Acknowledgements

The Freestyle Biomechanics project commenced over 5 years ago. It has been a collaborative effort from its inception.  The ready assistance and encouragement extended by all has been a constant source of inspiration.  We hope you agree that the end result has been worth the effort. 

Web & Logo Design

Santa Moreno-Gonzalez continues to apply her creative talents on our behalf.  We are more than fortunate to have her on board.

Harindra Thenuvarage provided invaluable input during the early stages of program development.

Music

Steve Kramer composed the music we use exclusively for the program.  Steve’s generosity in allowing us to use his compositions is greatly valued and appreciated.  

Guidance on Marketing

Kuku Fleming continues to provide us with invaluable help with marketing. She swam on the Harvard University and Thai National swimming teams and is currently a competitive Masters swimmer and high school coach.  Her varied experience gives us a unique perspective in an essential element of our marketing strategy.

High-speed Motion Analysis Research

To our knowledge, our multi-camera, high-speed motion analysis swimming research is currently not being duplicated elsewhere. It is made possible thanks to our collaboration with a number of dedicated individuals and their affiliates: 

Stefan Klippel and his team at Contemplas GmbH, Kempten, Germany.  

Jeremy Childress and his team at the Sexton Corporation, Salem, Oregon.

Robert Tokunaga, Center for Instructional Support, University of Hawaii.

Content Review, Design, & Technical

The following individuals generously agreed to function as Reviewers. They provided on-going feedback over the many iterations it took to fine-tune the final product.  Completing the program would not have been possible without their help.

Steve Allnutt was instrumental in the program development, particularly with our high-speed motion analysis research.   In addition, as a currently active triathlete, Steve continues to provide valuable updated content recommendations.

Sarah Folker provides us with important ongoing advice on how to publicize our program.  As an active swimming coach and a media specialist, her experience and recommendations are both important and timely.

Bob Groseth we thank for critical feedback and advice on stroke technique and tips for how we present our information.  His decades of experience coaching at the NCAA Division I level, including coaching world record holders and Olympic champions, has been invaluable.

Bruce Kennard, a long-time coaching colleague, we thank for his prompt and unstinting encouragement.  He continues to provide us with valuable tips and alerts for updating our program.

Bruce Lawrie, Ph.D. can take considerable credit for reminding us to keep our project on track.  His experience as a published author, Sports Psychologist, researcher, and international level swimming coach enables him to provide us with valuable, ongoing advice on content and overall presentation.

Darin Miyashiro has shared his expertise in videotaping and editing from the beginning of our project.  He continues to be an ongoing source of much-valued technical assistance.

Chuck Riggs, to whom we extend our appreciation, is both a critical reviewer and the first to test the effectiveness of our program with active competitive swimmers.  His coaching experience which includes a former world record holder and Olympian, is much valued.

Sarah Robinson, we particularly thank for providing important advice on video content and logo update. Additionally, it is thanks to her recommendation that we expanded our target population to include current club level competitive swimmers.

Dan Schemmel, we thank for helping us stay current with how to make the material understandable and topical for active coaches.  As an experienced club coach and presently coaching elite swimmers at the NCAA Division I level, his recommendations are much appreciated. 

Marc-Patrick Schwab has been a constant source of information and input.  An active triathlete residing in Europe, he continues to bring an international perspective on the interests of our target audiences.

Tom Sutton, we thank for early encouragement, and insisting from the outset that a program such as what we have now developed, would be of value to triathletes world-wide. His position as part of an internationally acclaimed triathlon training team was impetus for us to take his advice seriously.

Dan Worden has played an integral part in this production.  He has been my research assistant for the past 8 years and principal videographer.  Many of the segments in the program were filmed by him, including the spectacular Drone footage we use to open and close the Program.  Dan’s varied contributions have been indispensable.

We also thank the following colleagues and friends for their expertise and encouragement:

• Ted Becker, Ph.D.
• Brant Best 
• Julian Bolling 
• Mayura Botejue 
• David Costill, Ph.D.
• Milivoj "Mita" Dopsai, Ph.D.
• Nigel Forbes 
• Ralph Goto 
• Karl-Richard Hennebach
• Shinji Higashijima
• Bill Laich M.D.
• Jennifer Prins, M.D.
• Priya Prins
• Marek Rejman, Ph.D.
• Bill Sakovich
• Rick Sharp, Ph.D.

