Across the Lanes

LMSC for North Carolina's Newsletter

In this June, 1999 Issue

Led by our state swim committee president Don Gilchrist, 8 women and 6 men arrived in the sun drenched Silicon Valley fit and ready (and nervous too) to do battle with the nation’s best Masters swimmers in mid-May. We emerged four days later with many medals, a number of state records, one national record, a third place finish for the men’s team in the small team division (15 or fewer swimmers) and lots of warm feelings about being together at this great meet. The results are elsewhere in this letter. It was great having teammates exhorting each other to stronger efforts, celebrating the good swims and empathizing with the disappointing ones. We really had an esprit de corps.

We have many things to be proud of, and here are a few of them:

• Don set the tone for success on his first day at the meet (Friday) by racing the 400 IM, the 200 Fly, the 200 Free and a leg on a relay team. He was a tired fellow that night for sure. I think he was trying to impress his young daughter who was there cheering us on. He went on to have a great meet.

• Emily Cathey took time between her final exams and graduation from the Naval Academy to swim two events. We were proud to have her on our team; she’s gonna make a great officer. She and her brother helped us celebrate their mom’s 50^th while out there. Emily took fifth place in the 1,000 Free.

• Sandra Cathey coolly stepped into a new age bracket at the meet and promptly set three state age group records. She was a point winner in 5 of the 6 events she swam. I’d say that’s good planning on her part (aging up on the day of the meet).

• Jon Klein took on the job of relay chairman, and did a great job – both organizing and participating in the meet. He was unanimously chosen to head up the relays at long course nationals in Minneapolis in August. He needs more participants though; we could only field one team of women and one of men at this meet. Jon had fast times in a tough age group, finishing in the top ten in 4 of the 6 events he entered.

• Three relatively new folks were on the team, and they added immeasurably to our achievement. Nancy McPhee swam 5 events, and finished no lower than 6^th in any of them. Suzanne Robbins-Bonitz swam 6 events, and was no lower than 8^th in any of them. Both women also did relays each day, adding to their point production. Their energy, grace, enthusiasm and smiles just lit the place up whenever they were around. Bob Jennings finished no lower than 8^th in any of the 5 events he swam, which is impressive given the competitiveness of the 30-34 age group. His talent is obvious, and he is willing to duke it out with the big boys. I can’t wait to go racing with him again. We’ve got a great photo of Bob, but will wait to get his permission to run it in the newsletter.

• Our stalwart breaststrokers Sally Newell and Milton Gee also rose to the occasion. Watching Sally set her jaw after a disappointing (only to her) 100 Breast was inspiring. She declared on the spot that she was gonna win the 50 Breast – and did. The other women in that race didn’t have a chance. Sally’s lowest place was 4^th in the 6 events she raced. She also raced 3 relay legs. Milton’s times dropped to his satisfaction, and he finished in the top 10 in 4 of the 5 events he did. We were proud that he chose not to scratch the 100 IM on Sunday due to feeling sluggish; he went on to take 7^th, which gained valuable points for our men’s team on the last day of the meet (when we passed Texas for 3^rd place).

• Heather Hageman, our coach here in Charlotte, broke tradition (at least for as long as I’ve known her) by swimming in more than just the sprints. She did 6 events and 3 relays, and had fun (and fast times) in all of them. Although recovering from a virus, she managed to get 2^nd places in her primary events, and earned lots of points in the other events too. We could always hear her voice yelling GO WHOMEVER! when we got up on the starting block – very inspiring.

• Mary Sansbury was responsible for one of the most prideful moments of the meet. The last event of the last day was the 200 free relay. It’s a donnybrook to participate in. Mary was the anchorwoman behind Bob Jennings, Jon Klein and Heather Hageman swimming in the 25-35 relay age group. They gave her a lead, but the other teams had put their fastest people as their 4^th swimmer, so Mary had her work cut out. She held perfect form (Heather’s coaching no doubt) and kept a fast tempo during her 50, but the other guys were gaining. She kicked it in though, winning the heat by 3/100ths of a second. Talk about bedlam at her starting block – we were going nuts. Lots of high fives over that.

