Nike Swim Camp at Whitman College Walla Walla, Washington
The Nike Swim Camp at Whitman College is designed to help competitive swimmers improve their stroke technique so they can compete at the next level.
Upon arrival at camp, campers are placed in groups with other swimmers having similar abilities and goals. Our camp staff will do their best to accommodate your needs, keeping in consideration your experience and desire to improve.
Highlights Include
- Stroke technique refinement for competitive swimming
- Low camper to staff ratio and 24 hour supervision
- Underwater videotaping and on-deck review with coaches
- Small group and individual stroke analysis and discussion
- Fun evening social activities
- Every camper receives a Nike Camp T-shirt and Nike Swim Cap
- Every camper is eligible to receive merit-based prizes during camp
The Baker Ferguson Fitness Center and Louise and Paul Harvey Pool is a 38,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art facility that opened in the fall of 2006. Located north of Cordiner Hall at the corner of Park and Main streets, the facility features two key components: one is a 10,000-square-foot fitness center with an elaborate array of the latest in weight-training and cardiovascular equipment; the other is a sparkling 30-meter swimming pool with eight competitive lanes and three practice lanes.
This camp is open to any and all entrants. For your safety and benefit, we recommend you have competitive swimming experience (e.g. U.S.S. age group, national qualifiers, high school swimmers, or summer league swimmers) and can swim at least 50 meters in all four competitive strokes: fly, back, breast and freestyle.
Meet your coaching staff
Camp Director
Jennifer Blomme
Jennifer Blomme, the 2011 NWC Women's Swim Coach of the Year, has spent the last decade transforming Whitman College into one of the top swim programs in the Northwest Conference.
Blomme, who coaches both the men's and women's swim teams at Whitman, was named NWC Coach of the Year four times in her first 10 years at the college.
Read Full BioHer most recent coaching award (for women's swimming) came at the close of the 2011 NWC Championships, when her women's team broke schools records in all five relays and Whitman sophomore Katie Chapman won all three of her individual races and was named the Women's Outstanding Swimmer of the Meet.
Her men's team, which finished a strong third at the 2011 NWC Championships, also made notable headlines outside of the pool, earning Team Scholar All-America honors while posting the highest combined grade point average in all of NCAA Division III.
Blomme was named NWC Coach of the Year for men's swimming after the 2010 championships, which capped the best season in the history of the men's program at Whitman.
Earlier in the decade, Blomme collected her first two NWC coaching awards (both for women's swimming) following the 2005 and 2006 seasons.
In addition to her coaching duties, Blomme manages Whitman's Louise and Paul Harvey Pool, which is home for the varsity swim teams and also serves the recreational needs of the campus community.
The 30-meter pool, which opened in the fall of 2006 as part of the new $10-million Baker Ferguson Fitness Center, features eight competitive lanes, three warm-up and cool-down lanes, and an elevated viewing area for meet spectators.
Blomme was a varsity swimmer, specializing in the breaststroke, at Grinnell (Iowa) College, where she earned her undergraduate degree in 1996, majoring in Spanish. Grinnell, which has a traditionally strong NCAA Div. III swim program, captured its conference title in two of her four seasons there.
After Grinnell, Blomme was an assistant swim coach at Dickinson College (Carlisle, Penn.) for one season and the head coach at Pennsylvania's Bryn Mawr College for one season. Before coming to Whitman, she served as a volunteer women's coach at Indiana University for two two years while she completed her master's degree.
Kevin Howard
Kevin Howard, a recent graduate of New York's University of Rochester, is the new assistant swim coach at Whitman College.
Howard, who graduated in May 2011 with a bachelor's degree in biomedical engineering, was a team captain at Rochester in each of his final three seasons. He holds school records at three backstroke distances and shares in two Yellowjacket relay records.
Howard was a four-time provisional qualifier for the NCAA Division III national championships, twice in the 100-yard backstroke and twice in the 200-yard backstroke.
He joins a men's and women's swim program at Whitman that head coach Jenn Blomme has developed into one of the best in the Northwest Conference over the past decade.
Howard brings a fresh burst of energy and enthusiasm to the Whitman program, Blomme says.
"I could not be more excited to have Kevin on staff," she says. "He is going to be an incredible asset. He's only been with us foir a few weeks, but he's already integrated himself into all aspects of the program."
Howard's swimming background makes him a good fit for Whitman, she adds.
"He was an outstanding performer as a swimmer at Rochester, but he was also a consummate teammate. He was focused not only on how to swim fast, but also on how to develop and maintain a strong team chemistry.
"Kevin is a very bright, energetic and talented young coach. We are lucky to have him."
Howard, a native of the Hamilton, Mass., area, began his own competitive swim career near the end of middle school. By the time he was in high school, he was helping coach less experienced swimmers when he wasn't in the water himself.
As an undergraduate at Rochester, he also helped two summers with its swim technique camp.
"We worked with campers between the ages of eight and 18 on stroke mechanics," Howard says. "I was responsible for running the under-water and above-water video cameras and then analyzing the video to make stroke corrections.
"I also was responsible for teaching proper nutrition and dry-land strength and conditioning."
Whitman's first few weeks of training have been focused on technique, Howard says.
"Conditioning is always important, but proper technique is really the key to being a successful college swimmer. I really enjoy working one-on-one with swimmers to help them refine their strokes."
Give Howard the opportunity and he raves about all aspects of his new coaching job.
"Whitman is a very cool place," he says. "Jenn (Blomme) has a great program, the pool facilities are beautiful, and our incoming and returning swimmers are very talented.
"We're going to break a lot of school records and have a great season. I just wish I had known about Whitman when I was looking for colleges for my own undergraduate experience."
DISCOUNTS AVAILABLE:
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Team Discount: If five or more campers register together, as a group by mail or fax, each camper will receive a $25 discount. Click “Get Brochure” above and print the application. All applications must be received at the same time via mail or fax. If all members of your group pay with a Visa or MasterCard, feel free to fax your applications to 415-479-6061 to expedite processing. Late or individual registrations are not eligible to receive the group discount.
A detailed camper registration packet containing check-in location, health/release forms, emergency contact info, and a list of things to bring will be emailed to all registered campers prior to camp. Our health and release forms do not require a doctor's signature and they will be collected on the first day of camp.
- Check-in for all campers takes place between 1:00-2:00pm on Sunday, August 12th. There will be a camp orientation meeting at 2:15pm and parents are welcome to join their campers for this meeting. A detailed schedule for the week will be provided at that time. Day campers are invited to stay for dinner on the first day
- Monday and Tuesday: Extended day campers (9:00am-8:30pm) receive lunch and dinner. Day Campers (9:00am-4:00pm) receive lunch only
- All campers check-out between at 12:00pm on Wednesday, August 15th. Exact time and location of the camp closing ceremony will be confirmed by the camp director on the first day of camp.
Sample Daily Schedule
- 7:30 am Breakfast (overnighters)
- 8:50 am Extended Day & Day Campers arrive, stretch
- 9:00 am Opening Comments and Discussion
- 9:15 am Pool Session 1
- Noon Lunch
- 1:00 pm Dry Land Exercises
- 1:30 pm Pool Session 2
- 4:00pm Day Campers depart
- 5:00 pm Dinner (Overnight and Extended Day campers)
- 6:30 pm Pool Session 3 or Evening Activities
- 8:30 pm Extended Day Campers depart
- 9:00 pm Supervised free time in dorm
- 10:00 pm Lights out!
This camp will be offered for the first time in 2012.