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Thursday, May 8. 2008
25K by Erica Rose
Well, my final race is over. It did not go very well, as you´ve probably seen in the results. To be honest, I have no idea what happened or why it did not go well at all. I did everything I could to prepare and I was ready to go. Some days, I guess, are better than others. Yesterday was not one of my better days.
Even though the swim did not go well, the support I received throughout and after the race made it difficult to be upset. I had four of the best coaches out there on the course with me, giving me nutrition and encouraging me even when they knew how much I was struggling. Coaches from other countries were cheering me on as well. Britta, one of my very best friends, was out on a feeding pontoon working with the German athletes and she helped me so much each time I went by her station. When I finished, the team doctor and trainer were both there to greet me and the officials allowed Shelley Clark (another one of my very best friends) to run down to greet me and help me out of the water. The entire US team was there to congratulate me and support me and it was a pretty incredible feeling to know that I had so many friends and teammates no matter how I did in the water.
Brendan arrived the day before my race and watched every minute of it. He was there for me at the end, as well, and has been incredible. I can´t possibly describe how much it means to me to know that I have such a wonderful group of people who care about me and support me through all of these events.
I don´t have too much to report as far as how the other races went. Mark Warkentin had a GREAT swim and got a silver medal in the 25K. Olympic qualification in the 10K and sliver medal in the 25K - what a week!
I was able to celebrate for a while last night with my international friends. It´s now 4am and I´m at a hostel in Seville... not sleeping because I can never sleep the night after a race like that... waiting until 5am when we´ll head to the airport to begin our travels around Europe.
Monday, May 5. 2008
10K results by Erica Rose
Hello -
Well, I'm not even really sure where to begin. Thank you for all of the emails... it sounds like most of you have checked the results and have realized that it has been a pretty crazy 48 hours for the US team over here at the World Championships in Spain. I'll try to give you a little bit from our point of view...
The women's race was yesterday (Saturday) morning. Everything went according to schedule for the preparations - our girls were up early, at breakfast, warmed up in the river, and had their numbers and transponders on well before they were sent to the call room. The organizers did a great job of getting all of the competitors organized, lined up, announced and on the dock right on time for a punctual start. There was a bit of an issue with a false start, actually - one of the volunteers had a siren that went off and a few girls (including Micha) jumped in early. They were not disqualified, though, and they got back up on the dock and the official re-started the race.
The race was fast and rough. It was clear that the pack was tight and that they were working to hold their positions and to swim fast enough to stay in the group. We were able to see a lot with our binoculars and we also had radio communication with coaches on the feeding pontoon and with coaches on bridges and on the other side of the course. Kirsten was in the top 5 or so almost the entire race. Micha was right up there, too - sitting at about 12th most of the time. Cassie Patten (from Great Britian) had a VERY gutsy swim - she led the ENTIRE way (well, right up until Larissa from Russia passed her in the last 400 meters.)
Anyway, I could write more but I'm sure you can find race reports online. Basically, the last 1K was a shock for everyone. Girls surged ahead that had been at the back of the pack and girls that had been sitting out in front all of a sudden fell off. Kirsten wound up 21st and Micha was 31st. My good friend Britta from Germany (who, in 20 World Championship races throughout her career has NEVER finished lower than 7th place) came in 39th yesterday. Her teammate, Angela, made the Olympic team but Britta did not. Edith, another best friend, came in 11th and will represent the Netherdlands in Beijing in August. I can't possibly explain the emotion invovled in watching the finish of yesterday's race. It was just a bizzare experience to witness. Watching from the stands, you could look around and see some countries rejoicing with girls that were living the happiest moment of their lives... and then you could turn the other way and see girls just completely devastated and in complete shock and disbelief.
That said... our girls do have another chance. They did not qualify for the Olympics yesterday, but there is one more race where 9 more girls will be selected. That race is the Beijing test event at the end of this month. Right now, we're not sure which Americans will be going. Most likely, it will be Kirsten and Micha again. The decision is up to the head USA National Team coach, though, and that is Mark Schubert. He will wait to see how the team does throughout the rest of this week and he will then decide who we will take to the test event in Beijing. At most, we can qualify one girl now. It is our job now to get these girls back on their feet and to show them that we're here for them and proud of them even though they did not qualify for the Olympic Games... yet.
Switching gears... today we witnessed the men's 10K race. Like the women's race, it went off smoothly and was a fast and brutal race. The referees were whistling and going crazy and there were several "yellow cards" given. In fact, Australia's amazing and world famous swimmer Grant Hacket was disqualified today - something that very rarely happens at a World Championship event. I'm going to go ahead and omit more race details here because I'm sure you will be able to read other reports online. Davies (Great Britain) had an incredible race - he never stopped to feed at all and led the entire way (until, similarly to yesterday's race, Vladimir from Russia touched him out at the very end.) Turns out, by the way, that neglecting to feed is not necessarily the best tactic. Davies passed out on his way off the awards podium after the race. No worries... his teammates were there to catch him and he was taken to the medical tent and is fine now.
Anyway, it was once again an extremely emotional finish for the American team to witness. Mark Warkentin finished 7th, earning a spot at the 2008 Olympic Games and becoming the first open water Olympian from the USA. Chip Peterson finished 13th... and therefore does not get to go to the Games. I have spent several weeks throughout the past 2 years training with Chip and he has become one of my closest friends in the sport. Catherine, his coach, has taken me under her wing and coached me at several international races. Watching the two of them after his race was absolutely heart breaking. I still have no idea what to say. It's not okay. There isn't necessarily another chance.
So... that's where we are today. Right now, we're waiting for dinner and then we'll have a team meeting later this evening. We still have 4 more races here at the World Championships - both the men and women will race the 5K on Tuesday, May 6th, and then both the men and women will race the 25K on Thursday, May 8th. Tomorrow will be a day to re-focus and help each other and I'm sure we'll be fired up and ready to go again by Tuesday.
For a quick personal update... although the past two days have been a roller coaster of emotion, I'm still focused and ready to go for a great 25K later on this week. My training has been GREAT over here in Spain and it has been so much fun to catch up with friends and live this experience one more time. I can't wait for Thursday!
I'm not sure we'll have much internet access after this, so this might be my last email for a while. Keep cheering for the USA - and thank you for all of your support and encouragement. More fast thoughts on Tuesday and Thursday!
Go USA!
Friday, May 2. 2008
World Championships, May 2, by Erica Rose
Today is internet day again, so I figured I'd send a quick update to let you know how things are going over here in Spain. We've settled into a routine of training, eating, and sleeping... but tomorrow the schedule will change as we kick things off with Day One of the 2008 Open Water World Championships. The women will dive in at 10am for the start of the 10K. When all is said and done, fifteen of those girls will be on their way to Beijing to represent their country at the 2008 Olympic Games. The men will follow on Sunday with the same routine. I will update you as soon as I can after both races. I'm sure you will be able to find almost immediate results on the USA Swimming, FINA, or Australian Swimming websites. (Grant Hackett is here so the Australian media is all over this race!)
The USA is looking good - Micha, Kirsten, Chip and Mark (our 10K swimmers) all look tough, rested, and ready to go. We did a trial run yesterday morning - the whole team got up early, ate breakfast together, walked over to the starting area, got ready, and dove into the river together to simulate the start of the race. The water looks a little murky, but it seems rather clean and the temperature is great. There's a big buzz about all of the new suits but we're trying not to get too distracted by all of it. Basically, the idea seems to be that we're wearing whatever is most comfortable and not worrying about how buoyant it is or what fabric it's made of. We know we'll be fast no matter what we've got on!
The team is getting along well - it's tough sometimes to be around the same people in close quarters all day long like this, but I think we're actually handling it pretty well. There are lots of teams staying in this hotel - Netherlands, Australia, Hungary, Germany, and France to name a few - so it can be kind of stressful to walk around and feel like you're being watched all the time. At the same time, though, it's been nice for me to be so close to so many friends. We have been hanging out in the lobby downstairs and visiting in each other's rooms... it's so much easier than when we're thousands of miles apart! We're in a hotel that is across the street from the race venue. There is also a dorm-style residence at the venue and most of the other teams are there (Russia, Italy, Canada, China, Spain, Venezuela, etc.). I've been visiting there and they've come over here - it's a great little international village situation we've got!
I guess that's about it for now. We haven't really been out and about in the city too much (other than the drives to and from the practice facilities) so I don't have much to report about anything other than training and getting ready for the races. That's why we're here, though, so I guess we're doing a great job staying focused!
I hope everything is going well at home. I'll be in touch again after the races. Think FAST thoughts for our 10Kers on the 3rd and 4th.
Tuesday, April 29. 2008
Training by Erica Rose
Just a quick update to let you know that things are going fairly well over here in Spain.
We have basically been training, eating, and resting since we got here. The weather has been perfect and the hotel is great. There is a lot of downtime, though, and being in close quarters with the same people all day long tends to lead to tension rather quickly. So far, things are actually okay... we'll see how everyone does as race days approach.
Today was an afternoon off from training for most of our group. We had planned to have a team outing to the city of Cadiz but when we got ready to go, one of the vans broke down. The coaches decided to take the four youngest swimmers on the trip (along with a few staff members) and the rest of us got left behind. I thought it was boring to be here when I was training two times per day... having the ENTIRE afternoon off and nothing to do is brutal. We couldn't go anywhere else until we got a new van (no idea why we couldn't pair up and jump in cabs) and then by the time we got the van, it was siesta time and everything is closed.