• I had a great meet for me, placing in the top 10 in all my events. Two highlights come to mind: (1) winning the 500 Free while going under 6 minutes, and (2), finishing close to Jeff Farrell in the 100 Free with a PR time. Jeff is always the fastest sprinter in his age group and is famous for making the 1960 Olympic team by qualifying exactly one week after an appendectomy. I must admit its fun to look up after hitting the touch pad at the finish and seeing the smiling face of Joe Rhyne indicating I did a good swim. By the way, speaking of Joe Rhyne………

• DA MAN. I’d been told by Beverly Amick that Joe was in super shape and was mentally ready too. Both were understatements. Not only did Joe appear behind the block for everyone’s race, organize the "eat togethers" each night, but he managed to ace the swim meet as well. When the smoke cleared, he had 2 first places, 4 second places, one national record and six state records. Best of all, he broke down and bought a long torso speed suit for the swims on the last day. He’s downright svelte in the thing, so watch him go in the long course meet in Minneapolis!

These meets are fun (except maybe in the hour before one’s event), and I hope many of you will consider entering the national long course meet in August. Info is in the current issue of SWIM magazine. There is time to undertake a vigorous training program to enhance your performance. It’s sort of a bonding thing to know other teammates are training hard at the same time. We sorely needed more people for relays in Santa Clara; lets do something about that for the meet in Minnesota. The pool there is considered by many to be one of the top three in the USA, so it should be fun to get in it and see how we can do. Lets bring home some more hardware!

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From The Registrar‘s Lane

by George Simon

A reminder to all North Carolina Masters: Effective with the year 2000 renewals, the LMSC - NC annual registration fee will increase from $23 to $25 for each individual's membership. Please do not use 1999 registration forms marked up for the year 2000. Each registered member will be invoiced for his or her individual renewal by the first week of November. Each team will be mailed year 2000 registration forms for new members in October.

Registration for 1999 is ahead of 1998 registrations with 562 members as of May 16th; approximately 30 swimmers ahead of last year’s registrations. Hopefully NC will exceed 1998's 597 registrations. With new teams starting this year, such as the successful North State Masters Swimming team in Burlington and the new Rocky Mount Y Masters, North Carolina Masters Swimming should easily exceed 600 members.

Thanks to all who have donated to the International Swimmers Hall of Fame Foundation and the USMS Foundation. NC collected $81 and $109 respectively for each of the organizations. Your donation is sent directly to the USMS for deposit into these foundations.

Our new website, www.ncmasters.org, is experiencing steady growth. Many search engines now have pointers to our site, and web traffic is increasing monthly. Approximately 100 pages are requested daily. The most frequented pages are the meet descriptions and results, records, as well as information about each of North Carolina's teams. Team representatives can have additional information placed on their web page to announce special events or promote their team's activities. Only a few teams take advantage of having their web page provide more than minimum information. A short e-mail to george@ncmasters.org with additional information is all that is required to update your team web page.

by Jeannie Mitchell

The LMSC-NC Board met April 17, 1999 at the Dixie Zone Short Course Championships in Raleigh, NC. The officers met with nine chapter representatives. Three chapters provided proxies.

The January 30, 1999 meeting minutes were amended as follows:

1. Kernersville, not Huntersville, is planning to build a 50 meter natatorium;

2. The LMSC-NC registration fee increase to $25 for the year 2000 will be effective Nov. 1, 1999, not Jan. 1, 2000; and

3. The new web site has a $35 yearly fee. We will pay $9.95/month for the web hosting service. This is $58 more than the previous web site fee and will be well worth it.

Treasurer Chuck Irwin presented the first quarter 1999 financial report. Income for the quarter was $900.82. Total expenses were $1139.40. Net change for the quarter was a loss of $238.58. The checking account balance is $3824.32. The present value of the CD is $3718.15. The balance for LMSC-NC is $7542.47.

OLD BUSINESS

George Simon identified several problems with the Consolidated Entry Cards (the blue cards you received with you registration): entrants not including the event number, entrants not completing the top section, and no extra lines for miscellaneous information (social tickets, t-shirts, etc). Betsy Durrant (from Virginia) noted that it was difficult for out-of-state swimmers to obtain a copy of the card. She printed hers off of the Internet.

Several representatives noted that it was time consuming going back and forth from the entry information sheet to the entry card. The Meet Director found the mixing of small forms and full sheet copies was cumbersome during the computer entry process. However, the general consensus was to use them one more time, hoping that familiarity and practice will reduce the incidence of errors. The entry cards will be used for the Hendersonville meet in September.

