UCSC On The Move AT Age Group Nationals
UCSC swimmers looked sharp at this year's Age Group Nationals. The team finished in 8th position well up from last year. Here are how the last 3 years look:
05-06 Points-721.5 Podium Finishes-12
06-07 Points-623.5 Podium Finishes-9
07-08 Points-1041 Podium Finishes-19
Gold medals were earned by Curtis Lutsch, Breanna Hendricks, David Woodman, David Dimitrov and the mens 15-18 400M.R. team. Silver medals were earned by David Dimitrov, David Woodman, Carlo Villarreal-Escudero, Breanna Hendricks and the womens 15-18 400M.R. Bronze medals were earned by Mike Lowenstein, Allison Long, David Dimitrov, Lee Fladhamer, Nikki Macleod and the 15-18 Womens 400F.R. With Youth and Junior team selections taking place at Senior Nationals and Age Group Nationals it looks like 3 of our athletes may be representing Canada next year but we will have to wait for the official results and team selection to be announced. Other swimmers who performed very well and earned points for the team were Jeremy Hunter, Chelsea Shaul, Mike Siarkowski and Eric Anderson.
UCSC swimmers will now carry on and represent Canada at the Tri-Nations meet in Quebec City and the North American Challenge Cup in Edmonton. We also have a strong contingent of our younger swimmers who will be participating in the upcoming Alberta Summer Games.
Letter of Congratulations
Attached is a letter congratulating UCSC for yet another successful year.. and placing swimmers on the Olympic Team.... READ.......
Another National Record!!
In the mens 4X100 Medley Relay the team of Dan Langlois, Mike Brown, Adam Sioui and Joel Greenshields broke the National Club Record with a time of 3:41.14! Langlois led with a time of 57.87 followed by Brown in 1:01.97, Sioui in 52.73 and Joel Greenshields anchoring in a time of 48.57.
Although the womens team was disqualified the swimmers posted great times and Katy Murdoch swam one of the fastest backstroke swims in Canadian history with a 1:01.91! Great swims from our team to conclude the 2008 National Championships. Congratulations to those who have concluded the season and good luck to all those swimmers competing at Age Group Nationals and representing Canada at the Tri-Nations Meet, North American Challenge Cup and the Olympic Games!
GO DINOS!!!!
National Age Group Relay Record
Four members of the UCSC Swim Club broke an eleven year old National 15-17 Age Group 400 Medley Relay record yesterday. Mike Lowenstein led off the relay record with a 59.87 backstroke leg, Curtis Lutsch swam a 1:06.11 breaststroke leg, David Dimitrov swam a 56.93 butterfly leg and David Woodman anchored the relay in a 52:11 freestyle leg. The swimmers lowered the previous mark finishing in 3:55.02 eclipsing the previous mark set by the Edmonton Keyano Swim Club of 3:56.43. The UCSC swimmers set 3 National 15-17 Age Group relay records this season. The 15-17 girls set the short course 400 medley relay record and the 15-17 boys set both the short course and long course 400 medley relay records.
Mensink Makes Holland's Olympic Team!
At the recent World Cup in Hamburg Germany former UCSC and Dino swimmer, Lisa Mensink qualified to represent Holland at the 2008 Beijing Olympics in Triathlon! Lisa trained in the fall with UCSC's distance group to elevate her swimming performance for a run at representing Holland. Lisa, all your hard work and years of commitment have paid off, good luck in Beijing!!
Curtis Lutsch Lights It Up AT World Junior Championships!
On Wednesday Curtis Lutsch finished 5th in the 200 IM at the Junior/Youth World Championships in Monterrey, Mexico. Curtis’ time 2.04.04 is a new 17 and under record and big personal best time. A day before, Curtis swam the third leg on the 4x100 Free Relay, splitting 50.97.The relay placed 7th. Up to this point Canada won two bronze medals, Amanda Reason of Windsor, Ont in the 50 Breast and Tess Simpson of Cornwall, Ont. in the 100 Back.
