Next Meets:
* USA Swimming Olympic Trials 2008
June 29th to July 6th, 2008
Omaha, Nebraska
***
All Results here or on OmegaTiming.com
* Event 8 Men 100 LC Meter Backstroke
1 Peirsol, Aaron 22 U.S.A. 54.04
2 Lochte, Ryan 20 U.S.A. 54.55
3 Bal, Randall 24 U.S.A. 54.66
4 Welsh, Matt 28 Australia 55.00
5 Lauterstein, An 17 Australia
* Event 18 Men 200 LC Meter Backstroke
1 Peirsol, Aaron 22 U.S.A. 1:57.31
2 Cramer, Jayme 22 U.S.A. 1:59.81
3 Welsh, Matt 28 Australia 2:03.82
4 Bal, Randall 24 U.S.A. 2:04.28
5 Murphy, Patrick 21 Australia 2:05.02
* http://www.swimmingworldmagazine.com/lane9/news/9851.asp
* The Mutual of Omaha Duel in the Pool is Tuesday
Television: NBC air dates are Aug. 6 from 4:30-6 p.m., and Aug. 7 from 1-2:30 p.m.
USA Swimming Launches Inaugural `We Want You on Our Team’ Campaign
USA Swimming Launches Inaugural `We Want You on Our Team’ Campaign
Tuesday August 2, 9:15 am ET
-- Public Service Announcements, Web Site, Teen Choice Awards Contest, and Nationwide Events Will Educate Youth on the Benefits of Joining a Swim Team—
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo., Aug. 2 /PRNewswire/—USA Swimming, the national governing body for the sport of competitive swimming, today announced the launch of its first annual “We Want You on Our Team” campaign from the Mutual of Omaha Duel in the Pool competition in Irvine, California. The educational initiative, which runs throughout August and September, is a multi-faceted promotion to encourage youth participation on swim teams and raise awareness of the social and health benefits of swim team membership. By partnering with Olympic swimmers Michael Phelps, Ian Crocker, Brendan Hansen, Amanda Beard, Aaron Peirsol and Lenny Krayzelburg, the campaign will use in-school promotions, Public Service Announcements (PSAs), a unique web site (http://www.usaswimming.org/ontheteam), a Teen Choice Awards contest, and club events nationwide to bolster swim team membership among youths ages six to 16.
“Swimming is a fun team sport and a great way for kids and teens to stay healthy while making lifelong friends,” commented Rod Davis, chief marketing officer for USA Swimming. “USA Swimming’s ‘We Want You on Our Team’ campaign will educate and motivate youths to become active and join a swim team, ultimately helping grow the sport of swimming at a grassroots level.”
USA Swimming will launch a series of PSAs during the August 6th Mutual of Omaha “Duel in the Pool” Broadcast on NBC. The Mutual of Omaha Duel in the Pool is an annual competition between the United States and Australian national teams. The PSAs will continue airing throughout the fall during “The Menu” on FOX and will activate youths and teens to join a swim team.
Additionally, in an effort to further boost swim team membership, USA Swimming will host a variety of events and promotions throughout August and September as part of the “We Want You on Our Team” campaign:
—Kids and teens who join a USA Swimming team and register online at
http://www.usaswimming.org/ontheteam can win a variety of fun prizes
each week. USA Swimming will be giving away three prize packs per
week to kids and teens that enter for a chance to win the ultimate
grand prize - a trip for four to the 2006 Teen Choice Awards. Every
day a kid or teen logs onto the site, they will receive another entry
into the sweepstakes.
—The contest web site: http://www.usaswimming.org/ontheteam, designed
by ePrize, will also host online chats with Olympic swimmers and
feature a variety of health and fitness tips. Additionally, the name
of every prizewinner will be posted on the site each week.
—More than 2,800 USA Swimming clubs have been invited to host “Friends
and Family Swim Days” in communities across the country. Family
relays, stroke and turn demonstrations, and diving clinics will
demonstrate the social and health benefits of being on a swim team.
Club members can invite friends and family to spend time at their
pool and experience life on a swim team first-hand.
—USA Swimming will promote the “We Want You on Our Team” campaign in
more than 2,000 elementary schools across the country. Schools will
receive campaign-branded book covers featuring the faces of Olympic
swimmers, driving kids to http://www.usaswimming.org/ontheteam and
encouraging them to join a swim team.
