Swimming for 30 minutes straight is a Solid Fitness Goal! Some of you may remember how we have participated in “Postal Swims” which had a competitive element. This is just the opposite. We’re aiming to have high participation and have a good time while raising some money for the Swimming Saves Lives Foundation. The cost is a nominal $12 to get your name in there as representing our Moscow Chinooks Swim Club. Last year we won the USMS Large Club (75+ members) prize for highest participation with just 25% of our current members participating. This year the bar will be higher, so let’s aim for 50% of you signing up to represent the Chinooks because everyone will be doing the swim at the end of the month.

Sign up for the challenge at https://www.usms.org/events/fitness-events/fitness-series/smartypants-vitamins-usms-fitness-series-sign-up-page Click “Member Registration”

Mark your calendars to participate! We’re simplifying down to a one-day championship format again this year. What that means to you is that we’ll still offer the best of the events at a lower entry fee and without the need for so many volunteers. We’ll also host a fun social event. We may need some folks to host out-of-town swimmers since we’ll end later than usual. Please let Kathie know if you have a spare room to offer on either Friday or Saturday night. It’s a great way to meet other Masters swimmers from around our region.

Participate in the swim meet for $35 and a no-host evening social event, one-hour swim and cross-country ski are included. It’s like the Ginsu Knives deal of swimming! The Kroc Masters are a fun bunch of hosts to get to meet. Paige has booked a 2 BR lakeside condo for Saturday and Sunday nights and all are welcome to crash. Bring your own XC skis/snowshoes or have Krocs help you with rentals. Sign up at www.inlandnwmasters.org

We’re working on our home meet planning and how to structure our board a bit more formally. All are welcome to attend.

Chinooks News – January 2019

To participate with the Moscow Chinooks you must be a U.S. Masters Swimming member so that we can rent the UIdaho Swim Center. Please renew your membership at www.usms.org/reg. While you are doing that, please double check all your contact info and communication preferences.

Can’t remember if you renewed already? Check this list.

MCM dues are due when you come back. Do you want to change to an ANNUAL billing cycle? We can do that now! Email Paige (or catch her with a device in her hand…)

Regular morning practices resume on Wednesday, January 2nd (5:30-6:30am)

Regular evening practices resume on Tuesday, January 9th (6:00-7:00pm)

[Last Day for WSU Student Rec Center cheap prices ($3) is December 31st… pool is open 11:00am-6:30pm.]

Monday, January 21st MLK,Jr Day - NO Practice in morning

Here at the cusp of a new year, take a moment to reflect on how much you get from swimming as an activity in your life. Now imagine if you were fearful of the water or simply didn’t know how to swim and after decades of feeling that way were offered a path to discovering some of the enjoyment others get from water play, swimming and aquatic activities.

Adult Learn to Swim is training and programming that can offer adults a way to learn swimming skills. It relies heavily on volunteer effort to organize and offer a series of lessons typically at low or no cost. The Inland Northwest Masters LMSC is offering an ALTS training course in Coeur d’Alene on March 30th.

If you are interested in getting certified as an ALTS instructor and being part of a Chinook-sponsored Adult Learn to Swim initiative in the summer, let Paige know soon so planning can begin!

CdA Kroc Masters are planning a swim meet in February. Date TBD…

Moscow Chinooks should host a meet in our great pool. We are planning to hold the annual “championship” meet on Saturday, April 6th. Mark your calendar!

Also on the radar… Pacific NW Champs in Federal Way April 13-14 and Oregon Champs in Beaverton May 17-19. The Open Water swim season in Oregon looks amazing with no fewer than 7 events including 2 USMS national championships. The 1500 meter in Bend on July 27 is do-able by every Chinook – consider it! It’s part of a fun lakeside series of swim events: Cascade Lakes Swim Series.

Come join us. We’ll be planning our home meet, refining our board governance and lamenting the lack of candidates for our evening coach position (and determining next steps.)

Chinooks News – November 2018

Yes, there’s practice on Monday, Nov. 12th.

Thanksgiving Week Schedule

Mornings: Monday and Wednesday 5:30-6:30AM, Friday TBD

Evenings: Tuesday 6:00-7:00PM, no Thursday

cordiO2 ylon-a YSTI snorkel: https://www.cordio2.com/products/ylon-a-ysti-snorkel-for-competitive-swimming. These are the competitive swimming snorkels that allow you to do flip turns. They are $33 at SwimOutlet.com but $21 on the cordiO2 site directly. The Vandal Aquatic Club is doing a large order that we can get in on. Let Paige know by Friday, Nov. 16 at AM practice if you want this item in your gear bag.

