IOWA CITY EELS

 

Contact: 351-3336 or swimice@aol.com                               November 29, 2002

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Thanks to our corporate sponsors: Scheels All Sports, the Coral Fruit Market, and Hawkeye State Bank- their generous support helps keep our Club in the water!

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Coming up:

 

12/2:             ICE Board Meeting, 6:30 PM Mercer Park

12/6-12/8:          BLAST Holiday Classic, Cedar Falls

12/8:             DMET Frolic, Davenport

12/13:           CIA sign-up deadline

12/13:           Postal meet sign-up deadline?

12/14-15:          Irving B. Weber Invitational

12/16:           ICE bills due

12/17:           HS Boys swim meet Coralville

12/17:           All-Stars sign-up deadline

12/19:           NW Jr. High and HS Boys swim meets at Coralville

12/20:           BETT sign-up deadline

12/21:           Master’s Annual 50X50’s

12/22-1/4:          Holiday practice schedule in effect; see below for details

12/27:           DASH Key City sign-up deadline

12/28:           Postal Meet at Mercer

 

 

Coaches Corner

 

Swim Meets – Why, What, When?

 

            Swim meets are very important in the development and progression of a swimmer.  This season both my staff and myself have made it an issue to increase our presence as a TEAM at Iowa Swimming Inc. sanctioned meets during the regular season.  In order to do this I feel it is important to answer some basic questions for those of you out there who are new to the sport.  I also would like the more experienced swimmers (and parents) to check this section out in case there are any areas regarding meets that you may want to brush up on since we are at the halfway point of the season.

 

WHY SWIM AT A MEET?

            The most basic answer to this question is that meets allow you a chance to compete in a competitive situation at the sport we practice.  Competition is a part of the sport that teaches values you do not get in other areas of life.  Competition helps in goal setting and meets help one set those goals.  Meets are the light at the end of tunnel when training day in and day out.  Only in a competitive situation will one be pushed and enabled to chase and achieve goals.

            Meets are a chance to test your skills and perform for peers, family, and coaches.  Peers and family get a chance to watch the swimmer “show off” their skills while the coaching staff analyses and critiques the performance.  Coaches’ use meets to alter training, change technique, and provide motivation for the athletes in future practice sessions.  The more elite the swimmer, the more important it is to race consistently during the season so minor or major changes can be made at critical points in training. 

            Lastly, meets are a lot of fun and are a big social event for the team.  Coaches and swimmers get to interact in a setting that is different from practice yet structured enough to encourage fast swimming.

Meets can be long but lots of fun when you are hanging out with friends and family between events and cheering when your teammates race.  You can gain a sense of accomplishment and build friendships and memories at the same place.

 

WHAT TYPES OF MEETS ARE APPRIOPRIATE?

            Most swim meets are structured to incorporate a certain type of swimmer.  Meets within the state of Iowa can be as lassie-fare as an OPEN meet to as closed as a dual meet where only two teams can compete.  In our LSC (Local Swim Committee), our state governing body, there are meets geared specifically for the beginner (Q-) and for the more experienced swimmers (Q+).  The “Q” in both cases stands for ISI Q-times (Qualifying times), which are time standards that must be achieved to compete at ISI Championship level meets.  Our Iowa Swimming Long Course Championships are defined as Q meets which means you have to have achieved a Q-time in each event you enter to swim.  In a Q- meet swimmers can swim any event they do not have an ISI Q time in and only those events.  This eliminates elite swimmers from competing in their specialty events and encourages those new to the sport to try different events.

            In contrast a Q+ meet contains only swimmers that have attained at state championship cut times.  Q+ meets allow swimmers to enter up to four events per day as long as in one of those events the swimmer has attained an ISI Q-time for their age group.  These meets allow swimmers of similar abilities to race it also is flexible enough to allow the swimmer to try new events and compete in off events or Senior level age-groups.  The rule is “make one, swim four”.

