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2024 ARCHIVES

June Newsletter from SLAM President Patrick Sullivan

If you are swimming at Spring Nationals, I am setting up an email thread for updated SLAM news and messaging relating to Nationals. If any workout group has any events coming up, please message me and SLAM will help promote it.  Also, please check out our updated website: swimslam.org. Please join me in thanking Kristen Gross, who has graciously volunteered to succeed Dan Sullivan as the new SLAM Treasurer. I asked Kristen to introduce herself:
   “Hi everyone! I am a USMS level 2 certified coach and have been coaching for the Floaters at the Rec-plex for over a decade. I have worked in the research industries of corn, flowers, and as of late, humans! I recently finished my master’s thesis in connection with probiotics as a recovery aid in masters endurance athletes and I’m now working for Outlier. My husband Wyatt and I have three children, one of who is a swimmer. I spend most of her extra time like my fellow SLAM members – in a pool or lake!”
Nearby swimming events:
Our Saluki workout group in Carbondale, IL is hosting the Ed and Ruth Shea Challenge Classic (long-course meters) on Saturday, July 13. It is paper-entry only, the form link is here. They have also hosted 2 mini-meets with limited event offerings on May 4 and June 1. 
There is a Long Course Meters meet in Overland Park, KS (KC) on June. The link to the event is here.
The 2024 Central Illinois Open Water Swim is June 8 at Evergreen Lake in Comlara Park in Hudson, IL; the link to the event is here.
Swim Across America-St. Louis is being held August 24 at Innsbrook Resort. The link to the event is here.
Summer Nationals will be held August 21-25 in Mission Viejo, CA and registration is open. The link for the event is here.
Social Media:
SLAM Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1203100876702527
SLAM Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/search/top?q=st%20louis%20area%20masters
SLAM Instagram page: https://www.instagram.com/usmsslam/?fbclid=IwAR0DlJ1tSs0w9j4ssas1B4a2UQzkkT4aSbxh0HME7pLxJ
Merchandise: The SLAM shopping page is in transition with the new treasurer; items will be available asap. Prices shown in the newsletter do not include shipping, but shipping will be added on the website shopping page. SLAM magnets $3 each,  SLAM stickers $2 each
 

SLAM t-shirt $20

SLAM hoodie $40

Finally, you might have seen me on the news (Fox 2/KPLR 11) last month. If you’ve seen me at a meet or practice, you’ve probably noticed the scar on my chest and wondered what happened. The link to the story is here.

Thank you,
Patrick Sullivan, President
St Louis Area Masters Swimming

May Newsletter from SLAM President Patrick Sullivan
It was great seeing everyone at the meet at McKendree last month! Results are on the swimslam.org website.

Please join me in thanking long-time SLAM Treasurer Daniel Sullivan for his dedication and integral service to SLAM’s finances over many, many years; Dan has decided to resign, we all send him our gratitude and wish him the very best.  Anyone interested in volunteering as club Treasurer, please let me know in a reply to this email. 

Spring Nationals—Registration is open until May 28th for Spring Nationals! Here is the link to register:

https://www.clubassistant.com/club/form/register_now.cfm?c=2529&smid=17760&_ga=2.236679041.

Spring Nationals will be held June 20-24 in Indianapolis, in the iconic IUPUI Natatorium, which is the nicest pool I’ve ever swam in! Anyone can swim 3 events without a National Qualifying Time (NQT). Myself and 10 other SLAM swimmers are registered and hope you will too! I went to last year’s Spring Nationals in Irvine, CA and it was the most exciting swim meet I’ve ever participated in. It’s so inspiring to watch someone in their 90s still competing. It’s also thrilling to compete alongside former Olympians who you grew up watching and cheering for. If you are looking for a nice place to stay, that’s close by, I’m staying at Candlewood Suites (https://www.ihg.com/candlewood/hotels/us/en/indianapolis/indwp/hoteldetail). I stayed there for a meet late last year and it was perfect for a multi-night stay. I will be there for the whole meet, by the way.

I would love to have a big turn-out for SLAM at Nationals and encourage you to sign up and join in the fun!. The link to the event is https://www.usms.org/events/national-championships/pool-national-championships/2024-pool-national-championships/2024-spring-national-championship

By the way, if you are going to Nationals, on May 14 I will order two caps with the swimmer’s last name placed on them for anyone that has signed up for Nationals and is listed on the athlete roster for SLAM on the USMS website. If you haven’t signed up for Nationals, but are planning on it, please let me know by May 14 for the order.