Sign up to commit to the challenge of a 1650 Freestyle and support the Swimming Saves Lives Foundation helping teach adults to swim. Click Here.

Morning practice will use Wednesday, Nov. 28 as the Fitness Challenge. The whole workout will be the 2250 yards of the Brute Squad Set (our own Challenge+) consisting of a 1650 Free, 200 Fly, and 400 IM.

Evening practice will hold the Challenge and Challenge+ on Tuesday, Nov. 27 at 6:00PM. (Extra challenge: parking lot #39 restricted due to UI Men’s Basketball game at Mem Gym)

Vote YES or NO to party on Sunday, December 16th. If we get more Nos than Yeses we’ll pick another date. Use the Doodle Poll here: https://doodle.com/poll/3ir5xbhs5za65vqg

Tuesday, Nov. 13 and Tuesday, Nov. 27 due to Men’s Basketball games at Mem Gym

Friday, August 17th LAST DAY OUTSIDE at Hamilton-Lowe Aquatic Center. Till then, 5 mornings a week M-F 5:30-6:45 AM
Monday, August 20th INSIDE at UI Swim Center 5:30-6:30 AM, continuing M-W-Fs
Tuesday, August 21st INSIDE at UI Swim Center 6:00-7:00 PM, continuing Tuesdays & Thursdays

It’s our “last day outside” tradition to have some workout time and some play time with the slides and lazy river (so long as we’re not interfering with Marcus’s maintenance routine). Be sure to join us on the 17th!

It’s that time of year again to get a parking permit for early morning practices at UI. The permit morning swimmers will need to park is the Overnight/Early Morning (OE) permit. They can be purchased online here. If you need, you can use the kiosk in the Parking & Transportation Services office (located in the Moscow Intermodal Transit Center on Sweet Ave.) You can pick up your permit at that same location. Cost is $15 or Free if you already pay big cash for annual colorful parking permits.

Evening swimmers don’t need a parking permit but may need to pay for parking at metered parking along Rayburn St. throughout the year.

Kudos to everyone who swam the Summer Fitness Challenge: a 2K on Wednesday, July 25th. Chinooks had 14 people “officially” sign up for the challenge which helps the Swimming Saves Lives Foundation make grants to organizations teaching adults to swim. Do we need more challenging Fitness Challenges? Or different levels of challenge to meet all of your fitness needs? The USMS Fitness Education Committee would like your feedback: fitness@usms.org.

Want a Chinooks shirt? We still have lots for sale. $15 each in unisex and women’s styles, navy or grey, short sleeve and long sleeve. Talk to Paige. We can plan a special order for sweatshirts, hoodies, etc. this fall.

Swimsuits with the Chinooks logo (heat press) and embroidered towels, parkas and warmup jackets are available at the Chinooks custom store at www.swimoutlet.com/moscowchinooks. Paige has a couple of suits “in stock” for trying on and for purchase.

No Practice on Labor Day – isn’t that in May? Oh wait, we already missed Labor Day. Never mind…

Invoices went out for Fall trimester (Sept 1-Dec 31) dues. Yes, some of you gave a check early, but we can’t record them until invoices are generated on Sept. 1 and Tom wanted a screen-free MemLabor Day weekend. Dues are $100 (or $65 for students) which ends up being …

• $25 per month
• $7.70 per week
• $2.50 per MWF practice or $3.85 per Tu/Th or $1.54 per practice available to all of us (except this week when we have 4 practices due MemLabor Day in which case it’s $1.92 each)
• $0.00077 per yard based on a 2000 yard practice
• A BARGAIN! So pay your dues.

Kathie would love for 3-4 more people to help Chinooks “rool the pool” with our incredible powers of counting to 19, dipping huge paddles into the pool without falling in on the competitors and cheering loudly for Chinooks and random people (“Go Purple Cap! Go Tattoo Shoulder! You can do it!”) Email Kathie at duckookie@gmail.com if you can help till ~10:00AM.

Meet directors across the Inland NW are meeting to set the meet schedule for the upcoming year. Last year Chinooks hosted the championship meet as a one day meet as compared to previous years when it was two days. We have also hosted a meet before Thanksgiving in years past. When do you think works best for us as hosts? For you as a competitor? Give your inputs to Paige by the end of Thursday practice on 9/6.