Sports

Never too old to learn the ABCs of swimming and water safety – The Vacaville Reporter

Soaking wet and smiling as they stood poolside at the Walter Graham Aquatic Center in Vacaville, mother and daughter Maria Alvarez and Sue Ortiz shared more than just their participation in the Adult Learn to Swim program. They each had clear memories of fear they felt as children when they entered the water for the […]

Published

3 months ago

May 18, 2025

Your Sports Nation

They each had clear memories of fear they felt as children when they entered the water for the first time — and not by choice.

Alvarez, 52, of Fairfield, recalled being 14, forced into the water, thinking she would drown. Saturday was the first time since that scary moment that she decided to do a swimsuit and goggles and lower herself into a pool.

Ortiz, 34, also of Fairfield, remembered as a 7-year-old being pushed by her cousins into Lake Berryessa. Likewise, she had avoided anything like a pool or lake since.

That is, until Charmaine Lee, a retired Vacaville Unified kindergarten teacher, assured them they would be comfortable and do well during the first of two free weekend 30-minute sessions, with the other scheduled for Sunday. The lessons are a collaboration between the city of Vacaville and the Vacaville Swim Club.

Speaking calmly to the women once in the water, Lee, a Masters swimmer, started with the fundamental lesson: breath control, essentially the “baby step” of overcoming fear of water.

Outfitted with goggles, Alvarez and Ortiz followed Lee’s instructions about breathing and bobbing, including the step-by-step immersion of the chin, nose, face, and head. Next came the blowing of bubbles on the water’s surface and also blowing more bubbles with their faces submerged.

Then came the bobbing, five times, with their hands on the pool’s side, then five times freestanding in about 3 feet of water, all done at the shallow end of the pool. The result? Success, smiles and encouragement all around.

Lee did a quick review and then moved the pair on to Step 2: frontal floating, “recovery” from a horizontal to a vertical stance. After reviewing Steps 1 and 2, Lee began Step 3, the back float, as the noontime air under clear skies reached the mid-70s.

“I’m a floater,” said Lee, as she demonstrated a back float, her face skyward, her arms outstretched from her sides.

By turns Alvarez and Ortiz turned onto their backs, with Lee supporting each woman with her own hands, their faces skyward and arms outstretched. “How’s that feel?” she asked.

And the first day’s lessons came to an end, to be followed Sunday with the “water arm cycle,” front glide, kick, arm cycle and recovery and rolling over in the water. And there would be more during the second 30-minute session: “air exchange,” a single arm stroke, freestyle with one breath and recovery, rollover, freestyle with additional breaths, and swimming into deeper water, and jumping into the water.

Once out of the pool, the two women clearly had overcome their fears of water and appeared ready for more lessons.

“I’m very confident,” said Alvarez. “Charmaine is a good instructor.”

“I liked it,” said Ortiz. “I’m more confident in the water.”

To any adult who wants to learn how to swim, she added, “I would say, ‘Face your fears.’ ”

And for Alvarez, learning how to swim will mean she can share the skill with her grandchildren, who already know how to swim, she said.

Mark Frazier, a retired Vacaville Unified administrator, started an Adult Learn to Swim program (ALTS) two years ago because, he said, some 30 to 35 percent of adults do not know how to swim.

During the lessons, one Masters swimmer, like Lee or Frazier and his wife, Lisa, is assigned to one or three adults. The free outreach program’s aim, said Frazier, is to encourage some of novice adult swimmers to sign up for additional lessons, for a fee, during the summer, starting June 16.

During the summer, Frazier organizes two types of classes that meet three times per week for two weeks. Level 1 is for adults “who are anxious around water and feel like they do not have any swimming skills,” he said “We start with the basics of breath control, floating, kicking, and basic beginning stroke development.”

Level 2 is for adults “who can get in the water but would like to learn more and become more proficient with swimming,” he said. Sign-ups are available at www.cityofvacaville.gov/rec.

Swim instructor Charmaine Lee helps Maria Alvarez and Sue Ortiz practice going underwater during free adult swim lessons at the Walter V. Graham Aquatic Center on Saturday. (Chris Riley/The Reporter)

Frazier, who swam competitively at Merced College and later at San Diego State University, said most of the adults seek the ALTS lessons “because they want to become water-safe and learn how to swim.”

