The Floating Lady is almost finished!

Swimming with the city's skyline in full view...I don't know about you, but I think that's pretty cool and I'm excited! The 25-meter, 4-feet deep, 7-lane pool officially opens on July 4th. According to a NYTimes article:

"A shuttle will be available to take people to the pool, with stops at Cadman Plaza and Borough Hall and in Brooklyn Heights. And shiny gangways will reach from shore to barge. There are locker rooms. The pathways to the pool from the locker rooms pass large translucent seascape murals. Next comes a spray-pad, where children can get wet without swimming, and a sitting area for adults. Lifeguards will watch over the swimmers, and in the background is the Manhattan skyline, a view all can behold. "

Hours, directions, and more, can be found on the Brooklyn Bridge Park Conservancy's website.

(Picture taken by NYTimes photographer, Ruby Washington)

Free outdoor pools officially open

(Picture taken by NYTimes photographer, Nicole Bengevino)

For those of us who won't be going on a nice, sunny, breezy, beachy vacation this summer, or who envy those west coasters who seem to have an overabundance of great pools, sulk no longer! We can get our fair share of fun in the sun even if we are stuck in the city over the summer.

Though I can't vouch for their cleanliness or their conduciveness (is that a word?) to real workouts, the city's outdoor public pools have officially opened. They even have designated adult lap swim hours from 7am-8:30am and 7pm-8:30pm, Mon-Fri. Plus, you don't have to pay a thing. Not bad.

A photographer for the NYTimes, Nicole Bengevino, captured some great images of people enjoying the start of the summer pool season (click on "more images" underneath the leading photo).

So, for those of you with an affinity for strange tan lines, suit up and get on out there! And, don't forget the sunscreen!

Practice update & registration reminder

The current session ends this Sunday, June 24 and the new session begins Sunday, July 1.

Important: There will be no official practices Monday through Friday (June 25-29).

Registration is open for the new session. Sign up as soon as you can at the membership desk!

1500m in 15:42.54. Simply amazing...

18-year-old Kate Ziegler shattered Janet Evans' 1500m world record of 15.53.10 - set in 1988 - by an unfathomable 9.56 seconds at the TYR Swim Meet of Champions on June 17, 2007, breaking the longest-standing world record in swimming history.

There has been a lot of coverage on this incredible swim, but you can check out the SCAQ blog for a great summary, including Kate's split times. Can you imagine swimming close to 31 seconds consistently for each of the 30 laps including sprinting the last 50m in 29.27?!

Take a look...the video speaks for itself...amazing!

Fall's backstroke

See how it's done:

Grimaldo's Mile 2007

If you're intimidated by swimming around Manhattan, Grimaldo's Mile might be for you! One mile ocean race in Coney Island, complete with costume wave! The swim takes place Sunday August 5th 2007. To sign up or for more information, go to cibbows.org and be sure to check out Christina's wonderful illustration for the race.

Last year's pictures [more]:

"The worst part is that it's 9 hours of swimming and the best part is that it's 9 hours of swimming"

For those of you who don't know, our very own Alan Morrison is competing in his first Manhattan Island Marathon Swim, this Saturday, June 16. That's 28.5 miles! The race begins bright and early at 8:30am and goes from South Cove, Battery Park City, around the southern tip of the island, up the East River, around the northern tip and then all the way down the Hudson...and to think that some of us (and by that I mean moi) complain about an 800 yd swim!

To have decided to do this and trained for it is in itself an amazing feat. Alan is even featured in a NYTimes video about the event. (For all of you cibbows swimmers, Brighton Beach gets a shoutout in the video too!). The accompanying article also gives a nice overview of the race.

We hope you have the most amazing 9 hours of swimming on Saturday and wish you the best of luck! GO, ALAN!