By Braden Keith on SwimSwam

On Monday, FINA, the international governing body for 6 aquatic disciplines, updated its list of cancellations and postponements as a result of the global coronavirus pandemic.

At the moment, it appears as though FINA is currently targeting a September or October time frame to resume international competition.

Among the sweeping cancellations, the remaining 8 stops of the Artistic Swimming World Series (synchronized swimming) have been canceled, as have 4 of the remaining 5 stops of the FINA Marathon Swimming World Series. The one remaining race in the MSWS is the stop in the Seychelles, which was originally scheduled for August 18th but will be postponed (with new dates to be confirmed). The Syechelles have only 11 confirmed cases of coronavirus so far and no deaths.

The Water Polo World League will be held in September/October. Among the 2 remaining Diving World Series dates, Kazan will be rescheduled for later this year, while London is canceled. 3 of the 4 remaining stops on the Diving Grand Prix circuit (Windsor, Kuala Lumpur, and Cairo) are being postponed, while Singapore is being canceled.

No new dates for any FINA Olympic qualifying events have been announced either.

Latest FINA Schedule Updates

Olympic Games 2021

23 July – 08 August 2021 – Tokyo2021

Olympic Games Qualifying Events

• March 8-15 – Trieste (ITA) – OG2020 Women ‘s WP Qualification Tournament  – The competition postponed. New dates to be confirmed.
• March 22-29 – Rotterdam (NED) – OG2020 Men ‘s WP Qualification Tournament– The competition is postponed. New dates to be confirmed.
• May 30 – 31 – Fukuoka (JPN) – 2020 Olympic Marathon Swim Qualifier– The event is postponed. New dates to be confirmed.
• April 21-26 – Tokyo (JPN) – Diving World Cup– The event is postponed. New dates to be confirmed
• April 30-May 3 – Tokyo (JPN) – Artistic Swimming OG Qualifying Event– The event is postponed. Place and dates to be confirmed

Diving Grand Prix 

2020 Series

• May 14-17 – Windsor (CAN) – The event is postponed. New dates to be confirmed
•  May 29-31 – Singapore (SGP) – The event is cancellled
• June 05-07 – Kuala Lumpur (MAS) – The event is postponed. New dates to be confirmed.
• June 26-28 – Cairo (EGY) – The event is postponed. New dates to be confirmed.

Diving World Series 

2020 Series

• March 20-22 – Kazan (RUS) – The event is postponed to September/October 2020
• March 27-29 – London (GBR) – The event is cancelled.

Water Polo

• Water Polo World League Men and Women – The competition is postponed to September/October 2020

Artistic Swimming World Series

2020 Series

These events are cancelled:

• March 27-29 – Hurghada (EGY)
• April 3-5 – Alexandroupolis (GRE)
• April 10-12 – Budapest (HUN)
• April 17-19 – Kazan (RUS)
• April 23-25 – Suzhou (CHN)
• May 29-31 – Madrid (ESP)
• June 12-14 – Rochester (USA)
• June 18-20 –  Windsor (CAN)

Marathon Swim World Series

2020 Series

These events are cancelled:

• June 6 – Budapest (HUN)
• June 13 – Setubal (POR)
• July 19 – Lac St Jean (CAN)
• August 01 – Lac Megantic (CAN)

The event in Victoria is postponed. New dates to be confirmed.

August 18 – Victoria (SEY)

Schools, Coaches Clinics, Development programme 

All schools and clinics to be held until the end of March 2020 are postponed. FINA schools and clinics to be held in April and May will be reviewed by the Taskforce, which meets regularly.

World Championships

FINA says that they are still working on an updated date selection for the 2021 FINA World Aquatics Championships, which are forced to move given their overlap with the new dates for the 2020 Olympic Games.

The biannual event was scheduled from July 16th to August 1st, 2021, which now conflicts with the dates that the International Olympic Committee will use to host the 2020 Olympic Games: July 23rd to August 8th, 2021. The IOC was forced to move the Olympic Games as the result of the global coronavirus pandemic that has now surpassed 1.3 million confirmed infections and almost 74,000 deaths

A survey sent to international-caliber athletes proposes 4 possible makeup dates for the event:

• March or April 2021 prior to the summer Olympic Games
• Immediately after the Olympic Games
• After the Olympic Games in September/October
• In 2022

Current 2021 World Championships status note, from FINA:

“Following the postponement of the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games to the summer of 2021, FINA is currently reviewing the dates of its 2021 FINA World Championships and FINA World Masters Championships in Fukuoka (JPN). We will update this page with the revised dates for both competitions as soon as a final decision has been taken”

The update made no mention of the 2020 World Short Course Swimming Championships, which have been awarded to Abu Dhabi, UAE and are scheduled for December 15th-20th.

Read the full story on SwimSwam: FINA Announces Latest Schedule Updates, Cancellations for 2020 Events

By Retta Race on SwimSwam

In response to the next Summer Olympic Games being postponed to July 2021, the most decorated Olympian of all-time, American Michael Phelps, offered up his take on how he thinks he would have responded had one of his three previous Olympic Games appearances been delayed. You can read our original report here.

Since then, Phelps has continued to make the media rounds, including on NBC’s TODAY to elaborate more on the impact of the Tokyo Olympics postponement potentially has on athletes.

Phelps told host Hoda Kotb, “You go through something for four years and we kind of know exactly when it’s going to come and our bodies are ready for it, then we have to wait…It’s difficult. I’ve tried to replay what I would be going through emotionally at this very time if I was still competing. It’s hard to really kind of comprehend it.”

Phelps offered advice to athletes who were planning to compete in Tokyo, saying, “I think the biggest thing now is everybody should look at this as an opportunity, another year to work on fine-tuning small things that are going to help you make a big difference…But really, I want everybody to make sure they are taking care of their mental health. It’s something that’s even more important now.”

On his own mental health journey, Phelps said, “If you are in a spot where you need help, reach out and ask for help…It’s something that changed my life. To be honest, it saved my life. So I am still myself reaching out for help. I still have a therapist that I talk to — they help me just be me.”

You can view the entire interview here, courtesy of NBC News/TODAY.

Additionally, this week, the GOAT donated 500 months of free Talkspace therapy to help nurses, doctors, social workers, first responders, and more access mental health services during the COVID-19 pandemic. (Yahoo! Finance)

Phelps, a Talkspace partner, states “I’m proud to be a part of something that is helping the superheroes of today, our medical workforce, take care of themselves as they are giving everything to take care of others right now.

“While so many things feel uncertain and out of our control, it is important that we take care of our mental health. Therapy is an ongoing process for me and Talkspace is an important part of my mental health routine, and my hope is the platform can do the same for the thousands of medical professionals facing unimaginable realities right now.”

Per Talkpace, Phelps’ contribution graciously adds 500 additional months of therapy for those on the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic to access mental health care at a time where they are experiencing heightened stress and anxiety.

Read the full story on SwimSwam: Michael Phelps Talks Olympic Delay On TODAY Show

By Torrey Hart on SwimSwam

After Ryan Hoffer was named Arizona Boys Swimmer of the Year in 2014, his coach Nate Moore called him “one of the most talented swimmers in the U.S. right now.” Five years later, that’s still the case – but by his own accord, the 2019-20 NCAA season was Hoffer’s breakout performance.

Hoffer, a junior at Cal, was one of four NCAA swimmers under 19 seconds in the 50 free during the abbreviated season (the only under 19 after mid-season invites) and went on to win the 100 fly in addition to the 50 and 100 free at the 2020 Pac-12 Championships. He scared the meet record in all three events and went his fastest 100 free since 2015 (41.45).

“I really narrowed down to specifics,” Hoffer told SwimSwam of his strategy this year. “I built off my sophomore year – our National Championship win – and we kind of found what was working for us. So going into Pac-12s, my mindset was ‘all right, I’m going to try to do what I want to do what I want to do at NCAAs in terms stroke count, kick count, how I look, how I breathe in the water.’ All of that kind of fell together and I felt like my rest was kind of starting to pick up. And we were definitely looking forward to NCAAs… It’s a real bummer.”

After NCAAs were canceled, the Bears quickly shifted their focus forward to the 2020 U.S. Olympic Trials and long course season.

“It was heartbreaking,” Hoffer said. “We’re definitely looking forward to the next season, we’d like to build off of what we accomplish and what we do. It’s sad that we can’t build off of what we would’ve done at NCAAs. ”

Of course, Trials were quickly scrapped as well. But Cal had been “sprinkling” in long course training in preparation all year.

