Thursday, December 17, 2015

The Cottesloe Classic Mile introduces two new distances!

Cottesloe Classic Mile - a note from the organisers…


If you sign up for the Cottesloe Classic Mile before Saturday, you'll  be in with a chance to win a voucher for Indianas.

This year there are 3 races so the whole family (from 9 years old) can get involved!! The three courses are; 400m, 1600m and 3000m race. The race briefings will be provided on the beach near the groyne.  The 400m briefing is at 7.50am, while the briefing for both the 3000m and 1600m races will be at 8.10am.

As usual, there will be many prizes up for grabs, electronic timing and staggered starts!

Visit the Blue Chip Timing site where you can enter and pay online! On the page, make sure you scroll all the way to the bottom of the website and then click on 'Next'.

The first 150 swimmers (other than the 400m swimmers) to enter online will receive a free event shirt.

There will be cash prizes for Fastest 3 Male and 3 Female finishers plus many age group prizes for the 1600m swim. There will also be prizes for the 400m and 3000m races depending on entries.

We look forward to seeing you there!

Please forward this to anyone else you think would like to enter.








Sunday, December 13, 2015

Please vote for me in the "40under40" Awards!



Dear Swimmers

Today I have some exciting (and somewhat daunting!) news for you - I've been selected for the "40under40" Awards:

"Established in 2002 by BUSINESSNEWS, the 40under40 Awards programme is designed to recognise and celebrate Western Australia's 40 leading business entrepreneurs under the age of 40. The programme recognises not only personal determination and commercial drive, but also the philanthropic pursuits that balance these young individuals' professional achievements, recognising the less public contributions to the welfare of Western Australia. - See more at: http://www.40under40.com.au/#sthash.w93ZqiBS.dpuf"

I was a little shocked to say the least, as for the last 11 years (almost to the day!), I've simply been running "Swim Smooth" as a program to help adults like yourself improve their efficiency and enjoyment of swimming here in the WA community. With a little hard work, plenty of enthusiasm, and some massive help from some key people in my life, Swim Smooth is now at a stage where what you do on a day-2-day basis with me down at the Claremont Pool is being officially put out in 119 countries around the world through the endorsement and adoption of the International Triathlon Union (the world governing body for triathlon) as their chosen swim coaching program:

"The opportunity to have Swim Smooth's expert knowledge taught to triathlon coaches is invaluable to our global coaching development education goals," said ITU President and IOC Member Marisol Casado. "The resources offer insight on both training and technique, providing information to coaches instructing athletes of all abilities."

A significant portion of this work for the ITU, British Triathlon and also here in WA with Triathlon Western Australia (2003-4) and Swimming WA (2014 to current) is work which we have done on a non-paid basis for the betterment of this wonderful sport that we all love so much. Maybe if I'd been in mining or engineering (like my parents told me!) the numbers might stack up better against my fellow candidates, but for our niche, we're doing OK!

I still enjoy what I do today as much as when I started all those years ago (to some extent, even more as I am now coaching coaches to coach what I coach all around the world - now there's a tongue-twister!!), and whilst this nomination is very humbling, I have to recognise that I'm up against some pretty stiff competition in the form of some very formidable business personalities from WA!!

Anyway, if you like what we do at Swim Smooth and you've found that it's made a difference in your life, I'd really appreciate your support and vote in the People's Choice Award. To do so and give me a chance to get up there, please visit:


…I'm about two-thirds down the list, under one of our very own squad swimmers and property magnate, Paul Blackburne.

To vote, simply check the radio button to the left of my mug-shot and then scroll to the bottom, complete your name and email address and then just press "submit". Job done. Will take you 2 seconds, promise!

Thanks very much!

Paul




Thursday, December 10, 2015

House Party Info

Dear Swimmers

I hope you have all had a good week and for those who can make it tomorrow evening between 5-10pm, I hope you're looking forward to our inaugural Christmas Party at our new place, affectionately known as "Casa Alfredo" at 145 Alfred Road, Mt Claremont. Full details below.

