GBM ENews: 2013

Thursday, December 19, 2013

[GBM ENews List] Holiday Workouts Schedule

Happy Holidays! A few updates on workouts during the next few weeks:

UNH workouts have completed for 2013 and will start up again on Monday, January 6th.
Dover Indoor Pool will be closed December 24th and 31st so there will not be any workouts those days.
Portsmouth Indoor Pool will be closed December 25th and January 1st so there will not be any workouts those days.

Have a safe and happy holiday and remember that sign ups for the spring session at Dover and Portsmouth have started! Don't forget to register!

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For an archive of workouts see: http://gbmpractice.blogspot.com/

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Saturday, December 14, 2013

[GBM ENews List] Sunday Workout in Dover Cancelled

FYI - the Dover Indoor Pool Workout for Sunday, 12/14 will be cancelled due to the weather.

Sunday, December 8, 2013

[GBM ENews List] 5 Reasons Why... -Gail

Hello GBM'ers!!!

Below is a quick note from the wonderful Gail Pentheny, who swims at Dover, she just wants to remind you that entries close Monday! http://scmchamps.blogspot.com/

Here are 5 reasons why I'm going to BU (in no particular order):

I love a good race. I've not made it to even half as many practices as I would've liked this season, I'm slower than I've probably ever been in my life (thinking of starting to track my PW's – see how slow I can go!), but there is nothing more fun for me than a head to head battle – even if it's a slow speed chase! It almost doesn't matter to me who out-touches whom, I just plain love a good race.
Relays are a hoot! No matter how exhausted I am, I find it impossible not to sprint my brains out in a relay! And there is nothing more fun to me than cheering my head off for teammates who can't hear a word I'm yelling.
It's holiday season. Joyful yes, but for me that also means stress – end of year deadlines at work, family expectations, trying to go the extra mile to connect with my more distant friends & relatives (xmas cards, holiday parties, etc). Selfish I know, but BU offers me the perfect escape – even if for only a day or two (or three!). For that short period of time my focus is solely on swimming, recovering, eating, sleeping, getting ready to swim again. By taking this time for myself, I can go back to 'real life' more relaxed so that I can be more present for work & for my loved ones. Yes, that's my story & I'm sticking to it.
Old friends & new, the people I see only once or twice a year. Sometimes we sit around laughing our heads off at silly things (Dick's shoes, for instance!), sometimes we are content to just sit quietly in each other's company. Some people I don't even know well enough yet to talk to at all. There's just something nice about seeing familiar faces from around the region at these meets. I remember my first big meet at Harvard – I was fascinated by all the interesting things swimmers did in their dryland life. Learning little tidbits about my fellow swimmers is still one of my favorite things about going to these big meets.
Support for this amazing club we call Great Bay Masters. No matter what else happens in my day I know there's always a place for me to swim. If entering a few events at BU can help to ensure this club keeps going, count me in all the way!

Sunday, November 24, 2013

[GBM ENews List] Don't forget to sign up for the fun!!!

Hi Team GBM!

You have already heard from our very own ebullient and inimitable Motivation Man, Darwin. I can't possibly match his verve in firing up our team for the BU meet, but I do want to add a few additional words of encouragement to any of you who might be on the fence about signing up for the meet. There are 2 big reasons for you to join us on deck:

We will make sure you have fun. Whether you are a veteran competitor, a nervous first time competitor, returning to the race pool after a long absence, or there to enjoy a day of social swimming with your teammates, you will be surrounded on deck by a great group of people of all ages who are there to support, encourage, cheer, advise, coach, entertain and empathize with you.
Your participation and entry fees directly support our club. As hosts of the meet, GBM benefits directly from the financial success of the meet. The past years' meet profits have allowed us invest in first class coaching and sustain our programs at our pools while charging our members a very modest annual membership fee. In recent years this profit has fallen, so we are trying hard to boost meet participation and have set ourselves the audacious goal of getting 100 GBM members to the meet.

We already have nearly 20 signed up for the meet!

So please come on down BU to celebrate 10 years of GBM, 10 years as hosts of the meet, and 10 years of fun, fitness and friendship in masters swimming on the seacoast of our great state of NH.

Go GBM!

Guy

To sign up for the meet: http://scmchamps.blogspot.com/

To sign up for USMS: http://www.usms.org/reg/register.php

Thursday, November 21, 2013

[GBM ENews List] Pool Closings & Team Socials!

A few notes about Pool Closings & Team Socials in the next two weeks:

Tuesday, 11/26, Team Social at 7th Settlement after Dover Practice. http://7thsettlement.com/ Let Robyn know at practice if you plan on attending!

Wednesday, 11/27, No Practice- Portsmouth Pool Closes at 4:00 PM. Also -- a reminder that your swipe card expires on December 31st, so if you have any extra swims get in there and use them during lap swim times!

Thursday, 11/28, No Practice - Happy Thanksgiving!

Wednesday, 12/4, Team Social at Street after Portsmouth Practice, http://streetfood360.com/ Let Helaine or JoAnn know at practice if you plan on attending!

Happy Holidays from all of us at GBM!!!

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Need to join USMS: http://www.usms.org/reg/register.php

Need to enter the December SCM Champs: http://scmchamps.blogspot.com/

Tuesday, November 12, 2013

[GBM ENews List] Message from Motivation Man about SCM Champs!

