Welcome to reachforthewall.com « Reach For The Wall

Welcome to reachforthewall.com

By Amy Shipley

(Toni L. Sandys, The Washington Post)

With Monday’s official launch of reachforthewall.com, a team of Washington Post journalists and editors will bring you local, national and international swim coverage daily. We will kick the site off with an in-depth look at the hottest youth swim center in the country, the North Baltimore Aquatic Club, which has been attracting young talent from around the nation since home-grown star Michael Phelps earned his first Olympic gold medal in 2004. We will also keep you up-to-date on the latest swim news from around the world—the sport’s international governing body, FINA, is expected to announce its approved technical suits for summer competition Monday—while tracking the local swim scene with, we hope, plenty of input from the Greater Washington swim community.

You want results? We will have results. On your team pages will be this season’s schedule and as soon as we get the results from your league (hopefully every Monday), you can just click on that week’s results.

You want times? We will give you times. Every Monday or Tuesday, you’ll be able to find the top 100 times in every event from across the area when you click on the “Results/Statistics” link at the top of the homepage. (Unfortunately the NVSL and RSTA declined to provide us with results, but you’ll find results from the Montgomery County, Prince-Mont, Old Dominion and Prince William swim leagues.)

You want coverage of summer leagues, club swimming, high school meets? We will do that, too. So check us out Monday, send us your suggestions, comments and criticism to info@reachforthewall.com, and hang with us as we try to make reachforthewall.com the most fan friendly and comprehensive swim site on the planet.

This entry was posted on Thursday, June 18th, 2009 at 5:15 am and is filed under Local. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

3 Responses to “Welcome to reachforthewall.com”

Cheap Seats Daily: Who’s Gonna Read reachforthewall.com? - City Desk - Washington City Paper says:

June 23, 2009 at 3:26 pm

[...] new site, called reachforthewall.com, was introduced grandiosely yesterday: “With Monday’s official launch of [...]
Edmonds says:

June 24, 2009 at 10:52 am

There is a local DC swim team called the Water Wizards who are participants over the age of 50. Will any future articles be done on this amazing team of senior citizens who use swimming as a way to stay young and who absolutely love swimming. Yes they do time trials, drills and workouts to sharpen the techniques. They are coached at the Rumsey Pool.
Mitch Rubin says:

June 24, 2009 at 11:07 am

Thank you so much for sending us this story idea. We will definitely get a reporter assigned to it soon and hopefully be able to do something on the Water Wizards sometime this month. Thanks again!

news of the day

Vollmer, Soni on Top in Swimming Grand Prix
Dana Vollmer won the 200-meter butterfly and the 100-meter free at the second stop of the USA Swimming Grand Prix in Austin, Texas. Rebecca Soni swam a terrific time in the 200-meter breast, finishing in 2:22.91.

Phelps Sets American Record in Annapolis
Michael Phelps broke his own American record in the 200-yard butterfly this weekend at the Maryland State Championships at the U.S. Naval Academy. Phelps finished in 1:39.65.

How do coaches pick swimmer's events?
Ash Milad from King Aquatic Club writes about what goes into the decisions coaches make about what swimmers swim what events.

Arena Signs Deal With Cal
Arena has signed a deal to supply technical equipment for the University of California's men's swimming and diving teams for the next two seasons.

Phelps To Compete in Annapolis This Weekend
Michael Phelps will compete in the 400-meter individual medley, the 200-meter IM, the 200-meter butterfly and the 500-meter freestyle at the Maryland Swimming Championships at the Naval Academy in Annapolis this weekend.

Cal State Northridge Ends Swim Program
Because of budget problems, Cal State Northridge Athletic Director Rick Mazzuto announced yesterday that the school will cut the men's and women's swimming programs. He said that when swimming scholarships end, the school will save $300,000 a year.

Jones May Host Olympic Qualifying Swim Meets at Cowboys Stadium
Dallas Cowboys' owner Jerry Jones is considering potentially hosting Olympic qualifying swimming meets at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Tex. He may also host hockey events at the 80,000-seat stadium.

China Prevails in Start of FINA Diving Grand Prix
China won six of eight gold medals at the first meet of the 2010 FINA Diving Grand Prix in Rostock, Germany. Thirteen-year-old Yadan Hu won golds in both the women's individual and synchronized 10-meter platform events.

Rice Values Security Over Golds
Australian Olympic champion Stephanie Rice warned the organizational committee of the Commonwealth Games about security arrangements in Delhi, India. The games will start in early October this year.

Coughlin To Jump Back Into the Pool Next Month
Three-time Olympic gold medalist Natalie Coughlin will compete for the first time since the 2008 Beijing Olympics at the USA Swimming Grand Prix in Austin, Tx. from March 4-6.

Stanford's Smit Breaks American Record in 200 IM
Julia Smit of Stanford timed 1:52.31 in the women's 200-meter individual medley at the Pac-10 Conference Swimming Championships, eclipsing both the American and collegiate record of 1:52.79, set during the 2009 NCAA Championships.

Olympic Golds Stolen
Burglars nabbed three Olympic gold medals won by Melissa Belote during the 1972 Munich Olympics. The medals, won for the 100-meter and 200-meter backstroke and the 4x100-meter medley relay, were stolen from Belote's home.

Denniston Named Coaching Fellow for U.S. Paralympics
U.S. Paralympics, a subdivision of the U.S. Olympic Committee announced that Dave Denniston will be a coaching fellow for the Paralympic Swimming Resident Program at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs.

Artic Explorers in Icy Waters
Polar explorers Ann Daniels and Charlie Paton and photographer Martin Hartley embarked on a trip this week to the North Pole. They plan to swim around 10 kilometers a day for 50 days about 1,000 kilometers off the Canadian coast in order to determine carbon dioxide levels in the Arctic Ocean from winter to spring.

Phelps To Be Youth Olympic Games Ambassador
Michael Phelps will become the first-ever ambassador to the Youth Olympic Games. Phelps will encourage youngsters across the world to participate in the Games, which take place for the first time this year in Singapore.

Phelps To Quit Olympic Swimming After 2012
Michael Phelps announced that the 2012 Olympics will be his last as a swimmer, and that he will quit swimming altogether when he turns 30 in 2015. He refused to say how many races he will swim in at the Summer Olympics in London.

FINA Announces Doping Infractions
Water Polo Canada announced a two-year suspension of Sebastien Verdoucq for testing positive for marijuana, while Brazilian swimmer Vinicius Rocha Barbosa Waked tested positive for Isometheptene, a migraine medication, and received a two-month ban.

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