Around the NELMSC - February 2020 |
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Upcoming Deadlines...
Don't Miss 'Em!
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Distance Day: Saturday, March 14 at BSI-Wellesley
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Main weekend: Friday, March 20 - Sunday, March 22 at Harvard
- Swim as far as you can in 60 minutes!
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Submit your results by Sunday, March 8
- Swim 30 minutes any way you like, including with equipment!
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NEM swimmers during the 1-Hour ePostal heats at BSI-Wellesley in January. |
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Chair's Corner
Crystie McGrail, NELMSC Chair
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I have only swum the 500 freestyle once in my ten years of Masters swimming... and that was seven years ago. Who knows why I did it that one time since it's an event that has always been outside of my comfort zone. Despite this, on March 20th I look forward to swimming the 500 for the second time during the new format at the NELMSC SCY Championship meet! Change is a good push to allow ourselves to try something new and I hope you will join me in trying something different this winter.
Opportunities abound for new experiences right now. You can try a new event (or an old event) at our biggest champs meet, use toys during the Winter Fitness Challenge to crush any previous T-30 distance achieved, or volunteer to teach others to swim during April is Adult Learn-to-Swim Month!
Just as effective as leading by example and participating in these events is encouraging and cheering on those around you to also support them!
I hope to see you at the SCY Champs and hear about what you plan to try this winter!
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Volunteering, Clinics, Awards |
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March 1 -- NELMSC Awards Nomination Deadline
April 1-30 -- Adult Learn-to-Swim Month
April 4-5 -- USMS Education Weekend in Boston
April 5 -- Swim Across America Boston Team Relay Challenge (2-hour pool relay)
June 5-7 -- National ALTS Instructor Retreat
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National ALTS Instructor Retreat |
A registration fee of $275 includes: all programming, room and board at the college, and shuttle service from Hartford/Springfield or Albany airport. This event is tentative pending minimum enrollment of 100 instructors, so sign up today!
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Jan 1-Dec 31 -- Go the Distance
Swim anywhere & track your distance -- Details
Jan 1-Feb 29 -- USMS 1-hour ePostal National Championships (Sanctioned SCY, SCM, LCM)
Any pool 25 yards or longer -- Details
Feb 15-29 -- USMS SmartyPants Vitamin USMS Winter Fitness Challenge (30 min)
March 14 & 20-22 -- NELMSC SCY Championship (Sanctioned SCY)
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Frank Wuest Negative Split Challenge |
We hope you will join us for the 4th Annual Frank Wuest Negative Split Challenge and swim the distance in Frank's memory. The event takes place during the NELMSC SCY Championship's Distance Day on Saturday, March 14. This year it will be held at the Boston Sports Institute in Wellesley, MA, in the 2012 Olympics Trials pool! I will donate a sum for every negatively split swim to the Cole Jensen Horne Special Needs Trust set up for Frank's nephew, Cole, who is living with autism. Cole's mother, Avery, will also be accepting the challenge this year and swimming the distance!
- Lyn Duncan, NEM-CRM
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Mar 28 -- 9th Annual Monumental Masters Mini Meet (Recognized SCY)
April 4 -- Swim Like a Fool/VT Senior Games (Recognized SCY)
May 17 -- Connecticut Masters Games (Sanctioned SCY)
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June 7 -- 2nd Annual Boston Frogman Swim (5 km)
June 7 -- 7th Annual Landshark Swim & Aquathlon (0.5, 1.2, 2.4 mi)
June 13 -- 12th Charles River One Mile Swim (Sanctioned 1 mi)
June 13 -- 32nd Annual Mashpee Superswim (0.5, 1, 3 mi)
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Save the Date: Charles River One Mile Swim |
Registration will open in early March.
