Greetings!
April showers bring May flowers, and for some adults, April also brings... swimming lessons! Read all about the exciting national initiative going on this month. Have you taught someone to swim today? Swimming for Life,
Your Friends at U.S. Masters Swimming
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April is Adult Learn-to-Swim Month! And the big month is finally here! |
Wow! The nation is really paying attention to our call for adults to learn to swim in April! It's exciting to see adults taking the plunge for the first time, making themselves water safe, and passing along good water habits to their children. A big thank you to everyone who has helped us spread the message and the multitude of USMS members who are volunteering at local learn-to-swim programs around the country. Without you, we wouldn't be able to bring the important issue of adult drowning to light--while doing something very constructive about it!
To those of us in USMS--avid swimmers, and many of whom have always known how to swim--it may be surprising to learn that 37 percent of American adults can't swim the length of a standard swimming pool. What's worse, 10 people--8 of whom are adults or young adults--drown every day. USMS and our charitable arm, the Swimming Saves Lives Foundation, wants to change these figures, and so we launched the April is Adult Learn-to-Swim Month campaign. And word is getting around.
April 1 brought the first of several big events tied to this campaign, and we are thrilled that Purdue University President and former Governor of the state of Indiana, Mitch Daniels, jumped into the pool to help promote the April is Adult Learn-to-Swim Month campaign and the Swimming Saves Lives Foundation.
If you want to help, it's easy! Start by finding out if your swimming facility offers adult learn-to-swim lessons. If it doesn't, ask the manager to consider adding lessons. If your facility does offer lessons, make sure that information is listed alongside your Masters program entry in the Places to Swim database.
Perhaps the easiest way to help is by donating to the Swimming Saves Lives Foundation, which you can do anytime online. SSLF is a donor-funded charitable organization, and 100% of your tax-deductible donation goes to provide swimming lessons for adults around the country. You can read more about the program in the May-June issue of SWIMMER. |
Break Through Your Plateau Training plateaus happen, but Chris Ritter has solutions |
When you train and swim long enough, usually more than a month, at times you will see your performance improvements decline or stop altogether. You have to realize that this is a normal part of the training process. Once you're past the "beginner" phase in any skill or sport, improvement stops being linear and becomes nonlinear or even cyclical. Continue reading >>>
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Six Things Triathletes Wish They Knew Masters Swimming secrets for the multisport athlete |
Every triathlete knows how important it is to have the right shoes, the right bike, and the right nutrition plan. We buy power meters and carbon fiber water bottle cages, and we practice for hours to shave every possible second off our transitions. But many triathletes are missing a great opportunity to find extra speed. Continue reading >>>
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USMS and Life Time Fitness Partnership More swimming programs and locations for Masters |
U.S. Masters Swimming is pleased to announce a new partnership with Life Time Fitness. This new partnership will provide USMS members access to 76 Life Time Fitness locations across the U.S. All current Masters programs operating at Life Time Fitness locations will become registered clubs or workout groups with Masters Swimming and participants at these locations will become USMS members. Coaches at Life Time Fitness Masters programs will also receive Coach Certification Training, to ensure the best Masters Swimming experience for its members.
This is a hugely exciting partnership and we're thrilled to be able to announce it, knowing that it will greatly expand the number of places USMS members can swim. We're also looking forward to welcoming lots of new Life Time Fitness members into the USMS family.
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Summer Camp for Masters Swimmers Apply for this innovative program held Aug. 23 to 28 | |
During the camp, you'll be taught and analyzed by outstanding USMS coaches and professionals in the fields of sports psychology, physiology, biomechanics, nutrition, technique, and resistance and flexibility training. The camp emphasizes testing and education, and pool time is dedicated to technique improvement rather than conditioning. The focus is quality, not quantity!
Applications to attend the camp are due by May 23. (You'll be notified of your acceptance by June 6.) Questions? Contact Faryn Roy for more information or read about it on the High Performance Camp page. Seats are limited, so apply today!
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2014 At-Large Director Elections Run for one of these importation positions in 2014! |
U.S. Masters Swimming will hold elections for all At-Large Directors (Breadbasket Zone, Colonies Zone, Dixie Zone, Great Lakes Zone, Northwest Zone, Oceana Zone, South Central Zone, and Southwest Zone) at its Annual Meeting of the House of Delegates, Sept. 17-21, 2014, during the United States Aquatic Sports Convention in Jacksonville, Florida. The nomination deadline is April 30, 2014, and nomination packets may be obtained from the Election page of the USMS website or by contacting Elections Chair Cheryl Gettelfinger.
