Welcome to the first edition of the 2003 Chlorine Chronicles, the electronic newsletter of Metropolitan Masters Swimming.

In this issue, you will find the following news and information items:

1. A welcome from the new President of the LMSC
2. New sanction guidelines
3. LMSC logo contest
4. 2003 One-Hour swim
5. Upcoming events
6. Swim team news
7. USMS announcements
8. Meet director’s toolbox
9. Thanks from your registrar

1. Message from the President:

Happy New Year! Many of you have requested that there be more swim meets. I would like to see more as well. However, meet attendance is down and I cannot ask a meet director or a new pool to host a meet when they could easily lose money. When meet attendance (at the meets we already have on the schedule) increase, then I can promise you more meets. Show me that you want to swim in meets, and I'll do the rest. You can start by swimming in some of the meets listed below.

- Kenn Lowy
President, Metropolitan LMSC, Inc.

2. New Sanction Guidelines:

Effective immediately, there will only be one race sanction issued per weekend in the Metropolitan LMSC. This is being done to promote higher participation. We urge race directors to get their dates to our Sanctions Chair, Lisa Baumann as early as they can. In a perfect world, we would love to have our race schedules set 9 - 12 months in advance. More on that later in the year.

3. Contest: Design a Logo for Metropolitan LMSC

Metropolitan LMSC, Inc. is looking for a new logo! The logo will be used on our web site and on merchandise (swim caps, shirts, swim suits and wherever a logo seems logical). The prize is the thanks of a grateful nation and a $100 gift certificate. The logo should be 2 colors and must be scaleable. The logo should have the words "Metropolitan Swimming" on it and whatever else the designer wants. Send all entries (digitally only) to: MetroChair@usms.org. The logo's that are sent should be approximately 5 X 5 (inches). They can be jpeg's, tiffs, PhotoShop or Illustrator files. Only current members of Metropolitan LMSC, Inc. can enter. The first usage of the logo will be a t-shirt with the logo on the front and all of the teams of the LMSC listed on the back and it will also be plastered all over the Metro web site.

The contest deadline is February 28, 2003. A winner will be selected at the next Metro LMSC Board Meeting to be held at the Asphalt Green Spring swim meet in March.

4. The 2003 One-Hour Swim
Red Tide, TNYA and the YWCA invite all U.S. Masters swimmers to join them in the annual 2003 One Hour Swim, which will be swum at the YWCA on January 18, 19 and 25 and will also be swum at City College of New York on January 25.

The teams are also using this as an opportunity to have friends and family sponsor them as they swim to raise money for Bronx AIDS Services, and everyone is encouraged to participate in raising funds for BAS. For more information, you can download a registration packet at www.tnya.org or youcan e-mail Bill Carr at wcarr@salans.com and he will e-mail you a registration packet and answer any questions you may have.

5. Upcoming Events

January 2003 One-Hour Swim (see above). Saturday, Sunday & Monday, January 18, 19 & 20 at the YWCA of New York City. Saturday, January 25 at City College of New York. Online information & registration forms can be obtained from Red Tide of New York City website www.redtidenyc.org. Team New York Aquatics website http://www.tnya.org/ohs. By calling YWCA of NYC/Conrad Johnson at 212-735-9812.

Sunday, January 26 SCY Winter Blitz Meet at the Goodwill Games Pool in Eisenhower Park on Long Island. Entries must be RECEIVED by Saturday,
January 18. Log on to www.aquafitmasters.com for meet information and entry forms

Saturday, February 15 SCY Valentine’s Day Meet at Kings Point USMMA on Long Island. Entries must be RECEIVED by Wednesday, February 12. Log on to www.metroswim.org for meet information and entry form

TENTATIVE - Sunday, March 2 NYC Parks Dept. Commissioner’s Trophy Relay & Masters Meet
Meet info will be posted on the Metro LMSC website as soon as available

TENTATIVE - Saturday & Sunday, March 15 & 16 Annual Asphalt Green SCY March Madness Meet
Meet info will be posted on the Metro LMSC website as soon as available

Saturday, March 22 New England Championships (1000 & 1650 yard freestyle events only)

Friday-Sunday, March 28-30 New England Championships (all other individual & relay events) at Harvard University’s Blodgett Pool in Cambridge, MA. Meet information and entry form will be posted online at www.swimnem.org by late January

Friday-Sunday, April 11-13 SCY Colonies Zone Championships at George Mason
University, Fairfax, VA. Entries must be RECEIVED by Friday, March 28. Log on to www.colonieszone.org for meet information and individual & relay entry forms

Saturday & Sunday, April 12 & 13: Mutual of Omaha “Duel in the Pool”
televised on NBC
Saturday, April 12 from 3:00 to 4:30pm & Sunday, April 13 from 2:00 to
3:30pm
The United States and Australia will battle in Indianapolis to determine the world’s #1 swimming power.

