Hi, All.

For those who are not following along, Rusty is competing in Montreal,
Canada, this weekend at the World Short Track Championships.  Yesterday,
he won the Bronze in the 1500 Meter Final.  As of right now (12:30 PST
today), he *apparently* has made the 500 Meter Final, probably being
skated even as I write this.  The results at CyberScoreboard are a bit
confusing, but it does show Rusty as being second in his semi.

Making the Final in the 500 Meters at the Worlds is NO easy task.  But
probably a piece of pie for Rusty, after SLC:

Go Rusty!!

Jerry

PS:  Follow along:  http://www.cyberscoreboard.com/sport.php?Sport=3

Hi, Folks.

Well, close, but no cigar.  Rusty finished 4th in the 500 Meter Final
today in Montreal.  As I said earlier, just making the Final at the
Worlds is a great accomplishment!

Results from the 500 Meter Final are here:
http://www.cyberscoreboard.com/results.php?id=47111

Now he has 23 points, 2 from his 1500 Final yesterday, and 1 from the
500 today.

On a less bright note, the U.S. Men's Relay was 4th in their Relay heat,
finishing just 3 seconds behind the winning team.  So they will not
advance to the Final.  Last March, they won this event.

More tomorrow.

Jerry

To all SCSSA Members;

Our annual banquet/meeting will be held at Fuddruckers,
5229 Clark Ave., Lakewood (near the corner of Candlewood) on
Saturday, April 20th, at 11:30 am.  Everyone is invited!  During our
Annual Banquet, we give out the Class Champion Awards, Most Improved
Skaters, and the AAF Skater of the Year Award.  We will also announce
the new officers for the coming season.  Cost is only what you want
to spend on food, purchases not necessary.  Please come and have a
great time!
Sylvia Wheeler
2nd V.P. SCSSA

Hi, All.

Tomorrow's the day for the Annual Southern California Speed Skating
Association Awards Banquet!  We ALL get together at Fudruckers in
Lakewood to have lunch, visit, and celebrate this past year of Speed
Skating excellence by our member skaters! Hear stories from the
Nationals, including some funny ones.  See our skaters receive awards
for Most Improved, Most Improved Novice, and Class Champion awards for
skating in our local SCSSA Competitions since last October.

Since we are required by the bylaws to hold an annual meeting of the
membership, this is that meeting.  This is where we  install the new
officers of the SCSSA.    There may be a few actual votes (by hand
voting) on a few issues of importance, as well as VERY important
information on upcoming events that are vital for us to continue
skating!

Cost?  Just what you eat.  Fudruckers is a fun place.  They sell
sandwiches, like burgers, chicken sandwiches, etc.  You just place your
order, and then bring it into the separate patio room we have reserved
for our group.

Dress?  Casual!  Come as you are, or dress up a little.  Your call.

So come on down!!  Have a great time!!  Fudruckers is located just south
of Candlewood on Clark Avenue, on the far eastern boundary of the giant
Lakewood Mall.  The address is 5229 Clark Avenue.  Clark is located 1
mile east of Lakewood Blvd.

See you there?

Jerry Search

Hi, All.

Duhhh.  I forgot!  The time we will start eating is 11:30 AM!

Jerry

Hi, All.

There will be a meeting of the SCSSA next Saturday, June 1st, at 4:00
PM, at Lakewood Glacial Gardens.  Topics for discussion will include the
4th of July Fireworks Booths; SCSSA Bylaws changes; summer Training
Camps; and the election or re-affirmation of SCSSA Novice Coach(es),
Novice Coordinator, and Technical Director of Coaching.

Attached are the minutes of the last meeting, held on May 4th.  Please
review these prior to the meeting on June 1st.  Also, please note that
this meeting will last one hour.  Please be on time so that we can
finish our business and share any new ideas, etc.

Sincerely,

Jerry Search

Hi, All.

I found the following tonite on the cycling website that is tracking
Wayne.  It was written today, May 28th, by one of his good friends, Dave
Hansen.

