Off the Deck

Now, I didn’t see all of it, but I did catch some of the Charlotte annual invitational on TV over the weekend.

But before I get to my usual “random thoughts,” a new category: Most Striking for Me. In this case? Lack of tech suits. In particular, it was just really, really weird to see men back to what we generically call “Speedos.” Even the wildly patterned “briefs” that fashion-conscious Ryan wore seemed a bit out of place on the blocks.

I think this is because we haven’t seen men (O.K. let’s be clear here: straight American serious swimmers) wear this type of suit in a long time. Not even at practice, because “baggies” have reigned for years.

On the flip side, the tech suit ruling didn’t alter women’s suits much. So we can’t have material below our knee. Whatever. And, although the “sport tankini” has been gaining in popularity, most female swimmers still train in the classic one-piece competition cut suit. Therefore, it just wasn’t jarring to see some female swimmers wearing them to race.

Still on the subject of tech suits, it’s been fascinating to see how swimmers are doing without them this past season. Some on the national/world circuit are just fine: Ryan, Rebecca Soni, Natalie Coughlin, Matt Grevers, etc. (No, no, no, Aaron Peirsol is fine. I think he needs just a tad more training time. Besides, he tended to favor “jammers” during the tech suit days. And you can’t count MP because he never went full-on tech suit.)

I won’t single out who doesn’t seem to be swimming well without them here, but hey, I think it’s starting to become a bit obvious.

On to the random thoughts part (and this is abbreviated since I didn’t see full coverage either day):

–I’m all for sponsorship and prize money, but the huge banners with the Wendy’s logo girl wearing a cap and googles kind of creeped me out.

–Filteration wasn’t so good, was it? The water was very murky-looking during all of the underwater cam-footage.

–Is it just me or did Liz Beisel get HUGE over the past few months? Especially in the lats area. I know Rowdy said she has a new dry land training regimen, but what the heck? Is that combined with a growth spurt since she’s still a teen?

–Speaking of Rowdy, I heard from Barkley earlier today who noted that “Rowdy’s man-crush on Ryan is still in full force.” I agree!

–Barkley also shared the tidbit that Katie Hoff had moved to CA and is training with a different group. We both hope that this is a good move for her — watching her compete last year was just painful.

Until next time,
Rebecca, swim evangelist

First and foremost: a shout-out to Kenny Allen who called to let me know this was on NBC, not Universal Sports. Although I missed the begining of the coverage, I did catch quite a bit — about 90 minutes or so.

And, without further ado, here’s my recap, in my favorite “random comments” format:

–I have to wonder if everyone is analyzing their strokes sans tech suits right now since they are going away January 1. Honestly, I am really curious to see who continues to do well and who might not do so well sans tech suits.

–I said it during the summer Olympics broadcasting and I’ll say it again: Great Britain is building to have a very strong showing in swimming when they host the Games in London, 2012.

–After watching Michael Phelps squeeze out yet another fly victory by mere fingernail margin, I would love to work with his turn/finish tech coach. (Or perhaps Bowman does it all?)

–The bathrobes are kind of funny. Although, I also kind of feel that they are leaning a bit too much towards the Playboy-mansion-sleazy-lounging-around affect.

–The “European Select” team name makes swimmers sound like a beef grade. Surely there were other titles on the table?

–This meet was a nice refreshing mix: caliber swimming by happy, at ease swimmers. Well, except for Mark Gangloff. Is it just me, or does he always look like he’s going to yak behind the blocks prior to each of his races?

–It was also nice to have underwater shots during this coverage, something that has been missing from the meets covered on air recently. I love to watch the underwater technique!

–Speaking of “wondering” I have to rumminate a bit on how Jessica Hardy might be faring. It seems unlikely that she will ever get to the point where her name is not immediately associated with “doping suspension.” I wonder how the other swimmers treat her. Speaking of bonding, I also wonder about the friendship status among the Europeans during the meet. Relays are always a great opportunity to make new friends on your “team” but of course this Duel in the Pool didn’t offer the full slate of relays. Did they mix it up on deck and beyond, or did the Europeans pretty much hang with their own countrymen?