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June 20 -- MBCC Against the Tide Hopkinton (1 mi)
June 20 -- 15th Annual Narrow River Turnaround (1 mi)
June 20 -- Jim Doty Memorial Mile (1 mi)
June 27 -- 27th Annual Buzzards Bay Swim (1.2 mi)
July 10 -- Swim Across America Boston Harbor Team Relay Challenge (22 mi relay)
July 11 -- 4th Annual Swim With A Mission (1, 5, 10 km, 10 km relay)
July 11 -- 44th Annual Save the Bay Swim (1.7 mi)
July 25 -- USMS Ultramarathon-Distance Open Water National Championship (Sanctioned 10 mi)
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Kingdom Swim to Host USMS Ultramarathon-Distance Open Water National Championship |
In 2020, New England will once again be the setting for a USMS Open Water National Championship. Swimmers from across the country will head to beautiful Lake Memphremagog in Vermont's Northeast Kingdom to race in the Ultramarathon-distance event on Saturday, July 25. The 10-mile championship race is just one of several distances offered at Kingdom Swim, which also includes 1-mile, 5 km, 10 km, and 25 km swims. |
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Aug 9 -- Glen Lake Swim (Sanctioned 1, 2 mi)
Aug 15 -- USMS 2-mile Cable Open Water National Championship (Sanctioned 2 mi)
Aug 22 -- USMS Marathon-Distance Open Water National Championship (Sanctioned 10km)
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April 3-5 -- Colonies Zone SCY Championship (Sanctioned SCY)
April 23-26 -- USMS Spring National Championship (Sanctioned SCY)
Celebrate USMS's 50th Anniversary in San Antonio!
San Antonio, TX -- Details -- Register by March 23
May 7-10 -- YMCA Masters National Meet (Recognized SCY)
May 22-24 -- Canadian Masters Swimming Championship (Sanctioned SCM)
June 17-27 -- UANA Pan-American Masters Championship (Sanctioned LCM)
Aug 12-16 -- USMS Summer National Championship (Sanctioned LCM)
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The Same Black Line
Laura Dennison, NELMSC Para-Athlete Chair
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Like many of my teammates, I have just finished a long day of work. The bustle of the workday is still present in my head as I slide on my cap and goggles and hop into the water. I look quickly at the set, and part of me wonders how I will make it through after such a long day. I sigh and begin to pull and move my body across the pool. I look straight down at the black line and turn my head slightly to breathe, noticing my teammates in the lane next to me, before returning to that black line. It is the black line that has given me so much comfort, camaraderie, and strength over seven years of competitive swimming. As I look over at my teammates, I know that they, too, are staring at that same black line that gives me so much consistency; the only difference is how I propel myself across the pool.
I often hear statements from people, well-meaning, like: “Wow, it is really great you are in the water.” Well, if what I’m doing gets someone off the couch, that’s great, but that’s not why I do it. I do it for the same reason that my masters teammates do it. I want to swim with others, get a good workout in, socialize, and compete. I do it for the absolute love of the sport. It’s the feeling that I get when I compete in a relay with my teammates at a championship meet. It’s collectively working together to complete a 200 medley relay. I may swim with just my arms while they dive off the block. How each of us does it doesn’t matter. I do it for swimming—something that is bigger than all of us. Just like my teammates.
After all, it is the same black line.
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The word para literally means alongside. World Para Swimming has three different impairment groups: physical, intellectual, and visual impairments. “There are ten different sport classes for athletes with physical impairment, numbered 1-10. The lower the number, the more severe the activity limitation. Athletes with different impairments compete against each other, because sport classes are allocated based on the impact the impairment has on swimming, rather than on the impairment itself.” The classification system is a complicated one, but it is one that ensures competitions are as fair as possible. Athletes with a vision impairment compete in three sport classes from S/SB11 to S/SB13. Athletes with an intellectual impairment swim in the s14 classification. I personally compete in the S6 (freestyle, backstroke), SB5 (breaststroke), and SM6 (medley) classification, but I am up for review under a new classification system soon.
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How Can I Include Para Swimmers in My Workouts? |
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Say hello. Engage in conversation. This may seem very basic, but we are all human and we are all here for the same reason.
