A Happy New Year to all, and hopefully everyone had a very Merry Christmas and are ready to work off those festive treats and parties in the pool?!

Now that the New Year is under way, I would like to extend a warm welcome to all MSABC Masters and a special welcome to those venturing into the lifestyle of Masters swimming for the first time. Hopefully everyone has gotten into the swing of training and those just starting out are feeling the results of time in the water. For those competing in the different meets, the best of luck to all, and for those that are competing for the first time, I know you will enjoy the great feeling of competition.

This year we have a full slate of meets starting with Duncan in January, followed by English Bay in February, and Victoria in March (our only long course meet). Provincial Championships, and our MSABC Annual General Meeting, will be in Kamloops this year – April 18th, 19th and 20th. Let’s show our support to the committee there who is putting in many hours to give us a great championship, and let’s see if we can’t make it the biggest ever! There are also many meets being offered by the PNA just across the border with meets in Washington and Oregon.

Nationals this year will be held in Quebec City during May as part of their 400th birthday celebration. For those going, please note that the Nationals will be capped at 900 swimmers and registration will not open until February 1, 2008, so please be ready to get your entry in ASAP after the 1st. Once again we will be looking for someone to put together the MSABC relays at the Nationals. If anyone is interested, by all means, drop me an email.

Speaking of Nationals, Masters Swimming Canada would really like to see some interest in hosting the 2010 Nationals in BC. Kelowna has shown some interest if the pool is ready on time, however if there is any club or group that has some interest in hosting them, please let me know. The Nationals have not been held in BC for many years now, and it would be great for us to show the rest of the country just what we have here. Bid forms for 2010 should be in by this time next year, so give it some real thought. Once again, if anyone is interested, please drop me an email.

It is great to see so many of our members using the Million Meter Challenge. This is an excellent tool to keep track of your workouts, and remember, if you train on bikes, run or cross country ski there is a spot to record those sessions as well. Those that enjoy keeping track of their rankings will also find mymsc.ca an excellent source of times and information, as well as links to the top twenty.

The underwater camera is still out there for those that want an excellent training tool. Those that have used it have thought it to be a great help. Remember it is there for all MSABC members to use. There are also videos and DVD’s on the different strokes available to all the members.

On behalf of myself, and the entire MSABC Board, we wish you all the best in 2008! Train hard, race hard, but most importantly, enjoy this great sport of ours. Masters swimming is more than a sport, it’s a lifestyle!

Glen Mehus
MSABC President
president@mastersswimming.bc.ca

COMPETITION REPORTS

UBC Masters Swim Meet
Sunday, November 18, 2007
Report submitted by: James Hooper, President, UBC Masters

The 2007 version of the UBC Masters swim meet has come and gone, and we are very pleased with the way things turned out. This year, we had a total of 179 swimmers registered from all over BC, Alberta, Ontario and the US.

We saw some very fast early season swims and at this point it looks like there was one national record set by Cindy Mabee and 6 provincial records set by Bonnie Pronk, Cindy Mabee, Brian Staton, Jennifer Schilling and the English Bay mixed medley relay team. We thank all those for attending and hope to see you all again next year. Any feedback you might have on the meet would be appreciated and can be submitted on our website, www.ubcmasters.com.

This year also marked the debut of our new team logo on swim caps and a new team banner. We held a contest this past summer amongst our membership to come up with a design and then voted as a club on the winning logo. The entry of Gord Wilson was chosen from the dozen or so entries, and we’re very happy with the result.

Photo: Avi Feinberg

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Nanaimo Ebbtides 27th Annual Swim Meet
Saturday, December 1, 2007
Report submitted by Nancy Ryan, Meet Manager

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow! We had 124 registered swimmers from 20 clubs who attempted to brave the elements to come to our meet on Saturday Dec. 1. The swimmers ranged in ages from 19 to 88 but unfortunately a few where not able to come as the roads and heavy snowfall just made it impossible.

The meet started with the Woodlands Secondary Grade 10 quintet combo playing lively jazz pieces during the warm ups. This scene got the bodies warmed up for a very successful swim meet.

A warm welcome to the Ravensong swim team who sent 15 swimmers who had never competed in our Masters circuit meets before. Congratulations go out to Ravensong’s Brian Curtis who set a MSABC record – 50 meter fly in the 70 – 74 age group! The UVic Tri Club has also made a come back. From the reports I received, both new teams had a great time and are anxious to take part in more competitions.

A huge thank you goes out to our top officials Don Irwin and Leon Politano (who braved the Malahat), the Nanaimo Riptides coaches, parents and swimmers who generously assisted us in set up, the computer room, stroke and turn, timing and delivering food. Last but not least, a meet cannot be run without tremendous support from the club members themselves. If they were not swimming they were involved in officiating, food preparations and contributions. We also had tremendous support from the local community in terms of donations for our food and door prizes. Perhaps that is why so many of you stayed around! In spite of the weather over which we had no control, it was a very successful meet and we are hoping to see everyone again next year.

