Tēnā koutou and welcome to our October Swim Rotorua Newsletter for 2018. What a month….we have had records, medals and hundreds of PBs and our athletes and coaches and whanau should be immensely proud. Thanks to everyone who supported our athletes to get these outcomes - it is indeed a team effort. The app is now operational - well done to our sub-committee who put plenty of hours to get it operational. Thanks Kylee, John and Alastair. It will be a great tool for us all and make things streamlined and empower us all to have control. Feedback on it is appreciated. Please take the time to download it as it will be your main source of information. If it is an issue for anyone please let us know. We have some big events on our calendar and one of them is the Weetbix-kids TRYathlon. This is on the 2nd December and a big fund raiser for our club. We are paid for volunteers who man the transition areas and who are lifeguards in the pool. Please mark your calendar and offer support. The funds ensure the quality of coaching is maintained for our tamariki. We need 70 people so everyone needs to assist if able. Great to see the turn in the weather, it certainly must make it easier for our athletes and coaches and drying towels! Our Christmas mystery bus trip details will be released in the next newsletter and via the app - an event not to be missed.

Ka kite anō au i a koutou, Monica.

Pool Entry Fees: Please note that as from immediate effect, if you enter the Aquatic Centre twice a day (eg morning and then

afternoon workouts, or swim training in the morning and then waterpolo in the evening), then your tag will be swiped twice. Please

see Alastair if you have any questions.

Funding Report We are thrilled to report that two funding applications have recently been successful for Swim Rotorua. Huge thanks to the NZ Racing Board for their contribution towards our lane hire costs. This is one of the biggest expenses for Swim Rotorua

and this support means that we can keep our coaching fees reasonable for all whanau. Also thanks to the Four Winds Foundation for their contribution to the accommodation costs for the Coach and Team Manager at the NZ Short Course

Swimming Championships next week in Auckland. This is greatly appreciated by the Club and especially the whanau of our NZSC team.

Scholarship Fund

Swim Rotorua is committed to making swimming accessible to all families. If a family is in a position of financial hardship which makes paying the whole amount of the coaching fees difficult please see your coach for a scholarship application fund or

email cbaylis@xtra.co.nz for more information.

Making the Difference Water Safety Programme Swim Rotorua are committed to working in our local community to improve water safety and swimming. We work in

partnership with CLM’s Swim Magic Rotorua who run this water safety programme. We are excited about our busy term 4 work which we are currently finalising. We will have instructors in many school pools in the area over the summer terms,

and we look forward to working with your tamariki. Say hi to our coaches, recommend the programme to your school, and recommend the Club to your friends.

Claire Baylis

Welcome to SQUAD NEWS — October 2018

SQUAD NEWS

TURBO & METRO SQUAD—The Buzz from Bronwen...

After the cold and gloomy winter, cosy spring sunshine is here and it makes us all smile. It is also a timely

reminder that your athletes need drink bottles pooldeck.

When everyone puts so much time and energy into swimming it is important that your athletes get the whole

package right for not only racing but their overall health. Appropriate hydration will affect their ability in

training and racing. Having to decide between the array of drinks that line your supermarket aisle is daunting.

Taste is certainly a key and research has proven that we’re likely to stay better hydrated if we enjoy what we are

drinking. The simplest choice is water, just remember that water won’t refuel your carbohydrate (energy)

reserves or replace electrolytes lost through exercise. Raro is a great option; it has stood the test of time and very

economical. Adding a small amount to your athlete’s drink bottle is a great option and it contains vitamin C.

Congratulations to all those athletes from Turbo that raced at the BOP Classic. Your commitment and consistency

to your workouts are reaping the benefits. I was a little sad that no one from Metro took up my challenge to have

a go at a 50m event but maybe next time!! Turbo athletes stand up and take a bow you achieved a 78.4% personal

best rate from all events entered. The recommend figure is 65%. Special mention to Hayden Chapman who made

his debut at competitive racing and he achieved the magical 100% personal bests as did Phoenix Hunia. Check

out the Swim Rotorua facebook page for a full wrap. Mark your calendars, the next event is the traditional CNI

meet which is on Labour Weekend. Racing is on Friday 19th (50m events), Saturday 20th and Sunday 21st October

2018. We were Top Club last year so would love to retain this title so need you all to race (if possible).

Big High Five to Meri Curtis, Taonga Wharekura, Luke Crombie and

Max Harvey who made up the Swim Rotorua team against the team

from Santiago in the Duel in the Pool. We were victorious. Special

thanks to all those parents that answered the call for help regarding

blankets. Yet again I am in awe of how we all come together when it

is needed.

I also acknowledge those parents that have helped with the “Womble Duty”. The

money raised from the “womble” fundraisers as a rule goes to the athletes attending

Nationals to help offset the huge costs that are associated but we have also allocated

some funds to the Xmas Party and also helped subsidise the bus trip to Taranaki. Our

athletes are grateful for your help and we are grateful to Smart Environment for the

opportunity.

It was awesome to have so many of our Turbo athletes and parents attend the workshop facilitated by Nic Leary

on posture, stability and range of movement. 10-15 minutes of dryland will be introduced during the holidays

and will be implemented one day a week during the school term. Just finalising which day.

Have you downloaded the Swim Rotorua app? If you are having problems, just see me pooldeck.

This months Fun Facts:

* Women were not allowed to swim at the Olympics until 1912.

