SAMS NEWSLETTER

AUTUMN EDITION 2020

CONTACT

Secretary Carina Hambloch secretary@samastersswimming.com Editor Owen Van Renen ovrenen@gmail.com

Official Newsletter of South African Masters Swimming

http://www.samastersswimming.com

http:// www.facebook.com/pages/South-African-Masters-Swimming/153679144696876

IN THIS ISSUE

and more…

President’s

Message:

Wrap up

Nationals 2020:

Open Water

Terry’s Page

Seeing you

through Winter

Bonus page: The

Last Page:

With Olivier

Leroy

From L-R

Kate Bihl

Oliver Gilbert

Leigh Copeland

Photo by

Greg Da Silva

Editor’s Note

Hello all

Talk about fortunate timing. Nationals concluded only hours before it was announced that specific traffic and other bans were being implemented to help fight the Coronavirus threat. Well since then we have been under full lockdown. Please adhere to all government, medical advice until this threat has passed.

Congratulations to all who participated in Nationals this year, irrespective of your placing. You still beat thousands of individuals sitting at home on their couches. For many first timers it was an experience that has hopefully motivated them to attend many, many more and to bring in friends and family to Masters Swimming so that they to have the opportunity to experience the fun ,warmth and comradery that abounds. A big thanks to MEGA for hosting the Nationals. You guys can now take a well-earned rest. All the results can be found on our website www.samastersswimming.com and a big thank you to Greg da Silva for the use of some of his stunning pictures taken at Nationals in the this Newsletter. In this edition we will be covering Nationals 2020, Open Water, Terry’s page, and Olivier Leroy’s topics of interest to keep you going through the winter months. PLEASE ALSO NOTE THAT ALL DATES LISTED HERIN ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE DUE TO THE CORONA VIRUS OUTBREAK! Till next time, be extra cautious and stay healthy. Big hugs (the safe and electronic ones)

President’s Message

Dear fellow swimmers! I would like to extend a warm thank you to the Germiston Nationals Organising Committee who with the support of eastern Gauteng Aquatics arranged and hosted a fantastic 36th SAMS Long Course Championship in March. Clearly you all worked very hard and it certainly showed.

The hospitality and excellent organisation aside, some spectacular achievements were attained. 25 individual South African Masters records were broken by 19 swimmers. Di Coetzee and Elsa Craig each broke 4 SAMS records. 50 pool and 1 open water South African Masters qualifying times were achieved not to mention an impressive amount of personal best times attained. We also introduced the rotation of the dash for cash between the strokes in reverse IM order and started off with breaststroke. Next year it is the turn of the back-stroke swimmers. I hope that you will over time embrace a more inclusive approach to the dash for cash. We wish Cape Town and Western Cape Masters region all the best with hosting the next 37th SAMS national masters long course championship. This year after the Nationals the Covid-19 pandemic escalated worldwide and lead to a lock-down in South Africa and many other countries. I received no response to my previous request for any Covid-19 positive person attending Nationals, to share their status with me. I hope this means that you are all healthy and that the SA masters national championships did not contribute to the spread of the coronavirus or endangered life. Many of us fall into this vulnerable group. Please keep safe, wash your hands and sanitise, practise social distancing and minimise meeting with other people. Please follow the guidelines on training issued by SSA and SAMS. KZN completed the first term of leading the SAMS Masters committee. Thank you for attending the AGM in such great numbers. Your contributions were very welcome. I also want to thank the SAMS committee members for their camaraderie, dedication and hard work. As the season commences, let’s not forget our members and swimmers who work tirelessly in the background on various committees – keep up the good work – Masters cannot do without you! And let’s remember our very apt Masters mantra “to swim for fun, fitness and fellowship.” Consistent with the of opening and awards evening address I encourage you to invite. Please invite friends, family and swimmers to join swimming and masters. It will be good for the all.

Wolfgang Fechter President, South African Masters Swimming

Nationals 2020 It’s a wrap! Many thanks to MEGA for hosting a terrific National Championships in Delville 2020. We had it all. Sun, rain, wind, cold, heat, load shedding, excellent performances in the pool and open water, and a whole

lot of FUN.

Some action at the Pool

Award Winners

The handing

over of the club flags to next year’s hosts, CAPE TOWN.

