2017 Speedo USMS 1-Hour ePostal National Championship - Local Heats

The SwimRI and South County Y workout groups are once again helping New England Masters Swim Club defend its title in the Speedo USMS 1-Hour ePostal National Championship by running organized heats for 2018 USMS-NEM members.

This is a USMS-sanctioned event where you swim whatever stroke(s) you wish for one hour, at whatever pace you wish, continuously or with rest breaks, with a counter/timer recording your incremental times/yardage on the official split sheet. After completing your swim, you must officially enter your results online by March 1st so that your individual and club results count versus others nationwide.

February 11th @ Roger Williams University in Bristol (48 swimmers = 2 per lane x 8 lanes x 3 heats)

Check-in and warm-up open at 8:00am. Heats start at 9:00, 10:20 & 11:40. Cost is ~$15 per swimmer (additional donations accepted). Proceeds go to the RWU swim team -- the college swimmers count/time for us. Some heat 3 swimmers choose to do a side-by-side interval-based workout together rather than continuous swim. Swimmer spots are available for USMS members affiliated with New England Masters Swim Club (NEM). Post-swim lunch at Aidan's Irish Pub.
As an added incentive, each participant in the RWU heats will have the option to contribute $5 to the winner-takes-all Total Yardage Betting Pool. To see last year's results, click here.
RSVP to douglas.sayles@swimri.org with your prioritized heat preferences (e.g., 2-1-3). 
January 28th @ St. George's School in Middletown (48 swimmers = 2 per lane x 8 lanes x 3 heats)

Priority given to SCY and SwimRI members who practice with Coach Fred Bartlett at the South County Y. There may be room for other NEM Swim Club members at Fred's discretion if/as space allows. Heats start ~8:10, ~9:35 & ~10:55. Cost is usually ~$10 per swimmer. Swimmers generally time/count for those in other heats. There is usually a post-swim luncheon. For more info contact Fred Bartlett at swimtrirunman@aol.com.

Can't join us on the above dates?

We may run additional organized heats if there is enough interest/demand. Otherwise, ask a coach or friend to time/count for you during January-February and submit your results online before the March 1st entry deadline.

Every yard counts toward NEM Swim Club's total!

Highlights from the 2017 New England LMSC & Colonies Zone SCM Championships

December 8-10, 2017, at Worcester Polytechnic Institute. Click here to view the full meet results.

ENTHUSIASTIC NEWCOMERS:
Last weekend the following SwimRI members participated in their first New England LMSC Short Course Meters Championship: Rob Allen (a.k.a. Rob 2.0), Joe “I only do sprints” Bevilacqua, Eagle Scout Eric “Aqua Hydrate” Burtchell, Dr. Lisa “I finally got a day off” Rauschert, Barrington’s Aaron Shute (Where have you been hiding?), Robot Man Elliot Silva, and Rob “I’d rather be swimming open water” Torgerson (a.k.a. Rob 1.0).

Returning SwimRI competitors included Angie Bonin, Mathew Card, Paul Dow, Kaan Duru, Majed ElTurkmani, Matthew Gilson, Jill Lancaster, Tim Morse, Seann Mulcahy, Keri Nappi, Donna Neuendorf, John Roccabello, Douglas Sayles, Trent Theroux, Diann Uustal, Connor Wallace, Stephanie Winslow and Phillip Wright.

BEER MAN IS BACK!
It was great to see SwimRI veteran Tim Morse return to action. Beer Man swam four events and posted a great time in the Men’s 65-69 1500m Freestyle. Nice job, and welcome back Tim!

SWIMRI TEAM HIGH POINT SCORERS & MVP:
Rob Allen -- 12 events, 117 points, 3 records. Rob destroyed all of his seed times, swam in every relay event, and was clearly SwimRI’s MVP. Congrats Rob on a great meet!

Stephanie Winslow -- 11 events, 104 points. Good job, Steph, and thanks for taking care of the caps and t-shirts!

RELAYS ROCK!
This year SwimRI did not have enough swimmers or splashes at the meet to viably compete for the team points award (Sorry, Frank). However, our relay performances were outstanding -- 13 of our 16 relay entries beat their seed time, yielding 2 meet records, 9 age-group first places, 4 second places, 1 third, 1 fourth and 1 impressive “flying start” disqualification.

In addition, several of SwimRI’s individual and relay performances at WPI should make the 2017 USMS Top Ten rankings, including the Women's 160-199 200m Freestyle Relay of Nappi/Bonin/Neuendorf/Lancaster that went 3.56 seconds faster than SwimRI's 2016 #1 (All American) time in this event!

NOTABLE SWIMRI SMACKDOWNS:
Providence College Alumni Eric Burtchell ‘13 and Trent Theroux ‘89 faced off in adjacent lanes for a Millennial vs. Gen X smackdown in the first leg of the Men’s 400m Medley Relay. Burtchell flashed impressive early speed, but in the home stretch Old Man Theroux closed the gap on his fatigued fellow Friar to claim backstroke bragging rights this time ‘round.