MESSAGE FROM DARWIN (VP of GBM):

Hello GBM!

This year is the 10th anniversary of GBM hosting the NE-SCM championship meet at BU. So as your team's very own Motivation Man it's time for me to rally our troops to come out and support team GBM at BU! (December 13-15)

Right now our team, just like the Patriots, has its fair share of injured athletes, so the rest of us need to reach deep and bring our team spirit down to the championship meet in December to keep the Border Duel in The Pool trophy in NH. I myself am in the worst shape I've been in in several years. But, like the Patriots, we need the next athlete up mentality as a championship team. I figure in 5 weeks time I will be able to pull a few 50s out of my hat. I will do this because I am part of an AWESOME TEAM. Fast or slow my team will high 5 me after my leg of the relay.

So I won't be sitting at home warming the couch – I'll be on deck having fun with my GBM teammates. I'll be there to cheer our inspirational super seniors like Aagje, Dick, Phil, John and Steve. I'll be there to high five my teammates as they finish. I'll be there to swim my relays and help retain the trophy. And I'll be there to support Coach Crystie, who is the heart of our team, hard working meet director, and super swimmer (how does she do it all???)

Let's all sign up for at least a day of swimming. Every swim counts. Reach out to all of your swimming buddies and bring them down for a relay. Maybe plan a night out in Boston to celebrate your athletic endeavors. And don't forget our Sunday tradition of dinner at Fuddruckers as we travel home after a great weekend of FUN at the pool.

Lets get FIRED UP and celebrate a decade of championship swimming with GBM. See you ON DECK!!!

GO GBM!

ENTER NOW https://www.clubassistant.com/club/meet_information.cfm?c=1997&smid=4983

Meet Details: http://scmchamps.blogspot.com/

USMS Membership: http://www.usms.org/reg/register.php

Saturday, November 2, 2013

[GBM ENews List] USMS & SCM Champs at BU: registrations are open!

Hope you all enjoyed the wonderful 70 degree day Friday! Below are a few updates:

USMS registration has opened for the 2014 season!

If you are not a current GBM/USMS member please click here to join! This registration will be good through December 31, 2014!
Our LMSC is New England and the team code is GBM.
There are many benefits to registration including a bi-monthly magazine, access to training logs and online resources as well as insurance for events!
You will also receive our team shirt and cap!
To see if you are currently registered for 2013 click here to check for your name!

2013 SCM Champs (and now Colonies Zone meet), December 13-15th

Entries have opened!
This is OUR meet (we host it down at Boston University!) come support the team!
Visit the meet website for more information and to register online: http://scmchamps.blogspot.com/
RELAYS are the best part, we always need people for relays and they always score us points!

There are many small meets to use to get the feel for a masters meet and to practice racing -- see the NELMSC webpage for upcoming meets in our area!

-Crystie

Friday, October 4, 2013

[GBM ENews List] Fall Update- Flatbread & SCM Champs!

Happy Fall GBM'ers!!!

The leaves are turning and there are a few upcoming events to take note of:

Flatbread Fundraiser, Tuesday, October 8th
From 4-9 PM all pizza purchases at Flatbread Portsmouth will benefit the Portsmouth Indoor Pool. They are well on their way to reaching their fundraising goal of $400,000 and have given us a wonderful opportunity to continue partnering with them for workout space, so please come out and support them if you can! (plus- the pizza is amazing!)

OctoberSwimFest, Saturday, October 19th
Click Here for the meet entry form and information. This is a great mini-meet to help get prepared for the SCM Champs in December! It also benefits Simmons Swim Team - who are partnering with us this year to do the back up timing for the SCM Champs in December! Lets give them a big thanks by going down and supporting their meet as well!

George Erswell MiniMeet, Saturday, October 27th
The meet entry form is attached! Another fun prep-meet to attend!

Concord Masters MiniMeet, Sunday, November 3rd
Another great chance to get some racing in after the 2014 USMS registration has opened! Click here for the entry form. Note this is in Concord, Massachusetts.

NE-LMSC SCM Championship Meet, Boston University, December 13-15th
This is the big team meet of the fall season - and WE Great Bay Masters host it down at Boston University! The information and event order have been posted, however entries will open November 1st (to coincide with 2014 USMS registration). Please see the meet website for the most up to date information - however you will also be getting several email reminders too! http://scmchamps.blogspot.com/

Not ready to swim it? We always need volunteer help if you want to come and support the team!

Other notes: The Portsmouth indoor pool workout has reached maximum capacity (30 swimmers- whew!) but there are still spots available in the Dover and UNH workouts!!!

Have a great weekend and we will see you at the pool!

-Crystie

Friday, September 13, 2013

[GBM ENews List] NE SCM meet at BU timing update

New Provisional Dates: Dec 13-15.

Unfortunately the original proposed dates the prior weekend had to be revised due to varsity conflicts arising on those dates. The new dates remain provisional, but we hope to confirm those dates shortly.

Thursday, September 5, 2013

[GBM ENews List] Dinner Tonight after Dover Workout!

Join us in celebrating our last summer workout at the Jenny Thompson Pool with dinner afterwards at Taste of India. Swim 6-7:15 PM and then head to the restaurant around 7:30-8:00 PM.

Hope to see you there!