Hoffer’s long course performance has lagged behind short course – he finished the 2018-19 season outside the top 40 nationally in the 100 free – but he had high hopes for this summer.

“The great thing about Dave [Durden] being the Olympic head coach is he’s always got the mindset for long course, a little bit,” Hoffer said, adding that the team did long course doubles twice daily for two weeks at the Olympic Training Center in December.

“I know I have the speed and Dave knew I had to speed. And he’s like, ‘if you can swim a 25 faster than anybody, what’s says a 35 faster than anybody, what says you can’t swim 50?’ It’s a matter of how I approached the speed and how I know myself, and a lot of that perspective came into how I train and how we moved during December and how we moved from December onward, and how we moved into Pac-12s.”

For now, Hoffer is doing what he can to stay in shape. He first went to his girlfriend’s house in southern California, where there’s some home gym equipment, and will next head to his uncle’s house in Arizona, where there’s a 20-yard pool.

“All of our team is super motivated to stay in shape, and we can build some things, and we’re kind of in that beginning phase again where we’re building back up from all that rest from Pac-12s,” Hoffer said. “So [Dave] definitely keeps us on top of what we need to do.”

Though it’s not common for Cal men’s swimmers, anyway, Hoffer confirmed that he won’t be taking an Olympic redshirt season as a handful of rising seniors did last season.

“I’ve always done better moving with the team and I feel like racing is a crucial part to my development,” Hoffer said. “In the swimming world, of course there’s meets around the world, but you don’t get as much racing as a collegiate season. Racing and perfecting what I do in competition is where I find myself more comfortable improving.”

As a senior next year helping his team back from these unprecedented times, Hoffer says he’ll look to the incoming freshmen for incentive.

“We know every year our freshman come in, it brings some more enthusiasm. Our freshmen coming in would definitely keep us motivated, and I hope that I can guide and lead our freshmen, as well as the rest of our team into a successful season,” Hoffer said. “The toughest part is starting, and I feel like we will get little a head start with this time off.”

Read the full story on SwimSwam: Cal’s Ryan Hoffer on NCAA Heartbreak, How His Swimming ‘Took Off’ Last Season

By Reid Carlson on SwimSwam

USA Swimming has announced the process by which it will fill two vacant seats on Board of Directors in September 2020.

Nominees will be limited and USA Swimming will place a minimum of two but not more than three nominees on the ballots for each position.

The Board will elect one At-Large member and one athlete representative who will be directly elected by athletes. USA Swimming has confirmed to us that each of the two positions up for election is currently occupied by a Board member that is eligible for re-election, should they choose to run. Davis Tarwater, athlete representative, and Tom Ugast, Vice Chair of Fiscal Oversight, must decide whether to pursue fresh terms or step down.

The USA Swimming Board of Directors contains 15 members including the immediate past Board Chair, three athlete representatives, the Chair of the National Team Steering Committee, as well as ten voting board members, at least two of whom must be coaches. The President and CEO of USA Swimming (Tim Hinchey) also occupies a non-voting role on the Board.

Another nuance of Board composition put in place in 2019 is that USA Swimming no longer reserves 4 of its 10 at-large seats for Zone Directors.

The 2018 election of the three athlete representatives also dictated the duration of the terms each individual would serve, with the most-voted getting a 4-year term, the second-highest getting a 3-year term, and the third-highest getting a 2-year term. Per this arrangement, Coughlin will stay on for two more years and DiRado one more year, meaning Tarwater could be replaced by the new oncoming athlete representative fall 2020.

Similarly, Nation’s Capital CEO Tom Ugast must also decide whether to run again or resign from the Board this September. Ugast was elected to the Board in September of 2018 to serve a 2-year term and has served as the Vice Chair of the Fiscal Oversight.

Members of the 2020 Nominating Committee is chaired by Mary Wallack and will also include 2016 Olympic gold medalist Maya DiRado, Tim Bauer, Dr. Cecil Gordon, Liz Kershaw, Kurt von Moltke, Kathleen Klein Prindle, Stephen Schmuhl, and Shannon Vreeland.

The USA Swimming Board of Directors includes the following individuals; keep in mind that Tarwater and Ugast’s terms are expiring, though they may run for re-election this year:

• Robert Vincent — Board Chair; Chair, National Team Steering Committee
• Chris Brearton *
• Jeanette Skow *
• Natalie Coughlin Hall (athlete rep)
• Maya DiRado (athlete rep)
• Davis Tarwater (athlete rep)**
• Tom Ugast **
• Dr. Cecil Gordon
• Jay Thomas
• Jim Sheehan
• Bruce Gemmell
• Kathleen Prindle
• Bill Schalz
• Kenneth Chung
• Jennifer Gibson
• Tim Hinchey — President & CEO of USA Swimming; Non-voting member
• Lucinda McRoberts — General Counsel & Vice President of Business Affairs; Non-voting member

* – Semi-independent members.

** – Terms expired but can run for re-election.

Correction: Teri McKeever, who took over a seat on the Board of Directors when Jim Wood died, was originally listed. Bruce Gemmell, however, has taken her seat and is the chair of the National Team Steering Committee.

In 2019, Kathleen Prindle, Bill Schalz, Kenneth Chung, and Jennifer Gibson were all voted onto the Board. Prindle and Schalz, receiving the most votes out of all who ran, were elected to 4-year terms whereas Chung and Gibson were elected to 3-year terms. Prindle, Schalz, Chung, and Gibson were among 8 total who ran for seats on the BOD in 2019. Those who ran but were not elected to the Board in 2019 include Julie Bachman, Rebecca Binder, Kim Brackin, and Julie Chen.

In 2019, Prindle, Schalz, Chung, and Gibson replaced Zone Directors John Bradley (Central Zone, Coach), John Roy (Southern Zone, Coach), Mary Turner (Eastern Zone, Non-Coach), and Dale Ammon (Western Zone, Non-Coach).

Per USA Swimming’s website, potential nominees should have the following experience:

DESIRED EXPERIENCE & COMPETENCIES

Per Board policy, at its January 2020 meeting, the Board affirmed as its charge to the Nominating Committee the following criteria to emphasize in its screening of potential nominees.

A candidate will have skills and attributes including:

• Past demonstration of commitment to USA-S, or a “demonstrable connection to the sport.”
• Governance experience, e.g. knowledge and skills in policy-making, legal and fiduciary responsibilities.
• High-level (board or management) experience in setting standards for/overseeing a multi-million-dollar corporation.
• Financial literacy.
• Demonstrated ability to participate productively in group processes.
• Professional relationships/associations that may be beneficial to USA-S.
• Commitment to support and adhere to the Board’s governing documents (Bylaws, Governing Policies, etc.).
• Ensuring diversity within the Board’s composition (gender, ethnic, age, geography, etc.).
• Each Board member is required to make an annual personal financial contribution to the USA Swimming Foundation. The demonstration of support, rather than the amount of the contribution, is of principal importance.
• For incumbent or past Board members seeking re-nomination, fulfillment of individual Board members’ responsibilities.

The nomination process and timeline will proceed at the following pace, per USA Swimming.

NOMINATIONS PROCESS / TIMELINE

The Nominating Committee is seeking candidates who are highly qualified to serve on the governing board of a high profile and highly successful $40 million (annual budget) nonprofit.

The key dates of the selection process in 2020 are:

• May 15, 2020: Deadline for Candidate Applications. (NOTE: Prior to applying, an applicant must be a member of USA Swimming in good standing, which includes the satisfactory completion of a USA Swimming background check: https://www.usaswimming.org/background-checks and completion of USA Swimming Athlete Protection Training, among other requirements). Please note that the Nominating Committee will not consider applications without these credentials.
• Late May – mid June: Based on candidate applications and membership status, those candidates the Nominating Committee wishes to advance for further consideration will be invited to participate in an initial video-conference interview with a minimum of two Nominating Committee members.
• June/July: Based on initial interviews, those candidates the Nominating Committee wishes to advance for further consideration will be invited to a second interview with at least two other Nominating Committee members. Candidates will be invited to ask questions pertaining to the Governing Policies and structure of the Board and organization.
• July/early August: The Nominating Committee will consider the merit and qualifications of all candidates who have fulfilled the screening process set forth above. Consistent with satisfying the composition requirements and drawing from the pool of vetted candidates, the Nominating Committee will recommend at least two, but not more than three, nominees for each seat open for election (the “Proposed Nominees”).
• Mid-August: Proposed Nominees will be invited to submit a biography/nominee statement (not to exceed 250 words), a photograph, and a short video introduction which will be distributed with a list of fellow nominees to the House of Delegates or athlete electorate, as applicable, no later than August 27, 2020.
• September 19-25, 2020: Electronic voting held to elect the “athlete representative.”
• September 23, 2020: USA Swimming Board of Directors meeting. Proposed Nominees are welcome to observe the last regular meeting of the 2019-20 Board of Directors.
• September 24-25, 2020: The Nominating Committee will host a “Meet the Candidates” Forum during the United States Aquatics Convention in Jacksonville, Florida at a time to be determined, giving each proposed nominee a few minutes to introduce themselves to attending Delegates.
• September 26, 2020: The USA Swimming House of Delegates elects new Board members at its Annual Meeting. New Board members will be seated at the Board meeting immediately following the House of Delegates meeting.

