SWIM Magazine’s May/June issue should be delivered to all of you having a registration number of 138-00514 or less. If you haven’t received your copy by the time you read this newsletter, please inform me, either via phone or e-mail. NC’s web site is http://www.NCmaster.org , my e-mail address is NCregistrar@usms.org , and my swimming phone number is (919)846-2423.

The Consolidated Entry Card for all swim meets (except open water) will be used in the future. The State Meet used the form but had already filled out the event number and the meet name. The generic entry form will require you to fill out the form, indicating the meet name, the number for the event you plan to swim, and personal information. Beginning with the 1999 renewals, several Consolidated Entry Card will be mailed to you along with your registration card. Please keep these blank entry forms, even if you don't plan to swim in a meet, because they will not be mailed separately or printed in the newsletter (hope-fully you will change your mind and swim in a meet).

The spring meeting of the LMSC-NC was called to order by Don Gilchrist, president, following the last event of the meet on Saturday, April 18. Other officers present were Jerry Clark, Chuck Irwin, Jeannie Mitchell, and George Simon. Eight teams were represented in person. Two teams were represented by proxy. Eight other teams were not represented. The minutes of the January 1998 meeting were reviewed and approved as written.

The treasurer's report showed a net increase of $1017.11 for the first quarter of 1998. A budget review committee was established to look at the proposed 1999 budget. The committee will examine the proposed revenue from fees versus the estimated costs. Their conclusions will determine if the LMSC fees for 1999 can remain the same or if they need to be increased.

The registrar reported a total of 527 registered NC swimmers. This figure is only five less than at this same time last year.

As each team rep perused their team's updated membership list, the discussion turned to membership activity. Most reps commented that only about half of those registered show up regularly for workouts. Other members work out on their own or with USS teams. Many registrants are triathletes who are interested in meet information gleaned from the available newsletters. (On the subject of team newsletters, George volunteered his services to provide team address labels for any team needing them. RAM uses these labels for mailings of the RAM newsletter, notices of upcoming clinics, practice changes, etc.)

A bevy of swim clinics are in the planning stage for the summer and fall. Krista Phillips will host one at a new YMCA sometime after July 15th. A seminar in Wilmington is being planned. Scott Rabalais is planning a mid-September clinic in Virginia. Don Easterling, the former NC State swim coach, is available to teach clinics at a very reasonable price. Don and Ceil will be contacting him for a session in Raleigh. USMS will provide $500 in grant money for qualifying clinics. So contact your pool, apply for the grant money, and call Don Easterling. Let's get YOUR community interested in Masters Swimming!

George Simon, registrar, is using a new program that incorporates e-mail addresses. Corresponding with LMSC members by e-mail rather than regular mail is faster and more cost effective. Those of you with e-mail addresses. please notify George. (His e-mail address is listed with the officers in this publication.)

The LMSC-NC delegates to the USMS National Convention will be (tentatively) George Simon and Don Gilchrist with Jerry Clark as an alternate. The Convention will be held in Cincinnati Sept. 30 - Oct. 4. Anyone else who would like to go, please contact Ceil Blackwell for the details.

Orders for the ash gray T-shirts may be placed with Krista Phillips. Please make your check out to LMSC for NC and mail to Krista Phillips, 9408 Hester Rd., Hurdle Mills, NC 27541. 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).

Amazing! At age 86, Marie Heikkinen was 12 years older than the next youngest competitor at the North Carolina Masters Short Course Championships held in Raleigh April 18 & 19. People find it hard to believe her age because Marie looks and acts at least 20 years younger than her actual age. Marie points out that there are swimmers in the 95 to 100 year-old range at some of the national meets, so she think she has many years yet to be a competitive swimmer.