Wednesday, September 4, 2013

[GBM ENews List] Fall Practice Schedule & Events

Happy Fall GBM'ers!

As the weather cools down we are moving back inside! But not quite yet! There are still workouts at the Jenny Thompson Pool this Thursday, 9/5 at 6pm and Sunday 9/8 at 9am.

Upcoming Schedule:

Wednesday, September 4: UNH Workouts Begin

Monday, Wednesday, 6:00-7:00 PM Friday 6:00-7:00 AM
Passes sold at UNH Campus Rec, $150 for community members, $90 for Faculty/staff & pool pass holders, & $50 for students

Sunday, September 8: Million Meters For Soren

we will be swimming laps during masters workout (9-11 AM) so that folks can volunteer during the event (12-3 PM)- please arrive on time!
for information about the event: http://onemillionmetersforsoren.blogspot.com/
for updates from the Coopers about Soren: http://micropopbio.org/soren/category/uncategorized/

Monday, September 9: Portsmouth Indoor Pool Workouts Begin

Monday, Wednesday 6:00-7:00 PM
Fall Season- $175 Portsmouth residents, $200 non-residents

Tuesday, September 10: Dover Indoor Pool Workouts Begin

Tuesday and Thursday, 6:30-7:45 PM, Sunday 9:00-11:00 AM
Call for fees: 603-516-6441

Save The Date

The SCM Champs at BU will be December 6-8th! This is the 10th year that GBM has been hosting this meet and we are hoping for a HUGE turnout from the team!

Our challenge to you this year is to Find Your Relay! Find those three other people that you want to commiserate.... I mean have fun with... and can lean on to get you to the pool and training (whether it be once a week or three times a week) to have an awesome relay at the meet this year!!! (If you need suggestions- ask Crystie - greatbaymastersswimteam@gmail.com)

Other News

Help us grow our club! Attached is an info sheet that you can share with friends & family to let them know a little bit more about us! We are always looking to include more people in the GBM family!
Need Swim Gear? Use our affiliate site to order and support GBM: http://www.swimoutlet.com/greatbaymasters
Check out the new NELMSC website for upcoming meets/events in the area: http://www.nelmsc.org

Monday, September 2, 2013

[GBM ENews List] JT Pool Closing Early Today (Monday)- No Practice

FYI- the pool is closing early due to the weather so there will be no practice today, Monday, 9/2.

See you all back at the pool tomorrow!

-Crystie

Wednesday, August 28, 2013

[GBM ENews List] UNH Masters Swim begins on Wednesday, September 4th!

UNH Masters Swim begins on Wednesday, September 4th!

Full week of workouts will begin Monday, the 9th with the same practice times at the UNH Indoor Pool! MON & WED evenings 6-7 pm and FRI mornings 6-7 am!

Same prices as well - prices cover the cost for the year! September through May!
$150 for community members, $90 for Faculty/staff & pool pass holders, & $50 for students - can't beat the price!

[GBM ENews List] Please sign up! Fall Season Coached Masters Workouts at Portsmouth Pool

Fall Season Coached Masters Workouts Program at Portsmouth Pool BEGINS MONDAY SEPT. 9^th.

The Portsmouth Pool has put together a SUPER-ATTRACTIVE program package for the Fall season, with coaching support provided by Great Bay Masters (GBM).

Key Points are as follows:

Still at the very convenient time of 6pm-7pm, Mondays and Wednesdays.
Open to non-residents Portsmouth.
No requirement to be a current GBM/USMS member.
Varied, engaging, challenging and FUN workouts with Coach Crystie, our experienced, highly qualified and inspirational on-deck coach.
New VERY FLEXIBLE and EXCELLENT VALUE financial arrangements: $200 for Fall season (non-residents), $175 for Portsmouth residents. The program allows you to use your pass for make-up swims during adult lap swim (up to 30 swims total; expiry 12/31) so that you get full value even if your schedule means you have to miss some of the coached workouts.

While there is no requirement to be a current GBM/USMS member to participate, we welcome and encourage participants to join GBM/USMS. We are very appreciative of Portsmouth Pool's commitment to masters swimming and hope that there will be very strong support for the program from the GBM community to ensure the program's continued success. If you have any questions, please contact Guy davicass@aol.com, or Coach Crystie greatbaymastersswimteam@gmail.com.

Portsmouth Indoor Pool is open! A HUGE THANK YOU to the entire team at the pool who worked tirelessly over the summer to complete a FABULOUS REFURB - new roof, new starting blocks, bright fresh paint job - and on time re-opening!

PLEASE SIGN UP!!! SEE YOU AT THE POOL :)

Monday, August 26, 2013

[GBM ENews List] Sunday, Sept 8th, JT Pool: One Million Meters for Soren

Cancer has struck the Seacoast Swimming Community. 6 year-old Soren Cooper, who swims for Seacoast, was recently diagnosed with Burkitt's Lymphoma. This is a fairly aggressive yet often treatable form of Lymphoma. His whole family is immersed in the swimming community since his mother, Erika, is the Masters swim coach at UNH and his father, Vaughn, is a frequent pool visitor during his Ironman training.