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UPCOMING EVENTS

Sunday, January 27, 2008

Cowichan Aquannis Masters Swimmers
24th Annual Invitational Masters Swim Meet

Entries must be received by January 17 th . For more information see www.mastersswimming.bc.ca/meets/2008Cowichan.doc

Location: Cowichan Community Centre 2687 James Street Duncan , BC V9L 2X5

Times: Warm-up 10:00am-10:50am Events: 11:00am-4:00pm Social: 4:00pm…

Meet Schedule:

Number	Event	Number	Event
1	200 Free	14	100 Free
2	200 Free Relay Women	15	200 IM
3	200 Free Relay Men	16	50 Breast
4	200 Free Relay Mixed	17	25 Back
5	100 Fly	18	200 Fly
6	50 Back	19	100 Back
7	200 Breast	20	100 Breast
8	100 IM	21	25 Free
9	25 Fly	22	400 Free
10	50 Free	23	400 IM
11	200 Back	24	200 Medley Relay Women
12	50 Fly	25	200 Medley Relay Men
13	25 Breast	26	200 Medley Relay Mixed

Maximum events per swimmer: 4 individual events, one freestyle relay and one medley relay.

Sunday, February 10, 2008:

EBSC 2008 Swim Classic ‘Love to Swim!’ PRESENTED BY English Bay Swim Club www.englishbay.org Entries must be received by February 1, 2008 (no deck or phone entries)

Location: UBC Aquatic Centre 6121 University Blvd Vancouver BC, Canada

Times: Warm-up: 9:30 am to 10:15 am Events: 10:30 am to 4:00 pm

Meet Schedule:

Number	Event	Number	Event
1	400 Free	Exhibition	Pink Flamingo Relay
2a 2c (mixed 2b)	200 Medley Relay	11	200 IM
3	100 IM	12	50 Free
4	50 Breast	13	200 Back
5	100 Back	14	100 Breast
6	200 Fly	15	100 Fly
7	100 Free	16	200 Free
8	200 Breast	17	50 Back
9	50 Fly	18	400 IM
10a 10c (mixed 10b)	400 Free Relay	19a 19c (mixed 19b)	200 Free Relay

Note:There is a limit of four (4) events per swimmer, plus relays. Relay entry forms will be available at the meet and must be submitted by 10am. Your club is also invited to take part in the exhibition and entertaining Pink Flamingo Relay (1 team entry per club, exhibition, deck entry, limit of 6 teams).

PASTA FEED!! EBSC is planning a dinner pasta feed on Saturday, February 9 to which you are invited. Information on the location and time is available at www.englishbay.org. Swimmers may also wish to donate to A Loving Spoonful, a nonpartisan society that provides free, nutritious meals to people living with HIV/AIDS in the Greater Vancouver Area. You can donate as you register for the meet.

Saturday, March 15, 2008:

Victoria Masters Swim Club 28th Annual Swim Meet (Long Course) Entries must be received by Wednesday, March 5th. For more information see http://www.victoriamasters.ca

Location: Saanich Commonwealth Place 4636 Elk Lake Drive Victoria, BC

Times: Warm-up: 10:30 am Events: 11:30 am Social: following events

Meet Schedule:

Number	Event	Number	Event
1	200 Free	12	*200 IM or
2	100 Breast	13	*200 Fly
3	50 Fly	14	100 Back
4	Male 4X50 Free Relay	15	50 Breast
5	Female 4X50 Free Relay	16	Male 4X50 Medley Relay
6	*200 Back or	17	Female 4X50 Medley Relay
7	*200 Breast	18	*400 IM or
8	50 Free	19	*400 Free
9	100 Fly	20	50 Back
10	4X50 Mixed Medley Relay	21	4X50 Mixed Free Relay
11	100 Free	22	1500 Free (LONG COURSE)

• 4 individual events plus relay. Relays must be deck entered 4 events prior to race.
• Events marked * may be seeded together.
• POSITIVE CHECK-IN required for 200 Fly, 200 IM, 400 IM, 400 Free and 1500 Free.
• Participants may enter the 400 Free OR 1500 Free, not both.
• The 1500 Free will be restricted to only 3 heats and can be adjusted at the discretion of the meet manager. Entries will be entered in the order received.
• Depending on entries for the 1500 Free, it may be necessary to have 2 swimmers per lane.
• It is requested that those swimming the 1500 Free to try to provide a timer. Email len.martel@gmail.com with Timer Name if possible.

