February 18, 2004

As we pass through mid winter, it has been a very exciting year for Masters swimming in Manitoba. We have completed 2 meets in the 2003/2004 season. The Pop Sidwell meet at the provinces newest pool in Steinbach was a great success, with some members competing for the first time. Thank-you to the volunteers who helped in that meet. Our last meet was in February in Kenora - our last meet in the old pool as it will shortly be closed, to be replaced by a new pool next year. The Manitoba teams shared a bus, and 45 of us went to compete in this fun event.

The Steinbach pool now has its own Masters program, with a new Masters team swimming there. As a matter of fact, several members competed in their first meet in Kenora. It is good to see the Steinbach area making use of a new sports facility to help promote fitness through swimming.

We have 2 more provincial meets - the Pentathalon on Saturday March 6th and the Provincials on Saturday April 17th and Sunday the 18th. We are hosting this event in the main tank and hope to attract over 100 swimmers from Manitoba, Ontario, Saskatchewan and North Dakota. After Saturday's events, there will be a dinner served in the Aquatic Hall of Fame. This will be a great opportunity for swimmers and volunteers to mingle and discuss the days events! I know we have support from Swim Manitoba for this event, and we welcome your volunteer efforts! You are also welcome to stay for the dinner as well. There will be great food and some door prizes as well.

Masters Swimming Canada has adopted a rule change to help support the transition from Age-Group to Masters Swimming. A new 18-24 year agegroup is now standard for Masters swim meets, and any Masters age-group records. I think this will offer an exciting opportunity for swimmers of that age who may not want to continue to compete at an age-group level, but still enjoy the fitness and competitive aspects of swimming.

Finally, a comment on the state of Pools in Winnipeg. I believe we need to have a focussed plan in place to insure we always have a place to practice. Some concerns have been raised by our members that pool space can be hard to come by, and pool shutdowns seem to come at unusual times (for instance the planned September to Mid October shutdown of PanAm pool). Many have commented that shutdowns occurs when many fall programs should be starting, and have wondered why it doesn't occur in summer, when outdoor pools would be available to take up the slack. This is an issue that effects all swimming programs in Winnipeg, as clubs have to make arragements to either cancel programs or re-locate at a time when they should be gearing up for the year ahead.

Glenn Davis

Chair

Masters Swim Manitoba