Spot the fake Hurricane Sandy photos New Philadelphia Times Reporter The most common non-Sandy photos I spotted were ones of sharks swimming in streets and the photo of the Old Guard standing at the Tomb of the Unknown. I suspected the sharks were Photoshopped, which they were according to a variety of sources, but I ... |
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Spot the fake Hurricane Sandy photos - New Philadelphia Times Reporter
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You Know You're a Swimming Zombie If...
PHOENIX, Arizona, HALLOWEEN. IN real life, it is rare to find zombies in swimming pools. They are more commonly found in natural bodies of water such as lakes and ponds. Zombies gravitate to water to...
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Ian Thorpe Writes About Depression in New Autobiography
SYDNEY, Australia, October 31. IAN Thorpe, one of Australia's greatest swimmers, is touring his home country this week to promote his new autobiography, in which he publicly talks about dealing with d...
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Arizona Adds Olympic Champ Matt Grevers as Volunteer Assistant
The Arizona Wildcats have jumped into the trend of hiring big-name swimmers as volunteer assistant coaches this fall, as Olympic Champion Matt Grevers will be added to their staff pending the finalization of his paperwork.
In Grevers' case, he will continue to train with the Wildcats while also contributing as a coach.
Grevers was an undergraduate at Northwestern, but soon after completing his college eligibility came to Tucson to train with Tucson Ford. During that time, he made two U.S. Olympic Teams, including taking his first individual gold medal in London in the 100 backstroke. Thanks to his best swim, at June's Olympic Trials, Grevers is now the 2nd-fastest 100 backstroker in history behind only Aaron Peirsol.
Altogether, he has 6 Olympic medals: 4 gold and 2 silvers. Aside from consecutive gold medals on medley relays (one from prelims, one from finals), he's also been a part of the last two American 400 free relays.
Though coaches shan't be pigeonholed into coaching only what they're best at, even these volunteer assistants can have a lot of recruiting power in addition to their knowledge of the sport. Last season, Arizona had one of the best backstroke duos in the country in Cory Chitwood and Mitchell Friedemann, but with Chitwood's eligibility up, they could use another big-time backstroker or two to fill out the group. The possibility of training with and under one of the best ever, while he's still achieving peak performances, could be tempting in the next few classes.
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High School State Championships: CIF Northern Masters
REDDING, California, October 31. THE majority of California schools hold their swimming championship meets in April and May. The Northern section, which is based in the Redding/Chico area, is unique. ...
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Dear Katrina: Clowning around or being a chicken? Happy Halloween!
Dear Katrina wishes you all a Happy Halloween today!
Clowning around or chickening out? Hey, be like Michael Phelps!
Here is a short video of Katrina Radke and Ross Gerry acting as a clown and chicken, reminding you to dare to go for it – have some fun, step outside your comfort zone, and have an AMAZING practice today!
Maybe you will even pretend to be someone like Michael Phelps with all of his gold medals, and swim beyond what you thought possible!
Happy Halloween!
Katrina
Katrina Radke is an Olympic Swimmer, Sport Psychology Professor, and Bestselling Author of Be Your Best Without the Stress, where she shares her own Olympic story, and tools for you to realize your true potential.
To order her book:
http://www.katrinaradke.com/index.php/shop/quickcart (for a signed copy)
Or, order the book (or ebook version) via amazon, Barnes and Noble, or other outlets:
To keep in touch with Katrina, please visit:
Katrina Radke website and blog: www.katrinaradke.com
Katrina Radke twitter: www.twitter.com/katrina_radke
Katrina Radke Facebook: www.facebook.com/katrinaradke1
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Hurricane Sandy's impact on high school sports - MaxPreps
Hurricane Sandy's impact on high school sports MaxPreps Wildwood (N.J.) High School's football field could hold a swim practice this morning as Hurricane Sandy continues to hammer the region with rain. Updated noon EST, Oct. 31. The high school sports world is not exempt from the impact of Hurricane Sandy, ... |
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Louisville Lands Another Haul, Topped By David Boland
The Louisville Cardinals are bringing in top recruits by the truck-full this fall, hoping to build out the depth of a program that has already proven its ability to produce quality athletes at the top of its lineup.
