Over Thanksgiving break, I attended what can only be described as an unu-sual holiday gathering—a memorial for an extended family member. Despite the less than optimal timing, three times as many people showed up as were expected. No wonder. This was a guy who was larger than life, who definitely lived that life to the fullest, even long after retire-ment age. Part of his inspiration came from his favorite poem, called “The Dash.” As the title was read aloud, my pseudo-athletic brain immediately jumped to conclusion that we would be hearing about a race and the efforts to reach the finish line in spectacular triumph. I was wrong. The poem starts out by referencing the two critical numbers in all of our lives: The day we’re born and the day we die, but goes on to insist that the more im-portant part is often overlooked--the dash that appears between those two dates. With that powerful message still reso-nating in my head hours later, the re-

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a q u a t i c s U N I T E D S T A T E S M A S T E R S S W I M M I N G

c u r r e n t s

Blue Wave Aquatics PO Box 24083 Federal Way, WA 98093

PAGE INSIDE 1 President’s Letter

1 Coach’s Column

2 Blue Waves In

Motion

3 New Rates for 2015

4 Swim Club Com-parison

4 KCAC Reopens

7 New And Return-ing Members

8 Directory

DECEMBER 2014 - JANUARY 2015

“How did it get so late so soon? Its night before its afternoon. December is here before its June. My goodness how the time has flewn. How did it get so late so soon?”

- Dr. Seuss Time is what happens when you are busy making plans, so take charge of your workouts by starting your week off right in the pool. There are many meets in December and the Christmas holiday that will impact our regular schedule in one way or another. Waiting until Thursday to swim may be too late. Be sure to keep following the weekly emails that will notify you of changes. Looking for a little motivation to get you into the pool on these dark, wet and cold days? Check out these upcoming postal events: The 3rd Annual Kicking Challenge 400 kick for time: Zena Courtney and Jim Dupree both entered last year and it would be nice to have more join them. Click Here to Enter. We all need to improve our kick so why not try the kick challenge

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President’s Letter by Pat Duggan

Coach’s Column by Wendy Neely

bluewave-aquatics.com VOLUME 16—ISSUE 6 Page 1

b l u e w a v e a q u a t i c s c u r r e n t s

bluewave-aquatics.com VOLUME 16—ISSUE 6 Page 2

TEAM OFFICERS: President: Pat Duggan Vice President: Kim Boggs Secretary: Jenell Outerson Treasurer: Judy Williams Membership: Angela Turley MEMBERS AT LARGE: KCAC: Mike Murphy Covington: Eric Durban Evergreen: Ed Marrs Fife: Wilson Defiesta Sumner: Tony Lieggi Webmaster: Angela Turley Newsletter: Dan Smith

Blue Wave Masters Swimmers fin-ished out the summer with these fun adventures: Open Water High Point: Congratulations to Zena Courtney, Pat Duggan and Scott Matthews who each won their age groups in the sec-ond PNA Open Water High Point. Zena swam three and Pat and Scott swam four of the five total events to win the high point award for their age groups. Around The Sound, Bermuda: In October, Wendy Neely, Julie Mon-tiel, Krys Postma, Kelly Richards and Linda Sullivan went to Bermuda to compete in the Around the Sound swim in Bermuda. Unfortunately, sever weather during the morning of the event caused the event to be can-celled. Getting back home proved difficult because the storm impacted flights, but the ladies made the best of it and had a good time. Volunteer Profile: Congratulations to Jane Moore whose volunteer efforts for USMS were recently profiled in the November-December 2014 issue of Swim-mer Magazine.

Vashon Island Swim On Friday, November 28th, Zena Courtney joined a group of swimmers who braved the wind and cold to swim a 2K across Quartermaster har-bon on Vashon Island.

Wreath Party On Sunday, November 23rd, several ladies on the team got together for the second annual wine and wreath making gathering. The guys of the team have yet to organize their beer, bowling and cigar night.

Blue Waves in Motion

b l u e w a v e a q u a t i c s c u r r e n t s

bluewave-aquatics.com VOLUME 16—ISSUE 6 Page 3

At the Blue Wave Aquatics Annual Meeting in November, the member-ship voted to increase the rates. This is the first rate increase since 2008. The new rates will be effective Jan 1, 2015.