So... I've been watching CNN (the only English channel) and reading. I'm already through almost 2 books... and I only brought 5. I need to slow down. Other teams are arriving today and tomorrow, so I may go look around and see what friends I can find from other countries.
Go USA!
Saturday, April 26. 2008
Arrival in Spain, By Erica Rose
Hello everyone -
The trip to Spain went very well. None of us really slept on the flight over (tough because it was an afternoon flight based on our time that got in early in the morning local time.) Needless to say, we were all exhausted last night and in bed by about 8pm. The food on the flight was also some of the worst airplane food I've had in ages. Unbelievable. Oh, and our entire team got rather lost in the Madrid airport. We only lost a few bags by the time we got to Spain, though, and most of them were found and delivered by this morning. So... all in all... not a bad start.
The experience at the hotel so far been pretty great. We're so spoiled here - we're going to have to watch ourselves to not balloon up and float our way through the races based on the food we're getting. We have unbelievable spreads of food for all of our meals. We have special catering for lunch and dinner that USA Swimming is getting for us. The breakfast buffet this morning (served to all hotel guests, not just the USA team) was like nothing I've seen before. I could go into detail - but I think I'll just leave you with one of the most exciting parts - the chocolate fountain at breakfast! Most of us were pretty good and avoided that this morning, but we'll see how long the self control lasts.
We have already had two swim sessions. We're struggling to get the pool owners to give us enough training time, but we have lots of USA staff working on it. Speaking of which, we have 9 staff members here for 10 athletes. That's quite the ratio! They're all pretty amazing people and I'm excited to spend 2 weeks with them.
Back to the training... you would not believe how cold the water was this morning. I never warmed up throughout the entire 8K session. Not fun at all. Plus, it was pitch black out for the first hour. We had to dodge the sprinkler system as we tried to find our way to the pool on the way into workout and then we were guided only by the moonlight for the first hour. Fun... in a way. Would have been more fun if we weren't so cold.
Anyway, the one major thing I did want to let you know is that we do not have the internet access here that we assumed we would. There is great internet service, but it costs about $20 per day. My roommate and I have decided to split the cost and to buy it every 3-4 days. I'll be in touch when I can.
I hope everything is going well at home.
Go USA!
Monday, March 26. 2007
Day: Seventeen
Date: Monday, March 26, 2007
Location: St. Kilda Beach to Melbourne to Sydney to Home
Theme: Overall Impressions, Written by Steve Munatones
Some impressions that come quickly to mind:
1. The Russians are truly dominating and committed to continuing their domination through 2008 and beyond.
2. The Germans are not far behind the Russians (e.g., 2 German males in the top 5 in the 10K and 2 German females in the top 6 in the 10K).
3. Several other countries are hungry to replicate the Russian and German success.*
4. Newcomers like Spyridon Gianniotis of Greece (bronze in the 10K) and Cassandra Patten of Great Britain (silver in the 10K by 1 second) took the same strategy go out hard, lead the pack and hang on when more experienced elite swimmers make their final surges.
5. Strategic positioning remains critically important and requires elite racing experience to properly execute.
Mohamed Zanaty of Egypt swam extraordinarily well: 4th in the 10K and bronze in the 25K.
6. Swimming smart gives good results: Yury Kudinov swam much smarter in his victorious 25K in Melbourne compared with his taking a huge early lead at the 2005 Montreal World Championship 25K and fading out of the money.
7. 37-year-old Marco Formetini of Italy, who earned a silver medal in the 25K, is the worlds fastest masters long-distance swimmer.
8. Britta Kamrau (4th in the 5K by 0.1 seconds, 6th in the 10K finishing 7 seconds from gold, and 1st in the 25K) continues to show her great versatility.
9. Competition in the 5K and 10K is much deeper, faster and more physical than the World Championship races in 2001, 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2006.
10. Different kinds of feeding sticks are being used than before: all sticks were much longer and more stable than before. Many countries had double holders at the end of their feeding sticks.
11. Most of the top countries had walkie-talkie systems with earphones so none of the other teams could listen in on their conversations during the races.
12. Feeding is critical to success: Vladimir Dyatchin of Russia, the 10K gold medalist, took a gel pack about the 8.2K mark without worrying that he was giving up the lead.
13. The open water coaches of the European teams rarely change. These coaches also appear do very little coaching while on the pool deck the swimmers just get in and do their workouts with very little interaction by their coaches.
14. The Europeans and Australians do not train much in open water, especially before the competition, primarily because they are constantly doing open water races.
15. Thomas Lurz (5K gold medalist and 10K silver medalist) and Larisa Ilchenko (double gold medalist in the 5K and 10K) used nearly the exact same strategies (i.e., settle in 2nd or 3rd for 80-90% of the race and make their move before the last turn buoy).
16. Europeans do not get flustered with the physical contact inherent in pack swimming.
Interesting note of the day: Russia won the overall open water title with 156 points. Germany was second with 108 points. Australia was third with 54 points. Italy was fourth with 43 points. USA was fifth with 33 points. Czech Republic was sixth with 27 points. Egypt was seventh with 26 points. Great Britain was eighth with 23 points. Netherlands was ninth with 22 points. Spain was tenth with 19 points.
Sunday, March 25. 2007
Day: Sixteen
Date: Sunday, March 25, 2007
Location: St. Kilda Beach, Melbourne
Theme: Hearts of Heroes, Written by Steve Munatones
Everyone who finished the mens and womens 25K race today should be considered a hero: 15-20 knot winds, 64ºF water, surface chop and wind caps throughout the race. First place, last place and everyone in-between.
Britta Kamrau-Corestein, with a 4-minute lead on the staggered womens start, took it out hard on the first 2.5K loop and extended her lead throughout the race, finishing with a final time of 5 hours, 37 minute, 11.66 seconds. However, the more compelling race was for the silver and bronze. Kalyn Keller, starting 30 seconds behind the second pack of Angela Maurer and a pair of Russian swimmers, Natalya Pankina and Ksenia Popova, quickly caught up with the group.
The four swimmers battled the entire race back and forth, exchanging leads, doing backstroke and stopping to allow their competitors to take the lead. Yellow cards and whistles during being called throughout the race when the referee judged the combatants were nudging or hitting each other outside the legal bounds. Pankina received a yellow card, as did Kalyn. However, many times, the bumping seemed inadvertent as the winds and waves simply pushed the swimmers into one another.
During the last 5K, everyone tried to throw in a surge to break free. However, Kalyn threw in the last surge that broke the group. Kalyn received a silver medal for her 5 hour 39 minutes 39.62 second effort with Popova 12 seconds behind her and Maurer 9 seconds behind Popova. Coach Rose was on the team walkie-talkie throughout the race to the staff and called an emotional play-by-play over the last 400 meters. Kalyn is just giddy with joy, commented Coach Rose as Kalyn crossed the finish and swam easy to shore. Her smiles, as wide and happy as can be, were shared with all her teammates.
Meanwhile, Mark Warkentin and Scott Kaufmann were trying to replicate Kalyns success among a tough mens field. Mark battled into the lead on several occasions, but also fell back as far as 7th and 8th during other stretches. 5K down and Mark and Scott were still in the hunt. 10K down and Mark was right there. 15K down no changes. 20K and the real race began. First came the surge by the Australian Josh Santacaterina. Then, with 2K to go, Yury Kudinov took charge and stormed to a minute 51-second victory, winning in 5 hours 16 minutes 45.55 over the 25.5K course.
Mark was battling with Marco Formetini of Italy, Mohamed Zanaty of Egypt and Santacaterina of Australia. Over the last 1.5K, Formetini and Zanaty pulled ahead of Santacaterina and Mark to capture silver and bronze respectively. Mark finished fourth in 5 hours 20 minutes 42 seconds, ahead of such renown pro swimmers such as Petar Stoychev of Bulgaria, Stephane Gomez, Brendan Capell of Australia and Maaten van der Weijden of the Netherlands.
Scott, battling hypothermia ever since the early stages of the race, heroically fought his own way through the waves, and finished in 6 hours 5 minutes to the delight and respect of the crowds.
Interesting note of the day: Midway through the race and on, the coaches on the feeding pontoons were cheering everyone on, no matter what the country of the athlete. The camaraderie of the support staff and the mutual admiration for all the athletes were never so apparent under such conditions. Everyone was a champion today.
Day: Fifteen
Date: Sunday morning, March 25, 2007
Location: St. Kilda Beach, Melbourne
Theme: Re-play
The starting positions for the second half of the womens 25K, which will start 5 minutes after the 21 male entrants, are as follows:
Germany Britta Kamrau-Corestein Start at 10:05
Germany Angela Maurer Start at 10:09 (4 minutes behind leader)
Russia Natalya Pankina Start at 10:09 (4 minutes behind leader)
Russia Ksenia Popova Start at 10:09 (4 minutes behind leader)
USA Kalyn Keller Start at 10:09:30 (4:30 behind leader)
Czech Jana Pechanova Start at 10:14 (9 minutes behind leader)
Australia Shelley Clark Start at 10:14 (9 minutes behind leader)
Italy Laura La Piana Start at 10:24 (19 minutes behind leader)
Poland Malwina Bukszowana Start at 10:24 (19 minutes behind leader)
Netherlands Evelien Sohl Start at 10:34 (30 minutes behind leader)
This re-start is an obvious disadvantage to the leader who must swim solo as the rest of the field can draft, pace and navigate off one another to play catch-up. The weather is expected to be sunny with the wind expected to be between 10-20 knots, as reported by the local weather bureau. The last three women will also probably be quickly lapped by the fresh group of 25K male swimmers. Note that the lead group of women swam averaged a little over 32 minutes for each of the first two loops yesterday.