Thank you MEGA!

All winners are listed below.

Awards Evening Results In the pool, 14 SA records were broken, and 30 SA Qualifying times were achieved. The following Awards were presented (in this order) at the Awards Ceremony

during the dinner/dance on Saturday 14th March.

• 2019 SAMS Open Water Club Trophy (Donated by Anton Harrop-Allin)

Presented to the previous year's Open Water Club Champions.

Awarded to the SAMS Club scoring the most points in the 3Km and the 1Km events at the SAMS Open

Water Championships. Points scored in the 3Km event are double those scored in the 1Km event.

1st: Coelacanth MSC - 554 pts

2nd: PE Masters Aquatics - 539 pts

3rd: Synergy MSC - 202 pts

• 2019 SAMS Short Course Championships Club Trophy

Awarded to the SAMS Club scoring the most points in the SAMS Short Course Championships for the

current season.

1st: Synergy MSC - 1250 pts

2nd: Coelacanth MSC - 875 pts

3rd: Wahoo MSC - 749 pts

• 2019 SAMS Short Course Championships Best Region (No Trophy - Information only)

The SAMS Region scoring the most points in the SAMS Short Course Championships for the current season.

1st: KwaZulu-Natal MSA - 1403 pts

2nd: Gauteng MSA - 1104 pts

3rd: Western Cape MS - 933 pts

• Lillian Parrington Trophy (Oldest Swimmer) (Donated by Heather Campbell and John Keyter)

Awarded to the Oldest SAMS Swimmer competing at the SAMS Long Course Championships.

Richard Hills - 88 (PE Masters Aquatics)

• Colin Cable Award (Age & Endurance) (Donated by Western Province Masters Swimming and Lynda

Gower)

Awarded to the SAMS Male or Female Swimmer at the SAMS Long Course Championships, who is 60

(Masters) years or over, swam all allowable individual events, and scored the highest, with the events being

scored on a scale of endurance. In the event of a tie, the oldest swimmer will receive the award.

Kay Tottle - 72 (Amakhosi MSC)

( A score of 32 )

• Peter Pirow Cup (Best Performance 400m IM) (Donated by the Pirow family)

Awarded to the SAMS Male or Female Swimmer with the best time in the 400m Individual Medley at the

SAMS Long Course Championships, measured (%) against the world record.

Elsa Craig - 75 (PE Masters Aquatics)

( 12.14% over the World Record in the 75-79 400m IM )

• Barnetson Trophy (Most Improved Swimmer) (Donated by Tiny Barnetson)

Awarded to the SAMS Male or Female Swimmer who shows the greatest % improvement in time for any one

event at the SAMS Long Course Championships. Times are measured against the swimmer's recorded time

for the same event at the SAMS Long Course Championships of the previous year. Any swimmer who

qualifies for this award but feels that their improvement was due to a below par performance in the previous

year as a result of illness or for any other reason is encouraged to not accept this award so that it can be

awarded to the next qualifying swimmer.

Pieter Swanepoel - 71 (Coelacanth MSC)

( 15.59% improvement in the 70-74 50m Freestyle )

• Best Performance - Female (Donated by Allen Morrison)

Awarded to the SAMS Female Swimmer with the best time at the SAMS Long Course Championships,

measured (%) against the world record.

Edith Ottermann - 54 (Cape Town MSC)

( 4.725% Over the World Record in the 50-54 50m Freestyle)

• Best Performance - Male (Donated by Allen Morrison)

Awarded to the SAMS Male Swimmer with the best time at the SAMS Long Course Championships,

measured (%) against the world record.

Marc Allan - 43 (Synergy MSC)

( 1.7159% over the World Record in the 40-44 50m Butterfly )

• Victrix Ludorum (Top Female Swimmer) (Donated by Errol Stern)

Awarded to the SAMS Female Swimmer who comes first in all her maximum allowable number of individual

events at the SAMS Long Course Championships OR if there is no such person then whoever scores the most

individual points. If there is a tie, then the trophy is awarded to the tied swimmer with the lowest average

percentage difference between the swimmer's time and the world record for all the swimmer's individual

events.

