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Fin photo gallery

Click image for larger view.

I love the PDF fins. They can be either full foot or else with a strap. We have some of each.

One of these photos is more of a joke image. Hope you enjoy it.

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Q: What are some of the best times for a 7-year-old swimmer?

Answer from Coach Mark:

Goalie, counter attack, passing, shooting, defending, teamwork, quickness, scoring, improving, trying, exercising together, listening.

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Dear Coaches and Summer Club Swim Team Leaders:

Please review this letter AFTER today’s meet when you have leisure time. Sorry for its length. Thanks in advance for the consideration.

This summer is not over yet!

Let’s forge a relationship by:

a) Introducing you and your team to an exciting new aquatic game, SKWIM.

b) Empowering you to incorporate these tools and game-play in your program in future seasons.

Just contact me by text, email or a phone call, and I’ll send you more detailed explanations. Then we can consider our options and customize a tailored approach to your liking. My cell: 412-298-3432. Mark@SKWIMUSA.org.

Local swim programs have already enjoyed wonderful experiences in 2018. I want you and your athletes to become engaged too. We’ve been on-deck and had a great time (generally on multiple occasions) at the Greensburg Country Club, South Hills Country Club, Edgeworth Club in Sewickley, Montour Aqua Club, with a Y team, and throughout the city at various camps and public pools.

Nationally, I’ve been an invited speaker to podcasts and made trips to deliver presentations in Seattle to the Washington Parks & Rec Conference and to Napa, California, for the Pacific Swim Coaches Clinic.

Our fun approach to water safety with SKWIM is new, fun, authentic and purposeful. I hope to share these concepts and their digital badges with you soon so Pittsburgh can lead the nation in deploying these assets and realizing the benefits.

Topics:

1. Let’s organize a no-cost clinic with your team at your pool this summer.

2. You (and your friends, lifeguards, board-members, guardians and swimmers) are invited to the city to participate in new, competitive, water safety events from August 6th to the 16th, as available openings remain.

3. New, scholastic water polo teams are forming now for both boys and girls, and both high school and middle school. Students from any school district can join Pittsburgh Combined Water Polo. Water polo happens in the fall sports season. As an expansion team and club sport, we’ll play a non-league schedule with practices and some games.

4. Pittsburgh’s adult / masters team, the Renegades, is accepting new (and old) water polo players. Monthly fees are $5.

5. Pittsburgh’s Underwater Hockey team is leading a drop-in clinic for anyone age 12 and older on Friday, August 10.

6. The Saturday Swim School can accommodate additional individuals and groups throughout the fall, winter and spring. Last year’s courses trained more than 100 new lifeguards.

7. On Saturday, September 1, 2018, Citiparks’ Highland Park Pool, is hosting NCAA Men’s Water Polo games (among W&J, PSU, Gannon, Mercyhurst). Spectators are invited and youngsters can sign-up for free clinic sessions with various college coaches and players.

Hopefully, you are interested and an email is sent soon.

Sincerely yours,

Mark Rauterkus

Mark@Rauterkus.com

412-298-3432 = cell

 

dear-team-coach-and-board
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Competitive Swimming is in a crisis — reports Swimming World and Wayne Goldsmith

Must read! Must listen too. Check out a great article about competitive swimming from Australia’s Wayne Goldsmith, an author and coach. The commentary was published in Swimming World in March, 2018. Click the photo below to go to the article and then give a listen to the reply, an audio conversation from Mark and Kevin.

First, read the article

photo link with swimmers
Click photo and go read the article by Wayne Goldsmith in Swimming World magazine.

Second, listen to our reply, as an audio recording

Kevin and Mark. Click image to listen to the mp3 audio file.

Listen to a discussion in a .mp3 file and podcast format that provides a reply. Mark Rauterkus of Pittsburgh and Kevin McCarthy of Washington talk about the one-size-fits-all solution and reasoning behind the crisis and how it can be fixed.

Or click on the audio player control below to listen.

Third, express yourself and tell us what you think

Drop a comment in the box below and share your ideas.

  • Is there a crisis in competitive swimming?
  • Is there a crisis at your favorite aquatic facilities?
  • Do you want to learn more about SKWIM?
  • Can we help you put SKWIM to work in your settings?
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PPS Middle School Championships

At the first part of the meet, an invite letter was delivered to coaches and guardians.

Letter to call participants to the new All-City Aquatics All-Star Team

Coach Mark Rauterkus

Head Boys Varsity Coach at PPS Obama
Executive Director, SKWIM USA

108 South 12th Street
Pittsburgh, PA 15203-1226

Mark@Rauterkus.com

412-298-3432 = cell

January 24, 2018

Delivery to participants and spectators at PPS Middle School Championships

Dear Swimmers, Guardians and Coaches:

Three cheers to you for completing the middle-school season and competing in today’s championships. Hopefully, you choose to continue swimming, as we’d love to see you at 11:30 am on Saturday at PPS Oliver High School on the Northside.

