Canadian Swimmers in My Backyard!

It all started by reading Ryan Cochrane's Tweet! June 21, 2011: "Just landed in Toronto. Now on to London! Ontario. (Training for the week)"! I was like what? where, how? I started Googling his name to find out why he is in London, Ontario. At first, it was disappointing. But then, Bingo! I came across London Aquatic Club website with this info: Victoria Swimming Academy head Coach Randy Bennett, who is Canada's Head Coach for this summer's World Championships in Shanghai, China and next year's Olympics in London, will be here in London, Ontario from June 22-29 with 4 of his swimmers for a week-long training camp.  The swimmers are Ryan Cochrane (2008 Olympic bronze medalist), Julia Wilkinson (double bronze medalist at the 2010 Commonwealth Games), Stephanie Horner and Alexa Komarnycky.  All 4 of these swimmers were members of the 2008 Canadian Olympic Team, and have their sights set on London 2012. ....


I made some phone calls to find out how I can meet them. I was shocked when I heard they are training practically in my backyard using the facility in the Thames Park! 

So, today I grabbed my camera, determined to get some pictures with my swimmers :) I expected to be turned away and to end up taking photos like paparazzi from behind the fence. The girl at the counter smiled and said she will ask her manager and let me know. She walked a long distance to get to him. Then he walked to someone else who's back was towards me and talked to him. I said that's it they are training and don't want to be bothered. I saw a one man TV crew with a mic standing there too pacing around with his cell phone. But then the manager came in and said: Randy says it's ok! WOW, That was coach Randy Bennett. YEP! Got in. Of course, me being a sociable creature and kind of excited cut him right off when he was talking to Julia! I said: oh, It's me BellaBehold from twitter and she gave me her biggest smile and being so receptive of me being there intruding in between the coach's instructions. Sorry Coach Randy :) 

Then I saw Ryan swimming. And of course Stephanie and Alexa! What an amazing, friendly, welcoming group of swimmers. They let me stay around to take pictures and chatted a bit. Everyone wanted to know what's my interest in swimming and of course I  go back to 2008 and how I created "Michael Phelps News and Events" and "Open Water Swim News and Events", and how I have lots of Olympian swimmers as my friends and I support them and cheer them on. Of course, I did not tell them that I don't have Facebook for now (another blog will come in a few days again!). They were a bit surprised to see the enthusiasm I had for them. I guess it's the Canadian way, very laid back. I expected to see at least some kind of gathering of people asking for autographs, and what not but NO. Business as usual, people were doing their own thing and here I am super excited that I have met some of my Olympian swimmers and now have a chance to have photo taken with them. Canada has a long way to go to bring swimming into main stream in terms of promoting it to public. 

I asked coach Randy why London? As soon as he was telling me why, I quietly said to myself I should have come up with that answer myself! It makes sense to go from Santa Clara to London and then head to Montreal! 

I'd like to thank the staff at the London Aquatic Club for directing me to Thames Park, and the staff at the park, the coach, and my Olympian swimmers for letting me have a chance to meet with them and capture some memories. Good luck in Montreal, Shanghai, in between, and London 2012! Cheering you on!

Who knew I could meet Ryan Cochrane in my own backyard!

Support your athletes by following them on Twitter or becoming fan of their pages. 

Ryan Cochrane: @cochraneryan  

Julia Wikinson: @juliah2o   

Alexa Komarnycky:  @AlexaSwim5

Ryan's Facebook Page:  http://www.facebook.com/pages/Ryan-Cochrane/27452776219

Happy Olympic Day !  http://www.olympic.org/ June 23rd!

I'll be adding any links relevant to above swimmers here gradually :)
1. Stacking Up At Santa Clara

My Beloved Father

Yesterday, was Father’s Day...I wanted to write something for my dad, but I decided not to...My father and I share a special bond...when I need him he visits me in my dreams...he came last night...so, I decided to write this

Stream of tears running down on her face, she couldn’t stop crying as the vehicle passed through the mountains...at only the age of 20 she had to leave her homeland behind her and leave...a decision that was made for her...that was the sad part, she never had wanted to leave...up to this day she remembers how it felt, placing her head against her dad’s broad chest and hug him...the last time she said goodbye she tried to memorize every line on his face...the white hair...she hugged him tighter this time...much longer than their usual goodbyes...she knew that this was it, but couldn’t tell him she is leaving them behind...a decision that to this day has hunted her...her beloved father would die 5 years later and she never had a chance to say anymore goodbyes....my beloved father...