Dianne Coetzee - 65 (Cape Town MSC)

( First in all 6 events and an average of 10.88% over the World Record in her 6 events )

• Victor Ludorum (Top Male Swimmer) (Donated by Errol Stern)

Awarded to the SAMS Male Swimmer who comes first in all his maximum allowable number of individual

events at the SAMS Long Course Championships OR if there is no such person then whoever scores the most

individual points. If there is a tie, then the trophy is awarded to the tied swimmer with the lowest average

percentage difference between the swimmer's time and the world record for all the swimmer's individual

events.

Terry Downes - 71 (Coelacanth MSC)

( First in all 6 events and an average of 13.72% over the World Record in his 6 events )

• Charles Buck Memorial Award (Spirit of Masters) (Donated by Western Province Masters Swimming)

Awarded to the SAMS Person(s) who best epitomize(s) the true spirit of Masters Swimming.

Carole Bridges & Guy Harker (Wahoo MSC)

• Joe Hillstrom Trophy (Most New Swimmers) (Donated by Joe Hillstrom)

Awarded to the SAMS Club that has the most swimmers competing in their first SAMS Long Course

Championships.

Coelacanth - 29 first time Nationals competitors

• Spirit Bowl (Club Spirit) (Donated by Louise Pallet and the late Jill Fahrenheim)

Awarded to the SAMS Club best promoting the spirit of Masters Swimming at the SAMS Long Course

Championships.

Cape Town MSC

• SAMS Colours Awards:

o 19 SAMS Swimmers achieved qualifying times for SAMS colours in 50 Pool races.

o 30 SAMS Swimmers were awarded SAMS colours for Pool events throughout the season so far.

• South African Masters Swimming Club Handicap Trophy (Top Club - Points/Entered swimmer)

Awarded to the SAMS Club scoring the most points per entered swimmer at the SAMS Long Course

Championships. Individual and relay points count. For this award there is a prescribed minimum of 8 entered

swimmers per Club. Clubs with less than 8 entered swimmers have their total points divided by 8.

1st: Cape Town MSC - 56.02 pts per entered swimmer

2nd: Synergy MSC - 53.64 pts per entered swimmer

3rd: PE Masters Aquatics - 47.43 pts per entered swimmer

• Dr Heyman Belfort Memorial Shield (Top Region)

Awarded to the SAMS Region scoring the most points at the SAMS Long Course Championships.

1st: Tshwane MS (TSH) - 5380 pts

2nd: Gauteng MS (JHB) - 4619 pts

3rd: Western Cape (CPT) - 2760 pts

• South African Masters Swimming Club Trophy (Top Club)

Awarded to the SAMS Club scoring the most points at the SAMS Long Course Championships.

1st Coelacanth. MSC 5380 pts

2nd: Wahoo MSC 2511.5 pts

3rd: Cape Town MSC - 2465 pts

Congratulations to everyone who participated, officiated, swam, won a medal, broke a record and won an award. You are all just the

greatest.

Some Open Water action.

The results and awards for the Open Water will be presented at next year’s awards evening in Cape Town.

Ann Gray OPEN WATER

Greetings fellow Open Water Swimmers

The qualifying times for the season 2019/2020 remain the same as below.

If you have any exciting news on Open Water events from your regions,

please forward to anngray@telkomsa.net OPEN WATER SWIMMING

Open water swimming continues to gain momentum in South Africa. We Masters Swimmers should really make a concerted effort and strive to get more open water swimmers to join Masters Swimming. For example, this 2019/2020 season, Ted and Rita Townsend (not registered Masters swimmers) for the first time ventured out of their province of KwaZulu Natal and took part in the Sun City 1500m swim in the North West Province and also the Sterkfontein Dam 1500 in the Free State. It is swimmers like these that we need to encourage to join. Unfortunately with the current “Lockdown”, many swims have been cancelled, and that not only pertains to South Africa but the world. The Dolphin Mile swim series will be managed and organised by Trevor Martin. “Trevor is excited at the opportunity

to continue to promote the Dolphin Mile brand in the interest of all those keen to participate in these ocean swim

events. A most active, and very involved, Marine Surf Lifesaving Club member for many years, Trevor is very well

known to all who have been involved in South African surf lifesaving and ocean competition events, particularly in

KZN. He has a proven track record of success in this sphere of activity and is renowned for the enthusiasm,

commitment and leadership that is synonymous with his involvement in such events.” For more information about

the Dolphin Mile Swim Series 2020 please look on Facebook.