            On a national level there are meets classified by USA-S time standards which athletes can enter only events they have attained nationally recognized time standards.  A meet that has the designation of AA means that swimmers must have an AA time in each event they choose to enter.  A meet designated as BB requires slower time standards for entry and AAA meets like Zones require faster times to enter.  This type of format runs all the way up to National Championships and, every four years, Olympic Trials. 

            ISI Open meets are designated competitions for both experienced and developmental athletes to share their skills in the same format.  The thing I like about Open meets is that the beginner can sit back after they race and watch the faster heats and pick up on the things that faster swimmers do to excel.  The coaches can also work with the more elite level swimmers at the same meet.  The ICE Irving B. Weber Invitational is conducted in an Open format.

 

 WHERE TO ATTEND MEETS

            The first place to start is within our own LSC, which includes all of Iowa except for the counties bordering on the Missouri river (which race in the Midwestern LSC with Nebraska).  Our LSC attempts to conduct at least one meet a month during the season in a Q+ and Q- format.  Most of the clubs big enough to run meets in Iowa are in metro areas that include cities like Des Moines, Cedar Rapids, Bettendorf, and Cedar Falls.  The local season culminates with Regionals and State Championship meets at the end of both the Long Course and Short Course seasons.

            Once a swimmer is fast enough they begin to attend more regional and national level competitions.  We are lucky that two of the fastest pools in the world are located not too far from Iowa (Minneapolis and Indianapolis) and some of our swimmers have competed at these sites before graduating high school.  Sectionals, Zones, and Nationals are held at only pools that meet a certain set of criteria set forth by USA Swimming and Iowa does not have too many pools built for meets of this nature.   These meets allow swimmers to expand beyond their LSC / state boarders and race more elite competitors from other areas around the country.

            Some swimmers at the most elite level have the chance to compete internationally.  There is at least one big international meet a season for the United States National Team.  These include the Pan Am Games, World University Games, Pan Pacific Games, US Open, World Championships, and, every four years, the Olympic Games.  USA Swimming picks it’s national teams based on the results at Nationals every year and then prioritizes the meets according to date, format, and availability of athletes (some college athletes are on the National Team which makes filling spots during the Long Course season more important).  These meets are the pinnacle of swimming competition and while most of us will not compete at this level this is what every swimmer dreams about before the 5AM alarm wakes them up for morning practice.  

            Meets should be a part of swimming like tests are part of school.  You do the reading and research in order to take a test.  In swimming the meets are the points where you show how the process has worked to produce a faster time or a better turn or a higher finish.  During the season meets are assignments and the mid terms that lead to the big tests at the end of the season.  Meets contribute to not only the development of the swimmer but to the development of the person.  Meets should be a celebration of your skills and not a fear-fest.  Meets help you find out about goal setting and hard work and how delayed gratification works.  Meets help you adapt to working under pressure and provide you the opportunity to shine.   Check your schedule and make sure to sign up for meets!

 

See ya at the pool!

Donald P. Spellman

           

Swimmers of the Month:

Frost – Chonghoon Lim

                                                    Cubes – Vivan Zhu

    Morays – Chelsea Hartman

                                                     Eels – Scott Stimmel

Recommended meets: 

 

Masters Annual 50x50’s – Saturday, December 21st

 

Eels, Morays, Cubes – 1 hour of practice and then we swim with the Masters

Masters – Warm-up from 8 to 8:45AM – Start at 9AM

Group 1 – on the: 50

Group 2 – on the: 55

Group 3 – on the 1:00

Group 4 – on the 1:10

 

Anyone wishing to assist as a lap counter is encouraged to be on hand before 9:00 AM.

 

Cubes and Frosts - Parents and swimmers are reminded that the listed practice times starts with the time that swimmers should enter the water.  Please make every effort to have your swimmers at the pool at the very beginning of practice.