–Rebecca Soni’s two WRs were a very nice show of consistency since Beijing. Kudos!

–Warm fuzzy moment: Mike Alexander wins while representing the USA for the first time.

–On a personal note: I am totally annoyed that this nice facility was not around when I lived on the NW coast of England and was desperate for a decent pool (the one 25m pool I had access to literally had rope to define lanes and was open on such a spotty basis that it was always MOBBED — you couldn’t even get in one 25 on pace.) And after catching the “glamour shots” of the city, I can’t say that I’ve missed the cloudy, dark skies and dreary soot-covered buildings one bit since moving back to the USA. But I digress on a cranky note…

–One embarrassing note to these “Duels in the Pools” — the final scores are always a crazy landslide victory for the USA. Although, to be honest, I love being on the we-rock-swimming side of things!

Until next time,
Rebecca, swim evangelist

True Confession: I like to read T.V. Guide. Granted, I never read it from cover to cover. But I like the updates on the few shows that I do watch, and I love reviewing the “new fall shows” chart and blurbs at the end of each summer. (Hope springs eternal that some new show, any new show, will be good and earn a spot on my regular roster.)

This week’s issue had a big spread on Dancing with the Stars. I’ve never seen an episode — not my speed. Thus, I was about to flip the page when Natalie Coughlin’s picture caught my eye. Of course, I had to read the article now.

Apparently Natalie is going to be on the Dancing with the Stars this fall. Foremost, I admire her bravery. I’m not sure I’d want to be on any reality show, let alone one where I could wipe out repeatedly while being at risk for a serious wardrobe malfunction.

Having said that, I think she’ll be pretty good contestant. Natalie is athletic, proabably has good balance from all that surfing, and obviously she’s very attractive and personable — always a plus in T.V. Land.

I don’t think I’ll watch this season though. I doubt I could sit through 95% of an episode bloated with commercials, recaps, etc. just to check out if Natalie can dance. Unfortunately my behavior is contrary to what the producer expects. It’s clear from the article that he pick stars who will draw certain and new (that’s the key) audiences to the show.

Don’t get me wrong — I am thrilled that swimming is becoming more popular and visible in the USA, even during non-Olympic years. I welcome opportunities to see more of the national swimmers, particularly those who do not have huge sponsorships yet since additional income would allow them to train sans financial stress.

It’s cool to have a swimmer on a national reality show. Natalie will be an excellent ambassador of the sport. And for once, I am really happy about the continual mass-media and technology merger. I am sure I can keep up-to-date with Dancing with the Stars results without ever glimpsing an episode!

Until next time,
Rebecca, swim evangelist

I don’t watch a lot of T.V. regularly, but some nights you just want to stop thinking for an hour or so and just be entertained. Of course, whenever I enter “I just want to watch something” mode, it never fails: I find a show that I’ve seen only once before, yet that evening’s broadcast is that very episode. Beyond vexing.

This summer however, I have developed a new appreciation for re-runs. Except that in this case, the re-runs have all been swim meets and “Pieces of Eight” Olympic swimming recaps aired on the Universal Sports Network.

Not only are these repeats entertaining (no matter how many times I’ve seen a particular event broadcasted, I still squeal “Oooohh! Swimming!” every time I click on the T.V. and see a pool), but I’ve learned a lot from them.

Perhaps the most appealing aspect of these re-runs? Now that I know the outcome of each race, I’m no longer 100-percent focused on the favored competitors. I can check out more of the behind-the-blocks action, get to know the rest of the field (which served as an excellent pre-Worlds tutorial this summer), listen fully to the commentary, and best of all, really concentrate on technique elements. For example, I’ve counted strokes, analyzed turns, noted breathing patterns, checked out various hand positions on a variety of breaststrokers, and much, much more. Geeky? Yes. Helpful and applicable to improving my own swimming? Yes!