What better way to rally around a young swimmer but to come together as a community and swim as many laps as possible. The goal is to get as many people to swim as many laps as possible with the hope to reach One Million Meters. We welcome you to come and swim at the Jenny Thompson pool in Dover starting at noon on September 8 and swim as many laps as you can. You can swim for an hour or two or three or four. All abilities are welcome. There will be lifeguards on deck as well as many talented coaches who can offer technique help if wanted.

Where: Jenny Thompson Pool in Dover, NH

When: September 8, 2013. Will start at noon and plan as swimming as long as you can.

To register for the event, please click here. http://onemillionmetersforsoren.blogspot.com/

Try and get as many sponsors as you can. You can print out a sponsorship form here: Sponsor Form

If you have any questions, please email OneMillionMetersforSoren@hotmail.com and we will respond as quickly as we can.

For updates on how Soren & family are doing see: http://micropopbio.org/soren/

Tuesday, July 30, 2013

[GBM ENews List] SIPP Fundraiser tonight at Margaritas Portsmouth, 4pm to close

Hey GBM'ers- tonight is a fundraiser to help support one of our pools! Without the support of their staff and SIPP we would not have the opportunity to swim at this wonderful location! If you can make it tonight or support them in any other ways please do! For more information about SIPP see their website http://saveindoorportsmouthpool.org/ or find them on facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SaveIndoorPortsmouthPool

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From SIPP:

Join us at Margaritas Mexican Restaurant, 775 Lafayette Road in Portsmouth, NH on Tuesday, July 30 from 4:00 to close. Margaritas will host a Noche Mexicana Fundraiser and donate 15% of pre-taxed food and beverage sales from participating families, friends and supporters to SIPP - Save the Indoor Portsmouth Pool. Guests can choose items from any of their menus, takeout orders included.

Call Ahead Seating Available (603) 431-5828. Please share this invitation with friends, family and community members.

If you have questions about this event, please contact Jamie and/or Dawn at SIPP.Fundraising@gmail.com.

***Please make sure to let the host or server know that you are there to support the fundraiser, so 15% of your pre-tax food and beverage purchases will be donated to SIPP - Save the Indoor Portsmouth Pool.***

Tuesday, July 23, 2013

[GBM ENews List] JT Mini Meet THIS Sunday- the 28th

Good Morning on this lovely rainy day!

Just a reminder that we have our home meet this Sunday at the Jenny Thompson Pool in Dover! Attached is the entry form, which you can mail in ASAP or bring to me at practice, OR register day of (you can save $5 by getting it to me before Sunday!). We will organize relays the day of!

We also need volunteers to help with timing! Please bring a friend or relative or some other fun person (for those old hands at timing- remind them its WAY more fun than a kids meet!) Oh and if an 80-year-old local legend can dive off those blocks and swim butterfly-- they want to be there to share in that moment of total awesome-ness!

Don't forget we will head to La Festa afterwards to refuel properly with pizza and beers (or soda, or water, or wine... they've got it all!)

-Crystie

Wednesday, July 10, 2013

[GBM ENews List] JT Meet Info & Practice moves indoor for Thursday/Sunday

Hello GBM'ers!

Just a reminder that the Thursday & Sunday workouts this week are moved to the Indoor Pool due to a swim meet. (July 11th & 14th).

Also- OUR home meet at the Jenny Thompson Pool is coming up on Sunday, July 28th. We really need volunteers and if you can commit to help with timing at the meet it would be greatly appreciated! Family members and indentured servants... er... children... are welcome too!

Please email Crystie if you can help! If you are swimming (the only acceptable excuse for not volunteering!), the entry form is attached and can be filled out and brought to practice or mailed in ASAP!

-Crystie

Monday, June 24, 2013

[GBM ENews List] Open Water Swim Times & Locations

A note from Bob Fernald:

Hey Team....open water swim season is in full swing. I pulled together a listing of local swims where a mixed group (triathletes, fitness swimmers, open water swimmers, etc.) congregate to train regularly. These swims are not sponsored by any team. These are just the meet spots that have developed, as the OW community has grown. If you are familiar with other group swims please let us know!

The following are a list of weekly times, and locations:

Monday: 6am and 630am starts at Kingston Pond, Kingston, NH
Monday: 530pm at Wallis Sands State Beach, Rye, NH
Wednesday: 530pm at Wallis Sands State Beach, Rye, NH
Thursday: 6am and 630am starts at Kingston Pond, Kingston, NH
Saturday: 8am at Old Beach Access path on Jenness Beach
Sunday: 8am at Old Beach Access path on Jenness Beach

Location Information

Kingston Pond
The Location: Located on West Main Street (runs parallel to Rte 111) in Kingston State Park, Kingston, NH. There is a dirt parking area located across from the park entrance (between West Main Street and Main Street/Rte 111. This is the meet spot. To get to the pond, follow the paved road into the park, and bear to the left onto the dirt road at the small green shack. The pond is just up and over a small hill.

The Swim: From the beach, look across the pond toward the home at roughly 11 o'clock. You will see a shallow water marker (red and white stick), which is roughly 1/4 mile from shore. Swim to this point, and spot a slide on a floating dock towards the homes towards your left. To the slide and back is just under a mile. Water temperatures are in the mid to upper 60s. No wetsuit needed!

Wallis Sands State Beach
The Location: Located on Rte 1-A in Rye, NH. This is a state park, parking will be free til 8pm. However, as of 6/24, they have been closing the park at 530pm, so park just south of the entrance at the first scenic turnout. The meet spot is the picnic tables on the grass, in front of the building.

