Swimmer's Daily | Fast Fix Blog About Swimming

Higher percentage of US minorities don’t know how to swim; fear the biggest barrier

Jun 23, 2013

—

by

rokur

in Safety

See wsoctv.com

Several recent drownings in North Carolina are drawing attention to an unsettling gap when it comes to minorities and swimming. About 70 percent of black children do not know how to swim, compared to 40 percent of white kids.

A study by USA Swimming blames the gap on income and lack of inner-city pools. For decades, segregation kept minorities out of swimming pools. The disparity continues because of lack of access, but the No. 1 reason is fear.

“The parents have been afraid of water all their life, so that’s the biggest barrier between them and wanting to get their child to learn to swim,” Simmons YMCA Aquatics Director Dave Buskey said.
Sean Conway to swim the entire length of Britain, from Land’s End to John O’Groats

Jun 23, 2013

—

by

rokur

in Open Water, Wow

Read Falmouth Packet and see his site

Land’s End has been the iconic starting point for many length of Britain cyclists, walkers and drivers, but one endurance athlete will now attempt to set off on a 1,000 mile swim to John O’Groats.

On the July 1, 32-year-old Sean Conway will attempt to become the first person to swim the entire length of Britain.

His 1,000-mile route will start in Landâ€™s End and work its way up the north coast of Devon and across to Wales. After going along the West coast of Wales he will cut North to the Isle of Man and then onto Scotland before making his way through and around the Hebrides before cutting East along the North coast of Scotland and finishing at John Oâ€™Groats.
Lewis Pugh to embark on 3-year Circumnavigation of Globe as UNEP Patron for Oceans

Jun 23, 2013

—

by

rokur

in Nature, Open Water

See UNEP News Centre

Pioneer swimmer and ocean advocate Lewis Pugh was June 19th unveiled as the UN Environment Programme’s Patron for Oceans as he prepares to embark on an epic circumnavigation of the globe.

Mr. Pugh, a maritime lawyer from London, is the only person to have completed a long distance swim in every ocean of the world. In 2007 he swam across an open patch of sea at the North Pole to highlight the melting of the Arctic sea ice and in 2010 he swam across a newly formed glacial lake on Mt Everest to draw attention to the impact of climate change in the Himalayas.

Next year Mr. Pugh will embark on a three-year journey that will see him cross three oceans and 18 seas. Along the way, he will be promoting UNEP’s work and spearheading their campaign for the establishment of more Marine Protected Areas.
Hundreds brave cold for inaugural Dark MOFO nude swim

Jun 23, 2013

—

by

rokur

in Fun, Open Water

Read for instance Limelight, ABC, news.com.au and The Mercury

Hundreds of people have stripped off and swum nude in the River Derwent in Hobart as part of the Dark MOFO winter festival. The water temperature was about 12 degrees, but the air temperature had fallen to a mere two degrees at Sandy Bay, prompting a great deal of squealing amongst the hardy bathers.

A supplementary â€œPrude swimâ€ was arranged for the more modest swimmer later this morning, although it would seem unlikely that there would be any media interest in such a tame sideshow event.
Pan Am Aquatics Centre, a closer look

Jun 22, 2013

—

by

rokur

in Competition, Organization, Swimming Pools

See Daily Commercial News

Construction progress on the new Pan Am Aquatics Centre is approximately halfway complete as it is slated to finish up in July 2014.

Located at the University of Torontoâ€™s Scarborough campus, the facility will be home to swimming events during the 2015 Pan Am/Parapan Am Games in Toronto.
Tampax Commercial – Russian Style

Jun 22, 2013

—

by

rokur

in Fun

“Your puny western ads don’t work on Russian women”, via LiveLeak
CC photo #538: Tug o’ War, Mano a Mano, the cold sea awaits

Jun 22, 2013

—

by

rokur

in CC BY-NC-ND 2.0, Faroe Islands, Fun

A snapshot from a video I took this morning, Helgi and Olaf duking it out here down on the pier at Toftir, Faroe Islands, in a tug of war match with a dip in the sea as punishment for the loser.

Here is the video …
2013 World’s Largest Swim Lesson – Brendan Hansen at Aquatica San Antonio

Jun 21, 2013

—

by

rokur

in Organization, Safety

“Aquatica San Antonio participated in the World’s Largest Swimming Lesson on June 18, 2013. We were joined by special guest Brendan Hansen, six-time Olympic medal winner and former world record holder.”
Els Amics de les Arts – The City Between Blue and Blue

Jun 21, 2013

—

by

rokur

in Competition

Official Song of the 15th FINA World Championships – English version