IOWA CITY EELS

 

Contact: 351-3336 or swimice@aol.com            website: www.iceels.org      November 2003

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Thanks to our corporate sponsors: A.W. Welt Ambrisco, the Coral Fruit Market, Hills Bank, Iowa State Bank & Trust, Scheels All Sports and Universal Climate Control- their generous support helps keep our Club in the water!

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Coming up:

 

 

11/8:             Girl’s HS State Championship at Ft. Dodge

11/14-16:          DMSF swim meet at Dowling in West Des Moines

11/14:           BLAST meet sign-up deadline

11/15:           ICE bills due        

11/15:           U of Iowa football game- practice begins 30 minutes early for all groups

11/20:           Picture Night at Mercer- no practice at Coralville or Mercer

11/21:           Weber meet sign-up deadline

11/22-23:          CRAA Harvest Invitational in Cedar Rapids

11/26:           THANKSGIVING (no practice)

12/1:             ICE Board Meeting- 6:30 at Mercer

12/5-7:          BLAST Meet in Cedar Falls

12/9:             Boy’s HS swim meet- no practice at Mercer

12/12:           CIA swim meet sign-up deadline

12/13-14:          Irving B. Weber Meet at Mercer

12/15:           ICE bills due

12/17:           All Stars sign-up deadline (likely)

12/18:           Boy’s HS swim meet- no practice at Mercer

 

 

COACHES CORNER 

 

November 2003 Coach’s Corner

 

How We and You Should View A DQ

 

We coaches have seen swimmers disqualified (DQ’ed) in events at every level.  One vivid memory I have of a swimmer being disqualified (DQ’ed) was when Kristine Quance, America’s best 400 IM swimmer in 1995, was disqualified during the prelims of the 1996 Olympic Trials.  This was not only unexpected but also controversial because the situation was of such importance for our team’s success in a homeland Olympiad.  I also recall having a relay team of outstanding female swimmers, chasing a state record and Top 16 time, get anxious and screw up two exchanges (thankfully you can only be DQ’ed once – hahaha).  These are unpleasant and upsetting situations for the individual and the coach involved but DQ’s are as much a part of the sport as drag suits, towels, and two hand touches. 

 

I look at DQ’s on three different levels. There is Level One – the Learning DQ, Level Two – The Stupid (or Non-Thinking DQ), and Level Three – the competitive DQ. 

 

Level 1- The Learning DQ – These are disqualifications that occur when swimmers are trying new events and still trying the sport out.  At a swimmer’s first meet one of these (or more) happen simply because the athlete is still learning to the skills in the proper sequence or in the proper fashion.  An illegal kick on breaststroke or butterfly, a one and hand touch on a turn, rolling over at the end of a backstroke race, etc.  I look at these situations like trying to learn how to ride a bike or ski, you have to fall down a few times before you get the hang of it.  Since this sport has a lot of technical demands that are unique young and new swimmers will screw up some things at the beginning of their journey. It is at this stage that the DQ should be a warning, motivator, and reason to go get Dairy Queen (get it -  D.Q.?) after the meet on the way home.  

 

Level 2 – The Stupid (or Non-Thinking )DQ – These are DQ’s that occur when you know better but just can’t think and stumble into a DQ.  Example:  a swimmer is in a tight race during the IM and while looking over at a close competitor near a turn he/she dips a shoulder, lowers one hand too much, and BAM – the swimmer hits the wall with one hand slightly in front of the other (thus a non-simultaneous turn).  Something distracts the athlete and caused a momentary lapse of concentration and during that split second that swimmer makes a mistake.  These are the annoying fumbles in a football game, the dropped catches of a baseball game, and the trips on the last hurdle that eat at us when we know it was almost the other way around and we could have changed the outcome.  