We're looking for energetic volunteers with a desire to help lead U.S. Masters Swimming. If you're interested in leadership and service at our highest level, or you know someone who would be willing to serve, please let us know.
***This blurb was incorrect in the March issue of STREAMLINES, as it read that Officer positions will be up for election this year, when in fact, At-Large Director positions are up this year. (Officer and At-Large elections alternate each year.) ***
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Why Masters Should Wear Tech Suits Textiles are faster than skin, say the professionals at blueseventy |
Special Advertorial
It's a fact that textile fabrics are faster than skin in the water. Add the compression benefits of streamlining the body into a technical suit, and racing with as much skin covered as possible becomes faster than swimming with exposed skin. However, plenty of Masters swimmers still aren't wearing the latest textile suits.
Continue reading >>>
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This Aquatic Life Siphiwe Baleka on The Morning Swim Show | |
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On March 20, USMS member and Adult Learn-to-Swim ambassador Siphiwe Baleka was featured on SwimmingWorld's The Morning Swim Show hosted by fellow USMS member Jeff Commings. Baleka is helping USMS promote its April is Adult Learn-to-Swim Month initiative. An advocate for swimming and fitness in all forms, Baleka is a USMS National Champion and a former collegiate swimmer. As a long-distance trucker, Baleka noticed many truckers suffer from a lack of fitness and poor nutritional habits, leading to detrimental health outcomes. Baleka decided to do something to change that and developed a program to work with truckers to improve their health and fitness. During the 12-minute interview with SwimmingWorld TV, Baleka shared some fitness tips he uses as part of his program to spike and reset the metabolism in as little as 15 minutes a day.
Seen On Our Facebook Page
On February 21, Todd Torres, who swam for Puerto Rico in the 1992 and 1996 Olympics, broke the 100-yard breaststroke 45-49 age group national record with a 56.78 set at a USA Swimming meet in North Carolina. David Guthrie, 53, also set a 100-yard breaststroke record of 58.50 in the D final of the Speedo Champions Series, another USA Swimming meet, held in College Station, Texas, in late February. Both swims are impressive, and as Facebook commenter John Baker so eloquently put it, "Holy crap, that's fast at any age!" See what else they're saying and join the conversation! |
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About U.S. Masters Swimming
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U.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. Nearly 60,000 adults are registered members of U.S. Masters Swimming.
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About STREAMLINES
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U.S. Masters Swimming encourages all USMS members to subscribe to STREAMLINES, a monthly publication. However, if you'd rather not receive this update, please do not click the "SafeUnsubscribe" link, as that will remove you from all other USMS National Office mailings. Rather, click on the "Update Profile/Email Address" link to manage your subscriptions to U.S. Masters Swimming electronic communications.
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Register today for this summer series!
Open water season will be upon us quickly, and registration is now open for the USMS Open Water National Championship series. We hope to see you at some or all (!) of the great events listed below:
- May 17, 2.4 miles. Tennessee River, Chattanooga, Tenn. REGISTER
- June 7, 1 mile.
Lake Berryessa, Lake Berryessa, Calif.
REGISTER - July 26, 10 miles.
Lake Minnetonka, Wayzata, Minn.
REGISTRATION OPENING SOON - Aug. 3, 5K.
Elk Lake, Bend, Ore.
REGISTER - Aug. 16, 2-Mile Cable. Mirror Lake, Lake Placid, N.Y.
REGISTER - Aug. 23, 10K.
Lake George, Hague, N.Y.
REGISTER
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2014 Check-Off Challenge Underway
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Take the challenge and see what "bubbles up"
The 2014 Check-Off Challenge, hosted by Masters of South Texas, is designed to motivate swimmers by encouraging them to swim 18 events in a pool and complete one open water swim during the calendar year. Whether you're swimming an event for the first time or striving to achieve a personal best, this is a fun challenge for swimmers of all ability levels. The events may be swum in practice or in meets, in yards or meters, at any time during 2014. Join the fun!
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Speedo-USMS 5K/10K Postal National Championship
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The annual event gets underway on May 15
The 5K and 10K postal season is coming up fast! Want a taste of national level competition without leaving the comfort of your home pool? Then these two postal swims are for you! Hosted this year by Rogue Valley Masters, the 5K and 10K postals must be swum between May 15 and September 15 in any 50-meter pool. See how fast you can swim these two long distances and find out how you stack up to other swimmers in your age group across the country. Registration will open on May 15. All swims must be submitted online by September 25 to be eligible for competition.
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More than 5.5 million miles logged by USMS members
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