But first, I just wanted to say a MASSIVE congratulations to those of you in the squad who raced Ironman WA last weekend down in Busselton - the conditions were far from great (especially on the swim) but there were some very commendable and courageous efforts out there. I was simply blown away, inspired and in awe (in equal measure!) by the four ladies from the squad who each had the fastest swim, bike and run in their respective Age Groups, with Lauren and Emily taking out the top two spots overall in the women's Age Group category. All four ladies earn a spot in the Ironman World Championships in Kona, Hawaii in October 2016. Well done girls! Emily even had the fastest female swim split of the whole day (including all the PROs too!). They used to say you couldn't win an Ironman on the swim leg, but now I'm not too sure!! These ladies are all supremely "swim fit" as I'd describe it which allows them to get out on the bike in a good physical state and capable of doing real damage on the bike and run. In the past people used to neglect the swim (given that it only accounts for about 10% of your race day) but then never really did themselves justice on the bike and run…so yes, there's a lot to be said for consistent hard swim training sessions of the CSS and "Red Mist" variety in order to boost your bike and run prowess - just use these ladies as a prime example!!

            

Party Time!

So currently our system is showing 60 people have registered their interest in attending our party tomorrow night. I am not quite sure how many people will actually show up but I have accounted for ~100 people and have bought alcohol (beer (mid and full strength), wine (red and white) and some bubbly too) accordingly. By all means, please bring your favourite tipple along with you if you like too! We will have some cooling tubs and of course a couple of fridges. Every little helps!

The party will not be catered but some light nibbles will be available and we will have a couple of BBQs on the go if anyone wants to bring something to cook. If I could politely request you bring a dish of something (starter, main, dessert) that would be a big help!

The main idea of the party was to try to bring together the various groups to share a drink, a laugh and a smile over the happenings of the last year. We haven't formally had a house warming yet either and given that this year has been quite a big one for us as a family, we'd like to take the opportunity to invite you around and say thanks for your support over the year(s). I feel like we have totally found our perfect home as a family and I have you all to thank for that, sincerely. We are on Cloud-9 still! Please feel free to bring your bathers and have a hop in the pool with the kids - they'd love that.

Even if you get chance to just pop by and say hi for 15-30 minutes, that'd be great. I have no idea when the busiest times will be (nor if the house will hold that many people!!), but we'll play it all by ear with an aussie festive faith that "she'll be right, mate!" and just hope that the neighbours will be OK with us "rabble"!

Regards parking, there may be some available on Strickland Street when you arrive, but equally you might prefer the safer bet of parking a little walk away as per the suggestions below (Mt Claremont Village, at the end of Strickland Street is 300m away, Mt Claremont Oval is 600m away, Claremont Pool & Golf Course is 800m away and the Claremont Train Station is 1.1k away) - it'll be a lovely walk through the park if that's what you choose to do! Please do your best to respect the street frontages of our neighbours! Thanks in advance and I look forward to seeing you tomorrow!

 






Sunday, December 6, 2015

Here's a great little event for you to get you over that post-Christmas hiatus...and then another (bigger) one for you to focus on!

Dear Swimmers

It'll soon be Christmas of course and leading into some of the bigger races towards the latter half of the open water season is the perennial and much-loved Swim Thru Perth on Sunday 17th January. There's a 1.6k and 4k option and with any luck entry into this event will see you avoiding any nasty stingers or other marine life!

Here's the link: http://www.swimthruperth.org

...and then if that gets your swimming taste buds going and if you missed out on Rotto this year, why not look at this:

The Hotel Rottnest Port To Pub inaugural event will be held on 19 March 2016. Registrations are open through the website  http://porttopub.com.au/

The Port to Pub will comprise two swimming events. A 20km race from Leighton Beach to Rottnest Island open to solo, duo teams, and teams of 4 or 6 swimmers. Also, an ultra-marathon 25km solo swim, which will be the longest open water swim available in Australia.

Both swims will start at Leighton Beach in front of the Fremantle Surf Life Saving Club and finish at the Hotel Rottnest. The course for the 25km event includes a 5km swim along the Leighton Beach coastline before participants continue to Rottnest Island.

They are allowing wetsuits for those who think they may be prone to hyperthermia. Wetsuits swimmers will not be eligible for prizes and there swim will not ratified as an official swim, but will still get a time and an opportunity to give it a go!

Cheers and have a great week!

P.S don't forget to RSVP through the app if you're popping along to the Christmas Party this week - Friday 11th December, 5-10pm.