The Swim: From the beach, the group typically swims south until the rocks, and then turns around to head back. I am not exactly sure of the distance, but it could be ~.75 miles down and back. The beach entry is a sandy bottom. Water temperatures in the mid 50s. Wetsuits advised.

Jenness Beach, Old Beach Access Path
The Location: The beach access path is located on Old Beach Road in Rye, NH. It is near address 68 Old Beach Road. Parking: If signage says no parking, then don't. If signage says no parking on pavement, don't let your tires hit the pavement. They ticket quick in Rye! The meet spot is on the beach at the end of the access path.

The Swim: The group swims south, out and back. The Rye Beach Club, at the southern end of Jenness is just shy of a mile one way. The beach entry is a mix of rocks, and sand. Be mindful of the bottom entering, and exiting the water. Rip currents could exist. Seldom seen at Jenness, we have seen 2 this year, at the typical put in location on the beach. Always swim parallel to the shore line to exit a rip current. Water temperatures in the mid 50s. Wetsuits advised.

Safe swimming this season.

Remember- always swim with a buddy!

[GBM ENews List] Reminder: Summer Schedule starts tonight at 6:00 PM

Just a quick reminder that our summer practice schedule starts tonight and is as follows:

Monday, Tuesday, Thursday 6:00-7:30 PM
Sunday 9:00-11:00 AM

Hope to see you all there!

Thursday, June 20, 2013

[GBM ENews List] Thursday Social & Summer Schedule Starts Monday!

Tonight, Thursday 6/20, we will be heading to La Festa after practice for pizza and beer! Hope to see you there (even if you can't make practice!)

Monday, 6/24, we start our Summer Schedule!!!

Monday, Tuesday, Thursday from 6:00 to 7:30 (note earlier time!)
Sunday 9-11 AM (same time)
All at the JT Pool

Informal swims have begun at Kingston Pond and at Wallis Sands, check our Facebook page for the latest postings on swims: https://www.facebook.com/groups/31774839843/

Thursday, June 6, 2013

[GBM ENews List] Dinner after Thursday (today) Workout at The FARM

After our second day of swimming at the JT pool lets go out and celebrate being outside with dinner tonight at The FARM in Dover. Located at 25 Portland Avenue, just down the hill from the outdoor pool. We will head there directly after practice, around 8-8:15ish.

Please RSVP to greatbaymastersswimteam@gmail.com if you won't be at the workout but still plan to attend, so we can have an idea of numbers!

Hope to see you at the pool!

Thursday, May 30, 2013

[GBM ENews List] 2013 Summer Practice Schedule Updates

Hello Folks!

Just an update on where we are with workouts.

The Portsmouth indoor pool workouts have finished for the season.
The Dover workouts are moving to the Jenny Thompson outdoor pool on Tuesday, June 4th.
We start our summer season schedule on June 25th (6:00-7:30 PM, Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, 9-11 AM Sunday). The fees for the summer masters pass at the Jenny Thompson pool are $100 for residents and $140 for non-residents.

Attached is a calendar that has the major dates, including days when we move inside due to meets at the JT Pool. There are also a few other events (like OUR summer meet at JT on July 28th!!!)

Open Water

There will also be groups meeting to do open water swims, usually on Wednesday nights at Wallis Sands and Saturday/Sunday mornings in Rye. That information will be sent as it becomes available. If you have a regular group you meet up with to swim please let us know and we will share it also! Please remember to swim safely in open water and use the buddy system!

For a reminder on Open Water Swimming, please review this note: http://gbmenews.blogspot.com/2012/06/open-water-swimming.html

NELMSC

The LMSC has just updated their webpage and it is a great resource for local events, check it out: http://www.nelmsc.org (click on the "Upcoming Events" tab).

Thanks for supporting GBM! Stay cool in this heatwave!

Wednesday, May 22, 2013

[GBM ENews List] State of the Club by Guy Davis, GBM President

Hi GBM friends,

Earlier this year it was my honor to be asked by your Board to succeed Darwin, and before him Ed, as club President. I wanted to write to you all to give you a report on our club, and to ask for your continued support in helping our club flourish and grow.

This is a LONG email, for which I apologize, but I would appreciate it if you would read through to the end.

How are we doing?

Our mission is to foster a fun, supportive and active environment for adult/masters swimming in seacoast NH. Thanks to the excellent masters programs at Dover, Durham and Portsmouth, our members have a variety of quality coached workout opportunities. In Coach Crystie we have a dedicated and engaged professional coach, who not only guides us from the pool deck, but also puts in many hours (unpaid) behind the scenes on club administration and meet direction. Our summer meet at JT and our winter meet at Phillips Exeter offer friendly racing opportunities close to home, and the NE SCM championship meet we host at Boston University in December is among the premier short course meters masters meets in the US. We have large GBM groups, of all ages and states of race readiness, attending these meets as well as the annual NE short course yards meet held at Harvard.

We have a growing crew of swimmers who are venturing into the open water to swim and race through the summer. Our members are well represented as coaches, officials and volunteers supporting our age group clubs and are involved in the ongoing efforts to keep the Portsmouth and Dover pools open for all. We have an active and diverse membership of swimmers and triathletes across the age groups. Despite our decentralized nature, our younger members especially are building the social side of the club.

