FINIS SIGNS 2X OLYMPIAN LIA NEAL
FINIS SIGNS 2X OLYMPIAN LIA NEAL
Livermore, CA (January 9, 2019) FINIS, Inc., the worldwide leader in technical swimming innovation, is proud to announce the signing of two-time Olympian Lia Neal. The New York native and Stanford alum signed a long-term deal with the leading swim brand that extends through the 2020 Olympic Games.
“I am extremely excited for the opportunity to join the FINIS family. The future’s looking bright for FINIS. I could not be happier to be part of this team on its upward trajectory through 2020 and beyond.” says Neal.
“We are very proud to support an athlete like Lia,” says CEO and cofounder John Mix. “She has the character, work ethic and potential that we look for in every member of Team FINIS. Lia puts her whole heart into this sport and that’s what we need in our athletes—they are our closest partners in developing the best products in the world.”
Neal started her impressive career at an early age. She has continually excelled, nationally and internationally, since competing in her first Olympic Trials at age 13.
Neal made history on the global stage in 2012, becoming the first woman of African American descent to become a two-time Olympian and swim in an Olympic final for Team USA. As a star sprinter at Stanford, Neal played a vital role in setting multiple American records and winning national titles, finishing her career as team captain of Stanford’s 2017 NCAA Championship team.
Most recently, Neal emerged from World Championships in Hangzhou, China, with four medals, including a gold medal in the 4×100 alongside a fellow member of Team FINIS, Olivia Smoliga.
“I admire everything Lia represents as an athlete,” says national sales manager Keith Jizmejian. “She’s not only committed to improving her own performance, but also improving access to the sport. Lia’s values stood out to us very early on in the process.”
Neal is a major proponent for improving education and access to swimming in the U.S. and internationally. In 2017 and 2018, Neal led swim clinics around the globe, including in the U.S., China, Hong Kong, Mexico and Singapore. Further, she recently launched Swim Brooklyn, an initiative to raise awareness about swimming in her home community.
Neal is currently training with David Marsh and Team Elite in San Diego, California.
“We’re just getting started,” says Mix. “In launching the Rival 2.0, it was our explicit goal to make a suit that would impress the best athletes in the world. Lia joining the team is just one of the many indicators that the Rival 2.0 is that suit. Working with someone of Lia’s caliber is an exciting step for our team and we intend to maintain every bit of this momentum going into 2020.”
About FINIS, Inc.
John Mix and Olympic gold medal swimmer Pablo Morales founded FINIS in Northern California in 1993 with a mission to simplify swimming for athletes, coaches, beginners and lifelong swimmers around the world. Today, FINIS fulfills that mission through innovation, high-quality products and a commitment to education. FINIS products are currently available in over 80 countries. With a focus on innovation and the fine details of swimming, FINIS will continue to develop products that help more people enjoy the water.
PRESS CONTACT
Keith Jizmejian
kjizmejian@FINISinc.com
USA +1 (925) 454-0111
EU +359 2 936 86 36
CONTACT FOR LIA NEAL
Cejih Yung, Agent
cejih@cgsportsmanagement.com
CG Sports Management
2019 USA Swimming Foundation Grant Applications Now Open to Make a Splash Local Partners
By USA Swimming Foundation | Wednesday, December 5, 2018
The 2019 USA Swimming Foundation grant application for Make a Splash Local Partners is now open. Applications will be accepted until Tuesday, January 15, 2019 at 5 p.m. ET.
The USA Swimming Foundation will provide more than $600,000 in grants in 2019 through two rounds of grant awards, Spring and Fall, to help Make a Splash Local Partners provide swim lessons to children in their local communities. Individual grant awards will range from $1,000 to $15,000, dependent on the service category
To be considered, applicants must be a USA Swimming Foundation Make a Splash Local Partner in good standing and provide a detailed project budget and program narrative within the grant application. The 2019 USA Swimming Foundation Grant Guidelines can be found below and the application can be found HERE. Funding will be provided to programs directly benefiting children who would not otherwise receive the opportunity to learn to swim.
Interested swim lesson providers who are not yet Make a Splash Local Partners will need to complete the Local Partner application before December 31 to be eligible to apply for 2019 grant funding. The Local Partner application can be found HERE. READ MORE….
School Boards Should Require Mandatory Swimming As Part Of The Physical Education Curriculum :: The Pavlovic Today
Those of us who frequently watch television shows such as Rescue 911, Cops, Real Stories Of The Highway PatrolAlaska State Troopers and North Woods Law have seen several episodes in which people need to be rescued in relatively shallow water, often during severe floods. The tragic incidents that we’re seeing on some of these law enforcement documentary television shows in which people nearly drown in shallow water, as well as a number of tragic incidents in which law enforcement officers aren’t able to successfully rescue people from drowning in shallow water represent only a small fraction of such incidents throughout the U.S. each year. Sadly, many of these injuries and deaths could have probably been avoided if people had learned how to swim.The numbers of reported drownings in the U.S. vary between years, and it is clear that lack of ability to swim is one of the leading contributing factors. If teaching basic swimming and treading water skills were required as part of the physical education curriculum in all of the public schools in each state, I suspect that several years from now, we’d see a significant reduction in the numbers of incidents in which people are seriously injured or drown in shallow water. READ MORE….
