Optimus Template

At the 4th Annual Ithaca LCM Masters meet, we honored Kevin Markwardt as last year's Skehan Award winner. Our Skehan Award highlights individuals who have provided Niagara with significant contributions. Kevin has been a regular masters meet host in Ithaca dating back to the 1990's. His yards meet in the fall/winter has been a staple of Niagara LMSC over the years. The addition of a long course meters meet (after they had a new facility built) has given our swimmers competitive opportunities that are not available for many LMSCs around this country. Thank you, Kevin!

Ithaca meet results are available online.

Earlier in the year, we announced two other award winners for 2015:

Lorie Rick - Coach of the Year. Our inaugural coaching award was best suited for our longest running and most successful masters coach in Rochester (and arguably, Niagara as a whole). Lorie regularly coaches swimmers in the USMS Top Ten and often to Zone, National, and All-American titles. Her swimmers are undoubtedly fit individuals who enjoy having her coaching expertise!

Mike Cahill - Appreciation Award. Mike has been hosting at least one annual meet in Rochester dating back to 2007. This is another example of a college coach supporting the adult swimming community every year. Thank you, Mike!

Details on 2016 nominations will be available in the coming months.

Ithaca will be hosting a Long Course Meters (50 meter - Olympic format) meet on Saturday, August 13th. Sometimes we don't have any LCM meets in Niagara, so don't miss out on your opportunity to compete. Please go to the Calendar for a link to the online meet entry. There are plenty of wineries in the area to visit after the meet or the Ithaca Beer Company!

The records have been updated...please head over to the Records section. There is a separate file that lists which records were broken in the past year.

The Canadian Masters Swimming Championships were held two weeks ago outside of Toronto. They are open to USMS members and we had a few compete from Niagara this year. If you're ever looking to get some Short Course Meters times in a championship setting with lots of competition, this is typically the closest opportunity for our area. Additionally, USMS members are eligible for all awards. Times are recognized and can be used for USMS Top Ten and any records (LMSC, Zone, National, World).

In additional to breaking several LMSC records, three swims were good for individual zone records:

In the 30-34 age group, Geoff Wells broke the Colonies Zone Record in the 50 SCM Breast (:29.80) en route to a gold medal.

In the 35-39 age group, Greg Danner broke the Colonies Zone Records in the 200 Fly (2:07.00) and 1500 Free (16:54.94), also both good for first place.

Next year's Canadian championship meet will also be posted on our calendar.

For summer events, two meets have been added to the calendar. In early July, the Colonies Zone LCM Championship meet will be held at the University of Maryland. In late July, there is a special event in Greensboro, NC: the USA Masters Games. Although not directly affiliated with USMS, this event is sanctioned by USMS (meaning all times will be valid).

Finally, the summer season will conclude in August with the USMS National Championships in Gresham, Oregon.

Spring Nationals results are linked on our website under the Results section. The meet was held in Greensboro, North Carolina.

Dana Gianniny of the RAMS (aka ROCH) won the 1650 freestyle for Women 45-49 and broke her own LMSC record in the process. Congratulations, Dana!

Paul Garman, from Tonawanda Octopus Pool Sharks (TOPS), won the 200 freestyle for Men 18-24 and broke the LMSC record from 2008. Great swims, Paul!

In combined team scores for local clubs, the BUMS placed 20th, the RAMS placed 71st, the and the TOPS placed of 181 clubs. A few swimmers representing Niagara placed our regional club in 15th out of 19 clubs. There were numerous top ten finishes and LMSC records broken over the course of the meet by our swimmers. Nice job everyone!

As many of you know, this time of year tends to be slow for local competition. Masters Swim Canada National Championships are open to members of USMS. The event is in Toronto this year, which is only a few hours drive from Niagara. You can find more information linked in the Calendar. They recently extended their registration deadline to May 8th.

If you are looking for other meets, please visit the Colonies Zone website or USMS. If you're willing to travel, you can find other masters meets throughout the spring and summer.