Don't forget that the AZ LMSC information hotline is 480-365-0037.  If
you have questions on upcoming events, have registration questions, or
wish to volunteer, call.

Last week, I went looking for my coat, and could not find it.  The last
time I had it was at the Polar Bear meet in Tucson January 29.  It is a
long red wool coat with fake fur trim.  Did anyone accidently pick it
up with their gear?  Please let me know.

Kae Neustadt
520-584-1340

The preliminary National Top Ten report is now available at the USMS
website. Please encourage as many people as you can to proofread this
document and report any errors to me before February 25. I have
already noted a few errors in the women’s relays, where the club name
is a hybrid of Arizona and the local team name. I will change all of
those to simply reflect Arizona.

Access the top-10 by going to www.USMS.org and move your cursor over
<competition> which will display a pull down menu. Select <top ten>
and you will find a link to the individual and relay top 10 in the
first bulleted item.


Barry Roth
Top Ten Committee
wbroth@...

Recently, Arizona Masters changed the committee structure for our
organization.  This may not sound like a worthy news item but it is
important to how our LMSC functions.  After all, for the 900 or so
members of Arizona Masters, this will have a positive impact that will
touch all of us.

The Committee on Committees (yes, we had a group by that name) decided
to consolidate various functions into four groups.  The goal is to
have committee members work together and share the workload related to
a particular area.  Each committee would have a chairman who would
provide the guidance to the other members of the group.  The Board of
Directors would in turn provide guidance and assistance to the committees.

So why does this matter?  Working together is better than working
alone, especially when there are a lot of tasks to complete.  Members
can share their ideas, talent, and experience in a setting where they
can all contribute to the success of the committee.  While swimming is
an individual sport, for organizations like ours success is a team effort.

The following is the current AZ LMSC Committee Structure:


Competition

Officials
Sanctions
Equipment
Open Water
Nationals
Top-10
Records
Senior Olympics


Communications

Web
Newsletter
Video and Images
Blog
Group Sites
Telephone


Member Services

Club Development
My First Meet
Coaches
Hospitality
Events
History
Pool List
Scholarships


Marketing

Alliances
Marketing/Publicity/Advertising
Promotions/Sponsorship
Swimmer-owned Businesses


If you are interested at all in any of these areas, send me an email.
  If you just want to help in some way, tell me what you are passionate
about or have a desire to learn.  Together, we can work on solutions
that will enable our sport to grow and flourish in the coming years.

Let's say you have a digital camera and like to take pictures at
meets. What to do next?

Here is an idea, share them!

We can start a tradition this year, after each event members can
submit a sample of their pictures to the website, blog, and group
sites. That way, we can all share in the memories online! Plus, we
could also have a photo contest at the end of the year. That may take
some refinement but heck, we have until December 31st.

For now, if you have pictures from the Polar Bear Meet, post them in
the Photos section of the group site so they can be reviewed.

Just remember that nothing is formal yet but send in your snapshots
and we will see where this takes us.

NOTE: You may want to put your name on the pictures that you post so
that people know who the image belongs to. The internet is a public
place so be mindful of that when you upload an image.

The calendar of events for 2006 has been updated.  The current list of
events that have been confirmed and finalized has been posted.  As new
events become official they will be posted.  Go to Calendar to review
the events for this year.  Be sure you check back from time to time as
the list gets updated.

The Short Course Yards State Championships are coming up!  From March
24-26, Ford Aquatics will host this meet at the Hillenbrand Aquatic
Center on the University of Arizona campus.  Swimmers from all over
Arizona as well as other states will be there.  Entries must be
postmarked by March 15, 2006.  The entry fee of $40 includes a meet T-
shirt so be sure to select what size you wear.  The entry form will be
in the upcoming edition of the newsletter as well as the web page.  You
can also get the entry form by going to Files > Event Registration and
Information.  If you have any questions, please contact Jim Stites at
520-621-4203 or swim1@....

Over 70 swimmers participated in the 16th Annual Polar Bear Classic
swim meet on Sunday January 29, 2006. The meet was held at the
University of Arizona's Hillenbrand Aquatic Center on a warm, sunny
day with temperatures in the mid 70's. Not a single polar bear was
seen all day.

There were many outstanding swims for such an early season meet. But
86 year old Max Von Isser stole the show with his National Record
shattering 50 yard fly time of 43.02. This broke the previous mark in
the Men's 85-89 age group by over 4 seconds!

Thanks to Fred Paavola, Jon Borendame and Tim Krapp for officiating
and Salpointe High School students for timing the event.  Hope to see
everyone at the Arizona Masters Short Course Yards State Meet on March
24-26, 2006.

