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Newsletter
March 18, 2010
by Tim Sheeper
In this edition:

Rinconada Spring Meet Results

Our first team meet of the year - we had a terrific turnout:  39 swimmers, 112 swims - by FAR the most of the 49 team at the meet!  (Next highest team turnout was Walnut Creek Masters at 15 people and 51 swims, then the Olympic Club at 11 swimmers, 41 swims.  All other clubs had 10 or fewer swimmers.)  Here are some highlights:

Menlo had 38 first place finishes, 29 second place finishes

On average people swam 3 events - they fit in what they could around other Saturday commitments

5 new-to-swim-meet swimmers joined us to swim the 50 free and 50 back novice events:  Abhishek Dubey, Sarah Lundell, Stephen Marra, Vangie Ventura, and Jean Gillon (who also braved the 100 back!) Congratulations to all on swims well done!  Hope you're hooked and will join us again!

2 swimmers returned to competition after a LONG hiatus:  Karen Levy, Dariusz Paczuski - and I know there were a few others I didn't get to list...

Rick's evening  workout Lane 6 swimmers turned out to support one another

Ann Burton and Ann Kay brought members of their lane (including novice Jean Gillion)

And there were 8!!! 55-59 year old women competing for Menlo - they took first through third place in the 200 free and first through fourth in the 100 back.  Our illustrious Miki Armstrong, current Swimmer of the Year, won both events (actually won all 4 of her events). Nice going, ladies!

19 new team records were set by 8 swimmers at Rinconada:

Miki Armstrong 55-59
50           Fly          37.02

Barbara Breen   50-54
200         Free       2:21.31
1000       Free       13:13.96

Dave Gildea        65-69
100         Breast   1:09.80
50           Fly          30.28
100         Fly          1:14.11
400         IM          5:48.28

Paul Laustsen    35-39
1000       Free       11:28.53
100         Back       59.94

Grace Limaye     35-39
50           Free       25.98
100         Fly          1:04.91

Jana Matena      45-49
100         Fly          1:08.48
400         IM          5:10.42

Judith Schwartz  55-59
1000       Free       14:19.05
400         IM          7:13.03

John Sulzbach    75-79
100         Free       1:12.89
100         Back       1:35.79
100         Breast   1:35.98
100         Fly          1:40.78

Menlo Masters Rinconada Meet Participants    
Charlie Ammann
Tom Anderson
Miki Armstrong
Brett Bannan
Kathleen Barcos
Sandy Bardas
Katherine Bass
Bruce Bower
Barbara Breen
Ann Burton
Tasha Capen
Edith Collin
John Collin
Rich Cottrell
Bill Dawson
Abhishek Dubey
Michael Fero
Ken Fine
Dave Gildea
Jean Gillon
Richard Halpert
Rosa Katz
Ann Kay
Paul Laustsen
Karen Levy
Grace Limaye
Sarah Lundell
Gautam Makani
Stephen Marra
Jana Matena
Janice Mc Call
Dariusz Paczuski
Richard Peterson
Emily Pope
Mike Pyle
Judith Schwartz
Lisa Sheeper
John Sulzbach
Vangie Ventura

Other Records Set in Meets in 2010
Some of our swimmers participate in meets held nearby, even if it's not a team focus event.  Three swimmers have broken team records at these other meets:

Kay, Ann              75-79
50           Breast   59.39      at USF Valentine's Affair

Gildea   David     65-69
50           Free       26.58      at Fog City Masters
100         Free       58.62      at Fog City Masters
200         Free       2:16.96   at Fog City Masters
50           Breast   32.22      at USF Valentine's Affair
200         Breast   2:40.95   at USF Valentine's Affair
200         Fly          2:57.65   at USF Valentine's Affair
200         IM          2:30.88   at USF Valentine's Affair

Sulzbach John    75-79    
200         Free       2:43.88   at USF Valentine's Affair
50           Back       39.64      at USF Valentine's Affair
50           Breast   41.53      at USF Valentine's Affair
50           Fly          41.69      at USF Valentine's Affair
200         IM          2:30.88    at USF Valentine's Affair


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January Hour Swim Results

We had a solid turnout for the Hour Swim in January - this is an annual event to swim as many yards as you can in one hour.  There were over 2950 individual participants in this event across all of USMS.  Menlo Masters fielded 49 swimmers for a total of 188,545 yards, an average just shy of 3,850!!  While full team results are not yet available - we'll let you know how we stacked up once they are published.  Here are some highlights of individual Menlo performances:

Two Menlo swimmers broke the 5,000 yard mark in just 1 hour of swimming - Paul Laustsen at 5,125 and Jana Matena at 5,035

Our eldest participant was Vivian Johsens with a total of 1,700 yards - 23rd in her age group!

