Thursday, August 23, 2007

“The Little Team That Could”

Although West Hollywood Aquatics did not field a large team at the Southern California Regional Swimming Championships, a group of six devoted teammates swam hard for a strong showing on August 3rd through 5th at Mission Viejo.

Luis Bahamon, Amy Dantzler, Errol Graham, and Don Skeoch were joined by WH2O newcomers Adam Davis and Tamara Draper on what happened to be a very HOT August weekend.

Swimming guru Tom Reudy made the trek to Orange County to watch Amy Dantzler easily win the women’s 1,500 meter Free on Friday night. Dantzler, this year’s national champion in the event, beat her nearest competition by over 3 minutes. Tom was also on hand to watch Luis Bahamon cruise to a personal best in the 1,500 meter Free as well.


Saturday morning opened up to be an exceptionally hot day. Errol Graham arrived to score team points in his sprint events. The six of us found shelter from the sun wherever we could while we waited for our events. Newcomers Adam Davis and Tamara Draper swam exceptionally well in their inaugural meet with the WH2O team, scoring team points in the sprint, freestyle and fly events. All six WH2O swimmers scored valuable team points throughout the day.

The day dragged on a bit as the relays took longer than anyone anticipated. Host team Mission Viejo had an “N” relay in one event (yep, Mission Viejo A, Mission Viejo B…Mission Viejo N!) but it just gave us more time to socialize.

Sunday morning turned out to be cool and foggy, however, it cleared by mid-morning and was another toasty day. Nonetheless, everyone was prepared for good swims and a lot of fun.


At the close of the meet, “the little team that could” finished exceptionally well. The Men (a team of four) finished a respectable 8th in the men’s standings…the Women (a team of two) placed 14th in the women’s standings…and WH2O finished in 9th place in the combined team standings. Not so bad in a field of 42 teams! It was a lot of fun and we’re looking forward to a greater showing next year!

Monday, August 6, 2007

Gaytorman


You are cordially invited to the 1st annual Gaytorman meet hosted by Different Strokes Swim Team (DSST)!

This is an unsanctioned social meet, and registration is only $20 and includes a t-shirt. Register at http://meets.dsst.org.

The meet will take place on Saturday, September 8th at the Tierrasanta pool, located at 11238 Clairemont Mesa Boulevard San Diego, CA 92124 (map). Warm-ups and check-in will begin at 9:30 AM, with the meet beginning at 10:30 AM. All swimmers must present a valid USMS card to participate. We will also be selling a pancake breakfast from 9-11:00 AM.

Start planning for the Grand Finale, the DRAG race! Don your drag outfit, swim your leg, and transfer the outfit to the next swimmer in line. You will need to bring your own cross-dressing supplies, with a minimum dress code: dress, hat and pumps for men and shirt, slacks and shoes for women. Feel free to accessorize; one of the prizes will be based on your outfits!

For a pdf of the event email vpadmin@wh2o.org

A Sprint Around the Island


On July 29, 2007, I swam the Naples Island Ocean swim. It was a blast! This is the perfect ocean swim for those timid about the open water as there are no waves on the Naples Island, Long Beach course which is completely inside Alamitos Bay. I also spied not one non-human vertebrate in the water for those skittish about the monsters of the deep.

The water was a perfect 73 degrees. All boat traffic was “grounded” to prevent mishaps between vertebrates and inanimate wood and steel in locomotion. An “elite” group of about 170 or 180 swimmers gathered on the beach facing Naples Island beginning about 7 AM. The first group, swimming a 1.25 mile course through the canal that cuts crescent shaped course through the island, began at 9 AM. At 9:15, another group began a 2.75 mile swim around the entire Naples Island.


Soon after arriving, I saw our own Dawn Heckman, a recent coach and contestant for a birth in the 2004 Olympics. We discussed her good friend and our coach Keri Hehn who had just set a record at the Pan American games in the 200 m. breast stroke.

Also present from WH2O was a fairly new swimmer, Doug Wilson, and a very experienced ocean water swimmer (Catalina Channel at least once and, I believe, the English Channel, among others), Alexia Naweliak. I did not see Alexia, but she finished 5th in the 2.75 mile swim.


It was terrific just swimming approximately 2,150 yards without turns, timed sets or other limitations of our workouts. We just ran in going from one point, through a course that never repeated, then back to the beginning.

In the 1.25 mile, Doug Wilson got a third place medal, I broke 40 minutes and came home with a first place, and Alexia, per the web site, finished 5th in her age group – in the 2.75 course.

The finish of the 3mile (really 2.75 mile) was very exciting. I was grateful I finished the 1.25 mile in time to watch it. The male winner was Alex Kostich at 50:30:000 and nipping at his heals was Dawn in 50:35:000. Alex and Dawn led the three milers, and Alex seemed to be really pushing to stay in front, kicking up a spray the entire last stretch.

The Long Beach Grunions did a terrific job in their first year running this race. Hope to see a big WH2O turnout next year because this one was really fun.

Neal Wiener

Eggbeater Made Easy


Hey all - this is the first post in a series concerning the fundamentals of water polo. For those of you looking to start playing, here is a good resource for the basics. For the more advanced players - something to chew on while improving your game. Good luck!

Ben




How to Do an Eggbeater Kick

Accomplished by moving your legs in an eggbeater motion, this is the most powerful way to tread water.


Instructions

• STEP 1: Position yourself vertically in the water, bent at the waist as if sitting in a chair.
• STEP 2: Bending at the knees, swivel both feet in circles opposite each other - just like the motion of an eggbeater. Your left foot should circle clockwise and your right foot counterclockwise.
• STEP 3: Hold both hands out in front of your body, with elbows bent, palms down and hands cupped. Make quick, small circles in the water with your hands.
• STEP 4: Kick harder to raise your body higher out of the water.

Tips & Warnings

• With a strong eggbeater kick, you should be able to hold one or both arms high out of the water for a prolonged period of time. This is an essential skill in water polo for catching, throwing or guarding.
• The eggbeater kick is a strength maneuver and requires time and training to build endurance. The positive side of this is that you can eggbeater the whole time you're in the water, so you're always training.
• When you start to get strong, practice eggbeater kicking while holding something out of the water over your head.