Last Saturday’s Postal Swim

Team,

A couple things!
Last Saturday’s Postal Swim

Congratulations to the “Bovine 9 and the Utter 2” (don’t blame me, it’s was all Steve Lauren’s idea, and even though there were only 10 participants) for doing the Brute Squad Postal Swim last Saturday. I’m sure some of their arms are feeling it today! In case you didn’t know, these were the participants in no particular order:

Erin Crabtree, Lindsey Bahr, Tom Siebert, Kirby Bell, Keith Organ, Sean McLean, Aaron Huie, Steve Laugen, Joe Price, Mark Fedorchak
Caroline Robertson was able to come and time – thank you!!! And, Colin and Teresa were able to stop by and take some pictures. A great job was done by all, as this was no easy challenge. All swims were done in heats, which provided ample time for rests. The total time to do the swim for everyone was 2 hrs. and 45 mins. Great job!!!!

2010 Club Registrations

In a couple days, I’ll be providing a schedule of meets that I would recommend we attend this Winter/Spring. But, before that can take place, we need to get as many people registered with USMS as possible. So, below is the link to the USMS site that will allow you to register online with a credit card (this is the fastest method), and gives you a PDF of your card instantly. You’ll probably need to copy and paste it.

https://www.clubassistant.com/club/USMS.cfm?l=14

If you would rather pay by check, please use the following URL to access a form you can fill out and mail to me. If you use this form, please make checks out to Masters of Orlando. Regardless of which method you use to register for Masters this year, please remember that there is a MOO club fee of $7. This is incorporated on the mail-in form, but not with the online registration that you pay with credit card. This fee helps defray some costs throughout the year.
If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me.


Bruce

Coach, Masters of Orlando

Meet Vik Ramprakash Version 2.0

Janav G Ramprakash born on December 19th 2009 at 6:06 am
Congrats to Vik and his wife!

Brute Squad Swim Update

For all of you that are planning on swimming the Brute Squad Swim this Saturday, we have a scheduling challenge. We can swim in the elements at the Downtown Y in the morning starting at 8:30am. Although you’re all a bunch of brutes, the weather is expected to be cool…quite cool. If you want to go for indoors, we can swim at the Aquatic Center at noon. The Aquatic Center is not available in the morning for us.

Also, please keep in mind that we will not be using a timing system, just stopwatches.

Please indicate to me which would be your preference. Also, please share this with anyone that may not swim with MOO on a regular basis.
Bruce

first annual MOO Holiday relays

Team,

On Thursday of this week, don’t miss out on the first annual MOO Holiday relays! And, hopefully we’ll be in the newly resurfaced outside pool. We’ll train for part of practice, but the last half will be filled with bizarre relays. Come swim and have fun!

If you normally don’t train with us because you’re not a Downtown Y member, let me know…I’ve got guess passes I can send you!

BRUTE SQUAD participants – we’re going to meet at the Aquatic Center on I-Drive this Saturday morning at 8:30am to swim. Everyone can participate…there is no cost to do the swims – only when you send in the entry form with your times do you have to pay anything. And remember, you have to have a current USMS registration. There are about 10 people scheduled to do the swims - 200 fly, 400 IM, 1650 free. If you’re not one to swim, please come to time (and we need timers!) and cheer the “brutes” on to completion!

If you know of anyone that wants to join us for the Brute Squad swim, make sure they get this email.

Holiday Practice Schedule
Next week, we'll have practice on Monday and Tuesday night. The Y will be closing early on Christmas eve.

See you at the pool!

Bruce

Swimmer of the Month- December 09

Congratulations to our swimmer of the month for December- Tom Seibert! Tom has been swimming with MOO on and off since 2005. Tom is a great competator often attending meets no one else goes to and practicing with teams all over the country when he is away on business. Click here to learn more about Tom.

No practice this Thursday

We'll be having our annual Holiday Party on Thursday night, December 10th, so please save the date. If you have not gotten the e-vite please ask at practice for details or contact Bruce. Due to the party, there will not be any practice that night.