“Most of the adults also share that their children know how to swim, but they do not,” he added. “Many of the adults did not have the opportunity to swim because there was not a lot of available pool space to learn or they did not have access to lessons when younger or when they were older. Most of the adults we have had in lessons have to start from the very beginning: becoming acclimated to the water, becoming comfortable with their face in the water and blowing bubbles.”

In the past two years, the novice adult swimmers in his classes have ranged in age from their 20s to “up into their 70s,” said Frazier, 66, a certified lifeguard and coach through the Masters and the U.S. Swimming programs.

During the summer, the lessons for adults last six sessions over a two-week period, enough time, he added, to witness “good improvement in all of our swimmers, and we start where they feel comfortable and move on from that point.”

While the ALTS lesson do not cover lifesaving techniques, the instructors teach adults how to be more water safe and how they can be safe in the water.

“We teach them how they can stay afloat and move in the water if they happen to find themselves in the water without a flotation device,” Frazier said. “But we do discuss being water safe and how to be proactive in thinking about water safety.”

His hope after the two-day weekend lessons is for the adults to “see personal improvement having overcome any anxiousness or fear about being in the water. From there, I hope they are motivated to take additional lessons in order to learn more.”

During the last two years of the summer lessons, Frazier said all the adults “have felt a sense of accomplishment in overcoming their fear of the water and improving in their water and swimming skills. We have had a few of our swimmers even move on the the Masters swim program. In two weeks you can see a lot of progress.”

Frazier said he grew up swimming and played water polo in college. And during his undergraduate and postgraduate days, he worked as a lifeguard, taught swim lessons, and coached swimmers.

When he started working in Vacaville Unified, he served as the swim and water polo coach at Will C. Wood High for many years while also working as the school psychologist. Just before retiring, he started coaching swimming again at Wood and continues to do so.

Mark Frazier explains details of a state school dashboard in this Reporter file image. (Richard Bammer/The Reporter)

When Frazier moved into district administration, he worked as a district administrator in the roles of assessment coordinator, director of special assignments, and as director of academic advancement.

When not teaching swimming, Frazier helps to care for two granddaughters a couple days a week. He also serves as a commissioner on the Vacaville Parks and Recreation Commission and has been working with some city staffers on other events, such as the Vaca Triathlon for kids (as a volunteer).

Of teaching adults to learn to swim, Frazier said that, more than anything, the emotional rewards are considerable when “working with adults and watching them overcome their fear, realize they can improve, and seeing how much they can learn over the course of their lessons.”

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Emily Cook Elevated to Head Beach Volleyball Coach

Story Links SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. – The University of San Francisco Athletics has officially announced the promotion of Emily Cook to Head Beach Volleyball Coach. “We are excited to announce the promotion of Emily to Head Beach Volleyball Coach,” Deputy Athletics Director, Administration and Facilities/SWA Stephanie Shrieve-Hawkins said. “She has proven […]

Published

18 minutes ago

August 20, 2025

Your Sports Nation

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. – The University of San Francisco Athletics has officially announced the promotion of Emily Cook to Head Beach Volleyball Coach.

“We are excited to announce the promotion of Emily to Head Beach Volleyball Coach,” Deputy Athletics Director, Administration and Facilities/SWA Stephanie Shrieve-Hawkins said. “She has proven to be an outstanding leader and dedicated advocate for the beach student-athletes for the past four years and will have complete focus toward optimizing their potential and increasing team success.”

A member of the beach volleyball coaching staff since 2022, Cook has spent the last two seasons as the associate head coach, helping guide the Dons to a combined 21 victories. She has overseen a program that has compiled double-digit wins in back-to-back seasons for the first time in program history, and coached Moorea Wood and Letizia Aquilino to All-WCC Second Team honors, as well as Jette Morris and Burkleigh Smith to WCC All-Freshman Team selections.

Before her time on the Hilltop, she served as head coach at Surfside Volleyball Club in Southern California and was the varsity assistant coach at Mira Costa High School.

As a player, Cook competed at Pepperdine, leading the Waves to two AVCA National Championship titles in 2012 and 2014. Notably, she left Pepperdine ranked third in program history in total wins (90) as she was also named to the All-Freshman Team in 2010 for indoor volleyball.

Cook was also named AAU National Player of the Year in 2008 for beach volleyball, while also winning a bronze medal at the Junior Olympics in 2007 and a silver medal in 2008.

