Group 2 Practice Change

Group 2 will have NO PRACTICE this Monday October 25th. There will be normal practice the remainder of the week for group 2.

Saturday Age Group Practice

There will be no Saturday Age Group Practice. Coach Jason is under the weather. See you guys next week.

Parent Meeting PDF's

Did you miss your swimmers parent meeting? PDF's from each meeting are now posted online under the parents link of the website. Printed copies are also available at the pool in the swimmer lounge area.

Masters Social

The monthly Rice Masters swimmer dinner gathering will be hosted by Cedar Baldridge, 2111 Bolsover, on Thursday, October 28 after evening workout.  Cedar’s home is just a couple of blocks from the pool, so it will be quite convenient.   Drive out of Rice parking lot near the stadium, cross over Rice Blvd., and take a left on Bolsover.  Cedar’s house is the 3rd on the left.

WE THOUGHT IT WOULD BE NICE TO CELEBRATE COACH SETH’S 46TH BIRTHDAY WITH A LITTLE PIZZA AND BIRTHDAY CAKE.   CEDAR WILL ORDER UP THE STAR PIZZA AND CAKE AHEAD  OF TIME. 

If you are able to come, please drop an RSVP to allthomas3@aol.com so that the correct amount of provisions can be purchased.  Since we are all big fans of our coach Seth, we anticipate a big crowd.  It would be nice if each attendee would contribute $10 to help defray the cost of the event.

Should be a great time!

Send in your RSVP, and we will see you there.

Thanks!

Al Thomas and Cedar Baldridge

BTA Junior Meet

Speedo Tip of the Week

AVOIDING THE FLU

This week's Speedo tip of the week comes from National Team physician, Dr. Jim Miller. He offers some advice for fighting the flu in the coming season.


The Tip:You have completed the dreaded intensive training of the holiday season and have two to four more months until your championship meet. Everything has been taken into account – your event schedule, your training and the best part – taper.

Is there anything that could mess all this up?  YOU BET! One to two weeks off with five pounds of muscle loss could surely derail this train. That is exactly what could happen with a bout of influenza, more commonly known as the Flu.

Open the window…and in flew enza
The flu is a viral infection that is spread through the air. Each year, the influenza virus mutates slightly so your immunity from the prior year will not completely protect you. The virus is a respiratory infection that can result in a debilitating viral pneumonia. It is very dangerous for those who have a weakened immune system, such as the elderly or someone with a disease that affects their immune system like diabetes.
However, if you are training doubles with long hours for studying for exams, your immune system could also be at risk. Since the air from a human sneeze has been clocked at hundreds of miles per hour, one sneeze from the wrong person at the wrong time will expose you quickly. You could be in trouble.

Prevention is key
So, what can you do to prevent the flu? The best prevention is to boost your immune system against this virus by getting a flu shot. This shot is ideally given one or two months before the virus reaches your part of the country. The shot will not offer you 100% immunity, but it decreases your likelihood of getting sick. If you do end up catching the virus, the course would be greatly abbreviated if you received the shot.
Still, there is a problem here. It is January and parts of the country are already reporting cases of the flu.  Does a shot help now? That is a great question to which experts will disagree. But, if your area has not had cases yet, even a flu shot given two weeks in advance should give you some partial protection. And don’t wait so long next year!  

C your way through the Flu
In addition to the shot, there are other steps you can take to avoid getting sick. In addition to proper hydration, nutrition and sleep, some experts believe that increased Vitamin C intake may enhance your immune system against viral infections. It is suggested you take between 1,000 and 3,000 IU of extra Vitamin C per day, unless you are on a medication that interacts with Vitamin C. As always, consult your doctor before you begin taking any supplements.

Back to Basics
When it comes to the flu, there are some basic steps you can take to help prevent getting and spreading the virus. Wash your hands routinely and cover your mouth when coughing and sneezing – and of course wash your hands when you do if you did not make it to a tissue.  The antibiotic gels that do not require water work just fine.

Take iT for the team

If you feel that you are coming down with a nasty respiratory infection whether it involves your lungs or not, get to your medical practitioner quickly. There are antiviral medications that make a big difference, if you start them quickly. Your medical expert also has a rapid test, which will help to determine whether this is influenza or not while you wait. By taking care of it quickly, you get better faster and your team and coaches will be more likely to stay healthy, too.  You do not want to take out your whole relay team with you!

9-14 Junior Meet

Great job to all those swimmers who swam this past weekend at the BTA meet. There were many impressive swims by RICE swimmers. A full report will be out once the host teams gets the results posted. Parents thank you for stepping up and timing as well as providing tents for all of our families to sit under. It was great to walk out side and see everyone sitting as a team and having a great time. If anyone took pictures at the meet send them to me on CD so I can get something together for our next team party.