The OMS Board of Directors selects the Ol’ Barnacle Award winner and the Connie Wilson Memorial Award winner. The other award winners are chosen by nominations from the OMS membership.
Ol’ Barnacle Award – Julie Andrade
Julie Andrade
Connie Wilson Memorial Award – Tim Waud
Tim Waud
The Hazel Bressie Spirit-Female – Jill Marie Asch and Kristina Franklin
Jill Asch
Jill Marie has been a Masters Coach with the Multnomah Athletic Club for about five years now. She also swims with the team and competes extensively at Oregon Masters events and nationally.
Although there are four Masters coaches at the MAC, Jill Marie is far and away our unofficial leader. She is an everpresent spirited member of the team, well-known and wellloved by all. She spearheads all of our social events, and since arriving on deck, has increased team participation in meets (particularly Associations) every year. We owe our Associations Medium Team wins for the last three years in large part to Jill Marie.
Jill Marie, at 50, is still breaking records in the pool, and spreading enthusiasm and a love of swimming on deck.
Kristina Franklin
November, 2012, Kristina joined the OC Tankers and became a member of USMS. Good things followed..
“Mr./Madam Starter!” Swimmers poised on their block. I see Kristina up there again for another event. “Swimmers take your mark.” Kristina is in a close-guarded position, a bit shaky and apprehensive.
Beep!..And they’re all off! For a split second gliding into the air (some landings are a bit different) Kristina leaps forward…much like a frog, but there she goes; stroking and kicking; absolutely determined to beat her best time and with less anxiety. “Damn the torpedos…full speed ahead.”
She did it! Another accomplishment.
This year she has again made a list of swimming goals:
• Do flip turns at work out
• Get over the “diving thing”
• Enter an IM conquering the breast stroke
• Work toward a 100 fly
• Overcome some more anxiety
How many of us actually make a list of swimming goals?
We can all learn from Kristina! Isn’t she what USMS is all about? Doing our best, overcoming obstacles, making goals and most important of all—Keeping the SPIRIT!
OMS is unique, our members are like a family. Supportive of one another when the occasion arises. No doubt, she appreciates her team and OMS for the opportunity to become a better swimmer in a very friendly yet competitive environment. Kristina always has a ready smile and she is friendly to everyone.
Kristina’s Spirit continues to inspire my motivation to stay in the water—and as they say, “Keep coming back.” She does, and she will.
USMS has a very clear Mission Statement. OMS follows the same guidelines in its Mission Statement. Kristina’s story is a perfect example of both Mission Statements. Each to their own ability has an opportunity to health and fitness in a positive atmosphere with the opportunity to compete.
Gil Young Spirit – Male – Frank Phillips
Frank Phillips
Frank swims with Rogue Valley Masters in southern Oregon and has been a key member of the team for many, many years – more than 2 decades, I believe. He’s very passionate about swimming and eager to help anyone who is in need and receptive to feedback, going out of his way to assist new swimmers and help people with the finer points of technique work or just helping someone new to the sport to be able to get up and down the pool. Frank is a student of the sport, always studying, learning new things and sharing the knowledge he works hard to digest. As a team without a coach, Frank is invaluable as a resource for those of us who want and appreciate feedback. For me personally, Frank has been an amazing coach and friend over the last 4 years since I entered the sport of swimming. He has spent countless hours helping me improve my technique by giving advice, feedback and genuinely caring about my swimming. He always asks how I have done in every single event I swim — and there are a TON of them!!! And he’s always authentically interested in hearing about my triumphs and failures, offering great feedback in all cases.
There have been so many times that Frank has been helpful for me and other Rogue Valley Masters swimmers, it’s hard to choose one that sticks out the most, but I would like to share the following story. At the April 2014 OMS association meet, I did not have a very good meet. I put up times that were much slower than I had expected to swim, based on my training. I was disheartened by the meet which led to feeling dejected and trepidatious about the upcoming USMS Spring Nationals in Santa Clara. Being new to the sport, I didn’t really understand that sometimes bad meets just happen, based on one’s training cycle, where one is at with honing their technique, and how one is feeling physically and psychologically. Frank attended the OMS association meet with me and the team, and he knew how I was feeling without me directly communicating it to him. A few days after the meet, in the locker room after practice one morning, Frank spoke to me about the meet. He was gentle, caring and extremely helpful, letting me know that I was “doing just fine” and that the work I had put in would pay off at Nationals. He explained that not every meet is going to be your best and that I hadn’t really tapered for the meet, yet the times I put up were not all that bad. That short talk really helped get my head right again and back to being positive. I continued working towards nationals, put in a good taper and went down to Santa Clara and put up 5 personal bests, placing in the top 10 in every event except one, in which I was 11th, and as high as 3rd place in the 1650 free. I have no doubt that without Frank’s support, it would have been much more challenging to overcome that psychological hurdle of a bad OMS association meet in order to have a great Nationals meet.
In summary, Frank is helpful, encouraging, caring, passionate about swimming and a genuinely great individual! I firmly believe that Frank Phillips is exactly the type of individual who strongly exemplifies the qualities that OMS would want to recognize with the Gil Young Spirit Award.
The Special Service Award – David Fryefield
David Fryefield
This is given to an individual, organization, business, or group that has gone the “extra mile” by contributing outstanding service to a team or OMS. David Fryefield is the board president for Emerald Aquatics.
For the last FEW years David has been instrumental in keeping our masters groups alive and running. Including TOUGH negotiations with the city (which I witnessed most of) in a calm and professional manner as well as restructuring our team/finances/ billing to keep us going.
As the largest and original (longest standing) Masters organization in Eugene this is a big contribution.
We are now stronger, more viable, and with more regular members than ever!!!
Most Splashes
Awarded to the swimmer who has swum the most pool events at Oregon sanctioned swim meets
Women:
| 1) Sonja Skinner – 20 | 2) Janet Gettling – 19 | 3) Carolyn Demarco – 18 |
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Men:
| 1) Willard Lamb – 21 | 2) Timothy Waud – 20 | 3) Dirk Mussig – 18 |
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Swimmers of the Year
The OMS Top Male and Female of the Year Award shall be determined by the compilation of points of all USMS Top 10 placings in SCY, SCM, and LCM with ten (10) points for first place, nine (9) points for second place, eight (8) points for third place, and so on, down to tenth place.
Women 49 & Under:
| 1) Sonja Skinner | 2) Jessica Stacy | 3) Jill Asch |
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Men 49 & Under:
| 1) Matt Miller | 2) Scot Sullivan | 3) Chip Polito |
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Women 50 & Over:
| 1) Janet Gettling | 2) Geraldine Kawabata | 3) Sue Calnek Morris |
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Men 50 & Over:
| 1) Willard Lamb | 2) Allen Stark | 3) Chris Hiatt |
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Lifetime All-Star Award – Willard Lamb
Willard Lamb
A swimmer who is the top OMS Outstanding Swimmer for five years (pool or long distance), will achieve this elite category. Including Willard, there are only 11 OMS swimmers who have been awarded a Lifetime All-Star.