Keep up the exercising and staying as fit as possible. Ann Gray

(Open Water Swimming)

S A MASTERS OPEN WATER COLOURS AWARDS FOR THE 2019/2020 season

Presented at the Awards Ceremony 14 th March in Germiston

Re-Awards

5 swimmers received their ‘Re-Awards’

Gary Albertyn – Coelacanth Masters

Denise Bosman – P E Masters

Elsa Craig – P E Masters

Maureen Mons – Phoenix Masters

Marissa Rollnick- Phoenix Masters

New Awards

3 Swimmers received their first colours award

Coillard Ford (5km) – Coelacanth Masters

Derek Fyfe – Coelacanth Masters

Ingrid Trusler – Coelacanth Masters

By Terry Downes

Yin Yang Swimming 2

The Taoist yin-yang symbol is familiar to all of us and we all have our favourite interpretation of its meaning, or rather

meanings, because the symbol does not have to be not limited to the traditional, black/white, masculine/feminine,

day/night meaning assigned to it. The circle that encapsulates the two intertwined figures represents the whole and

although the two sides are opposites, they are at the same time complementary, the one cannot exist without the

other. Hence day is followed by night, there cannot be a shadow without light, we have both the masculine and

feminine in our very being, albeit that some have more of one than the other. The symbol brings forth questions of

cycles and balance and there has been the suggestion that the good life is to walk the line between the two halves.

This does not mean we should not stray off the not-so-straight line. The feminine region is one of birth and creativity,

but also of chaos. We should go there every now and again. The masculine part is one of order and discipline, but also

of comfort zone. We need some of this in our lives, but it is good to get out and do exciting stuff.

Now I ask myself, how can one use the yin-yang principle under the present circumstances of restricted movement

and lack of access to either the gym or a pool long enough for some swimming training? Sometimes things happen,

things beyond your control, and you get thrown into the deep end, the region of chaos. An accident, or illness,

something unexpected and sudden, corona virus. Exciting stuff! Ancient Chinese curse: May you live in interesting

times!

So, here we are, at home, with too much time in which to do nothing. If we can’t do the things we normally do, is there

nothing to do? Well, the present situation is not normal, so perhaps we need to do different things. What about all

those land exercises we never do because we are too busy doing normal things? We all know that we should be doing

some strength training to keep our muscles strong, not only for the older swimmers. Is there anyone among us who is

doing enough stretching? The Chinese have given us the opportunity to do both, don’t miss out.

“Use it or lose it” is good advice at any age. Do we throw up our arms in impotent protest, floundering in the sea of

chaos, or do we pick up heads and look around for opportunity? Now we can do these exercises every day instead of

every now and again. Just imagine how the increased strength and flexibility will feel when you get back into the water.

In the deep sea, with a bit of direction, we can swim toward that middle line, and when we get there, we will be so

much better than when we left.

I would like to introduce a variation, which I believe is a more realistic representation of nature and many other

systems made up of complementary opposites. The traditional, black/white symbol can represent night and day. There

is a sharp line that divides the two. But the transition between day and night is not a sudden occurrence, one moment

it is day, the next it is night. Day slowly gives way to night as the sun sets, and at dawn the light gradually appears, and

the dark gradually disappears, as the sun approaches the horizon. There is no sharp line, no moment when you can

say it is day or night, they blend.

Perhaps, instead of black and white, the yin-yang symbol can be represented by two colours, say yellow and blue. If,

instead of a line where they meet, they are allowed to blend, and make green. Now there is no sharp division between

the two, only a region. The blue doesn’t stop at the middle, it extends into the other half, as does the yellow, in the

opposite direction. Only at the extreme of one end will you find pure blue, only at the very edge of the other side is it

only yellow.

I will use this representation to explain that largely misunderstood concept of anaerobic threshold. On the one side of

exercise there is aerobic, on the other anaerobic, but where they meet is not a line, not really a threshold at all, it is a

region. When swimming at increasing speed one doesn’t suddenly cross over from aerobic to anaerobic.