Read the full story on SwimSwam: USA Swimming Calls for Nominations for 2 Board of Director Seats

By Giusy Cisale on SwimSwam

La resilienzaè la capacità di far fronte in maniera positiva a eventi traumatici. Riorganizzare positivamente la propria vita dinanzi alle difficoltà. Ricostruirsi restando sensibili alle opportunità positive che la vita offre, senza alienare la propria identità.

In questo periodo essere resilienti può davvero fare la differenza.

Come comunità, come persone, ma anche come nuotatori.

I più grandi campioni della storia del nuoto non hanno avuto un percorso facile e lineare.

Quelli che guardiamo come nostri idoli ed esempi sono nella maggior parte dei casi, persone resilienti.

Per questi motivi, oggi, durante questo periodo di lockdown, voglio riprovi la storia dell’atleta più medagliato di tutti i tempi.

ROMA, ESTATE 2009

Immagina per un attimo di essere il più grande nuotatore nella storia del nostro sport.

Ti sei aggiudicato 8 medaglie d’oro a Pechino, la prestazione più dominante nella storia delle Olimpiadi.

Al tuo primo grande incontro dopo i Giochi, nel tuo sport si sono registrati 43 Record del Mondo. I tuoi avversari indossano costumi di gomma coperti dalla testa ai piedi.

Che  non  stai indossando.

La sera prima, il tuo rivale nei 100 farfalla,  che tu avevi battuto a Pechino, ha abbassato il tuo record mondiale in semifinale.

Ora immagina che mentre ti stai riscaldando per la finale, solo un’ora prima di andare in gara, ti scontri con un altro nuotatore. L’incidente così violento che ti si rompono gli occhialini e rimani con la vista offuscata.

Questa è stata la situazione che Michael Phelps ha affrontato in una notte di agosto a Roma nel 2009 ai Campionati del Mondo FINA.

Alcuni nuotatori si sarebbero abbattuti.

Invece, Phelps si alzò in piedi e divenne il primo uomo a rompere il muro dei 50 secondi nei 100 metri farfalla. Vinse l’oro e reclamò il suo record mondiale.

Phelps, nonostante ciò che stava accadendo intorno a lui, era in grado di uscire e nuotare ad un livello superiore.

Quella notte a Roma, Phelps ha mostrato al mondo il significato della resilienza.

Ecco come puoi procurarti parte di quella roba dolce dolce.

RESILIENZA: LA CAPACITÀ DI USARE MOMENTI DIFFICILI PER ECCELLERE

Una delle caratteristiche comuni dei campioni è che sono resilienti. Hanno sperimentato avversità e sfide significative nella loro ricerca di valorizzare i loro talenti naturali e i loro doni genetici. Grazie a questo sono diventati campioni.

Phelps sarebbe stato il campione che è stato se non ci fossero state avversità consistenti? Non ne sono così sicuro. Le avversità, e la capacità di recupero che si sviluppa di conseguenza, tira fuori il meglio.

Essenzialmente, le  avversità hanno un modo per spingere gli atleti di élite a fare  meglio , non peggio.

Ricorda queste storie:

• L’atleta che ha  perso una persona cara e successivamente ha riacceso il suo amore per lo sport , vincendo alla fine una tanto ambita medaglia d’oro olimpica;
• Il  nuotatore a cui viene negato di volta in volta e persiste finché alla fine non ha successo;
• Il nuotatore in staffetta che,  contro tutte le probabilità apparentemente impossibili, arriva e sorpassa il detentore del record mondiale  alle Olimpiadi.

Questi  momenti di brillantezza nascono dalle avversità .

Comunemente, i nuotatori vedranno le avversità o una dolorosa battuta d’arresto come prova che non sono meritevoli.

Sembra semplice, anche un cliché, ma è vero:

CIÒ CHE NON TI SPEZZA, TI RENDE MIGLIORE .

Non è che i nuotatori di élite non provano la stessa delusione e frustrazione quando le cose si disgregano: è il modo in cui reindirizzano la loro rabbia e concentrazione che fa la differenza.

COME SVILUPPARE UNA MENTALITÀ RESILIENTE 

La mentalità di un nuotatore fa parte del processo genetico ed ambientale

Non importa dove siano i tuoi livelli di resilienza in questi giorni, ci sono cose che puoi fare per affinare la tua capacità di recupero.

Ecco un paio di idee.

1. PRENDERE MOMENTI DI AVVERSITÀ COME OPPORTUNITÀ PER SVILUPPARE UN VANTAGGIO COMPETITIVO.

L’atteggiamento che porti con te sul ponte della piscina ha un modo di incarnare il tuo potenziale di successo.

Se ti avvicini a quel set in allenamento pensando ” Scommetto che il mio avversario non sta facendo questo set “, ti stai creando un vantaggio competitivo che si accumula ogni volta che ti presenti per quell’allenamento extra.

Una delle convinzioni formative del pilastro di Michael Phelps e del suo allenatore Bob Bowman era un semplice impegno a fare ciò che nessun altro era disposto a fare.

Ciò significava allenarsi ogni giorno per cinque anni consecutivi prima dei Giochi di Pechino. Significava allenarsi durante le vacanze, incluso Natale e il suo compleanno. La fiducia che deriva da questo tipo di approccio “all in” è impossibile da falsificare.

2. TROVA LE SITUAZIONI PER MOSTRARE RESILIENZA.

Il problema di voler essere più resilienti è che vogliamo solo essere più resilienti quando le cose stanno andando a modo nostro, quando è facile. L’allenamento sta andando bene, non ci sono brutte sorprese e i progressi che stiamo facendo sono sotto il nostro controllo.

È quando le cose vanno male che è  importante pensare: ” Ora sono resiliente! ”

Hai bisogno di esercitarti. Devi allenarti e stare in piedi. È necessario affrontare le battute d’arresto, gli allenamenti stressanti, gli infortuni, con lo stesso atteggiamento e ponendoti la stessa domanda:  ” Come posso rendere questa la cosa migliore che mi sia accaduta? ”

Una cosa particolare che possedevano tutti i campioni era la volontà di affrontare e superare le sfide. Non importa cosa ci fosse di fronte a loro, l’avrebbero affrontato con tutto quello che avevano.

3. USA I MOMENTI DI IRRITAZIONE PER RAFFORZARE I MUSCOLI DELLA RESILIENZA.

La capacità di recupero non deve uscire fuori solo nei momenti negativi: un infortunio ad una spalla, una gara andata male, un brutto allenamento.

Ma la resilienza non è qualcosa che usi una volta ogni tanto. È un’abilità, qualcosa che affini ogni giorno in allenamento e nella vita.

La resilienza è necessaria per una vasta gamma di eventi e fattori di stress: dai piccoli problemi giornalieri (dover condividere una corsia di 25 metri con altri dieci nuotatori) fino ai dolori nella vita reale (perdita di una persona cara , una ferita grave).

LA RESILIENZA È NEI TUOI PENSIERI.

Guardare le battute d’arresto come opportunità.

Per i nuotatori di élite, questa è una parte dell’equazione. L’altra parte  è la capacità di comprendere che la resilienza è una decisione solo tua. Non riguarda l’allenatore, i tuoi genitori o gli altri nuotatori.

Ad esempio, se devi disputare una finale e vedi il tuo avversario riscaldarsi come un matto, fare esercizi a secco e passeggiare con aria sicura, che fai?

Pensi di non poterlo mai battere?

Il nuotatore resiliente, riconoscendo che la competizione, essendo parte di qualcosa sulla quale non si ha controllo, non si concentra su di essa, ma su di sé.

