Newly-named Inga Nelson Aquatic Center Dedicated…..The Fergus Falls YMCA, located in Fergus Falls, Minnesota has renamed its aquatic center to honor a longtime employee. Inga Nelson worked at the facility for 37 years, teaching swim lessons and coaching the diving, team swimming and synchronized swimming teams. Nelso also worked as water safety trainer and lifeguard, retiring from the YMCA in 2015. “Inga has been in the aquatics industry for 64 years,” said Dennis Lipp, director of the Fergus Falls YMCA. “We will forever honor her passion for aquatic programs and the values and dedication she brought to each.” The facility is now named the Inga Nelson Aquatic Center and was dedicated on November 11th.
Michael Phelps Will Present EGames Award…..Following up on his gaming commercial debut appearing in the Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare’s live-action trailer released last month, Michael Phelps will be making an appearance at the 2016 Game Awards. The event, set to take place December 1st at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles, honors participants within the unconventional sport of video-gaming, bestowing such awards as ‘best esports team’ and ‘best esports game’. 23-time Olympic gold medalist Phelps is pegged to present the ‘best esports player’ of the year award during the ceremony, which is set to be streamed live at thegameawards.com.
Aussie Youngster Tamsin Cook Nominated For Award…..The 60th annual West Australian Sports Star Awards ceremony is scheduled to take place on December 12th this year and 17-year-old Tamsin Cook is among the nominees. The Carine swimmer is among the candidates for WA Junior Sports Star and WA Sports Star of the Year after helping her Aussie women’s 4x200m freestyle relay squad nab silver at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio. “It’s just an honour to be nominated as it is because the calibre of the athletes is always so incredibly high – so many people have done amazing things this year,” she said. “The team were really welcoming and supportive of me as the youngest but they also included and treated me like an equal which really mattered to me because I didn’t want to be seen as someone who couldn’t achieve the same because I was younger or less experienced.” Cook earned Western Australian Institute of Sport’s Junior Athlete of the Year honors last year.
East Moline Coach of 38 Years Retires…..60-year-old Dave Busch of East Moline, Illinois has announced his retirement after having coached United Township and East Moline Swim Club teams for the past 38 years. Busch was hired as the pool manager in 1979 and started the club swimming program within 6 months. Under his tutelage, the East Moline Panthers won 13 Western Big 6 Conference championships and Busch helped see to a combined 17 state medalists between the two programs. After such a long tenure on the job, Busch states, “The hardest thing for me is wondering what I’m going to do when I retire. I’m sure things will come up. I want to do something. I just don’t want to spend 12 or 13 hours a day doing something.”