Practice good communication. If you are a coach, ask the swimmer what he or she wants to get out of the workout and talk about what they can do in the water. Every swimmer—para or not—is different, and each swimmer knows their body best.
If you are a teammate, communicate with others in the lane. I always tell my fellow teammates that they can swim around me, and I know where they are. I also know that if they are doing a 100, maybe I will do a 50 so that we start and stop at the same place; this is dependent on the individual swimmer.
Have fun! We are all here for the love of swimming.
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Building a Better Freestyle Clinic
Bob Ouellette, NELMSC Coaches Chair
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On February 1, 24 of our member athletes were treated to an outstanding “Building a Better Freestyle Clinic” put on by USMS Level 4 coach extraordinaire, Bill Meier.
The clinic focused on the basic components of an effective freestyle stroke, including: balance, body alignment, kicking technique and propulsion. The clinic was attended by swimmers of a wide range of experience and ability, but breaking down the stroke into manageable components resulted in a more efficient stroke for all participants!
Following the drill work, Bill utilized underwater video to film each swimmer’s stroke and provided a detailed analysis which we reviewed as a group. This process enabled all attendees to better understand the components of an efficient stroke while also utilizing Bill’s feedback to improve individual freestyle technique.
Without question, Bill’s expertise enabled each athlete to come away with a better understanding of their stroke as well as the areas needing improvement.
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Officials Certification Training Clinic
Sue Jensen, NELMSC Officials Chair
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The NELMSC held its first ever Officials Certification Training Clinic for Masters Swimming on Saturday, January 25 in Needham, MA. Fifteen people attended, including current and former swimmers and coaches, as well as New England Swimming, high school, and YMCA officials. Look for some new faces sporting white U.S. Masters Swimming Official polo shirts on deck at upcoming Masters meets in New England this year!
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Remembering Priscilla Davis |
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Priscilla (McGee) Davis passed away peacefully on Tuesday, February 4, 2020, surrounded by her family, after a brief hospitalization. She was 85.
Priscilla was a long-time and beloved fixture in the swimming community in New England. She was a dedicated official for thousands of swimming competitions across all ages and abilities. She was on the pool deck for local youth, summer league, high school, collegiate, YMCA, Masters, Paralympic, Bay State Games, and USA Swimming competition. She had a particularly strong connection to the Massachusetts Special Olympics, which not even hip replacement surgery could keep her from attending. A family member commented that when they examined her calendar planner, there were remarkably few days that did not have at least one swim meet scheduled.
She was a member of the New England Swimming Board of Directors for decades, serving as the Adapted Swimming and Safety Chair for many years. She served on numerous USA Swimming national committees, including the National Adapted Swimming Committee and the National Swimming Safety Committee. She also served for many years on the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association (MIAA) Board of Directors.
She was the recipient of countless awards and recognitions, and was a two-time recipient of the Adolf Kiefer Safety Commendation Award, presented at the United States Aquatic Sports National Convention, in 1991 and 2017. She is a member of the MIAA Hall of Fame. In 2014, the Eastern Massachusetts Interscholastic Swim Coaches Academy (EMISCA) created the Priscilla Davis Silver Service Award, honoring her 25+ years of service to Massachusetts High School swimming and diving.
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Priscilla is reunited with her beloved husband Bill, to whom she was married for 58 years, and who predeceased her in 2013. She is survived by two brothers, Peter and Jake; her daughter Cynthia; two sons, Michael and James; and several cherished grandchildren. She will also be deeply missed by thousands of swimmers, coaches, officials, and parents.
In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made in her name to The Priscilla Fund, c/o New England Swimming, 1241 Highland Ave Rear, Needham, MA 02492 (tax deductible). The fund will provide scholarships to individuals that embody the spirit and passion for the causes that Priscilla championed throughout her life.
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The New England Local Masters Swimming Committee is a volunteer-run, nonprofit subsidiary of U.S. Masters Swimming that serves as the regional governing body for USMS-registered clubs, workout groups, swimmers, coaches, and officials in Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island.
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