If any workout group has any events coming up, please message me and SLAM will help promote it.

I invite you to please check out our updated website, https://swimslam.org. 

Also check out the SLAM Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1203100876702527 , and the

SLAM Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/search/top?q=st%20louis%20area%20masters

and the Instagram page:

https://www.instagram.com/usmsslam/?fbclid=IwAR0DlJ1tSs0w9j4ssas1B4a2UQzkkT4aSbxh0HME7pLxJ

Merchandise: Prices do not including shipping in this newsletter, but on the website it will. We now have SLAM magnets and stickers for sale. $3 per magnet, $2 per sticker.

 

We will soon have the newly designed SLAM t-shirts ($20) and hoodies ($40) for sale on our website!

If you are looking for other upcoming swim meets, Gladstone (KC) is hosting their Swim-O de Mayo (Cinco de Mayo) 3 level pentathlon this Sunday, the 5 th . The link to the event is https://www.usms.org/events/events/swimmo-de-mayo-cinco-de-mayo-pentathlon?ID=10459

There is a long-course meet in Overland Park, KS (KC) on June 9 th . The link to the event is

https://www.clubassistant.com/club/meet_information.cfm?c=1603&smid=18742

SAVE THE DATES: Our Saluki workout group in Carbondale, IL is hosting the Ed and Ruth Shea Challenge Classic on Saturday, July 13 th. They are also offering two dual-sanctioned (USA/USMS) LCM mini-meets with limited event offerings on May 4 and June 1st. These events are paper-entry only, so mailing time should be considered. You can get the paper registration forms on the SLAM website (swimslam.org).

Thank you,

Patrick Sullivan, President
St Louis Area Masters Swimming

 

April Newsletter from SLAM President Patrick Sullivan

Registration is open until April 4th (HURRY!) for our local meet, the 2024 Ozark LMSC Short Course Yards Championships, being held this weekend, April 6-7 at McKendree Metro Rec-Plex, 205 RecPlex Dr, O’Fallon, IL 62269. The link for registering is https://swimslam.org/2024-scy-entry-form/

If you can bring someone to volunteer as a lane timer, that would be a great help, too.

At the end of competition on Saturday, April 6th, SLAM swimmers are invited to eat and hangout together at Peel Pizza at 104 S. Cherry St, O’Fallon, IL 62269. https://www.peelpizza.com/ofallon 
If you know you’re going, just hit reply to this email so I can tell Peel how many people to expect.

If any workout group has events coming up, please reply to this email and SLAM will help promote it.

Second, please check out our continually updated website, https://swimslam.org. 

Next, we have a SLAM Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1203100876702527

a SLAM Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/search/top?q=st%20louis%20area%20masters 

and an Instagram page:

https://www.instagram.com/usmsslam/?fbclid=IwAR0DlJ1tSs0w9j4ssas1B4a2UQzkkT4aSbxh0HME7pLxJGXJov5lPy3KUOg

We now have SLAM magnets and stickers for sale for $3 per magnet and $2 per sticker. They will be for sale at the SCY meet, or reply to this email if you are interested.

We should have caps with the new logo on them to give out at the meet this weekend. If you are going to the USMS 2024 Spring Nationals, let me know and I will try to get your last name placed on a couple caps for that meet. I hope to order those by the end of the first week of May.

We should also have the newly designed SLAM t-shirts ($20) and hoodies ($40) for sale at the meet this weekend. The preferred way to pay for merchandise at the meet will be through our Venmo, @SLAM_SWIM. If you can’t attend the meet but are interested, we plan to sell items on the SLAM website or you can reply to this email  (slam@swimslam.org).

Speaking of Spring Nationals—Registration is open until May 28 for the USMS 2024 Spring SCY Nationals taking place June 20-24 in the iconic IUPUI Natatorium in Indianapolis, which is the nicest pool I’ve ever swam in! Anyone can swim 3 events without a National Qualifying Time (NQT). I already registered, curently there are 10 SLAM swimmers signed up, and hope you will too! I went to last year’s Spring Nationals in Irvine, CA and it was the most exciting swim meet I’ve ever participated in. It’s so inspiring to watch someone in their 90s still competing. It’s also thrilling to compete alongside former Olympians who you grew up watching and cheering for. If you are looking for a nice place to stay that’s close by, I’m staying at Candlewood Suites (https://www.ihg.com/candlewood/hotels/us/en/indianapolis/indwp/hoteldetail). I stayed there for a meet late last year and it was perfect for a multi-night stay. I will be there for the whole meet, by the way.

