I was watching the US World Championship Trials on TV, and was struck by a comment during one of the men's backstroke events. The commentator noted the long history of US men dominating backstroke events, and this is certainly true. The last time the US men lost an Olympic backstroke event was back in 1992. … Continue reading My Take On Why American Men Dominate Backstroke
Tag: Swimming Canada
A Curious Look at 2017 Short Course – Long Course Conversion Rates, And How The US Is So Different From Everyone Else
In 2014 I started getting upset with the standard 2% Short Course to Long Course conversion rates mandated by Swim Ontario. As most coaches already knew, 2% was convenient but horribly inaccurate conversion rate. And it created problems for kids swimming in LC meets when they couldn't meet their 2% converted SC time, even if… Continue reading A Curious Look at 2017 Short Course – Long Course Conversion Rates, And How The US Is So Different From Everyone Else
Inclusive or Exclusive: The Surprising Ways Countries Handle National Championships/Trials
When I started this post, it had a completely different focus. Four times I tried to address various aspects of Short Course vs Long Course swimming from the point of view of swimmers and national swimming organizations. And every time I ended up in the same place - that different countries handle Long Course in… Continue reading Inclusive or Exclusive: The Surprising Ways Countries Handle National Championships/Trials
Age Problem in Canadian Swimming
Back in November, Swimming World published my article on the Age Problem in Canadian Swimming in their subscription-based Swimming Technique magazine, with the agreement that my article would eventually appear on their free Swimming World site. My intent was and always has been to get the widest possible audience concerning this important subject. Soon after… Continue reading Age Problem in Canadian Swimming
6 Rules (and a Vision) For Becoming a Better Swim Parent in a Post-Olympic Year
The Olympics are still fresh in our minds, and a new sports season is starting. This means that untold thousands of eager children are joining sports teams for the first time, with visions of Olympic medals dancing in their heads. And with swimming continuing to be one of the premiere sports in the Olympics, this… Continue reading 6 Rules (and a Vision) For Becoming a Better Swim Parent in a Post-Olympic Year
Age Analysis of Rio Swimming Finalists: Breakdown by Event
Swimming World Magazine has published the second in a series of my articles analyzing Rio swimming performances. This one is "Age Analysis of Rio Swimming Finalists: The Older The Better!", and involves a breakdown of ages by distance and stroke (see here). This post provides additional information on the age range of swimmers as broken… Continue reading Age Analysis of Rio Swimming Finalists: Breakdown by Event
A Nation’s Pride: 1976 and State-Sponsored Doping
I must confess I haven't had the opportunity to watch the apparently excellent "The Last Gold" documentary about the 1976 women's US Olympic Team as they battled the overpowering but doped East German women. But having been a competitive swimmer back then, I am very familiar with the story and the emotions. That the US… Continue reading A Nation’s Pride: 1976 and State-Sponsored Doping
Swimming Canada’s Strange New Road Map
Swimming Canada has recently completed a review of national and international competitions, and has come up with recommendations to improve national level swimming. You can find the document here. Some of these recommendations are, in my opinion, potentially detrimental to Canadian Swimming. Gap Analysis The basic premise is that the review identified gaps in… Continue reading Swimming Canada’s Strange New Road Map
Swimming By The Numbers: Age Analysis of Olympic Trials for 6 Countries
It's been a little while since I've done a Swimming By the Numbers blog post, and the recent Canadian Olympic Trials sparked an idea. We had incredibly strong performances from the women, and NOT incredibly strong performances from the men. A lot of theories were thrown around, one being that we are abandoning our older… Continue reading Swimming By The Numbers: Age Analysis of Olympic Trials for 6 Countries
6 Rules For Becoming a Better Swim Parent
The start of a season is a good time to review some of the basics. And the first one is the role of a swim parent. Before I start, I should point out that most swim parents are actually pretty good when it comes to interacting with their kid’s competitors, officials and coaches, at least… Continue reading 6 Rules For Becoming a Better Swim Parent
Coach Rick - Mighty Tritons Swimming 