WASC Newsletter

No. 262 - January 2020

WASC IS 50

Christmas party

Great fun wasa had by all at the Christmas party and it was all rounded off with a special 50-year clubphotograph including Santa!

BRAUNSTONE CHRISTMAS PARTY

Wellingborough continued their winningstreak and once more came first in the fancydress competition at Braunstone - yes thosereally are dinosaurs!

COUNTY CHAMPIONSHIPS

The first week of the County Championships went well. Here’s some handy tips for those of you whowill be there next week:

Race Preparation

What you do "on the day" depends on you. Good preparation will give you good results; sloppypreparation, sloppy results.

The following checklist will help you to get it right. Remember, success takes a lot of preparation. Everytraining session matters to your winning plan.

1. Train Well

You only benefit from the training sessions you do! Tackle the difficult bits cheerfully. Take a pride ingood quality starts, strokes, turns and finishes.

Remember, you cannot learn at race pace. Good technique gives you the best chance to swim a fastertime. The better the technique, the more efficient your stroke, turns, starts and finishes. Do not sprintor race unless your coach asks you to. Train at the speed asked for by the coach. The various aspects ofyour training demand different speeds. It is not important to be at the front of the lane; it is importantto be able to swim comfortably in the lane at the right pace.

2. Sleep Well

Athletes, especially those who are growing, need more sleep than "couch potatoes". Make sure you getenough sleep.

3. Eat Well

Carbohydrates are the basic food of athletes. A plate of cereal, or a hunk of bread and jam after trainingis a good way to refuel. And don't forget you need plenty to drink. When you train you will lose a certainamount of fluid from your body in perspiration even though you may not be aware of it. This fluid needsto be replaced as soon as possible. Weak squash is one of the more effective drinks for replacing fluidfast. Fizzy drinks are not efficient at replacing body fluids.

4. On the Day

Avoid panics: get everything ready early. Pack your bag early. Have a restful day. Don't spend the daywalking round the shops. Eat about two to three hours before you will swim.

5. Take with You

Poolside clothes are essential to keep you warm. Muscles need to be kept warm if they are to work wellfor you.

Cold muscles can lead to injury. Shoes and socks keep feet and leg muscles from getting cold. Trousersor shorts help to keep legs warm. One or even two polo tops keep the top half of you warm - shoulders,

chest and back. These clothes should be put on as soon as possible after the warm up - BUT do dry offwith a towel first, and if possible change into a dry costume / trunks - making your clothes wet is notgoing to keep you warm through the gala. Remember - cold muscles = poor swim, or worse, injury.

You will need more than one towel to ensure that you can dry off after warm up and between events.Unless your bag has "wet" and "dry" sections, keep towels, costumes/trunks and clothes in plastic bagsto protect the dry ones from the wet.

Take as many costumes / trunks as you can to a gala. Change into a dry costume / trunks after everyswim. Put the wet ones in the wet section of your bag so they do not make anything else wet.

If you wear a hat make sure you have two or three spares. A rip in your only hat at the last momentbefore you race can undo all the preparation.

Goggles are well known for breaking. Make sure you have more than one pair with you always. Have a"best" pair for racing and older pairs for training and spares.

Always have a large plastic bottle of weak squash with you and sip it frequently. Do not rely on findinga drink at the pool. Fizzy drinks are not good before exercise - they actually encourage dehydration. Ifit is to be a long gala, have plenty of carbohydrate snacks with you to eat between events. Do not eatimmediately before an event.

6. At the Pool

Be observant. Check everything. Which is the deep end and how deep is it? What depth is the shallowwater? Are there blocks to dive from or hold onto for backstroke? At which end of the pool will racesstart? Are the flags what you expect? Do the black lines in the pool go down the middle of the lane?Where do the black lines stop? How many lanes are there? What length is the pool? Where and whenwill you report for your swim? Who is on the poolside to help you?

Start your warm up with a relaxed steady frontcrawl swim. Slowly build up your speed. Practice yourturns as you swim and keep moving. After your frontcrawl, change to your race stroke/s. Some drillswill help you focus on your stroke. If you are doing backstroke check the number of strokes from theflags to the end of the pool for the turn and the finish. Try to get at least 15 minutes of warm up timeand use all of it.

7. During the Gala

Keep your body ready to race. Muscles need to be used to stay in a ready state. Every few minutes moveabout, swing and stretch. Do not sit in a cramped position - keep stretching and moving. Keep awakeand be aware of what is going on in the water. Cheer your team mates; this helps them and keeps youin the mood for competition.

8. Mental Preparation

Rehearse your race in your mind. See yourself starting well, going into a good stroke. See yourself hittingthe wall on the turns and pushing off hard and fast. Watch yourself holding the pace and finishing fast.Be confident you can swim a good race.

Decide what sort of race you are going to swim. Are you going to go out fast, or are you going to paceyourself? Are you going to make a final sprint to the finish? If so, when are you going to start the sprint- before the last turn or as you come out of it? If it is frontcrawl or butterfly, what sort of breathingpattern are you going to use?

Think about your streamlining. On the dive and turns valuable hundredths of a second can be saved.Streamlining may give you the winning hundredth!