The penultimate heat of the Men's 200m Freestyle was equally entertaining, with 10 fast dudes surging, ebbing and battling it out for eight painful lengths. SwimRI tricenarian Connor Wallace placed third, just edging out a group of quadragenarian and quinquagenarian friends that included the meet high-point scorer Guy Davis and SwimRI teammates Matt Gilson and Kaan Duru. It was a fun race to watch.

SHOUT-OUTS:
Ageless wonders Diann Uustal, who at age 71 set six NE-LMSC and six meet records, and Phil Wright, who at age 70 set 4 meet records. Matt Card, who finished first in all 5 of his events. Seann Mulcahy for crushing last year’s SCM times and continuing to improve in every race. John Roccabello for a great swim in the 200 free. Majed Elturkmani for beating the seed times in all 12 of his events. Rob 1.0 for contributing to the team in 12 events, including all the relays. Matt Gilson for rebounding after a down year last year. Paul Dow on a nice 50 free. Kaan Duru for always being a great relay closer, and for hanging in there in a tough 200 free heat. Elliot Silva and Eric Burtchell for their youthful upbeat attitudes, and Eric for supplying the team with “enhanced” water. And finally, a special shout-out to all of the SwimRI women who showed up for, well, being as awesome as we all know you are!

Also, getting a flat tire in the snow storm en route to Saturday’s team dinner was a bummer, so thanks to Captain Connor’s vehicle maintenance & taxi service for being on call and salvaging the evening for Doug and Stephanie.

AGE GROUP RECORDS BROKEN:
NE-LMSC & Meet -- Rob Allen, 50-54 1500m Free (18:01.36)
Meet -- Rob Allen, 50-54 400m Free (4:30.80)
NE-LMSC & Meet -- Diann Uustal, 70-74 50m Fly (35.51)
NE-LMSC & Meet -- Diann Uustal, 70-74 50m Free (33.35)
NE-LMSC & Meet -- Diann Uustal, 70-74 100m IM (1:25.87)
NE-LMSC & Meet -- Diann Uustal, 70-74 50m Back (39.08)
NE-LMSC & Meet -- Diann Uustal, 70-74 100m Back (1:27.22)
NE-LMSC & Meet -- Diann Uustal, 70-74 50m Breast (46.67)
Meet -- Phil Wright, 70-74 50m Fly (36.98) Meet -- Phil Wright, 70-74 50m Free (31.68)
Meet -- Phil Wright, 70-74 100m Free (1:13.88)
Meet -- Phil Wright, 70-74 50m Breast (41.35)
Meet -- Lancaster/Bonin/Nappi/Neuendorf, Women 160-199 400m Medley Relay (5:11.18)
Meet -- Theroux/Allen/Sayles/Bevilacqua, Men 200-239 400m Medley Relay (4:51.94)

UPCOMING EVENTS:
Upcoming annual SwimRI events include our 2018 USMS 1-Hour ePostal National Championship heats at RWU in January and the 2018 New England LMSC Short Course Yards Championships at Harvard’s Blodgett Pool on March 11 & 16-18.

To help prepare for these events, make your Harvard meet hotel reservations now, stay in shape and maintain team camaraderie by attending some weekend practices -- 7:15 AM Saturdays at St. George’s School in Middletown (now accepting drop-in guests) and/or Coach Trent’s 7:30 AM Sunday theme practices at East Providence Boys & Girls Club.

Great job at WPI everyone. Thanks for braving the snowstorm and making our NE-LMSC SCM Championships a success. See you in the pool!

Team Rosters for 6th Annual SwimRI "Stuffies vs Steamers" Dual Meet - Nov 18th

Our 6th Annual SwimRI "Stuffies vs Steamers" Dual Meet will take place this Saturday, November 18th, at Providence College's Taylor Natatorium in Providence, R.I. Warm-up is at 3:00 p.m. The meet runs from 3:30 to ~5:30. Spectators and hecklers welcome!

This event is a high-school-style dual meet where each of the swimmers listed below races in 1-2 individual events and 1-2 relays. Team lineups and meet sheets are determined by the captains -- Doug Sayles for Stuffies and Trent Theroux for Steamers. In each of the prior encounters, the last relay determined the victorious team. The series stands at 3-2 in the Stuffies favor.

Order of events:
200 Medley Relay (4 x 50), 200 Free, 200 IM, 50 Free, 200 Free Relay (4 x 50), 800 Free Relay (4 x 8 x 25), BREAK, 100 Fly, 100 Free, 400 Free, 100 Back, 100 Breast, Surprise Relay.

