Contributed by Emily Cook, NELMSC Fitness & ALTS Coordinator

YOUR LOCAL POOL -- It's time for the 2019 SmartyPants USMS Vitamins Winter Fitness Challenge! The Winter Fitness Challenge is a 30-minute swim done in any manner desired: straight through, as a relay, or even with fins! The $12 registration fee benefits the USMS Swimming Saves Lives Foundation.

In 2019, the NELMSC club with the greatest percentage of Winter Fitness Challenge registrants will win a Freestyle & Fitness Clinic led by USMS Level 4 Coach Bill Meier. Meier is a USMS Level 4 Coach, ALTS Lead Instructor, and was the 2018 High Performance Camp Head Coach. The 3.5 hour clinic will include freestyle stroke progression, video analysis, and swimmer-specific nutrition information and exercises.

For the third year in a row, the New England LMSC will celebrate “April is Adult-Learn-to-Swim” Month. This is the time of year when USMS members nationwide focus on others and share the gift of swimming by volunteering to teach adult swimming lessons in their local communities. As of this writing, the 15 New England teams listed below plan to run Swimming Saves Lives Adult Learn to Swim programs in 2016.

If you know of adults who could benefit from swim lessons or if you want to volunteer to help teach, please reach out to any of the teams below or contact Sue Jensen at swimmingsaveslives@gmail.com or Bill Meier at billmeier1961@gmail.com. A few hours of your time could change or save a life!

Also, contact Sue/Bill if your masters team is interested in running a Swimming Saves Lives program this spring or summer. Some funds are still available to provide financial support for lifeguard salaries, etc.

If you are interested in more comprehensive ALTS instructor training that will enable you to teach swimming as a professional option throughout the year, consider taking the ALTS certification course in Boston on April 23, 2016.

The Swimming Saves Lives program is made possible through donations to USMS’s Swimming Saves Lives Foundation. To learn more, visit the April is Adult Learn-to-Swim Month and Swimming Saves Lives Foundation websites or contact USMS Education Manager Holly Newmann at holly.neumann@usms.org.

Massachusetts

Bard College at Simon’s Rock, Great Barrington, Bill Meier, billmeier1961@gmail.com

Cambridge Masters Swim Club, Cambridge, Sue Jensen, swimmingsaveslives@gmail.com

Martha’s Vineyard Masters, Vineyard Haven, Les Cutler, cutlerl@comcast.net

Pittsfield Polar Bear Masters, Mary Dickson, marydickson48@gmail.com

Score 4 More, Boston, Mamenasha Tesfaye, phinnswimmers@gmail.com

Worcester Area Masters, Worcester, CJ Dickson, cj.qkona@gmail.com

Vermont

Burlington Area Sink or Swim, Kimberly Fry, kimberly.fry07@gmail.com

Intrepid Athletics, Inc., Rutland, Natalie Boyle, intrepidathletics@yahoo.com

Johnson State College / Norwich University, Cara Hancy, cjthvt@gmail.com

Killington Aquatic Club Masters, Killington, Kristin Schiessl-Alf, killingtonaquaticclub@gmail.com

Stowe Swimmers Foundation, Stowe, Charlotte Brynn, cbrynn@theswimmingholestowe.com

New Hampshire

TBD

Rhode Island

MWR Lobster Swim Club, Naval Station Newport, Amy Bourke, Amy.Bourke@navy.mil

Newport Athletic Club Masters Swimming, Middletown, Paul Dow, Pdow@neboatworks.com

Maine

Maine Masters, Waterville, Tim Lecrone, tlecrone@msn.com

PenBay Masters Swimming, Rockport, Susan Rardin, susanrardin@gmail.com

Thank you to everyone who contributes your time to participate in these worthwhile programs!