An article in the local Melbourne newspaper summarizes the events of yesterday well: http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2007/03/24/1174597937379.html?from=top5.
Interesting photo of the day: As posted by www.fina.org, Vladimir Dyatchin of Russia, the 2003 world 10K champion, out-touches Thomas Lurz of Germany, the 2004 and 2006 world 10K champion, who were both given the same time of 1 hour 55 minutes 32 seconds. For those new to the sport, please note how both athletes extended themselves towards the finish pad and optimally timed their final stroke. This may appear easy, but requires much practice. Video images of the finish, taken by two cameras posted on the floating timing system, were necessary to decide the winner. This kind of race where the finish positions are determined by a formal review by FINA officials of the video-taped finish is not only expected in Beijing, but also in Seville at the first pre-Olympic qualifying swim where at least 100 swimmers will be vying for one of the 10 slots available slots reserved for the Olympic 10K final.
Interesting note of the day: Yesterday, Russian athletes not entered in the 25K were tasked with doing the feeding of their female teammates in the 25K instead of entirely depending on the Russian coaching staff. That is one way to build teamwork!
Saturday, March 24. 2007
Day 14
Day: Fourteen
Date: Saturday evening, March 24, 2007
Location: St. Kilda Beach, Melbourne
Theme: Womens 25K Race Day: to be continued
Written by Steve Munatones
The following press release was issued by FINA regarding the suspended womens 25K race this morning and slipped under the door of Kalyn Keller where she found it after returning from dinner:
Following the stoppage of the womens 25km open water swimming race of the 12th FINA World Championships due to extreme weather conditions on March 24, 2007, the FINA Bureau decided to re-schedule the race from the stage it was interrupted, after the 5 laps-mark (12.5 km). The swimmers will commence in a staggered start for the remaining 12.5 km in accordance with the times they had after the initial 5 laps. The competition will take place on Sunday, March 25, 2007 at 10h05, after the departure of the mens race at 10h00 in St-Kilda Beach. According to the latest weather forecast, the conditions for Sunday March 25, 2007 are expected to be fine (sunny), with the winds intensity and speed decreasing over the day.
Winds are expected to be 20 knots. According to information on Saturday evening, Germanys German Britta Kamrau-Corestein will lead off with a 2-minute start, followed by Russias Natalya Pankina and Germanys Angela Maurer and Russias Ksenia Popova. Kalyn is scheduled to start 10 seconds after the second group. This decision followed a lengthy discussion between FINA officials. Traditionally, in other open water swims, both of the pro marathon swimming circuit and other FINA races, if the first-place swimmer has finished at least half of the race and the event is called off for safety reasons, then the final results reflect the positions of the swimmers at the point when the race is called.
In a particularly unusual situation, Britta had to chase down a turn buoy that was being moved by the winds and waves. Towards the end before the race was called, swimmers were told to skip going around the turn buoys that had moved too close to a rock jetty.
After the race was called, the coaches on the far feeding station had to be returned to the beach, which was far easier said than done. Paul Asmuth and his coaching colleagues were finally rescued by a flotilla of police cruisers and Australian lifeguard rescue boats. If someone would just take my bag, it would have just been easier for me to swim to shore, said Paul, among the most experienced open water swimmers in the world. When the Omega timing officials left the feeding station (which also served as the finish line officials station) and headed to shore, it felt like people were abandoning ship, said Steven Munatones, on the other feeding pontoon. Towards the end, chairs, ice chests and everything else not battened down was going overboard. But we were not going to leave Kalyn out there. I was going down with the ship / feeding pontoon.
With the waves and rough conditions, orientation in the open water became very difficult. Russias Pankina reportedly said, The waves were unreal. I couldn't understand anything. I was being tossed back and forth, in every direction, couldn't tell which way - from the back, from the side. It was the first time for me to experience such a swim."
Around the 11K mark, Kalyn stopped 3 times. I didnt know which way to go, said Kalyn. I couldnt tell where anyone was. Over his radio about 700 meters away, Paul encouraged the rest of the team to keep her going. The race might be called soon. Just make sure she stays in until they call the race. And, sure enough, Kalyn did. When the lifeguard grabbed me [after the race was cancelled to pull her inside a lifeguard boat], I didnt know what he was doing. There was no way I wanted to watch the race from the shore while everyone else was swimming.
I saw the start of the race, then I went back to the hotel, Mark Warkentin said. When I returned later to watch Kalyn, I thought they were tearing down the place because all the banners and tents were down. But, it was just the weather.
Mother Nature. Lets see how kind she is to Kalyn, Mark and Scott tomorrow.
Friday, March 23. 2007
Day 14
Day: Fourteen
Date: Saturday, March 24, 2007
Location: St. Kilda Beach, Melbourne
Theme: Womens 25K Race Day: cancelled mid-race
Written by Steve Munatones
What started out as a light breeze turned into 40-knot winds and a world championships race cancelled after the lead swimmers passed the half-way point.
40 knots on the Beaufort Wind Scale are defined as somewhere between a fresh gale that generally impeded progress and breaks twigs off trees and a strong gale where slight structural damage occurs.
Additionally, two different squalls occurred during the first few loops. Turn buoys were being torn off from their anchors and waves were crashing over the feeding pontoons. The swimmers were faced with constant 3-4 foot waves coming from all directions. Towards the end, the race turned into a matter of survival versus racing.
But, Kalyn hung in tough and lasted until the race was called, finishing in 5th position approximately 13 kilometers from the start.
More details after the official results are in.
Day 14
Day: Fourteen
Date: Saturday, March 24, 2007
Location: St. Kilda Beach, Melbourne
Theme: Womens 25K Race Day
Pre-race beach report, 2 hours before race start:
Written by Steve Munatones
Winds: 5 knots (Beaufort Wind Scale definition: light breeze wind felt on face; leaves rustle; ordinary wind vane moved by wind)
Water Temperature: approximately 67º
Water Conditions: slight surface chop on inside legs, less than 1-foot swells on outer legs, current running against swimmers on 2 legs of rectangular course
Weather Conditions: overcast skies with light rain
Day 13
Day: Thirteen
Date: Friday, March 23, 2007
Location: St. Kilda Beach, Melbourne
Theme: 25K Technical Meeting
Written by Steve Munatones
The technical meeting was held in the Melbourne Town Hall where the FINA Open Water Technical Committee explained the revised course and expected weather conditions for the 25K races this weekend. There will be three major changes:
Because of the expected 10-25 knot winds and rain, there will be no dive start off of a floating pontoon. The start will be a traditional in-the-water start.
One of the feeding pontoons will not be used because of the expected waves caused by the winds. An alternative feeding pontoon will be used that will cause the course to be extended about 50-70 meters per loop. This will lead to an approximate distance of 25.5 kilometers.
Each swimmer will be allowed two coaches in order so the swimmers may have a coach on each of the two feeding stations. Paul Asmuth and Steven Munatones will handle the feedings for Kalyn Keller in the womens race. Paul and Jim Miller will be on one pontoon and Steven and Jeremy Vail will be on the other pontoon during the mens race where Mark Warkentin and Scott Kaufmann are entered.
There are 13 entrants in the womens race with Kalyn Kellers top competition expected to be the Russians (Natalya Pankina and Ksenia Popova), the German duo (Britta Kamrau, Angela Maurer), an Italian pair (Laura La Piana and Alessandra Romiti), the Dutch swimmer (Evelien Sohl) and the Czech swimmer (Jana Pechanova).
Kalyn will be doing her first 25K swim tomorrow. Her sense of adventure is admirable; her courage and determination are befitting the Olympian she is.
Interesting note of the day: According to the Beaufort Wind Scale, 25 knots equals 28.8 miles per hour winds. This is described as strong breeze with large tree branches in motion, telephone wires whistle and umbrellas are used with difficulty. Needless to say, the surface chop is expected to be significant and the footing by the coaches on the feeding pontoons will be precarious as the waves may cause significant movement.
Thursday, March 22. 2007
Day 12
Day: Twelve
Date: Thursday, March 22, 2007
Location: St. Kilda Beach, Melbourne
Theme: Warm-down
Written by Steve Munatones
Today, nearly everyone went to the 50-meter pool to do a long warm-down after the competitive 10K. All the athletes, sunburned and sore, did long easy swimming in the 8-lane pool. It was a day of recovery. Tomorrow, the technical meeting for the womens 25K race on Saturday and the mens 25K race on Sunday will be held.
One remarkable and unfortunate sight was the mens 10K winner from Russia, Vladimir Dyatchin. Vladimir had wide 10-inch-long lacerations on both his left and right sides running across his rib cages. Just the sight of those cuts made one want to cringe, especially since he apparently received those cuts during the races in cold, salty ocean water where everyone was stung with jellyfish. Dr. Miller stated that the lacerations were so bad that they should have required sutures. To incur and bear such wounds during a race, and have the presence of mind to win the most competitive mens 10K race in recent memory, is truly a feat to behold.
Interesting note 1 of the day: Due to the great number of swimmers who are expected at the first Olympic 10K qualifier in Seville, Spain, there is talk among the coaches and administrators that some kind of qualifying times or preliminary swims are needed. It is impractical to expect over 100 swimmers to do a 10K race in such close quarters.
Interesting note 2 of the day: The Australian press published reports again that Grant Hackett intends to swim in the 10K race in Beijing.