The meet sheet will be posted on deck on Saturday. Almost all of the events are coed -- one event will have separate men's and women's heats -- and there are a couple of other twists, including the final "fun" relay.

Team Party/Dinner:
By tradition, the losing team buys the first round for the winners after the meet at Ladder 133 Sports Bar & Grill, 133 Douglas Avenue, Providence. Most people stay for dinner and some bring family/guests.

Swimmers, if you have not already done so, please email douglas.sayles@swimri.org if you are bringing family/guests to dinner or if you are not staying for dinner.

Meet Roster: $20 per person payable at check-in

Stuffies Steamers
Matthew Alford Jessica Ackerman
Robert Allen George Alexandre
Angelina Bonin Alana  Aubin
Eric Burtchell Joe Bevilacqua
Mathew Card Erin Briskie
Sara Dinardo Stefanie Carter
Kaan Duru Stephanie Cotsonas
Majed Elturkmani Chris Dockray
Alford Green  Chris Doppke
Bart Grimes Paul Dow
Derek Jakoboski Lori Geisler
Carolyn KielyKilpatrick Matthew Gilson
Rosanne Leith Alford Neil Greenspan
Diane Leith-Doucett Stephen Imbusch
Donna Neuendorf Jill Lancaster
Bruce Novis Brian McKenna
Alexis Santoro Seann Mulcahy
Douglas Sayles Keri Nappi
Jillian Schneider Elliot Silva
Rob Torgerson Trent Theroux
Elizabeth Welch Connor Wallace
Kaitlin Wilcoxen Stephanie Winslow

SwimRI turns out for Swim Across America - Rhode Island Swim

September 9, 2017 -- Roger Wheeler State Beach, Narragansett, Rhode Island.

Despite the serious purpose behind the annual Swim Across America-Rhode Island Swim -- the motto for which is "Making Waves to Fight Cancer" -- the clear skies, large turnout, upbeat music and festive vibe surrounding this year's fundraising event was more than welcome after a summer swim season that saw the cancellation of four R.I. open water events and two others held in less-than-stellar weather.

However, on this near-perfect Saturday morning, three dozen SwimRI team members arrived early, displayed their trademark enthusiasm and team camaraderie, and stayed well after the finish to revel in the sun and sand before moving the gathering to the upper deck of George's of Galilee just down the beach at Salty Brine.

The day's pre-swim ceremonies included a moment of remembrance and dedication, acknowledgements by SAA CEO Rob Butcher, statements from Providence College Head Swim Coach John O'Neill, doctors and clinical researchers from Womens & Infants Hospital, and heartfelt remarks from a local cancer survivor. Overall, there were well over 500 swimmers -- including over 200 college swimmers and coaches -- who collectively raised more than $180,000 in donations to support local cancer research.

Kudos on a job well done to SAA event director and former USMS-NEM member Kathleen Tetreault, the SAA staff and volunteers -- including USMS-NEM members Rick Osterberg, birthday girl Jessica Stokes, Jennifer Dowling, Tom Phillips and Ildiko Szekely -- Olympians Liz Beisel, Alex Meyer, Craig Beardsley and Clara Lamore Walker, and all of the event participants and patrons.

Special thanks to our SwimRI SAA team captain Alexis Santoro and to Frank McQuiggan for rallying the troops. Next year we anticipate an even bigger SwimRI turnout and hope to raise more funds in support of this worthy cause and very well-run event.

Additional event photos are posted on the SwimRI Facebook page.

Spring 2017 Saturday Practice Schedules

Below are the SwimRI 2017 April-June Saturday morning Masters practice schedules. USMS membership is not required at Roger Williams University or Pods Swimming, but is required at St. George's School. For complete Masters practice schedules see Locations & Schedules. Also see Upcoming Races & Events.

@ Roger Williams University in Bristol:

Dates: 4/1, 4/8, 4/15, 4/22, 5/6, 5/27, 6/3, 6/10
Time: 7:15-9:00 a.m. (8 lanes)
Coach: Matt Emmert or Connor Devers
$5 drop-in fee payable to coach on deck.

@ Pods Swimming in East Providence:

Dates: 4/29, 5/13, 5/20
Time: 7:00-8:30 a.m.
6 lanes 7:00-8;00, 5 lanes 8:00-8:30, 4 lap/warm down lanes @ 8:30.
Saturday practices are written, swimmer-led workout unless otherwise indicated.
$5 drop-in fee or membership. To save time, sign the waiver and pay online.

@ St. George's School in Middletown:

Dates: 4/1, 4/8, 4/15, 4/22, 4/29, 5/6, 5/13, 5/20
General warmup: 7:00 a.m. (8 lanes)
Structured practice: 7:15-9:00 a.m.
Coach: Mike Toolin
USMS membership required.
Click here to view St. George's payment requirements.

Note: Saturday practices at CCRI-Lincoln are over until next season.