[Que the Queen Music] WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS, MY FRIENDS!

THANK YOU ALL! We won Saturday's championship meet over second-place Granite Falls by over 320 POINTS!

Without all of your hard work, volunteering, running (in some cases literally) all over western NC, we would not be the team we are today. I can't say thank you enough for the hard work and commitment to this family you have all shown.

Thank you for the early mornings, the late nights, dealing with the wet towels in laundry, the inundation of text messages, the broken goggles, organizing transportation, summer thunderstorms, and all the other things that can be disruptive things to your summer.

After it is all said and done, we, as a team, a community, and as a family, came out victorious. The hard work of not just this summer, but of many summers, paid the dividend we were hoping for as a byproduct of all of our collective experiences. In the end, the trophy sitting in the Rec now is a reminder not of one hot day in late July, 2015, but of all the mornings, nights, races, DQs, ribbons, and relays that brought us here. I am incredibly proud to be the coach of this team, and a member of the Torpedo family, brought together by our shared joy, discouragement, frustration, and ultimately, elation, of the young people of our community.

We will gather together one last time this summer on August 1 at 6:30pm in Rotary Park to share a meal, to recognize all of our swimmers, and to talk about everything we remember from a memorable summer.

It is my hope that pictures will be available by that time, and if not, we will certainly let everyone know when they are.

Before the season gets cold, please take a moment to fill out our annual end-of-season survey to help us at the Rec make this an even better experience: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/27SNNQ3. We do take the response into consideration as we plan for future seasons, and I feel it is one of the more important things we do as a team.

In the event you can't get enough of the water, there are certainly options for continuing to stay in. One such option is an open event on Saturday, August 29. Anyone can sign up to swim events. I will hopefully have entry forms available by Saturday's potluck.

We hope you all had as great a time as Coach Alec and I did, and we hope to see you all Saturday, and if not, in the water next May!

Granite Falls tonight and Directions

Sign up sheets for the final meets of the season are now in the book at the fitness counter. Please make sure to sign up soon for Tuesday's home meet against Forest City as soon as possible. We will have the sign up sheet with us at the meet tonight, as well as baseball tickets for the game on July 17th. Please bring cash or check to pay for your tickets.

Directions to the Granite Falls Recreation Department (56 Pinewood Rd., Granite Falls): Take Malcolm Blvd./ Connelly Springs Rd. across the river. Turn Right on Dry Ponds Rd., then Left on Main St. Take the first Right on Pinewood Rd. Take the first Right to stay on Pinewood Rd. and the Rec should be on the Left.

There are a lot of swimmers for Granite Falls, so please try to get there with ample time to find a place and to warm up. Swimmers need to be there and ready to get in the water by 5:30pm. Let's have a great meet tonight!

Busy Week Ahead and More End of Season Stuff

Good evening, everyone! I hope everyone had a great 4th of July!

Monday night is Forest City at Forest City. This is where our championship meet will be held on July 25, so it's great to see that 65 swimmers will be traveling with us. From the Rec., it takes about 45 minutes to an hour to get there.

Here's hoping for a great meet tonight in Forest City! Bring water and snacks, although there will be concessions available. Parents need to sign up to assist with volunteer assignments like timing. The meet should run fairly quickly.

Directions to Callison Recreation Center, Forest City: Away meet at Forest City: Warm-ups are at 5:30pm. Take I-40 West to Exit 103. At the end of the exit ramp, turn left. Take HWY 64 to Rutherford County. After passing through Westminster Community, turn left on Hudlow Rd at the traffic light. Follow Hudlow Rd to West Main Street in Forest City. Turn left on West Main Street. Take the first right right (Westview St), and then the first left onto Clay St. The pool is on the right.

Thursday night is our meet away at Granite Falls. A large number of you have already signed up, but in case you haven't, you have until Tuesday evening to do so. If you are out of town, shoot Coach an email to let him know you will be attending.

The season is rapidly coming to a close. We need to make sure everyone gets their two meets in before the championship meet. We have the two meets this week, a home meet with Forest City and the 11&Up Sprint/Distance Meet to go in order to fulfill the requirement.

Also coming up are two weekend events: July 11 will be our second stroke and turn clinic at the Rec. from 10-12am. MORE IMPORTANTLY, we need you all to get your tickets for the Crawdads' Game on July 17. There will be fireworks! $9 a ticket with the majority of the money coming back to us is a great deal and great fun. This money will go to help finish up our fundraising goals from last year. If each SWIMMER were to buy a ticket, we'd have over $600 to that goal. PLEASE HELP US OUT and HAVE A GREAT TIME DOING IT!

Team pictures will be held on Friday, July 24, prior to our Pre-Championship Spaghetti Dinner. Coach has forms to chose picture packages from, so check with him before or after practices. Sportpix out of Shelby will handle our pictures again. They should be returned in time to get to you at the end-of-season Pot Luck and awards night.

See everyone tomorrow! Don't hesitate to email if you have any questions!