“Rilassiamoci. Ti ricordi l’ultima gara in cui hai nuotato così energicamente e senza sbagli che hai schiacciato il PB? “

La resilienza viene dai  tuoi  pensieri, non dalle persone intorno a te. Viene dal concentrarsi sulle cose su cui hai il controllo:  questo  è il massimo potere.

PUOI TRARRE GRANDI BENEFICI DALLE TUE LOTTE, SE SCEGLI DI FARLO.

Siamo abituati a vedere i Campioni sui podi, quando tutto sembra bello e perfetto.

Non vediamo le lotte, le frustrazioni, le sconfitte e le ferite. Tutto ciò che vediamo è una performance epica.

Di conseguenza, possiamo erroneamente supporre che il loro percorso verso l’apice del mondo del nuoto sia stato diretto. Ma non è così.

Dietro i sorrisi, i record del mondo e le medaglie c’è una storia di superamento delle sconfitte, di dolorose battute d’arresto. Innumerevoli momenti di dubbio e di estenuanti scenografie che piegano la loro sicurezza fino al punto di spezzarsi.

Ma seppelliti in quei dolorosi contrattempi e momenti di frustrazione, ci sono i semi di ciò a cui spesso attribuiranno il merito della vittoria.

La sconfitta può abbatterti.

L’infortunio può farti sentire alla fine della carriera.

Ma tu sei  mentalmente più forte di quanto credi.

Ci rivedremo a bordo vasca, microfono e cuore in mano.

Read the full story on SwimSwam: Resilienza: La Capacità Di Usare I Momenti Difficili E Trarne Forza

By SwimSwam Partner Content on SwimSwam

While summer swim season feels up-in-the-air for many teams and leagues right now, swim teams are a central part of many neighborhoods, connecting a large cross section of families throughout the community. This puts swim teams in a unique position to offer encouragement and hope to families who may be stressed by the uncertainty and isolation of COVID-19.

Swim teams are used to rallying people together (the above photo is a great example), but obviously you can’t rally your people that way right now! During this difficult time we encourage you to use what resources you have through your swim team website to mobilize and connect your communities.

Be a Conduit for Communication in Your Communities

Summer swim team has always been all about fun times with friends, community bonds, and traditions. Even during this time of “social distancing” and isolation, your team can come up with creative ways to maintain those bonds with “virtual” social time.

With your SwimTopia team website, or equivalent, your team can remain connected even if they have to stay apart:

• Communicate messages of hope and encouragement to your families.
• Reinforce messaging from health experts for best practices, while also providing support and ideas in these trying times. Remind people that they are connected and part of a shared community.
• Post links to your team’s social media sites, where families can connect. Use social media to update people with reliable COVID-19 updates and encouraging / funny memes to lighten the mood.
• Post links to a photo-sharing site where families can share photos and ideas of how they’re spending time while “social distancing.”
• Create a signup for your team through Signup Genius, CaringBridge, or MealTrain so team members can sign up to help neighbors at high-risk due to age or medical condition, with grocery shopping, etc.
• Help organize virtual kids’ activities – organize group video chats for the kids to connect with each other. Call it a virtual “swim meet” where they sit around for hours on beach towels playing card games.
• Set up a system for sharing of puzzles and board games in your neighborhood (with a focus on those that are easy to disinfect

By Olivier Poirier-Leroy on SwimSwam

Each day at the pool, while you pace the tiled deck, yelling out splits, technique reminders, and for Lil Bobby to stop pulling on the lane rope, the mindset of your swimmers is being shaped.

This mindset, which comprises of how motivated they are, how focused and engaged they are, and how they deal with adversity, is being sculpted as they churn around the black line.

• One swimmer will give up during hard sets, which translates to easing off when a competitor surges ahead in competition.
• Another swimmer will daydream through training, and then try to make up for it by overthinking on race day.
• Another swimmer will ease into a test set because they worry about the pain to come, and then take out their races the same way.

These behaviors and habits and mental skills are being cemented with each passing day whether you are coaching them or not.

So why not set the table for the mental training skills you want your athletes to have instead of leaving it up to chance?

Why mental training skills can be such a hard sell

How much of the success of your swimmers is mental?

10%? 20% 50%?

Although most coaches will readily admit that the mental part of swimming is critical, there is a lot of resistance to the implementation of mental training skill development.

Some of the classics include:

Seems confusing and mystical.

Mental training skills can seem like “The Secret” type stuff. Think really hard on the thing you want, and you will achieve it. Or something. Unlike traditional training protocols, there isn’t as much clarity with this stuff.

When a swimmer goes into the gym and lifts more weight than they did last week, that’s easy to measure. Same goes for when they improve on a test set—pretty easy to mark progression there, too.

But when it comes to “how much did my self-talk improve this week” it can be tough to accurately measure progress. You might see general changes in a swimmer’s attitude but quantifying this can be difficult (although there are a couple ways you can do this) and hard to put into a periodization plan.

It means something is wrong with the athlete.

A lot of athletes have that “Alpha dog” mentality. They are okay going at it alone, view help as a sign of weakness, and believe mental training skills are for other, weaker athletes.

They work their tail off, grind all week, and don’t want to admit that maybe there is something they can be doing better between their ears.

The truth is, approaching mental training skills with the outlook that something is wrong is, well, wrong. Mental training skills augment and enhance what you already have.

Only used in case of emergency, which is almost always too late.

“It’s mental,” or “It’s some kind of mental block” are frequent comments I receive from parents and swimmers who have seen performance in practice continue to improve, while performance in competition stalls.

When I inevitably ask the swimmer/coach/parent how much time is spent working their chlorinated brain, it’s almost always a sheepish look. Which I get—when things go well, we don’t want to tinker with our mindset for fear of breaking something—if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, right?

But no matter how well things are going, the elite-minded swimmer is always looking for ways to improve. Fortunately for your athletes, this gives them a competitive advantage.

Few work their mental training skills when things go poorly, and even fewer work on it when things are going well.

Mental training skills aren’t about fixing. They are about improving. It’s not a repair kit for your brain, it’s a user manual.

Lack of immediate application.

Because mental training skills are viewed as something to be used in emergencies, or as something athletes don’t quite understand, they believe it will act like a magic wand for whatever ails them in the water.

Mental training skills are skills, not a magic potion or super supplement.

Sure, the things that you can do with them are impressive, but only when applied consistently over time. Just like any other aspect of performance in the water.

Ways to Implement Mental Training Skills

A mental training skills program doesn’t need to over-ride current training and can be implemented with a little planning.

Here are some ideas for how to make mental training easier with your own athletes:

Emphasize the use of mental training skills by elite swimmers.

Use the role models in our sport and the natural tendency of swimmers to comparison-make: highlight the use of mental training by elite swimmers.

Doing so removes some of the novelty from mental skills training…

Here are a few samples:

• Michael Phelps used a pre-race routine that started from the time he woke up.
• Caeleb Dressel and Katie Ledecky write out their workouts and reflect on their training.
• Garrett Weber-Gale used visualization to prepare himself for the moment that things really hurt when racing.
• Megan Quann used race day visualization to lock in the performance she wanted at the Olympics.
• Mary T. Meagher picked a couple things to master every day—and within a couple years was laying a series of beat downs on the 200m butterfly world record.
• Natalie Coughlin focused on the way she wanted her body to feel on race day, and carried this over to her daily workouts.
• Jason Lezak used self-talk to keep himself in the race when he swam the most epic relay leg in history.
• Michael Andrew writes out his goals and puts them up around his house, building an environment that radiates cues for success.

The list goes on and on.

And I know what you are thinking—Cool, these are elite, professional swimmers. Of course they would be working on their mindset. But these swimmers used this stuff while they were coming up, and not just once they arrived on the international stage.

Periodize the mental training skills being taught.

Mental training skills are no different from the physical conditioning and technical work in the pool, with each phase or training cycle carrying a different focus.

Implement relevant mental training skills to help boost whatever it is you are trying to do in the water:

• At the beginning of the year, the emphasis might be habit building and focusing on developing smart technical habits.
• During heavy training, self-talk, visualization and stress management all help to get swimmers through challenging sets and weeks of work in the pool.
• As you get closer to competition, things like managing anxiety and introducing pressure to practice, simulating racing conditions.

Work on focus points and performance cues during practice, try out pre-race routines at in-season meets, do visualization before and after practices. Mental training skills should blend in with your water training, and not stand alone from it.