Jerry
.................................................
Some good news:

Well, it is with great joy that I bring you this news. From almost no
hope, through 2 brain surgeries and a lot of living in the unknowing to
now. Wayne had his 3rd CT scan and the results were negative, no more
swelling, no more bleeding in his brain. You could see the pressure
valve go off in his Parents when the doctor gave them the news. All the
tears of fright and sadness turned into smiles and tears of hope and
joy. He is not out of danger yet, and the doctor said he is not over the
"hump" but that he is approaching it. They have reduced the work of the
ventilator to begin bringing him back to breathing on his own. Sometime
Wednesday/Thursday they will start reducing the sedative that is keeping
him in a medically induced state of unconsciousness and as they do that
they will add a bit of morphine to him to ease his pain and start
bringing him back to his concious state. His
neurological functions are good, he can move all his limbs, we know he
can hear our voices when we speak to him and at one point today while
his dad and brother were in the room..the damn kid almost SAT STRAIGHT
UP IN BED!  Scared the bejeebies out of Pops!!!

His youth, his fitness and your prayers and support have helped greatly
in his recovery. He has a long road ahead of him. We still don't know
the extent of damage to his right eye as it is still swollen shut. But
there is definite damage to his orbital socket.  Other than that they
relocated his right shoulder (good thing he was unconscious for that!)
he has some road rash and some cuts an scrapes. But the guy is alive and
getting better. Again I cannot tell you enough how thankful his family
is for all the e-mails, the phone calls, the visitors and all the
support, the track cycling community has given them, they are
overwhelmed, they have personally read all of your e-mails and posts to
http://www.fixedgearfever.com and I can tell you from being with them
all weekend, it truly helped them make it through.
                        Thank you
                        Dave Hansen

Hi, All.

I called and spoke to Barbara Rutledge and Don Somerville this afternoon
before I left for the rink.  Here are some news notes on Wayne:

He will probably be kept in the medication induced coma for up to
another 10 days, maybe not that long.

The doctors feel that the breathing tube is agitating him (I don't blame
him), and so Friday he is scheduled to have a tracheotomy.  This will
allow the breathing tube to be removed from his mouth, which should
allow him to relax more.  This will also allow the doctors to begin to
check on his ability to breathe on his own.

An opthamalogist examined Wayne today, and feels that his eye on the
injury side looks good.  They probably will not be able to make a better
determination until he regains consciousness.

One last note:  Don told me that today, he and Ray were standing next to
Wayne's bed, and Don noticed that the monitor which shows Wayne's inter
cranial pressure indicated that the pressure was high, not a good
thing.  He pointed this out to Ray, who immediately began speaking to
Wayne, reassuring him and saying that he needed to relax and take it
easy, that he looked good and was steadily improving, etc.  They saw an
immediate reduction of the pressure on the monitor!  Further proof, we
feel, that Wayne is still definitely with us.  Hang in there, Wayne!

Jerry

Hello There!

An update on Wayne Rutledge, the SCSSA speed skater who was critically
injured last weekend in a cycling accident on the velodrome:

Wayne is awake!!  He took the dramatic turn for the *better* today
(Saturday).  According to Don Somerville, Wayne now recognizes people,
answers questions (with a yes or no), and was even set up in a high back
chair while the nurse washed him.  This is all fantastic news!!  This
afternoon, as Don was leaving the room, the nurse asked Wayne if he saw
him standing there.  Wayne said "Yes".  Then she asked Wayne to wave
good-by.  Wayne waved good-by to Don!  This is wonderful, and amazing
news to all of us.

Wayne is not out of the woods yet.  While the road to recovery will
still be a long and tough one, today is by far the best one yet, and
gives definite hope that Wayne will recover.  Those of you who know
Wayne, or anyone else for that matter, are still welcome to drop by the
special page set up for him by his cycling buddies and sign the guest
page.  It looks like Wayne might soon be reading these entries on his
own!

http://fixedgearfever.com/wayne/index.htm

Jerry Search

(Information provided by Wayne's friend and training partner, Dave
Hansen)

After One Week

What an emotional week. 7 days ago today Wayne crashed, 7 days ago his
father spent the worst night of his life.  In Dallas not being able to
get a flight out, he had to wait 12 hours before he could get a flight
out of Dallas and get back here to L.A. His mother was like a rock in
the face of everything that was happening. His brother was like the
logistics manager, trying to keep all the communication between Doctor,
Mother, Father and the rest of us going.