Coach Jim Stites
Ford Aquatics
Tucson, AZ

The 2006 Arizona Senior Olympics are coming! Swimming will be among
the thirty-two sports that will be a part of this event. The swimming
competition will be held on February 26, 2006 at the Mona Plummer
Aquatics Center at ASU. If you are fifty or older, this is a great
event to be a part of. If you are interested, please visit their
website at http://www.seniorgames.org/stategames.htm.  You can also
download the forms from either the Arizona Masters site or in the
Files section of the group site.

Here is a summary of the event:

Arizona Senior Olympics is all about fitness. It's about providing an
INCENTIVE for people over the age of fifty to begin and maintain a
fitness program. Competition has a wonderful way of making us stretch
our capabilities. It helps us to reach past what we thought we could
do to achieve what we hoped we could do. It creates the goal of
always improving our "personal best" no matter what sport we choose.

ASO is also about fitness INFORMATION. Through workshops and clinics
information is obtained to help in the pursuit of excellence in any
one of our twenty-eight sports. Beginners can learn about equipment,
technique, form and all the other basics of a sport. The more
advanced can learn the fine points, be coach by an expert and come
away a better competitor. The Finish Line Newsletter gives
information on ASO events throughout the State where athletes can
compete and test themselves again and again.

At the center of what we're about is INSPIRATION and anyone who's
been to the Annual ASO State Games has seen it, heard it, felt it.
It's about watching an eighty-year-old run flat out around a track.
It's about watching a swimmer with only one leg strive for her
personal best as she's cheered on by fellow Senior Olympians. It's
about not giving up and not giving in.

Nearly ten thousand people over the age of fifty participated in
Senior Olympics Games and events last year. Many thousands more took
part in clinics, workshops and other competitions. We are proud to
be "Arizona's Leader in Senior Fitness"

Tamalpais Masters is hosting the annual 1650 Postal Swim.  This event
runs in January and February and can be swum either in a yard or meter
pool.  If you are interested in this event, you can get the entry form
either on the Arizona Masters Swimming website or in Files > Event
Registration and Information > 2006 TAM 1650 Postal.pdf.  Good luck!

Hey LU, when are you moving to AZ?  I am moving there the first of the
year to the Phoenix area.
-Aaron

--- In arizonamastersswimming@yahoogroups.com, "LU"
<poolchick1963@y...> wrote:
>
> Hey eveyrone, I'm LU, from Ohio but, eventually to AZ...Love
swimming
> and everything about it....looking to make new friends...
>

Hi Doug-

As a new AZ Master Swimmer I just wanted to join the group and
say "hello".  I hope the membership continues to grow as this blog
could be a great way to share information.

Keep up the good work!  -Aaron

Starting in 2006, Arizona Masters Swimming will hold a series of
fundraisers with Baja Fresh restaurants.  On the third Saturday of each
month, Baja Fresh will donate a percentage of the purchases our members
make to AZ LMSC.  The first two fundraisers will be on 01/21/2006 and
02/18/2006 so mark your calendars now.  Those donations from all of
these events will be used to grow our sport through increased marketing
and promotional activities.

The flier will be posted on the website and will be included as an
insert in the upcoming issue of the newsletter.  The flier is available
to download in the Files section.  If you want, you can make copies for
your family members and friends so they can participate in this
effort.  So get ready to eat fresh and help masters swimming grow.

On Sunday January 29, 2006 Ford Aquatics will host the 16th Annual
Polar Bear Classic at the Hillenbrand Aquatics Center on the University
of Arizona campus. This will be the first Short Course Yards meet of
the year and is always an excellent event to be a part of. The meet
entry form has been posted on the website and will also appear in the
upcoming issue of the newsletter. If you have any questions, call Coach
Jim Stites at 520-621-4203 or send him an email (swim1@...). See
you there!

By Phillip Whitten

TEMPE, Arizona, December 13.  SIX Masters world records, nine Masters
American records and a USA Swimming American record were shattered at
the Southwest Zone Short Course Meters Masters Championships, held
December 10-11 at Arizona State University in Tempe.  The Arizona
sunshine and warm winter weather attracted some 300 competitors from
as far away as Hawaii, Canada and Illinois.

Masters World Records
Susan von der Lippe, nee Susan Rapp -- a two-time US Olympian and
1984 Olympic silver medalist accounted for five of the six Masters
world marks.  Swimming in the tough women's 40-44 age group, the
Colorado Masters superstar, who already has qualified for the 2008 US
Olympic Trials, simply tore up the record book.