Create action plans for each athlete on their “one main thing.”

In surveying a group of several hundred NCAA division I swimmers last year, I wasn’t terribly surprised to find that the responses to what their biggest mental struggles were in the pool were remarkably similar.

The ways that the swimmers identified themselves were based on a lot of the same fears: fear of failure, letting down the team, and so on. The identities they carried shaped how they performed in the water in practice and on race day. Things like: “I have a hard time performing during AM sessions” or “I have a hard time bouncing back after a bad practice” or “I always end up comparing myself to other swimmers.”

Tease out what each individual swimmer thinks is part of their identity and help them build an action plan to shape their identity into a more positive direction.

Grade and count reps to measure progress.

Swimmers (and coaches!) love to see progression. We all get a little giddy when a swimmer nearly beats a best time in practice, or levels up to an “impossible” interval. Progressions generate a metric ton of intrinsic motivation, which keeps them fired up to work hard, builds a better overall team culture, and is simply fun.

As discussed above, quantifying mental training skills can be challenging, but it’s not impossible.

Two quick and easy ways to do this is to grade effort and count reps.

Have the swimmer open the pages of their log book, and give themselves a quick grade on whatever their mindset goal is. They can also keep an inventory of reps in the same way you count volume in the gym or pool—“This week I did 65 minutes of visualization.”

The instant feedback that comes from measuring their mental training skills gives them something they can feel good about, provides a benchmark for improvement, and motivates them to best those grades and reps on a daily and weekly basis.

The Takeaway

While taking a little extra time each day to work on their mental training skills will help their swimming, this value extends itself well beyond the water.

Mental training skills create stronger students. They are better able to focus. They have a more realistic ability to set crazy-but-doable goals. They have strategies to stick with things when adversity strikes. They learn to manage their energy and emotions. And on and on.

And if that weren’t enough, learning mental training skills will help them develop a far healthier relationship with the sport.

ABOUT OLIVIER POIRIER-LEROY

Olivier Poirier-Leroy is a former national level swimmer. He’s the publisher of YourSwimBook, a ten-month log book for competitive swimmers.

He’s also the author of the recently published mental training workbook for competitive swimmers, Conquer the Pool: The Swimmer’s Ultimate Guide to a High Performance Mindset.

It combines sport psychology research, worksheets, and anecdotes and examples of Olympians past and present to give swimmers everything they need to conquer the mental side of the sport.

Ready to take your mindset to the next level?

Click here to learn more about Conquer the Pool.

COACHES & CLUBS: Yuppers–we do team orders of “Conquer the Pool” which includes a team discount as well as complimentary branding (your club logo on the cover of the book) at no additional charge.

Want more details? Click here for a free estimate on a team order of CTP.

Read the full story on SwimSwam: How Swim Coaches Can Get Started with Mental Training Skills

By SwimSwam Partner Content on SwimSwam

Courtesy: Champions Mojo, a SwimSwam partner. 

You’ll find inspiration and motivation in the Champion’s Mojo Podcast, a weekly podcast for the swimming community, offering in-depth interviews with the most elite Swimmers and Coaches in the sport and interviews with other experts and Champion’s to help you reach peak performances in sports and life.

Here are three interviews you’re sure to love! These shows were recorded before the pandemic shut down, but their content is evergreen! Click links to listen.

1. Andrew Seliskar, Passion to Race #58 One of the most versatile swimmers on Team USA and the 2019 NCAA Male Swimmer of the year from Cal Berkeley’s title winning year.

What you’ll hear: Andrew talks about how he turned things around from his Junior year to his senior year at Cal and how his dream season unfolded.

Why it matters: You can use some of Andrew’s experiences and wisdom to drive your own success.

2. Gary Taylor, Stepping Up for Auburn  #56  Auburn University’s Head men’s and women’s swimming Coach just finished his second year and is looking to return this program to the top of the NCAA.

What you’ll hear: Gary could have had his pick of head coaching jobs but he was inspired to step up to lead Auburn and take on the pressure that comes with that.

Why it matters: Learn about championship character and how it leads to success.

3. Fares Ksebati, Start-up Genius at MySwimPro, #54 Swimmer, coach, business startup genius — as the co-founder of the app MySwimPro, Fares Ksebati shows how grit and determination, even with limited resources, can produce success. Ksebati was recently selected by Forbes Magazine in the prestigious “30 under 30” for entrepreneurs to watch in 2020.

What you’ll hear: Savvy advice from one of today’s young leaders on how to be successful in almost anything.

Why it matters: You’ll love this concise and valuable advice on starting up almost anything from a new business to a swim program.

Subscribe to the Champions’ Mojo Podcast today and don’t miss an episode. Hosted by Kelly Palace and Maria Parker, you can learn more about the Hosts here.

Swimming podcast feature is courtesy of Champion’s Mojo, a SwimSwam partner. 

Read the full story on SwimSwam: Andrew Seliskar, Gary Taylor, Fares Ksebati on Champion’s Mojo Podcast

By Bailey Duran on SwimSwam

When most think of mental toughness, their minds automatically go to sports. Mental toughness is vital for success in any sport…especially swimming.

According to Mental Toughness, Inc., mental toughness is defined as, “the ability to resist, manage and overcome doubts, worries, concerns and circumstances that prevent you from succeeding.”

When I think of mental toughness, I think of my swimming career pre-college.

You would think the first thing that came to my mind was the successes—the fun practices, the moments I finally got that time I had been pursuing for what seemed like ages, the high school records that bear my name or the medals hanging on my wall.

Surprisingly, those memories—while they may be my favorite swimming memories— weren’t the first ones to pop into my head.

Instead, I thought about what happened before the successes, the trials I faced before I won that medal or broke that high school record.

The dreaded slumps, the mental weakness and the days I really didn’t want to get out of bed for practice.

We all have those don’t we?

There are some of you that may be in the place I was for 75% of my high school swimming career. You’re not alone! We’ve all been through this at one point or another. It’s normal and, fun fact, you don’t have to stay there!

There is ALWAYS light at the end of the tunnel. Seriously… I’m speaking from experience here.

So, let’s dive in. (Pun definitely intended).

Mental toughness is something that all athletes struggle with, but it is something that is more readily addressed in the swimming realm.

Alan Goldberg, a leading sport psychologist addresses this specifically when he says, “In practice, swimming is 95% physical and 5% mental. In competition, swimming is 5% physical and 95% mental.”

If you can’t put aside your insecurities and doubts and worries in a race, your performance is guaranteed to suffer.

Mental toughness doesn’t come overnight, it requires training yourself in practice to silence negative self-talk and be positive.

What you say to yourself matters. It does!

When you begin to entertain negative thoughts such as, “This is too hard” or “I don’t want to do this” or “I’m not fast enough…” you are sentencing yourself to a less than best performance.

When negative thoughts enter your brain, your muscles react to that thought, whether you realize it or not. This leads to swimmers standing on the blocks with tight muscles and a sluggish reaction time.

Kirk Mango, a hall of fame gymnast, emphasizes this. “Attitude and belief about what one can accomplish are essential to any possibility of achieving anything,” he says.

If you don’t believe you can do it, you won’t. It’s as simple as that.

So, maybe you have been stuck in a vicious cycle of negative self-talk. Does it really make that big of a deal?

Yes, it does. Let me give you a personal example. When I was a senior in high school, there was a high school record I had been pursuing ever since I was a freshman. Time after time I fell short.

There was a pattern. I would get ready for my race, think about the time I needed to get and then I would beat myself down by not believing in myself.

It was when I learned how to re-frame those negative thoughts into positive ones that I finally achieved my goal. All it took was for me to believe in myself.

Developing your mental toughness is vital for your success as a swimmer. Here are a few steps that will help you start believing in yourself, and, in turn, help you achieve your goals.

1. Practice Positivity in Practice. What you do in practice you’ll do in the meet. Guaranteed.

2. Re-Frame Negative Thoughts into Positive Ones. Instead of thinking, “This set is so hard, I can’t do it,” tell yourself, “This is a challenge that will help me prepare for my more difficult races.” It can be hard at first, but re-frame that negative thought as soon as it gets into your head.

3. Take a Deep Breath. When you are being bombarded with insecurities, it can be easy to become overwhelmed. Take a deep breath and remind yourself that you are ready for this.

4. Write Down Your Goals. Don’t just write them down, however. Next to each goal, write an encouraging note to yourself, reminding yourself you are capable.