The latest grouping is headlined by David Boland out of Michigan. His story is going to sound very familiar to that of one Josh Ehrman, who gave his verbal commitment last week to Purdue. That's because the two train and compete together both at Saline High School and Club Wolverine in suburban Ann Arbor. That's now the top three recruits in the state (the above, plus Adam Whitener to Virginia) that have been snatched out from under Mike Bottom's nose. All three will head out of state despite training with the university-based Club Wolverine.
Boland, like Ehrman, is another outstanding IM'er, and the two have developed a great rivalry. Ehrman broke the Michigan State Record in the 200 IM at last year's State Championship meet, but Boland came back in finals to snatch the title (though in a slower time).
The future Louisville Cardinals swimmer is not quite as strong of a breaststroker as is his teammate, though still solid in 57.0/2:03.5; what Boland brings to the table though is that he's much better on his butterfly leg (48.95/1:49.48). That doesn't necessarily directly show up in their IM's, though, as Boland tends to take his race out very controlled relative to his top-end speed in the fly.
He does, howevever, save a lot of pace for his closing freestyle leg; the first step going forward for him will be to improve his backstroke, however.
The other three additions all went to the women's side. MacKenzie Buss out of Shawano, Wisconsin is a 55.2 100 backstroker (who has also been 1:03.4 – an even better time – in long course). That's a hole on the women's team plugged, though they have a pretty good senior this season in Eszter Povazsay. Buss will team with Krissie Brandenburg (junior – 54.31) next year atop this group.
Also in the latest round of commitments, Andrea Cottrell from teh Greater Columbus Swim Team committed as a 1:02.9 100 yard breaststroker. That's right in head coach Arthur Albiero's wheelhouse, as he's developed a stirling reputation for squeezing the best out of his breaststroke talent; for example, 2012 All-American Gisselle Kohoyda came to the Cardinals as only a 1:04.8 100 breaststroker; and 2012 NCAA Championship qualifier Fanny Lilliestrom (now graduated) was only swimming 1:05′s when she started her career. It will in fact be exciting to see what Albiero can do with a breaststroker who comes in with as much talent as Cottrell.
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CC photo #306: A troll in the pool
So this is me (Rókur) making a fool of myself at a carnival-themed swim meet in Fuglafjørður, Faroe Islands, back in 2009. Also the closest I've been to water-boarding myself, trying to swim backstroke with that mask on. Heðin L. Olsen took the photo. Happy Halloween!
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Samantha Achterberg and Dennis Bowsher Claim USA National Modern Pentathlon Titles
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colorado, October 31. SAMANTHA Achterberg (Littleton, Colo.), 20, claimed her first United States women's National Championship title on Oct. 27, while U.S. Army Specialist Dennis Bo...
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FINA unveil radical new plan for Kazan 2015 World Championships
Kazan is set to host one of the largest sports events in history in 2015 when for the first time ever the FINA World Masters Championships will be held alongside the the main event.
More than 12,000 competitors aged 25 and above are expected for the first time to join over 2,000 elite athletes taking part in the FINA World Aquatics Championships in what will be a massive celebration of the sport in the capital of the Republic of Tatarstan.
“For the first time we are going to combine the World Championships with the Masters World Championships,” said Cornel Marculescu, the executive director of FINA.
Read Inside The Games
Here is Cornel Marculescu, Executive Director of FINA, presenting the plan
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10 people, 3 teams to be honored by Branford Sports Hall of Fame - New Haven Register
10 people, 3 teams to be honored by Branford Sports Hall of Fame New Haven Register Inductees are: David Andriole was a Branford High School All State swimmer, captain of the swim team as a junior and senior. ... Asher is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, where he played the football, baseball and wrestling programs. Asher ... |
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Logan Storie Breaks Modern Pentathlon American Record at US Nationals
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colorado, October 31. THE Modern Pentathlon US National Championships were held at the Colorado Springs Olympic Training Center this past weekend. At the event, swimmer Logan Storie ...