 

Morays and parents – On nights which contain the Dryland Circuit (Mondays and Wednesdays during the regular schedule) swimmers will be swimming from 7 to 8:15PM.  This will allow the swimmers adequate time to complete the circuit and swim workout. 

 

 

ICE Holiday Training Schedule 2002 – 2003

 

*All practices at Mercer Park Aquatic Center – Coralville Rec. practices will resume 1/6/03.

 

Date                            Time                            Group(s)        

Dec. 22nd                     4 - 6 PM                  M & E

23rd                              6 - 7:15AM                       Masters

                                    7:30 - 9 AM               M&E

                                    4 –6:30PM                        M&E (Dryland)

                                    6:30 – 7:30PM            F&C

24th                              6 – 7:15AM                       Masters

                                    7:30 – 9 AM               M&E

 

12 / 25th                                   OFF – HO HO HO MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

 

26th                              4 – 6:30PM                        M&E (Dryland)

                                    6:30 – 7:30PM            F&C

                                    4 - 5:45PM                        Masters

27th                              6 - 7:15 AM                      Masters

                                    7:30 – 9AM                M&E

                                    4 – 6:30PM                        M&E

                                    6:30 – 7:30PM            F&C

28th                              Postal Meet

29th                              3:30 – 5PM                M&E& Masters

 

30th                              6 – 7:15AM                       Masters

                                    7:30 – 9AM                M&E

                                    4 – 6:30PM                        M&E (Dryland)

                                    6:30 – 7:30PM            F&C

12/31 and 1/1/03              OFF – Happy New Year!

Jan. 2nd                         4 – 6:30PM                        M&E (Dryland)

                                    4 – 5:15PM                        Masters

                                    6:30 – 7:30PM            F&C

 

3rd                                6 – 7:15AM                       Masters

                                    7:30 – 9AM                M&E

                                    4 - 6PM                M&E

                                    6- 7PM                F&C

4th                    NO PRACTICE – CIA MEET @WDM DOWLING H.S.

                        *Workouts will be posted for all groups at Mercer for those not participating in the meet.

6th                    Resume normal schedule at both sites for all groups.

           

 

           

M = Morays            C = Cubes

E= Eels            F = Frost

 

Coach Donald P. Spellman            Ph: 351-3336                     E-mail:  SwimICE@aol.com

ICE Website: www.iceels.org

 

 

 

Coach Hamer’s new office hours: Head Age Group Coach Matt Hamer has new office hours: Wednesdays from 12:00 PM- 1:30 PM.  Questions?  Matt can be e-mailed at Tyfish25@aol.com.     

 

Junior High and High School swim meets: The Boy’s swim season is upon us.  Beginning in December both SE and NW Junior High will be hosting meets at either Mercer or Coralville pools.  In addition, the Boy’s High School team will hold their meets at Coralville this season.  As a result, the practice schedule may change to accommodate these meets.  Please check your e-mails and the bulletin boards at both pools for further updates on this issue.

 

Girls’ State Qualifiers: The following ICE swimmers qualified for State swimming for City or West High in individual events or as part of a relay: City High: Gabi MacKay, Kristen Lee, Heather Gray, and Anna Kampling.  West High: Ashley Lawler, Lauren Talman, Jane Schlapkohl, and Jacqueline Astor.

 

2002 All-State Swimming Team:  The following ICE swimmers have been named to the Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union’s 2002 All State Swim Team. Stacia Johns, First Team, 200 Medley Relay; Ashley Lawler, First Team, 500 Freestyle; Ashley Lawler, Second Team, 200 Freestyle; Emily Welborn, Second Team, 100 Butterfly; Heather Gray, Second Team, 100 Butterfly; Lauren Talman, Second Team, 500 Freestyle; and Kristen Lee, Second Team, 100 Breaststroke.