As always look for the return of some favorite gifts at the white elephant gift exchange, but I doubt the snoopy snow cone machine will reappear.

MOO Updates!

Team,

As we get into November and December, things are going to get busy for everyone. And, the first thing that may suffer is your training. I want to encourage each of you to continue training hard every chance you get during this holiday season. After all, we’ve got our MOO meet in mid-January!
So, to help you out, I’m going to outline two events that will help you maintain your motivation.


First we have the 15-Minute Postal swim presented by Arizona Masters. It’s simple. During the course of practice we’ll do a set that consists of continuous swimming. At the end of 15 minutes, we’ll total up your individual yardage and submit it against those that are participating all over the country. It’s cheap to enter; only $8. So, for more information, please check out this web site:
www.15minutepostal.com
If you choose to participate, please let me know. You must be a current USMS member. Contact me if you have any questions. I’m looking to do this the week of December 14th.
Secondly, there is the 2009 Brute Squad Postal. This one is not for the faint of heart. The event must be swim within a 24-hour day, but we’ll get it done quicker, and with ample rest! You will be required to swim a 1650 Freestyle, a 400 IM and a 200 Fly. The cost is $25 (includes a long sleeve t-shirt, or $35 if you want a hoodie sweatshirt). This postal swim is not only for individuals, but for team points as well. If you are interested in doing this, please let me know by Thanksgiving. I want to be able to schedule this for a time when everyone who wants to swim it is available. Check out all the details at: http://www.BruteSquadSwim.com
As with the other postal swim, you must be a registered Masters swimmer to participate. Again, if you have any questions, please contact me.

See you at the pool!
Bruce

November Swimmer of the month

Congratulations Swimmer of the month- Sean McClean! Sean has been with MOO since 2007 and was on the diving team at Ithaca College. Click here to learn more about Sean!

We are also back at the downtown YMCA in the outdoor pool, hope to see everyone there!

Downtown Y Pool update

Team,

The inside pool at the Downtown Y is now being filled up. Pending approval by the Orlando Department of Health, the pool will be ready for use on the morning of Tuesday Nov 10th. If everything works out, we'll be at Cady Way only Thursday and Monday. Please watch your emails for any last-minute changes. If you have any questions, please don't call the Y, but call or email me.

See you at practice!

Bruce

Great job MOO at the Rowdy Gaines meet

Great job at the meet this past weekend. Click here for results from the meet. We took 4th place out of 40 teams!!! Tomorrow we will swim combined with all the area master's teams against Rollins College. Go MOO!!!

8 am warmup

Hope to see everyone at the Aquatic Center for the meet this weekend. If you aren't signed up come on over to cheer on MOO!!! Here are the moo swimmers who are signed up so far- Erin, Sean, Sean, Jill, John, Chandler, Mark B, Ana, Steve, Tom, Shannon, Maria, Dawn, Kathy, Glenn, Natalie, Kathleen, Starlene. Warmup both days is at 8:00am and the meet starts at 9:00am!

This is a rare opportunity for us to have a meet in town! See you at the pool!

Here is a fun photo of our group team win at the Aquatic Center meet 2 Summer's ago!

ROWDY IS SWIMMING!!! & Entry Deadline is EXTENDED to 10/16

Swimmer of the Month- October 09

Congratulations to our Swimmer of the Month for October- Steve Laugen. Steve has been making us laugh since he first joined the team, dancing on tables and being a ham in general. He is also a great swimmer! After the first Saturday practice he joined us for; he told us he would do about anything for a free t-shirt! This is when he entered a hot wing eating contest requiring the signing of several wavers. I remember laughing so hard I cried. Click here to find out more about Steve.

October Events...

