This site isn't dead... it's reorganizing. Lots to come in 2012. Please check back.

Swimmers need to be experts at just "hanging out." At swim meets, there is a lot of time to burn in between events and kids need a good way to pass the downtime.

When I was a swimmer in the 1970's, hanging out between events was my favorite part about swimming in general. I was the guy with the jambox playing all the music the parents hated…. Rush, Zeppelin, Skynyrd, and so forth. That kept our hangout area mostly kids-only. Pretty fun. Read more »

The 2 sunscreens shown above -- bought at the Alameda Marketplace -- are not inexpensive. At $15 for 3 ounces, you may wonder why my family uses Badger SPF 30 instead of much cheaper chemical sunscreens such as Banana Boat or Coppertone. The reason is simple: the latter 2 brands could be extremely dangerous to your health. Read more »

The Live Oak Memorial Pool in Oakland -- utilized by the CUDA swim team -- is being closed on July 1, 2011.

The Oakland Parks and Recreation Supervisor announced this to CUDA representatives earlier today and the closure intends to be permanent.

This same story is unfolding all across the country. Pools are in needs of repair and nobody has capital, and they make a good target for closure because of the high operating costs dinging cash-strapped cities. Read more »

We recently visited Vancouver, BC for a mix of business and pleasure and decided to take the skytrain (and a short bus connection) over to the new Hillcrest Aquatic Center located next to (or is it part of?) Queen Elizabeth Park.

The building was originally the curling venue for the 2010 Winter Olympics and then re-hatched as an amazing swimming facility that features an olympic-sized pool w/ an adjustable floor and movable walls, and gigantic recreational pool that includes a lazy river, a 70-person capacity hot tub, and outdoor recreational pool, and a sauna and steam room. Read more »

The No. 1-ranked California men's swimming team, powered by national titles by senior Nathan Adrian and a victory in the 400 free relay during the final day of the meet, earned its top ranking by winning the 2011 NCAA Men's Swimming and Diving Championships Saturday (March 26) at the Dorothy L. Shepard Pool in Minneapolis. The Golden Bears, led by fourth-year coach David Durden, won their first NCAA team title in men's swimming since capturing back to back titles under Nort Thornton in 1979-80. Read more »

Who doesn't love Bullwinkle?

This post at SwimWatch.net has a great post about some of the best swimming pools in the world. With pictures.

Time Magazine's "Best of Everything 2010" issue notes October's cover for ESPN Magazine, featuring some unclad lady water polo players. Wow!