2012 MSABC Provincials Swim Meet- register now…

Date: March 30 – April 1, 2012
Place: Saanich Commonwealth Place, Victoria, BC
Hosted by: Victoria Masters Swim Club and Island Swimming Association.

The final meet package for the MSABC Provincials has been posted in a .pdf version and a .doc version.  There are 3 ways to register:
1.  The preferred method is to use HyTek Team Manager Lite which can be downloaded for free.  The Meet Events can be imported here and the entries are emailed to the Provincials Meet Manager;
2.  If you don’t have, or can’t use HyTek, download the Provincials Excel spreadsheet, fill it out and email or mail it to the Provincials Meet Manager; or
3.  Fill out the paper form in the meet package, scan it and email it to the Provincials Meet Manager, or mail it to the meet manager.

Well done all the swimmers, coaches, officials and other volunteers.  We know that without you all. there would be nothing to celebrate!
View or Download the Vernon Masters 2012 Meet Results

Following a welcome by Tony Hoft, Carmelle Guidi-Swan opened with a slide presentation to illustrate the many facets of Okanagan Masters, with strong emphasis on the ‘fun’ moments and more than a few entertaining images of its own members in action.  Danita Schreiber, Conny Stamhuis and Brent Hobbs shared their own experiences, specifically how swimming with Masters is such an integral element of what they do to stay young and healthy.  It was clear to see how the mantra ” to promote fun, fitness, health, fellowship and participation among adult swimmers” is so relevant to the club and all its members.

Club President Tony Hoft explained that a key objective of the Open House program is to remove the ‘intimidation factor’ that many people experience when considering joining a Masters program: to reinforce that Masters swimming is not an elitist sport, but is open to adult swimmers at any level, whether recreational or competitive.  Based on comments from guests, it certainly seems to have been successful … !

The latest newsletter ‘January 2012 Catch-Up‘ was handed out to guests.
Click here for part of the Open House Presentation

OMSC has anywhere from 15 to 40 swimmers swimming at workouts. With 2 to 8 lanes this means up to 5 swimmers per SC (25m lane) and up to 8 swimmers per LC (50 m lane). There must be some order to how people swim together. Usually the developmental or slower swimmers are in the lanes with the lower numbers (1,2,3 or 4) and gradually progress to the faster lanes with improved technique. If you are not sure where you should swim or have not swum for a while, talk with the coach, who will assist you to select a lane compatible with your speed and fitness level.

Remember: we were all beginners at some point. There’s nothing to be embarrassed about if you start in a slower lane or have to ask questions.  Our coaches are there to help get you to your prime again, and your fellow swimmers will be happy to help a new member of the family.

Many of the rules of swimming etiquette are unwritten, which can be really awkward, especially if you’re unknowingly breaking any of the important ones.  You’ve heard of ‘road rage’, well there’s also something called ‘lane rage’, and you can avoid it by following some important guidelines and rules.

1.     When you enter the water, never dive, jump, or push off into oncoming swimmers.

• Wait until they have made the turn and pushed off the wall;

2.     Introduce yourself to the people in your lane.

• This is the social part of our club. People in your lane become your friends, can help you decipher the workout and encourage you along your fitness track.

3.     Lane directions

• If there are two swimmers in a lane, you can agree whether one keeps to one side of the lane and the other to the opposite side, or whether you want to circle swim.
• If there are three or more swimmers in a lane, they must circle swim, and the custom is to stay to the right, that is to swim counter-clockwise (Australians think differently, but we’re in Canada).
• If one lane is swimming counter-clockwise, the next lane should swim in the opposite direction.  This will help reduce the incidence of “colliding” arms.

4.     Make sure everyone understands the section of the workout before you start out.

• Each lane develops its own leaders, usually determined by the speed of the individual swimmers. Each person has their own stroke strengths and weaknesses. It will take you a few sessions to figure out where everyone belongs. Don’t get discouraged, you will work it out.

5.     If you arrive late at workout it is up to you to determine where your swim mates are in the workout and join in at that point.

• It is disruptive for someone to show up late and break the rhythm of the swim already in progress.  It’s also discourteous to the coach and fellow swimmers to arrive late, or to leave early, so try to avoid doing it if you can.

6.     If you do arrive late, wait until the swimmers are resting at the wall to announce your arrival.

• Do not surprise them by just hopping in and swimming behind them. This often leads to collisions.

7.     If you need to pass a swimmer, pass on the left.

• Preferably tap the foot of the person in front of you before passing. If you are being overtaken at the turn, stop, and wait until the other swimmer has pushed off.  It is best to make the pass at the wall rather than in the middle of the laps, as follows:

• Passer: Gently taps feet of Passee;
• Passee: At the next turn, pulls over to the Right Corner and stops;
• Passer: Makes flip turn at Left Corner of wall;
• Passee: Starts swimming again, behind the Passer.

8.     If you need to stop for a rest / clear your goggles / adjust your fins / gasp for air etc, squeeze into the corner to the right of incoming swimmers, so they will have sufficient room to turn on the left.