As it turns out, October is turning into one busy month. Below is a listing of meets and social opportunities:

• October 3 - Daiquiri Deck Tropical Splash Open Water Swim in Sarasota (1K, 2K and 3K). If you're interested in going, please contact Bruce. We're planning on carpooling to save on finances.
• October 17-18 - Rowdy Gaines meet at the YMCA Aquatic Center. Deadline for entries is Monday, Oct. 12th at noon. The 100 IM has been added to the list of events on Saturday. It's not often we get meets in our own backyard. Take advantage of this one.
• October 17 - AquaBall at 6:30pm (fundraiser for the Aquatic Center). This is actually a really good deal. It's only $40 if you're a Y member, and it includes: a ticket to SeaWorld for Saturday 10/17 (go after the meet), full gourmet dinner and all open bar. Yes, open bar including all the beer and wine you care to drink. The dinner is casual (theme park casual) and will be in a private location within the park. Let's have a good size group from MOO support this! If you're not going to the Miami/UCF game, this could be a great pregame tailgate party! Tickets can be ordered by calling 407.363.1911 and please let Bruce know if you're planning on going!
• October 24th - 1:00pm - Dual meet against Rollins College at Rollins College. Please contact Sean McCormack if you'd like to attend.
• October 31 - afternoon/evening at the Epcot Food & Wine Festival. Theme Park tickets are required. Please contact Teresa Szakos for more information. The above photo is from Food and wine fest from last year.

NOTE: Except for swimming in the Rollins College dual meet, any other swims will require a USMS registration card. Please let Bruce know if you want to swim, but don't have a card.

IMPORTANT:

Starting on Monday, September 28th, we'll be training at Cady Way pool in Winter Park. This is only temporary, as the indoor pool gets refurbished. The Caty Way pool is outdoors and the best thing is practice times and practice days will be the same. Only the location will change. Please use MapQuest to find the best directions from your home. The address is 2335 Cady Way, Winter Park, FL 32789.

The pool is temperature controlled. We will be the only ones using it since the pool normally closes at 7:00pm. I'll find out if the locker rooms will still be open, but I really think they will be. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask Bruce.

Please welcome three new swimmers to MOO: Mark Fedorchak, Joe Price and Robert Lee!

Good luck to those swimming in Ocala this weekend! It looks like some of the MOO Moms will be accompanied by Steve "Dancing on the table in the Greek restaurant in his MOO suite" Laugen! Good luck and beware!

Lake Swim this Saturday

You all probably saw the news, but just in case ...
Lucky is having a memorial swim on Saturday (7:45) for his Mom. The Aquatic Center is going to give out special caps to all who swim.

AT downtown Y until the end of the month

Team,

I just wanted to bring you up to speed on some upcoming meets and the schedule for the closure of the indoor pool at the Downtown Y.

Swimming Opportunities

• September 26 / Short Course Yards (like our pool): Central Florida Marlins Fall Splash. Ocala FL. The entries need to be postmarked by Saturday 9/19, or with a late fee on 9/23. Meet information can be found at the following URL: http://www.dixiezone.org/Meets/0909ocala.pdf You need to be a USMS registered swimmer to participate in this meet. I will not be able to attend this meet, but that shouldn't stop anyone from going.
• October 3 / Open water swim: Daiquiri Deck Tropical Splash (1K, 3K, 5K). Sarasota FL. The entry deadline for this swim along the beach in Sarasota needs to be postmarked by Friday, 9/18. Late entries (up to race day) are accepted with an additional fee. Information about this Open Water swim can be found at the following URL: http://www.dixiezone.org/Meets/0910tropicalsplash.pdf You need to be a USMS or USA Swimming registered swimmer to participate in this Open Water swim. I am planning to swim at this event, so those of you that are fearful of shark attacks need not worry. I'm a big enough morsel to quench the appetite of quite a few sharks!
• October 17-18 / Short Course Meters (like our pool, but a little bit longer): Rowdy Gaines Masters Classic. Orlando FL. Entries need to be received by noon on Monday, 10/12. Postmarks don't count. Meet information can be found at the following URL: http://www.dixiezone.org/Meets/0910orlando.pdf You need to be a USMS registered swimmer to participate in this meet. I'm not a fan of Short Course Meters, but there are some swims - mostly relays, where we can go after some records. You can swim one day or both, but if you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact me. I will be in attendance at this meet.

Meet Registration

• If you would like to swim in any of the above events and are not registered with USMS, please do so online at this link: http://www.floridalmsc.org/Registration/MOO.htm By doing the registration online, and since it's late in the season, the fee that will be charged to your credit card is only $28 and not $33. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me.

