Flushing Meadows Corona Park Pool & Rink

The parks department has a nice page on the new facility including a video of the pool filling up, more pictures of the construction of the pool and yet more of kids enjoying some splashing around in what looks like a test run in mid-January.

According to the site: "This $66.3-million complex features an Olympic-sized pool and NHL-regulation ice rink. It is the first of its kind in the city and includes ADA-accessible features. Flushing Meadows Corona Park Pool & Rink is the largest recreation complex ever built in a city park at 110,000 square-feet.The Olympic-size indoor public pool, the first to open in New York City in four decades, has an adjustable floor and diving tank for public swim and competitive meets."

Membership for adults 18 and up is only $75 for the year ($10 for 55+ and free for kids).

Straight from the website:

Hours of Operation
Monday through Friday 6:00 a.m. - 10:00 p.m.
Saturday: 9:00 a.m. - 10:00 p.m.
Sunday: 9:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m.

Pool Details
Opening date: February 29, 2008
Size: 25 meters x 50 meters (7’-6” deep to 12’-9” deep) with ten lanes
Diving Boards: 3 (one 3-meter and two 1-meter)

Special Features The tank can be divided into three sections. One has a moveable floor to reduce the depth of the pool, one section at 7’-6”and a diving tank at 12’-9”.
Facility includes a mezzanine bleacher section that seats approximately 450 spectators.
An outdoor terrace adjacent to the pool deck.

Photo credit: New York City Department of Parks & Recreation

It's here!!! It's finally here!!!

Ok, so maybe only a Queens resident like me would be this excited, but given the dearth of 50m pools in the city, I think this is a huge development! The pool which was slated for a late 2007 opening is finally open for swimmers! I'll put up more posts as I find more info and visit the facility myself. But for now, enjoy the pics, the article and the excitement :D

Photo credit: Chester Higgins Jr. for the New York Times

Australian Rock Pools

Now if Australia's national love for swimming wasn't enough to make you want to go for a visit, this just might do it. Today's NYTimes has a scrumptious article on Sydney's rock pools - they are basically carved out sections of the ocean for casual splashers and committed lap swimmers alike to enjoy without the hazards of deadly riptides and sharks! Perfect! The pools, the facilities, the nearby dining and the ocean views all look gorgeous....Anyone for a pool-hopping trip down under? :D

Photo credit: Tony Semack for the New York Times

Time to renew your USMS registration

Register today so you can be eligible for this year's events. Yes, right now! To register go to: www.metroswim.org/register.html. Our club code is VYMM

January events

-Team NY is sponsoring USMS 1 hour Postal January 20th and 27th. See how far you can swim in one hour! It will be at John Jay College

-Snowball Yard Meet-Kingston, NY January 26--Road trip, anyone? You need to register by January 12th. Contact Patricia if you're interested

For more info and other upcoming events, go to: www.metroswim.org/results.html

Polar Bear Plunge

New Year's Day there was a big turnout despite the morning drizzles..

Time to get back in the pool...

Igor's back, and the new session starts tonight. Prices have changed for the program, it is now $65 for members, $200 for non-members. Sign up today!

Registration deadline is January 16 in order to be permitted to practice with the team.

See you in the pool!
Cap'n P

Snow swim 12.2.2007

We swam 20mins, it was snowing with a light mist over the water Water was 46F, air temp 26F.

Congrats Amir!

Amir rocked it out at the Golden Jubilee Competition in Dallas Texas y'all. His time was 22.7 in the 50y and 50.8 in the 100. Way to go cowboy!

US SCY Nationals

Watch the entire meet on swimnetwork.com and view highlights and commentary, pics and video on wcsn.com. Some highlights Lochte beats Phelps in the 200 IM and Natalie Coughlin sets a new 50 free American record.

Ziegler on a roll!

Ziegler broke her American record in the 1650 free at the Tom Dolan Invitational at George Mason University. She swam a 15:29.15, going 25.53 the first 50, staying at around 28 for most of the swim and coming home faster than her first 50 at 25.45. Not bad.

Floswimming

Big thanks again to the SCAQ blog for this find. Floswimming includes insightful blogs, news feeds from various swimming publications, photo galleries, and best of all, really interesting videos of interviews with college and elite swimmers and coaches, as well a bunch of workout videos that give you an inside look as to how the cream of the crop train. There is also a section for user videos, social networking and interactive swim logs.

Recent videos include dryland at Texas A&M, interviews with Bob Bowman, and workouts at Texas A&M, USC, Wisconsin, and Minnesota. The Wisconsin one is really fun to watch and I got tired just watching the Texas dryland workout...yikes!

Dara Torres & Ryan Lochte in NYTimes

Seems like the NYTimes is on a swimming streak. Two articles on swimmers over the past few weeks. Check 'em out [Torres link, Lochte link]. Thanks to the SCAQ blog for original post on the Dara Torres article.

Picture by Marc Serota for The New York Times

Water Exhibit at AMNH

Interesting exhibit now on display at the American Museum of Natural History. Find out more on the museum's website.

Underwater video

By now everyone should have received a copy of their underwater swim video. If you were videotaped and did not receive a copy, please contact Patricia. Stay posted for the review date.
PS

Swim vacation?

For those of you un-afraid of swimming without lane lines and chlorine, there are two great open water swims in the Caribbean coming up this fall. One is in Bermuda (October 20th), the other, Bonaire (November 10th). Both are great events--I'll be swimming the 10k's, but there's also a 1 mile, 5k and everything in-between. Beautiful water, well-organized races, and drinks with umbrellas--what's not to love?
For more info:
http://www.aquamoonadventures.com/