In addition to USA Swimming’s “We Want You on Our Team” campaign, Toyota - a USA Swimming sponsor - will be hosting swim clinics featuring Olympians Dara Torres and Rowdy Gaines. Held at select USA Swimming clubs nationwide, the Summer Splash Clinics are open to the public and feature a variety of fun educational events.
ABOUT USA SWIMMING (http://www.usaswimming.org): USA Swimming is the national governing body for competitive swimming in the United States. USA Swimming formulates the rules, implements policies and procedures, conducts national championships, disseminates safety and sports medicine information, and selects athletes to represent the United States in international competition. USA Swimming has more than 300,000 members nationwide and sanctions more than 7,000 events each year.
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I added pictures to the Montreal Gallery and to the Montreal 200m Back Gallery
More to come later.
Aaron will participate in the Duel in the Pool on Tuesday.
There is an interview with him on the official Duel site. Click here to listen to it. It’s funny! And pretty long.
He compares the first Duel with the next one and speaks about Southern Cal and having such a meet in his hometown.
ETA: Concerning the interview
The interview is linked on the homepage. It should be the first article on there. If you use AOL, please empty your cache, otherwhise the updates on those sites are not viewable.
The direct link to the Interview: Here
Check USA Swimming and the official site Duel in the Pool.com.
The Duel will be televised on NBC.
Check your local times.
***
Updates will follow tonight. So check back
I added new Results and a new wallpaper to the fansection. More to come later.
Congrats Team USA
FINAL
1. United States USA 3:31.85 4
54.26 26.21 0.68 83 PEIRSOL Aaron 54.26
1:53.59 27.65 0.18 81 HANSEN Brendan 59.33
2:43.98 23.31 0.21 82 CROCKER Ian 50.39
3:31.85 22.64 0.16 75 LEZAK Jason 47.87
2. Russia RUS 3:35.08 3.23 3
54.75 26.95 0.81 84 VYATCHANIN Arkady 54.75
1:54.39 27.70 0.04 81 KOMORNIKOV Dmitry 59.64
2:46.55 24.11 0.30 75 MARCHENKO Igor 52.16
3:35.08 23.16 0.29 80 KAPRALOV Andrey 48.53
3. Japan JPN 3:35.40 3.55 5
54.85 26.77 0.55 84 MORITA Tomomi 54.85
1:54.04 27.78 0.19 82 KITAJIMA Kosuke 59.19
2:46.52 24.24 0.28 81 TAKAYASU Ryo 52.48
3:35.40 22.92 0.10 82 HOSOKAWA Daisuke 48.88
Complete Relay results here
Complete Championships results are on Omega Timing
***
* United States win men’s 4x100m medley relay
* Aquatic meet a success despite low attendance, $4 million deficit
“It’s been excellent,” said U.S. swimmer Aaron Peirsol, who set a world record in the 200-metre backstroke, one of eight world marks to fall. “The swimming speaks for itself. Records were dropping like flies.
“The Canadians are doing well in their own country. It’s just one of those cool meets. Everyone is happy. Nobody is disappointed.”
Bill Beacon
Canadian Press
Sunday, July 31, 2005
MONTREAL (CP) - There will be bills to pay and there were some empty seats, but few connected with the world aquatic championships call it anything but a resounding success.
The 15-day meeting of 1,784 swimmers, divers and water polo players ended Sunday in a stream of praise for the organization, the site and the competitions.
“I think Montreal and Canada can be proud of what they have accomplished at this event,” said Mustapha Larfaoui, president of FINA, the world governing body for aquatic sports.
“It’s been excellent,” said U.S. swimmer Aaron Peirsol, who set a world record in the 200-metre backstroke, one of eight world marks to fall. “The swimming speaks for itself. Records were dropping like flies.
“The Canadians are doing well in their own country. It’s just one of those cool meets. Everyone is happy. Nobody is disappointed.”
Organizers announced that 160,000 tickets were sold, falling short of the target of 200,000, and that they expect to run a $4 million deficit. But mayor Gerald Tremblay said it was worth it, and not only for the worldwide exposure it gave the city.
He said the deficit represents one-tenth of one per cent of the city’s annual budget which the city can pay from money it sets for special events.
Unlike the financial fiasco of the 1976 Olympics in Montreal, which won’t be paid off until 2006, “the taxpayers won’t have to pay additional taxes,” said Tremblay, who added that the city is now thinking of bidding to bring the Olympics back in 2016.
