In this Bulletin:
-
The Captain's Table
-
Announcement of Annual AGM
-
Submission time again for both the ‘Ted Simpson’ & ‘Stan Powell’ Awards!
-
What the heck is Masters Swimming Canada (MSC)?
-
MSC Rules of Swimming and MSABC or .. ‘Why is the stroke judge staring at me?’
-
Nanaimo Ebbtides 30th Annual Masters Swim Meet - November 27, 2010
-
English Bay’s ‘Love to Swim’ Spring Classic makes the pages of Swimming World magazine!
-
‘League Trophy’ Top Ten as of the 13 February, 2011
-
Notice - Relays 2011 Nationals
-
An Invitation to Swimmers to sign up for this year’s 2011 B.C. Seniors Games / 16-20 August 2011
-
Coaching
-
Training Videos & DVD's
-
Website and Bulletin Information
1. The President’s Report
I have had the good fortune this winter to have been able to travel south for a couple of months. The weather in Oceanside CA has just been wonderful but one of the best parts of the trip has been meeting Master swimmers in various locations and training with them. A common theme throughout training and socialization with different groups and individuals is that Master swimming is a lifestyle. It’s all about fun, participation and fitness. Sure some of us love to race, attend meets and try and hold back father time, but underlying all of our efforts in the pool is the fact that we enjoy it and need it. Yes we need it to stay fit, keep our minds active and keep the inches off our waists.
The cost of swimming is relatively inexpensive: a bathing suit, goggles and maybe a pull buoy & fins are all that is required. Pool rentals have gone up though and practice times are getting harder to find and book. At our recent board meeting, we discussed ways to give value for the fees that we pay. We have invested some of our surplus funds in the Vancouver Foundation as a rainy day fallback. We will hold a number of clinics this spring and are assisting the Kelowna Provincials with a monetary grant. We are looking at ways to have more electronic registration for meets without the costs that this process incurs. We are also looking at ways to give input and resources into next year’s Provincials on the Island and, potentially, Nationals in Kelowna.
Your MSABC Board is also striving to keep costs down. We have kept meeting expenditures to a minimum as we are holding conference calls whenever possible thus reducing travel costs. With a proposed fee increase from MSC (Masters Swimming Canada) coming into effect this fall, we have been looking at ways to minimize this increase to our membership. More on this at our annual AGM.
Speaking about our AGM, there may be a number of openings on the Board this year and I ask and challenge you to step forward and help out. There are not many meetings; work loads are not overwhelming and it can be a lot of fun (depending on your sense of humour *). Please give me a call, send me an email or talk to me on deck about a position for you. Enjoy yourselves in the pool and stay fit for the rest of the season.
* Added by the Bulletin’s editor ;-)
Aart Looye
MSABC President
president@msabc.ca
\\ back to top \\
2. Announcement of Annual AGM
Formal announcement of the Annual AGM should be given at least 2 weeks prior to the event so I am REALLY jumping the gun here and making the announcement almost 2 months prior to! So no one can use the excuse that they didn’t know about it unless you happen never to read the Bulletin and, in that case, I’d ask myself why I put all the time & effort preparing it if you don’t bother reading it! But then that’s another topic for a future Bulletin .. ;) So, as with any organization, MSABC’s success is only as great as the effort & time its membership puts into it and participation and involvement at the AGM is a key element to this success. We have 9 individuals, all MSABC members, who sit on the Board. These are people like you & your lane-mates; Masters Swimmers. They decided to give back to MSABC because they believed they had something of value to offer and wanted to see the organisation grow. We are always looking for fresh faces and fresh ideas because without this input, things become stagnant and you know what stagnant water produces – mosquitoes! We want to be mosquito free so come on and add your voices to a worthy cause!
\\ back to top \\
3. Submission time again for both the ‘Ted Simpson’ & ‘Stan Powell’ Awards!
Each year, two Awards of Merit are presented at the Provincial Championships:
The Ted Simpson Achievement Award
This award goes to the registered MSABC Masters Swimmer who has achieved distinguished results in the 2008/2009 swim season. The recipient’s results from World, National, Provincial and local meets, or improvement in personal best times, overcoming injury, illness and/or disability will be considered for this award.