Marie is 4 feet 11 inches tall and has never weighed more than 100 pounds in her entire life. She started swimming when she was in high school in Virginia, MN. She stopped swimming when she graduated from high school in 1930. In 1939 she married Sulo Heikkinen and became an Army wife. While stationed in Europe, the Heikkinens adopted their daughter, Barbara. For over 30 years, Marie was just too busy to go swimming. She began swimming after moving to Fayetteville in 1962 when she started going to the YMCA. However, at that time she swam mainly to relax. One day the coach for the YMCA junior team asked Marie to swim with his team. The oldest swimmer on the team was 12 years old! This was the first time since high school that Marie had gotten any coaching.

Marie and her husband, Sulo, later joined United States Master swimming as members of a team in Fayetteville. She swam her first official meet in 1975 at the age of 63. Later the Fayetteville team folded, and the Heikkinens became members of the Raleigh Area Masters team.

Marie doesn't have a set workout. She just swims until she feels she has had enough. She says she loves swimming because when she's in the water she is without thoughts, worries and problems.

In that past few years, Marie has been unable to participate in as many meets as she would like due to her husband's health problems. With the exception of some problems with cataracts and with her hearing, Marie herself enjoys very good health.

Having ranked among the national Top Ten of Masters every year since 1981, Marie also holds numerous North Carolina Masters state records. She has earned so many trophies and ribbons that she doesn't know what to do with them. She keeps them in a shoebox and has given some of her medals to her two grandchildren.

Marie is such an inspiration to younger swimmers. Her fellow Masters swimmers hope that she continues to swim and to provide that inspiration for many years to come.

By CJ Lockman Hall

Nervousness. Even the word can hasten heartbeats, dampen palms, shorten breaths, and set aflutter butterflies in stomachs. Olympic swimmers and first-timers alike experience nervousness. Many successful athletes consider nervousness desirable, expressing concern if they don’t feel nervous!

Feelings of nervousness are actually signals telling us that we care about an upcoming event, and that our bodies are busy with preparations for a good performance. It’s not the nervousness that overpowers us, but what we mentally attach to the physical feelings that can have an adverse affect on our performance. Read on to find out how to welcome nervousness and use it to your advantage for a positive performance.

You can say ...

Carry on a conversation with yourself, or with your nervousness: "Hey, great, nervousness has arrived! This means that all systems are aware of this special occasion and are now testing for blast-off. Nothing could be finer!"

Create your own script. Accepting what is there and reshaping it into a positive can be a marvelously relaxing and energizing strategy.

You can picture ...

A great example of using imagery with nervousness occurred at the recent World Championships in Perth, Australia. Newcomer (an eventual 100 breaststroke champion) Kristy Kowal credited teammate Sheila Taormina with helping her quell a jumpy stomach by suggesting that she picture the feelings as birds in a "V". Besides being a soothing image (and something to take your mind off of your negative focus on your nervousness), the "V" pattern is a tremendously useful design; it reduces the workload and increases speed for each bird: when the head bird tires, it can find relief flying in the midst of the pack; the birds in the back cheer on the head birds to main tain speed; and if one bird falters, others stick by it, no questions asked. Now isn’t that an encouraging picture to keep on your mental videotape?

You can feel ...

Imagine that the locations of your shakes and quakes are powerful centers of energy, waiting to unleash strength and speed in just the right amounts at just the right times. With this perception, you might actually welcome big-time nervousness!

You can do ...

Deep, controlled breaths do wonders for regulating the mind and body. Take your time with some relaxed, measured breaths to clear out your mental and physical pathways.

So next time you feel nervousness knocking on your door, pick a plan and then answer the door, fully prepared for your wonderful company!

Over 125 Masters swimmers from five states participated in the 1998 Raleigh Area Masters-hosted meet. In this "tune-up" for the May 98 USMS SCY Nationals, the swimmers represented twenty teams as well as the unattached category.

