Pacific Update Week of August 16th, 2021

Hello!   In this issue, you will find information on upcoming swimming events. Registration is still open for the Del Valle Open Water swim. Get excited and register for DAM's End-of-Summer Splash--our first pool meet! There are only a few weeks remaining to participate in Sebastopol's 400 Pull-for-Time. If you are considering competing at Long Course Champs in Geneva, OH, the deadline for entries is September 7. The next issue of the Update will appear on August 30, 2021. The deadline for submissions is Wednesday August 25, 2021.    Stay fit, The Pacific Masters Swimming Committee

EVENTS AND CLINICS

DAM End-of-Summer Splash Sunday, August 22 Come join us at Charles Brooks Swim Center in Woodland, CA on Sunday, August 22 for our return to in-person pool meets with this SCY meet! There will be relays, 50s, and 100s! Plus the 200 IM and 200 free! Locker rooms with showers will be available, but swimmers will need to bring their own food. The event will follow the current COVID-19 protection orders and guidance issued by the State of California Health and Human Services Agency. Registration will be capped to meet a 4-hour timeline (approximately 160 swimmers).  Register now! Click here for registration and more information.

400 Fastest Pull for Sebastopol: August ePostal Pandemic Challenge August 1-31 Sebastopol Masters LOVES to pull! Make sure to enter the Sebastopol Masters 400 Pull For Time to show us how much you love to pull, too! You can even enter both categories: with paddles/without paddles. The Top 3 fastest times in each category will be awarded a custom medal to commemorate their achievement. There will be an on-line event to announce the top 3 fastest pullers in each category along with all the winners. This year, the 400 Fastest Pull for Sebastopol is part of the Pacific ePostal Pandemic Challenge. Information and Registration

Pacific Masters Swimming: September ePostal Pandemic Challenge September 1 - 30 Our Pandemic ePostal Challenge Series will come to an end with this September Challenge: a 500 yard or a 400 meter free. Throughout the Challenge Series we have designated this event as your return-to-fitness benchmark. Swim it one last time in this competition or swim it for the first time and benchmark your current fitness level.  Information and Registration For general information and current standings, check out the links below:  Challenge Series Information and Standings

Close Encounters at a Masters Swim Workout A One-Act Play Thursday, September 9, 7 PM "Get wet" in the comfort of your home by joining us with a Masters swim workout presentation on Zoom! Elizabeth McCarthy and Meghan Ward, professional writers, have spent hours of rewrites and edits to share this evening of swim entertainment with you. We will take a look at the variety and camaraderie of Masters Swimming on September 9, at 7:00 PM Although you don't have to be, we'll be wearing swim garb! Register here: Close Encounters

2021 Del Valle Open Water Festival Saturday, September 11 Del Valle is back with both the 2.5k and the 5k, scheduled for Saturday, September 11. Please note the 2.5k is the USMS Middle-Distance Open Water National Championship. This year swimmers can swim either the 2.5k or 5k, but NOT both. This event has a cap of 300 swimmers and is filling up fast! Register soon to make sure you get a spot! Click here to register and for more details.

17th Annual Alan Liu Memorial SCM Meet Sunday, September 12 Mountain View Masters is very excited to bring back the Alan Liu memorial SCM Meet on September 12! If you’re up for a challenge, enter the Animal Pentathlon - 400 IM, 200 breast, 200 fly, 200 back, and 400 free – some of Coach Alan’s favorite events. If that sounds too painful, we’ll also have our usual lineup of individual events and relays. This year’s registration is limited to 120 entrants, and we will not accept any mail-in or on-deck entries. Registration opens on August 12th and closes on September 8th. Click here for more information.

USMS: 5K/10K ePostal National Championships May 15 - September 15 Go looooong with a 5K or 10K swim this summer in a long course pool of your choice. This event, hosted by Swim Kentucky Masters, runs through Sept. 15. Information and Registration

USMS Adult Learn to Swim (ALTS) Instructor Certification Sunday, October 3, 2021, Davis, CA  SAVE THE DATE! For the first time in over two years, USMS will be holding an ALTS Instructor Certification course for Pacific Masters! When: October 3, 2021, 9AM - 3PM Where: Davis Civic Center Pool, 599 B St., Davis, CA. 95616 (Free parking) Cost: $250 (Good for life) Class size: Limited to 12 participants Format: 3-hour classroom lecture, 30-minute lunch (Included), 2-hour in-pool training USMS Instructor: Cokie Lepinski Registration: Coming Soon - Registration done by USMS Due to COVID concerns, only pre-packaged snacks, water, and Starbucks boxed coffee will be provided. Attendees responsible for any special needs and more substantial lunch, if desired. Please watch USMS and Pac Masters websites for more information as it becomes available. Contact Kim Elsbach, alts@pacificmasters.org with any questions.

