USMS High Performance Camp

Ande, It is not too late! Put in the application to attend the next camp which should be at the end of August. You will love it!!!:bliss: Are there links to info on the 2012 USMS High Performance Camp?

There is nothing yet Ande. But they will have a big presence at Spring Nats. There will be things on the forum and other places on the USMS website. In the meantime, you might want to contact Hill Carrow, the camp director. hcarrow@sportsproperties.com He is out of the office right now, but he will get back to you.

Lefty, Yes, that was my point. I have no idea what the actual costs were, but however you break it down, when you do, you see that what at first seems like a lot of money, then seems more reasonable given what all you get. For me, there was just no question about it. I was going! Of course, we only have one car and it's 32 years old and we don't have a cell phone etc. The camp was a priority for me and well worth the time and money.

I don't know the breakdown of the costs of the camp but consider these numbers that I came up with: Five nights lodging at the Doubletree w/ tax = $800 14 meals + snacks & drinks after workout = $250 Car rental for 5 days = $200 That's $1250 without any coaches! So the cost of the coaches and other experts over five days is $550 or $137 per day! A bargain. In fact I don't know how they did it for that price!!! I have worked with Dr. G on my own and I don't remember exactly what he charges for the swim power test or lactate clearance tests but it would be about $300. So now take out the cost of Dr. G and we are down to $250 for 4 days of top notch coaching!!! Now, I bet you can't wait to sign up.....:) I would think if the published rate is $169 that they paid $100 per night + tax which can be as much as 20%. So the hotel is $600. I also suspect the food cost was more like $150 (thinking like $10-12 per meal) that means the $850 / swimmer x 15 swimmers = $12,750. $12,750 to pay 5 coaches, promote the event, and coordinate the whole thing really is quite reasonable. At first blush it seemed high, but really it seems to be in line.

Lefty, This set was long course on the 5 minutes. I think I did the first one in 3:00 and worked it down to maybe 2:40 or so. You just go harder on each one. They don't give you a pace, you do it by feel as you would any descend set. The time isn't necessarily important, it is the effort you put in and the lactic acid you produce as a result. The idea is to build up lactic acid on each one. You also need time to get out of the pool and have Dr. G. take blood from your earlobe. He had to be well organized as he did 8 people at a time. By the time you get to the last one you are tired so you just give it all you have left. The information you get from this is 1) your lactate threshold heart rate which you can use to know when you are swimming a set at your anaerobic threshold or above. You want to do this in certain aspects of your training. I use a heart rate monitor frequently, so this is good information for me. 2) Dr. G. calculates your lactate clearance rate which is how quickly you clear lactic acid from your muscles. This is most useful at a multi-event meet and or three day meet where you have multiple swims. As a result of the testing I need about 20 minutes of warm down to clear. Most people warm down about 200 yards and call it quits. But if you know how quickly (or slowly) you clear, this can be useful.

Lefty, Yes, that was my point. I have no idea what the actual costs were, but however you break it down, when you do, you see that what at first seems like a lot of money, then seems more reasonable given what all you get. For me, there was just no question about it. I was going! Of course, we only have one car and it's 32 years old and we don't have a cell phone etc. The camp was a priority for me and well worth the time and money. I read your article on it and, like Ande, thought it sounded awesome. On the lactate acid test: Did you swim 5 x 200's at descending speeds and if so, did they provide you an exact pace where you produce more lactate than you can clear?

2) Dr. G. calculates your lactate clearance rate which is how quickly you clear lactic acid from your muscles. This is most useful at a multi-event meet and or three day meet where you have multiple swims. As a result of the testing I need about 20 minutes of warm down to clear. Most people warm down about 200 yards and call it quits. But if you know how quickly (or slowly) you clear, this can be useful. This link was provided in another thread: linux01.crystalgraphics.com/.../Understanding_Lactate_Clearance_flash_ppt_presentation It gives a good explanation of lactate clearance and why it's important.

I have read this thread with some interest and curiosity. The title is "high performance camp." In the racing world, there is a saying that will translate pretty well here, "speed costs money. How fast do you want to go?" Even if you only want to improve your efficiency, which will give you speed whether or not you care and which will also keep your injury rate down, it is worth the money paid. It is also a vacation, of sorts. Unless you live in Greensboro. If you have trouble with the cost, don't apply. If you were accepted, your trip would be tempered by the constant penny counting and comparison shopping. You are there to learn how to be efficient and fast. It is not a huge profit center, but if it makes money maybe it will continue to happen.