5. Surround Yourself With Positive People. There is nothing that will drag you down faster than a negative person. Who you hang out with is who you will be like!

6. Come Up With a Mantra. This mantra can be an encouraging phrase or Bible verse that you say to yourself in practice or in a meet that helps you remain positive.

7. Smile! Smiling has been proven to release negative energy from your body. SMILE.

8. BELIEVE IN YOURSELF. A lot easier said than done, right? Maybe, but the more you practice believing in yourself, the more you will.

 This is how you accomplish your goals.

Read the full story on SwimSwam: Mental Toughness = Key to Accomplishing Your Goals

By Coleman Hodges on SwimSwam

We are all trying to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic as best we can. Staying at home and not socializing is not an easy task for anyone, and keeping a swimmer out of the pool is equally antagonizing. Therefore, SwimSwam is starting the Swimming From Home Talk Show, where host Coleman Hodges speaks with the swimming community about how they’re coping with our current goggle-less reality.

Ryan Held takes us through his whirlwind few weeks when the COVID-19 pandemic hit, including his brief stint at training at the Alabama Yacht Club. After the Olympic Games were postponed, however, Held stopped swimming there and eventually returned to his home town of Springfield, Illinois. He’s trying to maintain cardio and strength at his parents’ house now, and other than that he’s been watching 30-for-30’s on ESPN and biking more.

Read the full story on SwimSwam: Swimming From Home Talk Show: Ryan Held on Broadening Sports Fan Horizons

By SwimSwam Partner Content on SwimSwam

Courtesy: Champions Mojo, a SwimSwam partner. 

You’ll find inspiration and motivation in the Champion’s Mojo Podcast, a weekly podcast for the swimming community, offering in-depth interviews with the most elite Swimmers and Coaches in the sport and interviews with other experts and Champion’s to help you reach peak performances in sports and life.

Here are three interviews you’re sure to love! These shows were recorded before the pandemic shut down, but their content is evergreen! Click links to listen.

1. Andrew Seliskar, Passion to Race #58 One of the most versatile swimmers on Team USA and the 2019 NCAA Male Swimmer of the year from Cal Berkeley’s title winning year.

What you’ll hear: Andrew talks about how he turned things around from his Junior year to his senior year at Cal and how his dream season unfolded.

Why it matters: You can use some of Andrew’s experiences and wisdom to drive your own success.

2. Gary Taylor, Stepping Up for Auburn  #56  Auburn University’s Head men’s and women’s swimming Coach just finished his second year and is looking to return this program to the top of the NCAA.

What you’ll hear: Gary could have had his pick of head coaching jobs but he was inspired to step up to lead Auburn and take on the pressure that comes with that.

Why it matters: Learn about championship character and how it leads to success.

3. Fares Ksebati, Start-up Genius at MySwimPro, #54 Swimmer, coach, business startup genius — as the co-founder of the app MySwimPro, Fares Ksebati shows how grit and determination, even with limited resources, can produce success. Ksebati was recently selected by Forbes Magazine in the prestigious “30 under 30” for entrepreneurs to watch in 2020.

What you’ll hear: Savvy advice from one of today’s young leaders on how to be successful in almost anything.

Why it matters: You’ll love this concise and valuable advice on starting up almost anything from a new business to a swim program.

Subscribe to the Champions’ Mojo Podcast today and don’t miss an episode. Hosted by Kelly Palace and Maria Parker, you can learn more about the Hosts here.

Swimming podcast feature is courtesy of Champion’s Mojo, a SwimSwam partner. 

Read the full story on SwimSwam: Andrew Seliskar, Gary Taylor, Fares Ksebati on Champion’s Mojo Podcast

By Jared Anderson on SwimSwam

The Wisconsin Swimming LSC has bought an insurance policy to cover remote dryland and coaching activities, currently a hot-button ‘gap’ in USA Swimming’s club insurance.

With the 2019 novel coronavirus and the outbreak of COVID-19 cases causing most states to issue stay-at-home orders or recommended quarantining, many swim clubs are facing financial hardship. Closed pools and training bans have shut down club operations and stalled incomes, often cutting off income streams for club employees, like coaches. Coaches have begun to call for USA Swimming – or its LSCs (Local Swimming Committees) that govern swimming on a more regional level – to step in to help clubs stay financially solvent during the worldwide pandemic.

Further coverage:

• Michael Murray: “Each LSC Has a Responsibility to Ensure Future of Its Clubs
• Atlantis Aquatics Coach, Olympic Gold Medalist, Rhi Jeffrey Calls for Financial Help from USA Swimming
• Florida Gold Coast LSC Announces Grant Program for Swim Clubs

The Florida Gold Coast LSC opened a program this week allowing clubs to apply for a one-time grant. While many praised that plan, others have noted that many LSCs don’t have the financial resources to implement a similar plan for their member clubs.

Wisconsin Swimming has taken a different approach. Many clubs have attempted to avoid a total shutdown by offering remote coaching, often based around dryland workouts. But that’s been an issue of its own, as USA Swimming’s insurance policy for clubs doesn’t cover activities that are not directly supervised by a coach.

Wisconsin Swimming decided to purchase an insurance policy to cover that gap, allowing clubs in that LSC to provide remote dryland. The LSC says its new insurance policy will cover “activities that are not conducted in the physical presence… of a member coach, but are authorized and approved by the member coach as part of the swimmer or participants training program.”

The policy went into effect on April 3. Van Donkersgoed, the General Chair of Wisconsin Swimming, told SwimSwam that the policy would cover member clubs through March of 2021, at a cost of $24,000 to Wisconsin Swimming.

By comparison, the Florida Gold Coast plan could cost that LSC up to $85,000 – but Florida Gold Coast has a significant amount of money in reserves – around $885,000.

Wisconsin Swimming’s website says the LSC includes 71 clubs with 455 coaches (84 of them full-time). Those clubs encompass 7,315 year-round swimmers and 83,865 total swimmers, making the LSC the fifth-largest of USA Swimming’s 59 LSCs.

The Wisconsin policy makes clear that remote training must comply with USA Swimming’s MAAPP, meaning another non-athlete adult must be included in electronic communication (like video chat) between a coach and one or more athletes. The insurance policy allows clubs to charge fees for remote dryland or coaching activities, giving clubs a new opportunity for income even during the COVID-19 quarantine period.

Read the full story on SwimSwam: Wisconsin Swimming LSC Buys ‘Gap Insurance’ To Cover Remote Dryland

By Giusy Cisale on SwimSwam

FINA, l’organo di governo internazionale per 6 discipline acquatiche, ha aggiornato la lista delle cancellazioni e dei rinvii a seguito della pandemia globale di coronavirus.

Al momento, sembra che la FINA riprenderà le competizioni internazionali nei mesi di Settembre/Ottobre 2020.

Tra le cancellazioni più importanti, vi sono le restanti 8 tappe delle Artistic Swimming World Series (nuoto sincronizzato). Cancellate anche le 5 tappe rimanenti della FINAMarathon Swimming World Series.

L’unica gara rimasta nel MSWS è la tappa alle Seychelles. Originariamente prevista per il 18 agosto, sarà rinviata, con nuove date da confermare.

Le Seychelles hanno finora solo 11 casi confermati di coronavirus e nessun decesso.

La Water Polo World League si terrà a settembre/ottobre.

Delle 2 date rimanenti delle Diving World Series, Kazan sarà riprogrammato per la fine dell’anno, mentre Londra sarà cancellata.

3 delle 4 tappe rimanenti del circuito del Diving Grand Prix (Windsor, Kuala Lumpur e Il Cairo) sono state rinviate, mentre Singapore è stata annullata.

Non sono state annunciate nuove date per le qualifiche olimpiche.

FINA– ULTIMI AGGIORNAMENTI

Olimpiadi 2021

23 Luglio – 08 Agosto 2021 – Tokyo2021

Eventi di qualificazione Olimpiadi di Tokyo 

• 8-15 Marzo – Trieste (ITA) – OG 2020 Women ‘s WP Qualification Tournament  – Si attendono le nuove date.
• 22-29 Marzo – Rotterdam (NED) – OG2020 Men ‘s WP Qualification Tournament– Rinviato – si attendono nuove date.
• 30-31 Maggio  – Fukuoka (JPN) – 2020 Olympic Marathon Swim Qualifier– – Rinviato – si attendono nuove date.
• 21-26 Aprile – Tokyo (JPN) – Diving World Cup– Rinviato – si attendono nuove date.
• 30 April 3 Maggio – Tokyo (JPN) – Artistic Swimming OG Qualifying Event– – Rinviato – si attendono nuove date.