You are invited to sign-up for a brand-new,

All-City, Aquatics All-Star Team!

First meeting and swim clinic is this Saturday, January 27, 2018, from 11:30 to 1 pm on the Northside at PPS Oliver High School, 2323 Brighton Road, 15212.

Second meeting and clinic is next Saturday, February 3, 2018, from 11:30 to 1 pm at PPS Oliver.

If interested, call, text or email.

Or, sign-up in advance at Play.CLOH.org/rsvp.

We are seeking 25 or more middle-school athletes, boys and girls, of any swimming ability, for this low/no cost program. It is a labor of love from the coach(es). We hope to organize the swimmers, guardians and boosters for an All-Star experience with specialized practices, coaching, training, and lots of play and competitions. We’ll swim, exercise, use technology tools. We’ll also learn, practice and play water polo and SKWIM, a water-disk game. We stress sportsmanship, teamwork, and conditioning with help of digital badges. Playing well with others happens with in-house meets and game-days — if we get your support and your participation.

Expect more information at the first clinics. Other practice opportunities in other city neighborhoods are possible too. Call with questions. See Swim.CLOH.org.

Boost your fitness, swim knowledge, circle-of-friends, swim speed and aquatic game-play so that you can become a future lifeguard and a stronger varsity athlete, in any sport.

Thanks for the consideration.

Coach Mark Rauterkus

Back of letter

Click image to see larger view.
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Thinking again about aquatic game play — Presentation at NorCal’s Pacific Swim Coaches Clinic

Blurb about the presentation published in the Coaches Clinic Program

Handout

The first page asked three questions:

  1. Name: ___________
  2. Email: ___________
  3. Title of your favorite game played with your team: ___________

See the results and insights gathered from the willing participants in the audience.

 

Click image to see larger view.

Slides

Coach Mark Rauterkus at NorCal’s Pacific Swim Coaches Clinic in Napa, California in January 2018.
Photo credit: Tisha Steimle.

The presentation slides are split between two Keynote files due to size issues. If you are using an iPad or Macintosh, send me an email or leave a comment below in the blog and I’ll send you a link straight to the Keynote file via iCloud.

Slides in PDF format:

Slides in PowerPoint format:

  1. Part one via Google Drive
  2. Part two via Google Drive

Slides in SlideShare, embedded here:

Part 1 of 2:

Part 2 of 2:

Audio

Included videos

Five videos do not embed in the PDFs nor with PowerPoint. They do play with the SlideShare or below.

Swimming and Water Polo co-exist

Pittsburgh Public Schools Westinghouse afterschool program doing water polo across pool

North Allegheny Tiger Water Polo doing ball control

Show off swim at PPS Summer Dreamers by Nahayo in early summer across deep end

Squad, called Voyagers, doing a cheer at end of SKWIM game at Swim & Water Polo with Summer Dreamers

Interact

Use the comments box below to submit your questions, comments and perhaps the name of the game you play with your team and swimmers.

Snapshots from Napa:

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New Executive Director of SKWIM USA, a 501(c)(3)

Click for larger image

Press Release:

Attention aquatic enthusiasts, professionals, associations and organizations:

The Board of Directors at SKWIM International are very pleased and excited to announce the appointment of Pittsburgh aquatics coach Mark Rauterkus as 2018 SKWIM USA Executive Director.

Coach Mark’s duties will include SKWIM Certification and #playskwim education with U.S. aquatic facilities and local communities, partnerships with USA aquatic sports associations and organizations, and educational sponsorships with key commercial entities.

In addition to building SKWIM programming throughout the Pittsburgh community, Mark is a veteran youth and collegiate swim and water polo coach, and currently holds leadership positions with Obama Academy Aquatics, Summer Dreamers Aquatic Camps, the Pittsburgh Project, Saturday Swim School, Pittsburgh Citiparks Aquatic Safety Education and several summer water-sport events in the greater Pittsburgh area. Coach Rauterkus is a beloved aquatic ambassador on the central east coast, and proven to be invaluable in building SKWIM community and goodwill.

Mark is a sought-after aquatics expert/speaker and currently presenting at the Pacific Swim Coaches Clinic in Napa, CA, January 6th 2018.

Mark continues his duties as swim coach at Obama Academy of Pittsburgh Public Schools, The Ellis School, as well as The Pittsburgh Project’s summer camp.

Please join us in wishing Mark the best of success in the coming year!
#playskwim

Coach Kevin I. McCarthy
kevin@skwiminternational.org
www.skwiminternational.org

Coach Mark Rauterkus becomes Executive Director of nonprofit, SKWIM USA.

Alterntive URL, https://tinyurl.com/SKWIMUSA-executive

SKWIM Press Release Rauterkus 010618r