November 10, 2008
November 04, 2008
Maybe this website needs a Fine Arts section
Yet another Pirate with out-of-the-pool talent. Sandi Rigby is having an exhibition opening on the 15th of November till 6th December. All Pirates are welcome to come along - you can download the event flyer here. Sandi also has a raffle of an etching with the proceeds going to the Children's Cancer Institute Australia for medical Research.
October 29, 2008
The next 26 weeks of your swimming life
Now that the State Short Course is out of the way we can look forward to our next training cycle. You may be happy (or not?) to note that we won't be doing any more "Lactate Tolerance Sundays" until January or thereabouts. Our immediate priority for the next couple of months is going to be building base fitness and stroke mechanics.
As always, the coaching staff welcomes feedback - particularly if that feedback is about your goals!
October 28, 2008
Social Sunday
Just a quick reminder - our monthly post-training breakfast is on again this coming Sunday (Nov. 2). So come along for a natter and a nosh after getting knackered. See you there!
October 21, 2008
Captain's Report - State Short Course Championships
Arch rivals Manly, Warringah and Pirates exchanged battle-fueled “stare downs” at each other in readiness for the chlorinated carnage about to unfold. At the same time, a number of the female Pirates were engaging in their own “stare downs” of Simon Goldschmidt. Excessive dribbling was recorded in some quarters.
The scene was set for a great carnival, the weather was beautiful, the pool was in pristine condition and expectations were high. Warm up was critical in order that blood/alcohol levels were brought within legal limits before the races started.
The officials sparkled, none more than Louise Stovin Bradford, whose Cheshire grin helped us all realise that the carnival was as much about having a good time as it was about achieving our hard-earned goals.
In the pool there were countless brilliant swims by Pirates. Pam Hutchings broke another world record in the 50 Backstroke, Peter Kerr swam breaststroke times to embarrass many freestylers, Richard Burchfield finally grew “teeth” and showed his true ability, Mitch Patterson left the crown cheering with some of his brilliant underwater work, and Rob Mason did his own brilliant underwater (moon) work after forgetting to tie his costumes. Biff Grindley scaled new heights in the 50 freestyle, where it took a world record by Lynette Stevenson to beat her for the gold.
People to hit their targets included Cathy Codling who was on fire, and recorded an unofficial national record in the 50 free lead off leg of one of her relays. Staffan Wensig set a state record in the 100 breast, but seemed pre-occupied in setting a world record for the most number of attempts to break 30 seconds for the 50 back. Staffan only missed this holy grail by a whisker. Well done Staffan.
Also Tracy McGuire found a new lease of life and recorded times near her all time PB’s. Jane Noake set more new PB’s, Marty Hamilton let us know he’s getting serious again, and Rachel’s times weren’t all she’d hoped, but she put in some solid performances chasing Gold (think about it). Christy Clark was also on the money given the preparation work she’d had. Jeff Price put in a magic 50 fly and will continue to be a force as his shoulder recovers and as he joins a new age group soon. Lee Mason took huge slices off her 100 medley and the stewards are looking into this one. Alan Dufty was relentless in pushing the Pirates cause, even when his body was giving him other messages.
Helen Wallace swam a brilliant 200 free, Nathan Pratt swam
better with each race, Mark Bee looked effortless and put down some solid times
for his comeback meet, Mark Patterson broke the minute in the 100 free for the
first time in 3 years, Paul Slater was like a stealth fighter slicing through
the water in his new streamlined “self suit”. Dave Sloan recorded some great
times and must have been happy with his 50 fly.
Milton “skin head" O’Dell set a new state record in his 50 fly and hardly even mentioned it. Darren Paton kept Darrin Jones honest by beating him by 1/100th of a second for the second time in as many meets.
Simon Goldschmidt certainly looked the goods, and swam some amazing breaststroke. To the extent where Rachel stopped talking for about 10 seconds.
The relays ran as smooth as silk but we were saddened to lose Elvera Vickery with a leg injury at the start of the meet. Rob McLellan did a job and a half in taking splits for all the relays, sometimes with 3 stop watches in one hand. Rob was also happy with his pool work, and put in some near PB times with limited preparation.
Also in the relays Craig Smith swam a fast freestyle anchor leg, and was consistent in his breaststroke times. Peter Long didn’t jump on anyone and swam in his allocated order….and lane. Peter was happy with his backstroke performances and contributed over 40 individual points against some stiff opposition. Well done Pete.
In the end Manly came up winners, and Pirates were worthy runners up.
It is certainly a pleasure being Club Captain to this team of people who dare to call themselves Pirates
Capt’n Mark
October 20, 2008
State Short Course - Congratulations
Congratulations to Pirates Pam Hutchings and Peter Kerr who were named Female and
Male Swimmer of the Meet.
[Click on the photo for a larger image.]
Full results can be found on the AUSSI Masters NSW website.