Downtown Y Pool Closure

• There is a delay in the work that's going to be done to the indoor pool at the Y. We are still okay to swim through the month of September since construction is slated for 9/28. At that time, we'll continue to swim, but at a different location. We're working to keep our practice times and days the same. The only thing that would change is our location. Hopefully, we'll be able to swim at Caty Way pool in Winter Park. This is an outdoor 50 meter facility, but we'll be swimming 25 yards going across the pool by the diving well end. The total time that the indoor pool will be closed is looking like 6 weeks. As more information comes, I'll be sharing it with you.
See you at the pool!

Bruce

Masters of Orlando, Coach

Downtown YMCA pool info

The indoor pool will be closed in September for at least 6 weeks. We are working out the details to swim at the Katy Way pool. Our hope is to have no changes in practice times or days; only the location. If you have any questions, please direct them to Bruce. More information will be coming shortly.

Swimmer of the Month- September 09

Congratulations to the Swimmer of the month for September- Teresa Szakos! You will often see her in the pool swimming backstroke, and always having a great time at the MOO social activities. Teresa has been with MOO since the Summer of 2007, although she hates the coldest months. She is always showing her MOO team spirit! Click here for more info about Teresa.

Up coming meets

SEPTEMBER

On Saturday, September 26th, there's a one-day short course yards (SCY) meet in Ocala. Information regarding this meet can be found at: http://www.dixiezone.org/Meets/0909ocala.pdf In order to participate in this meet, you will need to be a registered Masters swimmer with MOO

OCTOBER

October 17-18 at the Aquatic Center on I-Drive is a short course meters meet. Short course meters pools are a little bit longer than the pools at the Downtown Y. I'm not a big fan of this type of pool - maybe because I coach a team for 10 years that had one! But, these SCM meets are popular in Florida. For many of you I'd like to focus on swimming relays for the sole purpose of breaking some records. Since these meets are not that popular in the rest of the country, records are fairly easy to break. There's just not a lot of people trying! Relays for SCM and LCM (Long Course Meters) meets are made up differently. They are not based on age groups like men or women ages 25-29, but on a cumulative approach like the age group 120-159, which is the total age of all four swimmers. Here are the age groups:
72-99 / 100-119 / 120-159 / 160-199 / 200-239 / 240-279 / 280-319 / 320-359 /360-399

Information on the Aquatic Center meet is found at the following link: http://www.dixiezone.org/Meets/0910orlando.pdf

To swim in this meet, you will need to be registered with MOO through the Florida LMSC. An online registration can be found at: http://www.floridalmsc.org/Registration/MOO.htm If you register online, please remember to pay the MOO registration fee of $7.

Another October meet takes place the following Saturday, October 24th at 1:00pm in the afternoon. This is a dual meet against the Rollins College men's and women's swim teams. Swimmers from other Masters teams, like Team Orlando and Orlando Masters, will also be competing against the Rollins team. You don't have to be a registered Masters swimmer with MOO to participate in this meet. If you are interested in swimming, or have any questions, please contact Sean McCormack. To help Sean organize this entry, please let him know of your intent to swim, and provide him with the strokes, times and distances (50's and 100's) by September 30th. If you don't want to swim, please come and cheer on your teammates! More information regarding this meet will be coming.

Again, if you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me.

Bruce
Masters of Orlando, Coach

Good Job MOO at St Pete Meet

This past weekend a group of MOO swimmers swam the St. Pete Masters Long Course Championships. The 'moo moms' started out with great swims on Saturday and were joined by more swimmers for Sunday swims. Two new swimmers joined us in this meet, welcome to the group Dawn & Ana Emma. Check out the meet pictures on the moo group on Facebook.

for meet results click here

Swimmer of the Month- July 09

Congratulations to our swimmer of the month for July, Ryan Hall! Ryan has been swimming with MOO since 2007 and can also be spotted running and biking around downtown. Ryan has placed in many local open water swims as well as in meets with MOO! Click here to find out more about Ryan.