The sixth Masters world record was set by Gail Roper, Arizona
Masters, in the women's 75-79 division.  Roper also came within
hundredths of a second of breaking her own records in two other
events as well.

Von der Lippe, 40, set global marks in the 50, 100 and 200 meter
breaststroke, plus the 50 and 100-meter fly.  She also just missed
setting records in the 100 free, 200 fly and 100 IM.

All three of the breaststroke records von der Lippe set had been
owned by San Diego Swim Masters Caroline Krattli, who swam
brilliantly in their defense.  Von der Lippe clocked times of 32.99
for the 50, 1:11.52 for the 100 and 2:35.85 for the 200 meters
breaststroke.  Krattli's records, set two to three years ago, had
stood at 33.67, 1:12.08 and 2:39.10.  She swam close to those times
this weekend.

In the 50 fly, von der Lippe's 28.21 obliterated the five year-old
record of 29.45 set by Britain's Marie Sadler.  Her 1:02.37 eclipsed
Karlyn Pipes-Nielsen's 1:03.31 from 2002.  Pipes-Neilsen clocked
1:03.93 this weekend.

Von der Lippe, whose new 40-44 records are all faster than the
records in the 35-39 age group, almost knocked off two other global
marks.  In the 200 fly, she was ahead of world record pace through
175 meters, only to falter on the final few strokes.  Her 2:21.07
fell just shy of Pipes-Neilsen's 2002 standard of 2:20.79.

In the 100 IM, von der Lippe and Pipes-Neilsen waged an epic battle,
with von der Lippe taking the lead on the fly, Pipes-Neilsen
overtaking her on the back, and von der Lippe coming back on the
breast.  The two then swam stroke-for-stroke for the final 25 meters
of freestyle, with Pipes-Neilsen out-touching her rival by the
smallest of margins, 1:05.72 to 1:05.73.  Pipes-Neilsen's world
record stands at 1:05.56.

Third and fourth place in that race were speedy as well, with Krattli
touching at 1:09.64, followed by Marika McCue at 1:10.40.

Gail Roper, a 1952 US Olympian accounted for the weekend's sixth
Masters world record as she destroyed June Krauser's 2001 standard of
3:43.58 for the women's 200m IM in the 75-79 age group.  Roper was
more than six seconds faster at 3:37.24.

Roper then just missed breaking her own records set last year in two
events.  In the 50m free, her 37.31 was a mere 7-hundredths off her
record.  Her 1:38.27 for the 100 IM was only 16-hundredths slower
than her global standard.

US National Masters Records
Eight national USMS records were broken and another equaled in Tempe
in addition to the six world records (which, of course, were also
national records).

US National Team member, Nick Brunelli accounted for four of the new
marks.  Swimming in the men's 18-24 age group for Sun Devils Masters,
Brunelli turned in times of 21.18 for the 50m freestyle, 48.00 for
the 100 free, 1:47.32 for the 200 free and 2:00.32 for the 200 IM.
The previous marks, two of which had stood for longer than a decade
were 22.84, 51.67, 1:54.23 and 2:08.88.

Brunelli's 50-meter freestyle time was also a USA Swimming national
record (see previous story).  This is the first time a US national
record has been set in Masters competition, although in August 1983
Kevin De Forrest swam 22.59 for the long course 50m free at the USMS
Nationals in Indianapolis, just missing the US national record of
22.54 held by Robin Loamy.  De Forrest's time still stands as the
USMS and world Masters record in the men's 25-29 age group.

Greg Owens, 24, also contributed to the carnage in the men's 18-24
division by destroying the 50 and 100-meter breaststroke records.
The former University of Arizona standout, now representing Tucson
Ford Aquatics Masters, stroked times of 28.69 for the 50 and 1:01.75
for the 100.  The previous records were 29.76 and 1:05.45,
respectively.

Argentina's Florencia Szigeti, 24, swimming unattached, threw down a
swift 26.07 for the 50 free, erasing Alison Terry's USMS mark of
26.19 from 1998.  Szigeti also clocked 58.36 for the 100 free,
exactly half a second behind Terry's record of 57.86 from 1999.

Diane Stowall, 71 and representing Hawaii Masters, overcame jet lag
from an overnight flight to post a 3:43.02 for the 200m
breaststroke.  The time easily bettered the former USMS standard of
3:45.66 set by Ann Hirsch four years ago.