I haven't updated his progress in the last two days because Friday and
today (Saturday) were to be "big" days for Wayne. He didn't let us down.
He is being taken off the sedatives the last couple of days. He is in a
lot of pain now. How do we know? Because the nurse asked Wayne "are you
in pain?" He nodded his head yes. His father asked, Can you see me?, Can
you here me? Wayne nodded his head yes. Spirits were high. I went in to
see him and just to make sure he wasn't in a "head nodding mood"  I said
"Wayne if you know who I am squeeze my hand" he did and amazingly hard
too! He stared at me. I could tell he knew he was in a hospital, I think
I could also tell that he isn't sure why.

He looked to the other side of the bed and saw Loren and her mom Joy. I
had hung my head and began to cry. It was very emotional. I looked up
and he was looking at me again, he could see I was crying. ( I told him
that this would be the only time he ever sees me cry) and he rotated him
palm over asking me to hold his hand. Wayne can see us, hear us and in
the only ways he can right now, communicate with us. His eyes were open,
he is fidgety, always moving now, stretching his legs out, turning a bit
to his side.

Two hours later (apparently more sedative had worn off) The nurse had
taken him OUT of his bed and put him in one of the hospital chairs when
Joy walked in to visit. He was VERY agitated with all the stuff he is
still hooked up to, taking the pulse meter off of his finger, wanting to
pull the tube out of his nose (who wouldn't?) She had his dressing off
of his head to change them and he knew that it just wasn't quite right
up there as he was trying to pull on his staples. It is really amazing
to see him start to come around. though not religious I truly believe in
God and his abilities. I also believe in the power of prayer ESPECIALLY
in large numbers, I have felt it work in my own life and I know I am
watching it in Wayne's.

He had a very eventful day. The nurse's said no more visitors and she
was going to put him to bed to rest. Just then his brother Don walked in
and the nurse said "oh I need to out him down for the night, I'm sorry"
Don said ok and as he is about to leave the nurse said "OK Wayne it is
time to get some rest now, so say goodbye to your brother" Still sitting
in the chair, Wayne raised his hand and waved bye to Don.

                         Dave

Wayne is now conscious again. This is a blessing. When he sees a lot of
different people right now, it is difficult for him to process all of
this and he can get very agitated. His Father and Family are now asking
that if you plan on coming down and want to see Wayne that you call
either Ray himself or Don in advance. This is to help facilitate his
recovery and help him as he begins his rehabilitation.

Wayne is entering what will probably be a very trying and difficult
period for him.  I hope everyone understands.  Thank you again for all
your support!

Ray's number is 714-396-9191 and His Brother Don's is 562-716-9535

Jerry

Hi, All.

Wayne continues to amaze all with his improvement!  I just spoke to both
Ray, and even Wayne.  He didn't have much to say yet, but he definitely
knows what is going on.  According to Ray, Wayne is now walking (with
someone to hold on to), eating (pureed foods, kind of like baby food),
and his memory is gradually coming back, too.  He knows the people who
are coming in to see him, he knows that he is a cyclist, and even knows
what his bike looks like.

I asked if he has shown any sense of humor, if he smiles at all.  Ray
said yes, and he even has been having a little fun with the nurses, and
making them laugh.  Monday they will remove his tracheotomy, and then he
will probably be able to relax and talk more.

Wayne's family is limiting the visitors that Wayne has at any one time,
so if you want to go up to see him, please contact Ray or Don in
advance.  That way they can not only save Wayne the confusion and
frustration of seeing so many people in such a short amount of time, and
you can also be assured that you won't show up during one of his therapy
sessions.  Ray's cell phone number is 714-396-9191, and  Don
Somerville's is 562-716-9535.

Continue your prayers and thoughts, and sign his guest book, if you
haven't already.  http://fixedgearfever.com/wayne/index.htm

Jerry

Hi, Folks.

This Saturday only, the Lakewood training session will be from 7:45-9:45
PM.  That's this Saturday only.

Jerry

Good afternoon everyone,

Wil and I went to visit Wayne this afternoon. He has left ICU and is
now in the rehab wing.