This award is presented in memory of Ted Simpson. Ted was a valued coach of the Vancouver Y Torpedoes from 1960 - 67. He continued his coaching and, in later years, coached Masters swimmers finishing his coaching career with the English Bay Swim Club. Ted was valued as a coach who made swimming fun and made swimmers feel good about themselves. Ted was interested in all who came under his tutelage. As he valued achievement in all forms, this award is a fitting memorial to Ted and how he lived his life.
Last year’s recipient was Cindy Maybe of the Victoria Masters Swim Club.
The Stan Powell Memorial Service Award
This award goes to the person who has contributed to the betterment of Masters Swimming in British Columbia and/or service to Masters Swimming, (e.g. past service on the MSABC Board, club official, club or event organizer, meet volunteer and/or coach).
This award is in memory of Stan Powell who died in November 1999. Stan played most sports throughout his lifetime and coached many at the secondary school level for more than thirty years. Nearest and dearest to his heart though was swimming and upon Stan’s death, his family requested donations to establish a suitable memorial – and so it was that a large oak perpetual shield - the Stan Powell Award, came to be.
It was Stan’s belief one should give something back to the community for the enjoyment received by participating in sports. With this in mind, Stan was personally involved with swimming, water polo, basketball and baseball. He gave so freely of his time by volunteering for many sports. Stan embodied Masters swimming as a lifestyle - the Stan Powell Memorial Service Award is a fitting tribute to his memory.
Last year’s recipient was Khsoro Mansuri of both the English Bay Swim Club and North Shore Masters.
THE DEADLINE FOR NOMINATIONS IS APRIL 15, 2010. If you know someone deserving of these awards, please send your nomination(s), with a few lines about why they are qualified, to Gilles Beaudin at vanguy@telus.net by the April 15th deadline.
\\ back to top \\
4. What the heck is Masters Swimming Canada (MSC)?
By Glen Mehus – former MSABC President and current MSC Board member.
As a member of MSABC you are also a member of Maters Swimming Canada (MSC) which is your National Masters Swimming body. What does MSC do for you as a member? Hopefully I can answer some of those questions.
MSC is a body that is made up of 8 board members voted in by the membership as well as 2 members from the Council of Provinces –CoP (this council is made up of one member from each province) which are voted in by all the other members of the CoP. The Board meets once a year face to face and once a month via conference call where they work towards more and better programs for all Master swimmers.
MSC maintains an up to date web site to bring you news and information, member profiles, feature articles, feature videos, National Club List and the Masters Registration system. They also use this web site to deliver the programs that MSC has developed for its membership as well as brochures and video.
MSC has developed many programs over the years and is always working towards new ones and improving existing ones. The programs that MSC now offers include the ever popular ‘Million Metre Challenge’ that awards you with caps, pins, and certificates. The ‘1km Challenge’, the ‘Check Off Challenge’, a pentathlon as well as Nationals each and every year. The web site also has an area for competition which maintains a calendar of swim meets throughout the country, all swim meet results from across the country, National records as well as some provincial records. It gives full rankings as well as personal results and personal records page that can be formatted by you, the swimmer, to keep an updated record of your meet results. You should check it out! The web site also gives record certificates for those who have set national records.
MSC also informs you of Rule updates from FINA and, as well, submits to FINA all the world record broken at MSC competitions. There are also awards that are handed out by MSC each year @ the Nationals Awards Banquet. These include the ‘Hud Stewart Award’, the ‘Coaching Award’ along with awards for Competitive Excellence and long term Service Awards.
MSC also works closely with coaches and offers Coaching Hints Document, as well as a Coaching Masters Swimmers Manual and has a Coaching Masters Swimmers training and certification program in development. A season planning tool will soon be integrated into the Season Planning course. We have, over the last few years, developed Masters Swimming Videos which are produced by Masters Coach’s and feature Masters Swimmers for Masters Swimmers.
MSC works with Swimming/Natation Canada (SNC – Canada’s primary Swimming Federation) for Masters and is a part of the SNC/MSC Masters Advisory Council (those members include SNC’s CEO & COO, MSC President and ED). We also have Representation on relevant SNC committees as well as take care of the National Policies for Masters Swimming.