This is how I understand how these thing work. The terms aerobic and anaerobic refer to metabolism in living cells.

These terms describe two biochemical systems or pathways. One uses oxygen in the process of producing energy,

aerobic metabolism, and the other makes energy without oxygen, anaerobic metabolism. The chemicals necessary for

both these pathways are present in every cell in the body where energy is produced.

When swimming easy, without a lot of effort, as in a warm-up phase, there is plenty of oxygen, and the cells, the

muscle fibres, produce the required energy through aerobic metabolism. If one swims a little faster, the aerobic

metabolism increases to accommodate the extra energy need. At the same time the anaerobic energy pathway is

active, albeit to a small degree. There is a trace of yellow in the aerobic blue. As you increase in speed the energy

usage increases and both pathways are simultaneously increasing to accommodate the additional demand. At some

stage the aerobic and anaerobic contribution will be about the same. More effort will push the anaerobic system into

supremacy and during maximal effort most of the energy will come from anaerobic metabolism. Somewhere between

the easy swim and desperate sprint there is a region where transition occurs, but almost always both systems are

active in producing energy. There is no line, no threshold, above which all energy comes from anaerobic metabolism,

and below which everything is aerobic.

Aerobic metabolism produces CO2 and water as “waste products” while anaerobic metabolism produces lactic acid.

The term anaerobic threshold refers to the intensity of exercise where lactic acid starts to accumulate in the cells. This

causes acidosis and produces the dreaded fatigue. The mechanisms of the body responsible for removing the waste

products, mainly blood supply, cannot cope with the amount of lactic acid produced at high intensity exercise through

anaerobic metabolism, hence the increase in concentration of lactic acid inside the cells. One can tolerate only so

much and then you have to slow down. If you don’t consciously slow down the cells do it for you, the gorilla drops

from the false start rope, right onto your back.

The above example is a little misleading, as most simplifications are. For instance, even at rest, although most of the

energy is aerobic in origin, there is some anaerobic metabolism. In addition, one seldom swims with ever-increasing

speed from slow to maximum, although it would not be a bad exercise in training.

Consider some more realistic situations; endurance training and sprint training; and racing short distances and racing

long distances.

As a general principle, whatever you are training for, you will perform better if you travel around a little in your yin-

yang circle, vary your training programmes, doing aerobics work as well as sprints and also in-between speeds near

the aerobic threshold. If you do only aerobic training, then the fast twitch fibres are never activated and potential

racing capacity is never built. If you do only anaerobic training, you may be good for the 50m sprint but will

underperform on the 100 and longer distances because your aerobic capacity hasn’t been developed.

The anaerobic threshold is not fixed. When you are not very fit you reach it quickly as soon as you start to swim even

a little fast. As you get fitter a whole lot of things happen in and around the muscle cells. Glycogen (stored glucose)

reserves increase, enzyme activity improves, blood capillaries grow and encircle muscle fibres improving oxygen supply

and, more importantly removing waste products such as CO2 and lactic acid. The heart becomes stronger and the brain

learns endurance and confidence grows. The anaerobic threshold appears later, you can swim faster, you can train

harder, you have taken the path of improvement, you feel better, you look forward to training, you prepare for racing,

anticipate a PB.

TOP 5 REASONS TO START SWIMMING DURING WINTER Let’s face it, this winter, and especially during the holiday season, most of us have put sports on the back

burner to focus on one single physical effort: strengthen our chewing muscles!

Fortunately, we have also decided to start the year on the right track to get rid of the excess kilos we have

taken so little time to pile up!

Nabaiji therefore recommends that you go swimming (again). Why? For countless reasons, but mostly

because it is one of the most complete and energy-consuming sports, burning a maximum of

calories while building up the muscles. Here are the details:

SWIM TO LOSE WEIGHT AND SLIM DOWN

Whether you want to lose your extra kilos or keep your figure, swimming (together with a balanced diet,

of course) is one of the most effective ways to achieve your goals.

Swimming is a highly energy-intensive sport. One hour of swimming at a moderate pace will burn up

almost 600 calories!

But don’t be mistaken, doing a few breaststrokes is not enough. Only sustained effort and regular energy

expenditure will help you to lose weight and/or slim down. So opt for regular sessions (once or twice a

week) without necessarily going overboard (half to one hour), instead of long, intensive training once every

three months.

