Name: Jessica Losego

Birthdate:  November 4

Hometown: Mt. Pleasant, PA (it’s on the Pittsburgh side)

What is your favorite stroke?  Freestyle, but I like backstroke too

What do you love about the sport of swimming? It’s relaxing, but you feel that you got a good workout when you’re done.

What do you enjoy about swimming with DAMA?  Meeting new people that join the team.
 How long have you been swimming with DAMA?  6 years

 Swim Career Highlights/Experience or Swimming Background: Unexpectedly making the PA State Championships in high school for the 200 free relay with girls I’d been swimming with since I was little.  We even broke our school record!

 How often do you swim? I try for two times a week

 Do you compete?  If so, what are your favorite events to swim?  I compete mostly in pool meets, but have done some open water races.  In pool meets I like the 50 yd freestyle and 100 yd IM.

How does swimming affect your lifestyle? Keeps me active, and I know what I’m doing every Monday and Wednesday night.

Future swim goals? Just to keep swimming

What do you in your life outside of the pool? (work/school/etc.)  I am a research meteorologist at UNC where I work on helping the National Weather Service improve decision support services to the emergency management community.  No, I’m not on TV.

Advice for someone new to the sport?  Don’t get discouraged, just keep coming to practice.  You’ll improve.

Birthdate: March 21, 1969

Hometown: Charleston, West Virginia

What is your favorite stroke? Freestyle, especially long distance.

What do you love about the sport of swimming? Doing a long workout or open water swim and getting to a meditative, auto-pilot state.  Letting my mind wander underwater.  Re-thinking my day at practice.  Releasing stress in the water.

What do you enjoy about swimming with DAMA?  Swimmers are great, friendly people.  I have made many friends over the time I have been swimming with DAMA.  I love having other people to swim with and also love having coached workouts.  (Thank you Bud and Danielle! Gretchen, I miss you.)

How long have you been swimming with DAMA?  I started my Masters swimming with DAMA in 1998.  I left to swim with NCAM for a couple years when DAMA had no coaching.

Swim Career Highlights/Experience or Swimming Background:  I started swim team when I was 10.  I swam for a club team, Sun Aquatics, in WV through high school, competing in all events.  I walked onto the swim team at U of New Mexico and after a year transferred and swam for Shippensburg U in Shippensburg, PA.  I swam distance freestyle in college, the 500, 1000 and 1650.  I started open water swimming in 2002 (HUGE thank you to Doug Asbury and Liz Sullivan who inspired me to try open water).  Highlight swims have been Bermuda Round the Sound 10K, Bonaire Eco-Swim 10K, several 2.4 Mile Low Country Splash swims in Charleston, SC and my favorite, Big Shoulders 5K swim in Lake Michigan in downtown Chicago.

How often do you swim? 3-4 times/week

Do you compete?  If so, what are your favorite events to swim?  I have always enjoyed competing.  It’s great to socialize at meets with teammates and swim friends on other teams.  I have traditionally favored the 500 Free, 1000 Free, 1650 Free and the 400, 800 and 1500 in meters.  I like 200 backstroke and more recently have enjoyed the 200 butterfly. My preference now, however, is open water.

How does swimming affect your lifestyle? It is a major priority.  I find places to swim when I travel and alternate places to swim when our pool is closed.  Swimming is a major component of my physical and mental health.

Future swim goals?  I am currently focusing on the 200 butterfly.  I plan to compete at Frank Clark and State Champs Meets.  This spring/summer I plan to swim the FSSeries Open Water Swims. I’m hoping to swim Big Shoulders this eptember and with a little luck, maybe Bermuda.  It would be fun to be a USMS Long Distance All-Star again.

Have a great swimming story? Swimming tips?  My favorite swim was a one miler in northern Lake Michigan (Little Traverse Bay, Harbor Springs) with my Dad a few years ago. It was his 1st open water race ever and a chilly 62 degrees.  I swam beside him (on his breathing side) swimming breaststroke and guiding him around the course.  We got to the finish and as we crossed the line I grabbed his hand to cross together.  We stood up and the finish judge smiled at us and said, “I saw Dad first”.  He loved it and loved the swim, his first at 70 years old!

What do you do in your life outside of the pool? (work/school/etc.) I am a Surgical Tech at Duke Hospital where I have specialize in Orthopedic Surgery.  I captain a dart team on Tuesday nights.  My husband is a carpenter/contractor and semi-professional cook/gluten-free baker who spoils me daily with his delicious meals and desserts.

Advice for someone new to the sport? Keep coming back.  Time in the water makes you better.  When you are new to the sport and start competing, you get personal bests all the time which just makes it even more fun.

Name: Stewart Norman

DOB: June 9, 1985

Hometown: Raleigh, NC

What is your favorite stroke? Breast stroke

What do you enjoy about swimming with DAMA?  Trying to keep up with my lane mate, Heidi

How long have you been swimming with DAMA?  1.5 years

Swim Career Highlights/Experience or Swimming Background:  Making great friends as a member of UNC-CH varsity swimming and diving team

How often do you swim?  As often as possible

What are your favorite events to swim?  I’ll occasionally race a 25 against the high schools that I teach.

Have any swimming tips?  Swim with a fury.

What do you in your life outside of the pool?  I work in EMS and I will be going to PA school, soon!

Advice for someone new to the sport?  Just keep going

Name: Sharon Barrell

DOB: May 29, 1961

Hometown: New Orleans, LA

What is your favorite stroke? Backstroke

What do you love about the sport of swimming?
The thing I love most about swimming is that it is just me and the water–no balls, bats, rackets, goals or nets.