9.     Don’t leave early from the wall.

• If the lane is going 5 seconds or 10 seconds apart, do not leave 3 seconds back.  In no time at all, you will be on the feet of the swimmer in front, and that is annoying.

10. Allow others to finish their set by moving to the corner of the lane.

• Usually the way this works is at the end of a set the first person touches in on the far left side of the lane. The second person touches in the centre, and remains there. The third person touches to the far right, and then immediately moves away from the wall to the centre of the lane. Now the fourth person can touch in on the far right. It seems complicated, but it works if everyone plays along. With more than four swimmers, each additional person needs to move to the centre of the lane after they touch in on the right.  NB: it is annoying for a swimmer coming in to finish, if there is no space for him/her to touch the wall. Touching the wall is part of the finish.

11. At all times be aware of what is going on within your lane. Try not to kick or swing your arms into another lane or across your own lane especially when near to another swimmer.

12. Keep your toenails and fingernails trimmed.

13. Do not stand in front of the pace clock when others are still doing the swim set.

OK! That’s enough to keep you busy for a while.  If you want more, read “Pet Peeves“

If you’re an existing member, you can simply write a cheque for $100 to cover the full two-month Summer Season. The fee includes the open-water session on Fridays.

If you’re not yet registered with OMSC, you’ll need to pay the MSABC fee of $35 in addition.
View or Download the 2011 Summer Registration Form

Feel free to contact any of the following members of the Executive, to arrange for Summer registration:

• Monique Russo, Registrar at registrar@okmasters.com or (250) 860-9419
• Irene Pett, Treasurer at treasurer@okmasters.com or (250) 762-3858
• Conny Stamhuis, MSABC Registrar at msabc-registrar@okmasters.com or (250) 763-4406

Any of them will be happy to register you

2011 Summer Season (Jul 01 through Aug 31, 2011)

Members can swim as many times as they choose.  We have also introduced an open water component to the swimming week, at 06:00AM on each Friday.
This will be a coached & lifeguarded session around the 800m Gyro Beach loop. A special treat for those of us wanting to get back into the lake and prepare for the open water season.

A wetsuit is strongly recommended while the lake temperature is below 22C.

All you Open Water and soon-to-be Open Water swimmers out there!

Remember to circle August 19 & 20, 2011 on your calendar for the not-to-be-missed opportunity to take part in a spectacular 1.5km or (and) 5km Open Water Invitational swims, hosted by Okanagan Masters Swim Club as part of the 2011 Kelowna Apple Triathlon.

View or Download the Open Water Brochure 2011 PDF

View or Download the Swim BC Indemnification Form 2011 PDF

Register on the Kelowna Apple Website

Location and Venue

Tugboat Beach, Kelowna, BC
(near to Waterfront Park / 1200 Water Street)

1.50km Open Water Swim Circuit – August 19, 2011
=   500m loop x 3 laps in protected enclosure of Okanagan Lake

5.00km Open Water Swim Circuit – August 20, 2011
= 1,000m loop x 5 laps in protected enclosure of Okanagan Lake

Lake temperature: usually 21-23C on event date
Electronic and manual timing

Schedule of Events

Friday August 19, 2011

• 5:30pm  Pre-race check-in and body marking
• 6:00pm  1.50km pre-race briefing
• 6:45pm  1.50km Women starting
• 6:48pm  1.50km Men starting

Saturday August 20, 2011

• 09:30am  Pre-race check-in and body marking
• 10:15am  5.00km pre-race briefing
• 10:45am  5.00km Women starting
• 10:48am  5.00km Men starting

OK all you Masters swimmers out there. It’s time to start thinking about getting ready for the Canadian Masters Swimming Championships in Kelowna, 2012.  The meet is hosted by OMSC in association with two local clubs, Westside Thunder Masters and Wine Country Masters.   This is the “big one”… Masters swimmers will come to Kelowna from all over Canada for a long weekend of fun, friendship and fantastic swimming.

For the first time, the Canadian National championships will be held at our own pool, the H2O Adventure & Fitness Centre. Mark your calendar for May 18-21, 2012.

The CMSC20120 website went live mid October 2011 and online registration opened December 23rd, 2011. We have limited the event to 500 registrations. The National Championships are always fully subscribed, so remember to submit your entry as soon as possible after registrations open.

Meanwhile, set our Facebook page “CMSC2012″ as one of your favourites, and follow our Twitter feed at “CMSC2012″.

OK Swim Times

 - Link to this incredibly well done newsletter (even if we do say so ourselves)  

Fellow OMSC members Linda Danforth and Ron Buddo successfully swam the ATLS course Saturday September 11th.  Considering Ron could hardly swim 100 consecutive metres a year ago, this is an incredible achievement!!  Linda swam the course in 56 min. and Ron in 1 hr. 8 min.  Looks like Linda, like her daughter, could have gone on to cycle 180 KM.  Inspiring!

By the way they celebrated their 60th & 70th birthdays with this accomplishment. They both look so young…..you decide!

Read What Ron Went Through!