Interesting note 3 of the day: The open water team went to go see the US mens water polo game versus South Africa this afternoon. The US mens team won their second game of the tournament in a lead-up to a tough first-round game against Croatia. After the game, the water polo coaches gave their best wishes to their open water colleagues because weve seen your open water races on TV, weve all done pier swims and other open water races in California, and we know how tough it is, especially around those buoys
Wednesday, March 21. 2007
Men's 10K
Day: Ten
Date: Wednesday, March 21, 2007
Location: St. Kilda Beach, Melbourne
Theme: Pack Swimming at the Highest Levels
Written by Steve Munatones
The very close and exciting mens 10K was a very interesting race. For the following reasons, the strategies of the 10K are evolving leading up to the Olympic year:
The lead group included at least 35 swimmers in a tight pack swimming stroke-for-stroke over the first 7.5K. The quality and quantity of men capable of hanging with the worlds best open water swimmers is increasing.
The pace of the first half of the race was fast. Although the conditions were not exactly the same, the American men had a faster time on the first half of their 10K than they did for their 5K race earlier in the week. Given all the physical contact throughout the race, the American swimmers were ideally positioned, sitting somewhere between 2nd and 6th place throughout the first 8K.
53 men started the race by diving from a floating pontoon without problems and on time. Americas Sid Cassidy, as the starter and head of the FINA Open Water Technical Committee, has been doing an excellent job as the starter under the new starting system.
While the American men got a great start and moved to the front of the pack in order to minimize physical contact, breaststroke was the favored stroke of 3 swimmers. These breaststrokers were among the 10 swimmers who did not finish.
The Port Philip Blue Blubbers were in full force, waiting and lurking just under the waters surface, for the men. The menacing Blue Blubbers (photo to follow) generally float 1-2 feet under the surface of the water, with their harmless heads sticking up towards the surface. However, like the womens race the day before, when the pack swam over a pod of jellyfish, the Blue Blubbers flip over due to the turbulence. This causes their white thick tentacles to face upwards towards the swimmers. Needless to say, like their female counterparts, the men were stung mercilessly on all parts of their body.
Relatively few men were able to feed off of one of the feeding pontoons due to the great number of swimmers were came in together. Most feeds were missed due to the swimmers distance from the pontoon or flailing arms of other competitors inadvertently hitting feeding sticks. The American men missed all of their feedings that were planned on the 2nd and 3rd loops, where a large majority of other swimmers also tried to feed. Observers on the feeding pontoons called the scene something similar to throwing a bloody steak into a pool of hungry sharks. One of the Dutch swimmers, 6-8 Martin Van Der Weijden, swam at the very back of the lead pack of 35 swimmers and took a relatively leisurely feeding on every loop. He had sufficient fuel in his tank to storm past his competition on the last loop to take 6th overall.
The eventual winner, Russian Vladimir Dyatchin, sprinted out between the 7.5K and 8K mark to temporarily lead the group. He flipped over on his back and completely downed a gel pack. After finishing the gel pack, he settled in third behind Thomas Lurz, the defending champion, race favorite and 5K gold medalist. This move turned out to be one of the key factors to his victory.
When Vladimir surrendered the lead at the 8K mark, Germanys Lurz unexpectedly found himself in first. Like a cyclist who wants someone else to pull the pack, Lurz started to swim in wide S lines in order to encourage others to take the lead. The entire train refused to do so and everyone in the top group started to navigate in wide S paths. As Lurz was closing in on the last feeding pontoon, he headed straight for the middle of the pontoon. Only several meters before the pontoon, he swerved and just barely grazed the feeding pontoon. This move helped him shaved off several valuable seconds and put some distance between him and others.
The pace on the last 2K was tremendous, but unfortunately, our American men were not able to hold on. Mark took 20th and Scott took 33rd. They both have one more race the 25K on Sunday to complete the hardest and longest schedule of all the American swimmers in Melbourne an incredible total of 40 kilometers.
Mohammed Zanaty, the top Egyptian swimmers who is trained by a Russian coach, finished fourth. His federation required a top 8 finish in order to continue funding his coaching.
The finish was another classic open water finish in which Russian Dyatchin out-touched Lurz 1:55:32.52 to 1:55:32.58. Like many races, the crowd was yelling and cheering the leaders to the end. But, even after the finish, no one knew exactly what the final placing was. It took a long time to confirm the final results.
Another Russian finished third. The Russian are planning to do another 3 FINA Open Water Grand Prix races before the first Olympic qualifying race in Seville in April 2008.
Interesting note of the day: Word in the open water community has it that nearly 170 swimmers will be entered in the Seville qualifying race. If true, with this number of swimmers, safety must be on the forefront of the race organizers. Some discussions are floating around about some kind of qualifying swims but these details are to be worked out.
Tuesday, March 20. 2007
Womens' 10K
Day: Ten
Date: Tuesday, March 20, 2007
Location: St. Kilda Beach, Melbourne
Theme: A Classic
Written by Steve Munatones
Sporting events frequently provide memorable moments and clashes that are re-lived over and over again by the athletes, their coaches, parents, families, friends and media. In classic match-ups, athletes go toe-to-toe with one another in stadiums, pools, tracks, gyms, rinks, roads and diamonds.
When the arena is a green, churning, murky, wavy, cold body of water, filled with huge stinging jellyfish, and athletes vying for every advantage over a 2-hour period, it is truly something to behold. Everything that open water swimming has to offer both good and bad was thrown at the 43 swimmers in the womens 10K race today: Intense battles around every one of the 20 tight buoy turns. Tight pack swimming down the backstretch. Struggles to get over to the feeding pontoons in cross-currents. Nothing came easy and there was no let-up throughout the race.
Experienced observers thought every competitor looked like they had just swum a long 25K race instead of only a 10K. Jellyfish stings ran up and down the swimmers faces, arms and legs. Scratches, cuts and bruises were apparent on the backs of their fingers and knuckles. Gashes on the backs of legs and hips were the norm, all caused by swimming together in extremely close proximity to others over a 2-hour period.
Everyone was just beating each other up. I have never experienced such a race before. It was horrible," said Germanys Angela Maurer, one of the most accomplished, toughest and most experienced open water swimmers today.
Toughness and courage defined the efforts of Kalyn Keller and Chloe Sutton. Kalyn placed 9th in 2:04:10, twelve seconds behind the Russian gold medalist, while being in the hunt throughout the long race, going stroke-for-stroke against the finest womens field ever put together for a FINA open water event to date. If not for only few instances along the course where she lost precious seconds, Kalyn would have been vying for a medal. But, this experience, however trying, will certainly bode well for her in the future.
The entire coaching community who saw the race had nothing but the highest respect for young Chloe whose goggles were knocked off less than 1K into the race. As her goggles sank to the ocean floor, Chloe knew her chances for medaling immediately vanished. Searching frantically for her goggles and crying out for help to the race officials, there was nothing much anyone could do. Fortunately, the incident occurred only 150 meters from the far feeding pontoon where the American coaches had an extra pair. One of the surf rescue lifeguards on a jet ski came to retrieve Chloes new pair of goggles, but by the time Chloe started again, the lead pack had a 3-minute advantage. Chloe put her head down and swam all by herself, chasing the entire field, intent on getting back into the race. By the finish, Chloe had passed 14 other swimmers to place 28th in 2:15:00.
With the womens 10K race done, the American men still have their 10K race tomorrow and their 25K race on Sunday. Both Mark and Scott now know well what is in store for them against this intense level of competition with everyone striving for the first Olympic medals in the sport up for grabs next year.
Interesting note 1 of the day: Some foreign swimmers used Vaseline and lanolin on their ankles and lower legs to help prevent their competitors from grabbing and pulling on their legs during the competition.
Interesting note 2 of the day: The American coaching staff used an 18-foot golf ball retrieval pole to provide Gatorade to the swimmers from the very high feeding pontoons.
Monday, March 19. 2007
Day 9
Day: Nine
Date: Monday, March 19, 2007
Location: St. Kilda Beach, Melbourne
Theme: Feeding on Race Day
Written by Steve Munatones
After the 10K on Sunday, all of the swimmers went to the nearby 50-meter pool to loosen down. Most of the rest of the teams were there also, all nursing their wounds.
Today, all the 10Kers went a loop around the 2.5K loop of the 10K course in the 65.6ºF ocean water and practiced feeding off one of the feeding pontoons. There are two feeding stations on the course no escort boats will be allowed on the course for the 10K and 25K with the exception of the coaches on the feeding stations. There is a limit of 1 coach per swimmer per event. With Kalyn Keller and Chloe Sutton entered in the 10K tomorrow, Paul Asmuth and Steven Munatones will handle the feeding.
The first feeding pontoon is about 1.2K from the start and about 500 meters straight out from shore. The feeding pontoon sits at least 6-8 feet from the surface of the water, depending on the ocean swells, so this presents some technical issues in trying to reach down to the swimmers for a feeding. The height and movement of the pontoon may become problematic if 20-30 swimmers are barreling together towards the feeding station in a large pack in rough seas.
The organizing committee is requiring each of the coaches on the feeding stations to wear life jackets all bright yellow, which makes it difficult for the swimmers to distinguish their own coach from the dozens of other coaches on the pontoons. But, Jeremy Vail, Lindsay Mintenko, Dr. Miller and Paul devised a new feeding system and schedule that should be convenient and beneficial for Kalyn and Chloe.