For updates and more information on the San Francisco beach volleyball team, follow the Dons on Instagram @USFDonsBeach.

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2025 Fresno Pacific vs Pomona-Pitzer – Men’s Water Polo – News

Event Info Here’s how to watch the 2025 Fresno Pacific vs Pomona-Pitzer – Men’s Water Polo broadcast on FloSwimming. The 2025 Fresno Pacific vs Pomona-Pitzer – Men’s Water Polo broadcast starts on Sep 6, 2025. Stream or cast from your desktop, mobile or TV. Now available on Roku, Fire TV, Chromecast and Apple TV. Don’t […]

Published

24 minutes ago

August 20, 2025

Your Sports Nation

Event Info

Here’s how to watch the 2025 Fresno Pacific vs Pomona-Pitzer – Men’s Water Polo broadcast on FloSwimming. The 2025 Fresno Pacific vs Pomona-Pitzer – Men’s Water Polo broadcast starts on Sep 6, 2025. Stream or cast from your desktop, mobile or TV. Now available on Roku, Fire TV, Chromecast and Apple TV. Don’t forget to download the FloSports app on iOS or Android! If you can’t watch live, catch up with the replays! Video footage from the event will be archived and stored in a video library for FloSwimming subscribers to watch for the duration of their subscription.

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2025 AVCA Two-Year College Players To Watch

2025AVCA Two-Year CollegePLAYERS TO WATCH “The Two-Year College Head CoachesCommittee is proud to showcase these 12 student-athletes, their coaches, and programs leading into the 2025 season. The opportunity to recognize and honor the talent and skill of the two-year college women’s volleyball student-athletes is central to the HCC’s role.”–Shelby Forchtner, 2YC HCC Chair Chloe J. […]

Published

39 minutes ago

August 20, 2025

Your Sports Nation

2025
AVCA Two-Year College
PLAYERS TO WATCH

“The Two-Year College Head Coaches
Committee is proud to showcase these 12 student-athletes, their coaches, and programs leading into the 2025 season.
The opportunity to recognize and honor the talent and skill of the two-year college women’s volleyball student-athletes is central to the HCC’s role.”
–Shelby Forchtner, 2YC HCC Chair

Chloe J. Albiez

OH, Feather River College
MVP of the 2024 3C2A State Tournament with FRC winning their third title in five years.

Hanna Darvas

S, Cowley County Community College
Led Cowley to a 40-0 record and the 2024 NJCAA D-II Championship.

Sara Gamboa

OH, Florida SouthWestern College
2024 AVCA Third Team All-American. Six matches of 20 or more kills in 2024. 21 double-doubles.

Joleen Jaeger

S, Yakima Valley College
NWAC Setter of the Week four times. 8.7 assists per game.

Mia Santos

OH, Dallas College Eastfield
Second generation Dallas College athlete. Mia’s aunt played volleyball at Eastfield.

Danna Aguilera

PIN, Gulf Coast State College
Colombian National Team experience. Aspires to be a sports medicine physician.

Francesca Brandonisio

L, College of DuPage
Frankie’s mother is a former Chaparral. Second Team All-American with a 3.6 GPA.

Karlotta Kattai

OH, Colby Community College
Played for the Estonian National Team. 2024 KJCCC Freshman of the Year. NJCAA Second Team All-American.

Katelyn E. Markley

6 ROT OH, Treasure Valley Community College
Shattered school records with 352 kills at 3.52 kills per set. 3.67 GPA.

Karina Rodriguez

OH, Fresno City College
Helped lead Fresno City to state runner up finish in 2024. Second Team All-Conference.

Taylor Kik

OH, Grand Rapids Community College
NJCAA D-II First Team All-American and AVCA First Team All-American. An avid horse rider.

Weronika Urbanska

OH, Weatherford College
2024 NJCAA Region V Player of the Year and Second Team All-American.

Thanks to the Ad Hoc Selection Committee for their
contribution to this Two-Year College HCC initiative.