14 and Under Boys Number 1 at Provincial Champs!
The UCSC program is in goood hands with some great improvements over last year's results. It was great to see our age group program performing at the level it is. The 14 and under boys won their age group helping propel our age group program to a second place finish, up from last year. The 14 and unders swam awesome winning their fare share of relays and medals. The Senior Age Group once again dominated the Provincial Championships. Swimmers came up with some outstanding personal best times and breakthrough swims! Congratulations to all swimmers and coaches...Go Dinos!
Annual General Meeting Highlights
For everyone who was not able to join us at the Annual General Meeting on June 5th here is a review of the major points.....
Budget - A balanced budget was presented by the board and approved by the membership. The University of Calgary Swim Club membership fees saw a minor increase of 5% for the 2008-2009 season. Fundraising responsibilities was decreased in the development program and will remain the same for the age group and national programs. The total increase to our membership when evaluating the membership fee and the fundraising responsibilities for each family is only2%!! This is one of the benefits of moving into the University pool from the Talisman Centre which saw some high rental hikes passed down to its user groups...READ MORE....
NEW FEATURE!!!
RESULTS/ENTRIES/RECORDS....
You can now check all your results, best times, club records, and meet entries online... You can even graph your improvements!!!... Through our new updated team manager softwear program... check it out and save the link below....
http://www.sports-tek.com/TMOnline/index.asp?theTeam=UnivofCalgarySwimClub&REMOTE=T
A MESSAGE FROM MIKE AND KEVIN
Update on the Move to the U of C Aquatic Centre
Well, it has been a few months now since we pulled our team out of the Talisman Centre and moved the majority of our age group program into the University of Calgary Aquatic Centre. After months of careful evaluation and analysis with members of the board and coaching staff the decision to move was made and today we find ourselves in a fantastic situation. The move was made for a variety of reasons.
The most important reason was to ensure club stability. The Talisman Centre may be shut down for a considerable amount of time to accommodate their renovations. With the impending shut down of the Talisman Centre just around the corner we have secured our club’s stability and future. First, we have more affordable facilities then in our previous agreement with the Talisman Centre and secondly we have more control over our facility use. Guaranteed lane space and pool times will allow us to move forward with our planning and preparation and grow our organization. We will not have to wonder each year what our pool availability and cost will be.
The Talisman Centre closure was a major concern for the future of our club and this reason alone was a major factor. But bringing our program together demonstrated a variety of benefits.
· Firstly, the coaching staff works together more and allows for more efficient monitoring and evaluation of our programs. We get to work beside our coaches on a daily basis and with all levels within our age group program. This has been incredible. To work with the JRAG squad and Coach Willisko on Fridays, and the TREX squad with Coach Welechuk on Mondays and to work with YAG and NDG with Emil and Eli have been great. Moving to this pool has allowed a more effective overlap of coaching duties and we have managed to bring a much higher level of coaching to all levels of our program as we now assist each other on a daily basis.
· Our athletes now see each other on a daily basis. The younger athletes see the national level athletes and the older athletes get a chance to see and meet the younger up and comers. It’s a wonderful opportunity to increase the level of understanding and respect each group has for each other. It also encourages more friendships and social interactions between groups providing our swimmers to foster larger peer groups and improve the social dynamics, enjoyment and sense of team that is rippling through our organization at the moment.
· We now enjoy more opportunity to use the Canadian Sport Centre when requiring sport science resources. We now have Canadian Sport Centre personnel working with the N2 group and National Development Group and have easy access to other resources and personnel (dieticians/physiologists/etc.)
· We have been able to consolidate and centralize our dryland equipment and funded a new dryland area in the balcony overlooking the pool complete with a variety of equipment that we can call our own. This enables us to offer a variety of dryland training opportunities, organized by the coaching staff and support personnel.
· What can we say about not having to drive to the Talisman Centre every day! Many of our members will save time and gas by only having to swim at the university.
· We also enjoy easier access to a variety of facilities from weight rooms, dryland facilities, sports fields, meeting rooms and gymnasiums.
