SEPTEMBER 2015

STREAMLINES

Back to school, back to the pool! We hope you had a great summer and are gearing up for an even better fall.

Swimming for Life,
Your Friends at U.S. Masters Swimming

Fully Functioning Knees

Chris Ritter explains how to strengthen cranky knees

Knees can be a troublesome point of pain or irritation. Anatomically, the knee could be considered a "dumb joint" because, as a hinge joint, it can only flex and extend with minor rotation. Because the knee doesn't have a great deal of movement, if other joints above and below it in the kinetic chain are compromised, the knee will try to compensate.

Adapt When Life Gets in the Way

Coach Chris Campbell offers advice for busy swimmers

It's something we all face: getting older. And for many of us, responsibilities-both personal and professional-don't diminish, they only get bigger and more pervasive. We end up shorting ourselves on sleep and personal time that we used to have for recharging our energy levels. Workouts become fewer, shorter, and less productive. It can seem as though someone or something is always there, taking away more and more of our free time and we slowly lose our ability to resist.

How Do You Feel About Swimming?

Understanding motivation and perception

We've asked the University of Kansas Sport and Exercise Psychology Lab to help us gather insight into your swimming experiences. They've put together a very brief survey that we hope you'll participate in. You love swimming, so do we, let's study it together! All responses are anonymous.

Continue reading >>>

Got a Top 10 Time?

Then commemorate your swim with some swag!

USMS publishes the official Top 10 swims for each age group, both individual and relay, for SCY, SCM, and LCM on the USMS website three times annually. The list was just updated in April. If you are among the Top 10 and would like to commemorate your accomplishment, you can order an official USMS Top 10 patch. Most years back to 1982 are available.

Summer Nationals a Big Hit!

More than 950 swimmers took to the SPIRE pool last month

Thank you to all the swimmers, coaches, spectators, and the volunteers and officials who came together to make the 2015 USMS Summer National Championship meet a huge success. More than 950 swimmers took part in this summer classic on the outskirts of Cleveland, Ohio. During the course of the meet, 30 national records and 26 world records fell. Richard Abrahams and Cecelia Mccloskey each broke four records! Congratulations to Swim Fort Lauderdale, the first place team in the Local Clubs category and to Michigan Masters, which won the Regional Clubs division. Whether you went to break records, see friends, or just have some fun swimming, we hope you had a wonderful experience. Full results are posted online. We look forward to seeing you all at the 2016 Nationwide U.S. Masters Swimming Spring National Championship April 28 through May 1, 2016, at the Greensboro Aquatic Center in Greensboro, N.C.

Nutrition, Sleep Important for Top Performance

A Special Advertorial by the Professionals at P2Life

For busy Masters swimmers who want to perform at their best, both in the water and out, two components of training are critically important: nutrition and sleep.

3000/6000 ePostals Kick Off Soon

The fall postal season is nigh upon us

Just as the long course postal championship season is winding down (Sept. 15 is the deadline for swimming the Speedo USMS 5K/10K Postal National Championship), the short course postal season is just kicking off.

The Speedo USMS 3000/6000-Yard Postal National Championship opens on Sept. 15 and runs through Nov. 25 and can be done in any 25-yard or 25-meter pool. Hosted by Central Oregon Masters Aquatics, the event is easy to take part in; simply swim the distance and have a counter make note of your split times on the handy split sheet. Then, once you've dried off, you can submit your results and see how you stack up against the competition across the United States. It's a great way to get in a long workout while also getting a taste of some national-level competition. Good luck and swim fast!

This Aquatic Life

Like mother, like sons

Greg, Bette, and Kevin Grotke 2015 Summer Nats

U.S. Masters Swimming is rife with stories of swimming families, and we were reminded of this yet again at the 2015 USMS Summer National Championship at the SPIRE Institute in Geneva, Ohio, this past August. There, Greg Grotke (47, Colorado Masters), Bette Grotke (70, Georgia Masters), and Kevin Grotke (43, Illinois Masters) all took numerous medals in their events at the meet. Congratulations to the Grotkes and all the other moms, dads, sons, and daughters who participated in this fantastic event! (Photo: Inge Clark)

Seen on Our Facebook Page

A couple weeks ago, U.S. Masters Swimming made a big splash across the front page of the Personal Journal section of the Wall Street Journal when a story by Kevin Helliker ran. We're just thrilled for the excellent story, but even more so for how many people shared and liked the story on Facebook. Seems Helliker's message that USMS is more about showing up, staying fit, and making friends for life than competition struck a chord with a lot of people. Catherine Andreoli commented, "Masters provides swimming for all levels of abilities, which is the most important aspect of Masters." Read the article, see what else they said, and join the conversation.

About U.S. Masters Swimming

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.

About STREAMLINES

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.

5K/10K ePostal Closing Soon!

Don't miss out!

You've got just a few days left to log your 5K and 10K ePostal swims before this National Championship event closes on September 15. To participate, find a 50-meter pool and start swimming. Have a friend record your splits and submit your information online. See how you stack up against other swimmers around the country in your age group, without having to travel to an out-of-state meet.

All swims must be completed by September 15 and entries must be received by September 25. So, what are you waiting for? Get swimming! And have fun!

Save 40% on Nero!

Use discount code USMSNERO to save 40% off the nero14 and neroTX race competition suits now through September 30 when you shop at blueseventy.com.

Limited to stock on-hand. Offer cannot be combined with any other offers or our Labor Day Sale. Deal expires September 30.