 

Level 3 – The Competitive DQ – These are the DQ’s that fall within that gray area of cheating and / or trying to find the slightest edge.  These include the extra little fly kick coming into the wall on breaststroke, the kick out all the way (and pass) the 15 meters mark off the wall on fly, and the head scratching relay exchanges that are so much faster on Lane 4 than those in Lane 3 or Lane5.  These types of DQ’s occur when an athlete is knowingly trying to gain an advantage by pushing a rule or slightly breaking it during a race.  A lot of these happen in the heat of battle and are similar to a take out slide at second base in baseball (ethically speaking).  While not entirely black and white these DQ’s are the most controversial because they are rare and they occur most often at big meets.  In 1991 at the FINA world champs in Perth our country’s 4 x 200 Free Relay for women was disqualified when Nicole Haislett (1991 World Champ – 100 Free, 1992 Olympic Champ – 200 Free) wanted to extend our team’s lead and executed a relay start before the incoming swimmer completed their leg by less than a second.  While trying to do a fast exchange Haislett inadvertently left too soon.  In 1986 Adrian Moorehouse won the 100 BR at the FINA World Champs only to get his placing and medal stripped because of an illegal dolphin kick on the second pullout.  Did he dolphin kick?  Ask him and he will say no, the official will say otherwise, and the people on deck one or the other. Sometimes it is a case of a habitual rule bender finally crossing the line and getting the yellow slip.  Others times it is an act of desperation in the heat of battle. While these types of DQ are not real common when they do happen – you hear about them and they make you realize how finite the sport can be at times. 

 

While these are all part of our sport the best way to avoid being DQ’ed is to make sure to practice with good technique and to not be sloppy.  All of us have gotten or will get DQ’ed at some time during our enjoyment of the sport.  Just make sure to learn from these mistakes and miscues while you are still in Age-Group competition so they will not infringe on your enjoyment at the Senior level and beyond. 

 

 

See ya at the pool!

Donald P. Spellman

 

Girl’s High School State Meet: Saturday, November 8th is the date for this year’s Girl’s HS State Meet.  Many current and recent ICE swimmers qualified this year. 

 

Ashley Lawler, IC West - 200 and 500 Free, 200 and 400 Free Relay (Eels)

Lauren Talman, IC West – 200 IM and 500 Free, 200 and 400 Free Relay (Eels)

Jaqueline Astor, IC West – 200 and 500 Free, 200 and 400 Free Relay (Eels)

Anna Kampling, IC West – 200 Free and 100 Fly, 200 and 400 Free Relay (Eels)

Andrea Schubert, IC West – 100 Fly (Morays)

 

Taylor Seemuth, IC High – 100 Back and 200 Med. Relay (Morays)

Jody Olson, IC High – 100 Breast and 200 Med. Relay (Morays)

Gabi MacKay, IC High – 200 Med. and 400 Free Relay (Eels)

Heather Gray, IC High – 100 Fly and 200 Free, 200 Med. and 400 Free Relay (Eels)

Paige Knebel, IC High – 400 Free Relay (Eels)

Kayla Casavant, IC High – 400 Free Relay (former Morays)

 

Stacia Johns, CR Prairie / Williamsburg – 200 IM, 100 Breast and 200 Med. and 200 Free Relay (Eels)

Jenny St. John, CR Prairie / Williamsburg – 200 and 400 Free Relay (Morays)

Ashley Matteson, CR Prairie / Williamsburg – 200 and 500 Free, 200 and 400 Free Relay (Morays)

 

Emily Welborn, Keokuk – 100 Fly and 100 Back (Eels)

 

 

New scoreboard campaign: Some of you may be aware of the drive to replace the scoreboards at both Mercer and Coralville pools.  These scoreboards served their purpose well but age, the harsh pool environment, and technological changes have rendered them less effective with each passing season.  A movement spearheaded by Bill Talman has been attempting to raise funds to pay for these new tools.  The current plan is to have an eight-line board installed at Mercer and a single line board placed at the Coralville Aquatic Center.  If you’ve seen the scoreboards at Dowling or Williamsburg then you have an idea as to what the Mercer scoreboard will resemble.  The Coralville board would be smaller but would certainly be a marked improvement over the current situation.  These boards do not come cheap- the price quoted for both comes in at $55,000.00.  Bill has been attempting to raise as much of this figure as possible by soliciting corporate donations.  So far this effort has brought in over half of the necessary funds.  Bill will continue to pursue corporate donors but the time has come to approach other sources as well.  Parents of City and West High School swimmers have been contacted about making donations and Bill will be sending out letters to ICE families asking them to contribute as well.  As of the writing of this newsletter $22,200.00 needs to be raised in order to purchase these new scoreboards.  Please consider making a contribution- any amount will help. Make checks payable to the Iowa City Eels Swim Club and specify in the memo line that the payment is for the scoreboard campaign. Please mail your contribution to Bill Talman at 353 Lexington Ave., Iowa City, IA 52246. All donations are tax deductible.