Wayne is making rapid progress. So rapid that they are releasing him
to go home on Friday, just 20 days after the accident!

Wayne is able to hold conversations, eat soft foods, walk around. He
is starting to remember things. He can read, and has been surfing the
web. All in all, exceptional progress!

Haj

Hi, All.

The SCSSA Summer Training Camp schedule is up on the SCSSA page.  Please
note that there might be a minor change or two, but what you see will be
pretty close.  Also, as soon as I recieve Board approval on the camp
pricing, I'll send out another email.

Cheers!

Jerry

PS:  Remember that tomorrow's session at Lakewood is from 7:45 - 9:45
PM, two hours (for our normal price).
PPS:  Friday Nite Beach Parties start tonite at Bolsa Chica State Beach,
Lifeguard Station 24 (assuming they haven't moved it).  For more
information, drop me a line (or beach regulars Sylvia and Tommy
Wheelers).

Hi, All.

Great news for Wayne Rutledge:  He was released from the hospital
yesterday, and is now home.  A more detailed report will follow later in
the weekend, but I just wanted everyone to know he is continuing his
very remarkable recovery!  Just 3 weeks ago he was in a coma and the
doctors were just struggling to keep him alive.  Now he is home and will
no doubt be doing a *lot* of therapy to help him continue his recovery.

Thanks for all of your prayers and thoughts!

Jerry

To All:

The greatest news of all for Wayne Rutledge:  He has been released from
the hospital, and even came down to the rink last night to say hello to
his skating friends.  Still on the long road to full recovery, he is all
smiles, recognizes everyone, and carries on complete conversations.  His
recovery is truly dramatic.

Words cannot describe how we all felt visiting with Wayne last night.
Since they say a picture speaks a thousand words, here are 5,000 from
last night.  Help yourself:

http://www.socalspeedskating.org/wayne/wayne_home.html

And, again, thank you all for your prayers and thoughts!!

Jerry Search

Date: 6/19/2002 2:23:09 PM Pacific Daylight Time
From: heidi@...
To: russe004@...
Sent from the Internet (Details)

To Whom It May Concern,

We will be doing a photo shoot for an advertisement for a new Migraine
drug.  The photo will be of a speed skater....so along with contacting
modeling agencies, we were wondering if you know of any pretty, 20ish,
speed skaters that may want to attend a casting for this ad. Just let us
know.

Thank you, Heidi

Jill Greenberg Studio
8570 Wilshire Blvd.,Ste.250
Beverly Hills, CA 90211
tel 310.360.6260
fax 310.360.6202

Gotta minute?  I'd like to do a brief (and definitely overdue) follow up to Sylvia's email about the Summer Training Camp and Fireworks Booths.

Summer Camp:  Simply put, we will just barely cover our costs with the prices stated.  Training Camps are not free.  We will have five days of ice in a row!  That is a tremendous learning opportunity!  But it is expensive.  We will have other opportunities as well, and none of them are free.  So someone has to pay for it.  That someone is us.

Some people expressed great and legitimate concern at the prices for the Camp.  After taking a good, hard look, it was either charge the price we planned, or drop some of the camp stuff, namely the extra ice times.  But this is a Training Camp.  Extra ice times are one of the main advantages to a Camp.  When you skate five days in a row, things learned really seem to stick!  So we decided not to cut out parts of the Camp.

Fireworks Booths:  As many of you know, we are involved in a constant struggle to pay of the ice time we now have.  And having that ice time has paid off, with the incredible skating our skaters are doing now!  We have never looked better.  But we still have a very hard time paying for the ice.

Did you know that we normally, on average, LOOSE about $100-$150 per training session?  And that is after we receive assistance for the young skaters from the Amateur Athletic Foundation (AAF).  Yep!  We are still loosing money every time we step on the ice.  Too much money to make up by selling See's Candy, or having garage sales, or car washes.  An all day car wash takes in about $300.00.  That's not very much :(

Last year we made about $6,000 profit on the single Fireworks booth we had.  This means that, in just four days, we made more profit that ALL of the fundraisers we have had over the past several years combined!!!  Ergo, the SCSSA Board has decided to have TWO booths this year.  At last year's rate, we could take in a profit of around $12,000!!!  Enough to pay the ice overrun for the whole year!

