I like to join the throng of people resolving to get in shape in the new year. It’s cliche, yet motivating, not to mention effective. Last year I resolved to get in shape and I went from hurting all the time and not being able to wear any of my clothes to feeling good when I worked out, being able to wear my clothes, including my pants fitting much looser, to having the energy to do all I have to do in a day. I also ran/walked my first 5 K.

Next year I want to take it further. I want to:

1. swim 2500 yards in my workouts

2. swim 500 yards freestyle without a break

3. do some sort of triathlon, even if it’s only a training one at the Y.

4. get my younger children back in USA swimming’s learn to swim program

5. get my 15 year old back in the pool, training with me

6. split an IM with my friend who likes to run

That’s a good start. What are your swimming resolutions?

Happy New Year! May you reach every one of your goals for the upcoming year!

It’s been a year for national Black swimming news. Not all of it has been good news, either. The top story was a huge throwback to the 1950s. Not all of the good news has been widely reported, but I think they are of note. With no further ado, here are the top 5 black swim stories of 2009:

1. The Philadelphia Swim Club incident

It is unfortunate that this was the biggest black swimming story of the year. When the Creative Steps day camp signed up for swim lessons at the Valley Club, they had no idea what was in store for them. The black children in the day camp were subjected to racist remarks before being asked not to return. When it all hit the fan, the Valley Club asked them to return, which they didn’t. Tyler Perry sent the whole day camp to Disney World to undo the sting of the whole incident, and the day camp found an alternative facility for their swim lessons.

2. Cullen Jones’ Make a Splash Initiative

Cullen Jones toured the country this summer to spread the news about the Make a Splash Foundation. He told his story of nearly drowning at the age of 5, and then got in the pool and helped teach youngsters to swim. He was featured on HBO’s Real Sports, as well as other National News outlets.

3. USA Swimming Foundation funded 12 Make a Splash partners

Here’s National news that hit close to home for me. The swim team my children were once a part of have benefited from this funding. It is refreshing to see how committed USA Swimming is to the goal of reducing the drowning rate.

4. House Resolution 57

The House of Representatives passed a resolution that recognized Make a Splash, and other learn to swim programs, and it encouraged organizations to fund learn to swim programs. The resolution acknowledges the National drowning rate, and addresses historical barriers to swimming proficiency blacks have had.

5. Cullen Jones breaks American record in the 50 free

Cullen did more this summer than teach kids to swim. He also competed on the National and International stage. In the process, he made an American record in the 50 free: 21:41. I had to search for the video of his record-breaking swim, but I found it.

Poor super suit. One minute, you’re on top of the world, breaking records left and right. The next minute you’re banned.

That’s right. The Duel in the Pool, in Manchester England was the last race to allow the Speedo LZR, or any other full body suit.

It was interesting to watch some of those races, where swimmers in the high tech suits raced against Michael Phelps, who went old school in some jammers. He won some, he lost some, and I wondered again if it was the suit.

Time will tell.

I got a few comments on that last post about muscle density. I also got a little heat when I wrote this post about black folks and swimming. I have since shied away from the muscle density issue.

But I have lingering questions. Why did Cullen Jones mention not being able to float? Why did my parents, who resembled Jack Sprat and his wife have such different experiences in the water. My mother, who was morbidly obese, floated so well she could barely keep her feet on the bottom of the pool. My father, much leaner, sank like a bar bell. It always seemed more like a bone issue than a muscle issue.

A while back, I mentioned the lady in the beauty shop who said that tenseness has something to do with a lack of buoyancy. There’s something to that.

Actual inability to float is very rare. We all have different levels of buoyancy, related to fat, muscle, and lung size. You can affect the lung capacity by being tense or relaxed. So, if you have fear of the water, you can actually affect your buoyancy!

I think we get on a slippery slope when we try to categorize all black people as the same. I mentioned my parents earlier, both of whom were black. They obviously didn’t have the same body types. Maybe muscle density played a part in my father’s buoyancy problem, but having almost drowned myself trying to save him, I can safely say that he struggled with tensing up in fear while trying to tread water.

I wonder if we can put this muscle density theory to rest with the simple word, fear?

Ok, so I may be beating a dead horse, but this is the issue that just won’t die. There are so many opinions, and I am forming mine as I research the issue. Here’s another go round.