If you are looking for other upcoming swim meets, the Lakeside Masters Spring SCY Mini Meet will be held April 14 th in Louisville, KY.  Sunday, May 5th is MOVY Masters’ “Swimmo de Mayo” (Cinco de Mayo) Pentathlon (SCY) in Gladstone, MO.

I look forward to seeing everyone at the meet this weekend, and don’t forget about eating at Peel after the competition on Saturday!  

Thank you,

Patrick Sullivan

SLAM President

 

 

March Newsletter from SLAM President Patrick Sullivan

Hello! I’m very excited to announce that registration is now open for our local meet, the 2024 Ozark LMSC Short Course Yard Championships, being held April 6-7 at McKendree Metro Rec-Plex, 205 Rec Plex Dr, O’Fallon, IL  62269.  The link for registering is https://swimslam.org/2024-scy-entry-form/If any workout group has any events coming up, please message me and SLAM will help promote it.  Second, we have updated our website, https://swimslam.org.  Please encourage your swimmers to check it out.  We are continuing to update it, too.  Hopefully, we’ll have a message board soon.  If your group has any change of schedule or venue, please let me know so we can update the SLAM website.

Next, we do have a SLAM Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1203100876702527 , a SLAM Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/search/top?q=st%20louis%20area%20masters and an Instagram page: https://www.instagram.com/usmsslam/?fbclid=IwAR0DlJ1tSs0w9j4ssas1B4a2UQzkkT4aSbxh0HME7pLxJGXJov5lPy3KUOg

Please encourage your swimmers to follow our social media accounts to keep updated. 

I’ve enlisted South City Y coach, Stephen Pyle, to help design merch for SLAM and for any SLAM swimmer’s participation at Spring Nationals.  Here’s his wonderful logo:

I’m really excited to start getting merch designed and produced, which I will work on it this month.  I’m working on caps, t-shirts (S,M,L,XL), hoodies, and possibly magnets.  If any of your swimmers are going to Nationals, let me know which ones, and I will try to get their last names placed on a couple caps.

Speaking of Spring Nationals—Registration is now open for Spring Nationals!  Spring Nationals will be held June 20-24 in Indianapolis, in the iconic IUPUI Natatorium, which is the nicest pool I’ve ever swam in!  Anyone can swim 3 events without a National Qualifying Time (NQT).  I already registered for this and hope you will too!   If you are looking for a nice place to stay, that’s close by, I’m staying at Candlewood Suites (https://www.ihg.com/candlewood/hotels/us/en/indianapolis/indwp/hoteldetail).  I stayed there for a meet late last year and it was perfect for a multi-night stay.  I will be there for the whole meet, by the way. 

If you are looking for another upcoming swim meet, the 2024 GRIN Short Course State Championship will be held at the IUPUI Natatorium (same pool as Spring Nationals!) 4/20-21 in Indianapolis (I’m going to this!). 

I look forward to seeing everyone at the meet on April 6-7.

Thank you,

Patrick Sullivan

SLAM President

February Newsletter from SLAM President Patrick Sullivan
Hello,
   First, if any workout group has any events coming up, please message me and SLAM will help promote it. Second, we have updated our website, https://swimslam.org. Please encourage your swimmers to check it out. We are continuing to update it, too. Hopefully, we’ll have a message board soon.
Next, we do have a SLAM Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1203100876702527 , a SLAM Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/search/top?q=st%20louis%20area%20masters and an Instagram page:
https://www.instagram.com/usmsslam/?fbclid=IwAR0DlJ1tSs0w9j4ssas1B4a2UQzkkT4aSbxh0HME7pLxJGXJov5lPy3KUOg
Please encourage your swimmers to follow our social media accounts to keep updated.
   I’ve enlisted South City Y coach, Stephen Pyle, to help design merch for SLAM and for any SLAM swimmer’s participation at Spring Nationals. I’m really excited about his soccer-style crest idea for a swim cap and t-shirt design. We hope to share it soon.
   Speaking of Spring Nationals—Registration is now open for Spring Nationals! Spring Nationals will be held June 20-24 in Indianapolis, in the iconic IUPUI Natatorium, which is the nicest pool I’ve ever swam in! Anyone can swim 3 events without a National Qualifying Time (NQT). I already registered for this
and hope you will too! I went to last year’s Spring Nationals in Irvine, CA and it was the most exciting swim meet I’ve ever participated in. It’s so inspiring to watch someone in their 90s still competing. It’s also thrilling to compete alongside former Olympians who you grew up watching and cheering for. If
you are looking for a nice place to stay, that’s close by, I’m staying at Candlewood Suites: (https://www.ihg.com/candlewood/hotels/us/en/indianapolis/indwp/hoteldetail).  I stayed there for a meet late last year and it was perfect for a multi-night stay. I will be there for the whole meet, by the way.
   Please email me and let me know if you are interested in Level 2 and/or 3 USMS coaching certification (Level 1 is available online). If we get enough interest, I’ll reach out to the national office and ask to get a weekend set up in St. Louis.
   If you are looking for some upcoming swim meets, there are a few coming up. First, Jeff Enge and I are working hard to finalize the Ozark Spring Championships. We hope to have the pool and dates finalized by the end of February. Next, our O’Fallon, IL Otters have a Triathlon coming up, March 3 rd . I’ve
attached their flier and hope you encourage your triathletes to participate. Other meets (sign up on the USMS website) within a few hours’ drive include the John May Winter Classic on 2/18 in Champaign, IL; the 2024 Spring Classic in Bloomington, IL (I’m going!); and the 2024 GRIN Short Course State
Championship at the IUPUI Natatorium (same pool as Spring Nationals!) 4/20-21 in Indianapolis (I’m going to this, too!).
   Lastly, I met with our Social Chair, Katrina Bibbee, and as expected, she has some great ideas. She needs every workout group’s participation, specifically appointing someone that will help be a liaison between your workout group and SLAM to serve as a member of her standing committee. I’ve asked her to write
a message to you, which she has provided:   