What do you enjoy about swimming with DAMA?
The DAMA swimmers are all so nice and fun to swim with. They made me feel welcome from my first practice 4 years ago. I love that there is a wide range of swimming abilities and ages represented across the team. We all support each other!

How long have you been swimming with DAMA?
I joined DAMA in Feb 2009, so almost 4 years. I swim in the morning!

Swim Career Highlights/Experience or Swimming Background:
My only “career highlight” is back in the mid-1990s, I briefly held the state records in my age group in the 50 m free and 50 m backstroke. (Because there are few short course meters meets, this was not a hard achievement!).

How often do you swim?
I swim 3 or 4 times a week and compete in about 2 meets per year.

What are your favorite events to swim?
I typically enter 50 free and back and 100 free and back, although, sadly, the 100s seem to get harder each time I compete.

How does swimming affect your lifestyle?
Swimming really helps me feel calm and even keeled; plus the older I get, the more important it is to stay in shape so that helps me stay motivated to go to practice regularly.

What do you in your life outside of the pool? (work/school/etc.)
I am an editor at RTI International and have 2 boys, ages 13 and 10; my husband is an environmental scientist at EPA. Both my boys play sports (although not swimming) so I am constantly on the go.

Name:

Birthday: May 4th

Hometown: Born in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. I grew up here in Durham.

What is your favorite stroke? Breaststroke

What do you love about the sport of swimming? The water.

What do you enjoy about swimming with DAMA? Convenience, a great price and a wonderful group of people.

How long have you been swimming with DAMA? On and off for about four years.

Swim Career Highlights/Experience or Swimming Background: I swam for Willowhaven in the Durham summer swim league. I did do a little swimming other than that. Go Wave!

How often do you swim? I would love to swim 3-4 days a week. In reality, its been one to two a week days a this year.

Do you compete?  If so, what are your favorite events to swim? I do compete, and enjoy winning points for DAMA in the pool. However, my favorite events are long distance open water swims, thanks to the tutelage of Heidi Williams! I am hoping to swim a number of open water events this summer.

Swimming tips or words of advice?  Swim as hard as you can, for as long as you can.

What do you in your life outside of the pool? (work/school/etc.)  I work for a consulting firm, providing outsourced discovery for large scale litigation.

Advice for someone new to the sport? Learn how to float!

Name:

Birthday: April 13, 1943

Hometown: Durham, NC via Gainsville, FL and suburban Philadelphia

What is your favorite stroke? Freestyle

What do you love about the sport of swimming? It’s a sport you can do throughout your whole life.  It’s nice to do something that makes you feel so strong and competent without being terribly hard on the body.

What do you enjoy about swimming with DAMA? The camaraderie and being pushed in the workouts.

How long have you been swimming with DAMA? 3 years

Swim Career Highlights/Experience or Swimming Background: In NC, I hold the record in my age group in the 400 IM.  I also qualified for Nationals in the backstroke this year.

How often do you swim? 4 days/week in the a.m.

Do you compete? If so, what are your favorite events to swim? Yes, I enjoy pool meets and open water swimming competitions.  My favorite events are the 400IM, 100 free, 50 free, and 50 back (in that order).

How does swimming affect your lifestyle? Keeps me healthy, allows me to eat, and gives me bragging rights amongst my peers.

Future swim goals? I want to swim a relay with my daughter, son-in-law, and granddaughter one day.  My granddaughter Belle is only 5 now, so I guess I have to wait 13 more years to realize that dream in Masters.

Have a great swimming story? Swimming tips? Just keep doing it.

What do you in your life outside of the pool? I paint watercolor, travel journals, and I care for my grandchildren, Belle (5) and Abe (3).

Advice for someone new to the sport?  If new to Masters, just stick with it.  If new to the sport of swimming, seek individual instruction to truly enjoy the sport.

Other thoughts to share?  I would be remiss not to say that my husband, Leonard is my biggest supporter.  It is really nice to have that level of support and it makes swimming that much more gratifying and enjoyable when it’s a family affair.

 Name:

 Birthday: March 23

 Hometown: Cuyahoga Falls, OH

 What is your favorite stroke? Corkscrew:-) J/K Freestyle

 What do you love about the sport of swimming? I can eat whatever I want, only swimmers really understand what being a swimmer means, and swim suits.

 What do you enjoy about swimming with DAMA? How friendly and welcoming everyone is and the team spirit.

 How long have you been swimming with DAMA? 1 year

 Swim Career Highlights/Experience or Swimming Background: I started swimming when I was 7…my dad threw me in the water and told me to swim. Since I didn’t drown they let me join the swim team. I swam all the way through college and then needed a break from the sport. It took me about 3 years to want to see water again and I have been back at it ever since.

 How often do you swim? 4-5 days a week

 Do you compete? If so, what are your favorite events to swim? I have mainly done open water swims since returning since I have been afraid to see my times on the board at a swim meet. My favorite race is the Pier-2-Pier. As for the pool, my favorite race is the 500 Free.

  How does swimming affect your lifestyle? It keeps me healthy, sane, and upbeat. I love the way that swimming makes my worries wash away and how energized I feel when I finish. Growing up a swimmer it has made me very good at time management and my teams have always been like a second family.

 Future swim goals? Lofty goal: to be at the same point I was at in college. Realistic goal: To always strive to be better and to continue to have fun and love the sport.

Have a great swimming story? Swimming tips? Always have fun. No matter how good you are, if you are not having fun it is not worth doing.

What do you in your life outside of the pool? I am an analytical chemistry graduate student at UNC. I love the beach and dancing. I am taking salsa dancing lessons and play water polo currently.

Advice for someone new to the sport? Set goals based on your skill level and not the person next to you. Don’t be afraid to ask questions or for tips. Buy a fantastic swim suit so it makes you confident in the water:-)