March Break 2015

With March Break in full swing it's time for clubs to train insane and prepare for LC but more importantly prepare for the 2015 Canadian Swimming Trials. This time last year I was in sunny Fort Lauderdale swimming crazy mileage which eventually lead to injury upon return from the 2014 Canadian Swimming Trials in Victoria. Reviewing the 2014 Trials 'Best Time Present' of only 22% for the country made me realize something is wrong with this picture. Well the first thing that's wrong is swimmers competing at this meet are being run into the ground with heavy training over the March Break which is leading to failure at Trials. Smart coaches will begin the descend in mileage during the March Break if they are known for high mileage. Coaches doing USRPT don't have to worry about descending the mileage, instead increasing the race specific work and technical work to ensure attention to detail is perfect.

My 2015 March Break is quite. I've decided to take the week off. Well that's a lie I'm taking 5 days off from the pool, but still maintaining some dryland work on my own. I plan to do some runs, bike rides and walks to keep moving. A good rule of thumb for taking time off is knowing you won't get out of shape, especially when it's only 5 days. Now if you sit on your tush and watch TV and eat all week, then yes you will feel off heading into your first practice back, but maintaining some movement and doing some conditioning will really help your body regenerate and grow. The swim season is a long one with most swimmers going 11 months of the year at full tilt! So taking a few days off won't make or break your season. ALWAYS listen to your body, and rest if you need it. If are car needs fixing we take it to a body shop and fix it, if are body is crashing we should be taking time off and resting so we can get back stronger.

For those training through March Break, make sure to take time for yourself and spend time with your friends and family. Enjoy the March Break.

2015-2016 Provincial Competition List (Tyson’s Picks)

Now that SC is done (for the most part) and LC is ramping up clubs are looking ahead to the 2015-2016 swim season in terms of bidding for swim meets that are classified as a ‘Provincial Champ’ meet. Reading through the detailed package of information and dates I came across some exciting changes to the schedule as well layout of swim meets. Having said the excitement comes some confusion inside this package. The main part is incorrect dates as well reading through regulations clubs are to meet when hosting ‘Provincial Champ’ meets, many clubs haven’t met the criteria in PAST ‘Provincial Champs’ meets. Now I’m not about to call out any particular ‘Provincial Champ’ meet because there is nothing that can be done now as these meets are completed and there’s no point in reopening a debate over history.

2015-2016 Provincial Competitions Hosting Information

Swim ON Page 2015-2016 Provincial Competitions

The dates that made me take a triple look started right on the hosting information page. Below are some dates that aren't making any sense.

Deadline to submit competition host bids (KINDA OF A BIG DEAL…..) Monday March 27, 2015

No such date… Could it be Friday March 27, 2015? That’s the actual day of the week the 27^th falls on.

2015-2016 Provincial Competition Hosts will be announced (Swim ON community finds out where we get to travel next season for ‘Provincial Champ’ meets) Monday April 5, 2015

No such date… Could it be Sunday April 5, 2015? That’s the actual day of the week the 5^th falls on. (Note the 5^th just so happens to be Easter Sunday….)

Ontario Summer Short Course Festival June 18-20, 2016 (Winter Festival still 2 days…)

In an email to Swim ON I raised the question of Summer Festival and why it was 3 days instead of 2. I didn't think it was a different format or meet because winter was still scheduled for 2 days. In an email response from Swim ON the meet is in fact 2 days NOT 3 days and is an error on the schedule. (Note the schedule on Swim ON as of the writing of this blog post has yet to be corrected).

The final error or inconsistency I found with the report was Division III Team Champs. On the Appendix B titled 2015 Division Team Championships, the document shows in the fifth section on team sizes Division III is 30 athletes but on the 2015 Team Championship Placement page the chart is showing Division III allowing 25 athletes. At the 2014 Team Championships Division III was allowed to take a maximum of 30 athletes. My assumption is 2015 will remain the same as 2014 but one can never assume.    

Ok enough about the errors in the package, time to reveal my 2015-2016 picks for Provincial Competitions!!!!

Date	Competition	TOP PICK	TOP PICK VENUE	SECONDARY PICK
December 4-6, 2015	Ontario Junior International Short Course	Swim ON hosted meet	Pan Am Pool Scarborough	-
December 10-13, 2015	Ontario Winter Short Course Champs	Etobicoke Swim Club (ESWIM)	Etobicoke Olympium	London Aquatic Club (LAC)  @ (CGAC)
January 15-17, 2015	Eastern Cup Long Course	North York Aquatic Club (NYAC)	Pan Am Pool Scarborough	Swim ON host @ Pan Am Pool Scarborough
February 20-21, 2016	Ontario Winter Short Course Festivals	Brantford Aquatic Club (BRANT)	Wayne Gretzky Sports Center	Toronto Swim Club (TSC) @ U of T
March 3-6, 2016	Ontario Spring Long Course Championships	Nepean Kanata Barracudas (NKB)	Nepean Sportsplex	Windsor Aquatic Club (WAC) @ WIATC
March 7-27, 2016	No Sanctioned meets in ON unless Swim Canada National level meet	-	-	-
April 29-May 1, 2016	Ontario Team Champs Short Course Prelims & Long Course Finals	Division I Nepean Kanata Barracudas (NKB) Division II Brantford Aquatic Club (BRANT) Division III Leamington Lasers Swim Team (LLST)	Nepean Sportsplex Wayne Gretzky Sports Center Windsor International Aquatic and Training Center	(Not making second picks for Team Champs as I've based the hosts on teams in receptive divisions)
June 18-20, 2016 June 18-19, 2016 the actual dates	Ontario Summer Short Course Festival	London Aquatic Club (LAC)	Canada Games Aquatic Center	Etobicoke Swim Club (ESWIM) @ Etobicoke Olympium
June 30-July 3, 2016	Ontario Summer Long Course Championships	Windsor Aquatic Club (WAC)	Windsor International Aquatic and Training Center	Brantford Aquatic Club (BRANT) @ WGSC

There you have it my picks for Swim Ontario Provincial Competitions for the 2015-2016 swim season. The locations are based on clubs have an 8 lane 50 meter pool as well I tried to take into consideration the need of a warm down tank. With only a few locations in Ontario meeting the full requirements this is what I came up with. Some clubs and venues will get multiple Provincial Competitions in a season because they have the space for swimmers, parents, as well have adequate warm up/down space. I’m looking forward to the release of the club hosts as well venue locations for the 2015-2016 swim season.