Melisa Norman will continue as the LMSC-NC Records Keeper. George thanked her for providing the updated records information to him so quickly for the web site, and others also expressed their appreciation for her efforts.

Krista Phillips will be asked to organize a much-needed short course meters meet in Hillsborough such as the one in 1997. An early October date was suggested. The LMSC-NC will help support the meet. The motion was made and passed that the LMSC will support any team that would like to host a SCM meet such that the host team will net a profit of at least $300.

National bids: The Wilmington Y Masters are interested in sponsoring the 5K or 1-3 mile Open Water National Championships in 2000 or 2001. Don Gilchrist and Dan Forrester will prepare a bid to present to the National Convention this fall.

Don has been in dialog with Hill Carrow about bidding for the USMS Long Course Championships to be held in Charlotte in two or three years. Discussion followed:

Pro's: Great pool, many motels, town enthusiasm, money to be made, and state Masters' membership will grow.

Con's: Not enough bleacher seating, parking, lockers, nor adequate warm down area (long course) at MAC.

Jerry Clark suggested forming a committee to formulate a bid. That committee will include Ceil Blackwell, Heather Hageman, Hill Carrow, Don Gilchrist, and others pending nominations. Masters interested in serving on this committee should contact Don Gilchrist.

NEW BUSINESS

LMSC-NC officers for the next term were nominated: Jerry Clark, President; Don Gilchrist, Vice President; and Alice Jones, Treasurer. The Secretary's position is yet to be nominated. Nominations for the position will be accepted until the fall meeting. Team reps are asked to inquire among their membership for interest in this position. Alice Jones was appointed to the position of Treasurer effective immediately. Chuck Irwin will instruct Alice about the system he has in place.

The 1999 USMS National Convention will be in San Diego September 15-18. George Simon and Jerry Clark will be our official delegates. Any other NC Masters who would like to attend may be reimbursed up to $200 for his/her expenses. Masters may contact George and Jerry if they have any special issues that they would like our delegates to take to Convention. Don Gilchrist or Dan Forrester may go to present their bid for the Open Water Nationals, as described above.

The next LMSC-NC meeting will be on Sept. 11, 1999 at the Smoky Mountain LC meet in Hendersonville.

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NORTH CAROLINA MASTERS

Orders for the ash gray T-shirts should now be placed with Chuck Irwin. Please make your check payable to LMSC for NC and mail to Chuck Irwin; 994 Snow Hill Falls Circle; Franklin, NC 28734-9436. Prices include shipping/handling charges: L-XL $11.00, XXL $13.00 (remember to include your size along with your name/address/zip code and phone number).

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PERFORMANCE APTITUDES AND ATTITUDES

By Bev Amick, Jeannie Mitchell, and Rolffs Pinkerton

Two weeks after our Dixie Zone Championships and two weeks before the Nationals, four NC Masters braved the Washington DC area traffic to compete in the Colonies Zone Championships. Upon their return home, three of the four, Beverly Amick, Jeannie Mitchell, and Rolffs Pinkerton (RAM's Ed White was the fourth) exclaimed their experiences to Jerry Clark. Their expressions capture the team spirit and camaraderie that epitomize Masters Swimming competition.

JEANNIE:

Look out Yanks, here come the Tarheels! That's how we four NCMS swimmers felt on the third day of competition at the Colony Zone Short Course Championships. With only four swimmers representing North Carolina, we were ranked 16th out of 32 teams prior to Sunday's competition! We all had an exhilarating meet.

The meet was held April 30-May 2, 1999 at the University of Maryland, College Park campus. The pool is cold, deep and fast! It is a beautiful, large, state of the art facility with plenty of room for the 514 athletes. The staff was friendly, helpful, and efficient. They were even still smiling Sunday afternoon during the crunch at the awards table (beautiful medals for 1st through 3rd, ribbons for 4th through 8th). Whenever they put on another meet, we want to go! Let's assemble a bigger group next year so we can put together some relays.

Rolffs and I dominated the backstroke events, winning gold in the 50 and 100-yard races. Rolffs also won the 50-yard freestyle, and I won the 100 yard I.M. Beverly won the 200 yard individual medley by 1/100th of a second! The rest of Beverly's swims were personal best times. Edward also tallied some great personal swims.