How simple is that? So let’s go ahead and scorch our calories while having fun!

SWIM TO SCULPT YOUR ABS

Had too much beer this Christmas? No worries, swimming offers you a six-pack that is 100% guaranteed

against a hangover.

The good news is that all strokes will do the job. All certainly, but not in the same way. Breaststrokes will

strengthen your waistline. The front crawl and back crawl, with their alternating (and therefore faster)

rhythm, will melt away your “love handles” while working your obliques. The butterfly stroke is

undoubtedly the best to tone the abs.

Most important: without exerting too much effort, try to focus on your hydrodynamics by remaining

streamlined, chest high out of the water while contracting the abs. You can then swim faster and work your

core muscles, without tiring yourself out.

SWIM TO COMBAT STRESS AND ANXIETY

The most difficult thing to do after the Christmas holiday is to get out of your sofa and forget your delicious

treats to go back to the daily grind, right?

Don't worry! A tried and tested anti-stress activity, swimming makes it easy to combine fun and an

active life.

And the reason why is very clear. First, because of its repetitive nature, it produces a feeling of “letting go”,

by which you can press the “PAUSE” button and forget your daily hassles for a while. Moreover, during the

effort, and even more so when immersed in an aquatic environment, the body secretes endorphins

(pleasure hormones) that produce a general feeling of well-being and calm.

Finally, when you swim in the evening, the effort will bring about a healthy fatigue. This will help you to

sleep better and benefit from a good restful sleep, to be fully refreshed for a day of work ahead.

And because it is good for the morale, swimming must be practised without moderation!

SWIM TO IMPROVE YOUR MUSCLES AND CARDIO

After this busy season of culinary delights, “weight gain” is perhaps not what you were looking forward

to…

Let’s try to reverse the trend and sculpt our body just the way we want! The best of the best when it

comes to versatile sports, swimming will be part of our muscle-building strategy.

Swimming works on all the muscle groups of our body in a balanced and homogeneous way. Again, not

all strokes produce the same benefit. So by varying the swimming exercises, you can focus on

the muscles that you want to develop in particular.

Don’t forget to vary the strokes and exercises to work all the muscles of your body to sculpt it

harmoniously, just as you wish!

SWIM TO FIRM UP YOUR SKIN

Nothing better to awaken and tone your body than to hit the water ... Well, the same is true for muscles!

The vital advantage of swimmers is that they can make the most of the virtues and benefits of

the aquatic environment. The pressure of water passing over your body produces a circulatory,

massaging and draining effect on your body, that firms up the skin and smooths out cellulite.

In addition to this, the regular practice of swimming works your legs. This dislodges the accumulated fats

and produces amazing results on your skin appearance and muscle tone.

So then? Convinced? Ready to make your New Season resolution to go swimming?

Keep Swimming in Winter (Situation pending)

When winter kicks in, it’s easy to hang up your swimming-cap, pop your bathers away and say

goodbye to your goggles - after all, who wants to leave a warm and cosy bed for a cold pool?

You do! Swimming in winter is a great way to stay fit, active and keep adding to your swimming

skillset.

We have prepared some top tips to keep swimming this winter!

Don’t delay

We’ve all been there - hitting snooze on alarms, bypassing the pool for a hot coffee or promising

ourselves we’ll get back in the pool come summer. Whether it means booking pool space, telling your

family or friends you’re going or pre-packing your bag the night before - start swimming as early on in

winter as you can and fight the excuses!

Seize the day

Schedule swimming for during the day. If you can, plan your sessions to be during the day and avoid

early mornings or night sessions. This is a sure-fire way to keeping your goggles on and your

motivation high!

Be a ‘hot head’

Keep your head toasty by popping a second cap on for winter swimming sessions. It may sound silly,

but it’s a great way to retain head heat and stay warmer in the water.

Keep it inside

Find an indoor swimming pool and ditch your outdoor summer spot for a heated pool. This will keep

you comfortable and you will less likely be affected by cold wind or rain!

Treat yourself!

Swimming in winter is something to be proud of, so finish a session off by rewarding yourself with a

nice warm coffee or hot chocolate – you deserve it!