Scholarships are available for mem-bers who cannot afford the increased rates. If you are interested in a schol-arship, please fill out the Scholarship Request Form on the Blue Wave Aquatics website. All requests are confidential. If you have questions about the new rates, please contact Judy Williams, Treasurer@BlueWave-Aquatics.com

New Rates for 2015

by Judy Williams

Rate Current Rate 2015 Rate

Basic $60.00 $68.00

Unlimited $70.00 $80.00

QTR Basic $171.00 $194.00

QTR Unlimited $200.00 $228.00

Tri Time 1 lesson/

week $55.00 $62.00

Tri Time 2 lessons/

week $80.00 $90.00

Tri Time + 1 practice $80.00 $90.00

Swim Team Punch

Card $60.00 $70.00

Tri Time Punch Card $80.00 $90.00

Swim Team Drop-in $15.00 $15.00

Tri Time Drop-in $20.00 $20.00

BWAQ Member Tri

Time Drop-in $10.00 $10.00

Family Discount

50% off second family

member

25% off second family

member

b l u e w a v e a q u a t i c s c u r r e n t s

bluewave-aquatics.com VOLUME 16—ISSUE 6 Page 4

After a long closure of over two

months, Blue Wave Aquatics resumed

workouts at the King County Aquatic

Center. During the closer, two main

improvements were made:

Installed a $700,000 solar photovolta-

ic system, which will generate more

than 100,000 kilowatt hours of elec-

tricity each year. The solar installation

will help offset electricity use at the

facility and generate an estimated an-

nual utility savings of $9,400.

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KCAC Reopens by Dan Smith

Editor’s Note: Angela Turley took on a research project for our club. She reviewed eight local masters' teams to see how we compare. This is what she found and presented at our annu-al meeting: Monthly Dues: BWAQ Basic 68.00 Unlimited 80.00 Other Teams 1 rate averaging 75.65 * Quite a few teams did offer quarter-ly dues and a couple offered annual dues, 1 team had an annual fee of $25.00 and 1 team offered senior dis-counts. Punch Card: BWAQ 12.00 per workout Other teams 9.75 per workout avg Workouts BWAQ 28 workouts per week Other teams 7.5 workouts per week avg

Locations BWAQ 6 workout facilities Other teams 1 workout facility * Does not include summer lake swims Coaches BWAQ 5 main coaches, 2 - 3 substitute coaches Other teams 1.25 coaches average Benefits of swimming with BWAQ lf you attended every workout availa-ble during the week the cost per workout would be $2.86 versus $10.09 (average) for the other teams. We offer workouts from 5:30 AM - 9:00 PM weekdays, workouts on Sat-urday AND Sunday. Other teams offer 1 workout time per day and maybe Saturdays We have 5 awesome coaches to work with us on perfecting our skills Team spirit cannot be calculated in a survey - at BWAQ it's a 10!!

Swim Club Comparison

by Angela Turley

searcher part of my brain couldn’t help but activate. I discovered that poet Linda Ellis wrote the poem in a single after-noon, after contemplating how stressful her work life had become, with her fellow employees and boss-es far too consumed with trivial matters, or as she puts it, “more con-cerned about making a living than making a life.” This got me to thinking about how much time we all spend on the ex-treme ends of the pendulum, shifting too quickly between the tedium and the traumatic and back again. It also

struck me just how short that dash really is in the whole scope of things. As we approach the upcoming holi-days and the end of 2014, I’m grate-ful to say I’ve spent an important part of my own “dash” with all of you this year. When temptation beckons me to collapse on the couch after a frustrating day at work, or to wallow in worries I can’t control, I know the far better solution is to join my team-mates and coach for another chal-lenging workout. I don’t know about you, but that always helps me regain perspective. Yes, life moves far too quickly. 2015 will be here before we know it, so I’ll leave you with the following ques-tion: “How will you spend the rest of ‘your dash?’”

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bluewave-aquatics.com VOLUME 16—ISSUE 6 Page 5

President’s Letter , cont’d

“It also

struck me just how

short that dash

really is”

Made $2.6 million in infrastructure

improvements include replacing a 20-

year-old boiler system, upgrading the

building’s ventilation system and im-

proving lighting in the interior and

exterior of the building. The new boil-

er system and lighting upgrades will

further reduce the center's energy

use and the ventilation upgrades will

greatly improve indoor air quality

throughout the facility.

On a more noticeable note:

It took over a week for the showers to

warm up, which they finally did.

More amazing that that, all the show-

ers are actually functioning, some-

thing that has only happened once in

the last 10 years, when the 2012

Olympic Dive trials were being held

here.

I did overhear that the new shower

heads that were installed were the

same ones they use in the prison sys-

tem, no adjustments, and no remova-

ble parts. Well, now you know.