The first day I won the 50 back easily, the first event. I guess I got a little overconfident (and a little tired) as I was beaten in the last event of the day, the 200 back. Bev and I analyzed my race and decided that the woman beat me on the turns. So my game plan for Sunday, the 100 back, was primarily to speed up my turns. That's what I practiced in warm ups that morning -- to gain confidence in the wall/flag placement so I could swim aggressively into the walls and remember to throw my heels to make a faster spinning flip. My mental setting was strong; I had beaten her in the 50 back and had led her in 125 of the 200 back. Luckily she was seeded right next to me so we knew exactly who was where. Final result: GOLD!! I swam a 1:15.75 . I haven't swum that fast since Short Course Nationals in 1997!

The rest of the day I was so pumped I swam great times. My 50 breast was another two-year best. The 100 IM (last event of meet) was a toss up according to seed times. I could have placed anywhere from 1st to 4th. Luckily two of the women were in my heat so as I won the heat I knew I had 1st or 2nd. My backstroke nemesis swam in the next heat. As soon as I finished (1:19.86), Bev and I watched the score board for Andrea's time. At the beginning of the last lap it looked like she had won, but in those last few strokes the clock flipped over to 1:20, and we were ecstatic!! I earned another first! That was a sweet bonus. Sort of made up for the 200 back since it was the same competition.

You all have a fabulous Nationals -- we have had ours! I pray you will swim your very best, and do great times.

BEV:

Jeannie and I made it home last night at 9 PM. What a meet! There were 540 entries and the pool was the fastest pool I have ever been in. I did personal best times in everything I swam. I won the 200 IM (2:37.32), got 3rd in 100 free (1:02.01), 4th in 50 fly (31.01), 4th in 100 fly (1:09.31), 4th in 200 free (2:18.53), and 5th in 500 free (6:14.75). I also placed 4th in the 100 back (1:13.42). Both Jeannie and Rolffs had great meets. I will definitely go to any meet that is held in this pool as the facilities were unbelievable. Rolffs said this is probably a better pool than Minneapolis. Well, I'm sure you are getting anxious about Santa Clara. Joe and Bob are really training seriously for this. I wish I could be going, but I'm not sure I would have done any better than I did in College Park.

ROLFFS:

First order of business: the U. of MD. pool is superb. Easily in the league with Indianapolis - deep, very fast, and no turbulence. Extremely well run, national-level competition with well over 500 swimmers. Jeannie and Bev had outstanding meets with, I believe, some personal bests.

Now for the most important part of this message - GIVE 'EM HELL Jerry (Clark) and Jon (Klein)!!!! You guys have a terrific time in Santa Clara. You're both in fantastic shape; you'll be shaved and tapered. Know you'll do a great job (Jerry: come back with a piece of Jeff Farrell's hide!!!). We will all be cheering for you on this side of the country. All the Best.

Vital to the above personal and team achievements were the camaraderie, spirit and mutual support of the NCMS team. While a swimmer’s physical and mental capabilities are crucial to his/her accomplishments, the real success multiplier can be the energy given to and received from others. So, at your next meet, local, regional, or national, swim the best you can, not only by focusing on your events, but by encouraging and supporting your teammates. When you energize them, you energize yourself.

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Dixie Zone 1999 Short Course Championships

This year's Dixie Zone Short Course Championships were held at the Pullen Aquatic Center in Raleigh. Close to 200 people participated with Zone members from as far away Florida. The meet also included USMS swimmers from Virginia, Maryland and Washington D.C. On an international scale we had one AUSSI swimmer from Nhulunbuy, Australia. We believe that Don was here to check out the competition for the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, but he claims that he wanted to see what its like to swim in a "yard" pool.

First place was awarded to the host, RAM, with second place going to NCAM and third was awarded to CSM. The high point women were Whitney Drake 19, Lauren Lindblad 25, Sian Hunter 32, Sue Haugh 37, Beverly Amick 44, Margaret Chesson 45, Pamela Wingerter 54, Sally Newell 61, Suzanne Robbins-Bonitz 65, Helen Newbold 75, Roberta Sugden 82 and Marie Heikkinen 87. The high point men included Doug Shanks 23, Scott Allen 27, Tom Northcutt 33, Bruce Kowalski 35, Thomas Davis 41, Don Gilchrist 45, Hugh Wilder 51, Warner Brundage 56, Jerry Clark 61, David Alkire 65, Richard Avery 76 and Roy Morse 82. Thanks to George Simon complete results are available at our website http:\\www.ncmasters.org .