Equipped with our handy hints and a healthy dose of bravery, dust of the bathers, hop in and

enjoying your swimming

The Last Word. ‘A Tip from Olivier Leroy’.

7 Tips for How Swimmers Can Get Through Tough Times

When was the last time you had a perfect season? Conquered every swim practice?

Felt great in the water, every meter, of every day? Precision-drilled your races, swimming a best time and world record every time out? Sounds goofy when you read it aloud, right? And yet, that is the expectation many of us have. That things will go well, all the time. But that sure isn’t reality, is it? We misjudge a flip-turn and break our foot heel-striking a cement pool gutter. We get pneumonia two weeks before the biggest meet of the year. We have a bad night of sleep, eat a past-best-date burrito and have a lousy workout. Oh, and then a worldwide pandemic streaks across the planet like a wildfire in a hurricane. But if you have learned anything from your time in the water, it’s that adversity, discomfort, and outright failure happen.

I know… It feels unfair. But the way you weather the storm can lead to your greatest victories. It’s the swimmer who can find the silver linings, motivation, and new routines in the face of adversity who reap the benefits of the storm. I am not talking about sugar-coating the seriousness of what you are experiencing. Or pretending like everything is perfectly fine when it clearly is not. This is about having a clear mind and a full heart so that you can tackle the struggle like J.J. Watt without undue stress and anxiety. Here are some ideas for how swimmers can work their way through tough times.

1. Lean on your support system.

Your friends, family, coaches—they are there to provide unconditional love, psychological safety, and to remind you that you were made for this. They are the sounding board to your fears, the backstop to your goals, and a voice of reason during turbulent times. Talk out how you are feeling. Voice your concerns. Put together a battle plan with your coach to emerge from this stronger. You don’t need to go at this alone. There is a lot of good that can come from one person chasing greatness, but when a group of people chase it together, excellence is inevitable.

2. Be there for others in tough times.

Ever notice that you can give great advice to a teammate—Don’t give up! Focus on your technique! Try not pulling on the lane rope so much!—but have difficulty heeding that advice in your own life? Instead of getting caught up in the endless cycle of dwelling of how your season is toast, or how your swimming has suffered, be strong for the people in your life. Be a great teammate. Encourage, mentor and support younger swimmers. Be a good friend. Be the rock, be the reason someone else’s day got better, even if you feel like the waves are close to coming over your head. 3.Journal out how you are feeling.

It’s not a G-14 classified secret that I am a big fan of journaling. Both in terms of evaluating past performances and for future journaling as a tool to mitigate stress and anxiety. On days where you are feeling frustrated and helpless, journal out the whirlpool of fearful thoughts. Barf out your anxieties and fears through the tip of a ballpoint pen. Putting your feelings and emotions into words and seeing them on paper helps you work through them. Often the act of just seeing how you are feeling written out gives the perspective you need to calm those fears. 4. Routines are your friend.

It’s easy to lose track of our routines and good habits when the results don’t pan out, or injury, illness, or a worldwide pandemic up-ends them. Because we aren’t in our “regular” schedule our worst impulses quickly take over: Can’t train in the pool? Welp, better throw down on pizza pockets, doughnuts, and video games for the rest of the summer! Even though we may complain about the early mornings and the long workouts, there is a great deal of comfort in the routine of these things. Without them we can feel unmoored, latching on to new, less productive habits and routines. Goals change, but your routines don’t have to. Set a routine or process for yourself that you can build on each day. Simple things, like going for a walk, waking up at a specific time, or making your bed won’t magically make tough times go away, but they will provide small anchors from which you can inflict positive change.

5. Emphasize gratitude.

Gratitude is a proven way to decrease anxiety and lend perspective to the turmoil in your life. Yes, the outside world is scary, you worry for your parents, you are frustrated over your lost season—but you are healthy, you are able to spend more time on hobbies, and so on. Keeping a daily gratitude journal isn’t about papering over the bad things in the world or dunking your head in the sand; it’s acknowledging the good in your life so that you have a clear perspective when it comes to dealing with the challenges ahead. 6. Focus on the things you control.