(Continued from page 4)

KCAC Reopens, cont’d

and set your goal that will carry you through 2015 while bettering your swim and your fitness level. The Hour Postal Swim Ends January 31st, 2015: This is probably the most popular event among Masters swimmers, and gets the most entries every year. IT is an excellent gauge of fitness and a great challenge to overcome. Click Here To Enter. We will do this event together as a team on Sunday, Janu-ary 25th. More details will come available soon so be sure to save the date. Big Picture events: April 11th and 12th Champs @ KCAC which is one of our club fundraisers and a fun event for all. If events aren't your thing, then how about working on the weaknesses of your strokes? Now is a great time of the year for stroke improvement. If you don't know what your weakness-es are, they are probably the ones you groan at when your coach gives

you a set with them included. They are also the one that you choose to skip or short cut. If you have no clue where to start, ask your coach to do a little video of your swim. We can send you the clip and a self-evaluation sheet to fill out. Watch your clip and send back the sheet and we will make recommendations if you would like feedback. Don't want to work on your stroke? Come and de-stress by making new friends. We have social opportuni-ties often to meet and hang out with swimmers out of the water: break-fast on Saturday's post workout at Poverty Bay, 2nd Friday of the month Milton Tavern Social (No Decem-ber), Christmas Party on December 13th and keep up on our group face-book page, where you can add posts and follow posts of happenings as well. Blue Wave is more than a swim team; we are a group of extraordi-nary people who work out together, laugh, cry and celebrate togeth-er. Remember we are always here for you. Cheers to health and fitness now and in 2015!

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Coach’s Column , cont’d

Don Erickson Hong Nguyen

NEW AND RETURNING MEMBERS

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bluewave-aquatics.com VOLUME 16—ISSUE 6 Page 6

“how about working on the

weaknesses of your

strokes? ”

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Swim Team Schedule - http://www.bluewave-aquatics.com/Schedule.aspx Tri Time Swimming Lesson Schedule - http://www.bluewave-aquatics.com/Schedule-SwimLessons.aspx Up To the Minute news/exciting articles - http://www.bluewave-aquatics.com/Members.aspx

Weekly news - http://www.bluewave-aquatics.com/News.aspx

Newsletters / Minutes - http://www.bluewave-aquatics.com/News.aspx

Swim Meets/Triathlons - http://www.bluewave-aquatics.com/Competition.aspx

Meet Results - http://www.bluewave-aquatics.com/Competition.aspx Click on ‘Archived Events’

TEAM LINKS

You Know You’re A Swimmer when… You have gotten into a fight with the lane line during a back-

stroke set there is nothing worse than a warm pool. a 7:00 am practice on Saturday morning means you get to

SLEEP IN! you have rings around your eyes unrelated to the amount you

sleep you got. Your conversations take place in 15 second intervals. Click To See More

b l u e w a v e a q u a t i c s c u r r e n t s

bluewave-aquatics.com VOLUME 16—ISSUE 6 Page 8

member business directory Business Swimmer/Email/Web Address / Description Phone Fax

BK Business Systems

Dan Smith 12155 Marine View Drive SW 206-246-2525 206-246-5102

dans@bkbusiness.com Seattle, WA 98146 206-356-1663

www.bkbusiness.com

Specializing in supporting small business computing needs, we service all areas of information technologies from build-ing workstations and servers, installing and maintaining networks, custom programming, website development, repairs and consulting services.

City Energy Systems

Patti Cunningham 4202 Auburn Way No. #8 253-852-2174 253-852-2252

CITYSM1981@COMCAST.NET Auburn, Wa. 98002-1370 800-365-2489

www.cityenergysystems.net

Specializing in energy saving Gas furnaces, Heat Pumps, Air Conditoners and Tankless water heaters since 1981. Sales and service, free estimates.

Freeborn Law Offices, P.S.

Stephen L. Freeborn 33516 9th Avenue South #6 253-661-0200 253-838-0202

freebornlaw@qwest.net Federal Way, WA 98003 206-624-5313

General law practice: criminal defense, debtor/creditor bankruptcy issues; business and contract law, landlord-tenant law, restrictive covenants and homeowner associations; homeowner property/boundary disputes. My wife,Sue - also an attorney - specializes in wills and estate issues, guardianship law and also her masters in clinical counseling with 3 offic-es, Seattle, Federal Way, and Enumclaw.

Jockey Person to Person

Zena Courtney 1853 Overview Drive NE 253-927-3695

zenacourtney@hotmail.com Tacoma, WA 98422

www.jockeypersontoperson.com/zenacomfortzone

I am a Jockey Person to Person Comfort Specialist offering economical, versatile, easy-care, fashion forward women's clothing that goes from work to play, ranging from sizes XS to 3XL through FREE pre-planned presentations and private one-on-one consultations. Enjoy stress-free dressing in one session!

Tacoma Chiropractic Center

Greg Collins, LMP 2420 S. Union Ave. suite 230 253 759-1500

Tacoma, WA. 98405

greg@tacomachiropracticcenter.com

Specializing in deep tissue massage, with an emphasis on Trigger Point Therapy. A Nationally Certified Massage Thera-pist, Greg has spent the last 15 years practicing preventive and remedial treatment of muscles and soft tissue for the management of pain, stress and soft tissue injuries. Greg is a past member of the AMTA National Sports Massage Team, and the Washington State Sports Massage Team. Greg was Co-director of Massage Services for the 2001 USMS Long Course Nationals. Team Special: First hour massage $45