Tonight Nightime lake swim at lucky's

Tonight a group is meeting up at Lucky's at 10 PM to watch Jaws then jump in the lake for a swim. There is a special night swim patch to be earned. See you there!!!

Click here for more info about Lucky's and directions.

St Pete meet July 11-12

Team,

I wanted to remind you of some upcoming meets. 

St. Pete Masters will be holding their long course meet on July 11-12.  Below is a link to the meet information.

http://www.dixiezone.org/Meets/0907SPM.pdf

Entries must be postmarked by Tuesday, July 1st!  1500's start on Saturday morning, so if you're not swimming the mile, you can wake up at a reasonable time as the rest of the meet starts at 11:00 am!  Please try and make this meet a priority to attend.  If you can make it for even one day, that would be great.  If we have a good showing at their meet, we stand a better chance of them coming to our meet. 

And…speaking of our meet…it is now official.  We'll be hosting the first ever "Who's going to rule the pasture" MOO meet (that's not the actual title of the meet - I was just having some fun!) at the YMCA Aquatic Center on January 16-17, 2010.  Mark it on your calendars!

There will be practice tonight, and we'll be getting out right on time for you to get to your favorite Magic viewing location - whether it be your home or some bar stool!

Bruce 

Jack Beattie's Lake Swim

Great job MOO swimmers!

Last Saturday we had a good crowd of MOO members at the 18th annual Jack Beattie's lake swim. Congratulations to Ryan and Teresa who took 1 and 2 for the women, while Sean, John Schrantz and John Jackson dominated the race placing 1-3.

click here for more pictures

Pancake Breakfast & Lake Swim this Saturday

Just a quick reminder that Jack Beattie's one mile lake swim followed by a pancake breakfast is this Saturday morning at 10 am. Wear your MOO gear and we'll see you there.

Date:	Saturday, May 30, 2009
Time:	10:00am - 12:30pm
Location:	Lake Maitland
Street:	561 Via Lugano
City/Town:	Winter Park, FL

Phone:

407-628-3226

May Swimmer of the month- Colin

Congratulations to Colin Schneider our Swimmer of the month for May.  Colin has been swimming with MOO since 2006.  He is often quiet in the pool, so here's your chance!  Click here to learn more about Colin.

St Pete Hurriane Man swim

Great job MOO swimmers!  We had a huge crowd at the beach this year.  In the 1K 25-29 age group Teresa took 1st, Kristin took 2nd and Erin took 3rd.  Kathleen and John S. both took 1st and their age groups.  Coach Bruce swam and took 2nd in his age group.  We also had several swimmers in the 2 mile swim.  Ryan took 3rd in her age group.  Men 25-29 Sean McCormack took 2nd and John Jackson took 3rd.  In the 30-34 age group Aaron Huie took 2nd and Kirby took 4th.  Sean McClean placed 11th in age group 35-39.  In the 40-44 age group Steve took 16th followed by Chandler in 17th.

Great job to all swimmers!  I don't have the numbers yet, but there were hundreds of swimmers on the beach!

Hurricane Man Swim this Saturday

Below is the schedule for the swim, we have about 17 MOO swimmers planning to head over to St Pete Beach for the big swim!  Good luck to all!

6:00am-6:45am.......Check-in, packet pick-up and body marking

7:15am....................1000 Meter race start (North end of beach at 22nd Avenue)

7:30am....................2.4 mile race start (County Park at 4700 Gulf Boulevard – across

from Dolphin Village Shopping Center)

8:15am....................Official end of 1000 meter race

8:45am (approx.).... Awards for 1000 meter race – 2nd floor restaurant

9:30am....................Official end of 2.4 mile race – 2 HOUR TIME LIMIT

10:00am (approx.).. Awards for 2.4 mile race – 2nd floor restaurant

Jack Beattie's 18th annual lake swim and pancake breakfast

	Saturday, May 30, 2009
	10:00am - 12:30pm
	Lake Maitland
	Winter Park, FL
	Come join the local Master swimmers of central FL and MOO for this annual one mile swim race in Lake Maitland. It's absolutely free...no registration, no fees, just show up for a lake swim and enjoy a pancake breakfast and mimosas afterwards...Carrot Top (famous comedian), Jack's neighbor, will be there managing the event. Several MOO swimmers have attended in years past. Each year Jack Beattie hosts this event at his residence located in historical Winter Park on Lake Maitland. Jack is local masters swimming legend and has opened his house up to fellow master swimmers like us. So come on out and we'll see you there.

