Swim Smooth Cleans Up At Lake Argyle Swim!

Breathtaking!

Breath-taking! Coach Sally powers along to 3rd place in the solo 20k swim!

Dear Swimmers

I'm very proud to present this race report from Coach Sally who's been up in the Kimberley this past week competing at the Lake Argyle swim…yes, complete with crocs! Apologies for the delay in getting this out to you, the team has had limited email connection, but thanks to Sally for the report and Rocky Sutherland for the amazing photos! I think more of us will have to go back next year!

Winning team member Renee Waller prepares for her leg of the 20k "quad"

Sally takes up the story…

According to the Kimberley locals and regular participants of the race, the 2016 Lake Argyle swim will be remembered as one of the wettest, wildest and toughest swims in the history of the event. Conditions on the day meant times were significantly slower than in previous years.

Stormy conditions before the start of the 20km

Despite the storm before the start of the 20km race and another during; swimmers finished with clear skies and flat water surrounded by the incredibly beautiful landscape that comprises Lake Argyle.

The majority of the Swim Smooth squad members who raced on Saturday found swimming in water measuring 30 degrees quite challenging. The transition from Open Water Swimming in salt water to fresh was also a concern for many. However; we had some awesome results!

Mark Lewis - looking a lot happier than during a Wednesday morning Red Mist session!

20km Results

First place overall (5:21)

Quad team 'The Toad and The Gropers'

( Renee Waller, Mark Lewis and Steph Gaudin)

They battled it out all day with the second placed team and won by 18 seconds!

Winners are grinners! Renee, Tracy, Mark and Steph

Fifth placed quad team (6:04)

'The Argonauts' (Serena Wells, Lotti Van Merwyk and Tony Van Merwyk)

Pre-race nerves…

Second placed Duo and Third Overall (5:39)

Vaughan Davies (locally known as 'The Legend of the Lake')

The Legend himself!

Third placed Solo (6:40)

Sally Scaffidi - (Paul: nice job Sal!!)

10km Results

Fourth placed Solo (3:13)

Cyndy Hetrick

Coach Marie in support of Coach Cyndy - it's a coach thing!

Cyndy - glad it's over! A marvellous effort!

Cyndy had a fantastic result despite battling nausea throughout the majority of the swim. Marie Hunter, who paddled for Cyndy did an amazing job of managing her through all of this and Marie's support and experience got Cyndy across the finish line at the front of the field.

A local squad swimmer…

Well done to all! You've done the squad very proud! Thank you!

Paul

How to pick up a permanent spot in the squad now winter's here!

Dear Swimmers

I hope you had a great weekend and for the Mums in the squad (and swimmer's Mums in the squad!) I hope you had a great Mother's Day too!

A few of you have been enquiring how to snag a permanent spot in the squad now that we're going into the colder months. I can't quite believe that the "new" PAYG-BLUK payment system and funky app is nearly 12 months old now - wow! How time flies. I'm hoping that you've found it to be a beneficial addition to your squad experience and I thank you for supporting that change-over last year as it's made a big difference to how I've been able to personally manage the ever-growing wait list. 

I've got some good news for those of you trying to pick up a permanent spot in some of the squad sessions. Basically we have two user groups in the squad:

1. our permanent members who have been allocated a permanent spot in the squad through regular attendance - with the PAYG-BLUK system you guys have to "opt out" of sessions you cannot attend, thus freeing up space for…
2. ...our waitlist members who are allocated spots in the squad, but only when space naturally opens up by permanent members opting out. Our wait list members have to thus "opt in" and depending upon the popularity of which session you're trying to get in for, this can be hit and miss - though generally the reports from the front-line is that this is working well…still, we all like "certainty" though, so…

…I've had a good scan through the upcoming months and I am pleased to offer the following permanent spots on a first-come / best-dressed basis*

• Monday 7am = 5 permanent spots available - contact swimsmooth@me.com 
• Monday 9.30am = 0 permanent spots available - keep using wait list please!
• Tuesday 5.30am = 0 permanent spots available - keep using wait list please!
• Tuesday 6.30am = 2 permanent spots available - contact swimsmooth@me.com
• Tuesday 6.15pm = 5 permanent spots available - contact swimsmooth@me.com
• Wednesday 5.30am = 0 permanent spots available - keep using wait list please!
• Wednesday 9.30am = 2 permanent spots available - contact swimsmooth@me.com
• Thursday 6.15pm = 2 permanent spots available - contact swimsmooth@me.com
• Friday 5.30am = 0 permanent spots available - keep using wait list please!
• Friday 6.30am = 0 permanent spots available - keep using wait list please!
• Friday 9.30am = 0 permanent spots available - keep using wait list please!

*in the event of over-enquiry for these spots, spots will be awarded based on the number of sessions you've managed to get in for over recent months via the waitlist system. I will make a review of these applications after 5pm on Friday 13th May, and invite those of you who have secured a spot past that point to join the squad as a permanent member.

Booking in past August 12th 2016

You will have probably noted that you've been unable to add yourself to the waitlist or make changes to your schedule beyond Friday 12th August. This is simply because I can only extend the schedule out 12 months at a time. So in the next few weeks I will load up the next 12 month block. Anyone currently assigned a permanent spot between now and then will hold that spot going forwards (unless you tell me otherwise), so it's definitely worth aiming to snag a permanent spot to carry you through into the next summer season when demand lifts again. I will let you know when the new schedule has been loaded so that you can make amendments or register for various waitlists etc.

If you're planning a winter break from swimming, do please drop me an email with your dates so I can help you bulk cancel.

