Fullerton Aquatics Sports Team : FAST Team News

Ariana Kukors Wins Golden Goggle "Female Race Of The Year" and Tyler Clary wins "Breakout Performer of the Year"

Congratulations to Ariana Kukors for winning the 2009 Golden Goggle Award for Female Race of the Year and to Tyler Clary for winning the Breakout Performer of the Year Award.

The Female Race of the Year award went to Ariana Kukors (Auburn, Wash.) for her record-breaking performance in the 200m IM at Worlds. She broke the world record in the event two times throughout the course of the meet and beat out 2008 Olympic champion Stephanie Rice on the way to her first international gold medal.

Tyler Clary (Riverside, Calif.), who earned a silver medal in the 400m IM and finished fifth in the 200m fly at Worlds, was honored with the Breakout Performer of the Year Award. More…

FAST Swimmers Selected to 2009 Mutual Duel in the Pool Team

Congratulations to Tyler Clary, Margaret Hoelzer, Katie Hoff, and Ariana Kukors!

USA Swimming selects 2009 Mutual Duel in the Pool Team (10/28/2009)

Thirty-six top American swimmers, including 17 Olympians, will battle against a squad of European swimmers Dec. 18-19 at the 2009 Mutual of Omaha Duel in the Pool in Manchester, England. The event, which will be broadcast on NBC on December 27 from 2-4 p.m. ET, will star Olympic gold medalists Michael Phelps (Baltimore, Md.), Rebecca Soni (Plainsboro, N.J.), Ryan Lochte (Daytona Beach, Fla.) and Aaron Peirsol (Irvine, Calif.).

The bi-annual Duel in the Pool is a made-for-TV event, designed to showcase the sport’s most exciting swimmers. This year’s Duel takes on a new format with Team USA facing a team comprised of the top swimmers from Great Britain, Germany and Italy. The event will be held at the Manchester Aquatic Center.

In addition to Phelps, Soni, Lochte and Peirsol, the U.S. team will intermix Olympic medalists Matt Grevers (Lake Forest, Ill.), Peter Vanderkaay (Rochester, Mich.), Katie Hoff (Towson, Md.) and Margaret Hoelzer (Huntsville, Ala.) with rising stars such as Ariana Kukors (Auburn, Wash.), Tyler Clary (Riverside, Calif.), and Dagny Knutson (Minot, N.D.). The men’s head coach for the Duel in the Pool will be Frank Busch while the women will be led by 2008 Women’s Olympic Coach Jack Bauerle. See full article on usaswimming.org.

For more information about this year’s Duel, visit duelinthepool.com.

Congratulations to Breezy Gonzales and Patrick Merlihan being named USA Swimming 2008-09 Scholastic All-American Team

On Saturday September 19 ^th, the USA Swimming House of Delegates voted to ban “tech suits” and restrict suit-coverage in USA Swimming sanctioned meets starting October 1, 2009. The International ban on these suits goes into effect on January 1, 2010, while the NCAA and National High School governing bodies have both already implemented this rule for their competitions.

Legal Material:
Suits must be constructed exclusively of textile fabric, which is defined as material consisting of natural and/or synthetic, individual and non-consolidated yarns used to constitute a fabric by weaving, knitting and/or braiding.

Legal Coverage:
For men, the swimsuit shall not extend above the navel nor below the knees, and for women, shall not cover the neck, extend past the shoulder, nor extend below the knee.

Specific suits have not been approved or rejected yet but the rule of thumb is that if the suit has anything rubbery, its no longer legal. If the suit extends below the knees, it isn’t legal. For guys if it extends above the belly button, it isn’t legal. If it extends past the shoulders for girls, it isn’t legal.

Also, the drawstring in a men’s suit will be the only legal fastener on suits. No zippers, clasps, buttons or snaps are legal for male or female styles.

Fullerton Aquatics Sports Team (FAST) was named today ‘U.S. Olympic Committee Professional and Post Grad Training Center’ for the Western United States

Fullerton, August 17, 2009 - USA Swimming announced today, that the Fullerton Aquatics Sports Team (FAST) has been named ‘U.S. Olympic Committee Professional and Post Grad Training Center’ for the Western United States.

Sean Hutchison, U.S. 2009 World Championship Women`s Head Coach, was appointed as the Head Coach of the FAST Senior Elite program starting in September, 2009. Jon Urbanchek will also return to FAST in Spring 2010.

“I am excited that FAST has been selected as one of the three elite training centers in the United States and will participate in this great venture,” said Bill Jewell, the Head Coach of FAST. Bill has been working for about a year with Mark Schubert, USA Swimming National Team Head Coach and General Manager, to create this opportunity for our post-graduate national team swimmers.

F or more information, please see article on USA Swimming.