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Recovering Effectively During Holiday Training
PHOENIX, Arizona, October 31. AS the Holiday season approaches, competitive swimmers everywhere start preparing for the most challenging time of the year: peak week. It can be a time filled with yarda...
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Southern California Tops Halloween Release of CSCAA's First NCAA Women's Division I Swimming and Diving Rankings
PHOENIX, Arizona, October 31. THE College Swim Coaches Association of America has released its first NCAA Women's Division I rankings, with Southern California taking the top ranking among the pollste...
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World Champion Junya Koga of Japan Relocating to Michigan
TOKYO, Japan, October 31. THE Club Wolverine postgraduate program will add a big name to their roster with the news that 2009 world champion Junya Koga will join the squad next month.
Koga, who won...
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Minnesota Pegged to Host 2014 NCAA Women's Championship Meet
The Minnesota Golden Gophers have been tabbed by the NCAA to host the 2014 edition of the women's Division I NCAA Swimming & Diving Championships at the University Aquatics Center.
The pool was built in 1990, and in 21 years has hosted 6 NCAA Championship meets, ranking it among the most popular destinations for the meet in the country. Most of those events have been the men's meet, which were held in Minneapolis in 1994, 1997, 2005, and 2007, but in the last of those years, they made history by becoming the first school in history to host both the men's and the women's meet in the same year (though not concurrently).
This year, the two will be split up once again, with the Gophers playing hosts for the women's championship.
The pool has permanent seating for 1,346, which is expandable with 1,200 additional seats in temporary bleachers. Though not with the same massive seating capacity, Minnesota has a lot of cool features that make it one of the most exciting college venues in the country: notably, spectator seating running both sides of the pool. This creates a wave of noise throughout the entire facility that can engulf swimmers in the type of explosive atmosphere that makes NCAA Championship meets some of the most spectator-engaging in the world.
The center also has superb lighting and phenomenal acoustics, both rarities for pools, which lends some hope that it might pick up a live television audience. It has a 21 foot by 10 foot video display, which according to the school is the largest permanent display at any Aquatics facility in the country (to the cost of $250,000, installed in 2005).
The Dorothy L. Sheppard Pool, as the competition course is known, is 50-meters long with only a single bulkhead in the middle. When the competition course is set lengthwise at one end of the pool, that leaves 9 warmdown lanes across the width on the other side of the bulkhead. The entire pool is 8-feet deep.
The Aquatics Center also has a separate diving-specific pool, complete with a full compliment of boards, plus a dark surface to help divers with their spotting. Greg Louganis, the greatest American diver in history, called it “one of the best” indoor diving facilities in the country, alluding specifically to the lighting and the smoothness of the boards.
The biggest drawback of holding a meet in Minnesota in February is the weather; though the winter freeze is usually beginning to thaw by late March when this meet is held (average highs are around 41 degrees), it's still much chillier than those from the more southern latitudes are used to; still, geographical variety helps swing the advantage this year toward those who have acclimated to the chilly northern winters.
In contrast, Minneapolis brings a level of accessibility that will make travel significantly easier; it has a large, directly-accessible airport to serve its metropolitan population of 3.3 million. That's in contrast to places like Auburn, hosts of the 2012 women's meet, which will take a few more hop-steps to reach.
Both the men's and women's NCAA Division I Championships will be held at the IUPUI Natatorium in Indianapolis in 2013.
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District 3-AAA Field Hockey: Cumberland Valley's season ends with consolation loss to Wilson
LANDISVILLE — Both Cumberland Valley and Wilson have proven that seed doesn't matter much in the District 3 field hockey playoffs.
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Dave & Gary: Hecklers and Locker Room Banter
David: I'm so sick of you making the same jokes over and over. Same cadence, same structure, same joke.
Gary: Something about the weather? Happy Halloween? How are the kids? How 'bout them Giants? How about some small talk? Nooooo! Why don't we jump right in and have you attack me.
