About time we all got on our feet and put our hands together for Steve Fogg.
He is performing at championship level, meet after meet, big and small, from USMS Long Course Nationals in Richmond, VA to the Oregon State Senior Games in lovely Corvallis.
If there is a swim meet, he’ll be there, no matter where, no matter when.
He is a supreme example of the TWIM Way and truly lives out our Credo, which is to get up on the blocks at every opportunity and give it our all, for ourselves and our teammates.
Mr. Fogg is doing that on steroids.
He won’t tell you what a remarkable swimmer he is, but we will. He is also a pretty decent guy.
We are honored and delighted to be his teammates.
And now, here are his reports of his last two adventures.
Report from Long Course Nationals in Richmond, VA
The big news that concerns the Pacific Northwest was Willard Lamb. He swam six events, 1500 Free, 100 Free, 50 Free, 50, 100, and 200 Back, and in the process, he set 12 Word and National Records.
AMAZING, Period.
Puget Sound Masters had three representatives on site and one no show. Alan Bell, Kevin Esko and yours truly made up the on-site team. Alan Bell had some amazing swims; Kevin was pleased with his swims. My swims identified more opportunities for improvement, but I am still happy with the results (two top five and four top ten finishes). The competition pool was good, good water temperature (78 degrees), good starting blocks, lane lines were a little loose, but not a major issue. There was ample seating, but it did get crowded Friday thru Sunday. They had hoped to have an additional warm-up pool but that was cancelled, so warm-ups were a challenge, with 10-20 people per 25-yard lane and only six lanes available.
So, some thoughts to share. Have a warm-up routine that does not involve swimming to do more than loosen up. This could include dry land exercises that help get heart rate up in preparation for your event. Given that the event schedule may have very long periods between events, be mindful of nutrition and blood sugar levels. These two above items I experienced in a non-positive way, so I wish to learn from them. We all know that attending Nationals is expensive and getting even more so, BUT there is an opportunity, GIVING BACK through being a Deck Coach, and/or an Official. Even if you are an Official you can still compete, the down side is the time on your feet and lack of rest. Both of these avenues have their benefits and I would encourage considering them for future Nationals and I am happy to talk with anyone interested.
Oregon Senior Games
On Sunday, August 21, I swam at the Osborn Aquatic Center in Corvallis. The venue is quite nice, an indoor 8 lane 50-meter pool with a bulkhead was the competition pool with the other part as warmup/cooldown. In addition, there was an outdoor 8 lane, 25-meter pool for our use. The locker room for Men had plenty of room, I suspect the it’s the same for the Women’s locker room. There was adequate room on the pool deck for bleachers and chairs. The meet was very well run, with a good number of volunteers and Officials.
A highlight was the first event, Women’s 400 IM. 88-year-old Diane Muellen from New Mexico swam and finished, she then followed up later in the meet with the 200 fly. Very impressive. There seemed to be a good spread in age groups. Each event usually had no more than 2 Heats. The competition started at 9AM and was finished by 1PM. The Officials did not hurry the pace of the meet and took the scheduled breaks.
Swimmers representing Oregon, Washington, California and New Mexico were in attendance. In the Men’s 70-74 age group there were 5-6, with one no show. I did confirm with Bob Bruce of Central Oregon Masters that they will have their meet on the second Saturday of December.
The Senior Games goody bag had lots of stuff, your t-shirt was included in the meet cost.
I would encourage those interested to attend next year’s event!
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