The second feeding pontoon is near the start and is 2-4 feet off the surface of the water. Paul and Steve may be together on one feeding station or they may be positioned on different feeding stations depending on the conditions on race day and the requests of the swimmers. Because most of the teams are in the same hotel, it is interesting to hear the feeding strategies of the different teams. But, the feeding strategies of the other competitors will become apparent 30 minutes before the start of the race when the coaches have to make a choice and board one of the two different boats that will take them out to feeding stations. The two different boats will be boarded in the same area. So, like managers on baseball teams signaling to pitchers, it will be interesting to see the body language and movement of the coaches just prior to boarding.
The womens 10K race begins at 12 noon tomorrow which allows the swimmers to get a nice breakfast and warm-up in.
Needless to say, our young ladies are very ready to go. It will be exciting.


text:
Check out the amazing challenges submitted so far.
Read them all, leave your comments & give your inspiration wings!
Chris Messan
The slam dunk
My challenge for travis combines the two sports I love most, basketball and motocross. I challenge travis to take off one of his jumps, receive a layup of the ball and dunk it while mid air. To make it more of a challenge between the riders, you could run it like a high jump event (highest dunk).

subset: commoncrawl


text:
John Surman: Kentish Hunting (Lady Margaret's Air)
Kentish Hunting (Lady Margaret's Air)
John Surman (soprano & baritone saxes, bass clarinet, synthesizer)
The Amazing Adventures of Simon Simon (ECM 1993 829160-2)
John Surman (soprano & baritone saxes, bass clarinet, synthesizer), Jack DeJohnette (drums, congas, electric piano).
Traditional arranged by John Surman.
Recorded: Oslo, Norway, January 1981
Rating: 88/100 (learn more)
John Surman is a saxophonist of extraordinary musical interests and diversity. His explorations transcend the boundaries of what most people call jazz. Throughout his career, he has masterfully played with the likes of John McLaughlin, Dave Holland, Mike Gibbs, Miroslav Vitous and Paul Bley, to name a few. His collaborative work with Jack DeJohnette has been a fruitful and exploratory one spanning many years and including a commission to work in conjunction with the avant-garde Balansecu string quartet. In this nine-part musical adventure of sounds and textures, Surman's use of the various timbres in his multi-reed arsenal is impressive. For Part III, "Kentish Hunting" (aka "Lady Margaret's Air"), his baritone sax provides a prancing background emulating a gentry ride through the English countryside. The dancing airy overdub of his delicate crystalline soprano sax evokes the brisk country air flowing through Lady Margaret's hair as she gallops her trusty steed. Surman's mastery of tone and texture creates the image of a Kentish Hunt to perfection.
Reviewer: Ralph A. Miriello
Tags: 1980s jazz · ecm
Comments are closed.


text:
The Drowsy Chaperone
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More in Common
Than Even We Realize
From: possble artist?
To: "Positive Atheism" <firstname.lastname@example.com>
Sent: July 16, 2002 1:26 PM
Subject: IN GOD WE TRUST On Our Money
While I am A Christian, I understand your point of view. I am Seventh Day Adventist.
If you want to really be enthralled listen to this. Did you know that Pat Robertson of the Christian Coalition has moved so many Christians into the senate and other places of high position without so much as a head-shake? Do you realize that the moral majority will vote laws into being soon? Did you know the argument for separation of Church and state will finally be worked out that there won't be separation? Read Day of the Dragon by Clifford Goldstein.
I realize you don't believe in God. I do. That's not what I am saying. Adventist Christians stand on the same side of the issue as Atheists do. Rare huh!
From: "Positive Atheism" <email@example.com>
To: "possble artist?"
Subject: Re: IN GOD WE TRUST On Our Money
Date: July 19, 2002 6:41 AM
Adventist Christians stand on the same side of the issue as Atheists do.
Rare huh!
No, not at all!
It seems as if you'd think it would be that way, but even thinking it should be that way is mostly our own, almost reflexive prejudices at work. They aren't even our own prejudices, really, but those of this or that political force which has taken advantage of our culture-wide weaknesses and ignorance so many times that the feelings themselves become habit. Like the frothing dogs of Professor Pavlov, it's not something we can even control: it's not a voluntary muscle.
But no, ideologically, we all have much more in common than we have differences, and if adventists are separationists, then you and I have much more in common than either of us have in common with somebody who, for example, wants "In God We Trust" printed on all U.S. currency and coinage. Generally, they want their group or message to receive special, unearned supremacy, treatment, or favor, along with what has always been our national image, being those messages that are enveloped into our Constitution. We prefer to keep the message that our country sends to the world the same as it has always been, at least until after World War II when we assumed a much different role in the world scene than we had held before.
State-church separationism is essentially a theistic issue. Within the movement of separationism, I would assume that atheists are a minority, by count, but the latest . However, very seldom will you find atheists stumping for establishment of religion, government endorsement of religion, and policies that amount to transparent attempts to bring about what amounts either to government intermeddling or government favoritism.
Now that I know that Adventist Christians are, as a group, strongly separationistic (I assume, by what you say), I know where to go when I wish to engage in some separationism work. I know about the Baptists, but the denomination itself is divided because Baptists consider it the individual's responsibility to interpret the Bible for himself or herself. For this reason you will have, on one side, Dennis, one of this magazine's "Official Pastors" and Jerry Falwell in the same denomination, each accepting the other as a true Christian while denouncing same for serious flaws in the understanding of Scripture.
Besides, I almost constantly urge that the "God question" is one of the silliest reasons over which we could possibly bicker and fight! Now, I only wish I could call my Grandma (either one) and tell her about you! You will see what I mean by the time you're done with this Reply, and I will only have touched the surface!
I realize you don't believe in God. I do.
As is was saying above, we all have much more in common than we do differences.
The biggest difference (even in the theism-atheism axis) is that your religion is probably very important to you, whereas my atheism is a very small part of my outook, meaning little or nothing to me. Chances are, your religion is an extremely big part of your life, up there with your family and your career, and intertwined with the very values that you hold as a moral human. This is probably true even if you are not a fundamentalist or even what one might call "devout": if you're bringing it up and pointing out these differences, your religion means a lot more to you than it does to some bloke who hasn't thought about religion since he got offended as some clown's irreverent tattoo and ended up trying to tangle with him on the sidewalk over it. At the very minimum, as a theist you would probably want to come to bat for the "faith of your fathers" if somebody challenged its validity in casual conversation.
Most atheists just roll their eyes at such conversation. I'll bet that just about every atheist who would challenge someone's faith gratuitously, that is, unprovoked, already has a web sites to take care of that problem! Most atheists wouldn't dream of carrying it that far.
My atheism, for the most part, doesn't mean diddly to me (and to most of us). The reason for my web site has never been to propagate atheism but todeal with the social advocacy problems inherent in state-church entanglement. Since at least part of my proposed solution involves urging atheists to change their tune on a few things, I have a web site and publish a magazine which places this issue as one of her several editorial goals.
It is very important to keep in mind that theism, particularly a specific religion, can itself be a large fraction of a person's outlook or point of view.
This is never the case with atheism, and cannot be. Atheism, being the simple lack of a god-belief (not necessarily the positive belief that God does not exist), can never account for much of anybody's comprehensive world-view. Yes, all world-views are either theistic or atheistic; that is, each person, in holding a unique world view, is either a theist or an atheist.
My world view is atheistic, but there is much, much more to my world view than anthem. Much, much more. My atheism is a very minor element, in fact, hardly worthy of thought most of the time (except that I do this work full time, otherwise, I wouldn't think about it at all beyond knowing that I am an atheist and not, say, a Rastafarian).
Your world view is theistic, but the fact that you're an Adventist demonstrates that even in this respect, you are much more than simply a theist.
Varieties of Atheism
(Although I've written on this subject many times, this is my first attempt at this specific exercise: a comprehensive list of the varieties. I expect to try this many times again, and will finally come up with one I like!)
The only varieties within atheism, really, are (1) how vehemently we hold our atheism ("strong" and "weak" atheists) and (2) how active we are in pondering and thus expressing our atheism (what I call "active" and "passive" atheists; this is what I mean by "activistic atheism").
Some have studied the philosophy of religion and have a strong education or experience in philosophy and logic. Such atheists might assert that the very idea of God is impossible. They might ask, How can a god be both all-powerful and all-knowing? These are usually the only thinking persons who will assert that "No gods exist." Someone who simply says, "There's no such thing as God" is usually parroting somebody, or, at best, has an inkling of what they think they mean and it comes out like this. These "strong" atheists are very, very rare among atheists.
Others have thoroughly studied the various religious claims, have found strong reasons to reject them all, and now suspect that if there were a "true god-claim" out there, she or he would have encountered it by now. This is pretty much how I hold my atheism; however, I never say "God does not exist." Instead, I prefer to speak in terms of god-claims, simply because this is language with which you and I can both relate. Once you carry it further than the fact that you are making a claim, once the discussion goes further than whether or not your claim warrants my assent, that is, once you start talking about God Himself, you've lost me. This last part is hard to see, so I won't delve too deeply unless you write back on it.
Still others gave it a fair review in high school or college and said, "This is not for me" or "This is interesting, but it certainly is not real." Such atheists have, for the most part, never pondered the subject again. So far into the back of their minds have they filed the subject of religion and atheism that if you walked up and called them "an atheist," they might even get offended! They might have bought the Roman Catholic definition which says that all atheists vehemently assert that no gods exist (rather, "deny the existence of God"). If, then, you spent some time (as I am with you) and explained what atheism is and is not, they will scratch their head, shake off the stigma much like a dog shakes off the moisture from its head, and say, "I guess, if you put it that way, I guess I'm an atheist. I couldn't be anything else, really, except that you might call me an 'Agnostic Atheist.' But I'm still an atheist nonetheless, because I lack a god belief, for sure." This is the largest segment of atheists who have ever thought about their atheism.