 

Weber Meet update: We are beginning to receive entries for our swim meet set for December 14th and 15th.  We had 370 swimmers last year and may well meet or exceed that number this year.  This large of an event requires a lot of work on everyone’s part.  The volunteer sign-up sheet has been posted at Mercer so sign-up early to get a choice assignment.  Questions about the meet can be directed to either Bruce (337-6531 or bpmackay@avalon.net) or Kelly (339-7579 or keleyn@inav.net).            Revenue generated from hosting swim meets plays a vital part in our Club’s finances.  A well-run meet benefits everyone- from the swimmers in the pool to the families paying the bills. 

 

DeGowin Center Blood Drive: During the Weber Meet the folks from the DeGowin Blood Center will be on hand to receive donations. Blood and blood products are always in demand and meeting the Center’s weekly goal of 600 donors is never easy, especially around the holidays.  On Saturday December 14th, from 10:00 AM until 2:00 PM they will be set-up in the gym at Mercer to collect blood. Conditions for giving a donation include:

 

·                                Be in good general health

·                                At least 17 years of age

·                                Weigh at least 110 pounds

·                                Cold and flu symptom-free for 5 days before the donation

·                                No tattoos for 1 year before donation

 

Additional questions can be directed to the Center at: 356-2058

 

As a special “thank-you” all participating donors will be given an “I Bleed Black & Gold” t-shirt.  Show your sense of style and your compassion for others in one of these most coveted of apparel items! In the past this has been a successful event for the DeGowin Center let’s hope this year’s effort can be as effective.

 

Postal Meet:  We are planning on participating in the second annual ISI Postal Meet on Saturday morning, December 28th.  For those new to swimming or at least this form or swim meet, a postal meet is a unique event.  From a list of events, each club decides on a meet set-up, reserves some pool time, rounds up officials and places equipment and then runs the meet as per USA Swimming rules and regulations.  The results from all participating clubs are collected and times and placement for awards determined from the entire pool of swimmers.  Last year we had a pretty good turnout for this event and would like to see an equally fine showing this year.  Like any meet, we will need help- from timers and equipment operators to folks to function as officials.  More details will be posted as they become available.

 

Volunteer commitment:  The Iowa City Eels are a parent run organization.  Except for the coaching staff, everyone else is a volunteer with the club.  To keep ICE a healthy and successful organization requires a lot of extra work, much of it behind the scenes.  The Club’s most obvious need for help revolves around the operation of swim meets but there are a host of other duties that have to be accomplished as well.  In August the ICE Board of Directors decided to institute a “meet work requirement” in part to deal with this ongoing situation.  For the season underway we decided that a two-session commitment seemed appropriate.  Failure to assist will result in a $20.00 charge per session missed.  The idea of this policy is not to raise more funds.  The goal is to spread out the workload and encourage others to increase their participation with the Club.  The actual determination of what constitutes a “session” and how to account for non-swim meet support needs to be addressed.  The ICE Board will be discussing this matter at the December Board Meeting to be held 6:30 PM Monday, December 2nd at Mercer in the Proctor and Gamble room. All ICE families are always encouraged to attend Board meetings and if you have any comments, concerns, or ideas about this or other ICE policies please feel free to drop by this coming Monday evening.

 

All Stars update: Information about the All Stars swim meet in Lawrence, Kansas set for the weekend of January 18-19, 2003 is now available in the ICE notebooks or at the ISI website (www.lornet.com/iowaswim/) .  Each swimmer must apply to Doug Kolsrud at ISI on their own. Team Iowa will consist of the 5 top fastest swimmers in each listed event (the ISI website also maintains a Top Twenty for each event- you can check your rankings) but given the distance of the site and the limitation on events to be swum, it is usually worth applying if you are even close to the Top 5 cut-off.  Talk with your coach if you have any questions regarding this meet.  The deadline for application is December 17th so the Weber Meet is the last chance for persons to get times to qualify for this big meet.  FYI: Doug Kolsrud was unable to reserve a sufficient number of rooms at the same hotel Team Iowa stayed at last year.  If you are going to the Meet it might be wise to apply early and specify on the application that you would like to stay at the Springhill Suites- this was a nice place and the pre-meet social will be held at this locale.