Kieran Roblee, Fresno City College

Ceanna Larson Michalek, Centralia College

MacKenzie Chrisman Nelson, Northeastern JC

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Filer’s Weaver signs with Arizona Christian beach volleyball

State AlabamaAlaskaArizonaArkansasCaliforniaColoradoConnecticutDelawareFloridaGeorgiaHawaiiIdahoIllinoisIndianaIowaKansasKentuckyLouisianaMaineMarylandMassachusettsMichiganMinnesotaMississippiMissouriMontanaNebraskaNevadaNew HampshireNew JerseyNew MexicoNew YorkNorth CarolinaNorth DakotaOhioOklahomaOregonPennsylvaniaRhode IslandSouth CarolinaSouth DakotaTennesseeTexasUtahVermontVirginiaWashingtonWashington D.C.West VirginiaWisconsinWyomingPuerto RicoUS Virgin IslandsArmed Forces AmericasArmed Forces PacificArmed Forces EuropeNorthern Mariana IslandsMarshall IslandsAmerican SamoaFederated States of MicronesiaGuamPalauAlberta, CanadaBritish Columbia, CanadaManitoba, CanadaNew Brunswick, CanadaNewfoundland, CanadaNova Scotia, CanadaNorthwest Territories, CanadaNunavut, CanadaOntario, CanadaPrince Edward Island, CanadaQuebec, CanadaSaskatchewan, CanadaYukon Territory, Canada Zip Code Country United States of […]

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1 hour ago

August 20, 2025

Your Sports Nation

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2025 AVP Manhattan Beach Open – Event Recap

Women’s Bracket – Brasher & Nuss Cement Their Dynasty The defending champions, Taryn Brasher & Kristen Nuss, once again etched their names into Manhattan Beach history, winning their second straight title with a gritty three-set victory over #2 Terese Cannon & Megan Kraft (15–21, 21–18, 15–13). It’s the first women’s repeat since Emily Capers & […]

Published

1 hour ago

August 20, 2025

Your Sports Nation

Women’s Bracket – Brasher & Nuss Cement Their Dynasty

The defending champions, Taryn Brasher & Kristen Nuss, once again etched their names into Manhattan Beach history, winning their second straight title with a gritty three-set victory over #2 Terese Cannon & Megan Kraft (15–21, 21–18, 15–13).

It’s the first women’s repeat since Emily Capers & Brittany Hochevar in 2016–2017, confirming Kloth/Nuss as the defining force of the modern AVP. They entered the weekend having won 32 of their last 35 AVP matches and extended their finals streak to seven straight events.

Their semifinal clash with #19 Kennedy Coakley & Ashley Pater highlighted the magic of Manhattan Beach. The USC duo became just the fifth women’s team seeded 19th or lower to reach an AVP semifinal and captured the crowd’s imagination with a five-match elimination run. But against Brasher/Nuss, their fairy tale ended 23–21, 21–11.

Cannon & Kraft also impressed in their march to the final, knocking out #5 Corinne Quiggle & Teegan Van Gunst in straight sets (21–12, 21–13) and showing they are firmly part of the AVP’s elite.

Key Notes:

TKN are the first women’s team in eight years to win consecutive MBO titles.
Coakley & Pater became the lowest-seeded team (No. 19) to reach the Manhattan semis since 2017.
Cannon & Kraft reached their first Manhattan final together, underscoring their rise.

Men’s Bracket – Budinger & Evans Claim Their Pier Immortality

On the men’s side, the story was one of chalk meeting legacy. For the first time since 2016, the top four seeds all reached the semifinals, setting the stage for blockbuster matchups.

Semifinal Drama:
- #4 Trevor Crabb & Phil Dalhausser edged #2 Taylor Crabb & Taylor Sander in a three-set classic (21–17, 13–21, 16–14).
- #1 Chase Budinger & Miles Evans rallied past #3 Chaim Schalk & James Shaw (18–21, 21–18, 15–12).

That set up a final pitting Dalhausser, the seven-time Manhattan Beach champion, and Trevor Crabb, a four-time winner, against a duo still searching for their first pier plaques.

The Final:

Budinger & Evans rose to the occasion, defeating Crabb & Dalhausser in straight sets (21–19, 21–16). The victory not only secured their first Manhattan Beach title but also ended the Crabb brothers’ dominance — Trevor and Taylor had combined to win each of the last five Manhattan Beach Opens. For Budinger, it marked his first AVP championship with Evans as a team, while Evans celebrated his first career AVP title.

Key Notes:

Budinger & Evans entered the week 1–6 against Crabb/Sander but undefeated against everyone else in the field. They carried that momentum through the semifinals and finals to claim their biggest career win together.
For Crabb & Dalhausser, the loss ends a run in which one of the two had won 8 of the last 10 MBO titles.
Taylor Crabb vs. Trevor Crabb in the semis added another chapter to their family rivalry — their 32nd career meeting. Trevor extended his Manhattan dominance over Taylor to 6–1, though Taylor holds the bragging rights for their 2023 championship clash.