Beyond the educational factor, I find many of the race repeats as uplifting as the first time I watched them. Case in point: the men’s 400 free relay from Beijing. That race will never get old, and what could be bad about a little daily hit of inspiration?

Until next time,
Rebecca, swim evangelist

Well, you could tell Worlds were winding down this weekend by the amount of “filler” (i.e. “Lochte hires a stylist!” clip) per program. Seriously though, I shouldn’t complain because it was AWESOME to see swimming on TV each day for a week, and it’s not even an Olympic year!

In no particular order here are some of my final thoughts about the recent coverage:

–Were you as relieved as I was to see Aaron Peirsol back to form in the 200 back? After that final, I felt for sure he’d be fired up for the lead off leg of the medley relay and set a WR, especially since he missed the 100 finals. But I understand that it was probably a long week for all swimmers.

–A fashion moment: Hilary Phelps has really stepped up her fashion mojo since Beijing. Bold colors, sleek hair, snappy accent pieces; I’m impressed! The Italian flag (just three blocks of solid color, not actual flags images) sneakers spotted adorning many feet on deck were cool! The orange bubble-like earrings worn by a female British swimmer? Not cool! Not only were they unattractive and unflattering against pasty British skin, they didn’t make sense. I mean, maybe if she was Dutch and patriotic…

–It was painful to watch the last 15 meters of Rebecca Soni’s 200 breast. Enough said. Speaking of “enough said,” although I grew tired of Cavic’s seemingly never ending comments about the Beijing 100 fly final results, I do have to give him a shout-out for getting it together after being beaten conclusively by Phelps in Rome: Cavic looked genuinely pleased with his silver on the podium. Especially after they were duel-face-y behind the block earlier.

–Is it just me or does Rickard’s breaststroke look like it hurts him?

–It was weird when Rowdy and Dan said that they’d take a break from commentary because the 1500 “is a long race.” What? They couldn’t fill the handful of minutes between the 300 and 800 mark with information on technique, stroke, pacing or training for such a “long” race, etc? Did they assume that the US public would go to the kitchen or bathroom at that moment because an American wasn’t in the final?

–Overall, based on just USA results, Worlds were kind of uneven for me. This is to be expected since it’s a post Olympic year — many big names were taking a break, had retired, or just didn’t train as much as normal. The break-through swims by the newbies were exciting, but they weren’t exciting enough for me to off-set the upsets (i.e.: it was weird and kind of depressing not see at least one American in every final. No USA team in the classic event of the 400 women’s medley? Unheard of!) as well as the suit controversy. I don’t like being jaded about swimming, but when a WR is set in just about every event in every heat from prelims to finals, well, it gets a little old.

Until next time,
Rebecca, swim evangelist

–

The thoughts just keep coming during the 7/28-29 coverage….

–It was really odd to see Michael touch second during a major final. That 1.22-second difference between him and Beiderman is within the “was it the suit?” range for me. I’m not trying to take away Beiderman’s training and technique. But still… I do give Beiderman props for his gracious post-race comments. I too look forward to seeing the two swimmers go head-to-head in the near future while wearing suits cut from the same cloth. p.s. could Phelps suit get any lower?

–First Beijing, now Worlds. Great Britain is shaping up for a strong showing in their home town of London in the 2012 Games.

–The nightly coverage has been GREAT. But it took me a bit to get used to the “over head” shot. It’s like it’s being filmed through a bubble. I get that curvature of lens may include more lanes, but it also has the weird effect of making the swimmers look like they are veering unnaturally to one side or the other. Particularly during breaststroke. Competitors look like they have giraffe necks skewed at an angle. Very disconcerting.

–Is it me or do all national athems sort of sound alike?