Rowdy Gaines

Rowdy Gaines will be at Lucky's Lake swim on Saturday.  Come join the fun at 7:45am and get in more practice for the Hurricane Man swim coming up at St. Pete Beach.

See you at the lake...

Moo spotlight swimmer of the Month- April

Congratulations to Sean McCormack our spotlight swimmer of the month for April.  Sean has been swimming with MOO since Feb of 2006 and is currently one of our two co-captains. Sean has been doing meets with the team since right after he joined.  He is also an avid runner and open water swimmer. To learn more about Sean click here.

Hurricane Man Swim- May 9th

The Hurricane Man open water swim at St Pete Beach is Saturday May 9th.  Entry forms must be postmarked by Wednesday April 29th. Click here to view the form. There is a 10oo meter and a 2.4 mile swim.  We can set up carpools to drive over that morning.  MOO took several top places in last year's swim

 Last year John took 1st place for the men in the 1K swim, and Ryan took 1st place for the women. Kristin took 1st place for the women in the 2.4 mile swim. Sean took 2nd place for the men moving up from 9th place the previous year also taking first place in his age group. Kathleen took 2nd place in her age group.

This Saturday 7:45am lake swim

Kathleen will complete her 100th crossing Saturday morning April 25th at Lucky's Lake swim.  If you have never done it come out for the 1K swim and sign the wall and get a patch.  If you have been come swim and cheer her on.  For more info about the swim click here.

There is a hot tub to warm up after the swim if it is a chilly morning.

Great job MOO!!!

The downtown YMCA team took 5th place at Nationals this year out of 45 teams! Great job to all swimmers.   For results click here.  For more photos see the facebook MOO group.  It is free to join if you aren't already a member.

Friday YMCA national results

There were lots of great swims today.  The team is in 8th place after all of todays events were swum.  We hope to see everyone there tomorrow and Sunday!!!

Real time results for Nationals

The downtown Orlando YMCA team is in 10th place out of 38 teams right now.

Thursdays swims included:

1650free  Sean McClean 3rd place

John Keen 4th place

1000Free Linda Visser 1st place

Kathleen 4th place

Chandler 8th place.

The results are being posted in real time on the web.  Click here to access results.

Great Job MOO!!!

Ready Set Swim- YMCA nationals

YMCA nationals are this weekend at Ft Lauderdale.

WARM-UPs 

Wednesday from 5:00 PM to 7:30 PM in the entire pool; 

Thursday through Sunday from 6:30AM to 7:45 AM in the entire pool; and from 6:30 AM to the end of the day’s session in the warm-up/warm-down pool. The meet starts at 8:00 AM each day.

Please click here for meet info and Psych sheets.

Good luck MOO swimmers!!!

*** Please pay attention during the meet as 2 heats will be running at the same time.  It is very easy to miss your event, especially 50's because the heats move so quickly.  If you don't believe me ask Wayne.***

MOO apparel

See order form of the apparel available to any MOO swimmer. There are different sayings and artwork that are available for T-shirts. Embroidered polos, baseball caps and fleece jackets are also available - not to mention, swim caps.

If you are planning on attending Y Nationals, you will need to return your order form to Bruce, with payment, by Wednesday, April 8th, in order to receive you items on time. If you do not make this timeline, the next order due date is Thursday, April 29th.

Please fill in all personal information at the top of the order form and ALL CHECKS MUST BE MADE OUT TO: MASTERS OF ORLANDO

Great Job MOO at st. Pete

For meet results click here. Great Job to Erin, Teresa, Ryan, John Jackson, Sean McCormack, John Schrantz, Kirby, Steve, and Chand Crownover. These 9 swimmers had lots of good competition at the meet and took home lots of individual awards and 3 relays placing 1st, 1st, 2nd, and 1st. More than 56 events were swum by these team members!