David: Okay, take it easy Sleepless in Santa Barbara, I know where this is going: yes, you got out of Seattle, and I'm still here.
Gary: All I want to say is, don't you go be sympathetic to our heckler, Dave!!! Don't you do this to me! You told me from the beginning that we were going to be unapologetic about our stunted ability to formulate comedic perspective!*
Point? Counter Point is our experiment in creative journalism. We bravely wade Speedo deep into the dark magic of Gonzo journalism. It's punchy. It's pungent and odorous. Offensive. Juvenile. Self-absorbed. Irreverent. Punk Rock, even. It's supposed to be.
David: I agree with everything you just said, except parallels to Hunter S. That seems a bit much…I was thinking more Bob Loblaw. Anyway, what's your point?
Gary: My point is that our writing shoots ping pong balls from the orifice of our soul. Balls doused in pure grain alcohol. And then set on fire. And then shot out from our soul. That's how we write, Dave. Like flaming ping pong balls.
What does the Point? writing project mean to you, Dave?
David: Well Gary, I suppose that I really like writing with you, other than your ping pong ball stuff. In fact, I just like writing: it makes me happy. I hate sharing it with the world, but also appreciate that that is what you're supposed to do. It makes the bitter more bitter, but also the sweet sweeter.
Like swimming laps now: it's fine, and it's relaxing. But, post-retirement, the pool isn't an emotional catalyst anymore. In fact, I'll ask my therapist tonight if that void is why I'm writing.
But I digress. I also like trying to bring something different to the swimming universe, something that I think I would've liked when I was [removed] deep in there. I don't always like the fact that people hate it, but as long as we aren't ruining SwimSwam, I still sleep at night.Gary: Emotional catalyst? Our writing is the poetry of locker room banter. Toilet stall graffiti scribes, that's what we are. Every kid on a swim team has said something in the locker room that they would never say in polite company. I think the expression is “talking poop.” It might as well be another language. And there's an art, a beauty even, to speaking that language correctly. And when it's done right, it is something to behold. It's an emotional catalyst.
We celebrate that, Dave. Evangelize it from the hot showers. It's bitter and sweet. We dedicate Point? Counter Point! to all the swimmers that recognize and appreciate the beauty of proper poop being talked. Right out of our digital mouths. To you, our digital readers. With love. And flaming ping pong balls.
Not everyone is going to appreciate it. I get that. My wife hasn't laughed once at our column. It's supposed to be terrible. And arrogant. And stupid….By the way, our heckler has pointed out that I'm doing a much better job at being terrible than you. Therefore, I am winning.
David: What are you talking about? What heckler? We have one heckler, and she's the American Public. Do you remember what used to happen before we started deleting everyone's comments? And, can we talk about swimming for once? Or at least creatively avoid it?
Gary: You're deleting comments?
David (ignoring Gary): Gary, don't be mad at the comment boards, be mad at yourself: we're the crappy ones.
Me? I hate myself. In fact, I take back everything I said up there about why I write this column…really, I write it because it's bad, and that's what I deserve. Well that, and apparently I'm the one person in the world (other than Mike Gustafson) who thinks you're funny. Which, incidentally, makes me hate myself…
Gary: Why don't we just rewrite the old testament…
David (finishing thought): …it's a vicious cycle…
Gary (not hearing David due to escalating volume and vigor): …or eliminate rap music from public airwaves!! Maybe we should be more “accessible” by writing a heckler into our dang-num column?! Why don't we?!
(Yelling) MAYBE WE SHOULD TRY JUGGLING CHAINSAWS WITH OUR…
David: Whoa!
Gary: …TOO WHILE WE'RE AT IT!!!
(Gary proceeds to thrash about violently)
David: Gary? Gary! Put the melancholy down!
(Just over four minutes elapse)
Gary (breathing heavily as he removes his fist from the cabinet): You're as fun as reading the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report!
David (laughing): What?
Gary: Just because some “lunatic” out there takes us seriously it's like suppression of the mind around here all of the sudden?!
