Masters Swimming Ontario – Fun, Fitness & Friendship

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Does anyone know if there are masters organizations in Ontario for other water activities. Things like diving, water polo, or even underwater hockey? ... See MoreSee Less

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The Inaugural "Swim For Kids"

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PARAMETRIC TECHNIQUE...

The traditional approach to swimming technique training has been to focus upon improving physical movement in the swimmers muscle groups and a constant repetition of outdated drills.

The parametric principle of teaching technique is based upon the knowledge that any muscle cannot work to their full potential without the focus being shifted to the neural system coupled with a corrected functional posture for the particular stroke.

The essence of our technique sessions is therefore a programme in which the swimmer is working on improvement of one variable (neural hip Balance for example.) while keeping the other variables constant. Variables are labelled as "parameters".

Since there is an infinite number of parameters and combinations influencing the swimming technique of any particular person depending upon their flexibility, past training, present and future goals it can be seen that an individual technique programme must be developed for each and every swimmer/client.

If you are like 99.9% of the global population your body is probably out of alignment when you swim or participate in any form of training for swimming. This misalignment is the result of incorrect neural and kinetic postural patterning and compensation via poor instruction. This results in stored tension and shortened levers.

So, what is Kinetic Posture?

According to the academy of Orthopedic Surgeons posture committee as far back as 1947, posture is:

"That state of muscular and skeletal balance which protects the supporting structures of the body against injury or progressive deformity, irrespective of the attitude in which these structures are working or resting. Under such conditions the muscles will function most efficiently..."

The key to the above statement is Balance, for it is balance or its antagonist imbalance that appears to be one of the major influences in creating structural misalignment resulting in poor performances and or injury. Indeed there is much evidence to suggest that chronic neural imbalance can result in Postural Distortion Patterns that can lead to the cumulative injury cycle. This appears to make sense, especially if the kinetic chain concept is applied to the equation.

In any sport the Neural Kinetic Chain can be best described as a movement system consisting of myofascial (muscular), Articular (joints) and neural (motor) components with each being dependent on the others for optimum performance, both statically and dynamically. This movement system requires precision of movement based on the alignment and mechanics of each joint as well as how these joints are recruited to create a movement pattern.

In simple terms, the movement produced at any joint in the kinetic chain directly affects the joints above and below it. Dysfunction in any one of these systems may have direct and detrimental effect on the function of its neighbours.

Clearly then, there is much to concern ourselves with when applying any technique change to those that swim, competitively or for fitness, as every programming decision we make will affect the systems of the kinetic chain.This is obvious of course, but have you ever stopped to think of it in this way before? Now 'Understanding the why becomes much more important?

Why Do These Imbalances Occur?

Firstly, as we stated earlier we are ALL imbalanced to some degree; even if our posture is considered optimal. This is because there is actually an inbuilt ideal imbalance between the muscles crossing any joint e.g. Knee extensors/flexors, plantar flexors/dorsiflexors.

This is simply a reflection of the functional roles of these muscles and beyond the scope of this Introduction.The muscle imbalances that we must concern ourselves are those that create technique Alignment distortions, that affect structural function

GO RACE Swimming Technique:

The traditional approach to swimming training and technique has been to focus upon improving physical strength in the muscle groups and constant repetition of certain outdated drills and very outdated methodologies.

The GO RACE™ way of teaching and coaching technique is based upon the knowledge that any muscle cannot work to their full potential without the support of the tendons and ligaments, coupled with a corrected functional posture for the given sport.

The essence of GO RACE™ is therefore a programme in which the athlete or client is working on improvement of one variable (Line or Hip Balance for example.) while keeping the other variables constant. Variables are labelled as "parameters".

Since there is an infinite number of variables and combinations influencing swimming technique of any particular person depending upon their flexibility, past training, present and future goals it can be seen that an individual technique programme must be developed for each and every swimmer.

GO RACE ~ DARE TO SWIM FASTER... ... See MoreSee Less

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17 Aug 2017

2017-2018 Season’s Registration

Masters Swimming Ontario (MSO) has initiated club and swimmer registration for 2017-2018. The 2017-2018 season will offer two masters swimming programs in Ontario, one by MSO the other by Swim ...
10 Aug 2017

Notice to Club Registrars and Contacts Preparation for the 2017-2018 Season’s Registration

As many of you know there have been two access points to the MSO registration database. One from the BLUE MSO website and the other from the RED MSC website. Effectively immediately, MSO asks ...
30 Jun 2017

NOTICE to MSO Member Clubs and Swimmers

Masters Swimming in Ontario will Change in 2017-2018: A return to the roots of Masters Swimming The 2016-2017 has been a challenge for Masters swimming in Ontario and certainly for MSO. Although ...
26 May 2017

Open Letter to the Board of MSC

The MSO President sent the following open letter to the Board of MSC protesting MSC’s disrespectful treatment of Ontario Master clubs and swimmers at CMSC2017 – Quebec on the weekend ...
12 Apr 2017

March 25, Special General Meeting Notes

Notes from the Special General Meeting held March 25th, 2017 are available here. Also available here: https://www.mastersswimmingontario.ca/about-us/annual-general-meetings/
05 Apr 2017

2018 Ontario Masters Swimming Championships

Masters Swimming Ontario is looking for a masters club (or group of clubs) to hold next years Provincial Championships. This meet is usually held in late March or early April (Easter is April 1st ...
03 Apr 2017

Important Update: Registration for 2017 FINA World Masters Championship – Budapest

MSO is getting feedback that Ontario Masters Swimming Clubs are not listed in the FINA’s registration forms. The Swimming Canada Competitive Masters (SCCM) appears to be your only option. This is ...

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