Diving Grand Prix 

2020 Series

• 14-17 Maggio – Windsor (CAN) – Rinviato – si attendono nuove date.
• 29-31 Maggio – Singapore (SGP) – Cancellato.
• 05-07 Giugno – Kuala Lumpur (MAS) – Rinviato – si attendono nuove date.
• 26-28 Giugno – Cairo (EGY) – Rinviato – si attendono nuove date.

Diving World Series 

2020 Series

• 20-22 Marzo – Kazan (RUS) – Rinviato – si attendono nuove date di Settembre/Ottobre
• 27-29 Marzo – London (GBR) – Cancellato.

Water Polo

• Water Polo World League Uomini e Donne – Rinviato a Settembre / Ottobre 2020

Artistic Swimming World Series

2020 Series

Eventi cancellati:

• 27-29 Marzo – Hurghada (EGY)
• 3-5 Aprile – Alexandroupolis (GRE)
• 10-12 Aprile – Budapest (HUN)
• 17-19 Aprile – Kazan (RUS)
• 23-25 Aprile – Suzhou (CHN)
• 29-31 Maggio – Madrid (ESP)
• 12-14 Giugno  – Rochester (USA)
• 18-20 Giugno –  Windsor (CAN)

Marathon Swim World Series

2020 Series

Eventi cancellati:

• 6 Giugno  – Budapest (HUN)
• 13 Giugno – Setubal (POR)
• 19 Luglio  – Lac St Jean (CAN)
• 01 Agosto – Lac Megantic (CAN)

August 18 – Victoria (SEY) – Rinviato – si attendono nuove date.

Read the full story on SwimSwam: FINA Riprogramma Gli Eventi Delle 6 Discipline Acquatiche

By Retta Race on SwimSwam

In our latest edition of Beyond the Lane Lines, we reported how the Tokyo Olympic Flame was scheduled to be on limited public display at Japan’s J-Village National Training Center in Fukushima. The flame was slated to be available for viewing throughout April to represent a ‘symbol of hope for all countries of the world during these most challenging of times.’

However, plans have now been suspended due to escalating concerns over the COVID-19 spread throughout Japan.

‘After being ignited last month in Greece, the Olympic flame arrived in Japan as scheduled on March 20 and was set to tour the country on a 121-day torch relay starting March 26 before the postponement was announced the day before,’ states Japan Times.

‘The International Olympic Committee and local organizers decided that the flame will remain burning in Japan during the delay prompted by the global COVID-19 pandemic.’ (Japan Times)

Also cancelled this week was the annual Japan Open swimming competition. As we reported, the annual elite meet was slated to take place in early June but has since been nixed.

At the time of publishing, the nation of Japan has had 3,906 cases of COVID-19 reported, resulting in 92 deaths and 592 recoveries, per Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center.

Read the full story on SwimSwam: Olympic Torch Display Cancelled Amid Escalating COVID-19 Threat

By SwimSwam Partner Content on SwimSwam

While summer swim season feels up-in-the-air for many teams and leagues right now, swim teams are a central part of many neighborhoods, connecting a large cross section of families throughout the community. This puts swim teams in a unique position to offer encouragement and hope to families who may be stressed by the uncertainty and isolation of COVID-19.

Swim teams are used to rallying people together (the above photo is a great example), but obviously you can’t rally your people that way right now! During this difficult time we encourage you to use what resources you have through your swim team website to mobilize and connect your communities.

Be a Conduit for Communication in Your Communities

Summer swim team has always been all about fun times with friends, community bonds, and traditions. Even during this time of “social distancing” and isolation, your team can come up with creative ways to maintain those bonds with “virtual” social time.

With your SwimTopia team website, or equivalent, your team can remain connected even if they have to stay apart:

• Communicate messages of hope and encouragement to your families.
• Reinforce messaging from health experts for best practices, while also providing support and ideas in these trying times. Remind people that they are connected and part of a shared community.
• Post links to your team’s social media sites, where families can connect. Use social media to update people with reliable COVID-19 updates and encouraging / funny memes to lighten the mood.
• Post links to a photo-sharing site where families can share photos and ideas of how they’re spending time while “social distancing.”
• Create a signup for your team through Signup Genius, CaringBridge, or MealTrain so team members can sign up to help neighbors at high-risk due to age or medical condition, with grocery shopping, etc.
• Help organize virtual kids’ activities – organize group video chats for the kids to connect with each other. Call it a virtual “swim meet” where they sit around for hours on beach towels playing card games.
• Set up a system for sharing of puzzles and board games in your neighborhood (with a focus on those that are easy to disinfect

By Reid Carlson on SwimSwam

The 2003 FINA World Aquatics Championships was a supremely exciting event for swimming fans. Not only did it gave us a preview of what was to come at the 2004 Athens Olympic Games, but the individual performances at those championships proved swimming was still a long way from reaching its potential.

An 18-year-old Michael Phelps set 5 individual World Records, two of which came during semifinals. Neither semifinal mark would last more than 24 hours, however, as Phelps would only continue to improve in the finals, though he wasn’t the only one who got faster heat-by-heat.

The prelims of the men’s 100 meter butterfly at the 2003 FINA World Championships took place on the morning of July 25th. Americans Phelps and Ian Crocker emerged from the prelims as the top-2 seeds going into the semifinals, establishing times of 52.27 and 52.35, respectively. The World Record stood at 51.81, set by Australian Michael Klim in 1999 while the Course Record stood at 52.10 and was owned by the Olympic gold medalist from 2000, Sweden’s Lars Frolander, set in Fukuoka in 2001.

While prelims results were nothing special, even compared to the World and Course Records at the time, the semifinals were electric.

Swimming in heat 1, lane 6 of the first semifinal, Ukraine’s Andrii Serdinov blasted a 51.76 to erase Klim’s 4-year-old World Record. A name perhaps a little forgotten by history because of what happened next, Serdinov is not a name often spoken about the way that Crocker, Phelps, and Cavic are in the late-2000s butterfly discussions.

The next-closest competitor in the heat, USA’s Crocker, was fully 45/100ths behind Serdinov, touching in 52.21 to equal his lifetime best from the 2002 Pan Pacific Championships.

As Serdinov made his way towards the media heat 2 stepped onto the blocks. Not only was Serdinov the fastest-ever in the 100 fly, but he was also one of only five men to ever break the 52-second barrier, joining Aussies Klim and Geoff Huegill, (51.98, 2000) German Thomas Rupprath (51.88, 2002), and American Phelps (51.84, April 2003), who was awaiting the starter’s horn for the second semifinal.

Phelps had been 51.8 three times in the past two years, each time missing Klim’s World Record by mere hundredths.

As Serdinov celebrated Phelps charged down the pool, his back-end speed propelling him ahead of the minutes-old record Serdinov set in the first semifinal. Phelps touched in 51.47, taking 29/100ths off Serdinov’s mark and 34/100ths off Klim’s time from 1999.

Serdinov would have to try again.

The lane assignments and entry times for the final of the Men’s 100 Butterfly, which took place on July 26th, 2003, were set as follows:

1. Evgeny Korotshkin, Russia, 52.55
2. Igor Marchenko, Russia, 52.44
3. Ian Crocker, USA, 52.21
4. Michael Phelps, USA, 51.47
5. Andrii Serdinov, Ukraine, 51.76
6. Thomas Rupprath, Germany, 52.37
7. Franck Esposito, France, 52.49
8. Takashi Yamamoto, Japan, 52.55

Crocker blasted out to an early lead, and by 50 meters was fully 1.12 seconds under World Record pace, turning in 23.99. Rupprath and Serdinov trailed splitting 24.31 and 24.39, respectively. Serdinov utilized a relatively high-arm recovery and every-other breathing pattern throughout the race, a stark contrast to Phelps one lane above who appears to breathe on all but three strokes (not counting the two breakout strokes). Rupprath, meanwhile, also demonstrates a high-arm recovery but maintains a two-down-one-up breathing pattern.

With less than 25 meters remaining five men were ahead of or finger-tipping the World Record line. Ultimately, the mark Phelps had set in the semifinals would out-run all competitors except himself and Crocker, though it was Crocker who touched first and took the World Record into uncharted territory with a 50.98, shaving half-a-second from Phelps’ one-day-old record. Phelps nonetheless shaved another 37/100ths from his previous mark to finish 2nd in 51.10, leaving bronze to Serdinov who also went a lifetime best, touching in 51.59.