A similar category would be those who, for example, were molested by a priest and will never again be able to stomach anything religious. Either they cannot see how God could exist ("weak") or God, for them, does not or cannot exist ("strong"). However, this atheist cannot explain it to you philosophically. Apart from that, everything else applies.
Philosophically "weaker" still, is the atheist who just never became interested: she or he perhaps grew up in an atheistic home and never had any close friends convert right there in the middle of the friendship (like I have). This is my Sister, this is my Father. Mom is probably the category above, having grown up in a family with a long, long tradition of Spinoza's-God Unitarianism, often called Deism during the American Revolution. However, the Unitarians and the Universalists became a single entity long after anybody in our family had ceased involvement (1961).
Still "weaker" (in the philosophical sense) are those whom many people would not consider atheists at all, being either wholly ignorant of theism (isolated tribes; rare cases of children raised in isolation either by sick, brutal parents or due to rare medical conditions) or children incapable of putting together the complex thoughts required for theistic belief (infants; the retarded). However, the Victorian-era Secularists commonly called such people "atheists" simply for lacking a god-belief, which is, in fact, what atheism is: the lack of a god-belief. To avoid this position is one of the attractions of the Roman Catholic view that atheism necessarily denies the existence of God. The other reason, that amongst Church officials themselves, is to make atheism seem abjectly stupid, as nobody can empirically disprove an existential claim (a claim that a thing exists).
However, I still favor this view, simply because it is consistent with the rest of the ways in which the same definition is used. That is the most important reason, for me, to favor this definition for atheism, "the absence of theism": it is simply much more self-consistent than any other way I've seen of describing the situation. True, it has the advantage of softening the blows of stigma, and this is good. Also, it is convenient for the atheist in that it clearly demonstrates that theism has the burden of proof. To say, "God does not exist" is to make a claim, in the eyes of some; this is true, but "God does not exist" is not an existential claim, and I'm not sure precisely how the burden of proof would work in that situation.
What's the Big Problem?
Why are atheists so widely and viciously despised that we have it worse than homosexuals, even? Why would only 40 or so percent of American adults discriminate against a homosexual, while 50 percent would discriminate against atheists (probably thinking in terms of the Roman Catholic definition of one who asserts the nonexistence of God).
That is what I have tried to address in this letter, though I haven't let on that this was what I'm doing.
We don't know the answer to this; however, we all witnessed a big clue this past week in the wild reaction to the Newdow case (didn't we?)!
As an activist, having worked in several fronts, including many involving antibigotry campaigns, I've never seen anything like this. Also, the others all had various, and in each case, unique tools, resources, vehicles, angles, approaches, and the like, which they could utilize in solving their problem. Atheists, unfortunately, have none of the big tools that I've been able to identify as those used to address or eliminate their problem.
Here's an exercise: think about the Civil Rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s, beginning with Rosa Parks and ending with, say, the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr., when, I think, we all realized that we're basically on our own in this regard, there are no more big-name activists to carry us forward in this struggle, so we had better pick up the ball from here and continue the struggle as individuals and as small organizations. First, try to identify for yourself what were the main tools they used to accomplish their goals. By this I mean what tools did they use in their activism. I am not thinking in terms of anything that occurred naturally, such as the role that AIDS played in the gay rights movement. (I can see it: "To eliminate bigotry, see to it that a large chunk of your class catches a fatal virus!")
The two things that stand out to me, after seven years of publishing and over twelve years of activism specifically against antiatheist bigotry at one level or another are these:
1. The big problem is the very common misnomer that all atheists hate religion and that all of us boldly assert that God does not exist (which is a rather stupid viewpoint unless you've been extremely careful with it, as I described above). I described the various definitions of atheism above. In fact, for the very first time, I have called these "the varieties of atheism"; I've already decided to develop this into a work that I'd like to see distributed to churches across America. (Cliff the dreamer!)
2. I also touched on the other problem I see, which is the difference between how theists see their theism and how we atheists see our atheism. All too often theists treat me as if I hold my atheism similarly to the way they hold their theism! Fundamentalist Christians (including the more devout Roman Catholics) and activistic Muslims make a big deal about atheism -- much bigger than we atheists do.
Many theists practice religion that is virtually all-encompassing. Their religion is their whole life. That is all they know. Naturally, when they hear about an atheist, they might easily conclude that the atheist holds his or her atheism with the same vehemence as the theist holds religious faith.
A good way to see this problem would be to compare an avid football fan, so obsessed with the game that his wife once threatened to divorce him against a vegetarian environmentalist who spends most of her spare time in ancient woods and old-growth forests. In this analogy, football would be theism and the environmentalist would be the atheist. (Notice that I deliberately refrain from symbolizing atheism, here: this is crucial to understanding my point!)
The common mistake, then, would be to think that the environmentalist sits there and loathes the game of football! More likely, she borders on being oblivious to even the pros and cons of football! She couldn't relate to the football fan's wife (who loathes the game from her innermost being) any better than she could relate to the football fan himself! Instead, she is entirely indifferent to the sport of football, occasionally seeing it used as a motif in billboard advertisements when she rolls into town. (This would be the most extreme case, of course! I use it, however, to more easily illustrate the point.)
In the same way, the vast majority of atheists, those who are entirely indifferent to religion, don't even pay attention to either theism or organized, active atheism. Such an atheist might even be quite uncomfortable in the company of, say, the leader of a Humanist group or the host of an atheistic television program, because she neither embraces nor loathes religion: it simply has no importance or significance in her thoughts and her life.
Ah, but a significant number of theists (the evangelical types) act toward me as if I do sit there and loathe religion with a focus similar to how they embrace religion! Herein, I think, is one of our big problems as atheists! And once again, the solution seems tied in with popularizing the notion that atheism is a big, fat nothing!
So we have two things, now: First, atheism is not a positive belief but the negative absence of a specific set of beliefs. In other words, if religion is likened unto a shelf full of ready-made roast beef sandwiches at the Qwik Mart, atheism is not a shelf full of ready-made ham sandwiches. rather, atheism is the state of the shelf itself, after the Qwik Mart has sold out of their ready-made roast beef sandwiches! Religion constitutes the items, the beliefs; atheism is the state of absence when those beliefs are not part of the picture.
Secondly (and this one is still tough for me, even), atheism is not something that we can have in varying amounts or do in varying degrees of intensity. Religion may be the vague belief in "whatever is out there" but even then it still has an object: "whatever is out there"! It is easier to see when we examine someone who has let their faith become all-encompassing, but all theism has the same components, only to differing degrees and in differing amounts. All theism has faith in an object, a god, and all theism gives a reason as to why we should bother having faith or worshipping or confessing, etc., instead of simply ignoring God, like most of us do in regards to the pulsar PSR 1919+21. Some theism goes much further in each of these respects, giving elaborate descriptions of God and laying down precise measures for pleasing Him.
Atheism does not have either of these components, but is, instead, the utter absence of this entire picture.
Atheism, therefore, is not the counterpoint to theism. This being the case, atheism, as the simple absence of a god-belief, rarely if ever even thinks about the subject of theism and atheism.
Lately I've been saying that atheism is little more than the way I distinguish myself from theists, when the need arises (which isn't often -- or at least shouldn't be). I have written two columns that touch on this line of reasoning, the August, 2001, column, "To Symbolize That Which Is Not?" and the April, 2001, column, "Atheism: But A Small Part."
Another work that you will probably find fascinating is my "rant" against the very notion of organized atheism (if this has interested you, if you think the plight of the atheist is worthy of a few hours of your time). If you've ever thought about or wondered about the notion of organized atheism (What on Earth do they do?)athougyht wondered about that like many of us have (only to give up, tuck it neatly away for later), then I'll think you'd find it easier to see the problems with the whole idea just having read what I wrote above! This other piece, though, "Why Advocate For Individual Activists?" is considered by some to be one of the more radical essays to come out of our camp in the past several years. Ironically, I like to think of it as a review of the majority viewpoint among atheists!
How can this be? Is it possible for me to compile the thinking of the average Joe? Check out this work, which is staged as a question and reply from Argentinean Skeptical activist Juan De Gennaro, but which he played more of a role in developing than even he will ever realize. His question was, "Why Advocate For Individual Activists?"
Thanks for everything, and most of all, for the opportunity to hear from one of my most important allies, an Adventist Christian, yes (I have no problem with that whatsoever), but most of all, a person who is clearly not a bigot!
Cliff Walker
Positive Atheism Magazine
Almost seven years of service to
people with no reason to believe
Material by Cliff Walker (including unsigned editorial commentary) is copyright ©1995-2006 by Cliff Walker. Each submission is copyrighted by its writer, who retains control of the work except that by submitting it to Positive Atheism, permission has been granted to use the material or an edited version: (1) on the Positive Atheism web site; (2) in Positive Atheism Magazine; (3) in subsequent works controlled by Cliff Walker or Positive Atheism Magazine (including published or posted compilations). Excerpts not exceeding 500 words are allowed provided the proper copyright notice is affixed. Other use requires permission; Positive Atheism will work to protect the rights of all who submit their writings to us.


text:
Pan's People: Where are they now?