Next Stop – AVP League Championship, Chicago

The Manhattan Beach Open may be the “Granddaddy of Them All” but the 2025 AVP season isn’t done yet. The finale comes August 30–31 with the AVP League Championship in Chicago, Illinois.

The top six teams from both genders will battle in a single-elimination playoff to be crowned AVP League Champion.
Chase Budinger & Miles Evans of the San Diego Smash, seeded fifth after a 4–4 League campaign, will face Hagen Smith & Logan Webber of the LA Launch in the quarterfinals.
On the women’s side, Taryn Brasher & Kristen Nuss of the Austin Aces enter as the top seed and will open their title defense in the semifinals thanks to a first-round bye.

Fans can watch the action on YouTube TV and CBS, or experience it live by securing tickets now at AVP.com.

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San Giljan water polo pitch project gets environment authority green light

The Environment and Resources Authority (ERA) has cleared a land reclamation project linked to the redevelopment of the San Giljan Aquatic Sports Club. The project will include a restaurant with outdoor seating, a lido for sunbeds, a swimming pool and additional club facilities. A previous application was withdrawn after ERA objected to the obliteration of […]

Published

2 hours ago

August 20, 2025

Your Sports Nation

The Environment and Resources Authority (ERA) has cleared a land reclamation project linked to the redevelopment of the San Giljan Aquatic Sports Club.

The project will include a restaurant with outdoor seating, a lido for sunbeds, a swimming pool and additional club facilities.

A previous application was withdrawn after ERA objected to the obliteration of seagrass known as Posidonia Oceanica and the significant visual intrusion on the bay.

But clearance was granted after a new application was presented, reducing the land reclamation footprint. This revision reduced the loss of posidonia meadows by 80%.

The land reclamation project will still involve the take-up of 2,230m² of newly reclaimed land to accommodate the new commercial lido, including 197m² of protected Posidonia meadows. Moreover, construction works will still take place adjacent to the protected habitats.

The new bullnose breakwater will also be built on piles rather than caissons, meaning the seagrass beneath will not be completely buried, although remaining patches will still suffer from shading and scouring.

An updated Environmental Impact Assessment written by AIS Environment Ltd , concluded that these changes downgraded the ecological impact from “major significant” to “minor-to-moderate significant”.

However, the impact on views of Balluta Bay remains significant.

During a meeting in July, ERA board members were told that while the changes represented a considerable improvement, residual impacts on posidonia at the margins are still expected.

NGO representative Martin Galea DeGiovanni, who along with board member Charmaine Mangion voted against the project, warned that the development remained substantial compared to the existing situation. He argued that even with the reduction in scale, the project would continue to exert pressure on the fragile seagrass habitat.

Visual impact was another major concern. Photomontages showed that the redesigned platform, with softer edges and a smaller footprint, would reduce visual prominence when viewed from Pjazza Balluta and Xatt is-Sajjieda. Here, the impact was downgraded from “major” to “moderate significant.” But from other viewpoints – including Triq George Borg Olivier, Triq Ċensu Tabone, Triq it-Torri and Ix-Xatt ta’ Spinola – the visual impact remains unchanged, still registering as moderate-to-major.

Moreover, ERA acknowledged that such effects are “unavoidable when involving land reclamation,” particularly in an urbanised setting.

Nonetheless, the directorate recommended approval, noting that ERA’s two main concerns – the scale of seagrass loss and the most significant visual impacts – had been addressed through the latest revisions.

It also stressed that permit conditions would impose mitigation measures, including strict monitoring of the marine environment during construction, containment of dredged material, use of silt curtains, spillage prevention and lighting mitigation.

The board voted in favour of approval, with only Martin Galea DeGiovanni and Charmaine Mangion opposing.

Board Chairman Perit Vincent Cassar emphasised the importance of closely monitoring the posidonia during works, with the developer required to fund an ERA-approved independent monitor.

ERA’s clearance clears a major stumbling block for the approval of the project by the Planning Authority which still has to issue its verdict.

The St Julian’s water polo club is one of Malta’s foremost clubs but lacks modern facilities. The team is the current Premier Division Winter League champion.

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