Swimmer's Daily

  • men-onlyRead ABC News

    The New South Wales Upper House has passed a motion calling on the Minister for Sport to refuse grants to winter swimming associations that continue to exclude women.

    Six out of eight winter swimming clubs on the south coast exclude women.

    This means female members of the remaining two clubs are also unable to participate in the South Coast Winter Swimming championships.

    Labor MLC Lynda Voltz says that’s extraordinary and unacceptable.

    “To exclude 51 percent of the population from them is not justified just on the basis that you don’t want to do it,” she said.

    The clubs argue they’re entitled to ban women because they’re voluntary organisations, but Lynda Voltz says that doesn’t wash.

    “Eventually over time they’ll see the sense in the argument that there’s no reason to exclude woman and why would you want to do it,” she said.

    Image courtesy of Paul O’Farrell, CC BY-SA 2.0

  • A big smile from South Africa’s Darian Townsend after the men’s 100 meter individual medley at the FINA 2012 World Swimming World Cup meet in Berlin, Germany. Trinidad and Tobago’s George Bovell won in 51.20, Australia’s Kenneth To second in 51.53, and Townsend third in 53.04. See the result list here.

    Townsend greets Bovell after the Berlin 2012 men's 100 IM

  • Featuring Daniel Fogg and Steve Parry, see SwimBritain

  • ox-bel-haSee Latina Lista

    Ox Bel Ha is the longest explored underwater cave system in the world. Located in Quintana Roo, Mexico, it measures a little over 150 miles in its underwater passages but also has within its system dry caves, making it the third largest in the world.

    For scientists, Ox Bel Ha is every inch as mysterious, seductive and iconic as the country’s famous pyramids. In fact, an intrepid international team of divers and cave explorers have joined together to form the Mexico Cave Exploration Project (MCEP) to study Ox Bel Ha and the other underwater cave systems of Mexico.

    Ox Bel Ha Science project 2012 -2013 from JP Bresser on Vimeo.

  • jeff-brownRead myFOXdc.com

    Jeff Brown knows that when he dives into the chilly water of the Potomac River, he will be doing the right thing. As a kid, he heard all the myths about why black people can’t swim.

    “Like African-Americans physically are built not to swim. Our bones are too dense. We sink,” he says.

    It is nonsense, of course. Neither the myths, nor the teasing stopped him from being one of the few black kids in his neighborhood who swam.

    “I was ridiculed because I used to swim in the winter,” he remembers. “My trunks would be frozen coming back home. They would take them from me and throw them around.”

    DC Breaking Local News Weather Sports FOX 5 WTTG

  • swimming-australiaSee swimming.org.au

    Swimming Australia has today launched a global search for a new National Head Coach with the aim to fill the role following the 2013 Barcelona FINA World Championships in August.

    Swimming Australia is seeking Confidential Expressions of Interest from suitably qualified candidates for the position of National Head Coach, to take the team through to and beyond Rio 2016.

    Swimming Australia CEO Mark Anderson said the organisation will undertake a global search for the right candidate with the skills and attributes to lead the EnergyAustralia Swim Team.

    A full job description for the Swimming Australia National Head Coach can be found here

  • Read UPI

    When a child begins swimming lessons should be based on a child’s exposure to water, maturity, physical limitations and health concerns, U.S. officials say.

    The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says participation in formal swimming lessons can reduce the risk of drowning by as much as 88 percent among young children age 1-4, who are at greatest risk of drowning.

    The American Academy of Pediatrics supports swimming lessons as young as age 1.

    Watch your back !

  • FINAlogoSee the official press release here on fina.org

    FINA was elevated to top-tier Group A (which comprises also Athletics and Gymnastics) in terms of the contribution of each International Federation to the Olympic programme. This a natural consequence of the success and popularity of FINA’s disciplines within the Games – as demonstrated by an independent study carried out by the IOC after the 2012 Olympics in London -, but also to the impact and strength of FINA World Championships and other FINA events around the world.

    The decision was announced today by the International Olympic Committee, after a meeting with the Association of Olympic International Federations, at the SportAccord convention taking place in St-Petersburg (RUS).

    “We have always considered our Aquatic disciplines a pillar of the Olympics, and this decision confirms this status. Our events are attended by worldwide stars, generate memorable performances and reach a worldwide audience in the five continents. The entire FINA Family must be praised for this achievement, which can only be done with its contribution. We have requested this research in order to establish the FINA fair contribution to the Games programme and we will continue our effort and strategy to make our Sport bigger and more important within the sport business community. FINA is very proud, together with all the International Federations integrating the Olympic programme, to provide its contribution to the success of the Olympic Games, a great celebration of humanity, friendship and fair-play”, considered FINA President Dr. Julio C. Maglione.

    See also Yahoo! Sports

    Swimming and gymnastics were the big winners Wednesday in a new revenue-sharing ranking of Olympic sports, signaling the start of the debate over how to split the money from the 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro. […]

    Previously, the International Association of Athletics Federations was ranked alone in the highest of four groups and received the biggest share of the hundreds of millions of dollars generated from television rights and other deals from each Summer Games.

    Under a revised formula announced by IOC President Jacques Rogge, swimming body FINA and gymnastics federation FIG join the IAAF in Group A. One of the big losers was modern pentathlon, which dropped into a new Group E, the bottom rung.

  • Ægir swimmers inspecting the water in Klaksvík, before the 2012 Seaman’s Day swim across the harbor. A hint of oil, we must confess.

    Young swimmers inspecting the water in Klaksvík harbor