A big thank you
I would like to thank every member of the Pirate team at the State Championships this weekend for helping the Meet run so smoothly. I saw every member of the team timekeeping at one time or another, or helping out in an official capacity, and I would like to thank you all.
This would be the first State Meet I could say that every Pirate had a go and helped out in some way and it was fantastic to see - it makes my job so much easier.
And congratulations to the entire team, everyone swam so well, we did the club proud.
Thanks again
Jane Noake
October 13, 2008
An AUSSI swimmer in Paris
[Click on the photo for a larger image.]
Shane Batchelor is in Paris with The Australian Ballet. Performing in Grahame Murphys famous version of Swan Lake. Shane is the Queen in Swan Lake. A review in the Herald said that at one performance they had no less than 10 curtain calls. After Paris they have 6 performances in Manchester, UK.
Jeff will be pleased to know Shane has found a pool close by in Paris, but said the swimmers are very very slow and don't like it when she passes them.
October 12, 2008
Coaches Corner
Good News!! All of the training you’ve put in over the short course season is about to pay dividends!! In order to “Go Off” at the Short Course Championships this month, all you need to do is put everything we’ve practiced at training into practice. Easy, isn’t it!?! AND just to help you, we’ve posted an article below by John Bates about the last week before a major Meet.
What’s that?? You’ve been really slack and haven’t looked after yourself this season?? More Good News!! After Short Course we will be going back to the grind of aerobic training, building the fitness base that you can launch into next year’s major Meets from. These include the State Long Course, the Nationals (in Qld) and the World Masters Games (in Sydney). Now it’s simply over to you.
Also, we will be making minor changes to our coaching roster after Short Course. Bulldog Sloan is hanging up his coaching credentials for a while. It seems your collective enthusiasm has worn him out. In his place you will find the ever reliable “Richie Rich” Burchfield, assisted from time to time by Milton “let me practice my CPR ideas on you” O’Dell. Additionally, Steve “Yodeller” Hyde will be seen on deck every second Sunday or so, giving yours truly a chance to get in the pool more often. Barry “Web Whiz” Thomas will keep up the good work on Thursdays. Go Team!!
Jeff
One Week to Short Course
The Final Week
Mental Focus
Your energy in the final week before a big meet should be spent on mentally visualizing your races from the point of standing behind the blocks to getting on the blocks and diving in the water. What happens once you dive in the water should have been practiced at every workout in the preceding weeks. The more you prepare yourself mentally by thinking about your race and how you will feel behind the blocks, the more relaxed you will feel on the day, as you will have already mentally been through the stressful part of standing behind the blocks waiting for your race to start.
Final Training Sessions
In the final week of training the best thing you can do is just relax and focus on feeling good in the water. Start your work outs by doing a warm up of about 1km and then some burst 10-15 m sprints with at least 75 metres swim between each burst. For the middle and distance people who swim 200’s and above some pace work of 6 x 50’s on a comfortable time with moderate rest so that you are swimming the 50’s comfortably fast and yet not too hard. About 1:10 or 1:20 per 50 is a good cycle for that.
Shaving Down
I would expect that most people going to Nationals would shave down and everybody going to World Championships should shave down. For State Champs it's optional and really just depends on how keen you are to set PB's. It is about the “feel” in the water that you are trying to achieve as you are not only taking off the hairs on your body but also the layers of dead skin. This leaves you with a tingling sensation when you dive in the water to race and you seem to be able to glide on through the water. If you are feeling quite flat coming into the meet, shaving down is a great way to perk you up and make you feel good in the water. The best way to shave down is to clip down first and then shave down after that, remembering that you do not have to get “every” hair on your body. For men shaving your underarm is optional as it can lead to an uncomfortable rash as the hair grows back. After you have shaved down I find that using a facial scrub over your whole body helps remove any remaining dead skin cells leaving you feeling smooth as silk.
Breakfast
My suggestion is vegemite toast, fruit and juice or water. Avoid milk for the final few days before a competition. Eat enough to fill your stomach but do not eat until you are full.
Meet Warm up
The meet warm up should involve whatever it takes to make you feel loose and comfortable and it should involve a few burst sprints. My usual warm up is about a 500 swim and then maybe 4-6 50’s at a comfortable pace and then 100 swim down and a dive or two off the blocks. Then about 1 hour before my race I have a stretch and swim about 300 metres and do 4-6 \10-15 metre bursts. I then put my race suit on and make sure my goggles are tight and race ready and from that point on until my race I am constantly slowly moving my arms and legs and shaking them out. Mentally I am ready to race from that point on.
It is also important at this time to get used to the starter and listen to them start some races so when you are on the blocks you know the voice and the sound to listen for.
Swim Down’s
After each race you need to get in and swim at least 400 metres easy. I would suggests swimming at least 200 of this back stroke kicking your legs as it is your quads that are going to have the most lactic acid in them that you will be trying to get rid of.
The best thing you can do is relax and let it happen.
John Bates
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