Wednesday, May 29, 2013

What a Great Start!

Good afternoon Torpedo family!

Yesterday marked the beginning of the 2013 season, and it was fantastic to see the lanes filled with even more swimmers on the way! The weather was great and everyone seemed to have a great time, which is something I hope we will continue to see as the season continues.
I want to remind parents of the Stroke and Turn clinic this Saturday morning from 10-12 at the Rec. Members from other league teams will be there, as well, learning the ins and outs of the stroke and turn judge position. Please come out and join us Saturday!

See you all this afternoon at practice!

Thursday, May 16, 2013

Couple Quick Updates

Good afternoon!

I wanted to let everyone know about a few changes on the schedule that was published earlier in the season and on the blog.
The first change is that the Sprint/Distance Meet will be held this year at Valdese. Warm-ups will begin for us at 7:30am, and the meet will begin at 8am. It will last no longer than 4 hours.We will host this meet the week before we host the Conference Championship, so I'd like for us to think of it as a chance to work all of the kinks out of our systems and organization prior to the big show.
The second change is to the day of the Spaghetti Dinner and Conference set up. The schedule mistakenly has that on July 27, when in fact it will be held on July 26. The time and the location are still the same.
We are going to try to get our automated timing system functioning again this year, especially with the later meets in July. If you have any computer savvy, please consider this volunteer slot. We have done much better with getting parents involved, but there is still a lot that we could do to make things run smoother for everyone, and this system can help tremendously.
We are also looking at making some small barriers to help with crowd control during the meets, particularly at the shallow end of the pool during 8 and under relays and 25s. We are looking at sinking PVC into small buckets with concrete. If anyone has any scrap supplies they could donate, or time they would be willing to spend helping make these items, we would be more than grateful. Email me to discuss this further.
Finally, when you signed up, part of your sign up included a box about text updates. We will be using a system to send text reminders to swimmers this year. This way you will be texted about meet sign ups, meet results, practice changes, and any thing else related to the team. If you DO NOT wish to receive these messages and did not opt out on the sign up sheet, I need to hear from you. Otherwise, you will receive the messages.
That is all for now, and I hope that everyone is looking forward to a fantastic summer!

Monday, May 13, 2013

Team Update (including practice schedules)!

Good afternoon, Torpedo family!

I hope that everyone had a great Mother's Day and has been by to see the pool without the Bubble. It is looking fantastic.
I wanted to take a quick moment to introduce you all to our coaching staff this summer. We have two coaches returning from last summer: Alec Blackwood and Emily Farris. Joining us this year will be Haley Brinkley. Haley has been swimming at Valdese for a long time and has competed at the state high school meets as a member of the Draughn team all four years at Draughn.
Finally, at long last, here is the practice schedule for the summer:


May 28 - June 10:
11 and Up: 3:30-4:30pm
10 and Under: 4:30-5:15pm
June 11- End of Summer:
7:30-8:30am: 11-12, beginner 13-14
8:30-9:30am: advanced 13-14, 15-18
5:00-5:45pm: 8 and Under
5:45-6:30pm: 9-10

We hope to see you all on the 28th!