Forever in my heart

Social Media Etiquette and Swimming - A Fan's Perspective

I got mad last night when I missed some of my favourite swim events because of “Technical Difficulties”. It wasn’t the technical difficulties alone that made me mad, so I decided to blog...

Back in 2009, I decided to bring swim events to Facebook. I started with Santa Clara 2009! I decided to create events for major swim competitions and promote all of the swimmers who work hard. The goal was for the fans and the general public to see instant results of swimming, and to have a chance to provide feedback and let the swimmers know that their hard work is appreciated and validated by the fans. My admins and I would go to swimmers’ pages or walls and congratulate them. It was a great system. We used to receive feedback from swimmers themselves, their parents, or just fans saying how much they appreciated our hard work. For us, it wasn’t hard. It was fun and we truly felt that ALL SWIMMERS needed to be appreciated equally. Although my swim group was called “Michael Phelps News and Events”, our swimming EVENTS were not about promoting Michael Phelps. When the time for events came, we treated all the swimmers equally and gave all the love and support for their hard work.

From that point on, the idea of covering swim events by various groups and organizations emerged. We knew this would bring more attention not only to the sport of swimming but also to the swimmers themselves.

Unfortunately, when dealing with big corporations, the case is different. Those Corporations that cover some of the swimming events make money through advertising and marketing swimmers that are super famous! During a swim event, it is obvious who they favour and give more attention to. It is not like a Facebook event that all swimmers get acknowledged. I used to do it in a fair manner when I did my swim events.

Swim fans, like me, have many favourite swimmers that we cheer for.  A swimming event is not just about Coughlin, Phelps, and Lochte! There many famous and not so famous swimmers from around the globe who appreciate the same amount of acknowledgment and validation. We want to see all of our swimmers succeed and get a glimpse of the fruits of their labour. So, on the night of finals, we don’t want to hear about technical problems or have a slow stream of information.

My concern is when the reporters and people behind the scenes become biased in reporting any sports and only covering very famous people.  They are ignoring fans. After all, it is the fans that purchase products, buy tickets and look forward to see a glimpse of their favourite athlete the night of finals.

This blog is not to about putting down the hard work of USA swimming, rather a constructive criticism which I hope the USA management team will look at and make improvement to their online reporting procedures.

There is social media etiquette involved when posting results of any major events to Facebook, Twitter, and any other form of social media outlet. In case of swimming:

• A paid employee or a trained volunteer whose only job is to post results should be recruited to the job.
• If the same person is simultaneously trying to take care of numerous personal online accounts and running around to do many other things in between each swim events, then there is a delay in posting those results. There is inaccuracy at times and mistakes. Hence, the quality of work drops.
• A list of all the swimmers and country of origin, and if they have any Facebook page/Twitter accounts  should be made available to the social media coordinator to enable him/her post results quickly, and accurately; and this way everyone gets equal respect and acknowledgment.
• So if some not very famous person all of a sudden breaks a record and/or gets first place, the social media coordinator can look it up and post correct information. Respect and Acknowledgement.
• Although it is not possible to interview all of the swimmers, an effort should be made to give the first place winner the only spot for the interview for fans to see. We have witnessed that someone who is a bit more famous and was second in an event to get the spot rather than the well-deserved first place winner.
• The person responsible for posting on behalf of an important organization like USA swimming should sign official papers to adhere to the code of conducts and ethics. The role should not be passed around to whoever is available to do it. I don’t know how USA swimming takes care of their online stuff but only ONE designated person should be in charge and held accountable. This is also to prevent anyone abusing their privileges under the USA swimming name.
• The language for posting should remain professional all the time and when fans enquire about something it has to be dealt with in a timely manner and without an exclamation mark at the end of the sentence showing displeasure.
• Although technical problems do happen, seeing it two nights in a row is not acceptable!
• Swimming events are about swimmers, swimming, and fans. It should not be about technical problems and apologies.

I say it like it is....


"Michael Phelps News and Events" - Was the first group to bring swim events to Facebook

If You've read my previous blogs, I have mentioned that my Facebook is scheduled to be deleted. But that also means losing 3 major groups on Facebook including "Usain Bolt News and Events" and "Open Swim Water News and Events". I was going to cover two major swim events before I decided to delete my Facebook. I have 2nd thoughts...

One thing is for sure...swimming changed my life