Coaches of Swimmers featured in this Freestyle Biomechanics Program:

We are deeply indebted to these Coaches, whose unstinting assistance and cooperation was essential for recruiting the Varsity swimmers featured in the program.

• Jennifer Buffin
• Nick Folker
• Marcus Guttman
• Elliot Ptasnick
• Chuck Riggs
• Dan Schemmel
• Victor Wales

Swimmers:

The video footage used in the program was collected over a period of 30+ years.  Included are swimmers from two primary groups. 

In the first group were enrollees in our Swimming Stroke Clinics and Video Workshops, whose footage we have used to highlight common areas of the stroke that needed attention.  We are unaware of a comparative compendium of video footage anywhere, and are convinced that its inclusion in the Freestyle Biomechanics Program contributes immeasurably to its value as an instructional tool.

In the second group were either members of the University of Hawaii Division I, Intercollegiate teams, or elite visiting swimmers, three of whom we identify in the Program.

• Anthony Ervin – Two-time Olympic Gold Medalist - 50 Meter Freestyle
• James Magnussen - Two-time Gold Medalist World Swimming Championships - 100 Meter Freestyle
• Michael Weiss - Two-time Gold Medalist World Swimming Championships – 800 Meter Freestyle Relay (USA).

We thank these swimmers for giving us their permission to use their video footage. It has been a privilege working with these dedicated people. 

Listed below are the University of Hawaii Varsity Team Members whose video footage we used:

• Jasmine Alkhaldi
• John Clark
• Silvija Djelic
• Kane Follows
• L.J. Fetzco
• Anna Friedrich
• Jonas Gutzat
• Karolina Hajkova
• Sam Harquail
• Phoebe Hines
• Parker Hymer-Costa
• “A.J.” Kealiher
• Anna Kotonen
• Lucia Lassman
• Aukai Lileikis
• Tahna Lindquist
• Talon Lindquist
• Albin Lovgren
• Christian Manicki
• Tim Masten
• Collin Reeves
• Kasey Schmidt
• James Short
• Gabrielle Scudamore
• Mia Tedesco
• Franziska Weidner
• Lara Yasumi

Lab Team

Over a span of 12 years, the Lab Team was responsible for a large part of the labor that produced our High-Speed Research.  Often time-consuming, it entailed setting up cameras, taping LED strings on each participating swimmer, and filming.  Digitizing the video footage and processing the resulting Reports—the most labor-intensive part of the process—was performed by team members with care and good cheer.  We could not have proceeded without their help.

Below is a partial list of those who helped.  (If we missed anyone, please let us know and we will add your name.)

• Rhiana Beauregard
• Ashley Bonilla
• Brittney Bonilla
• Joshua Catone
• Alex Chang
• Nicholas Chinchilla
• Teyanni Esaki
• Kenneth Eto
• Monika Fernandez
• Natalie Fuller
• Abbye Goodman
• Cydney Goossens
• Arron Guerro
• Caitlyn Iwamura
• Anna Jang
• Mitchell Johnsen
• Whitney McCalla
• Luca Mazzurana
  
• Devin Nakasone
• Daniella Nero
  
• Brittney Prados
• David Rew
• Kanohea Sandbourne
• Navpreet Sandher
• Amelia Rose Schweitzer
• Jared Sikkema
• Cheyenne Siverly
• Chaunee Stockel
• Meghan Strohmeyer Lum
• Giorgio Tran
• Jordan Valle
• Susan Ward
• Amy Yamashiro
• Keaton Yaw

Final and Most Important Acknowledgement

No person was more indispensable than my wife, Marci.   Her background in cartography and graphic design, and insistence on fine-tuning both the visual and textual parts of the program has been the deciding factor in how we have chosen to present the program.  The best part of this entire venture was working closely together, on a daily basis, as she functioned as my consultant and sounding board.

Thank You!