(Gary exhales deeply as he sits on an overturned chair with all of it's fabric torn from it in shreds)
…It's like Gandhi said; “Free your mind…”
David: Actually, I think that was the writer of Human Centipede 2. But dude, I do have good news for you: We just ruined another chance at greatness – the column is killed at this point – so we might as well talk about something else.
Um…how are things going? Everything uh, everything going good in your life? Are you good?
Gary: Yeah. You know. Taking turds and flippin' birds…
David: That tough guy act isn't going to work on me, Gary.
David (Gently taking a step forward and reaching out his hand): Gary, I know that sticks and stones break your bones, but so can comment board words.
(After one hour and twenty three minutes of unconsolable sobbing into Dave's digital embrace)
Gary (perfectly chipper): God, I feel much better! I think I should immediately patent the phrase “Taking Turds and Flippin' Birds.”
David: Actually that'd be a trademark. Anyway, Gary, I'm proud of you. I really felt like we connected back there in demonstrating your vulnerability.
Gary: What the ramrod are you talking about?
David: Our non-fans wanted you to show vulnerability. And you did. You can't ignore that we just had a breakthrough chapter in this magazine called life back there.
Gary: Lighten up, Dave. Don't listen to that heckler. We're not funny? We're not even trying to be funny. We're trying for terrible. And you wanna know what? We nail it. Every time. Like champions.
David: I think she said that YOU weren't funny. “Gary is the problem” is what she said, I seem to recall.
Gary: Winning. Jeah!
David: Okay, wrap-up time: What are you going as for Halloween.
Gary: Michael Phelps. That or my fifth year as Jar Jar Binks.
David: Perhaps we should go as Hermanos Mariachi?
Gary: Si! (Translation: Jeah!)
*[Editor's Note: You can skip the next paragraphs and get straight to David's comment. He did.]
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Are Youth Activities In Jersey Shore In Danger of Extinction? Or Will Santa Have To Pay Money To Hand Out Presents?
The Jersey Shore School Board tried to introduce a ruling last month by imposing huge fees on any activity (non-school) occurring on school property. Any activity or persons using school property falls into one of four categories with the Jersey Shore School District Facility Use Agreement (full agreement can be read here):
Class A – Non-profit organizations directly related to school sponsored activities. Examples of these organizations are student clubs, yearbook staff, booster clubs, and other organizations of similar purpose.
Class B - Non-profit organizations unrelated to school activities that provide a beneficial service to the citizens and community as a whole of the Jersey Shore Area School District. Examples of these organizations may include organizations such as the Jersey Shore Community Band, Jersey Shore YMCA, community youth programs (Little League), or community adult programs.
Class C - Non-profit organizations unrelated to school activities that provide a beneficial service to the citizens and community as a whole of the Jersey Shore Area School District, but which may not be primarily located within the Jersey Shore School District (PIAA event, county choir).
Class D – Commercial and profit generating activities that have limited benefit for the School District or the community as a whole.
Let's look at some examples:
The Jersey Shore YMCA provides child care to school-aged children, ages 5 to 12 years old, before and after school at Salladasburg, Jersey Shore, and Nippenose Elementary Schools. In addition, they also hold YMCA swim team practices at the high school pool. According to the facility use agreement, they fall into Class B. Using the facility use fee schedule (see here and basing the costs of the after-school program on only using ONE classroom); it would cost the Jersey Shore YMCA $750 every week to provide activities and guidance to area youth. This weekly cost would increase if they use more than one classroom and the gymnasiums for the after school programs.
Fortunately, several citizens concerned about youth activities and the onerous impact of this facility use agreement spoke at a school board meeting a few weeks ago. As a result, the Jersey Shore School Board called for a special meeting on November 5th at 7:00 PM at the Jersey Shore Middle School Auditorium on Thompson Street to address concerns.
PS - The Lion's Club, which holds a Santa event every December at Nippenose Elementary School (which fall under Class B) will be required to pay a fee under the proposed rule. Santa might need to cough up some money before he meets the kids!
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