Larfaoui lauded the site - five venues close together on picturesque Ile Ste-Helene, one subway stop from downtown - the athletes, who set eight world records, 23 world championship records and 46 continental records.
He added that for the first time, there were more women than men competitors.
Of all the champions from Peirsol to star diver Alexandre Despatie of Laval, Que., Tremblay may have been the biggest winner of all.
It was Tremblay who stepped in to save the championships by promising to cover any deficits they may run after FINA cancelled them Jan. 19.
The event looked lost for good when Yvon DesRochers, head of the organizing committee, was found dead in his car from what police said was a suicide.
Tremblay, fearing for the city’s reputation for putting on international shows, flew to Europe to lobby FINA board members and the event was given back to Montreal on Feb. 10.
“It was with regret that we withdrew the championships from Montreal,” said Larfaoui. “We had faith in the organizers.”
It left only five months to prepare. Only about $500,000 of the $11 million budgeted from sponsorships had been raised and ticket sales were almost nil.
But once Tremblay took over and hired perhaps the city’s best promoter, Normand Legault of the Canadian Grand Prix Formula One race, and got the energetic Rene Guimond in as vice-president, sponsors started signing on, even if ticket sales remained slow.
“Lack of time became an ally rather than an enemy,” said Guimond. “When there’s no time, you have to make decisions.
“It’s been tough, but also fun and interesting and, in the end, very satisfying.”
In the media, the event was treated mostly as a news item about looming deficits and slow ticket sales until about a week before the opening, when attention began to be paid to the impending arrival of world-class athletes and competitions.
At the opening ceremony produced by the Cirque du Soleil, Tremblay got a standing ovation from the sellout crowd of 11,000, rare for a politician at a sports event.
Still, attendance was sparse until the second day of competition, when Despatie won his first of two gold medals in diving before a full house.
It started Canada on its best world championships ever - 10 medals overall, and suddenly, the city started paying attention.
The women’s water polo team won a bronze medal and turned a city on to a previously obscure sport so that even games Canada wasn’t in were packing the grandstands.
Only the 11,000-seat swimming venue wasn’t full for finals, although it drew decent crowds.
“We were hoping for around 200,000, but the actual number is not the important thing,” said Legault. “For us to manage to get 160,000 shows the response was extremely positive. I can’t be disappointed.”
The site had three permanent and two temporary pools, close enough together to hear the roar of crowds from one competition to another.
The swimming venue had seats built down to the pool deck, only five metres from the water. Pierre Lafontaine, CEO of Swimming Canada, was impressed with the crowds.
“What I heard from coaches around the world was that this wasn’t a Canadian crowd, it was a world crowd,” he said. “A standing ovation for (Australian) Liesel Jones - nowhere else in the world would you see that.”
Television ratings exceeded expectations.
Joe Recuppero, who produced the daily broadcasts, said viewership hit a high of about 390,000, well below Hockey Night In Canada numbers but considered good for amateur sport.
“That’s good, especially in summer,” said Recuppero. “There’s been excitement about it.
“Nothing translates like success - medals and great performances. Alex and the divers set it up for us. It was the momentum builder.”
The French language broadcasts on Radio-Canada did even better, with daily 4 p.m. live telecasts drawing a high of 574,000 - more than 15 per cent of the market-for Despatie’s first gold medal. Even late-night replays drew as many as 309,000.
What’s left after the temporary grandstands are pulled down this week are three superb outdoor pools.
There are plans to move the city’s annual diving grand prix to the new pool. Lafontaine has bigger plans for the main swimming pool. He has already met with park administrators to set up future events.
“We’re going to start running a Quebec Cup here and having our age group national championships here,” said Lafontaine. “We’re going to have camps here.
“I told the coaches in the area they should be training here from May 15 to October 15. If they don’t, they’ll be missing the boat.”
Swimmer Erin Gammel of Calgary said training outdoors is invaluable when preparing for Olympics or other major events.
“It will give us more opportunity to race with the sun shining in our eyes, or for people racing outside who have trouble with wind,” she said.
For Lafontaine, the event’s success will leave a legacy of its own.
“It will help Sports Canada,” she said. “They’re going to say that having international events in this country is good and we’re going to support them. I think everybody’s been impressed.”
© The Canadian Press 2005
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