Be real about the things you control, and the things you don’t. When you find yourself drifting into the arena of things you don’t control, stress, anxiety and frustration go up. Can you make the pool reopen? Can you make the season come back on-line tomorrow? No. But you can exercise in your basement. You can eat healthy. You can make the most of the time spent with your family. You can log off social media.

7. This moment is your chance to rise.

In the story of every great athlete there are moments that defined them.

• An injury that side-lined them for three months (and they bounced back stronger).

• Burning out and retiring (and coming back a decade later and swimming faster than ever).

• Goggles filling up with water during the final at the Olympics (and leaning on their stroke count to finish the race in world record time).

These are the character-defining moments where they were tested and rose to the occasion. When you feel frustrated, or doubt is climbing the back of your throat, sit down with a pen and paper and write the answer to this simple question, “How can I make this the best thing to ever happen to me?” This is the beginning of a new chapter of your life and your journey in the water. Decide where the story will take you.

Dryland Tip: How to Improve Ankle Flexibility for Swimmers Fast kickers have flexible ankles. Here is a simple mobility drill to help you loosen up your ankles and kick

your way to faster swimming.

Swimmers spend a lot of time worrying about being flexible. This means mobility work before they jump into

the water and stretching sessions afterwards to stay limber.

But while most of the attention is paid on mobility work to avoid swimmer’s shoulder–and rightfully so–lost

in the stretching mix is working on our ankle flexibility.

Why Does Ankle Flexibility Matter?

The more flexible your ankle, the more surface area you can direct onto the top of your foot.

Flexible ankles means that you are pushing more water backwards instead of kicking it down, or in the case

of swimmers with very inflexible ankles, simply creating drag.

In the same way that great swimmers have a high, early vertical forearm, great kickers have an early vertical

ankle in their kick.

You should already know what a powerful kick can do for your performance. You saw for yourself

what Michael Phelps and his underwater dolphin kick did during the 4×100 freestyle relay in Rio (he

decimated everyone off the wall in case you missed it). Alexander Popov, one of the greatest sprint

freestylers in history, could kick a 50m in 27 seconds…long course.

Having a strong kick goes just beyond being able to kick fast, of course.

A strong kick gives you better body positioning, creates lift from the downkick that keeps your body riding

high in the water, and perhaps most noticeably, when you have conditioned legs your stroke falls apart a lot

less at the end of your races.

Much like mobility in your shoulders and back is essential for an efficient and full range of movement in your

pulling motion, so is ankle flexibility for your kick.

A study of 10 NCAA Division 1 female swimmers found that flexibility in the ankles correlated positively

with kicking speed, while vertical jump power and even body size had little significance on kicking speed.

There are a few different ways that you can unlock your ankles:

• Do more kick. Performing more time on your kickboard in the pool gives you the most bang for your buck—you get conditioning work in with your legs, while also loosening your ankles by performing the movement over and over again.

• Add fins. Everybody loves using swim fins, and with good reason—you get to go really, really fast! The added length and range of motion also stretches out your feet and ankles, making it a dynamic stretching movement. Backstroke kicking, in particular, tends to flex the ankles in particular.

• Mobility work. For those swimmers who really have awful ankle flexibility, mobility work is in order. There are rockers (where you sit on your ankles and lean back), and simple ankle rotations.

Dryland Tip: How to Improve Your Ankle Flexibility

Jason Dierking, the strength and conditioning coach for the University of Louisville Swimming program,

has a simple mobility exercise that you can use to increase ankle flexibility while also hitting the big cables

running down the back of your legs–your hamstrings.

“I like to add an ankle mobility component into a basic dynamic hamstring stretch we do by including an

angled board,” he says. “The stretch is similar to a ragdoll pose used in yoga; however we’ll go for reps

following the pace of the breath (exhale down, inhale up).

Stack a couple kickboards and place your heels or balls of your feet on the edge of the boards.

“You can increase the mobility around the ankle dramatically in both directions by putting your toes up and

down while performing this stretch,” adds Dierking.

Toes up! Toes down!

A big thanks to Jason for stopping by and sharing this dryland tip with us. He is the assistant director of sports

performance at the University of Louisville, where he works with the men’s and women’s swim teams.

Image credit: Kirk Nelson

Enjoy the break and then it’s all go for “Cape Town 2021

Keep safe and stay well. AND………………