Hi all!
I am so excited for 2024 and what we can accomplish together as a SLAM community! My role and goal as SLAM’s Social Chair is to make it SO easy
to be connected and involved with SLAM that you don’t even realize you are doing it! We’ll have organized get-togethers at swim meets, outreach & community
service opportunities throughout the year, friendly competitions, and a chance to build relationships and find new friends!
As athletes, we are familiar with goals- and that’s exactly what we have as a “SLAM FAM” for this year! Take note of our calendar below so you know what to
expect and can plan to take part in the fun!

2024 “SLAM FAM” GOALS & FOCUSES:

Jan-March: Break the Ice!!
1) Get to know ALL of YOUR workout group teammate names and something about them!
2) Let’s get all SLAM members in our GroupMe group chat, scan the QR code below to check this to-do off your own list and make sure to remind your lane partners to do the same.
                                                     

April-June: Go the Extra Mile!
1) “Sister” Teams & Icebreaker challenges assigned for getting to know the other SLAM teams in your area!
2) SLAM FAM Volunteer Days- We’ll be volunteering in community outreach days to assist others in learning to swim and passing forward the crucial
life skill of water safety free of cost!
July-Sep: Dive Deeper!
1) Continuing “Sister” Teams and fun challenges, but taking the foot off the gas pedal as people prioritize family time/trips in the Summer.

Oct-Dec: Let’s “RELAY” Have Some Fun!

1) OCT: SLAM FAM Halloween & Costumed themed swim meet! Bring your family as there will be festive activities for all who attend with funny relays!
2) NOV: Canned food drive competition between workout groups! Team with the most donations will win the traveling trophy for the year with their team
name engraved onto the plaque for 2024!
3) DEC 2024-FEB 2025: New & Gently Used Coat drive! Have any unused or unworn warm attire? We will be collecting it this upcoming winter to donate
to STL’s St. Patrick Center- a nonprofit that diligently helps unhoused community members facing distress!
Thanks for reading! I am happy we can all come together in fellowship to support one another, and strengthen STL area communities by combining our efforts!
Best wishes,
Katrina Bibbee
SLAM Social Chair

