I think it is safe to say that we are all deeply saddened by the absence of Coach David Wright this week at the deck of both Pompey Park and Aqua Crest. In his tenure at those pools he has accomplished many great things, not the least of these were two world masters records and a winning relay at the Ft. Lauderdale Hall of Fame International meet. We will miss him, dressed in a winter stocking cap, heavy coat and shorts on those cool, crisp winter mornings. We will miss that stylish cap that alway adorned his head , like a skirt for his ears. I am also sure the local Coca Cola distributor will shortly notice a significant decrease in revenue. But most of all, we will miss his endess knowledge and ability to get all ages and abilities excited about the sport.

As I am sure you can surmize, this will not be the end of the story for David. We know he will go on to other great things and wish him and Alison all the best. Also, this will not be the end of East Coast Swimming, it can’t be! We must continue the work he started and be true to our team’s symbol. The Kuro is a symbol of rebirth and rejuvination. We have a unique oppertunity to again remold the swim team into something better, something different, something special. I know that is what David would want, I know that is what I want. I assume that is what “you” want too?

“Kia Kaha” is in the signature line of all of David’s email. How many of you actually know what this means? It’s Maori meaning is “be strong”. Linguistically, kia kaha consists of the desiderative verbal particle kia, which is used here as ‘an encouragement to achieve the state named’, that is, an encouragement to achieve kaha or strength. Kaha derives from Proto-Polynesian kafa, meaning “strong” or “great”; kafa is also the Proto-Polynesian term for sennit rope, a strong rope made from coconut fibres and used for lashing canoes, weapons, and buildings together. For those of youdehorn doubt what David would want, I urge you to see how many emails you recieved from David with this simple but true statement. His greatest gift is right there in his email signature, he wanted us to all, “be strong” and “be great”. I know he wants the same for ECS.

Kia Kaha
East Coast Swimming

Here is a great picture from this weekend’s competition at North Palm Beach. Bobby and Miles are closest to the camera, while Spyder is on the other side of the pool, executing a picture-perfect dive. Many thanks to Lori for taking some great photos throughout the day. They’re all on the team’s Facebook fan page (do become a member!)

Well done this weekend, everyone. See you all at the pool this week.

The results of the swim meet are shown below. After such a bad spell of cold weather you all did very well.
NAME EVENT TIME PLACE COMMENT
Liam 200 FR 2.38.11 5th Very good swim for first 200
Kendall 50 FR 38.11 5th Your first swim meet and well under 40 – good
Zealand 50 FR 40.75 17th We will do some starts this week
Bobby 50 FR 40.03 2nd Very good first 50 swim
Spyder 50 BK 45.13 10th I thought you looked very good
Emily 500 FR 7.38.42 5th Very, very good swim – well done
Miles 50 FR 35.69 7th Very good swim – well done
Liam 50 FR 31.79 5th We need to work the start and turn – good swim
Kendall 50 BK 49.89 6th Real good first back race
Zealand 50 BK 56.85 8th This was your best swim – well done
Liam 50 BK 42.52 1st Keep your head back – good swim though
Zealand 100 IM 1.53.61 13th Very good first medley – you did well
Spyder 50 BK 1.05.57 8th Good placing – shows what you can do – good
Miles 50 BK 56.33 6th Foe a first race a good result
Bobby 50 BK 49.69 1st Lovely backstroke – careful of that head
Daejah 200 IM 3.42.56 - A very good race – you are a very good swimmer

The junior team are entered in the North palm Beach Club’s swim meet this Sunday. Best wishes to you all. For three swimmers it will be their first meet. In practice they look pretty good to me.

We now have 14 swimmers over 100,000 meters since Sept 29 2009. Here is the list. Mike M you are only 1200 meters away from the big 100.
Gundersen, Nicole 239200
Stille, Ben 214350
Emily 176700
Worner, Leslie 166500
Liam 151000
Pechter, Stuart 142600
Sara 138800
Louis, Sonia 134400
Radovcic, Sergio 128500
Barhydt, Wendy 126500
Kerness, Tracey 125400
Collin 109700
Wenzel, Christine 108000
Dajaeh 101500

Earlier today, we posted a link to an article Jane wrote on her website about Arthur Lydiard. We got the URL wrong in our link (it has since been corrected), but just in case, here’s the correct link once more: Running into Obsession: The Church of Arthur Lydiard.

Here is a copy of one of the images in the post. It is of Jane and Arthur, at Arthur’s house in Auckland, in 1999.

Many of you will know the emphasis ECS put on following the training principle of the track coach, Arthur Lydiard. Jane has written and published an article on Arthur Lydiard and our contact with him. She has also found a picture I have never seen before taken in Arthur’s kitchen. We will post this picture on the team’s website shortly. In the meantime here is the link to the Lydiard story:
http://http://janecopland.co.uk/2010/02/running-into-obsession-the-church-of-arthur-lydiard/

Last weeks attendance, inspite of the cold, was close, with both pools within one swimmer of each other
Mon AC 8 PP 0
Tue AC 10 PP 12
Wed AC 10 PP 8
Thu AC 0 Pool Closed PP 10
Fri AC 12 PP 8
Sat AC 6 PP 7
Sun No Swimming
Total AC 46 PP 45 Total 91

This years 2010 Splash for Cash has been set for Saturday morning March 20 2010. Put this date in your diary! It is the team’s most important fundraiser each year. It is also an ideal occassion to get your summer swimming training underway. More details will be emailed to you and posted on the website shortly.

I will be sending the entries off tonight for the juniors NPB meet next weekend. It looks like we will have a team of 11 taking part.