* Swimming makes you happy – swimming is scientifically proven to lift the spirits while reducing stress. How

is it able to accomplish this? Well it all stems from the increased production and release of happy chemicals

known as endorphins. When you’re swimming, the body naturally produces more of these chemicals, thereby

making you happier and less stressed.

Thanks for taking the time to read this section of the newsletter.

Hi Everyone— Welcome to your latest Performance Squad News. Enjoy.

COMPETITION CALENDAR – UPDATE

National Short Course 02-06 October 2018 Auckland

AquaKnights Junior Festival 15-17 February 2019 Rotorua

Division 2 13-16 March 2019 Dunedin

NAGS 16-20 April 2019 Wellington (note the venue change from

Auckland)

Opens 17-21 June 2019 Auckland

Secondary Schools 12-15 September 2019 Hamilton

National Short Course 01-05 October 2019 Auckland

Remember, if you have qualified, then I expect you to race as we want our biggest and fastest

team racing.

SWIM MEETS COMING UP SOON

CNI 19-21 October Rotorua EVERYONE TO RACE – goal = Top Club

win $1,000 prize money

Fairfield XLR8 24 November Hamilton Team event – travel by bus. First LC hit

out of the new season

BOP Juniors 08-09 December Rotorua Best times galore for our 12 & unders

Summer Sizzler 20 January Rotorua SC racing – test your skills & do best

times during the Training Camp

Hamilton Meet 01-03 February Hamilton Note the new date. Get those NAGS &

Opens QTs locked in

ALL THE BEST TO

JOSH BALMER who represents New Zealand at the NZ v Aussie State Teams in Canberra on 03-05

October. Go Josh!

LEWIS RYAN who is competing in an Xterra event in Taiwan. Go Lewis!

DRYLAND PROGRAMME

Many thanks to Nic Leary who has been helping you all with your musculo-skeletal screening and

exercises. As a result of all this, we will be starting our new dryland Programme as from Monday 08

October. The main changes are:

Tubing (cords) exercises done as a team on Tuesdays and Friday afternoons starting at 3.40 pm. The

tubing will be supplied so there is no need for you to buy anything

New dryland circuit to improve strength, stability and athleticism in the areas that you are all generally

weak on

Prescribed stretches in the areas that really need it

Screening will be repeated in mid November – I expect to see big improvements from you all

MONDAY MORNINGS

It is very obvious that a lot of you lose your swimming fitness over the weekends as you are not

swimming for 55-70 hours. What this means is that any gains achieved across the week are lost due to

this long break. In effect, your body starts de-training during this time. In order to lock your gains in, I

would like everyone to attend Monday mornings as from 29 October. Athletes aged 12 years and younger

to train 6.00-7.45 am, whilst those of you aged 13 years and older go 5.30-7.45 am. The main focus on

this workout will be aerobic capacity, skills and some strength work (pulling and / or kicking).

5 STAR TIPS FROM THE TOP

This month is all about improving your lifestyle. Do that and you will get more out of your training and

racing:

1. Eat asap after your workout - having a banana, fresh fruit smoothie or chocolate milkshake straight

after your workout (or in the car going home) will kick start your recovery metabolism and help you adapt

to the training load

2. Stretch every day – stretching out your shoulders, pecs and quads will increase your range of motion.

In turn, this will increase your potential to apply more force (go Faster!) in the water

3. Always be positive – focus on the processes and work as hard as you can. Don’t dwell on the hard stuff

4. Ask your coach more questions such as ‘can you check my technique’, ‘can you get my split’, ‘can I do

a different stroke and improve that’ etc

5. Encourage your team mates to attend more, work harder, race you more often. Remember … the sum

of the parts is greater than the whole

GOING THE EXTRA 100 METRES

Last month I wrote about James Hickman who went on to break the world record. His appetite for

training, racing and improving himself was very evident when he was only 13 years old. His enthusiasm

was incredibly infectious and he really could lift the whole squad with his energy and drive.

This month’s story is about a young man called Philip. He had a tough family background as he looked

after his solo mother (she was very sick) and his younger sister. During the holidays, we did what we

called a Hell Week which was a very challenging 7 day training camp. On the last day, the athletes could

pick their own super tough set. Philip picked 100 x 100m on 75 seconds. He started off doing 70s, then he

picked it up and held 68s and towards the end he was going 65s. On the last 100, he went a 62. I was

saying ‘Great job’ to him but then he pushed off again and did an extra 100m. Afterwards, I asked him

why … he replied that everyone does that set so he wanted to go the extra bit. His time on the last one

was a swift 58 seconds … which is pretty good at the end of 10,100 metre set for someone whose best

time was 53 seconds.

So … always look to do your training better. Never be happy with average. Instead, push your-

self as hard as you can. It is tougher that way, but much more rewarding.

KICK SETS

I would like you all to push your kick sets more. We will be doing some challenging sets in training. Be

ready!

TEAMWORK & COMMITMENT = EXCELLENCE

IF YOU ARE NOT PREPARED TO PUT THE TEAM FIRST,

THEN TURN AROUND AND GO HOME

Which one are you? Are you a WINNER?? Can you conquer yourself???

Give 100 per cent in October and grow your COURAGE and ENCOURAGEMENT

Alastair Johnson

Head Coach

swimrotoruaheadcoach@gmail.com