We are very fortunate to have members who, together with friends and family, have been generous with their time supporting our meets and events, and as swimmers supporting each other. Our volunteer Board has worked behind the scenes to ensure that the club is professionally managed, and our club is well represented within NELMSC and USMS.

I believe that together we are doing well for members, making a positive contribution throughout the seacoast swimming community, and most importantly having fun in our swimming.

How can you best support the club?

Participate in the workouts at Dover, Durham and Portsmouth. Strong levels of participation in these programs ensure that they are successful for the respective pool operators, which in turn ensures that they will be sustained for the benefit of GBM and the wider adult/masters swim community.
Sign up as a member of GBM with USMS.
Swim our GBM meets – the entry fee revenues directly benefit GBM.
Volunteer at our swim meets (or bring +1's to help)! We need your help to make them successful and its a great way to meet everyone else!
Participate when you can in the various fund-raising initiatives we will be pursuing in the coming year or support them as a volunteer.

How is our financial position?

The club is in a strong financial position. Thanks to Ed's personal efforts and his stewardship of the club in its first years, the club built up a substantial financial balance. This was primarily due to a succession of years in which the club enjoyed significant surpluses from the BU meet in particular, while our expenses remained low. This has allowed us in recent years to increase our investment in coaching, has given us the financial flexibility to continue to host major meets in a period of increasing pool hire costs and meet management costs, and has allowed us to make modest, but symbolically important, contributions to the ongoing funding efforts to keep open the Dover and Portsmouth pools.

It is very important that the club sustains its strong financial position. We need to maintain significant resources to handle the $20k or so financial commitment associated with the BU meet, which is our biggest revenue opportunity each year. We also need to generate the net revenue necessary to continue to invest in providing quality coaching at our workouts. Although we are not at present under financial pressure, we need to address the challenge of sustaining the financial position of the club.

Our key issues are:
As a relatively small club in membership terms (roughly 120 sign up annually), our membership revenue of less than $2k ($15 per member) is much less than our annual expenses.
A combination of increasing meet expenses and declining meet participation after the end of the "supersuit" era has meant significantly lower meet net revenues in recent years.
We currently have no other revenue sources.

We are working to address our financial challenges in two principal ways:

Restoring financial surplus of our major meet. For several years the BU meet has been the major source of GBM revenue. In the past we achieved positive income of around $6k per meet, but this has declined in recent years to net revenues of less than $3k. This is not sufficient to cover our annual expenses and in 2012 we operated in the red.. This cannot be sustained in the the long term so we need to markedly increase BU participation to bring our cash flow back into positive numbers. In 2012 we had just under 500 participants. We need over six hundred to reverse this downward attendance trend. We will be working this year to promote the BU meet more actively with the objective of raising participation. By ensuring that the meet is planned well in advance, and that information on the meet is shared widely in "markets" adjacent to New England we hope to attract increased participation from clubs in the mid-Atlantic, who have in the past been major participants in the meet, and clubs in Quebec and the Canadian Maritimes, who are beginning to show increasing interest in swimming meets in New England.

New revenue initiatives. 1. We are establishing a club affiliate account with on-line swim gear supplier SwimOutlet. Under this arrangement a small portion of purchases by club members using this account (at no extra cost to you), will be returned as revenue to GBM. SwimOutlet has very competitive prices, good service and good product selection. So we encourage you to purchase your future swim needs through them using our affiliate account. 2. We will be having occasional club social fundraisers - informal dinners at local restaurant for club, friends and family - with a small share of revenue coming back to the club, again with no extra cost to you. 3. Crystie is also planning GBM fundraiser swim clinics at Dover. Other initiatives may follow.

Administration update

We have moved the club's email list to a Google group to allow us to send out emails much more quickly than with the old server. We hope that this will allow us to get news of pool closures or similar time sensitive news to you more promptly. As before, we will keep you on the email list unless you ask to be taken off.

We welcome your feedback

Please do not hesitate to let me, or any of the Board, know if you have any questions, suggestions or feedback - this is your club :). We aim to be open and transparent in the conduct of the club. All members are welcome to attend our (occasional) Board meetings - most of our business is conducted by email.

Let's make it a big Anniversary Year!

This year is the 10th year of our club. Let's make it a great year! Our founding President, Ed Gendreau, had a great idea about how we can make a big splash – 100 GBM swimmers at the BU meet! This would be our biggest ever team, it would guarantee a fun time with LOTS and LOTS of relays, and it would make a very large direct financial contribution to the club. Let's do it GBM! I can guarantee that you will be hearing from our very own Motivation Man, Darwin, as the year progresses.

Thank you for reading to the end and thank you for your support of GBM. Happy Swimming!

