Feedback on May/June issue of SWIM Magazine

I did not get my copy. Who do I contact to get it?

I agree with what breastroker said. In addition, I liked the article on open water training in a pool - seasonal advice, especially for us Canucks who still have very cold ocean temperatures in May... In general, I really like SWIM. It does tend to focus on the elite swimmer, which is inspiring on one hand but deflating on the other. A bit more balance towards the non-top ten type swimmers would be appreciated - maybe features on "typical" clubs of small, medium and large size; new clubs; coaching profiles; etc. Some other ideas for future issues: •common swimming injuries/conditions - prevention, treatment, swimming through them, etc. •coaching perspective: planning a year's training (guest article by emmet?) •some Canadian coverage...we swim up here, too! •crosstraining articles...how to make your running compliment your swim training, for example •stretching techniques, philosophies, etc. Keep up the good work; I look forward to the next issue!

My cover was torn and taped but I was delighted to see Laura Val's picture on the front. She is inspiring. I enjoyed reading about the Swimmers of the year. I especially like reading about different training strategies, lifestyles, backgrounds, etc., showing that there is no one formula for swimming well. The "Video Feedback" portion of the high altitude camp article was very detailed and informative for the reader. I am always interested in this type of information. I can apply the suggestions to my own swimming. I felt hungry for more in the "Invaluable Information" section. Could we have had a tidbit of information from that lecture on physiology, including lactate tolerance and clearance? The writer clearly found it important, yet the reader is left with the mystery of why. For future articles: Non-elite swimmers and their successes and challenges, the dynamics of a team, details on what works well for a swimmer in weight training. I always enjoy reading SWIM!

I also just got (just) the cover in a baggie. Laura is not very recognizable through the rips. Does the post office reimburse the publisher for the cost of replacing these destroyed issues, or does USMS swallow the cost?

Oh, and thanks for the phone number, Glenn. Now that I know the fate of my magazine, I will call. But I do want to bring up an issue that I still regret not writing a letter to the editor over. A while back there was an article discussing re-hydration drinks, which cited some dubious and limited tests to demonstrate that drinks that contained some protein were better than those that don't. It was accompanied by a chart listing many different drinks, only one of which had that protein! This article was a blatant advertisement and was not presented as such. It should not have been presented as a straight article; was the publisher paid to print it? Its presence makes all the articles in the magazine suspicious - what is the hidden agenda of this one? It also seems evident that the author of the article makes money from sales of the drink. I noticed that in the next issue the same material was presented as the advertisement that it really is.

My copy of Swim came badly damaged. It looked like a dog chewed it to pieces. I couldn't tell who was on the cover. When I was at our practice session people were talking about the how there magazine was not in good shape and about the workouts of Laura Val. Since Laura and I are basically the same age I wanted to see the kind of training she was doing at Santa Clara. On the way home from practice I stopped at Borders Bookstore and bought the magazine. When I went to the cash checkout the person told me they were selling those magazines like hotcakes and this was the second batch they got in and they were almost sold out. He said they hardly ever go thru half of a first batch. Some tells me a lot of people bought the magazine because of what happen to mine.

Now that you remind me, I too noticed the obvious overtones of axes being ground in that ad. Additionally, the information did not add up. I elected to not buy that product for those two reasons.Good call, all............................ Bert P.S. My Swim Mag. was intact, but badly damaged.

Thank goodness mine came with only a few wrinkles. I feel very fortunate after reading about all the devastation the poor magazine took this time around.

Now that you mention it Phil, I too was disturbed by the ad disguised as an article!! Plus, I wasn't about to buy that sports drink. And Lexa, a year or so ago there was an article about/by a non elite swimmer, John Feinstein. He is the author of a book on golf called "A Good Walk Spoiled" and an occasional sports commentator on National Public Radio. I remember enjoying the article particularly because it was about a non elite swimmer. Glenn

Maybe this should be a poll topic. Rate the condition in which your May/June SWIM magazine arrived: perfect rumpled really abused cover half off two or more pcs what cover? what issue? or some such.