For the Clubs, we have a template for a club promo poster to be used by any member club to promote their club along with sample bylaws for clubs starting up, a Video loaner library and a Club Development and Recognition program that is now in the development stage.
MSC has their Annual AGM each year at the Nationals with status and progress over the year. If you have any questions about MSC or any of the programs offered on the web site please feel free to contact any MSC board member, we would be more than happy to answer your question. Programs can be found on the MSC web site so please take the time to check us, your National Organization, out by going to www.mymsc.ca. Let us know what you, the membership, think!
\\ back to top \\
5. MSC Rules of Swimming and MSABC or .. ‘Why is the stroke judge staring at me?’
By Leon Politano – Swim BC/MSABC Official extraordinaire.
How does the change to MSC rules affect MSABC and our swimmers?
I have been asked this question many times by swimmers and meet managers. The short answer is that it does not affect us very much at all.
A little bit of background is necessary. MSABC’s meets are sanctioned by Swim BC under the authority of Swimming/Natation Canada (SNC). All meets sanctioned by Swim BC/MSABC must be sanctioned using SNC rules of swimming and the Swim BC Technical Guide and, for Masters meets, FINA masters exceptions as well. Swim BC/MSABC does not sanction meets using another organizations’ rules.
In the past, Masters meets in BC used various versions of MSC rules until it was discovered that they were in violation of the SNC sanctioning protocol because these rules had not been approved by the SNC Technical Swim Committee (TSC). MSC was thus required to go to the TSC for approval of their rules in order for them to have legal standing at our meets. TSC recently gave their approval and added them to their rulebook when pertaining to Master’s competitions. This action by MSC is verification that Masters meets throughout Canada, like all other swimming meets (age group, para, etc.), are governed by SNC rules.
It is a responsibility of all coaches and swimmers to be aware of the rules of swimming that apply to our sport. These rules are on the MSC web site under their competition section. Appendix C, prepared by the Ontario Swimming Officials Association, lists the differences between MSC rules and SNC rules when pertaining to Masters competitions. The MSC rules incorporate the FINA masters exceptions, which along with the SNC rules have been the rules and procedure that meets in BC have followed for years.
Listed below are the major newly approved MSC rules. You will find that they are not really different from the rules we have been using in BC for our sanctioned meets.
The Start
- swimmers may place a hand on a timer’s shoulder to steady themselves.
- swimmers may be relaxed on the blocks instead of being asked to stand down if a start is delayed.
- swimmers must place on foot on the front edge of the starting block immediately upon mounting the platform.
- swimmers may start on the platform, on the edge of the pool or in the water with one hand touching the end of the pool. Backstroke swimmers may have only one hand in contact with the starting platform or the edge of the pool.
Freestyle
- no change.
Backstroke
- reverse backstroke turn is allowed. Not really different from SNC but clearly stated because age swimmers seldom turn in this manner. Backstroke is freestyle only swam on the back.
Breaststroke
- consideration is given to the swimmer if they are unable to adhere strictly to the stroke technicalities and they do not gain an advantage. The swimmer must notify the referee before the event to gain this consideration.
- a swimmers body need not be fully submerged at the start or turn when using the butterfly kick.
Butterfly
- one breaststroke kick and one butterfly kick are permitted during each stroke cycle.
Warm Up Procedures
- the use of pull buoys, flippers, paddles and boards is not allowed
- watches shall not be worn
\\ back to top \\
6. Nanaimo Ebbtides 30th Annual Masters Swim Meet - November 27, 2010
The Nanaimo Ebbtides hosted their 30th Annual masters swim meet, and their first since hosting the 2010 Nationals, on Saturday November 27, 2010. Just fewer than 100 swimmers took part; a little lower than we would have liked but everyone who participated had a great time.
Highlights were the wonderful door prizes at 30 minute intervals throughout the meet (almost everyone walked away with something!), the live Jazz Band during warm-ups (courtesy of John Barbsy Secondary School) and the post event social with snacks and treats for the hungry competitors and volunteers. Thank you to the City of Nanaimo for being the prime sponsor and donating several of the door prizes.
