"Something's going on with my vocal technique..." Morris Minor & The Majors, 1988

Dear Swimmers

Some of you had the amusement of seeing me “dress-up” like a MacDonald’s attendant this morning and deliver the 5.30am and 9.30am sessions with a little assistance from a small, portable P.A system - “do you want fries with that? Can I super-size you?!”

As mentioned a couple of weeks ago, both myself and Sally have been struggling a little with losing our voices whilst on the pool deck coaching for many hours straight. I have been to see an ENT specialist last week (Dr Tim Cooney from the squad) and it turns out I have some ulceration to my vocal chords - not great, but a lot better than I was starting to panic about feeling the sore lump in my throat!! I am taking medication for this in the form of antacid tablets each day and have sadly cut out all coffee and tea for the next little while to see if I can get my voice back on track. 

Given that my voice is very much my livelihood, you will hopefully appreciate that I need to look after it for the long term! I am also seeing a voice coach who’s helping me with the way I deliver my voice to the group and both her and Dr Cooney have suggested a little assistance from a PA system, specifically when talking to the group as a whole when detailing the session’s overview and immediately prior to starting the main set.

I appreciate that it probably looks and sounds a little weird with me using this amplifier belt, especially given that I’m now into my 18th year of coaching (wowsers!) and haven’t really had any issues prior to this. There are certain times when I’m not allowed to use it due to potentially clashing with the Aquarobics / Synchro, but I’m going to give it a bit of a whirl for the next week or so and see if it helps to unload my vocal strain.

The reason I bring this to your attention is to request feedback after you’ve seen me use it a couple of times as I’m very conscientious about any change to the actual dynamic of my delivery, especially as I often like to get quite excited when you’re all busting a gut and working hard! Those who saw it in use today seemed to find it ok, but do please let me know if it is in any way negatively affecting the enjoyment of your sessions.

Cheers and see you on Friday!

Paul