Industry News: Swim With A Purpose January Issue Available

BERKELEY HEIGHTS, New Jersey, January 10. THROUGHOUT the swimming community, there are a bunch of projects and web sites designed to highlight different areas of the swimming spectrum. One such item is Swim With A Purpose (SWAP), a New Jersey-centered online magazine written for and primarily by swimmers in the area.

SWAP was first published in October 2005 with all the articles written by the founder and editor, Arlene Douglas. Today, SWAP has several writers who address topics of interest to the average swimmer, with an emphasis on profiling local swimmers as inspiration.

Over six quarterly issues, the SWAP writers, mostly high school students, have tackled such topics as: to do or not to do high school swimming, sibling rivalry in the pool, lactate testing, promoting cultural diversity in the sport, balancing swimming and school work, training outside the comfort zone, fueling the body, finding the right college and celebrating our coaches.

Also, a SWAP story resulted in the filming of the swimming careers of a set of teenage twins. SWAP, however, is not limited to local stories. It offers a national perspective through regular interviews with major swim personalities such as Olympians, national swimmers, national team coaches and USA Swimming officials.

A key feature of SWAP is its column by an aspiring sport psychologist who shares her thoughts on tough issues such as disordered eating, switching swim teams and minimizing the expense of competitive swimming.

The January 2007 issue spotlights several New Jersey swimmers who are making waves on a local, regional, national and international scale. Their stories provide a flavor of the world of competitive swimming and illustrate what goes into making a champion.

James Ross takes a look at the Eastern Zones Championship, while Kate Toth compares swimming competitions in England and the United States. Meanwhile, Matt Navata looks at the Zone Select Camp, while Rebecca Kane sheds light on the college recruiting experience. Furthermore, Lauren English captures the world of international competition via the Pan Pacific Championships.

Additionally, a crossword puzzle provides a broader snapshot of swimming in New Jersey, while the Dear Alexi column offers some ways to measure success to a swimmer who is not posting the times her parents expect given their expenditure.

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