Thursday-Sunday, May 15-18: USMS National SCY Championships, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ. Meet information and entry form in January/February issue of SWIM magazine Online information should be posted soon at the USMS national website (http://www.usms.org).

All events are listed (with downloadable race applications) at our web site: http://www.metroswim.org/calendar.html

6. Swim Team News

The Sports Center at Chelsea Piers has recently hired three professional swim coaches. There are six workouts per week (Monday, 7 - 8:30 p.m., Tuesday, 6:30 - 7:45 a.m., Wednesday, 7 - 8:30 p.m., Thursday, 6:30 - 7:45 a.m., Friday, 6:45 - 7:45 p.m., and Saturday, 9 - 10:30 a.m. Practices take place in a 6-lane, 25-yard pool with a beautiful view of the Hudson River. Setting Chelsea Piers apart from most other swim programs in the city is that the masters program is free with a Sports Center membership, making it a bargain for the masters swimmer. For a limited time, new Sports Center members who join the masters team will receive a free personal swim-specific resistance training session. If you're interested in visiting the Sports Center and participating in a masters swim practice or have further questions, please call Chelsea Piers' Aquatics Director Robert Watson at 212-336-6051 or email him at WATSOR@chelseapiers.com. You can check out the Chelsea Piers Website: http://www.chelseapiers.com/sc01.htm

The McBurney YMCA recently relocated to 125 West 14th Street (between 6th & 7th Ave). They have begun a Masters Swim Program. This subtle warning, the
pool is kept at 84 degrees! If you enjoy training in warm water, this is the pool for you. Contact The Y at 212-741-9210 for more information.

7. USMS Announcements

2003 USMS Insurance Certificates - It is strongly recommended that every Masters swim team or club obtain and have on file a copy of the 2003 USMS insurance certificate and also request a certificate naming your facility, municipality, school, etc., as AAdditionally Insured. Certificates can be obtained by contacting:

Stacy Allen / Risk Management Services, Inc.
Tel 1-800-777-4930 ext. 164

2003 USMS Rule Books are now available and can be ordered from the USMS National Office at a cost of $8.00 each payable via check or money order to USMS, Inc. and mailed to:

Tracy Grilli, Executive Secretary USMS, Inc.
National Office
P. O. Box 185
Londonderry, NH 03053-0185

2003 USMS Registrations - All swimmers participating in (and supervising coaches of) a MASTERS swim program MUST be USMS-registered for participation eligibility and insurance coverage. The current 2003 USMS registration form can be downloaded from http://www.metroswim.org and should be mailed with $28 check or money order made payable to “Metropolitan LMSC” to: Maria Doelger, 61 Gnarled Hollow Road, Setauket, NY 11733. Please note that USMS registration is not only a requirement for participation in USMS-sanctioned events, but also a mandatory insurance requirement for all Masters swim programs and participants.

Safety Coordinator - We have been informed by Colleen Driscoll, Chairperson, USMS National Insurance Committee, that each club or team must assign one individual as a Safety Coordinator. Please send an e-mail to MetroChair@usms.org indicating WHO (name and contact info) your team’s Safety Coordinator is.

8. Event Director’s Toolbox

An event director’s toolbox is located on the Metro LMSC website at http://www.metroswim.org containing forms and information for all Metro LMSC sanctioned events. Updated 2003 information, i.e. Rule Book, LMSC Handbook, Open Water Manual, will also be posted there once we receive same from USMS. Event Directors should contact Lisa Baumann, Sanctions Chair, at 516-294-7946 or via e-mail at aquafitinc@aol.com with questions or for additional info.

9. Thanks for your kind thoughts

I just wanted to thank the scores of you who sent along good wishes to me for my recent shoulder surgery. Your kinds thoughts, cards, and emails were appreciated (as was the chocolate - thanks Conrad!). All went well, though it will be awhile before I am back to speed in the water.

- Maria Doelger, Registrar

Have any suggestions for the LMSC or items of interest for the next newsletter? Please send them along to Kenn Lowy (MetroChair@usms.org).