Submitting Results: In order for swimmers to be ranked on the Masters Swimming Canada website all Meet Managers must submit their swim meet results to MSC. If Meet Managers could please review this process (http://mymsc.ca/SubmitResults.jsp) and send in your meet results as soon as possible after your meet is finished, it would be greatly appreciated. We would still like you to submit your results to the MSABC webmaster so we can also post the results on our webpage.

Out of Province Records: The Board of MSABC, in consultation with Julie Jones, have designed a new Out of Province Records application form which, when completed, will make it easier for MSABC swimmers to apply for BC Records. The form is posted on the MSABC website under Club & Record Info - BC records: http://www.mastersswimming.bc.ca/records.html

For additional swim meet information, please see our website: www.mastersswimming.bc.ca/upcoming.html

Date	Meet Name	Type	Location	Details
Jan 27/08	Cowichan Meet	SCM	Duncan	Details TBA
Feb 10/08	EBSC Love to Swim Meet	SCM	UBC Vancouver	Details TBA - see web site at: www.englishbay.org
Mar 15/08	Victoria Masters Meet	LCM	Saanich Commonwealth Pool, Victoria	Details TBA - see web site at: www.victoriamasters.ca
Apr 15-25/08	FINA World Masters Championships	LCM	Perth Australia	www.2008finamasters.org
Apr 18-20/08	MSABC Provincials	SCM	Canada Games Pool, Kamloops	Details TBA
May 23-26/08	MSC Nationals	SCM	Quebec City, PQ	Details TBA

Good news for anyone interested in completing the Skills Coach Courses offered by SwimBC: MSABC will now be reimbursing $150 for each completed level (Skills Coach; Level 2; and Level 3) upon producing a completed and valid application!

SwimBC has one Skills Coach Course during January, please contact them if you are interested in the following:

• January 11-13 at Deep Cove Pool in North Vancouver. Chad Webb is the Learning Facilitator, and the cost, again is an all-inclusive $275, or $350 if you want to include the Assessment Fee as well.

Details on upcoming courses can be found on the SwimBC website (www.swim.bc.ca/sbcnccp.aspx). Reminder to ALL COACHES currently at certified at Level 1 (Skills Coach), and those in Level 2 who have yet to complete certification: If you do not complete the Skills Coach Upgrade (completing the online Making Ethical Decisions AND having an on-deck Skills Coach Assessment), you will cease to be “Certified”, and instead, will show in the NCCP database as “Trained”.

Are you wondering what it takes to keep a dedicated Masters swimmer out of the pool?! Keep reading to solve the mystery of who would let a little thing like KNEE REPLACEMENT SURGERY keep them out of the pool!!

 

 

 

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Training resources: MSABC has some great resources to help you with your training. Check out our website to find out about borrowing the video camera and underwater lens (www.mastersswimming.bc.ca/camera.html). Arrangements and bookings can be made by contacting Glen Mehus at gmehus@shaw.ca.

Or check out our video/DVD library (www.mastersswimming.bc.ca/video.html). DVD’s and videos are available for a 2 to 3 week loan period (depending on demand). Contact Claudia Sperling at sperlingclaudia@gmail.com to borrow videos and/or DVD’s.

SwimBC, The Arthritis Society, and the Arthritis Research Council have partnered together to raise awareness of Arthritis in the community and to promote life-long aquatic activity as a fundamental part of healthy living. Masters Swim Association of BC has signed on with Swim BC to support this worthy cause, and we have some great ways in which you can participate.

Click here to download a Word Doc with information on how you can get involved today!

If there is anything you would like to see posted on the MSABC website, please send it to Diane Ruffell (vicepresident@mastersswimming.bc.ca).

The Answer to the Mystery!!
Many of you will recognize Aart Looye, Past President of MSABC, as the guy recovering from knee replacement surgery! All the best to you Aart!! We wish you a speedy recovery and look forward to seeing you in the pool again soon!

Looking for writers! Would you like to contribute an article, or have some news that you would like BC Masters swimmers to know about? Submit them to the Bulletin! Photos are also welcome. Contact Claudia Sperling (sperlingclaudia@gmail.com).

Deadlines for submissions:

• February 15th for March/April issue
• April 15th for May/June issue
• June 15th for July/August issue
• August 15th for September/October issue
• October 15th for November/December issue
• December 15th for January/February issue

To SUBSCRIBE to the Bulletin: Do you know of anyone who is not receiving this Bulletin? If not, they need to sign up on the MSABC website. Ask them to go to www.mastersswimming.bc.ca/bulletin.html, to enter their email address in the appropriate spot and click “subscribe” – and why not print out a copy of this bulletin and post it on your Club information board at the pool?!

To UNSUBSCRIBE to the Bulletin: Go to www.mastersswimming.bc.ca/bulletin.html, enter your email address in the appropriate spot and click “unsubscribe”.