By Rowdy Gaines on 12/1/2009

Last week I was part of another magical day at TLC. Our staff headed down to the Orlando Union Rescue Mission (OURM) to be part of a volunteer team to help feed those in need a Thanksgiving meal. Even though there was heavy rain throughout the day it could not take away from the fantastic experience that was felt by all of us. I saw all walks of life pass through those doors that day…old, young, black, white, families and singles. They all had one thing in common: they were in need of some love… and a good meal. I’m not sure if we could provide that in a span of a few hours but I was so proud of the smiles that were generated from our TLC family to them.

TLC’s duties were simple. As soon as one table finished we cleared it and got it ready for the next group. Ryan and I turned into the maitre d’s, though, as we began to seat people as they came in. The head of the mission came to me after and said how grateful she was to our company for not only our monetary donation but also our Read More »

By Rowdy Gaines on 11/24/2009

We had our annual Golden Goggles this past weekend in Beverly Hills to celebrate the world of swimming for 2009. It was a great weekend and a lot of Hollywood even came out to celebrate with us. A local boy, Ryan Lochte of Daytona Beach, won swimmer of the year honors, beating out Michael Phelps. I hope I represented Team Blu Frog and TLC well. I got to swim with a lot of National Team members and they all wanted to race me based on how I did at the big meet a couple of weeks ago. Needless to say, I’ve still got a lot of work to do--and not much time--to be racing with the big boys, and for that matter the girls too! I plan on swimming the 50 free in the 2009 US Short Course Nationals next weekend in Seattle where all the very best swimmers in the country will gather to compete…IF my commentating for the meet does not get in the way. It will be televised by Universal Sports December 4, 5 and 6.

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By Rowdy Gaines on 11/19/2009

I want to give everyone an update on the last couple days of “For Goodness Sake” and why it is absolutely so cool to work for The Limu Company.

Tuesday, a couple of marketing staffers and I went to Longwood Elementary where I talked to about 400 3rd, 4th and 5th graders about the importance of reaching for their dreams, living a healthy lifestyle, getting a good education, and, of course, my Olympic experience. Afterwards, many of the kids came up and gave me high fives and hugs, and the teachers were so appreciative to me and our company. The principal was the most impressed. She said it was the first time she could remember that somebody came and spoke to her students who did not have an agenda. She told me how nice it was that I told them I was there because of The Limu Company, but did not give them a 5-minute commercial on it. And then she asked me how she could buy some!

Yesterday, I went to the Save-A-Lot/Orlando Union Read More »

By Rowdy Gaines on 10/5/2009

Last week, the 2016 Olympic Games were awarded to Rio de Janeiro. I was fortunate to host the party at Daley Plaza where 40,000 people gathered to hear if Chicago would be lucky enough to get the Games…our luck ran out.

I have been criticized by some for the comment I made that we may have lost the Games because of some “political hangover” of the last eight years….time to set the record straight.

We lost the Olympics for three main reasons and in this order…

1) The different regions of the world voted accordingly in the first round…for example, Asia voted for Tokyo, Europe voted for Madrid and South America voted for Rio. There is not a lot of representation on the IOC from North America and so Chicago was really counting on the African vote. It did not happen and thus Chicago was eliminated in the first round. If we had made it past that first round I think it would have been a lot closer.

2) Jacque Ro Read More »

By Rowdy Gaines on 9/2/2009

 

It has been 2 ½ months since my coach, my mentor and my best friend Richard Quick passed away. Richard was diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor back in December and fought it for six months until he could fight no longer.

He changed my life in so many ways. It’s tough to put in words what an impact he had on my life. I would not be the person I am without his love and sup

 

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By Rowdy Gaines on 8/27/2009

The new suit technology and the controversy behind it does not seem to want to go away. Now there is quite a bit of attention in the Masters World. The Washington Post recently had an article on the suit through the eyes of Masters Swimming:  http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/08/25/AR2009082503048.html?referrer=emailarticle

My thought has always been that the suit has been good for the sport. If you had asked me two years ago and I knew then what I know now, I would have agreed that the suit would NOT be good for the sport.  But the suit arrived and it changed our sport more dramatically than anything in history. We can’t just pretend it didn’t happen.

There are several reasons why I think the suit should stay on all levels, but certainly now in Masters. The first 8 reas Read More »

By Rowdy Gaines on 8/10/2009

The US Masters National Championships were held this past weekend in Indianapolis. There were over 1200 swimmers in the meet, making it one of the biggest Summer Nationals in history. Masters is growing tremendously in the USA, having gone from 40,000 members to 50,000 in just one year.

I am really digressing, huh?!

By Rowdy Gaines on 8/6/2009

Rome is a city I could definitely live in. The people, the history and the FOOD! It’s all there and I loved every minute of it…oh, and there was some pretty fast swimming as well. The World Championships ended with 43 World Records and over 600 National Records broken, and yes, the suit makes a big difference.  I love the suit because it gets people talking about our sport. Phelps and the suit. It doesn’t matter as long as people are tuning in. We had record ratings for NBC (swimming wise) and people are curious; hopefully it will get more people involved in our sport.

It’s good to be home though, as I missed my family terribly, as well as my co-workers at The Limu Company. But guess what? I’m off again tomorrow for the Masters Nationals….I think I will swim the 50 and the relays and maybe the 100 but tune in to Twitter and/or Facebook for my updates.

Blu Frog Team Rocks and we will be lighting the pool on fire in Indy!
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By Rowdy Gaines on 7/15/2009

Last week was pretty amazing if you think about it. Usually the year after an Olympics is pretty laid back and the times are pretty slow. Well, three World Records and 12 American Records later, all of a sudden they were incredible. All anyone could talk about was the new high tech suit and yes it does make a difference, but the suits don’t have propellers so the swimmer still has to swim the race. They will continue to bring times down in Rome though, so watch for many WRs to fall.

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By Rowdy Gaines on 6/24/2009

Woke up this morning and said “Where am I?” It was 4am on Tuesday so I had to be in Chicago. This road trip started with the toughest of all days last Friday, the funeral for my coach Richard Quick. But he would want me to get on with the rest of my life and boy have I ever.
 
A trip to Reno came fast the day after the funeral. Southern Nevada Aquatics is trying to get a pool built, and Amanda Beard and I hosted a fundraiser there on Saturday. They've got great leadership and if we can ever get out of this funky economy, it will happen.
 
Lehigh Swim Camp came next on Monday, my 13th year in a row … love the place and all the wonderful people associated with that fine institution. As always, the kids were awesome.
 
Tuesday meant Chicago 2016, as we joined with 30,000 people celebrating Olympic Day on beaches around the world. I was the emcee of this U.S. Olympic Day in Chicago, enjoying a beauti Read More »