This move has been extremely beneficial for our coaches, athletes and our organization. We secured our financial and organizational stability well into the future and are able to provide an exciting team environment for everyone. We would like to thank the Board members, coaching staff and parents that helped make this a reality and we are proud to call the University of Calgary Aquatic Centre, “our home pool!”
CSI RECAP
The CSI meet was a great showing for our team. Alyssa Gabris and Leah Wookey set new 10 and under club records in the 50 fly and 400fr respectively. Alyssa broke Kirsten Pomerleau's old club record of 35.69 with her own 35.55 while Leah lowered her club record in the 400 fr by 4 seconds with a 5:16.21 performance. The JRAG squad had 3 more A qualifiers with Josiah Butt, Ben Blondal and Conrad Thiebault achieving their A times. The Youth Age Group squad had two more age group national qualifiers in Carlo Villarreal and Nikki MacLeod while Kayla Kilpatrick achieved her A time in the 100bk. The National Development Group also swam well with Chelsea Shaul, Jeremy Hunter and Natalie McCallum all achieving Age Group National qualifying times. In addition to our age group program swimming awesome this weekend, our national program stepped up with some incredible inseason swims and best times! All in all, things are looking great at this stage in the year!
Leah Wookey - Breaks 2 Club Records!!
Leah Wookey broke two club records last weekend.... In her 800Fr she broke the existing club record for the 400Fr when she split 5:24, on her way to yet another club record in the 800Fr with a 10:49.97! The previous 400Fr mark belonged to Mackenzie Jones at 5:29.52 and the 800Fr record was owned by Jessica Warrack at 11:09.39.... Leah went on to lower the 400Fr mark again in her individual race the next day with a 5:20.61! Congratulations to Leah and her coach jeff Welechuk.
DINO SELECT & A/G - CALIFORNIA TOUR
Day 1 Report
Day 2 Report
Day 3 and Final Report
THREE BOUND FOR BEIJING!!!
Mike Brown Adam Sioui Joel Greenshields
Check out all the PHOTOS in the Gallery....
SWIMMERS TO REPRESENT ALBERTA & CANADA
Congratulations to the following club and varsity swimmers whom have been selected to represent both teams Alberta and Canada on various tours competing this summer...
Swim Alberta Tour Teams:
US Open - Kevyn Peterson, Chad Hankewich, Taylor Peterson, Jen Porrenta, Breanna Hendricks Hanna Kubas, and Pascal Wollach
US Grand Prix Charlotte UltraSwim - Curtis Lutsch, David Woodman, Breanna Hendricks, Jacqueline Kubik
Alternates- David Dimitrov, Nicole Delaloye and Allison Long
Team Canada Tour Teams:
Fina Youth World Cup (Mexico) - Curtis Lutsch
Tri Nations Cup (Quebec City) - Ray Betuzzi, Paul Kornfeld, Curtis Lutsch, and Colin Miazga (UofC/GOLD)
North American Challenge Cup (Edmonton) - Allison Long, Kelly Aspinall (UofC/RAC), David Dimitrov, Curtis Lutsch, and Breanna Hendricks
Best of luck to all!!!
SPECIAL OFFER TO CLUB MEMBERS!!
UCSC is proud to offer club members special rates on memberships to the U of C’s Health & Recreation Centre.
The University of Calgary Health and Recreation Centre offers a wide variety of world-class recreational facilities, such as:
* 10,500 sq. ft Fitness Centre including a 200m 6 Lane Indoor running Track;
* 4 Story Indoor Climbing Wall;
* Racquetball, Squash, and Outdoor Tennis Courts;
* Olympic Oval Public Skating and 450m Indoor Running Track;
* 50m Pool; and,
* Member Only Drop-In Fitness Classes
In addition, Health & Recreation Centre members will also be able to purchase special parking passes.
Details on this exciting offer and how to access the memberships are outlined in the attached letter from the Membership Services Coordinator for the Health & Recreation Centre.
MORE INFO....