Go MOO!!!

St Pete this weekend

The meet is at the Beautiful North Shore pool in St. Pete.  Even if you aren't swimming it is a nice drive and a beautiful outdoor pool!  Come show your team spirit!  1650 starts at 5:00pm Friday and sign in is required.  All other events are Saturday and Sunday.  Warmup begins at 8:00 each morning and the events start at 9:00. Click here for more details.

pick up practice

In the spirit of getting ready for the St Pete meet and the Y nationals we are having an informal pick up practice at the aquatic center this Sunday at 12:30pm. See you there!

Nationals swimmers

Here is the list of masters swimmers who are signed up for nationals. A total of 30 including coach Bruce. We've got 27 relays entered and 163 individual events. We've got a great team this year! Click here to view the Psych sheets.

Erin Crabtree
Jackie Spence
Linda Visser
Kathleen Fitzgerald
Ryan Hall
Teresa Szakos

Vanessa Martinez
Debbie Baker

Maria Gonzalez,

Kathy von Dohlen, Starlene Burns, Aaron Huie, Colin Schneider, John Keen, John Jackson, John Schrantz, Keith Organ, Kirby Bell, Mark Kowalak, Sean McClean, Sean McCormack, Steve Laugen, Tom Bliss, Wayne Baker, Chandler Crownover, Gilberto Hall, Chris Bolfing, Andrew Greener, Bruce Schmidt

Please see Sean McCormack if you would like a team swim cap. They are $5 each or 4 for $15. There are still several available

Upcoming Events

JUNIOR NATIONALS HELP NEEDED - Junior Nationals are being held this week at the Aquatic Center. If you would like to volunteer to help, they need timers for the Thursday and Friday morning sessions from 8:30am - 1:30pm. If you can help, please call Gay Wright at 407.432.9447.

SHORT COURSE MEET IN ST. PETE NEXT WEEKEND - Even though the deadline for the St. Pete meet on March 28-29 was yesterday, they will still except entries. Check out the details for the meet at www.floridalmsc.org if you would still like to go. For those that are planning on going, please let Bruce know what days you will be swimming.

YMCA NATIONALS - I want to encourage each of you that are attending Y Nationals in Ft. Lauderdale to be diligent in attending practice. I realize that you each have varying work schedules and other commitments, but the more time spent in the water at practice, the more effective your taper will be.

St. Pete SCY Championships deadline

St Pete meet deadline comming up soon. Meet entries must be postmarked by Tuesday, March 17, 2009. Late entries received by mail (postmarked after March 17), phone or e-mail after this date will be accepted with an additional $10.00 fee until Friday, March 21st. Meet is at North Shore Pool, located at 901 North Shore Drive NE, in St. Petersburg, FL. Friday March 27-Sunday 29.

How to get the most out of your workout while circle swimming

Here are some suggestions to improving your workout while swimming by Samantha Grant Swimer Magazine.

First choose a lane with swimmers of a similar speed.

If you are circle swimming with other people in your lane pay attention to where you push off the wall when you flip-turn. Envision yourself swimming down the right side of the lane, with another swimmer five seconds in front of you. If that person swims straight into the wall and flips such that her feet push off the right side of that big black cross, she will have to cut a very sharp angle to gracefully end up on the other side of the lane. She will narrowly miss crashing into you with each turn. If, conversely, she angles left into the wall, and pushes off to the left of the black cross, she can then streamline straight off the wall and is automatically on the correct side for the return lap. No near crashes. No need for you to give her ten seconds of lead time.

If you are slower than anyone else in your lane, you must always yield to them. Never begin your lap as they are approaching your wall for a flip turn. Let them go first. If you notice that they are normally doing freestyle but end up stuck behind you and start doing breaststroke to slow down, you need to let them pass at the next turn.