9. Going to the Start

Be alert. Do not let anything get to you. Be ruthless. Do not talk to the people around you. Concentrateon the water and what you are going to do.

Do not join the "I'm dreading this swim" - "I'll finish last" people. This sort of negative thinking willinfluence your swim. Think positive thoughts, "I'm going to try for a PB this time." - "On every turn, I'llswim in hard, push off hard, and streamline off the wall."

10. In the Race

Swim the race according to your plan. Be aware of where the other swimmers in your race are but donot look around. Put in 100% effort and make it a performance that YOU are pleased with.

11. After the Race

Collect up your clothes and speak to your coach about your swim. Don't always expect the coach to tellyou what went right or wrong; discuss your own feelings about the race. How you feel matters. Analysethe good and the bad and you will know what needs to be worked on for next time.

Dry yourself and put your poolside clothes on as soon as possible.

If you have another swim, put the last swim behind you and start to focus on the next event - go back to7!

Remember, luck is when preparation meets opportunity. Good luck!

WASC 50 YEAR CLOTHING

The new sparkly 50 year logo is now available for all items of WASC clothingon the website. Order the items as normal and use the drop down box tochoose the gold 50 year logo instead of the white one.

As always, you can contact Elite (our suppliers) direct on 01933 315930 ordrop into the club shop on a Monday with any queries.

Hats are available from the club shop.

WASC takes its responsibility to safeguard swimmersseriously.  Any concerns about the welfare or safety of aWASC member should be raised with the welfare officerin person or by email at safeguarding@wasc.info.  Anyconcerns about the safety or security of the facilitiesWASC hires should be raised immediately with thecentre staff and then the coaches and the welfare officer.

Additionally,  Swim Line is a confidential telephoneservice for anyone who is involved in swimming whothinks that a child may be at risk. It can be used byswimmers, helpers, parents – anyone who is concernedabout the welfare of a swimmer.  Swim Line is run withthe assistance of the NSPCC Child Protection Help Line.The freephone number is 0808 100 4001.

SAFEGUARDING SWIMMERS

WASC Welfare OfficerAndy Burton

CLUB RECORDS

At its last meeting, the committee ratified the following new Club records:Max Balderson swam 50m Breaststroke in a time of 00.31.91 on 03.11.19 at Nottingham. He has brokenthe u/16 record.His brother Ross swam at the same Regional Championships and broke the existing record for the Men'sOpen for the same event in a time of 00.30.01.Harry Andrew also swam there and broke the Men's Open 200m backstroke record in a time of02.09.12.

Our Club Championships also produced several records. Firstly Harry Andrew broke the Open 200mFreestyle record in a time of 01.56.91. Then we had successful attempts at several relay records:Luke Phillips, Ross Balderson, Aaron Flynn and Harry Andrew in the Men's Open 4x25m freestyle relayin a time of 00.46.29Max Balderson, Ben Bayes, Ozzie Mills and Noah Wrightson in the under 16 boys 4 x 25m medley relayin a time of 00.57.52Luke Phillips, Ross Balderson, Aaron Flynn and James Willis in the Men's Open 4x25m Medey relay ina time of 00.51.83Caitlin Kelley, Emily Burton, Isobel Young and Imogen King in the Ladies Open 4x25m Medley relay ina time of 01.01.58.Ozzie Mills, Zak Tracey, Noah Wrightson and Max Balderson in the under 16 boys Freestyle relayImogen King, Isobel Young, Emily Burton and Caitlin Kelley in the Ladies Open4x25m Freestyle relay'

Well done to all swimmers.

LOST AND FOUNDPlease could you check your bags for an XS black Hollister puffa coat which was lost poolside and bringto the club room on a Monday. Thank you.

Raise funds for WASC everyday!Please use this search engine and shop online through Easyfundraising.

Rules for all Spectators and SwimmersThe use of MOBILE PHONES including the taking of photographic images is strictly prohibited in the changing rooms and on the poolside. At some galas, depending on promoters’ and venue conditions, film or digital images may be taken provided the registration book at the entrance has been completed in advance.

Useful Links and InformationWASC Head Coach: Craig - 07539 130929 / Secretary: Jean – 01933 226649WASC WebsiteSwimming with ASTHMAThe problem with VERRUCASTaking care of your SKINFOOD for swimming

Child ProtectionSwimline 0808 100 4001 Child Protection information and guidance about clubs’ and members’ responsibility towards Children and young people in the sport. Signposting Help Desk - email signposting@swimming.orgNSPCC Adult Helpline - Tel: 0808 800 5000Child Line: Tel: 0800 1111CYBER BULLYING & online safety: Kidscape / ANTI-BULLYING helpline for parents 08451 205 204DRUGS banned in sport which can include prescription and over the counter drugs and remedies.

WASC SponsorsImpact Recruitment Services - Tel: 01604 239555KDK Business Consultancy Limited - Tel: 01933 228091Wrightsons Limited - Tel: 01933 383838

WASC is run by volunteers and seeks support from parents, friends and localcompanies. Please contact our Secretary if you would like to join ourvolunteers or business sponsors.

ASSOCIATESAQUALIGHT