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Submitted by cornershop15 on Thu, 2011-08-11 13:24
Re: 'Where Are They Now?'
I think this is from a 1993 issue of Q . It says TV Hell was shown the previous year, which I know was on an August Bank Holiday, and references are made to "recent" appearances on TV AM and Richard and Judy, as well as a fitness video Dee Dee choreographed for Britt Ekland (Britt Fit). All were in 1992.
Once again, Andrea and the later dancers - notably Sue - have unfortunately been overlooked. There does seem to be a general consensus that Babs, Cherry, Dee Dee, Louise and Ruth was the 'classic line up' (with Flick as choreographer), probably because they were involved in the best-remembered/most shown routines, Get Down and Homely Girl.
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Information in the game database is updated periodically. Below, you'll find that information compiled as pertains to Intellivision Productions. The company may be involved as a publisher, developer or both.
Steamroller [2000]
Body Slam Super Pro Wrestling [1988]
Chip Shot Super Pro Golf [1987]
Dig Dug [1987]
Mountain Madness Super Pro Skiing [1988]
Slam Dunk: Super Pro Basketball [1987]
Slap Shot: Super Pro Hockey [1987]
Spiker: Super Pro Volleyball [1989]
Stadium Mud Buggies [1989]
Super Pro Decathlon [1988]
Super Pro Football [1986]
Tower of Doom [1987]
Triple Challenge [1987]
There are numerous companies in the industry, and their names change like the weather. The information above is not particular about the finer details. Acquisitions are common, so companies with no recent listings may still be developing games under a new name. For example, DMA Design currently has a Rockstar name. Do you know of a title that is not listed above but should be? Be sure and let a staff member know. You can contact staff if you click here.
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Nov 11, 2011 9:23 AM
In 20 years those dramatic journal entries you fill this Recycled LP Vinyl Record Coptic Journal ($40) with will be as classic as the records that make this awesome journal. True story. Whenever we need to remind ourselves not to take things too seriously we just bust out our journals from middle school. And then we bust out laughing at the nonsense within its pages. It's a good exercise on perspective. We suggest giving this to an overly-sensitive, deeply talented musician or teenager in your family. They'll thank you later.
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2009-10 (Junior): Outdoor Track: At the Atlantic 10 Championships (5/2), notched 10th place in the pole vault (10-08.00)...Placed third in the pole vault with a mark of 10-08.75 at the UNH Pre-Conference Meet (4/24)...At the Larry Ellis Invite (4/17), placed 11th in the pole vault (10-04.00)... Took fourth in the pole vault with a height of 9-06.25 at the UConn Invite (4/3)...Indoor Track: Competed strictly in the pole vault... At the New England Championships (2/26), took 15th in the event with a mark of 10-00.00... Placed ninth in the pole vault at the Atlantic 10 Championships (2/19) with a height of 10-04.00.
2008-09 (Sophomore): Outdoor Track: Competed in the pole vault once, finishing in fifth and setting a height of 10-00.00 at the UConn Invitational (4/4)... Indoor Track: Competed in the pole vault throughout the season... Set her best height of the year at the New England Championships (2/27) with a mark of 10-06.25 and a 14th place finish... At the Atlantic 10 Championships, took ninth place in the pole vault with a height of 10-04.00.
2007-08 (Freshman): During the outdoor season, at the New England Championships (5/10), finished tenth overall with a height of 10-feet ... Recorded her best time of the season at the Larry Ellis Invitational (4/19) with a mark of 10-feet, 6 inches to rank sixth overall ... Started the season off with a height of 9-feet, 6.25 inches to place sixth overall ... Placed fourth at the URI Invitational (2/3) during the indoor season with a mark of 10-feet.
Before UMass: A 2007 graduate of Frontier Regional High School where she was a four-time Western Mass Pole Vault Champion ... Massachusetts State Pole Vault Champion in 2005 as well as New England Pole Vault runner-up ... Recorded a top height of 11-feet even ... Also had personal-best marks in the 100 high hurdles (16.7), the 200 meters (26.4), and the triple jump (34-feet) ... Played volleyball and basketball ... Helped the volleyball team to two state titles and was named to the all-star team.
Personal: Jenelle Marie Denehy ... Born Nov. 28, 1988 in Northampton, Mass. ... Daughter of Mike and Jo-Ann Denehy ... Has one sister, Jessica ... Enrolled in the College of Arts & Sciences.
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Sammy Williams
Position: T
Height: 6-5 Weight: 318 lbs.
Born: December 14, 1974 in Magnolia, MS
High School: Thornton Twp.
College: Oklahoma (school history)
Drafted by the Baltimore Ravens in the 6th round (164th overall) of the 1998 NFL Draft.
Weighted Career AV (100-95-...): 7 (8324th overall since 1950)
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College Hockey:Ryan Nets Winner As Maine Edges Providence
PROVIDENCE, R.I. — No. 3 Maine got a highlight-reel goal from defenseman Prestin Ryan with 5:55 remaining in regulation to break a 2-2 tie as the Black Bears survived a road battle with Providence, 3-2.
The play was made by rookie Luciano Aquino, who received a breakaway pass at the offensive blueline from Colin Shields and skated in alone on Friars netminder David Cacciola (31 saves). Drawing Cacciola and the trailing defenders to the right post, Aquino slid a perfect pass back to Ryan for the game winner.
"[Aquino] had the presence of mind to recognize the situation," said Maine head coach Tim Whitehead. "He had the composure to draw the goalie over and give a short backhand pass. It was just a great play."
Taking the lead wasn't the final highlight of the play for Maine as, during the celebration following, Providence winger Jonathan Goodwin punched Aquino in the back of the head and received a major penalty and game misconduct, giving the Black Bears the power play for most of the game's balance.
"It was a poor decision and was unacceptable," Providence head coach Paul Pooley said about Goodwin's penalty that, while it didn't result in a power-play goal, kept the Friars offense at bay until the final minute.
The major added to a long list of bad penalties that the Friars have taken in recent games. On Friday night, the Providence penalty kill allowed five goals in a 7-4 loss to No. 2 Boston College.
When asked what, if anything, Pooley can do to rectify the situation, he said that he would "do things internally," such as "taking away ice time."
Each team was playing the second game of its weekend and rested their Friday night starting goaltenders. Senior Frank Doyle started for the Black Bears making 25 saves, including a couple of key stops in the game's closing minute. Cacciola started instead of No. 1 man Bobby Goepfert and looked impressive, particularly in the opening period.
The Friars got on the board first, scoring in the opening minute of the game. After Colin McDonald blocked a shot from the point, rookie Bill McCreary outraced the Maine defender to the loose puck and, skating 2-on-1, centered a pass that Tony Zancanaro buried through Doyle's five hole for a 1-0 lead.
Maine, dominating the period and outshooting the Friars, 20-10, answered at 11:35. Fourth-line center Ben Murphy intercepted and one-timed an attempted clearing pass by Providence's Jason Platt that seemed to fool Cacciola, evening the score at one.
It was the second consecutive game that Providence allowed 20 shots in the opening period, having been outshot, 20-2, Friday at BC.
That, though, doesn't bother Pooley too much, since his club had faced the second- and third-ranked teams in the nation.
"[Maine] is a better club and we knew they could outshoot us," said Pooley. "We just wanted to keep things simple and dump in, and see what we could make happen."
The middle period, in fact, saw the Friars limit the Black Bears' chances offensively, reducing the Maine advantage to 7-4 on the frame. Unfortunately for the Friars, the Black Bears scored the only goal.
On the power play, Shields' blast from the left point was deflected by Greg Moore camped out in front. The redirect beat Cacciola blocker side just under the crossbar at 6:45 for the 2-1 lead.
The Friars came centimeters away from tying the game in the closing minute of the second. Defenseman James Pemberton pinched in from the point on a scramble in front of Doyle. The netminder had made the original save and was well out of position, leaving Pemberton the entire net. But Black Bear blueliner Mathew Deschamps dove from nowhere and pulled the puck out of the net, keeping the lead at 2-1 entering the third.
The goal light went on after the shot, but referee Conrad Hache conferred with his assistants and eventually ruled the puck did not cross the line.
"It was a crazy play," said Whitehead. "I'm glad the officials made the correct call. The light did go on but that was a good call."
Providence did tie the game in the third on the power play. After Ryan was forced to haul down Bill McCreary after turning the puck over, PC scored on the ensuing faceoff. Stephen Wood's shot through traffic from the left point appeared to deflect off a Maine player over Doyle's shoulder to knot the game at 5:42.
Then it was time for Aquino and Ryan to shine.
"It was such a great play," continued Whitehead of the Aquino to Ryan pass. "It was one of those plays that if it didn't work you're saying, 'What are you thinking?' But it worked. He's made some great plays this year."
The Friars played Saturday without the services of leading scorer Peter Zingoni, who suffered a shoulder injury in the third period of Friday night's BC game. He is listed as day-to-day. Goodwin, who was assessed a game disqualification along with his major, will miss Tuesday Mayor's Cup game versus No. 15 Brown as a result.
The win improves Maine's record to 10-2-1 (5-2-1 Hockey East) and moves the into a three-way tie for first with Massachusetts, which was idle on Saturday, and New Hampshire, a 5-2 winner over Northeastern. Providence drops to 6-5-2 (2-5-2).
The Friars' Mayor's Cup game will be the third game for PC in five days. Maine will be idle Thanksgiving weekend before traveling to Merrimack for a two-game set December 5 and 6.
