"I start swimming, breathing and stretching my arms, it's going well. I look at the watch, it's been nine minutes and I feel good. I imagine I'm at the lake, swimming in open water. I get the images in my mind and then the sensations follow. Suddenly, I feel out of breath as if I can't swim anymore, as if I need to let go and drown."

After attending dozens of swim meets and hearing all the complaints from our swimmers, we came up with 7 tips to improve their results. We know that coaches don't like parents interfering with their kids' training and racing, but we are trying to complement, not conflict with, what they learn in the pool. These tips were inspired by our view from the galleries and as officials positioned on deck. Our knowledge from endurance sports practised outside the pool also backs them up.

GeekSwimmers is running its second swimming season in Canada. We struggled to build a data model to support time standards and records. When we thought we were done, Swim Canada and Swim Ontario decided to review their standards for the next Olympic cycle, forcing us to quickly adapt. The model became more mature and resilient to changes, but we later discovered that the app had much to catch up on. It wasn't ready to cover a wider area than our western region. So, adapting to changes became our new normal.

It isn't just a matter of racing each other no matter what. It is also about following the rules that ensure fair competition. Every sport has rules, and swimming isn't an exception. You must know and follow them to compete and get your times in the books. GeekSwimmers is here to help you!

Geek Swimmers is only three months old, and we have already got bored of serving only time standards. We looked around for other things to compare your times with and quickly found another obvious option: Swim Records!

Those who build GeekSwimmers believe that comparing yourself to others can undermine your confidence and halt your progress. Each swimmer is on a unique journey, shaped by a lot of factors. A focus on personal progress, rather than others' achievements, is the most productive approach to improving your swimming skills. That's why we use time standards, not other swimmers, to compare your times with.

In the afternoon of that cold December 1st, I was volunteering at the ROW Novice Meet as an electronic operator, the person ensuring the timing system is in sync with the actual meet. My 9-year-old daughter was competing for the second time in that season. Far from there was my 11-year-old son, who was competing at the Border City Meet, in Windsor. I had just arrived at my position on deck, familiarizing myself with the time management system, when Mike, another proud parent volunteering at the same meet, approached me to say...