--Guy

PS: The best source of day to day updates on GBM is our Facebook page – https://www.facebook.com/groups/31774839843/

Club information available on: http://www.greatbaymasters.org/

For a history of our Enews emails: http://gbmenews.blogspot.com/

Sunday, May 19, 2013

Google Groups: You've been added to Great Bay Masters E-Mail List


Welcome to the new format for Great Bay Masters Electronic Newsletters! With this system we hope to have a speedy way to update all members on current events such as emergency pool closings or last minute social events. We will also use this for our regular updates on competitions, workout schedules and other pertinent team information. We hope to see you all at the pool this summer, or at one of our informal open water swims. Thank you for your continued support of GBM! -GBM Board Guy Davis, President Darwin White, Vice President Dick Arnold, Secretary Phil Read, Treasurer Chuck Doleac Bart Westgeest Jacqui Redmond Bob Fernald Crystie McGrail Paul Griffin

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Friday, May 17, 2013

Safe Swimmer Floats for Open Water

Hi Team

We are putting in a group order for the ISHOF safe swimmer float through GBM at
Swim Outlet. We should be able to get enough for the 10% discount.

This is the product, you can also see some user reviews
http://www.swimoutlet.com/product_p/38639.htm?color=10881

You can also read a review here (vs. other products)
http://www.usmsswimmer.com/201203/swimbagowgear-march-april2012.pdf

If you would like to join the group order, please email me at davicass@aol.com or
add your name to the post on our Facebook group
https://www.facebook.com/groups/31774839843/

I have recently used one of these - I could barely feel it as I swam, and it gave
me an additional sense of security as I swam. The key benefit though is that is
hugely increases your visibility to boaters, surfers or other swimmers.

Swim safe

Guy

Thursday, March 28, 2013

2013 NELMSC Championship Meet Report (Harvard)

Harvard Meet Report
March 25, 2013

by Gail Pentheny

Well, what a weekend it was! 44 Great Bay Masters brought their A game to
Harvard this year. (I have it on good authority the 5 no-shows will be hunted
down – you know who you are. Beware!) We saw everything from high fashion and
live musical entertainment, to loads of personal best times and even a New
England LMSC record breaking swim!(Yay Ed!) We saw new faces, returning faces
(never old, of course!) and most of all we saw happy faces.

Representing GBM in the distance events were Elizabeth Kegode, Julia Malloy,
Gail Pentheny, Crystie McGrail, Steve Parsons, Steve Miller and Bob Fernald
putting Great Bay in second place at the end of the day!!! There were notable
swims throughout the following weekend by everyone. While it's easy to recognize
the flash of the fastest swimmers, Great Bay has a number of swimmers who
quietly contribute with their steady, consistent efforts year after year and
some who show up for a day or two (or three!) just for the fun & love of the
sport. It is the depth of our team that makes us great and these swimmers must
be recognized. Included in this group are Diane Gravel, Ann Richard, Pat
Campbell, Susan Barbary, Deb Hart, Phil Read, John Lewis, Tom Newkirk & Bob Mair
to name just a few.

The Great Bay tradition of combining competitive zeal with lightness and fun was
carried on with vigor this year. Relays are always a high point of any meet and
this year was no exception. In the Men's 400 Free Relay the 18+ and 35+ teams
were separated by less than a half second - because of Matt Denneen's long reach
& determination the 'old guys' won it! Although the 'youngsters' did redeem
themselves later that day in the 200 Medley Relay with a decisive win over their
elders. In addition to the ultra-competitive relays, there were relays that
included Father/Son duos (John & Mike Lewis), and relays based solely on
fashion. (Those metallic zebra suits are HOT!)

And speaking of fashion – Darwin won the Most Nattily Clad by sporting not 1,
not 2, but 3 different sizes of GBM shirts over the course of the weekend. And
we would be amiss if we failed to mention the Bravest Man in Fashion award,
going to Dan Duvall for his bold use of pink, particularly the pink cheetah
print drag suit. Brilliant!

And as always, and maybe most importantly, we saw tons of support for each
other's efforts. There seemed to be an especially large, awesome contingent of
non-swimming friends, family members on deck and in the stands to cheer GBM on.
Ann Fredette even made a guest appearance on Saturday to show her support! And
if I'm not mistaken we're seeing an increase in the number of good looking
swimming couples. Ahhh, nothing like the smell of chlorine to keep the romance
alive!

For everyone who made the time and effort to be at the meet this year – you're
awesome, thank you! Whether you had top 3 finishes or simply swam an event or
two for the love of swimming, your presence was felt and appreciated by
everyone. As always, the whole was truly much greater than the sum of its parts.
And if you weren't able to join us this year, we hope to see you soon. All
efforts big and small combined to bring us a 3rd place finish in the USMS
category this year. Imagine what we could do with just a few more swimmers!

And of course we cannot forget the dedication and tireless efforts of our very
own Coach Crystie. Between getting splits, analyzing strokes, pep talks, herding
cats for relays and, oh yes, let's not forget putting in some pretty impressive
swims herself, her job is not a small one. The epitome of a velvet hammer, she
uses her skills and deep knowledge of her swimmers to push us beyond our comfort
zones so we can all feel a little bit of victory in all of our swims. Thank you,
Coach! You're the best!

And now for some fun statistics:

•Fastest time off the block goes to Tara Mack (-0.09) with Mike Lewis a close
second (-0.04)
•Fastest (legal) relay exchange time – Guy Davis +0.12 with a close second to
Jana Slezak with +0.14 and third to Steve Miller with +0.15
•The most leisurely start time goes to Dick Arnold +1.42 with a close second to
Jacqui Redmond: +1.10. We think Jacqui must've been pondering where we should go
for dinner.