7 finished in the top 10 of their age group:  Jana Matena, John Sulzbach, Kelly Couch, Grace Limaye, Paul Laustsen, Bill Dawson, Jeffrey Kline

Menlo Masters Hour Swim Participants               
Katy Basile                          3,375
Victoria Bialas                    4,325
Donia Bijan                         2,900
Lucey Bowen                     2,390
Bruce Bower                      4,210
Barbara Breen                   4,235
Ann Burton                         3,310
Joan Caldwell                     2,800
Tasha Capen                      4,175
Stephanie Couch              4,525
Kelly Couch                         4,800
Bill Dawson                         4,280
Louise Feeley                    3,825
Michael Fero                      4,350
Jean Gillon                          3,135
John Goldman                   3,820
Lennard Hachmann         3,750
Derrick Hansen                 4,640
Trish Hayes-Danitz           2,210
Jeffrey Hewitt                   4,385
Robin Heyeck                    2,625
Mary Jasek                         3,470
Suzan Jensen                     3,430
Jan Jindra                            4,450
Mitchell Johnson              4,290
Vivian Johsens                  1,700
Jeffrey Kline                       4,915
Paul Laustsen                    5,125
Michael Leon                     3,105
Grace Limaye                     4,940
Anna Lippi                           3,000
Gautam Makani                3,485
Scott Marshall                   4,475
Jana Matena                      5,035
Geoffrey McCavitt          4,010
Martin Michael                 3,765
Grace Park                          3,100
Emily Pope                          4,245
Frances Reneau                4,165
Duke Rohlen                      4,750
Stephanie Rowen            3,320
Judith Schwartz                4,010
Tim Sheeper                      4,800
Jeff Solomon                     4,100
Karen Stine                         3,150
John Sulzbach                    3,525
David Warren                    4,200
Angie Weinberger           3,295
Keith Wilson                       4,625


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February Can Do 2010

Thanks to all the swimmers who so diligently worked to reach yardage thresholds so they could donate cans of food to the Menlo Park Senior Center.  We all tend to take this event in stride, but it is good to be reminded that we are making a difference in many lives thanks to the generosity and many Menlo swimmers.

Vitals:
Number of swimmers who participated:  225 (team record)
Number of yards swum by entire team:  11, 650,225 yards (team record)
Average yards per swimmer recording yards: 51, 778 yards (team record)
Average miles per swimmer for the month:  30 miles
Total number of miles team collectively swam:  6775 miles
Number of cans donated to Menlo Park Senior Center: 3500 cans (team record)
Number of Swimmers achieving 50,000 yards in the month: 98
Number of swimmers achieving 100,000 yards in the month:  20
Number of swimmers achieving 176,000 yards in the month:  11 (team record)
Most Yards swum in a day:  40,000 yards-Mitchell Johnson (team record)

50,000 Yard Club
1. Tom Anderson
2. Sergey Averchenkov
3. Dario Benavides
4. Cara Barr
5. Donia Bijan
6. Shelby Blackburn
7. Bruce Bower
8. Marianne Brems
9. Bob Carlin
10. Mike Child
11. Kelly Couch
12. Stephanie Couch
13. Joe Davis
14. Bill Dawson
15. Mike Dorsey
16. Leonard Dulski
17. Clara Dye
18. Blake Elder
19. Elspeth Farmer
20. Don Faul
21. Meredith Gimble
22. Linda Griffin
23. Lennard Hachmann
24. Derrick Hansen
25. Edie Heideman
26. Leah Fine
27. Stacy Fredericksen
28. Kim Freitas
29. Greg Gaffney
30. Pablo Garcia
31. Suzanne Gelb
32. Joan Gerber
33. David Gildea
34. Ian Hersey
35. Bob Hubbell
36. Mike Ingardia
37. Suzan Jensen
38. Jan Jindra
39. Vivian Johsens
40. Laura Legros
41. Michael Leon
42. Anna Lippi
43. Kathleen Liston
44. Tina Lount-Pretre
45. Jackie MacDonald
46. Harry Macey
47. Michelle Kastelein
48. Jim Kauffman
49. Ann Kay
50. Kirsten Kempe
51. Bill Kirsch
52. Burt Lang
53. Chris Maxwell
54. Geoffrey McCavitt
55. Sue McGlennon
56. Patty McGraw
57. Chas Pavlovic
58. Michael Perkins
59. Annie Peterson
60. Rick Peterson
61. Leslie Platshon
62. Emily Pope
63. David Quincy
64. Scott Ray
65. Joe Newman
66. Cathy Norton
67. Grace Park
68. Matthew Patout
69. Stephanie Rowen
70. Michelle Santilhano
71. Jason Schroedl
72. Patricia Schuppert
73. Judith Schwartz
74. Perry Shoor
75. Gary Swart
76. Mike Taylor
77. Mirella Terada
78. John Thompson
79. Lorie Sinnott
80. Sam Sinnott
81. Laura Sleasman
82. Jeff Solomon
83. Chris Spetzler
84. Tod Speiker
85. Jeff Starr
86. Karen Stine
87. David Warren
88. Angie Weinberger
89. Ana Williamson
90. Mimi Winsberg
91. Lanshin Yang
92. Murray McLachlan
93. Shaun Sasse
94. Jennifer
95. Al Humphrey
96. Leigh Wade
97. Dariusz Paczuski
98. P. Remick