1. financial reasons

I originally dismissed this one out of hand. It’s a stereotype that all blacks are poor, and I’m not going there. But this article approached the issue from a different direction. So much about swimming is about time. You really must put the hours in, and that’s where finances can become an issue. You must pay for all that pool time, and many of the practice and meet hours may conflict with working hours. Add to that issues of one or no car per family, and you have a problem.

2. lack of role models

My research has me leaning toward this as the major factor. Swimming just doesn’t seem like a ‘black thing’ if you can’t find anyone black who’s ever excelled in it. The reason I talk so much about Cullen Jones here is that he’s the dude who’s out there taking names now. We need more people to bust down the doors and keep them open. I think it’s only a matter of time. It helps that Cullen is doing Make a Splash and trading on his celebrity to encourage other black kids to get in the water. Time shall tell.

3. fear of the water

This is the generational factor. ie., My mother was afraid of the water and she told me to stay away from the water, and I’m scared. . . This is a vicious cycle that perpetuates itself. The problem here is that this fear has done nothing to curb the drowning rate. Being afraid of the water is a dangerous stance to take. I think we address this with understanding coaches, and black swim teachers and lifeguards can’t hurt.

4. hair

I was talking to my cousin the other day about my daughter’s plans to go swimming on her Christmas vacation. I had thought it would be an awful lot of trouble for her to get her hair wet while away from home. My cousin lamented that hair would even be an issue. I do too. I quit getting perms so I could pursue swimming. I wore braids and and now get my hair done a couple times a month to accommodate my love of swimming. It is doable, but still a pain. I definitely want to try wrapping my hair in plastic wrap before putting on my cap! I will let you know how it works.

5. history of racism

I didn’t want to go there, but when we have stuff like what happened in Philadelphia this last summer flare up, you know it’s an issue to contend with. I’ve talked about the incident here, and I found this article which also addresses it. Part of our reluctance to swim comes from being denied access to pools. Godfrey Cambridge joked in the 60s that the colored pool and the white pool were just the same, only the colored pool had no water in it, and the diving board was higher. The idea that blacks and whites definitely better not mix in the water has been prevalent in this country for a long time, and the Philadelphia incident shows that it has not died quite yet. I’m not sure, but I think excellence, influence and affluence will address this issue. Excellence like what Cullen Jones and younger swimmers behind him are pursuing. These young swimmers also carry the burden of influence on their backs. Just doing their thing will influence other swimmers to come and join them, not to mention normalize the whole idea of black swimmers. Affluence is something all of us can attain. Make your plan, put your head down, pursue it, and then open your own pools, clubs and resorts. And use good old competition to drive the racist institutions right out of business.

I was just looking for more stats on HBCU (Historically Black Colleges and University) swim teams. The competition season is at hand, and there’s a big meet coming up in February. Hampton, as one of the Black Ivy League schools, came to mind. But I couldn’t find anything when I googled it. I thought they must not have a swim program.

Then my husband sent me this link. Was I ever wrong! Jodi Jenson, assistant professor and Aquatic director at Hampton University was featured in the Washington Post magazine this past Spring, and interviewed on NPR about the article.

She talked about what she’d learned from her students to answer the question, ‘why don’t black kids swim?’ Her conclusions are the same as mine: it’s generational, it’s about priority, and it’s about a lack of role models which perpetuates the cycle.

Jenson, who is not black, also learned a thing or two about the hair issue. She talked about coming face to face with the black girl hair issue right away. How a student came to class, put on a swim suit, got in the pool, and then refused to get her hair wet because she had just gotten it done for a special occasion. (I can’t believe that girl risked her ‘do by even getting in the pool–shoot–the locker room, for that matter!) Jenson responded to that student by not forcing her to get her hair wet that day.

After she suggested swim caps, her students told her that the caps didn’t keep their hair dry. Her students then came up with the idea of wrapping their hair in saran wrap before putting on the swim cap. That kept their hair dry. (I can’t imagine you could avoid sweating by doing this, but it’s worth a try. I’ll let you know how it works when I try it).

I love how the students pursued a solution to a seemingly unsurmountable problem so they could swim. It’s that kind of attitude that will bring out swimming numbers up.

I’m looking forward to hearing good things from the Hampton University Aquatics department. Be on the lookout for news of the HBCU Invitational in February.