•Most exuberant start – Ellen Garvey who was so excited to start her backstroke
she jumped in a little bit ahead of time.
•Bravest start – Manya who overcame a longtime fear of going off the blocks and
contributed to a 1st place relay finish!

•Boldest splits – Travis Harker who, on his way to winning the 500 free, despite
having only recently returned to the pool, swam 1:56 in the first 200, beating
his overall time in the 200 free at Exeter!

•The Professor award goes to Jerry Bailey who schooled us all, new young
recruits included, the right way to swim a 100 IM: 57.55 – now that was
something to watch!

•The Natural Athlete award goes to Matt Clement who dropped some of our fastest
times in relays on roughly one practice a week.

•Best race to the finish - Steve Parsons - beating his distant relative in the
200 IM.

•Best Times Throwdown – Kasia Connors with 4 personal bests (for around 18
seconds of dropped time) and Bart Westgeest with who keeps reeling in the fast
times every time he hits the water!

•First Time Champs: Sam Powell, Kaitlin Sylvester, Matt Clement, Dan Duvall,
Jane Farrell, Travis Harker, Michael Lewis
•Returning Champs: Carol Prescott, Tracy Phillips

•Women scored 48 points in 200 fly thanks to Carol Prescott, Tracy Phillips,
Aagje Caron - Men got 29 points (Guy Davis and Brett Games!)
•Lots of points gathered in the Women's 400 IM, too – Crystie McGrail, Carol
Prescott, Gail Pentheny, Aagje Caron - 54 points
•High on the list of most stylish strokes would be none other than Coach Crystie
herself with Tom Mack & Bob Fernald vying for the men's title.

•And of course the biggest sandbaggers (average percentage that their seed times
were off swim times) goes to: Jane Farrell- 7.36%, Sarah Baker- 7.54% and Diane
G with 11.19%!!!

And some notable Top 3 Finishes:

***WOMEN'S RELAYS***

1st place Womens 55+ 200 Free Relay – Ellen Garvey, Deb H, Susan, Pat Campbell
(they kicked the other teams butt! by over 30 seconds!)

3rd Place Womens 25+ 200 Medley relay- Crystie, Kaitlin Sylvester, Tracy, Tara

3rd place Womens 25+ 400 Medley - Crystie, Sarah, Carol, Gail

***MEN'S RELAYS***

2nd place Mens 35+ 200 Free Relay - Ed, Christophe Cloitre, Guy, Jerry

2nd place Mens 18+ 400 Free Relay - Bart 57.24, Travis 52.68, Matt 51.68, Dan
52.10 (3:33.70 final time)

2nd place Mens 35+ 400 Free Relay - Jerry 51.72, Darwin 57.18, Guy 52.54, Matt
51.99 (3:33.43 final time)

3rd place Mens 18+ 200 medley relay - Bart 30.00, Dan 28.12, Matt Clement 24.90,
Travis 23.58 (1:46.60 final time)

2nd place Mens 35+ 200 medley relay - Jerry 26.42, Guy 31.10, Matt Deneen 26.03,
Darwin 25.48 (1:49.03 final time)

***MIXED RELAYS***

2nd place Mixed 45+ 200 Free Relay - Brett, Jana, Diane, Steve M

1st place Mixed 65+ 200 Free Relay - Dick, Aagje, John L, Manya

50 Fly
Susan Barbary 1st!
Deb Hart 3rd
Manya Hult 3rd
Guy Davis 3rd
Dick Arnold 1st!

100 Fly
Tracy Phillips - 3rd
Aagje Caron - 1st!
Guy Davis - 1st!

200 Fly
Carol Prescott – 3rd
Tracy Phillips - 1st!
Aagje Caron - 1st!
Brett Games - 3rd
Guy Davis – 2nd

50 Back
Sarah Baker - 2nd
Dick Arnold - 2nd

100 Back
Bart Westgeest 3rd (1:02.00 - best time!)
Jerry Bailey 2nd (56.62 whew!)
Guy Davis - 1st!

50 Breaststroke
Dick Arnold - 2nd

100 Breaststroke
Aagje Caron - 1st!
Pete Sczupak - 3rd
Guy Davis - 3rd
John Lewis - 3rd
Dick Arnold - 1st!

200 Breaststroke
Aagje Caron 1st!
Brett Games - 2nd
Ed Gendreau - 1st with a NELMSC record!

50 Free
Tracy Phillips - 2nd
Guy Davis - 3rd
Dick Arnold - 2nd

100 Free
Aagje Caron 1st!

200 Free
Sarah Baker - 2nd

500 Free
Travis Harker - 1st!
Aagje Caron 1st with a best time by 7 seconds!

1000 Free
Crystie McGrail - 2nd

1650 Free
Elizabeth Kegode - 2nd
Bob Fernald - 1st!
Steve Miller - 3rd

100 IM
Tracy Phillips – 2nd
Jerry Bailey - 3rd
Guy Davis - 1st (1:00.20!!)
Dick Arnold - 1st!

200 IM
Jerry Bailey 2nd
Guy Davis - 1st!
Dick Arnold - 1st!

400 IM
Aagje Caron - 1st!
Brett Games - 3rd

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Workout Archive: http://gbmpractice.blogspot.com/
Enews Archive: http://gbmenews.blogspot.com/

Comments/Questions/Suggestions: greatbaymastersswimteam@gmail.com