January Newsletter from SLAM President Patrick Sullivan
I hope everyone had a great holiday season and New Year. We are working hard to really grow the club this year. I was really excited to have great participation at the December 9th meet in Edwardsville.
     I’ve recently named Gunnar Kohlbrecher as Chair of the Technology standing committee and Katrina Bibbee as the Chair of the Social standing committee.
I look forward to Gunnar running our updated website, swimslam.org. We are adding a workout group (WOG finder) on a map of the region, which will list practice days/times and have a contact for that group. We will try to have events associated with any of our workout groups listed in the Upcoming Events section. If you have any kinds of events coming up, please let us know so we can help promote them. Personally, I would love to participate in them, too. We will also be hoping to add a message board. Additionally, I’ve asked Gunnar to run the club’s Facebook page and start an Instagram page as well.
     I also look forward to Katrina developing the social-side of our club this year. Having worked with Katrina on these things at my workout group at the South City YMCA, I know she’ll come up with some great events that will benefit our club and communities.
     We have been working on establishing the Ozark Spring Championship meet and will hopefully have that posted soon. In the meantime, the South City YMCA group has an event that coincides with the 2024 USMS 1-hr Virtual Championship on January 20th and 21st . See the flyer in the Upcoming Events section for more information. It’s a great event in which donations will be used to fund swim lessons for under-privileged children in south St. Louis City. You can enter a 1-hr result on the USMS website (for a small fee) to see how you do in your age-group, nationally.  There are also several other events held in our neighbor-regions’ areas, within a half-day’s drive. On 1/21, the GRIN Pentathlon will be held in Greenwood, IN.  Also, on 1/21, The Neil Salkind Invitational meet will be held in Lawrence, KS. On 2/18, The John May Winter Classic meet will be held in Champaign, IL.  Then on 3/3, the Spring Classic meet will be held in Bloomington, IL.
     The U.S. Masters Swimming Spring National Championship will be held June 20-24 in Indianapolis, IN (only a 4 hour drive or so!) at the iconic IUPUI Natatorium. You can swim 3 events without a National Qualifying Time (NQT).  I’m hoping to get a lot of SLAM swimmers to participate. I’m working on designing merchandise for purchase (caps with names on them, shirts, hoodies, magnets) for SLAM swimmers that go. Also, the US Olympic trials will be taking place in Indianapolis. Swim during the day at Masters Nationals, go watch US Olympic Trials at night!
     Lastly, I would like to try to get a Coaches Certification Level 2 and 3 training here in St. Louis in 2024. Level 1 is available to get online through the USMS website. I will reach out to the coaches to determine the interest in getting the training sessions set up.

SLAM Hosts 2023 Ozark LMSC & Breadbasket Zone Short Course Yards Championship

• OFFICIAL RESULTS HERE
• 34 SLAM entrants 20 Ozark LMSC SCY Individual Records, 7 Relay Records set:

• Brian Bagette, M 18-24: 50 breast, 100 IM
• Jeff Enge, M 30-34: 200 breast
• Jon Iwaszkowiec, M 45-49: 50 back
• Clay Kolar, M 70-74: 200 breast
• Drew May, M 25-29: 100, 200 fly
• Paul Morris, M 60-64: 50, 100, 200 breast, 200 IM
• Vic Perini, M 50-54: 100 breast
• Laurie Smith, W 70-74: 50, 100, 200, 500, 1000, 1650 free, 100 IM
• Sean Workman, M 25-29: 100 IM
• SLAM (Laurie Smith, Cathy Kohn, Ruth Ann Hentsche, Teresa McDowell), W 65+: 200 Free
• SLAM (Smith, Kohn, Jill Johnson, McDowell), W 65+: 400 Free
• SLAM (Smith, Kohn, Johnson, McDowell) W 65+: 800 Free
• SLAM (Hentschke, Kohn, McDowell, Smith), W 65+: 200 Medley Relay
• SLAM (Johnson, Kohn, McDowell, Smith), W 65+: 400 Medley
• SLAM (Sean Workman, Drew May, Michael Meyer, Brian Baggette), M 18+: 200 Free
• CSPM (Justin Pasquesi, Jeff Enge, Jakub Petyniak, Connor Smoak), M 25+: 400 Free

SLAM Hosts 2022 Ozark LMSC Short Course Yards Championship

• OFFICIAL RESULTS HERE
• 30 SLAM entrants
• 22 Ozark LMSC SCY Individual Records, 1 Relay Record set:

• Erin Earley, W 18-24: 50 Back, 100 IM
• Jeff Enge, M 30-34: 50 Back, 200 IM
• Larry Good, M 85-89: 50 Back
• Steve Hancock, M 65-69: 500 Free
• Alfredo Jacobo, M 35-39: 50, 100 & 200 Breast
• Joseph Kelley, M 70-74: 50 &100 Fly, 100 & 200 Free
• Lori Lynn, W 25-29: 50 Back
• Teresa McDowell, W: 70-74: 1000 Free, 50 Fly, 100 IM
• Justin Pasquesi, M 25-29: 200 Free
• Stephanie Petersen, W 60-64: 200 Back
• Mary Pohlmann, W 75-79: 200 Free, 200 Breast, 200 Fly
• CSPM (Erin Earley, Molly Connolly, Jeff Enge, Connor Smoak), Mixed 18+ 200 Free Relay

2021
SLAM swimmer, SLAM coach profiled in May/June 2021 USMS SWIMMER Magazine (DIGITAL EDITION)