Source: https://www.thepavlovictoday.com
Why Job Candidates Are Standing You Up and How to Put a Stop to It – Small Business Trends
Not showing up for scheduled job interviews
Not returning calls or emails from the potential employer
Receiving a job offer and never responding
Accepting the job, then never showing up for workAs a small business owner, you put a lot of time and effort into hiring new employees — so it can be devastating when someone you thought was the answer to your problems disappears into thin air. What makes job candidates ghost? READ MORE…
Source: https://smallbiztrends.com
How I learned to manage rebel employees (without upsetting everyone else)| Aquatics International Magazine
Source: https://www.aquaticsintl.com
Alligator found swimming in Lake Michigan | Fox17
WAUKEGAN, Ill. — Police in northern Illinois were surprised when they were called on reports of an alligator swimming in Lake Michigan. They were even more surprised finding out the report was true. Sure enough, officials in Waukegan found a four-foot American alligator swimming in the lake, according to city officials. There was initial confusion about whether or not it was an alligator or caiman, but lab tests ultimately confirmed it was an alligator, a Waukegan spokesperson told WITI. READ MORE…
‘They’re getting sick:’ Lifeguards afraid to go to work due to red tide illnesses | CBS12.com
Source: http://cbs12.com
Olympian opens swim school in Jacksonville after close call as child – www.news4jax.com
By Zachery Lashway – Reporter/anchor, Roxy Tyler – Web producer Posted: 3:44 PM, September 15, 2018 Updated: 3:45 PM, September 15, 2018
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Every day, there are 10 drownings in the U.S. It’s the No. 1 cause of death for children under the age of 5. Teaching children to swim holds special meaning for two-time Olympian Nim Shapira, who opened The Aqua Swim School in Jacksonville on Saturday. Shapira nearly drowned when he was 7 years old during a birthday party at his home in Tel Aviv, Israel. “We had a pool in the backyard, and someone accidentally pushed me and I nearly drowned to the bottom of the pool. The person who pushed me didn’t even notice,” Shapira said. It was an experience he said he will never forget. “I am 29 years old. I still have once a year, once every two years, I have a dream of just seeing bubbles of water. It was a bad very moment,” said Shapiro.Shapira moved to Jacksonville at age 15 and attended The Bolles School, living in the dorm for two and a half years. When he was a senior at Bolles, he competed in the 2008 Olympics and he competed again in the 2012 Olympics. He no longer competes in swimming. He teaches it instead as the founder and owner of the Aqua Swim School. Read more…
Source: https://www.news4jax.com
Woman Run Over By Ft. Lauderdale Lifeguard Takes City To Court « CBS Miami
FT LAUDERDALE (CBSMiami) – After numerous delays, a civil trial is underway in Ft. Lauderdale pitting a beach visitor against the city. Jury selection got underway Monday for a trial in which a North Carolina school teacher, who was run over by a Ft. Lauderdale Ocean Rescue lifeguard, is seeking damages from the city. During a trip to the beach in April 2012, Rinda Mizelle, 49, was lying in the sand next to a lifeguard tower when a member of the beach patrol on an SUV ran over her. Police said that Sherry Samuel, the driver of the ocean rescue vehicle had just finished speaking to a lifeguard at the rescue stand when she got on her vehicle, made a right turn, and drove directly over Mizelle. She was pulled from underneath the passenger side of the vehicle and taken to Broward Health Medical Center for non-life threatening injuries. Police reported that she suffered lacerations on her arms and legs, but was treated and released a short time after. An attorney for Mizelle said she suffered orthopedic and neurological injuries, as well as significant burns on her arms. Read more...