 

Amana & Williamsburg Swimming Pentathlon on October 27. The following ICE swimmers finished in the top ten in individual results:       

Girls 8 & Under: 25 Yard Freestyle: Gerard, Amber, 24.40, tenth; 25 Yard Butterfly: Gerard, Amber, 29.90, seventh.
Girls 9-10: 50 Yard Freestyle: Murray,Grace,33.92,eighth; Striegel,Sarah, 34.85, tenth;  50 Yard Backstroke: Murray, Grace, 41.33, tenth; 50 Yard Breaststroke: Striegel, Sarah,  40.42, first; 50 Yard Butterfly: Striegel, Sarah, 35.97, fourth; Murray, Grace, 37.61, seventh; 100 Yard IM: Striegel, Sarah, 1:21.20, third; Murray, Grace, 1:28.36, ninth;
Girls 11-12: 50 Yard Freestyle: Hartman, Chelsea, 30.83, tenth; 50 Yard Backstroke: Eyanson, Beth, 33.68, third; 50 Yard Breaststroke: Choi, Stephanie, 40.07, eighth; 50 Yard Butterfly: Eyanson, Beth, 34.49, fourth; Hartman, Chelsea, 34.52, fifth; 100 Yard IM: Hartman, Chelsea, 1:16.78, fifth, Choi, Stephanie, 1:17.24, seventh;
Girls 13-14: 100 Yard Freestyle: Matteson, Ashley, 1:02.11, third; St John, Jennifer,              1:07.06, fifth; Schubert, Andrea, 1:11.73, eighth; Katalinich, Lauren, 1:12.97, tenth;  100 Yard Backstroke: St John, Jennifer, 1:14.39, second; Matteson, Ashley, 1:16.93, fourth; Schubert, Andrea, 1:18.58, sixth; 100 Yard Breaststroke: Katalinich, Lauren,    1:25.28, fourth; Matteson, Ashley, 1:26.58, fifth; St John, Jennifer, 1:31.45, seventh;    Schubert, Andrea, 1:41.19, tenth; 100 Yard Butterfly: Matteson, Ashley, 1:13.50, second;  Schubert, Andrea, 1:19.38, sixth; St John, Jennifer, 1:23.47, seventh; 200 Yard IM: Matteson, Ashley, 2:36.59, second, Schubert, Andrea, 2:54.36, sixth; St John, Jennifer,     2:56.81, seventh; Katalinich, Lauren, 3:01.16, ninth.

Boys: 8 & under: 25 Yard Freestyle: St John, Brady, 19.88, third; Lim, Chonghoon, 21.19, sixth; Hartman, Ben, 22.73, ninth; 25 Yard Backstroke: Lim, Chonghoon, 25.31, fifth;        
Tao, David, 27.18, seventh; Hartman, Ben, 27.93, tenth; 25 Yard Breaststroke: Lim, Chonghoon, 26.49, third; St John, Brady, 31.86, eighth; Hartman, Ben, 32.46, tenth; 25 Yard Butterfly: St John, Brady, 23.04, third; Lim, Chonghoon, 25.51, fourth; Tao, David,      29.57, sixth; Hartman, Ben, 29.86, eighth; 100 Yard IM: Lim, Chonghoon, 2:00.85, third;   Hartman, Ben, 2:13.04, fourth; St John, Brady, 2:13.72, fifth.

 Boys 9-10: 50 Yard Freestyle: Russell, Kanoe, 30.55, first; Choi, Justin, 37.62, ninth; 50 Yard Backstroke:
Russell, Kanoe, 37.42, second; Choi, Justin, 44.06, seventh; 50 Yard Breaststroke: Russell, Kanoe, 40.94, first; Choi, Justin, 48.00, fifth; Park, Ha-Rim, 50.83, seventh; 50 Yard Butterfly: Russell, Kanoe, 35.29, second; Choi, Justin, 41.93, fourth; 100 Yard IM: Russell, Kanoe, 1:18.27, second; Choi, Justin, 1:30.69, third; Park, Ha-Rim, 1:47.14, tenth.

