Congratulations to Kim Russo and Grant Johnston who competed in the 2007 Potomac River Swim this past weekend. Grant finished the 7.5 mile race first overall with a time of 3:23 minutes (no wetsuit).

Results and Photos.

Register Today for the Dave Parcells Madison Mile!
http://active.com/event_detail.cfm?event_id=1436421

This one-mile swim competition along the beautiful Madison Shoreline will take place Saturday June 30th, and is without a doubt the fastest Open Water field in the Northeast. State Championships for both CT Masters (USMS) and CT Swimming (USA Swimming), the Madison Mile has been selected to host the US Masters Swimming One Mile National Championship next year in 2008.

Founder and long-time race director of the Madison Mile, Dave Parcells died on April 21st while competing in the Tampa Bay Marathon Swim. In 2002, Dave became the oldest person and fourth American to complete a double-cross of the English Channel, raising over $140,000 for St. Vincent’s Medical Center. In all, he crossed the 21-mile channel four times. At the time of his death, Dave was training for an 82-mile crossing of the Jersey Island Channel in England to raise money for multiple sclerosis.

It is an honor to dedicate and rename this event in his memory. From now on, the popular and prestigious swim will be the Dave Parcells Madison Mile.

Help to continue Dave’s work by registering for this year’s Dave Parcells Madison Mile. The event will be held on Saturday June 30th at 9am at the Madison Surf Club, with proceeds benefiting the Valley Shore YMCA Aqua Dome in Madison, Connecticut where Dave spent many hours swimming and training others.

The 2008 YMCA Masters Swimming Championship will take place in Fort Lauderdale, FL, May 15 - 18.

http://www.ymcaswimminganddiving.org/

Below is the May and June Saturday practice schedule at the Westport Weston Family Y

May 12 - 11:00am - 12:30pm
May 19 - 10:00am - 12:00pm
May 26 - 11:00am - 12:30pm
June 2 - 11:00am - 12:30pm * Mike is hosting a SCM meet @Staples, so you should be @Staples!!!
June 9 - 10:00am - 12:00pm
June 16 - 11:00am - 12:30pm
June 23 - 10:00am - 12:00pm

After that and until further notice - 10:00am - 12:00pm

Updated 5/4/07 - the entry is now available.

We will be hosting a Short Course Meters Meet (25 meters) at Staples High School on Saturday, June 2, 2007, as a fund raiser for the Staples Water Polo Team. This is an opportunity to get a short course meters time and possibly top 10, while you are in shape. Please pass the word around. The entry will be ready soon and will be posted on the Connmasters and Westport Swim Club web sites. More to come.

Coach Mike Laux

Dear Connmasters. The news of the death of Dave Parcells during the
24 Mile Tampa Bay Marathon Swim is an incredible shock to the swimming community. We are sending along the note sent out by Paul Epstein and hope we will see you at East Lyme to reminisce.

Mike Laux

Dear Masters,

Julie just contacted me with the very sad and shocking news that Dave Parcells died of a heart attack today while swimming the Tampa Bay race for Earth Day. As many of you know, Dave was often referred to as the “King of Tampa Bay” for having won this race so many times in the past. Dave’s many long distance swimming feats are legendary and have made the history books. In the summer of 2002, at the age of 44, he became the oldest person to successfully complete a double crossing of the English channel, and many of you read his journal entries from the summer of 2004, when he and Marcy MacDonald attempted a triple crossing together of the Channel, as a cancer fund-raiser, which unfortunately was derailed by bad weather. But even more notable than this, has been Dave’s constant enthusiasm for the sport, and his encouragement of his fellow Conn Masters, many of whom he trained, encouraged and helped bring up to speed to compete in open water events. As creator and Director of the Madison Mile swim every June, and the Swim Across the Sound fund-raiser every August, as well as all the funds he’s raised from his own channel crossing swims for the cancer programs at St. Vincent’s Hospital in Bridgeport, Dave has given so much to the sport and to youngsters suffering from cancer. Last summer I talked to Dave at length about the logistics of organizing the events he has, like the Cross-the-Sound fund-raiser, as I had seriously been considering organizing one to raise funds for leukemia research, and after going through it with him, I realized that the time, energy, and logistics needed to successfully carry something like this off were daunting. He was a truly selfless person for contributing so much of himself to such worthy causes. I remember Dave saying, after his double crossing of the Channel, that despite all the pain he experienced during it, and the swelling from all the jellyfish stings, he kept thinking that it was nothing compared to all the suffering children with cancer go through, and by knowing he was able to contribute to helping them by doing this, it provided the motivating force that enabled him to keep going. This is the kind of person Dave was. Clearly one of a kind. It’s a deep, deep loss, and a complete shock, for all of the swimming world, and especially for us, his fellow Conn Masters swimmers, for someone so incredibly fit, active and enthusiastic as Dave, in the prime of his life, to see his life to end so suddenly. He will really be greatly missed by all of us. Please hug someone you love today, in remembrance of Dave.

And Please Be Well,

Paul

There will be a viewing Sunday, April 29th at the Swan Funeral Home, 825 Boston Post Road, Madison, CT. (Time to Be Announced) and a Mass at St. Margaret’s Roman Catholic Church, Madison at 10:30 a.m. A reception will be held at The Surf Club, Madison, following the services 12:00 pm - 4:00 pm.

Colonies Zone SCY Championships entries are due by March 30^th and USMS Short Course Championships entries are due by April 12^th.

If you’re planning on competing at the YMCA Masters National Championship you must get your entry to Mike no later than Tuesday, March 6^th.

February schedule for Saturday workouts is as follows:
Feb. 17th: 11am-12:30pm
Feb. 24th: 11am-12:30pm

Looks like for the month of March we’ll be able to do 10am-12pm the entire month.

Meet results are now available for the 21^st Annual Ground Hog Meet that took place on Sunday, January 28, 2007.