 

Weber Meet update: We’ve moved from planning and into preparation for the Irving B. Weber Invitational to be held the weekend of December 13 & 14.  This is traditionally our second largest meet of the year.  In fact last year’s Weber Meet actually had about 15 more participants than the Long Course Championship we hosted in August!  It is a pretty crazy couple of days but with help from all of our membership we can once again run a successful meet.  Meet work sign-up sheets will be posted at Mercer no later than the week of November 10th.  A reminder- every family is obligated to work at least two sessions of this meet.  If you can’t make it that weekend there will be plenty of pre-meet actions you might be able to help with.

 

ICE Board of Directors opening: Recently one of the ICE Board members, Rick Noeth, resigned from the ICE Board.  Rick, a Masters swimmer and a parent with a wealth of experience with the world of club swimming, reluctantly decided to leave us for a variety of personal reasons.  Rick’s term with the Board was set to expire in August of 2004.  Anyone interested in fulfilling his term should contact Kelly at 339-7579 or keleyn@inav.net.

 

Long Course records posted: Jan Lawler has compiled the latest ICE team records for Long Course events.  These records can be viewed online at the ICE website (www.iceels.org). If you find a mistake please feel free to contact Jan at BLawler251@aol.com.

 

Picture night: Thursday, November 20th is the annual ICE picture night at Mercer Aquatic Center.  Photos will be taken beginning at 6:00 PM or so and there will be pizza and pop for all swimmers in the P & G room following the photo shoot. Check your folders as order forms and more information will be coming soon.  There will be no practice at Coralville or Mercer on this night.

 

Pool closings: There will be no practice at Mercer on the following dates due to Boy’s HS swim meets: 12/9 & 12/18; 1/6 & 1/20.  Additionally there will be meets on two Saturdays, which may impact practice as well:  12/20 & 2/7. Please check the website, e-mail updates, and postings for more information. The final U of Iowa home football game is 11/15 so practice will begin 30 minutes early for all groups on that day as well. Winter is on the way and that means the possibility of weather related cancellation of practice exists.  In general, if the facility is open there will be practice.  There are several ways you can check if you are unsure about poor weather and practice.  Check the website or call the ICE office- the coaches will place any cancellation messages on the answering machine tape. Failing that, call the respective recreation centers.  If they are going to be open during regular practice hours there will probably be practice.

 

Vandalism: There has been a recent spate of vandalism in the boy’s locker rooms at Mercer.  This condition is at least a mess for the Mercer facility staff and a potential danger to anyone using the showers and attendant areas. This is simply an intolerable situation. Therefore, the ICE coaches have instituted a new disciplinary policy. Any ICE swimmer found guilty of such activities will be immediately suspended from all practices and any meets for two weeks.  A second offense doubles the penalty to one month.  A third offense is suspension from the team for the remainder of the season.  Additionally, there will be no refunds of any dues or fees paid covering the disciplinary period.

 

Wreath sales: The annual wreath sale is underway.  Orders are due Monday, November 10th.  Please drop them off at Mercer or give them to a coach if at Coralville.  The wreath sale is our biggest fundraiser of the short course season.  Additional sales sheets can be found in the ICE notebooks at Mercer and Coralville or downloaded from the team website.

 

A note from communications: The season is moving into a higher gear and the need to keep informed of ICE related matters becomes ever more important. If your swimmer’s folder isn’t where you would like it to be let me know. If you have a new or different e-mail address let me know and I’ll update the team mailing list. Just call me at 339-7579 or drop me a line at keleyn@inav.net.