–Tech suit comment of the day: can’t they get those things zipped up all the way? I have seen many swimmers warming up behind the blocks with zippers sliding open. It makes me anxious for them.

–Thank you, Rowdy Gaines, for your support of making the 1500 available to women in the Olympics. Speaking of which, could we run the 1500 for just once without a commercial break? I am tired of dashing back from the kitchen to find that the entire race order has changed while I was washing dishes.

–The whole “sit on lane rope and celebrate new WR” thing is getting on my nerves. Maybe it’s because I became jaded about WRs the first day of this meet.

–The officials must be melting on deck in their dark blue blazers. Especially the men, who have to wear ties in addition to that jacket.

–What is with the turban-wearing stuffed frog handed out on the podium? I must google and see if I can learn more. Or at least see a better image of one. Maybe it isn’t a turban…

–Schmitt keeps coming back in the 200 free — from last at the first turn to the finals to the podium. Excellent job, but perhaps she could pace that first 50 just a tad faster. Speaking of the 200 free, I am in awe of Pellegrini’s turn over. Simply amazing.

Until next time,
Rebecca, swim evangelist

This week features random comments on the continuing coverage of Worlds:

–Did Sjostrom have the worst start ever in the 100 fly? Makes her first place and new WR is even more impressive — what could she do if she got off the block first?

–My cat could snap Irie (Japanese swimmer in the 100 breast) like a twig. His tiny-ness does not detract from his beautiful stroke though.

–It was painful to watch Aaron Peirsol’s face run through a range of emotions once he realized he did not make finals in the 100 back. Certainly, his finish didn’t seem as aggressive as usual.

–The ready room looks like a support group meeting for Tourettes syndrome. All that twitching, shaking, ticking. The only thing missing is random outbursts of inappropriate words.

–Yes, I’ve been picking on the tech suits a lot lately. Here’s one positive comment: I like the hot pink accent swoops on Casey Carlson’s suit that she wore for the semis.

–Either Stephanie Rice is a good actress or she truly seems very pleasant, especially when conceding two losses in a row to Ariana Kukors in the 200 IM.

–I’ve really been enjoying watching the race order change per turn. It’s inspiring me to take my “improve my turns” goals more seriously. As in “actually work on them this year.”

Until next time,
Rebecca, swim evangelist

Would it be a meet without my random commentary? Here we go then, my report on yesterday’s Worlds 2009 events (aired on Sunday, 7/26/09):

–The behind the blocks pool-splash is a common sight at meets. I do this myself to help prepare my body for the water and as a “I’m ready to race!” ritual. It looks hot in Rome, so I’m not surprised to see more splashing than usual. But I was intrigued by a new twist — one of the female Japanese 100m fly semi-finalists squeezed a sponge over her head. Several questions came to mind: 1) is this really better/easier than just bending over the pool? 2) did she actually pack a sponge or was it part of her team equipment kit? 3) doesn’t this add another wrinkle to race preparation? If she’s not using pool water is she soaking it before she hits the ready room?

–Is it me or have there been more swim offs to snare that 8th spot in finals this past year?

–Today’s tech suit comment: I’m getting jaded about WRs. Especially when they occur in every heat, whether prelims, semis or finals.

–The mens 400 free was probably one of dullest finals I’ve seen in awhile except for those last 10 meters or so. I did not see that WR coming.

–I swear that Matt Grevers biceps are bigger than my quads.

–I like the double color lines for relays — red for WR relay pace, white for lead-off WR pace.

–What is “Yakult?” It’s on everything — caps, banners, some of the sweats, etc. I guess their “plaster marketing” approach is working since I feel compelled to Google them now.

–It’s just down right weird not to see USA on the podium for the women’s 400 free relay. On the other hand, can the USA men make that relay any more exciting on the international circuit?

Until next time,
Rebecca, swim evangelist

My random thoughts about Trials continued….