100,000 Yard Club
1. Lucy Bowen
2. Barbara Breen
3. Ann Burton
4. Jean Gillon
5. John Goldman
6. Steve Foster
7. Karen Levy
8. Rosa Katz
9. Adam Kerr
10. Paul Lausten
11. Scott Marshall
12. Jana Matena
13. Mike Osmond
14. Karin Riley
15. Lisa Sheeper
16. John Sulzbach
17. Keith Terada
18. Todd Valentic
19. Chris Smith
20. Karen Parks

100 Mile Club
1. Miki Armstrong
2. Brett Bannan
3. Nicole Cadman (300,000)
4. Mike Fero
5. Ken Fine
6. Mitchell Johnson (365,000)
7. Martin Michael
8. Ken Plough (200,400)
9. Duke Rholen
10. Roger VonOech (224,000)


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2009 Swimmer of the Year Award Recipients

I am very proud to announce our new swimmers of the year for 2009.
 
Miki Armstrong and Bill Dawson. 

Both of these swimmers share the characteristics of being very quiet while working very hard during a training session and then letting their performances and results speak for them at competitions.  Both of their humanitarian actions speak even louder than their athletic abilities as both have worked inside and outside of our organization in service of others.  Both have also been instrumental in the strength of our Menlo Masters "core" over the years of our teamâ?Ts evolution.  They have never waivered in their commitment to the sport or their loyalty to their team and team mates.  They have both recently joined forces  to promote "Shelter Box" to the team, which you can learn more about later in this newsletter.

Congratulations Miki and Bill.


Miki Armstong-Female Swimmer of the Year
Bill Dawson-Male Swimmer of the Year
John Sulzbach-High Point Award
John Sulzbach, Judy Strauss-Swim the Cycle
Brett Bannan, Ann Kay, Bill Dawson, Jana Matena, John Sulzbach-Performances of the Year for their outstanding accomplishments at Masters National in 2009.


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Blue and Gold Meet

This is our annual team time trials where we do an extended workout mimicking a swim meet setting.  This will take place at Burgess Pool on Saturday March 27.  Registration is not necessary and participation is encouraged.  The goal is to have over 100 people take part in at least one event that morning. 

Event List:
1. 500 Free (only 2 heats for women, and two for men, 2 swimmers per lane, no diving)
2. 100 Breast
3. 100 IM
4. 50 Fly
5. 100 Free
6. 100 Breast
7. 50 Free
8. 50 Back
9. Mystery Event
10. 200 Free Relay

Warm-Ups- 6:00-6:30am
Meet 6:30-8:45am
Warm-Down 8:45-9:00am

Blue Team- Last Name A-L
Gold Team-Last Name M-Z


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Open Water Swim Clinics

Menlo Masters has partnered with USA Productions to host and produce two open water swim events and two open water clinics in 2010.  We will have a couple of our coaches out at Uvas Reservoir in Morgan Hill to offer the fundamentals of swimming in the open water. 

The two open water clinics will be held:
Sunday July 11, 2010
And
Sunday August 8, 2010

More information can be found at:
http://usaproductions.org/events/usa-training-clinics


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Pacific Masters Championships

This meet is sneaking up on us pretty quickly.   The meet dates are April 16-18, and the meet will be held at the fantastic Pleasanton aquatic  facility.  This is a team focus event and it will be the largest and fastest short course meet on the west coast this year.