 Boys 11-12: 50 Yard Freestyle: St John, Devin, 28.36, third; Cai, Ethan, 30.80, fourth; 50 Yard Backstroke: St John, Devin, 35.82, third; Cai, Ethan, 38.40, fourth; 50 Yard Breaststroke: St John, Devin, 40.29, third; Cai, Ethan, 46.64, fifth; 50 Yard Butterfly: St John, Devin, 29.71, first; Cai, Ethan, 41.08, fourth; 100 Yard IM: St John, Devin, 1:15.66, third; Cai, Ethan, 1:27.66, fourth.

15 & over: 100 Yard Freestyle: Schubert, Joshua, 56.94, second; 100 Yard Backstroke: Schubert, Joshua, 1:08.73, second;  100 Yard Breaststroke: Schubert, Joshua, 1:21.59, second; 100 Yard Butterfly: Schubert, Joshua, 1:02.08, second; 200 Yard IM: Schubert, Joshua, 2:27.72, second.

 

DMSF Invitational Swim Meet at Dowling High School on November 15-17.  The following ICE swimmers finished in the top ten in individual events:


WOMEN: 10 & under:200 IM: Striegel, Sarah, 2:45.65, second; 50 Fly: Striegel, Sarah, 35.91, third;
100 Back: Hingtgen, Megan, 1:29.98, tenth;  100 IM: Striegel, Sarah, 1:20.49, fourth; 50 Breast: Striegel, Sarah, 39.08, first;  200 Free: Striegel, Sarah, 2:37.66, fifth; 100 Fly: Striegel, Sarah, 1:20.89, second; Hingtgen, Megan, 1:42.32, sixth;  100 Breast: Striegel, Sarah, 1:24.83, first.

11-12:  50 Fly: Eyanson, Beth, 32.63, ninth; 100 Back: Eyanson, Beth, 1:15.16, eighth;  200 Free: Hartman, Chelsea, 2:19.58, ninth; 100 Fly: Eyanson, Beth, 1:15.28, fifth; 50 Back: Eyanson, Beth, 33.22, third; 13-14: 50 Free: Astor, Jacqueline, 27.18, seventh;  200 Free: Astor, Jacqueline, 2:07.07, fifth; 100 Free: Astor, Jacqueline, 58.28, fourth; Senior:  500 Free: Hartman, Chelsea, 6:02.14, sixth; 1650 Free: Lawler, Ashley, 17:25.91, second; Astor, Jacqueline, 19:40.01, fourth; 200 Back: Lawler, Ashley, 2:19.34, sixth; 50 Free: Lawler, Ashley, 26.83, eighth; 100 Fly: Lawler, Ashley, 1:05.48, fourth; 200 Free: Lawler, Ashley,  2:00.63; third 200 IM: Lawler, Ashley, 2:20.85, third; 200 Fly: Lawler, Ashley, 2:22.17, second; 100 Free: Lawler, Ashley, 57.53, fifth; 100 Back: Lawler, Ashley, 1:07.11, fifth.


MEN: Senior: 50 Free: Stimmel, Scott, 23.72, eighth.

 

Final note from communications:  If you are experiencing problems with receiving information from the club, please do not hesitate to call me at 339-7579 or e-mail at keleyn@inav.net. Efforts are made to keep folks up to date but there are always ways to improve our delivery methods.  As the season moves along it is important that everyone is kept abreast of scheduling changes or other important announcements.  Also, please drop me a line if you would like to have your swimmer’s folder location changed.  We do use the folders for distribution of some written materials as well as meet awards, etc. so to get these items to the swimmers in a timely manner we need to know where you would like your swimmer’s folder.