A quick reminder about the 12-hour cancellation window

You can cancel out of any session you're nominated for up to 12 hours before the session starts. This allows time for those on the waitlist to ready themselves for a swim, so your help in opting out as soon as you know you cannot attend really helps thanks. Inevitably though, we'll always see that flurry in the last hour before the cut-off I suspect, so waitlisters, please be prepared for that. Equally, if you are on the waitlist and can no longer attend, please cancel this waitlist as the system will assume you can still make it if you haven't opted out and will add you in automatically.

Thanks everyone! I don't know about you, but there's something virtuous about the feeling of getting up at 5am, swimming in the dark with the steam rising and then heading off to work, proud of the fact that you did it when most others would have rolled over and hit the "snooze" button! As ever, I'll do my very best to keep you engaged with some new session ideas going forwards to tempt you down!

Cheers

Paul

Our best ever offer on a 1-2-1 Video Analysis & Stroke Correction Session for Mother's Day!

Dear Swimmers

We've got a great offer for you today to celebrate Mother's Day this weekend:

**$50 off a 1-2-1 Video Analysis & Stroke Correction Session with Paul or Sally (either for an initial consult or a follow-up session within 6 months)**

That brings the cost down as follows:

Paul

• 1-2-1 75 mins Initial Consult $229 to $179
• 1-2-1 60 mins Follow-up within 6 months $179 to $129

Sally

• 1-2-1 75 mins Initial Consult $195 to $145
• 1-2-1 60 mins Follow-up within 6 months $159 to $109

Full details of what our premium service offers can be found here http://www.swimsmoothperth.com/#!videoanalysis/c21nc - recent attendees are knocking chunks of time off their CSS pace and feeling easier with it too - take advantage of this great offer today!

Hi Paul and team,

I can’t thank you enough for my 1-2-1 session last Friday.  (And also to Cyndy and Sally for welcoming me into their squads!)

After watching the YouTube clips of other swimmers’ assessments over the past few years, I kept thinking “Finally, this is happening to me!”  A great experience and one that I have recommended widely.

It’s been 5 days, and already I’ve been able to use my assessment video:

·         With my physio to diagnose the causes of some lower back issues that I’ve been having:

o   I cross over on my right hand side due to tightness in my lats, that causes me to then “reach” with my back, not my arm

o   I’m sustaining my straight-arm pull through by loading my back

As a result, we’ve been able to tweak the focus of the physio, with good results

·         With my personal trainer to adjust the upper body strength conditioning I’m doing to work on some of the weaker muscles that are perpetuating some of my stroke defects.

Everyone I’ve shown the assessment to has been really interested in the biomechanical aspects.  They loved the angles, the comparisons with Phelps and Addlington, and how this flowed through into a diagnosis and training regime.

Most of all, it’s simply a huge motivation to get into the pool.  I’m confident that the targeted drills I’m doing will correct and improve my stroke.  I can look over at the faster lanes in my squad sessions and know that I have the potential to join them!

Finally, bring on the new WebApp!  I can’t wait!

Thank you again.

Juliet

Additional Info

1. please either book through the app or online with Paul or with Sally
2. search for available dates (Paul - from Thursday 19/5 at 11.30am, Friday 20/5 at 7.45am, Tuesday 24/5 at 9.30am and then good availability from Wednesday 25/5 at 8am onwards // Sally - from Saturday 14/5 at 2.30pm onwards)
3. use code: mothersmooth16 to take advantage of the $50 off voucher
4. offer valid until Friday 13th May 2016 (and only applicable for 1-2-1 Video Analysis services)
5. any Dads sneaking in with this offer will be kindly requested to wear a skirt for their session. Just joking. The offer can be used by anyone, so go ahead and treat yourself to a little stroke tune-up going into the winter months!
6. all sessions will come complete with a complimentary 1-month free access to the www.swimsmooth.guru which launches today at 5pm! Check here for a cool video with more info: https://vimeo.com/164311757

Cheers

Paul

42 - the meaning of Life, the Universe, and Everything and also the number of great results from Busselton 70.3 for the squad!

Dear Swimmers

Some great achievements this Sunday down in Busselton at the Ironman 70.3 event. Some 42 members of the squad had prepared valiantly for the event which sees the athletes compete over 1.9k in the ocean, 90k on the bike and 21.1k on the run. A special mention - even though he gets a lot of them - to Graham Crocker! 1st in all 3 disciplines and winning his category by over 20 minutes with an average pace of 1:25/100m on the 1.9k swim. Graham will be 67 years young this July. Incredible.

We had an amazing 8 of you post sub-4:20 times too - I just can't believe it! 2 of these were the ladies Emily Loughnan and Kate Bevilaqua (with Renee Baker just a few minutes back in 4:25 too!). Well done to the boys: Guy Crawford, Nick Baldwin, Gary Cousins, Luke Cameron, Matt Illingworth and Sean Jermy. Can a number bod out there please run me some average number comparisons of this race versus years gone by? I reckon it'd have to be 15-20 minutes quicker than say in 2008/9? The top age-groupers are posting times now that the PROs of yesteryear would have been proud of and - for the ladies - would have won with!

And whilst it's "easy" to obviously praise those who finish high up in their respective ranks, of course one of the great things about this event is that we see the coming together of a huge variety of abilities and backgrounds to race over the same brilliant course. I'd like to make special mention to Roberta Lori and her achievement yesterday who finished in 5:46 with an average pace of 2:00/100m on the swim. For those who know Roberta and all that she has been through in the last few years, you'll know that this is a very special achievement indeed. Well done Roberta, you never cease to amaze me!

Well done to everyone else and all those who competed in teams too - your coach is proud! See you all soon! Drop me a line and let me know how you went!

Inspired by their results? Let me know what your goals are over the winter months?

Cheers

Paul