What really set this meet apart was the inclusion of water slide races to the event list. The Green Slide was used, and the total time of 2 slides was used to determine the winner, in a format similar to Olympic luge. Almost everyone at the meet took part and there was amazing feedback on how great an idea it was. All different techniques were tried and tested but at the end of the day, Lisa Walwork from Comox Valley and Andrew Amundrud from West Shore were the winners, and each took home the coveted stainless steel water bottle and bragging rights. The winning times were sub 10 seconds, with no water slide experience!
A performance highlight was Grant Hall from Victoria Silver Streaks, who at age 75 broke 2 of his own BC records in the 50 fly and 200 Free. He is obviously getting better as he ages!
As always, a huge thank you to all of the competitors and the volunteers for making this a wonderful meet, and a staple of the fall schedule since 1981! Ian Burvill and Noel Hornby received recognition as 2 Ebbtiders that have been with the club since its inception in 1980, quite impressive.
Nanaimo Ebbtides won the team standings with 1749 points, with Victoria Masters (1636) and English Bay (1134) rounding out the top 3, In all, 14 different clubs from the Island and Lower Mainland participated.
Nancy Ryan and Patrick Ryan
Co-Meet Managers
\\ back to top \\
7. English Bay’s ‘Love to Swim’ Spring Classic makes the pages of Swimming World magazine!
Thanks to the participation of American Olympian Megan Jendrick (formerly Quan), EBSC’s annual competition found its way into the pages of Swimming World magazine! Here’s the article!
Megan Jendrick Breaks Three Masters World Records in Vancouver -- February 15, 2011
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, February 15. OLYMPIAN Megan Jendrick made the short trip from her home in Seattle across the border to Vancouver last weekend to set three Masters world records at the EBSC ‘Love to Swim’ Spring Classic short course meters meet.
Jendrick, the 2000 Olympic champion in the 100 breaststroke and the 400 medley relay, started the meet with a 1:02.89 in the 100 IM, breaking Linda Lund's world record of 1:03.49 in the 25-29 age group from last year.
Event 3 Women 25-29 100 SC Meter IM
1 Jendrick, Megan 27 Pacific Northwest Aquatics 29.38 1:02.89 (33.51)
Next, Jendrick set a new mark in the 200 breast with a 2:28.48, erasing Katie Henderson's record of 2:30.29 set in 2009.
Event 8 Women 25-29 200 SC Meter Breaststroke
1 Jendrick, Megan 27 Pacific Northwest Aquatics 33.53 1:11.13 (37.60) 1:49.74 (38.61) 2:28.48 (38.74)
Jendrick, 27, concluded her meet with a world record in the 100 breast, a 1:08.82 that smashed Lund's 1:09.80 from 2009.
Event 14 Women 25-29 100 SC Meter Breaststroke
1 Jendrick, Megan 27 Pacific Northwest Aquatics 32.58 1:08.82 (36.24)
Jendrick also owns the world records for the 25-29 age group in the long course 50 and 100 breaststrokes.
To witness Megan’s great swims were well over 180 swimmers from all over B.C. along with teams from Alberta and the U.S. Pacific Northwest giving this year’s ‘Love to Swim’ Classic the largest number of swimmers entered in any MSABC meet held so far this season! Kudos to Co-Meet Managers Annelle Harmer and Khosro Mansuri and to our last minute announcer Patrick McGowan (who still managed to swim his 3 individual events & 3 relays!) for their time and effort making this meet the success that it was. As usual, a highlight of the meet was our annual Pink Flamingo Relay. This year, a team of unattached swimmers took on the established teams and walked away with the honours as well as the first place prize – a Lindt Valentine box of chocolates! Thank you and congratulations to all the participants!
\\ back to top \\
8. ‘League Trophy’ Top Ten as of the 13 February, 2011
With the completion of our next to last meet of the season prior to Provincials, here are the Top Ten clubs vying for this year’s ‘League Trophy’.
