The 2012/13 season starts Tuesday September 11, 2012 at Dunbarton High School.

Things kick off with an information session at 8:15 pm to be held downstairs meeting room in pool area. Just enter by the pool entrance at the northwest corner of the school and follow the signs. At the meeting you will have a chance to meet the coaches and executive and we will review the operation of the club and format for the upcoming season.

All are welcome, both returning members and those interested in knowing more about the club.

Following the information season, we will head to the pool at 9:00 pm for the first official swim session of the season.  It should be noted that for the initial session, some of the pool will be allocated for orientation for new potential members. The number of lanes will depend on number of new members. For returning members, we’ll have a workout to get you back into the swim of things.

It should be also be noted that whether you are a returning member, new member, or just interested in trying it out, you must complete and sign a waiver before you swim. You can either print the waiver from the web site or there will be some copies at the meeting.

If you can not make the initial session on next Tuesday September 11th, no problem. Just bring a waiver to your first session and the coaches will more the happy to assist in getting you going.

Some Members of the Pickering Master Splashers will  be attending the 2012 Ontario Masters Swimming Championship at the Etobicoke Olympium, Toronto, Ontario March 30 to April 1, 2012. If you are interested, please follow the link Below to the Members area and find out more and sign up.

Members Area

Congratulations to those from the club that participated in 2012 Ontario Masters Swimming Championship at the Etobicoke Olympium this last weekend

Overall PMS finished 31st out of 50 clubs with 5 club members participating

Pickering Master Splashers  Results

Link to full results

Well it is that time of year again and Paul Gimmink and family have graciously volunteered to host what has become a traditional get together for the Pickering Master Splashers swim club additional resources.

The party is set to go Friday December 16, 2011 at 8:00 pm. Please go to PMS Christmas Party in the Members are to register yourself. Please also include here if you are bringing a Friend(s) or significant other.

If you are have trouble accessing the Members area, please send a email to Contact us and we’ll be happy to get it straightened out.

Pickering Master Splashers will again be attending the North York Gators Pentathlon Swim Meet in December. If you are interested, please follow the link Below to the Members area and find out more and sign up.

Members Area

Note: An separate email will be sent to members on how to access members area.

As a way of getting out and socializing with others from the club, Pickering Master Splashers is happy to host an informal get together on the last Thursday of every month after practice. So why not come and have a drink and finger food with people you swim with?  This is also an opportunity, whether it is due to swimming in a different lanes or at different practices, for you to talk with others you may not  normally interact with.

The place is Knights Corner Pub & Grill (click for Google Map) located just west of Whites Road in strip mall on south side of  Highway 2.

All are welcome,  including spouses,  significant others,  and friends.

If your are not swimming that night, folks should be there by 10:15 pm.

Pickering Master Splashers fielded six swimmers for the annual North York Gator’s Pentathlon meet on Sunday, December 12th. Each swimmer is required to swim 50 metres of each stroke in Individual Medley order (fly, back, breast, free), followed by the 100 I.M. Rankings are based on the cumulative time for all five events. It is one of the fastest paced events as the entire meet, including 200 m free and medley relays at the end, is held between 9 a.m. and 1:45 p.m.

Gerhard Wolfel ranked first in the Men’s 70-74 in a field of three. His cumulative time of 5:00 was 14 seconds faster than the next competitor. Daughter Ursula pointed out her father’s unique clenched fist technique when diving off the starting blocks. We all need to try this aerodynamic approach!

Glen Hanna, in his first ever swim meet, placed third out of six in the 35-39 division. Glen’s combined time of 3:33 was the best showing of the PMS team. Everyone was impressed by Ursula Wolfel’s performance in the pool as she averages only one workout per week but still managed a fourth place finish (45-49). In the same age group, Kevin Gilbert placed eighth out of 12 finishers. In the Men’s 50-54, Paul Gemmink and Andy Manahan finished 12th and 5th respectively out of 15.
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I was pleased to compete at the XIII FINA 2010 World Masters championships held in Göteborg, Sweden during the end of July – early August period. Göteborg is an old Hanseatic town built at the mouth of the Göta River, and became a City in 1621. It is a major port for Sweden and part of its early wealth related to trade with the Orient. The old city had a wall, moat and shooting plain, a park like space which was kept clear of buildings to prevent enemies approaching the fortifications unseen. Other than a few sections, the old wall has been removed, the moat retained and the shooting plain has become a park that circles the old city. The old town is about 12 blocks by 12 blocks in size, and includes the old harbour and many squares.

The city has many canals, including the moat, that are similar to Amsterdam (Dutch engineers were brought in to build the canals). The buildings, many five to seven stories, are similar in scale to Paris.

The event was well-organized: for example, at the airport there was a double decker coach bus to take competitors downtown to the Valhallabadet sports complex for processing. Competitors were photographed and given ID to be used for access to the various venues as well as providing unlimited travel on public transit over the duration of the event. The Valhalla complex has one 50m 10-lane pool, and an adjacent 8-lane, 25m warm-up pool (this pool was used for diving competition in the evenings).

The other swimming pool, Lundbybadet, is located on the north side of the Göta Älv (the large river that runs through Göteborg) and consists of an outdoor 50m, 8-lane pool and an adjacent 25m, 6-lane indoor pool which was used for warm-up. The warm-up pools were typically quite congested and not conducive to any structured sets.

As there were 5,000+ swimmers (not including diving, synchro, waterpolo and open water participants), it was necessary to alternate men and women between the two complexes. The only time all swimmers were together in the same pool (Valhalla) was in the middle of the week for the relays. I swam both the 800 free and the 50 fly in the Lundby pool and the 100 fly in the Valhalla pool.
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