–”…the only positive thing she said…” Summer Sanders during her recap of the her conversation with Katie Hoff. YIKES! Sounds like Katie Hoff is in a bad place right now. Speaking of which, could the network kick her any more when she’s down? Showing Hoff’s 200 free Beijing 4th place right before her dismal 200 free final was a little too “downward spiral” for me. She’s young, she’s going through a lot of transitions; she’ll be back and stronger than ever.

–Margaret Hoelzer and Mary Descenza are my “happiest swimmers behind the blocks, always” co-winners for the summer.

–Is anyone else besides me relieved that Haley Gregory finally finished first and earned a spot on a prestigious team? The more I watch her race the more I think her niche is really 50m back. If only they offered it…

–Elizabeth Pelton qualified in three events: let’s hope the media doesn’t over-hype another up-and-coming teen female swimmer and thus spook her between now and Worlds.

–Aaron Peirsol has the most amazing back turnover and finish. ‘Nuff said.

–I love Summer Sanders. She does an excellent color-commentary job at the meets. So I was disappointed not to see her during NBC’s coverage on Saturday. Particularly because she doesn’t ask every swimming the really annoying (and badly phrased) “what was the difference maker?” question. But, I have to admit, she could use a stylist — her “swimmer’s hair” days should be over by now.

–Where was Phelps’ new “straight arm recovery” stroke? Every other male swimmer (Lochte, Adrian, etc.) seemed to be doing it for the last 15 meters into the wall.

–David Walters has earned my “best post-swim comments” award for the meet. How refreshing, mellow and fun he is!

–Maybe I’m a little too into swimming, but I loved all of the sport-specific commercials! It’s good to see the sport getting some air time finally. That’s why I am reluctant to lodge a complaint about the coverage just when we are making some progress. But here goes: a little consistency, please! I get that we can’t see every final, nor all of the distance ones. But could we at least see the A final heat results posted after each race? Yes, we know that “only the top two” get to go to Worlds, the Olympics, whatever. But I would like to see how the entire field finished.

Until next time,
Rebecca, swim evangelist

I am disappointed that I missed the first 30+ minutes or so of yesterday’s progran, but here are some preliminary thoughts on what I did see:

–Ok, this just occured to me (and yes, I’m slow on this one!): after watching the men’s 400 IM Bejing clip again during the 2009 Trials show (combined with the thought of “hey, I’ve seen many swimmers decked out in full body technical suits per meet thius summer”) I realized that Phelps didn’t always choose a full body technical suit for many of his semis and even finals, yet still smashed records at the Olympics. My awe-level just jumped another huge notch.

–Was it just me or was there a Burckle in every final yesterday? Maybe they are taking over the Vanderkaays’ “swimming siblings” title.

–The staging was a bit OTT (Over The Top) for me. I can appreciate the goal of wanting to make swimming appealing and exciting to a broader audience, but having the A finalists enter the pool deck into a glaring spotlight, one by one, left-right to the blocks was a bit much. I for one would feel like a huge dork walking in like that; I just want to swim. And as much as I love Summer Sanders and her reporting ability, having her interview swimmers over the natatorium sound system was again a bit too much. You could tell that even some of the swimmers felt a bit put-on-the-spot, especially as they were trying to catch their breath post race. This glamming up of swimming reminds me of the big figure skating explosion post Nancy-Tonya. Hopefully the results won’t be the same (ice skating suddenly was everywhere, and not in a good way. Anyone recall “Ice Wars?”)

–What is up with Katie Hoff? Yes, she was young and experienced in Athens. Yes, perhaps she spread herself a bit to thin in Bejing. But what now? Is it mental? Physical? She was so low in the water during the 400 that she looked submerged. I just want to see her swim up to her potential!

–Event of the day for me? Mens 400 IM. It was thrilling to see such a close race between the top two finishers who both got sucked into PRs.

Until next time,
Rebecca, swim evangelist