2021 USMS Long Course Championships October 7-10, Geneva Ohio The 2021 USMS Long Course National Championship is planned for October 7-10 at SPIRE Institute in Geneva, Ohio. This event, renamed from Summer Nationals just for this year, was postponed from August 5-8 due the coronavirus pandemic. Precautions will be in place, though unlike Short Course Nationals the meet will not be split into sessions, spectators are welcome, and we are planning to include relays! We look forward to safely welcoming Masters swimmers back to this annual championship. Entries are now open. The deadline to enter is September 7 at 11:59 p.m. PST. Late entries will not be accepted, so don’t delay! Click here for more information.

PACIFIC MASTERS NEWS

Adult Learn-To-Swim Mentors Available If you are interested, the ALTS Programming Committee at USMS is offering mentors to help start or grow ALTS programs in the Pacific Masters region. For more information, please contact Carrie Stolar at coachcarriestolar@gmail.com. Nominations Open for Pacific Masters Awards Due October 1 Do you know a Pacific Masters member who has gone above and beyond this past year? Nominations are open for our 2021 Service Awards. Pacific Masters is a vibrant community with swimmers and non-swimmers who enjoy officiating, organizing, or supporting the community in many ways. At our annual meeting, we recognize those who participate or contribute in an exceptional fashion. We convey: Personal Achievement Award Nancy Ridout Award for Distinguished Service Contributor of the Year Award Appreciation Award Peggy Lucchesi Award See the Nomination Guide for details of each award. Past award winners are here. Who do you know that is deserving? Please think about this and send nominations to our Chair by October 1st.

Job Announcement: Aquatic Director at The Olympic Club For a full description of the expected duties and application process, click here.

Pacific Masters Monthly Meeting August 18, Doors Open at 6:45, Meeting at 7 PM Join us this Wednesday for the monthly meeting beginning promptly at 7:00 PM via the Zoom platform. If this is your first time Zooming, we suggest you sign on a little early to ask questions and address technical issues. Even if you are familiar with Zoom, sign on early to say "hi" to your fellow swimmers. All members are encouraged to participate. Our monthly meeting reminder email will provide the Zoom link. If you are not on that list and would like to attend, please contact Chris Ottati, Administrator, for details.

EDITOR'S NOTE

Editor's Note Rising from Shortcomings, Defeats, and Snafus As athletes, we are fascinated by world class competitions, watching the best step up to showcase their talents, and this year's Olympic Games did not disappoint. Every event celebrates what we understand: years of training, discipline and hard work, hopefully culminating in an Olympic medal and world-wide acclaim. Through Dressel, Ledecky and others, we vicariously experience the “thrill of victory,” and it’s exhilarating and contagious.  On the other hand, we sympathize with those who, for a number of reasons, fall short of their expected goals. The whole world is witness to the notorious “agony of defeat.” From 1971 onward, the opening montage of ABC’s Wide World of Sports showed a spectacular wipe-out by Yugoslavian ski jumper, Vinko Bogataj, at Oberstdorf, Germany. His brief presence on the popular show probably made him the most famous ski jumper in the world. Over the years, different clips were rotated in to illustrate the "thrill of victory," but Vinko’s accident footage was shown through 1998, coining the now-famous phrase "the agony of defeat." You can watch the video here. And we cannot forget swimmer Steve Zellen at the 1997 World Championships in Australia, who unfortunately lost his trunks on his dive at the start of a race. (Others have suffered similar fates.) Zellen swam on but was disqualified. Later, arguing his case before the judges, he said he would have stopped had it been a backstroke event. His humor did not change the decision but did keep the story alive.  We cannot, however, let momentary less-than-stellar performances define us. As competitors, we have to forgive ourselves and somehow move forward.    In Tokyo, Frenchman Yohann Ndoye-Brouard “took the wall” and was disqualified from his 100-meter backstroke event, in which he had been favored. He was able to come back and redeem himself. Gymnast Simone Biles made an undoubtedly heart-wrenching decision to withdraw from some events but returned to win an individual bronze on the balance beam. Both athletes persevered, put their setbacks behind them, and will ultimately be remembered for their resilience and positive outcomes.