Source: https://miami.cbslocal.com
New Model Aquatic Health Code Released| Aquatics International Magazine
New Model Aquatic Health Code Released MANAGEMENT/OPERATORS July 18, 2018 100 New Model Aquatic Health Code Released
The new edition puts in place several changes regarding water quality, lifeguarding, chemical safety, indoor air quality and other aspects of commercial aquatics facilities. By Rebecca Robledo
After two years of revision work, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has released the third edition of the Model Aquatic Health Code. In addition to fine-tuning of issues such as water quality, design and lifeguarding, the 2018 MAHC covers new territory, such as the design and operation of floatation tanks. The MAHC is a model code, meaning that it only takes effect in states and municipal jurisdictions that adopt it. So far, four states, one Canadian province and three government agencies have adopted the model code in part or full. Currently, 18 states and counties are in the process or considering adoption. Some lifeguard changes have been instituted. In areas that adopted the 2018 MAHC, aquatics venues that serve alcohol must have lifeguards on duty. Additionally, lifeguards must have personal protective equipment on their persons or rescue tubes. And the new code includes fine-tuning of glare assessment for lifeguard positioning. READ MORE…
PHOTO BY CHRISTIAN COLUMBRESAquatics Industry Grapples with ‘Ghosting’| Aquatics International Magazine
You hired 120 lifeguards and 115 showed up for work.The no-shows aren’t answering your calls or responding to your emails. No explanation given. Just poof – they’re gone.You’ve been ghosted.That’s the word employers are using to describe what some say is a growing practice among jobseekers. They accept an offer only to mysteriously bail.The trend is playing out across lower-wage service industries, but it’s hitting aquatics particularly hard. Lifeguards are hard enough to find. Now they’re flaking out.“I think it’s been increasing a bit here and there,” said Nick Cuevas, aquatics coordinator at the City of Newark, Calif., which hires about 90 lifeguards each season and 50 operations staff.He can count on five to quit without any advance notice.“They disappear,” Cuevas said. “They truly ghost.” New recruits aren’t the only ones performing vanishing acts. Employers say returning staff members who’ve proven dependable in the past will suddenly jump ship without so much as a text message to their supervisors. READ MORE….
Source: https://www.aquaticsintl.com
Lifeguard saves shark in Belmar – www.nj1015.com
Video obtained by TAPinto.net
A baby shark had managed to beach itself. Several feel long, it writhed and struggled on the sand, attracting attention and a rather large crowd. Not one to practice, well, speciesism I suppose, Tyler grabbed his surfboard, threw the shark onto it and returned it to the ocean. Someone in the crowd recorded the final moments of the shark being freed. Look how calmly Tyler releases this shark and waits to see that it gets on its way okay. He doesn’t even seem to worry about it making a sudden turn and taking a gash out of the leg of the man who saved him. Excellent job! READ MORE…
Source: http://nj1015.com
Swimming Hall of Fame Remains in Fort Lauderdale, Signs 30-Year Lease – Swimming World News
Fresh off the heels of a $27 million renovation project to the Fort Lauderdale Aquatic Complex, the International Swimming Hall of Fame (ISHOF), signed a 30-year lease to remain in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.ISHOF erected its world-renowned museum and shrine to aquatic sports in Fort Lauderdale back in 1965. The lease with the city expired in 2015, putting the iconic entity in a state of limbo. For the past three years, ISHOF had been on a month-to-month lease. With the Aquatic Complex in disrepair, bleachers condemned and no long-term lease, ISHOF elected to move its operations to Santa Clara, CA..The decision to relocate to Santa Clara was based mostly on a belief that a new $250 million aquatic complex was going to be built in Santa Clara and ISHOF would be a primary occupant. The Santa Clara project stalled in 2017. In November of that year, Bruce Wigo stepped down as the CEO of ISHOF and the ISHOF Board of Directors hired Brent Rutemiller as its CEO. Rutemiller convinced Wigo to remain on as ISHOF’s historian. With a new team and board in place, ISHOF re-engaged with Lee Feldman, Fort Lauderdale City Manager to remain in Fort Lauderdale and find dollars to renovate the Fort Lauderdale Aquatic Complex. READ MORE….
Source: Swimming Hall of Fame Remains in Fort Lauderdale, Signs 30-Year Lease – Swimming World News
Rutgers Researchers Working With Lifeguards On Rescue Drone « CBS New York
High above Belmar’s beach soars a new tool. The high-tech device is an additional option during an emergency, providing flotation and communication. “That could potentially buy lifeguards additional time, but it in no way removes the lifeguard from life-saving equation,” lifeguard Eric Kerecman said. Belmar partnered with Rutgers University to test and tweak how the drone-assisted rescue operation would work. “We found the drone can get out to a person about one minute faster than, say, if a lifeguard is having to battle a heavy surf,” said Hugh Roarty, the project manager at Rutgers’ Center for Ocean Observing Leadership. READ MORE…
Source: https://newyork.cbslocal.com
Unique surf contest in San Clemente brings team format for lifeguards, junior guards – Orange County Register
Surfing is typically an individual sport — but a new contest in San Clemente brought a fun twist with a team format to the waves.The event, held on the north side of the pier on Sunday, Aug. 26, brought 32 lifeguards and junior lifeguards together to compete in teams of four. The older, more experienced guards, acted as team captains and pulled names out of a hat to determine their teammates. “We wanted something to integrate the lifeguards and junior lifeguards together,” said San Clemente Marine Safety Lt. Rod Mellott. “We thought ‘a surf contest kind of matches that.’”It seemed the concept was a popular one — all the slots were filled within 36 minutes of registration opening up, with a waiting list of 40 junior guards in just an hour.
Surfer Kieren McCarthy, right, and her team “Shred Some Gnar” prepare to compete as teams of one San Clemente lifeguard and three junior guards get together for a surf contest Sunday, Aug. 26, at the San Clemente pier. (Photo by Michael Fernandez, Contributing Photographer)