After having reviewed a number of the posts on the discussion of the 2011 USMS High Performance Camp, I thought it would be helpful to weigh in on some of the subjects where questions or comments were made: 1. Tina: Interested swimmers apply for the camp. There are indeed a limited number of slots. This year we had 15 campers, and after surveying the campers and coaches after the camp, the general consensus was the camp could reasonably accommodate up to 20 campers. So that will be our top-end number going forward. We are working on our application for the 2012 camp. The 2011 edition was something of a test drive for USMS. Based upon favorable reviews from the participants and coaches, the camp has now been approved for long-term, annual status as an attractive USMS offering. That all happened at Convention last month, so now that we know the camp has a future we are in the process of pinning down the details for the 2012 camp. It is likely that the dates, location, housing, etc will remain the same, but we will be working to fine tune some details based on suggestions and recommendations of this year's campers and coaches. The application will also likely be almost the same as this year's which can be accessed at usms.org/coaches/highperformancecamp.pdf. You'll be able to see from the application that you are asked to provide information about yourself, your swimming, your goals, etc, and this is all taken into consideration by the coaches where there is a need to prioritize the applicants. With this year's applicants, there was enough attrition by those who applied (with conflicts that arose later, or a desire to do it in a future year rather than this year, etc.) that the narrowing down process pretty much took care of itself. 2. John: I think it might be helpful to address some of the communications issues you mentioned. Our volunteer staff actually did try to communicate about the camp but the main problem seemed to be that your email requires approval and acceptance of incoming emails, and despite attempts (including my own) going through the requirements of the approval process, we did not receive approval for our emails to get through. When we called and left messages (not being able to reach you in person) about the situation, we didn't receive call backs or the immediate ability to get email messages through. By the time we finally did achieve successful communication, unfortunately we were right on top of payment deadlines, etc. In 2012 we will have the advantage of being much farther in advance with information (2011 info only first came out in April). In addition, if you are thinking of coming to 2012 USMS Spring Nationals, you will have the advantage of checking out the camp venue in advance and talking to us live and in person about the HPC. (Since I am serving as Co-Meet Director of Spring Nationals, I will be there throughout the entire event for any questions or discussion you may have.) As for not having all the information regarding the coaches, keep in mind that for all practical purposes, 2011 was a start-up camp. That means some coach participation details were being put together at the same time as operational preparations were underway. Interestingly, those coaches who were at the camp who dated back to when the camp was in Colorado Springs, both Nadine Day and Kerry O'Brien, indicated that the participants in the "old days" didn't know who the coaches were until they got to the camp. The good news is that now that the Coaches Committee has one of the "new" camps under its belt, they are already working on the coaches who will be leading the 2012 camp and we should be able to communicate the entire coaching staff well in advance (and maybe even in the camp brochure itself!). 3. Kirk: With regard to pricing, we charged the same price $1800 that was charged when the camp "was put in mothballs" in Colorado Springs six years earlier. Considering that that camp had the benefit of both subsidized food and housing (and no real transportation needs) at the US Olympic Training Center, most of our participants were amazed we were able to accomplish that. In our survey of this year's participants, the great majority felt the camp would be a tremendous value at a cost of up to $2000. 4. Allen: Now that the HPC has been reinstituted in a different location you are more than welcome to apply and participate again. 5. ALL: Until such time as we get a new application and related information on the USMS website for the 2012 USMS High Performance Camp (expected within about 30 days), you can feel free to let your interest in attending the camp be known, or simply ask questions about the camp directly, by emailing Molly Matthews of our Triangle Sports Commission staff at mmatthews@trianglesportscommission.com. If you write and express interest in participation, we will keep your contact info and will notify you as soon as the application is available. Thanks to everyone on this discussion thread for your comments and interest. Thanks very much, too, to Glenn Gruber for his great article, and to all of this year's participants and coaches, for a wonderful re-start to the USMS High Performance Camp. We look forward to a long and positive future for the HPC! Hill Carrow Camp Director 2011 USMS High Performance Camp

Hill, I don't know why you were getting an "acceptance/approval" for my email. Are you sure you were sending it to me and not someone else? I have never had anyone else mention they were getting those type of requests to send me emails. I have used my email address for several years without any incidents. John