Swimmer's Daily

  • “Powerless” is the last word expected to be used in connection with 18-time Olympic gold medalist swimmer Michael Phelps.

    A Baltimore judge accused Phelps of being “powerless over alcohol,” even while ordering Phelps to 18 months supervised probation for committing a driving under the influence offense on Sept. 30, USA TODAY Sports reported.

    Phelps was ordered to stay away from alcohol during his probation.

    See Sports World News

  • Santa took the plunge in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary in the US to deliver presents to all the good mermaids and mermen on Saturday.

    Santa made rounds about five miles off Islamorada to some very fortunate underwater critters on the Davis Reef. Dive shop operator Spencer Slate filled St. Nick’s shoes this year, who brought some holiday cheer to the schools of fish that were graced by his red suit and flowing white beard. He even brought a Christmas tree with him!

    See CCTV

  • Three out of five children are leaving primary school without the ability to swim to basic standards, which Lifesaving Victoria fears could lead to higher drowning rates in the future.

    Research reveals that 60 per cent of children aged under 12 cannot swim 50 metres without assistance or stay afloat for two minutes, the yardstick used to determined standards.

    High costs, transport issues and cultural barriers are the most common reasons for children failing to learn to swim properly.

    Read The Age

    Photo by North Charleston

  • As swimming club coaches we have to correct basic errors in a vast majority of the swimmers we get from swim schools. Here’s one major problem we often see…

  • Hmmm, or maybe re-invents ?

    A woman from southwest China has invented a new swimming aid that allows children to learn how to swim on their own.

  • Former Huntley boys swimming and diving coach George Keenan and assistant coach Michelle Bradford resigned on Dec. 9 due to a disagreement with athletic director Chris Rozanski in which Keenan said Rozanski “accused us of trying to leave a kid at a swim meet.”

    Neither of the coaches nor Rozanski were initially willing to disclose the nature of the argument that prompted the coaches to abruptly resign. The team was then forced to withdraw from competitions on Dec. 10 and Dec. 11.

    But in the coaches’ letters of resignation received Thursday through the Illinois Freedom of Information Act, Keenan and Bradford indicated that the disagreement hinged upon events following the swim meet on Dec. 5 at the Illinois Math and Science Academy in Aurora. Keenan initially provided his letter of resignation to the Northwest Herald on Dec. 13.

    The bus planned to leave Huntley High School at 3 p.m., but, according to Keenan, two freshmen took the 2:30 p.m. bus the team normally rides to practices at Centegra Health System. When the freshmen realized they took the wrong bus, a parent of one of the boys drove them from Centegra to the meet in Aurora. Keenan said he planned to let the boys swim, but they took too long in the locker room, so he held them out of the meet.

    After the meet, Keenan decided that, since a parent drove the two freshmen to the meet, the parent should drive them home. He said the parent who drove the boys to the meet did not have room in the parent’s car, so another parent took the second boy home.

    Keenan insists, though, that he secured rides for both boys, a point that is at the crux of the disagreement.

    Read Northwest Herald

    Photo by dhendrix73

  • Swim Smooth’s Coaching System – available now for your smart phone, tablet or computer!

  • Coaches will understand the importance of this week’s video, especially when working with younger swimmers.

    Courtesy of GoSwim on YouTube

  • If they had timed their escape just right, three prisoners who slipped out of Alcatraz more than 50 years ago on a raft made from raincoats would have had a chance of survival, new research shows.

    Scientists who were studying the San Francisco Bay’s strong tides reconstructed the possible routes of the audacious 1962 escape. The men might have been able to find shelter on an outcrop near the Golden Gate Bridge — that is, if they weren’t swept out to sea first, according to the study.

    See LiveScience

    Animation The Great Escape from pieter on Vimeo.