The team's meet goals are:
1. To have more swimmers compete in this three-day meet than we had at the Rinconada one day meet. 
2. To have at least 1 relay entered in each age group each day (a total of more than 16 relay teams)
3. To have a 'baker's dozen' for the 200 fly.  If 12 Menlo Masters swim the 200 fly, the coach will be the 13 swimmer.  I will enter, but scratch unless 12 others compete in the event.
4. As a team combine to swim 10 new individual team records and 4 new relay records.
5. Have a good time in the water and sun with inspirational team mates. Register for the meet at: http://www.pacificmasters.org/index.shtml  , then click on the Pac Master Champs link.


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Shadow Cliffs Open Water Swim Event

Menlo Masters is partnership with USA Productions will be producing the East Bay Catfish Crawl at Shadow Cliffs Park on April 25, 2010.   There will be a 2 mile and a 1 mile swim along with a youth 500 yard swim and a 1 mile youth event.

Hope you can be a part of this early season kick-off swim.  We hope this is just the first of numerous bay area open water events that we co-host with USA.

Come on out and swim or register to be a race day volunteer with registration or logistics.
http://www.usaproductions.org/events/swim-series/catfish-crawl-eastbay


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Shelter Box

Dear Teammates,

Thank you for all your efforts during the February Can Do Challenge and for contributing critically important food to the needy in our community. We would also like to accept one additional challenge. We invite you to participate in a team effort to help those in desperate need; this time, outside our community.  

ShelterBox is a national aid organization providing shelter boxes which contain shelter and life-saving equipment to victims of earthquake, volcano, flood, hurricane, cyclone, tsunami or conflict. As you might expect, their efforts support those who are suffering in disaster areas, especially  Chile and Haiti, places where the need for shelter is overwhelming. 

Each shelter box supplies an extended family of up to 10 people with a tent and lifesaving equipment to use while they are displaced or homeless. The cost of a box is $1,000 including delivery directly to those who need it. We would like to pool our efforts to sponsor a box from Menlo Masters. We know that you have given and continue to do so in so many ways, and are therefore that much more appreciative if you also choose to support and participate in our effort.

We have an envelope at the front desk marked 'ShelterBox', along with brochures that describe the organization. Contributions of any size are welcomed. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us. Thank you!

Bill Dawson and Miki Armstrong
2010 Menlo Masters Swimmers of the Year


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Building Futures Now

Building Futures Now recently tried orienteering in Bayfront Park on Saturday, February 27th.  It was an adventure for kids and adults   alike - the kids raced through the beginner course in less than 30   minutes and were ready to try again.  Luckily we had a beautiful day   and generous volunteers helping out to make it lots of fun.  Thanks to  Sig Paulazzo, Mike Fero, Anna Lippi and Steve LeSieur for chaperoning,  and of course, to Kim Frietas for continuing to organize such creative  field trips!  In other news, BFN is recruiting new kids for the  program and will soon increase our numbers to 40 kids by the start of  the summer program - we're growing by leaps and bounds!  The website  has also been recently updated, thanks for Virginia Justus, so check  out the new information, www.buildingfuturesnow.org. 

Finally, if  anyone would like to help out this summer, we are starting to look for  volunteers to teach creative elective classes or lead activities,  during our five-week summer program.  The topics could include  anything you are passionate about from photography to cooking to car  repair and range from 1 day to 1 week classes!  Please email Megan for  more information.

Alison Upton Lopez
Executive Director
Building Futures Now
www.buildingfuturesnow.org
(650) 380-9038


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Locker Rooms

Yes, there has been some advancement in the plans to remodel our locker rooms.  The fundamentals have been sorted out and we are currently analyzing contractor bids.  The locker rooms will be transformed to 'changing rooms' with the removal of half the lockers which will be replaced with seating and hooks to hang clothes and gear.  The projected duration for the remodel is one week, at which time we will be using the old pool locker rooms that are attached to the gymnasium.  I will relay starting dates when the information becomes available.


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Tasha Capen

A quick thank you to Tasha Capen for compiling our team statistics so they can be presented to you in a concise manner.  Check the www.menlmasters.com website for the latest team information under 'What's Hot' and 'Plan Ahead' which Tasha has taken on to keep everyone abreast of the many team changes going on.  She will also be announcing the Speed Club members and the Year Rouders at the end of this quarter.


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