HELLLLLOOOOOOOOO TORPEDO!!!
I hope everyone has had a fantastic year since we left the pool deck back in August. I am looking forward to seeing you all again this coming summer!
I have some news for everyone before getting to the schedule. McDowell Mariners will be hosting Conference this year on Saturday, July 29th. We will not be using sessions, but many of you will be happy to hear that the meet will be held at Valdese! Last year I wrote a long post regarding hosting the championship meet at other locations. After much discussion, the league unanimously voted today to engage the Valdese Recreation Department as the default location of the conference meet, with teams reserving the right to host at their facility should they desire to do so. If a team chooses to exercise that right, they must make it known at the fall meeting a year in advance so there will be plenty of lead time for everyone. This was something the overwhelming majority of respondents to our survey wanted, and I'm pleased with the compromise we were able to reach.
It was also confirmed that officials will need to have served in their capacity for several meets in order to have the privilege of serving at the conference meet. We will need to have several more folks out to help with stroke and turn, scoring, and timing operation this season, so don't be shy if you want to learn!
We were unable to secure sessions for this season's conference meet, although all teams agreed to revisit the idea after this coming season. The hope is, by hosting the meet at Valdese, we will be able to move the meet along quickly enough to not require sessions.
Finally, on to the good stuff everyone wants to know about:
May 1: Sign-up begins!May 28: Stroke and Turn with Colleen Gillan (Time TBD, but definitely in the afternoon)
May 30: Practices start in the afternoon! (Time TBD, but more than likely similar to previous years)
June 12: Begin AM/PM practices by age group (Time TBD, but more than likely similar to previous years); Team Member Meet and Greet/ Season Kick-off at 6:40pm following 9-10 year old practice.
June 15: Meet #1: Forest City Stingrays @ Valdese. Warm-up at 5pm. Entries due Wednesday, 6/14.
June 20: Meet #2: McDowell Mariners @ Valdese. Warm-up at 5pm. Entries due Monday, 6/19.
June 22: Meet #3: Valdese @ Granite Falls Sharks. Warm-up at 5:30pm. Entries due Tuesday, 6/20.
June 26: Meet #4: Valdese @ Forest City Stingrays. Warm-up at 5:30pm. Entries due Friday, 6/23.
June 30-July 5: NO PRACTICES FOR INDEPENDENCE DAY HOLIDAY! (ENTRIES FOR JULY 6 MEET DUE JUNE 29!)
July 6: Transylvania Aquabats and Black Mountain Stingrays @ Valdese. Warm-up at 5pm. Entries due JUNE 29.
July 11: Granite Falls Sharks @ Valdese. Warm-up at 5pm. Entries due Monday, 7/10.
July 15: Sprint/Distance at Forest City. 11 and Up unless coach approved. Entries due 7/7.
July 20: Valdese @ McDowell Mariners. Warm-up at 5:30pm. Entries due Monday, 7/17.
July 25: Valdese @ Black Mountain Stingrays. Warm-up at 5:30pm. Entries due Friday, 7/21.
July 28: Annual Potluck Spaghetti Dinner, 5pm, Rotary Park.
July 29: TSL Conference Championship @ Valdese- Hosted by McDowell.. Entries due by 7/21. MUST HAVE SWAM TWO MEETS TO PARTICIPATE IN CONFERENCE.
August 12: End of Season Awards and Potluck, 5pm. Rotary Park.