When you need a rest break, don’t stand at the end of the pool in the middle of the lane. Other swimmers need to use the wall for flip turns. To take a break, swim into the wall on the right side, and stay as close to the lane line as possible.

If you are doing a set with a group of more than three people, pay attention to the person behind you. With three people, each person can touch the wall at the end of the set and look up to see his or her time. With four people, the third swimmer needs to move away from the wall so that the fourth person can touch the wall at the end. Usually the way this works is at the end of a set the first person touches in on the far left side of the lane. The second person touches in the center, and remains there. The third person touches to the far right, and then immediately moves to the center of the lane, no longer adjacent to the wall, so that he is pool-side of the second person. Now the fourth person can touch in on the far right. This seems complicated, but I’ve swum with upwards of 10 people in a lane, and it works if everyone plays along. With more than four swimmers, each additional person needs to move to the center of the lane after they touch in on the right.

Moo Spotlight Swimmers of the month-March

Congratulations to Mark Behrens, our spotlight swimmer of the month for March!  Mark started with MOO back in 2000, and swam his first meet with the team this past year.  His first event was the infamous "900" meter event at Cocoa.  To learn more about Mark click here

volunteer timers needed

There's a large meet at the Aquatic Center this weekend and volunteer timers are needed. Below is a schedule of when events start. If you're able to help out in any of these sessions, please be at the pool 30 minutes prior to the session starting.

Friday and Saturday: Prelims @8:30, Finals @ 5
Sunday: Prelims @ 8:30, Finals @ 4

Free breakfast, lunch and dinner for anyone that helps out. They are way short of timers on Friday and Sunday during the day.

any questions contact erin

YMCA nationals- Entries due

April 16-19 YMCA nationals.  If you are going to the meet and have not already done so please give your entry papers to Bruce by Tuesday March 3rd.  Just a reminder, you do not have to go all 4 days and we will work on carpools and room sharing for anyone who is interested. You do not need to be registered with Masters only a YMCA member to swim this one.  If you still need a swim cap please see Sean. This meet is a blast and we hope everyone can join us!!!

SUN Masters Annual Valentine's Meet

The first meet of 09 started off with great swims by our team members. Kathleen, Steve, Kirby, John Schrantz, John Jackson, Colin, Sean, Ryan, Teresa and Coach Bruce represented MOO in this past weekends swim meet. MOO placed 6th out of 37 teams at the SUN Masters Annual Valentine's Meet in Clearwater, FL. Most of our swimmers placed in the top 3 of their age groups. Ryan and Teresa took home 2nd and 3rd respectfully in the 25-30 girls. The boys in the same age group had a very tight competition, Sean took 2nd, Colin 3rd, closely followed by John Schrantz and John Jackson. Kirby took home 2nd in his 30-34 age group.

Great job MOO swimmers!

click here for complete meet results
click here for meet photos

The MOO suits were a big hit this weekend

Good Luck!

Go team MOO!  Hope you have great swims in Clearwater this weekend!!!

LMSC Newsletter

The new LMSC newsletter has a great little article about MOO!

Click here to read it.

Valentines' Day meet this Saturday and Sunday

Click here for more meet info. It is at the Long center in Clearwater

Saturday warm-up 7 AM for 1000 free, start at 8 AM; 

Warm-up at 10 AM for other events, start at 11 AM

Sunday- Warm-up at 8 AM, meet begins at 9 AM.

Relays will be deck entered and are only $5 per relay. Individual high point awards are up for grabs, you must be entered in 5 events to qualify!

If you aren't swimming, come by to clear the team on!!

MOO Spotlight Swimmers of the month-February

Congratulations to our spotlight swimmer, Kathleen Fitzgerald.  Click here to read more about her.  For those of you who haven't had a chance to talk to Kathleen, you will find her at nearly every team meet and event always greeting new members.  She is also a great friend and will always support you and do nearly anything for a laugh.  We are glad to have her on our team!  She is the kind of person who will meet you at the lake to help you meet your swimming goal even at 6:30 in the morning when the water is 65 degrees, she will also show up in the middle of the night to Kayak along side of you if you are afraid of the dark and/or the lake monster.