stanford men's team of Darren Phelan, Rick Gould, Mike Pyle and BJ Johnson and a 280 plus mixed Tamalpais Aquatic Masters team of Rich Burns, Ken Frost, Laura Val and Nancy Ridout.

 

Tim secured Stanford's Belardi pool for 30 minutes (between Sunday morning masters practice and the women's NCAA water polo finals), assembled volunteers to officiate, time, start, photograph, measure and cheer. Each relay swam alone and each broke their age group's world record. Stanford just missed being the first masters 400 medley relay team of any age to break 4 minutes with a time of 4:02.07. The existing record of 4:10.25 belonged to a Japanese team.

 

Tam's foursome's official time was 5:28.17 besting Great Britain's existing record of 6:03.62 by 35:45 seconds. "We were a bit surprised to find we were half of the meet's attendees but Tim and his team did a fantastic job making this a really fun experience," said Tam's Laura Val.  Tim adds, "This is probably a once in a lifetime event and the statistic prove it."

 

  

Record setting relays.  Tamalpais - Laura Val, Rich Burns, Nancy Ridout and Ken Frost.  

Stanford - Darren Phelan, BJ Johnson, Rick Gould and Mike Pyle.



 

Other Notes of Record

 

Congratulations to Pacific Masters Swimmers who established new National records at the Spring Nationals. New record holders include:

        Jim Clemmons   MAM  65-69 1650 free  19:07.81

Laura Val    TAM   60-64 50 back  29.58

Jill Hernandez  CHIC 50-54  1000 free 10:58.56

Colin Babcock TOC 100 IM 18-24  49.52

Colin Babcock TOC 100 breast  18-24  54.07

Colin Babcock TOC 200 breast  18-24  1:49.30

Katie Glenn STAN  100 breast 35-39  1:01.88

Ken Frost TAM 200 breast 70-74  2:43.16

Richard Burns TAM 50 back  70-74  29.72

Richard Burns TAM 100 back  70-74  1:05.42

 

Relay records included:

Olympic Club Mixed 18+ 200 Medley Relay 1.37.96

Olympic Club Women 25+ 200 Freestyle Relay 1:35.01

Olympic Club Women 18+ 200 Medley Relay 1:42.81

 

Also of Note

At last week's Bay Area Senior Games at Stanford, Laura Val swam a 1.07.03 in the 100 IM, another new National record.
  

 

All Spring nationals records can be found at http://www.usms.org/comp/scnats15/results/records.pdf

 

Results for all events are at

http://www.usms.org/comp/meets/meetsearch.php?MeetID=20150423SANATSY

 

 

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