1. English Bay Swim Club |
6073 |
2. Victoria Masters Swim Club |
3695 |
3. UBC Masters Swim Club |
3522 |
4. Winskill Otters |
2562 |
5. Nanaimo Ebbtides |
2470 |
6. North Shore Masters |
1597 |
7. Delta Retreads |
1422 |
8. Okanagan Masters |
1400 |
9. Hyack Masters |
1231 |
10. Hyde Creek Masters |
1194 |
With one ‘League’ meet left in the season, it may appear that English Bay has wrapped up this year’s competition and have added the ‘League Trophy’ to the already won ‘Champions Trophy’ but 2nd place Victoria Masters should never be discounted as a threat! They have been ‘League Trophy’ champions two years running and are hosting the competition where they have, in past years, scored well above 3500 points so; if English Bay is complacent and Victoria Masters pulls out all the stops, the trophy may remain in the hands of the Vancouver Island club for a third straight year!
\\ back to top \\
9. Notice – Relays 2011 Nationals
If you would like to be part of the MSBC relay team in Montreal this year – please contact Danielle Brault at daniellebrault@hotmail.com.
Please indicate to Danielle which relay (s) and Stoke(s) that you are will to swim. Danielle will make up teams that include everyone. Relays are what Masters swimming is all about – fun fitness and participation!! Sign up today.
\\ back to top \\
10. An Invitation to Swimmers to sign up for this year’s 2011 B.C. Seniors Games / 16-20 August 2011
This is a wonderful opportunity to participate in a fun event and meet seniors from all parts of the Province, in all kinds of sports and in a great social setting!
You don’t have to be a serious competitive swimmer to participate as the focus is on having fun but you do have to be at least 55 years old by December 31st, 2011 and be a resident of B.C. to register.
Swimmers will compete in a first class pool – the Trail Aquatic Centre in Trail, B.C..
For additional information and to record your interest, please contact your zone swimming co-ordinator. These can be found on the web site below!
www.bcseniorsgames.org
\\ back to top \\
11. Coaching
Swimming Canada is very pleased to offer the new “e-learning” pathway of Skills Coach education delivery.
See the SNC page: https://www.swimming.ca/NationalCoachingCertificationProgramComponents
for an overview of the NEW NCCP coach education pathway, and an outline of the process of becoming Skills Coach certified.
More details on the Swimming Canada’s e-learning system: http://elearn.swimming.ca/
REGISTER for the Skills Coach Online Course. Enter the promotional code SBCSKILLS to receive a SwimBC/SportsFunder discount on the registration fee.
The online Making Ethical Decisions module, one of the final steps in Skills Coach Certification, can be found at this website: http://nccpeval.coach.ca/production/med/e/index.asp?Language=English .
\\ back to top \\
12. Training Videos & DVDs
Don't forget to check out our MSABC video/DVD library! We have several complete series including Go Swim, Frank Busch, Richard Quick, and Bill Sweetenham. For a complete listing, please see www.msabc.ca/video.html . DVDs and videos are available for a 2 to 3 week loan period (depending on demand). Contact Ivan Szasz at iszasz@interchange.ubc.ca to borrow videos and/or DVDs.
Also, check out our website to find out about borrowing the video camera and underwater lens www.msabc.ca/camera.html. Arrangements and bookings can be made by contacting Glen Mehus at gmehus@shaw.ca.
\\ back to top \\
13. Website and Bulletin Information
If there is anything you would like to see posted on the MSABC website, please send it to John McManus at webmaster@msabc.ca.
Would you like to write an article, or have some news that you would like to share with BC Masters swimmers? Submit it to the Bulletin! Ideas for articles, feedback and suggestions are always welcome. Contact Gilles Beaudin at vanguy@telus.net.
Deadlines for submissions:
-
September 15th for July/August/September issue
-
December 15th for October/November/December issue
-
March 15th for January/February/March issue
-
June 15th for April/May/June issue
To subscribe to the Bulletin: Go to www.msabc.ca/newsletter/, enter your email address in the appropriate spot and click “subscribe”.
To unsubscribe to the Bulletin: Go towww.msabc.ca/newsletter/, enter your email address in the appropriate spot and click “unsubscribe”.
