P.O Box 280 Stittsville, ON K2S 1A4

SPLASH

Volume 5; Edition 20 Tuesday, 4 April, 2006

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

The remarkable thing we have is a choice every day regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past... We cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude.
Charles Swindoll

UPCOMING EVENTS

Cornwall Spring Meet – Cornwall Aquatic Centre – May 7 – Bronze and Gold 2

Festival of Spring – Nepean Sportsplex - May 12-14– Platinum/Gold1/Silver.

There has also been another Long Course meet added to the schedule Kingfish long course May 28^th 29^th open to all competitive swimmers.

PRACTICE CHANGES/CANCELLATIONS

Friday April 14^th – All practices cancelled. (Easter Break)

Saturday April 15^th – All practices cancelled. (Easter Break)

Monday April 17^th – All practices cancelled. (Easter Break)

Upcoming Summer Program:

Finally it is here! The Goulbourn Aquatic Club is pleased to announce that we will be offering a six-week summer program. This program will feature a Superfish session that will be offered 2x per week instead of the current once per week option. The cost will be $ 138.00 per swimmer.

The GAC will also offer a ‘stroke improvement’ camp for our competitive programs, Bronze, Silver, Gold 1 and Platinum. This program will run concurrently with the Superfish and will be available at $ 205.00 per swimmer. The competitive option will operate 4x weekly for one hour each.

Schedule as follows, starting June 19^th & ending July 29^th :

Superfish 1: Monday & Wednesday, 4:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Superfish 2: Tuesday, 4:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Saturday 8:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m.

Please note exception

********Saturday June 24^th 7:30 a.m. to 8:30 a.m.********

Stroke Improvement Camp: Currently registered athletes only

Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, 4:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Saturday 8:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m.

Please not exception

********Saturday June 24^th 7:30 a.m. to 8:30 a.m.********

There are a limited number of spots available and will be served on a first come first served basis.

Please call the office @ 726-7901 to register ASAP

Cut off date is June 1^st

Program availability is subject to enrolment.

COACHES REPORT

Head Coach Rob

Well done all, our trip to Montreal last weekend was a great learning experience for all, to have the opportunity to compete in the Olympic Pool. Plus the standard of swimming was very high the first long course meet is always tough.

All team members did a great job in the pool and away from the pool representing our club in the most positive manner.

Thanks to our chaperons for a great job, I think everyone had a great time at our team dinner on Saturday night.

Head Coach

Rob

Coach Liliana

Last weekend the GAC team was very excited for the Montreal swim meet, at the Olympic Pool. This was a great experience for them to swim in a 50 m pool with very good and fast swimmers from other clubs.
All of our swimmers tried their best, with many achieving Personal Best times. Their efforts were rewarded with ribbons. The slippery walls didn't impede Joey Coakeley from getting a regional time in 200 m backstroke and Kelsey Drysdale in 50 m breaststroke. Emmie Page took off more than 30 seconds in 200 m freestyle getting close to a regional time. Alanna Brunskill swam very well the 200 m IM and Katie MacKinnon took off more than 20 seconds in 200 m IM and 200 m freestyle.
The swimmers who didn't attend the Montreal swim meet, participated in the OYO Invitational meet in Ottawa. Marguerite Moquin did a very good job getting Personal Best times in 5 of her 6 events.
Congratulations to all our swimmers and let’s look forward to more great results and regional times at the Festival of Spring in May!

Liliana – Coach

Update from the Board of Directors

Long Course season appears to have been kicked off with a bang in Montreal. By all reports our team did a fantastic job against some tough competition and even managed to fit in some shopping! Quel surprise! No wonder they all slept on the bus! Don’t forget to check out the pics on the website under ‘Photo Gallery’ (nice goggles Dan & oh yeah, great form on the blocks Liliana!). The OYO meet in Ottawa produced many new PB’s for those swimmers in attendance. All in all, a great job by everyone. A big thanks going out to Johanne Fauvelle, (Ben Paquet) and Erica Reichl, (Klara Lavoie) for chaperoning and to all the Coaches for long hours and great spirit.

***********************Important Notice****************************

The Board of Directors is awaiting the Financial Statements for the years 2004 & 2005. There has been a delay as more information was required, however, we hope to have them in the next few weeks. As soon as the Financial Statements are available, the Board of Directors will meet immediately to review them. This meeting will also be our opportunity to change the Bi-Laws to allow the election of Board members by the swimming family members. As many of you know, Jennifer Steeves has resigned her position on the Board and an elected member will replace her for the upcoming swim year 2006-2007. Elections will be held ASAP at a General Meeting for all members, following the necessary Bi-Law changes. At this General Meeting the Financial Statements will be available for viewing purposes. Stay tuned for more news on this front as it becomes available. In the meantime we would like the parents to consider nominations for election to the Board of Directors. This is great news everyone!