But we obviously are having quite a bit of trouble getting people signed up and committed to work their share of time in the Fireworks boots.  For this reason we have decided, rather than obligate each member over 18 to fork over booth time or money, to simply put it as an incentive:  Help us work the Fireworks booths or pay more for the Training Camp.  Working in the Booth takes more than just selling.  We need folks to bag.  We need folks to run errands (like to the store).  And it is only for 4 days!!  That's it!

Sorry, folks, but we are all in this together.   Each and every adult person that is involved in our great sport must find some way to help out or we will start loosing ice time, and eventually loose our sport.

Every person over the age of 18, and every parent of all of the great kids we have out there, please help us!!   Please help our skaters!!  Please help ourselves!!

Very Sincerely Yours,

Jerry Search
SCSSA President
 
 

Ice Club DeMorra will have a general membership meeting TOMORROW June 29th, at 7:30 pm, after the ice session.  Everyone is invited.  We will order in pizza for those starving skaters!  Please notify, via email, CWOWheel@... if you are coming, so we can order enough pizza.  Also, feel free to let us know what kind you like. It is very important to have all our members there, as we will be planning up- coming fundraisers, including the fireworks booth, which is our major fundraiser.  Please see Jon Uyehara at the check-in desk to sign up for your hours at the fireworks booth. Everyone's participation will be needed. Thanks and hope to see you all at the meeting.

Tommy & Sylvia Wheeler

Hi, Folks.

The Friday Evening Beach Parties are back!  Take a look at last night's
fun:

http://www.lbfcu.org/scssa/beach-2002/beach-02.html

Every Friday evening, from now until sometime in early September, we
meet at Lifeguard Station 24, Bolsa Chica State Beach.  Every one is
welcome.  Bring some food to cook, or cheat and stop by KFC on the way.
Also, bring something to sit on, and bring the kids!

We start arriving around 5:30 PM or so, and stay until about 9:45 PM.
Sometimes the weather is a bit cold, sometimes it is really nice.  It is
always fun and relaxing!

Directions are on Page 2 of last night's photo pages.

Jerry

Hi, All.

Just my 2 cents worth:  Please remember that we loose about $150.00
every training session, and in the next four days we can make up to
$12,000.00, which will carry us though the next year.  Please help!!  If
you like speed skating, and want it to continue here in So. Cal., please
help!

Jerry

The ice time at Lakewood for Wednesday, July 10th has been cancelled.

Jerry

There will be an SCSSA meeting on Saturday, July 10th, at Lakewood in the "Ballet Room".  Topics will include the Fireworks Stands income.

In the meantime, sales at the stands are going very well.  It looks to me like we will exceed our projected goal of $12,000!  However, we have had some security issues, and as a result, we are asking anyone who has a few hours to spare to just come down and hang around.  You don't have to sell fireworks.  You can just visit with other neat folks from our (your) organization.  The more bodies we have "hanging around", the more secure the situation will be.

The main stand is located on the north/west corner of Carson and Norwalk, in Hawaiian Gardens.  The other is a block away.  Please come down and visit!!

A more detailed agenda of the SCSSA meeting will be announced soon.

Thanks!

Jerry Search

To All:

A reminder:  There will be a meeting of the SCSSA this Saturday, July
13th, at 3:30 PM, at Lakewood.  Among the items discussed will be the
Fireworks Booths, as well as SCSSA membership & dues for next season.
Please plan to attend!

We may finish early, however, I do not want to run out of time.  As a
matter of policy, since we came to skate, all meetings will adjourn by
5:15 PM at the latest, even if we are not finished, which will give 40
minutes for stretching, etc.

Sincerely,

Jerry Search

Hi, Folks.

I have just uploaded a batch (145) training photos to the SCSSA
website.  Take a look:

http://www.socalspeedskating.org/scssa/pics-2002/page.html

These are no-frills pages, just photos.  Some skating, some dryland.
Hopefully, you'll find something you like :-)

Cheers!

Jerry

http://www.socalspeedskating.org/scssa/pics-2002/july-02-1.html

Cheers!

Jerry