Swimmer's Daily

  • alicia-couttsRead Canberra Times

    Alicia Coutts says the Australian swimming team’s much-maligned culture was “so much better” at last year’s world championships in Barcelona and she’s confident it will stand up to its next major test – the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow in July.

    The 26-year-old was one of the few shining lights from the Australian swim team’s disastrous London Olympics campaign 18 months ago, when she won one gold, three silver and a bronze medal. It culminated in her being named Australian swimmer of the year in 2012.

    An inquiry was launched into the swim team’s performance in the fall-out from the Olympics, with the men’s 100 metres freestyle relay team getting fined for their Stilnox escapades in a pre-Games training camp that involved playing pranks on some female members of the team.

    It led to the team’s culture being labelled ”toxic” in a report and former national coach Leigh Nugent lost his job as a result.

    But Coutts felt those dark days were behind Australia’s swimmers and pointed to the worlds in Spain last year as proof.

    She managed five silver medals, while the team brought back three gold and 10 silver. Coutts is hoping they can continue to build on the renewed team spirit in Glasgow and possible Olympic redemption at the 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro.

    “In Barcelona everyone got along so much better than they had in previous years and everyone’s really working on bonding as a team and supporting the others in the squad and not being so independent and concentrating just on yourself,” she said. ”I think the atmosphere has come a long way.”

    Read more here on Canberra Times

  • Read Emirates 24/7

    The Buildings Department of Dubai Municipality has issued new circular for all consulting and contracting companies in the emirate of Dubai making the protection rails for balconies and swimming pools mandatory in new buildings. […]

    “Safety of the people is the first priority of the civic body. We don’t want to hear any more tragic stories in our city,” Marwan said.

    “Hence, all consulting and contracting companies should ensure the availability of handrails for balconies and swimming pools in all new buildings with immediate effect, in line with the specifications stipulated by the civic body,” he said.

    “Minimum height of the handrail should be 90 cm and should be installed in a way that kids cannot use it mistakenly. It should not allow kids to climb on or creep though it,” he explained.

    “It is recommended to put a protecting fence of minimum 90 cm height around the swimming pool with a lockable door and a warning system as kids touch the door or rail when they are not allowed to use it. It is also good to have an alarm whenever the pool is not attended by the rescue staff,” he added.

    Image courtesy of Jan, CC BY-SA 2.0

  • See kshb.com

    More than 1,100 swimmers took to the freezing waters of Longview Lake on Friday all for a good cause.

    It’s part of the “Polar Plunge,” a 21-hour fundraising event for the Special Olympics.

    “It’s one of those things, as soon as you hit the water, its pins and needles,” described swimmer Mike Day. “But there are 12 of us, and we know this is going to Special Olympics.”

  • jarin-timmermanSee CBC and WPTV

    A 104-year-old Winnipeg man swam his way into the record books, finishing two races and becoming the world’s oldest masters swimmer. Pan Am Pool was packed with family members, friends and swimming fans who cheered on Jaring Timmerman as he completed the 50-metre backstroke and 50-metre freestyle races at a masters swimming meet Friday night. Simply by finishing, Timmerman — who turns 105 in February — has established two world records and created a new competition category for swimmers aged 105 to 109. Until now, the oldest age group recognized in masters swimming has been 100 to 104 years old. “I’ll be the only one that will have a world record at 105 because no one else has it at this time,” he said in an interview before the meet.

  • john-wallaceRead The Gympie Times

    A Sunshine Coast veteran swim coach has poured cold water on suggestions to ban backyard pools.

    This week an Australian mummy blogger caused outrage when she suggested swimming pools in Australian homes should be banned because they presented an unacceptable risk to children.

    Jo Abi wrote in her iVillage column that if any other product contributed to as many deaths as pools, it would be banned and the subject of mass litigation.

    However, coach John Wallace, from the John Wallace Swim School at the Caloundra Aquatic Centre, said the suggestion was outrageous and banning pools would only increase drownings.

    “How many kids have been saved because they learnt to swim?” Mr Wallace said.

    “It’s all about learning to be responsible in the water and doing the right thing. That saves a lot of lives.”

  • gwangju2019Read Reuters

    Two South Korean government officials were handed suspended six-month prison sentences on Friday after they were found guilty of forging documents for southern city Gwangju’s successful bid to host the 2019 World Aquatics Championships.

    Last September, bidding committee director Kim Yoon-seok and a female official identified by the surname Han were indicted for forging the signatures of former prime minister Kim Hwang-sik and former culture minister Choe Kwang-sik in documents that guaranteed government aid for the event.

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  • Swimming between tectonic plates

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  • See ABC Action News

    Why wait until summer to swim?

    The St. Petersburg Master Swimmers made daily laps in a pool with water around 81-degrees; while the air temperature hovered around 47-degrees.

    The group of about 50 people jump into the pool around 5:30 each morning and swim until 7:00.

    “We’re crazy! We know it,” said one swimmer when he jumped out of the pool and scurried to the heated shower room.

  • endless-poolRead PR Web

    The Endless Pool Elite is the latest high tech addition to the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, the flagship training center of the U.S. Olympic Committee.

    The facility’s aquatic center, used for instruction and development of Team USA’s world-class swimmers, triathletes and paralympians, now boasts the most advanced counter-current swimming machine available.

    “We are excited Team USA selected Endless Pools as a new vendor and see this as another validation of our product’s quality and hope it continues to improve the efficacy of our Nation’s athletes,” said Endless Pools founder and President, James Murdock.