Swimming Saves Lives Hits New England Again

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.

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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

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

Results for the 2016 Exeter Mini Meet

Results

Results are up from the 2016 Exeter Mini Meet! It was an excellent meet, hosted by Great Bay Masters at the beautiful Phillips Exeter Academy pool.

REGISTRATION OPEN for NE-LMSC SCY Championships

The New England LMSC Short Course Yard Championship is now accepting entries!

The meet will take place at Harvard University, March 18-20, with distance day on March 12.

More information and registration info available here.

Paralympic Sport Club Boston Swimming Open - Jan 31, 2016

Adaptive Sports New England will host the 2016 PSC Boston Swimming Open on Sunday, January 31 at UMass/Boston's Clark Athletic Center pool. The meet is open to swimmers who have physical disabilities or visual impairments ages 6 and up. This is a great first-ever swim meet for novices, though we also expect several local swimmers contending for spots on the USA's team to Rio. Full meet information is available here.

Registration for the PSC Boston Swimming Open will be available on January 1 and Early Bird registration runs through January 15. Questions about the meet or about the PSC Boston Sunday swim practices should be directed to Michael Prout, Jr. 

CMSC's Miles For Marly Raises $3,500 for Charity

Cambridge Masters' 2016 edition of "Miles For Marley" 100x100 was a rousing success. On January 3, 120 swimmers from around New England swam while raising $3,500 for the Marly Pineda Scholarship Fund. The scholarship is set up at Marly's alma-mater, Smith College, in honor and memory of the friend and coach lost in 2010. The event saw a record swimmer turnout and record fundraising this year.

Special thanks to: Rick Osterberg for setting up the big scoreboard with all the intervals; Scott McInerney for the National Anthem; Coaches Scott, Jamie, Samantha, and Ben; Ann Densmore for front desk and on deck help; Medena Knespl for Gatorade Endurance products; All lane line helpers and clean-up helpers; Sarah Kurchian for online registration.

Mark your calendars for next year - the annual 100x100 event has a tentative date of Sunday January 8th, 2017. 

Worcester Area Masters Hosts Successful NE-LMSC SCM Championships

Results

Swimmers shattered four world records during the New England LMSC SCM Championships, held at Worcester Polytechnic Institute December 11-13.

Hosted by Worcester Area Masters (WAM), 478 swimmers, some from as far away as Texas and Florida, participated in the meet. It was a highly competitive meet during which 208 New England LMSC SCM Championship meet records and 63 New England records were recorded.

The four world records were set by:

• Cecilia McCloskeyin the Women's 65-69 200 back with a time of 2:53.36
• NEM Women's 800 free 24-27 Relay team [C. Brynn, C. Hayes, K Slifer, T. Grilli] with a time of 10:58.88
• Leslie Livingston in the Women's 50-54 50 back with a time of 30.58
• Fritz Bedford in the Men's 50-54 50 back with a time of 27.28

Additionally, five national records were set, which include the above world records plus Kathy Silver's 6:14.34 in the women's 70-74 400 freestyle.

The top individual point scorers were:

Men:

1. Brendan Wright (GSP) - 171 points
2. Spencer Coffin (CMSC) - 170 points
3. George Coupe (GSP) - 170 points

Women:

1. Mindy Williams (GSP) - 175 points
2. Sue Jensen (CSMC) - 170 points
3. Lori Hindle (WCMS) - 164 points

Thanks to all of the volunteers who worked so hard to plan and run another spectacular meet! 

For anyone who would like to review the meet results, you can find them at http://scmchamps.blogspot.com/.

NE-LMSC SCM Championship at WPI - Registration Open!

More than 500 swimmers are expected to converge on Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) in Worcester Dec. 11-13 for U.S. Masters Swimming's New England LMSC Short Course Meters Championship.

This is the first year that Worcester Area Masters (WAM) will host this highly anticipated annual meet. Worcester, New England's second largest city, is truly the heart of the Commonwealth. Centrally located to all of New England, the city is just one hour from Boston, Springfield, Hartford, Providence and Nashua, and easily accessible via mass transit.

Worcester is "A City on the Move" with attractions far beyond the sparkling new pool and free parking at WPI's Sports and Recreation Center. Great restaurants and bars will be offering special deals to swimmers, Cirque du Soleil's TORUK will be flying high in the DCU Center all weekend, and the Worcester Art Museum's world famous collection - including "Knights!" from the Higgins Armory collection - is on exhibit just down the street. The Massachusetts Symphony Orchestra performs its holiday pops concert Saturday at Mechanics Hall, metal lovers can hear the Acadia Strain at the Palladium, and other nearby museums include the Ecotarium science museum, the Worcester Historical Museum, and the historic Salisbury Mansion. 

Several of the city's hotels are offering reduced rates for swimmers who book before November 7. 

The meet has been designated as the Colonies Zone SCM championship meet with swimmers from Virginia to Maine competing. For the first time in several years, the 1500 meter freestyle is being offered as one of the meet's 24 events.

Entries are now open. They close Monday, November 30. No late entries will be accepted. To register, visit the meet website.

November Coaches Clinic - November 14

'Tis the season for us to get together and put our heads around this crazy sport that we coach! Our November clinic will be similar to last year, however we will be adding a presentation by Tim Lecrone, of Maine Masters, who will be sharing how he is applying USRPT principles with his Masters group. 

Following Tim's presentation we will continue with a round table discussion (or break into smaller groups depending on how many folks attend) to share successes, failures and learnings around the art of crafting a masters workout (bring your favorite workout!).

The day will adjourn around 2:00 PM and those interested can head to a nearby brewery for a social. 

Registration is required to attend (so we know how much food to order) and the fee is $0.00 (yes, free). Please pass this information on to any of your fellow coaches who have not received it. The only requirement is being a registered member of the NE-LMSC.

Draft Agenda

• 9:00 AM continental breakfast & introductions
• 10:00 AM Tim Lecrone presents USRPT learnings
• 12:00 PM Lunch (provided)
• 1:00 PM Round Table discussion on writing workouts
• 2:00 PM adjourn to Deciduous Brewing

Click here to register.

Please email Coaches Chair Crystie McGrail with any questions!

Upcoming Events for NE-LMSC Para Swim Community

Para Athlete chair Laura Dennison has two great opportunities to share with our para swim community - Gateway to Gold and Paralympic Sport Club Boston. These two awesome opportunities for athletes with disabilities involve the identification and development of para swimmers. For more information, contact the event leads on the flyers or reach out to Laura via email. 

FINA Officially Make "Lochte Turn" Illegal

After Ryan Lochte went rogue at this summer's World Championships with a new breast-to-free turn in the 200 IM, FINA has issued a clarification to its rule on IM turns: "Being on the back when leaving the wall for the Freestyle portion of the Ind. Medley is covering more than one quarter of the distance in the style of Backstroke and is, therefore, a disqualification. Backstroke swimming is only defined as being on the back."

Read more about the new rule on Swimming World's website and look for the next edition of Streamlines.