The 2003 World Championships were a breakthrough for Crocker, who dropped an immense 1.23 seconds from his best time in Barcelona.

Phelps and Crocker would wrestle for the title of world’s greatest in the 100 butterfly for the next five years. Though Phelps usually got the better of Crocker when gold medals were on the line, it wasn’t until 2009 that Phelps once again boasted a faster best-time than Crocker. While Phelps managed a “magic touch” to win gold in the 100 fly at the 2004 Athens Olympic Games, Crocker won the 2005 World Championships in a blazing 50.40 which remained the “textile World Record” until 2016 when Singapore’s Joseph Schooling managed a 50.39 to win Olympic gold.

Finals, Men’s 100 Butterfly, 2003 World Championships:

(Crocker lane 3, Phelps lane 4, Serdinov lane 5; Phelps does not appear to be a medal-contender until around 75 meters when he makes his classic charge near the end of the race.)

Phelps’ dominion of the individual medleys was also secured during these championships. Phelps set a new World Record in the semifinals of the 200 IM and then lowered the mark again by 1.5 seconds in the finals to capture the title by nearly 4 seconds. Australian Ian Thorpe took second in the 200 IM in 2003, swimming a 1:59.66 to Phelps’ 1:56.04. Phelps also won the 400 IM in 4:09.09 and the 200 fly in 1:54.35. Interestingly, the only relay medal Phelps took home in 2003 was from the 400 medley relay where he swam the butterfly leg in prelims, ceding the finals to Crocker, as he would in 2004, though in 2003 the action was not voluntary.

Read the full story on SwimSwam: Serdinov, Phelps, Crocker: 3 Heats, 3 Consecutive World Records in the 100 Fly

By Braden Keith on SwimSwam

32-year old retired Russian swimmer Ksenia Sergeyevna Vereshchagina died on Monday, succumbing to an undisclosed lengthy illness.

Vereschagina was a member of the Russian National Team and represented Russia internationally in a handful of events and was the 2006 Russian national champion in the 200-meter breaststroke. That breakthrough came after 4-straight years of placing as the runner-up. She was also a Russian youth student champion in the 100 and 200 breaststroke.

Her best international finish came in 2004 at the European Short Course Championships in Vienna, Austria. There she finished 5th in her best event, the 200 breast, at only 17-years old.

She was also a European Junior Champion in 2002 as a member of Russia’s 300 medley relay.

For her accomplishments in the pool, she was given the title of International Master of Sports in Russia.

Read the full story on SwimSwam: 2006 Russian Champion Ksenia Vereshchagina Dies at 32 from ‘Long Illness’

By Giusy Cisale on SwimSwam

La nuotatrice russa Ksenia Sergeyevna Vereshchagina, 32 anni, è morta lunedì, soccombendo a una lunga malattia di cui non si conoscono i particolari.

Si era ritirata dalle competizioni nel 2010.

Ksenia Vereschagina era membro della Nazionale russa e ha rappresentato la Russia a livello internazionale in molte competizioni, sia giovanili che assolute.

E’ stata campionessa nazionale russa nel 2006 nei 200 metri rana. La medaglia d’oro ed il titolo arrivarono dopo quattro anni consecutivi in cui era arrivata al secondo gradino del podio.

Ai Campionati Europei giovanili di nuoto del 2002 conquistò la medaglia d’oro con la staffetta 4×100 metri misti femminile.

In patria, è stata anche campionessa studentesca sia nei 100 che nei 200 metri rana.

Il suo miglior piazzamento internazionale è arrivato nel 2004 ai Campionati europei di vasca corta a Vienna, Austria. Lì si classificò al 5° posto nei 200 metri rana, a soli 17 anni.

Per i suoi successi in piscina, le era stato conferito il titolo di Master Internazionale dello Sport in Russia.

notizia riportata in inglese da Braden Keith

Read the full story on SwimSwam: La Nuotatrice Russa Ksenia Vereshchagina Muore a 32 anni

By Braden Keith on SwimSwam

For the past few months, SwimSwam has been posting a daily swimming workout to help inspire swim coaches around the world who are looking for new ideas to try with their swimmers. Since most of the world’s pools are currently closed for business, we wanted to give swimmers and coaches an alternative set of dryland workouts to use to stay fit during the quarantine. These workouts will be designed to be done around the house. Some will use basic equipment, like medicine balls or stretch cords, while others will be all body-weight exercises.

These workouts are provided for informational purposes only.

See more at-home training ideas on our At Home Swim Training page here

Toilet Paper Workout

Missouri swim coach, native-born Alaskan, neo-Viking, and sometime-SwimSwam contributor Shawn Klosterman has found a lot of great ways to keep his Berzerker Swimming athletes engaged while they’re frozen of the water.

Among the best is an entire dryland workout using a roll of toilet paper.

Yes, the world’s second most-valuable commodity after hand sanitizer. Don’t have any to risk on a workout? Try something a little more dispensible, like a giant ball of socks, or a brick of 24-carat gold.

This workout, without resting in between exercises, takes about 8 minutes. Run through this about 3 times to get a full dryland set in.

Start with this dynamic warmup from Drew Garner, then jump into the main set! The workout is mostly core-based.

Read the full story on SwimSwam: Dyland Swimming Workouts #18 – Toilet Paper Fitness

By SwimSwam Partner Content on SwimSwam

While swim meets and practices are largely on hold worldwide right now due to the effects of COVID-19, BSN Sports still wants to highlight and celebrate swim teams from around the country. This week’s BSN Sports Swim Team of the Week, Tiger Aquatics, hails from Louisiana, operating out of Louisiana State University as well as three other nearby locations, and consists of roughly 250 athletes.

Louisiana State head coach Dave Geyer has owned Tiger Aquatics for the last six years, and works alongside a team that includes head coach Reed Robelot to ensure that the club team adheres to its mission of developing swimmers of all ages and levels. BSN spoke with Geyer to get a sense of what makes Tiger Aquatics special, as well as some of his thoughts on coaching in general.

According to Geyer, one thing that sets Tiger Aquatics apart from other teams is that…

We really promote and try to build our program as a family.   That’s important for me with both of my daughters swimming.   We obviously have a business to run and at times like right now there is some stress involved but when you treat your membership with respect like a family they support you through thick and thin.  Those are the families you want around.

Obviously, coaching a Division I swim team and owning a club team keeps Geyer busy, but having put in place a great staff means that he’s able to focus on what he needs to, while still staying involved with the team.

So my primary role is kind of like being the wizard of Oz.   Just being behind the curtains, maybe not so much smoke and mirrors but letting the coaching staff I put in place do their thing.  I’m there for a little guidance and direction but that’s about it. Last summer we had a coaching transition so I did spend a solid 6-8 weeks with our senior group and it was a blast. In hindsight I joked with them that I was just their rebound coach. Dangerous, out of the box, not really good for them. But they had fun, swam fast and finished the season loving the sport.  So it was a success. Coach Reed Robelot stepped on deck and has done a great job uniting our satellites and helping those coaches grow to their potential with the pools they have.

We tend to talk a lot about “success” in swimming, but not always about being “happy,” especially as coaches. When we asked Geyer what makes him happy as a coach, he said…

ABOUT BSN SPORTS 

Founded in 1972 as a factory-direct equipment company, today BSN SPORTS is the largest distributor of team sports apparel and equipment in the United States, with over 3,000 employees across 80 regional offices. At BSN SPORTS we believe that sports have the power to change lives. At the heart of what makes sports happen are the coaches, teachers and mentors who work with young and old alike to build meaningful lifelong experiences. That’s why our mission is simple. The more time we save coaches with everything they do off the deck, the more time they can spend changing lives. And that’s the real final score.

Get your swimmers in custom team gear with your team’s logo. My Team shop provides a one-stop-shop solution to custom apparel, suits, footwear, equipment and accessories. It’s simple to setup and the My Team Shop platform can even serve as a fundraising solution to earn dollars for your program. To set one up today email us at swimming@bsnsports.comor call 1-877-217-9027.

To learn more about BSN sports visit us at www.bsnsports.com/ib/swimming.

BSN SPORTS SWIMMING ON Instagram – @bsn_swimming

Read the full story on SwimSwam: BSN Sports Swim Team of the Week: Tiger Aquatics