RAM Raleigh Area Masters	1744	TGM Team Greenville	111
NCAM North Carolina Aquatic Masters	1322	DAMA Durham Aquatic Masters	103
CSM Charlotte Swim Masters	605	WMSC Wilson Masters Swim Club	86
VMST Virtinia Masters	349	MMM	70
SCMM Sports Center Morehead Masters	287	NCMS NC Masters Swim Team	64
WYM Wilmington YMCA Masters	241	PAC Pinehurst Aquatic Club	49
GCAM Gamecock Aquatic Masters	144	GOLD Gold Coast Mastes	45
MARY Maryland Masters	134	HHAC Hilton Head Aquatic Club	25
TMS Triad Masters Swimming	116	PLAN Plantation Masters	19
RACY Rowan Aquatic Club Y Masters	113	PEAK PEAK Masters	9

The Raleigh Area Masters will be hosting a long course meet this summer at the Pullen Aquatic Center, on August 8, 1998. This will only be a one-day meet this year. If attendance is good, a two-day meet may be considered for next summer.

RAM's coaches have held several stroke clinics this winter, covering each of the four strokes, starts, turns and finishes. The clinics have been held during the Saturday morning practice time with a normal workout offered as well as the clinic. Attendance at these clinics has been good and our head coach Sue Haugh is in the process of scheduling more clinics for this spring and summer.

RAM added a group of Y Masters swimmers to its ranks this past January. The Capital Area Y.M.C.A. began a masters swimming program last fall. An added benefit offered to the Y swimmers was membership in RAM. Swimmers from this group have participated in the Greensboro and Raleigh meets this spring.

When you participate in a meet and notice any type of error in someone’s time – your own or someone else’s, please notify the meet director immediately. Records and Top Ten ranking for the nation, our zone and our state are based on meet results. Last fall, an error in meet results from the Hillsborough meet incorrectly placed a swimmer 1^st in the nation in an event. The error was not discovered until after the USMS Top Ten results had been printed. Your help will be greatly appreciated.

Listed below are North Carolina swimmers who were ranked among the USMS TOP TEN for the 1997 short course meters season. If your name or an event has been omitted from the following list, please contact Ceil Blackwell (919) 787-8324; 4305 John Rencher Wynd, Raleigh NC 27612 or e-mail ceilb@aol.com. Also, please note that copies of USMS Top Ten and Records are available from the USMS National Office, 261 High Range Road, Londonderry, NH 03053. A year's subscription is $15 for 3 issues (sc yards, sc meters and lc meters). Back issues are also available for $7 each.

Special congratulations to NC swimmers Heather Hageman, Sally Newell, John Kortheuer and Boyd Campbell who placed 1^st in the nation for their respective age groups in one or more events.

North Carolina Masters Top Ten Relays

Congratulations to Jerry Clark, John Kortheuer, Jeannie Mitchell, Sally Newell, Rolffs Pinkerton, and Dick Webber for being named Relay All Americans for 1997. This honor is achieved by being on a relay that places 1^st in the nation for short course yards, short course meters or long course meters.

Heather’s Spring Workout is really a clarification of her Winter Workout. The change is in the Main Set. Instead of swimming six 100’s on the interval followed by six 50’s on the same interval, each 100 is followed by a 50 on the interval. The difference in the order results in a more challenging workout.

(* Master's Rule: Swimmers may add/deduct yardage and change strokes/intervals as needed/desired to make their work-outs more fun/challenging.)

LONG COURSE NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS

August 20-23, 1998

Ft. Lauderdale, Florida

Circle events you are willing to swim:

Thur-200 Mixed Medley Fri-200 Medley Sat-200 Free Sun-200 Mixed Free

List best time for strokes you are willing to swim - more than one, if possible, as you may be needed in something other than your primary stroke.

50 Back __________ 50 Breast __________ 50 Fly __________ 50 Free ________

Name: _______________________________________ Age as of 8/23 __________

Address: _______________________________________

City: ______________________________ State __________ Zip ____________

Telephones: Home ____________________ Office _______________________

E-mail: __________________________

Please return to Jerry Clark, 3107 Cloverfield Road, Charlotte, NC 28211 (E-mail: jclark3lO7@aol.com). Thank you for returning this form to me at the same time you send your Official Entry Form (from SWIM Magazine into the Nationals. Please feel committed to swim in any event(s) you circle.