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Pacific Update
Week of April 26th, 2021
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Hello!
In this issue you will find information on upcoming swimming events being held in the next couple of months. Keep in mind that April is Adult Learn-to-Swim Month and next week is our Annual Coach's Appreciation Week (May 2nd to 8th).
The next issue of the Update will appear on May 10, 2021. The deadline for submissions is Wednesday, May 5, 2021.
Stay fit,
The Pacific Masters Swimming Committee
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Current and Upcoming ePostal and Virtual Meets |
Don't let the pandemic get you down. There are competitions! We invite you all to participate in the Pandemic ePostal Challenge Series. Details here.
If you have ideas for events to offer, or represent a club that would like to host one of the months, please contact Meet Operations Coordinator.
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TYR Last One Fast One
April 16 - May 2
This fun event gives you the chance to race Masters swimmers across the country in your favorite pool using the Swim.com app. Times can be submitted manually or via a smartwatch. $5 from each entry benefits Adult Learn-to-Swim grants.
May ePostal Challenge
May 1 - 31
The May ePostal Challenge offers 100 fly, 100 back, 100 breast, 100 free, 200 IM and our return-to-fitness benchmark 500 yard or 400 meter Free. Information and Registration
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Mountain View Masters: Non-Free Triple Threat ePostal
June 1 - 30
The 200 fly, 200 back, and 200 breast are among the most dreaded events in competitive swimming, so that’s all we’re offering in this ePostal! Challenge yourself and use this as an opportunity to prepare for our Alan Liu Animal Pentathlon in the fall! (If we can’t host a meet, we’ll do another ePostal.)
June Summer Fitness Challenge
June 1 - 15
Mark your calendars! You have a choice of a 2K swim or dryland workout in the Swim.com USMS Summer Fitness Challenge. What a great way to check your fitness level as well as benefit a worthy cause, Adult Learn-to Swim.
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Pacific Masters Community Talk and Social Hour
Open Water Special
May 13, Starts at 7 PM
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Join us for the May Community Talk and Social Hour where we will hear from intrepid members who swam open water through the winter for the first time. Was there any hypothermia? Did any first-timers brave the bay, ocean or lake without a wetsuit? What was the longest any of them were in the water? Will they swim OW again next winter? Join us to hear their stories, ask them some questions and have some breakout room conversation time with old and new friends. Click here to register for the hour.
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Pacific Masters Open Water Season for 2021
Cross Your Fingers!
We currently have two open water swims on our schedule, both listed as tentative. The Donner Lake swim is scheduled for August 14 and Del Valle is a 2.5 K and 5 K swim scheduled for September 11.
In the interest of full disclosure, we want to let our members know that the Board voted to approve and earmark these dates for the event hosts. At this time, events have not been sanctioned, the event hosts do not know any event details, nor is there any certainty that these events will take place this year. As more details are known, we will pass them on to our membership.
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April is Adult Learn-to-Swim Month!
Pacific Masters has a new Adult Learn-to-Swim (ALTS) Committee that is promoting ALTS initiatives and creating ALTS resources for coaches and swimmers. Check out our new webpage on the Pacific Masters Swimming website and let us know what your club is doing (or planning to do) to support ALTS programs for 2021.
The webpage is updated periodically and contains links to instructional videos, local ALTS programs, and information on applying for an ALTS Grant through the USA Swimming Foundation. It is easy to get started at your pool with ideas from The Adult Learn-to-Swim Panel. See video here.
Any questions? Contact our Pacific Masters ALTS Committee Chair, Kim Elsbach.
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Annual Coach Appreciation Week
May 2 - 8
Our coaches have always been the backbone of Pacific Masters, but never more so than during this past, crazy year. Many of us depended on our coaches to keep us together as a community – even if we couldn’t have our regular workouts.
Whether it is providing stroke instruction, helping us stay injury free, or just keeping us sane, our coaches are an essential element of our swimming routine.
Despite their importance, it is easy to take our coaches for granted and forget to thank them for their efforts. For this reason, Pacific Masters Swimming established the Annual Coach Appreciation Week designated as the week beginning with the first Sunday in May. This year, the Annual Pacific Masters Coach Appreciation Week will be May 2 to 8, 2021.
While we encourage our members to regularly thank their coaches, please consider Coach Appreciation Week as an opportunity to let them know how much you value their efforts. Here are some ideas:
For individuals:
- A card or email telling the coach how their instruction helped you accomplish a goal
- A gift card for coffee, ice cream, a movie or other treat
- Flowers, candy, book, wine or whatever you think your coach will enjoy
For clubs:
- A massage or spa day
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A certificate for a weekend away or a special meal
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FINIS Smart Goggles Now Available!
Along with CIYE (Coach In Your Eye), FINIS is super excited to announce that their Smart Goggles are now available for pre-order, with delivery in May. You can find the press release here.
Pacific Masters Swimming has approved this message from FINIS about the new Smart Goggles. FINIS donated prizes that were given away at the Annual Celebration. We thank FINIS for their partnership with Pacific Masters.
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2021 USMS Annual Meeting - Call for Delegates
September 23-27, Virtual
Here is your chance to become more involved with Pacific Masters!
The 2021 USMS Annual Meeting (formerly Convention) will again be held virtually, and Pacific Masters is putting together its team of delegates. To learn more about what is involved in being a delegate, read section 102.6 in our Pacific Masters Handbook. If you have questions or think you'd like to put your name in for consideration, please contact Chris Ottati.
Please note that USMS has not finalized the details, so the dates listed for the House of Delegates meetings are approximate. Additionally, delegates will be expected to attend scheduled committee meetings, times to be determined. USMS will publish updated meeting information as it becomes available.
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Geese Are Never Swans
Created by Kobe Bryant and Written by Eva Clark
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"Whether goose or swan, I have wings. And I'll fly," states Gus Bennett, the protagonist of Geese Are Never Swans.
In this young adult novel written by psychologist Eva Clark and created by the late Kobe Bryant, readers explore the mental health aspect of sports and what it's like to be a young athlete through the eyes of Gus, an Olympic hopeful.
Gus' road to success is filled with challenges, overcoming intense feelings of anger, and healing from demons. His Olympic dreams are tied to working with Coach Marks under whom his brother, Danny, had trained. Gus lives in Danny's shadow, even after Danny commits suicide after not making the cut for the US national team. Unfortunately for Gus, Danny's shadow grows larger after his death.
This powerful novel is an inspiring story for all athletes. Taking place in Northern California, many Pacific Masters swimmers may recognize their own pools as settings within Gus' journey.
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Why We Swim: One Year Later
Publishing during a pandemic
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In a recent interview with KQED, author and Master's swimmer Bonnie Tsui talks about publishing her latest book, Why We Swim, during a pandemic and the reaction the book received globally from swimmers without access to pools. For some readers, this reaction came in the form of trying something new: open water swimming. In the new paperback version of the book, Bonnie adds an essay describing her experience of releasing the book during the early days of the pandemic.
As Bonnie describes, the book gave some swimmers a new perspective on the book's titular statement. Why We Swim includes stories such as the Icelandic long shoreman who swam to safety after getting stranded and Tsui's own experience growing up swimming and feeling at home in that community. As athletes and water lovers, her stories resonate with us and remind us of the joys of swimming.
Bonnie's next book is a children's book, about surfer Sarah Gerhardt, who was the first woman to surf Mavericks. It's coming out next month, just ahead of surfing's debut at the Summer Olympics. For more from Bonnie's interview check out this link.
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