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I will be out of town next week and will not have SPLASH input. That being said have a great week everyone!

Kathy White

President

Backstroke Tip of The Week

Backstroke Drills, from Aaron Peirsol

This week’s Speedo Tip of the Week comes from the September-October issue of Splash, in which special correspondent Bonnie Moss writes about training with Aaron Peirsol. Here, Peirsol offers some advice on technique and talks about some drills he uses to improve his stroke.

The Tip:
Peirsol says his technique accounts for about 70 percent of the total piece, but he’s not big into numbers. While many coaches and swimmers focus on stroke counts, Peirsol thinks of it more as catch and distance per stroke. He does not keep track of his strokes per lap. Instead, he relies on his feel for the water.

“I know when I’m not catching enough water or turning over too slow,” Peirsol says. “To me, technique is whatever gets me to the other side of the pool fastest while using the least amount of effort. Get this down in practice so you don’t have to think of it during a race.”

Working on technique is a major part of his workout. He hits all the drills – one-arm backstroke, double-arm backstroke, the spin drill, kicking drills and major underwater dolphin kicking.

Peirsol says it is very hard to do the double-arm drill correctly unless the body is extremely flexible or double-jointed. It’s definitely not a drill to just ‘go through the motions.’ The arms should enter just as they would in a normal stroke, behind the head, pinky first. Avoiding a wide entry is very hard to do simultaneously with the other arm. He says the pull must be as deep as it would be with a normal stroke, which is also difficult because the body cannot roll in this position.

Another one of Peirsol’s favorites is the spin drill. If you are not familiar with it, the focus is to get a quick turnover, without changing your stroke. The arms spin as fast as possible without sacrificing technique. You do not kick. The lower body drags through the water as the upper body sits high on top, almost in a vertical line. Although the body position is not correct (hips are sunk and the kick is gone) the actual arm strokes should be just as proficient, except with a much higher turnover rate. Spinning is an excellent speed drill, but it is also difficult to execute properly. Peirsol spins for about 10 to 15 meters at a time, as it’s important not to overdo this drill.

“It defeats the purpose to do a drill if you don’t do it correctly, because you don’t want a bad habit to carry over into your stroke,” Peirsol says.

Make sure your coach is on deck to guide you.

Goulbourn Aquatic Club - 2006 Long Course Schedule

Spring Invitational P1&P2 & Developmental - April 1^st & 2^nd

Olympic 50m pool – Montreal - Silver/Gold 1/Platinum

OYO Invitational Long Course Sprints – April 2^nd

Nepean Sportsplex- All Silver/Gold 1/Platinum not attending Montreal meet

Cornwall Spring Meet - May 7^th

Cornwall Aquatic Centre – Gold2/Bronze

NKB Festival of Spring - May 12^th & 14^th

Nepean Sportsplex- Silver/Gold 1/Platinum Qualifiers

KSSC – Developmental Meet – June 4^th

Kingston- Entry Level (Bronze/Gold 2)

EOSA – Long Course Regional Championships - June 9^th – 11^th

Nepean Sportsplex- Silver/Gold 1/Platinum Qualifiers

Ontario Junior Provincial Championships – July 6^th – 9^th

Nepean Sportsplex- Silver/Gold 1/Platinum Qualifiers

*** An additional Entry Level Meet will be added when it is confirmed ***

TEAM EQUIPMENT

In stock team equipment can be purchased by contacting Sheri by phone, e-mail, or at the pool on Saturday mornings from 7:30-8:30am. We currently have polyester suits and custom team bags in stock as well as two second had team jackets size 10-12 and 14-16. Please contact Sheri at 836-8235 or e-mail at s_coughlan@sympatico.ca

Parents may have noticed that the GAC caps and Team Suits are fading quickly, this is due to high chlorine levels as well as daily use. The caps are latex and will eventually break down, therefore it is suggested that swimmers keep their Team Caps and Suits solely for swim meet use and purchase training suits and caps for daily use. It is also a good idea to have an extra GAC cap on hand at meets in case of rips and tears.

Goulbourn Recreation Complex

Lifesaving and Leadership Courses for Spring 2006