As with every swim meet there were various Lost and Found Items. Most of the found items were towels and a few items of clothing including some swim suits. One lost item of note is a pair of glasses. If you found anything or are looking for something that is lost please contact Tim Sexauer at (919) 266-6315 or tsexauer@angiosonics.com.

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NORTH CAROLINA MASTERS WIN IN ATLANTA By Don Gilchrist

Twenty-four NCMS swimmers journeyed to the St. Patrick's Day Invitational to bring home the gold. NCMS captured the out-of-state team high point trophy scoring 703 points, fourth overall behind the Georgia Masters Killer Whales, Atlanta Rainbow Trout, and Dynamo Masters. The trophy now resides at Sally Newell's (someone had to take the trophy home since we do not yet have a "Hall of Fame" location). The St. Patrick's Day Invitational has always been a well run meet. Thirty-seven teams with 260 swimmers from all over the southeast participated. Individual performances were outstanding with many NC Masters winning their age groups' high point awards. They included Jeannie Mitchell, Beverly Amick, Sally Newell, Don Gilchrist, and Jerry Clark. Two Olympic gold medalists, Jon Olsen and Angel Martinez added a lot of excitement. I believe they won their events!! Olsen's freestyle was perfect and a sight to behold, long and easy with seven to eight strokes per length. All should plan to participate next year in order to topple the Georgia Killer Whales on their home turf.

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North Carolina -- Virginia Masters Challenge By Milton Gee

Last November, for the first time, North Carolina and Virginia Masters swimmers competed against each other in the NC - VA Challenge. The meet was a two-day affair with relays on Sunday. There were 42 swimmers: 22 from NC and 20 from VA. The meet was held in the Roanoke Rapids, NC Aquatic Center, a two-year-old six-lane 25-yard pool.

The format was a handicap meet consisting of a 50 yard swim of each of the four strokes and a 100 IM. Each swimmer's time was adjusted by their handicap. The handicap was figured by adding .01 for each year over 25 (25 being 1.00). For example, if you were 50 you would subtract 25 from 50 which is 25. Your handicap would 1.25. You would then divide your actual swim time by 1.25 to yield your handicap time.

To determine the winner, the handicapped times were added and then divided by the number of swimmers on the team. The low score wins. NC won by a hair. The VA team said they would return and take the trophy back to Virginia.

The Roanoke Rapids Aquatic Center Staff and Chamber Of Commerce did an outstanding job hosting the meet and putting on a pasta feast with plenty of beer and soft drinks. Swimmers from both teams had a great time and look forward to this year's rematch on October 23 and 24. Watch for the meet announcement.

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1998 MASTERS ALL-AMERICANS By Ceil Blackwell

In the May/June issue of Swim magazine, the following North Carolina Masters were named 1998 USMS All Americans: Heather Hageman (25-29), Harold Hoffman (90-94), John Kortheuer (65-69), Bruce Mallette (45-49), Clarke Mitchell (65-69), Jeannie Mitchell (50-55), Jeff Murray (25-29) and Sally Newell (60-64). A swimmer attains All-American status by finishing first in his/her age group in at least one event in the USMS Top Ten for short course yards, short course meters or long course meters. North Carolina salutes all of you!

These swimmers may order an All-American patch by sending a check for $5 to USMS and mail to USMS National Office, PO Box 185, Londonderry, NH 03053-0185.

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1998 RELAY ALL AMERICANS By Ceil Blackwell

The following NC Masters have qualified as USMS RELAY ALL AMERICANS for 1998. To achieve this honor, the swimmers were members of a relay team that ranked first in the nation for their respective age group in SCY, SCM, LCM as listed in the USMS Top Ten Tabulation. Congratulations to: Lee Ann Britt, Rachel Gunn, Heather Hageman, Grant Johnston, Lauren Lindbald, Jeff Murray, Christine Vess, and Eric Vess.

These swimmers may request a Relay All American patch and certificate from USMS. To receive the patch and certificate, send a check to USMS for $5 along with a note indicating the relay distance and the course (SCY, SCM, LCM) to USMS, PO Box 185, Londonderry, NH 03053.