Betty-Ann Barnett Salle, who was a flight attendant on the flight
from Hawaii, equaled her own American record in the 50m back for
women 55-59 and just missed the US and world records for the 100.
Barnett-Salle's 36.07 tied the time she swam four years ago.  Her 100
time of 1:19.51 was just shy of her US record of 1:19.20 from 2001
and the world record of 1:19.17.  Not bad for a woman at the top of
her age group who hasn't trained in a pool since 2001.  (She swims in
the ocean three times a week.)

Evie Lynch, 53, of Tucson Ford Aquatics Masters, just missed setting
records for 100 and 200 meters backstroke for women 50-54.  Her
1:13.88 for the 100 was less than a second off the world mark of
1:12.95 held by Laura Val, while her 2:41.56 for the 200 was even
closer to Val's national record of 2:41.20.

It is that time of year again, time to register for Arizona Masters.
The 2006 Registration Form is now posted on the website and will be in
the upcoming edition of the newsletter.  Everybody who participates in
Masters Swimming (both coaches and swimmers) is required to be
registered.  So take a few minutes, fill-out the form, and get it in
the mail so Mitch can get you registered.  If you have any questions,
email Mitch at rammedd@... and he will help you out.

USMS Coaches and Swimmers,

Federal Way Kings Masters Swimmers are excited to sponsor the 2006
Check-off Challenge with a Latin theme of "Veni, Vidi, Swimi - I
came, I saw, I swam it all."  We invite all workout groups to
integrate the Check-off Challenge into your goals and workout plans.
Don't forget that you still have until the end of 2005 to complete
the 2005 challenge of Mission I.M. Possible.  If you haven't
purchased your 2005 shirt yet, you can get a discount when you order
your 2006 shirt.


Sincerely,

Wendy Neely
Coach, Federal Way Kings

Hugh Moore
President, Federal Way Kings


NOTE:  The entry form can be found at Files > Event Registration and
Information > 2006checkoff.PDF

Anybody who is planning on going to the FINA World Masters
Championships next year at Stanford will need to start planning now and
secure a place to stay during the meet. The following is an excerpt
from the FINA website.

"The Organizing Committee has secured rooms at 22 Bay Area hotels. We
were able to secure discounted rates. In the past month we have sold
out our allotment at three of those hotels. There are still many, many
hotel rooms available and to secure the greatest choice, please go to
the web site http://www.2006finamasters.org/, view the choices of
hotels, and chose one.

"If you are planning for a group of ten or more, please contact Shannon
Sullivan at shannon@.... She can help you with your
selection of hotels.


Michael Moore
Chairman
XI FINA World Masters Championships Organizing Committee

The preliminary National Top 10 report for Long Course is now available
for review, and can be found at the USMS website. Go to the main page
and click on Competition, from there link to the Top 10 web site.
Corrections are due to the National Chair by December 1.

Please encourage all of your friends to review the document. The more
people we have proofreading, the more likely we are to be error-free.
Send any corrections to Barry Roth at wbroth@... and I will
forward them to the National Chair.


Barry Roth
Top Ten

Minnesota Masters is organizing a postal pentathlon this fall. Their
LMSC has been running this event for the past couple of years, which is
one that Arizona Masters could easily adopt. It would be a good event
to do for a practice, especially on a Saturday.

The pentathlon will consist of five events;  butterfly, backstroke,
breaststroke, freestyle, and individual medley. In this event, you will
have the option of choosing sprint, middle distance, or ironman
distance. For more details, go to:

Files > Event Registration and Information > MN LMSC Postal
Pentathlon.pdf

This event will run through December 15th so there are several weeks
left to get your times in. Best of luck and go postal...in the pool.


Doug Adamavich
Vice-Chairman, AZ LMSC

Hey eveyrone, I'm LU, from Ohio but, eventually to AZ...Love swimming
and everything about it....looking to make new friends...

There is now an entry for Arizona Masters Swimming on Wikipedia, which
is the largest wiki site on the web. Millions of people visit this site
daily and now we have a page on it! The current page is a simple one
but it will be refined and improved over time. When you get a chance,
take a look at it and don't be afraid to offer suggestions for
improvement.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arizona_Masters_Swimming


Doug Adamavich
Vice-Chairman, Arizona Masters Swimming

The results for La Jolla were updated to include all swimmers from
Arizona.  These will be in the Results folder in Files.  I will also
forward the results to the webpage.

Sorry for any confusion and omissions.


Doug Adamavich
Vice-Chairman
Arizona Masters Swimming

The 2006 USMS One Hour Postal event has been posted in the Files
section of the group.

This is the first message for the Arizona Masters Swimming Yahoo
Group.  Many more will follow but this is the first one.