Fastlane Pool Contest Winner: Holden Bank

Throughout 2010, there was a button on the USMS homepage that you could click and enter a contest to win a Fastlane Pool from Endless Pools. Endless Pools’ products are essentially water treadmills—you swim in place against an adjustable current, and, best of all, you control the water temperature. Endless Pools and USMS would like to congratulate contest winner Holden Bank on his new pool.

Endless Pools’ website explains that the Fastlane Pool “was developed as an outgrowth of our Fastlane program—a series of swimming machines designed to … create a swim current in conventional pools.” Endless Pools added a fabric walled portable pool to the Fastlane swimming machine to create this portable and inexpensive above ground pool.

Bank, 50, swam for Duke University and currently trains with Boulder Aquatic Masters and swims for Blu Frog Team. Bank is a multi-talented swimmer; he holds the record for the fastest 50 breaststroke in the 50-54 age group and swam on an English Channel relay last summer. The relay was a “present” for his 50th birthday from his wife, who also swam on the relay. While it wasn’t something Bank had ever really considered, he said swimming the Channel was “a terrific and mind-blowing experience. It opened up a completely new physical and mental territory.”

“I entered the contest when we were training for the English Channel relay. I thought how great it would be to have a pool at home that we could set the water temperature to 56 or 58 degrees. Instead, we had to get up at 4 a.m. and drive up into the mountains [outside of Boulder] to find lakes with cold enough water to train in for the Channel.”

And even though Bank plans to do more open water swims and is eager to use his new pool for that training, he also sees value in it for sprinters. “Even though BAM offers twenty Masters workouts a week, I find there is rarely enough time in a workout for the kicking and technique work I need as a breaststroker and for the 100 IM.”

Bank isn’t sure if he will install his new Fastlane Pool at his home or his workplace. Either way, he is thrilled to be able to use his new tool to help him fine tune his stroke and work on endurance. “The Endless Pool is just a great tool.”

So thanks to Endless Pools for being a great partner and providing this opportunity for our members, and for the $1,000 discount any USMS registered member receives toward the purchase of any Endless Pool. For more, check out endlesspools.com.