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Pro-Force Tomahawk Elite SF Multicam 45 Litre Rucksack
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Research Article
Reconstructing ripeness I: A study of constructive engagement in protracted social conflicts
Version of Record online: 15 OCT 2008
DOI: 10.1002/crq.222
© Wiley Periodicals, Inc., and the Association for Conflict Resolution
Conflict Resolution Quarterly
Volume 26, Issue 1, pages 3–42, Autumn (Fall) 2008
Additional Information
How to Cite
Coleman, P. T., Hacking, A. G., Stover, M. A., Fisher-Yoshida, B. and Nowak, A. (2008), Reconstructing ripeness I: A study of constructive engagement in protracted social conflicts. Conflict Resolution Quarterly, 26: 3–42. doi: 10.1002/crq.222
Publication History
- Issue online: 15 OCT 2008
- Version of Record online: 15 OCT 2008
- Abstract
- References
- Cited By
What moves people to work with each other rather than against each other when locked into destructive, long-term conflicts? Ripeness theory has been a useful starting point for understanding such motives, but has limited explanatory power under conditions of intractable conflict. This article is the first of a two-part series presenting the findings from a study that explored various methods of eliciting constructive engagement from stakeholders through interviews with expert scholarpractitioners working with protracted conflicts. A grounded theory analysis was applied to the interviews to allow new insights into constructive conflict engagement to emerge from the data. Our objective was to develop more robust theories and practices. A dynamical systems synthesis of the findings is presented, and its implications for reconceptualizing ripeness are discussed.


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In my game all the contracts in League 2 start in 2010
Have you tried continuing a while with the players transfer listed and then trying to see if they are more willing to leave?
Quick question, (not really mine, it's elsewhere in the GD) but I've noticed that Leeds have a 0 transfer budget when starting a new game. Not strange on it's own, but someone else mentioned it was all PL clubs also, has anyone else seen this?.
Apologies if this is raised somewhere else...
EDIT: Looks like a button ticking issue, and my poor Leeds side have a 0 transfer budget.
Last edited by macca72; 08-03-2011 at 21:26.
i know its not the game but im sure you computer geeks could suggest some things. there is no firewall settings.
delet~~ as problem solved~
Last edited by Night215; 08-03-2011 at 21:25. Reason: solved~~
konchesky isnt on loan at notts forest?
I don't know where Dean got the idea for releasing another data update from, but unfortunately it can't happen for legal and licensing reasons, so I would suggest, as others have, to use the data editor if you're unhappy with some of the data.
@Night215- Have you checked the 'allow transfer budgets in first window' box before starting a new game?
Hey all,
Anyone know if the demo is the game with the latest patch?
This was the case previously. I've loaded up the game with release code, patch 1 code and patch 2 code and the same players have contract start dates at the start of the game. Contract lengths arent as long the lower down the leagues you go so I'm not sure if most of these contracts have only been signed or not
Also like you've said it's not every player at the club
Before the new patch 11.3, I could make loan offers for loan listed players and usually their clubs didn't require a wage contribution or a loan fee. Especially if they were players of my parent club ManU, they never asked for fees or wages, which is logical considering that they want these players to move on loan. After the patch, all my offers for loan have been rejected cause they now want a fee and wages to be paid in full. I find this to be wrong, as these players are listed for loan, and I am their feeder club.
You will notice I already have a player from ManU on loan without a wage contribution. This player was sent to me by the parent club before I applied the patch and I had delayed the decision of whether to accept the move. Then I downloaded the patch as I noticed it was out. Afterward I reloaded my save, I accepted this player into my club, but all other offers I have made have been rejected.
In any case thanks for your response mate.
so is gripper not allowed to release the XML update at all?
Last edited by milnerpoint; 08-03-2011 at 21:43.
Great Patch Si thanks again for the hard work
Only 2 Bug Bearers for me is that Celtic Park seat colour is still white and cant fin a way to change it
alot of transfer database errors
No stats improvements for Lazios Hernanes, not even in the editor.... disaster! typical english "italian leauge is nonsense" stereotype!
http://community.sigames.com/forumdi...11-Data-Issues please.
Roy Hodgson not the manager of WBA on the new patch
well I would but I imagine I will be cut short as you've probably advised them to keep quiet about it now, if only someone could masquerade it as a third party update. This is annoying false advertisement from the gentleman with an SI badge
Apart from my computer telling me that the 11.3 patch was a "dangerous threat" to my computer every seems fine so far *touches wood*
Apologies if it's been reported and I've missed it. Silly bug but an annoying one in the long run. On the tactics screen the orders it displayers the players in has changed. You used to be able to sort by players selected then players not in the team but all in order of position if that makes sense.
e.g. I sort by "Pkd" then after the selected squad in the right positional order, any players are in a random order if they are not selected in the squad like AMC, then DL, then ST, Then GK. It used to display these players from GK down like normal position sort.
Sorry it's a really small bug but hope they all count...
how is updating where a player plays different from one day to another in regards to licensing issues?
is fixed problem with tactic named 'current' ?
when was the date when the data got locked i dont mind updating the database my self
I'm running 11.3 patch but on a savegame with 11.1 database. After creating a tactic and advancing a few days, the player instructions for set pieces get greyed out - I have assigned custom settings (i.e. one of my CBs doesn't have particularly great aerial stats so I have left him back for corners/set pieces) and it seems to de-select a couple of players at a time, purely at random. This was partially why I haven't got into 11.2 - it was such a fuss having to update EVERY set piece every few days. Is anyone else having the same thing?
Otherwise it's looking good guys, I must say. Contract negotiation/player interaction in particular is noticeably improved.
I have found a problem with prize money on my game in the championship in england 1st place gets £50,000 2nd £25,000 and the rest get nothing surely this isnt realistic
thank you
so it's illegal to change Clayton Blackmore's job status after the 31st of jan? also it's a mystery how this has been allowed before and hasn't been 'noticed' :O
kind of cba with this game now.. not trying to detract from the hard work SI have put into this patch,as the only bugs that really wound me up for 11.2.1 were the annoying "current" tactic and the serious lack of reasonable bids for any of my players when i have to pay x2/x3 of the value for any player i sign, which i will take SI's word have been fixed in this patch.
These have unfortunately been replaced by my left winger now taking (conservative guess) 60% of my shots from close range when instructed to stay wide & "hug the touchline" in a flat 4 4 2, and the game breaker for me.. appearance statistics have vanished on my players profiles although it is still showing the average rating for each competition oddly enough.. this wouldnt be such an issue i guess if i didnt wanna make sure my younger players with decent potential get atleast 15/20 appearances to aid they're development.. is a shame really as i've been looking forward to this patch to fix the issues i had with 11.2.1.
how is updating where a player plays different from one day to another in regards to licensing issues?
In terms of any other update, Sports Interactive as a company release one January update and that's pretty much it.
There is a lot of mistake at DB. I think there must be a XML file about this issue. It is really ridiculous seem that not allowed someone to upload it... If you dont let it , release a LEGAL UPDATE ABOUT THIS EMBRASSING MISSINGS !!!
Is SI then legally sued for releasing such updates for 10.3 and 11.2?
Are transfers 'fixed'? By which I mean, when managing in leagues like the Bundesliga do clubs now actually come in for players or do they just endlessly declare interest but NEVER make a bid?
well if Gripper and?? have been working on 8000 changes then the communication is pretty odd?
I'm playing an 11.2 save several seasons in, and it's looking like assistant managers are much more reluctant to arrange friendlies. I reached the middle of July before I noticed he hadn't sorted anything out: and most other teams don't have any either - or if they do, 2 at most.
Regarding the transfer system I can confirm that I am now receiving offers over their values for non-listed players. Clubs are even coming back with higher offers after being rejected in the first instance.
My current save is in July 2012 and was started with patch 11.2.1. Im only 18 days into the transfer window and I can see the changes have made a difference so far.
Look, Gripper's update is not being released and that's all we're saying on the matter at this stage. Please do not discuss it any more in this thread as this thread is for feedback of the 11.3 patch only. Cheers.
has this patch got were clubs have got to break even by a certain date to be in a uefa comp??
taken from here http://www.uefa.com/uefa/footballfir...d=1500331.html
FM 11 failed to start (error code 77) any idea on a fix for this error? i updated through steam now am unable to play the game
Look Dear Neil , I am not talking about Gripper or some else's update. I am talking about missings on 11.3 patch ! So this is true thread i think. There is a lot missings on DB. And your answers are not sensible reasons , i can't understand that. Cheers too !
FM 11 failed to start (error code 77) any idea on a fix for this error? i updated through steam now am unable to play the game please help me
Thanks to everyone at SI.
I've tweeted Miles some pancakes, he's meant to share them with you all.
i have notice rassmuien is at celtic when he plays on loan at aab
-Load Steam
-From the My Games tab, right-click on FM2011 and select Properties from the menu.
-Select the Local files tab and click the Verify integrity of game cache... button.
-Steam will verify the game cache files (GCF's) - this process may take several minutes.
-Once the process is completed, the Check Window will automatically exit.
Let me know how you get on, thanks.
God some people can never be pleased..
Thanks SI been eagerly waiting the patch
for the transfer system is improved, i can actually loan out good players and sell them now, and the match engine seems to be going well for me at the moment, a lot less corner goals going in and 40 yard shots going in.
wasnt sure if what kind deal it was in irl just know was at them not celtic
Having an issue with the patch atm
I've downloaded the mac disc patch, and i've followed the procedure to install, yet when i select "start new game", the new database is not listed there! Anyone know why this might be?