S/D Info, Saturday July 16th

 Good afternoon, team!

This Saturday, July 16th, we will be traveling to Forest City for our Sprint/Distance meet. The address is 217 Clay Street, Forest City, NC 28043. This is a fun event and gives swimmers the chance to swim longer and shorter events they don't always get the chance to.

The theme for this meet is Superheros. It is encouraged that you dress up!

Warmups for the mile swimmers starts at 7:15am. The first heat will start at 7:30am. 

Warmups for the rest of the swimmers will be around 9am. 

Please arrive in time to be on the pool deck waiting for warmups at 8:50am. We will be getting in as soon as the mile swimmers finish. We will be sharing the pool with Forest City.

The tentative start time for the meet is 10am.

There will be a food vendor selling breakfast and lunch, as well as icees.

A couple things:

- only coaches will be allowed on the pool deck

- please DO NOT park by the golf course

- I have attached a picture of the map that shows available parking and tent setup

Tomorrow will be a fun and exciting day! Remember to stay hydrated and I'll see you at the pool!

A Review and the Week Ahead!

 Good afternoon, Torpedo family!

I hope you all have had some down time after Saturday's meet. 

It has been a busy couple of weeks for the team! We have hosted two Saturday meets against Lenoir, McDowell, and Granite Falls and have traveled to Forest City. 

This week we will travel to Black Mountain on Thursday. The address is 401 Laurel Circle Dr, Black Mountain, NC 28711. Tents can be set up outside of the pool deck. We will start warmups at 5:30pm. Please arrive in time to get ready and jump in!

On Saturday, we will host Forest City in Valdese. Warmups will be at 8am and setup will start at 7am. The SignUp Genius will be sent out later this week for volunteers. We can always use your help!

Since our upcoming meets are fairly large, and in an effort to keep everything streamlined and ensure that we finish on time, I will not be able to have late additions to the meets. Thursday signups are due on Tuesday at 10am, and Saturday signups are due on Wednesday at 6pm. 

I understand that things happen and plans can change. If you are entered in either of the meets and something changes, please let me know via text or Remind before the meet. 

I am so appreciative of all of you and the hard work you put in during practice and for all of the volunteers. It truly couldn't happen without you!

Have a great weekend and I'll see you soon!

Our First Meet and Looking Ahead

 Hey team!

Tomorrow is our first meet of the season! Make sure your swimmers are ready to warm up by 5:30pm.

The meet is in Forest City at the Callison Recreation Center. The address is 217 Clay Street, Forest City, NC 28043.

A couple things:

1. Tents will not be set up on the pool deck. This is to prevent the overflow of people and hopefully it will make it easier for you to see and watch your swimmers. In the case of tomorrow, the tents can be set up outside of the fenced area. You are more than welcome to come in and watch your swimmers and then return to your tents. One-half of the picnic shelter will be reserved for swimmers to stay on deck. If there are any elderly or handicapped spectators, they are welcome to sit underneath the picnic shelter as well.

2. The clerk of course tomorrow will be located underneath one side of the picnic shelter. Your swimmer will need to check in here for their events and will be seated in the proper order. When it is time, they will all walk to the blocks together as a heat. 

3. Please make sure your swimmers are paying attention to the events being announced by the clerk of course. This is vital so that your race isn't missed!!

4. Volunteers are always needed! The meet wouldn't be possible without volunteers, so please don't hesitate to help out! You can sign up via the SignUpGenius link: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/508084CABAE2AAAF58-vtst7. If you have any questions about the various positions, here is a link to a previous blog post explaining things: http://vtst.blogspot.com/2017/05/the-most-important-person-at-our-meets.html. There's always something everyone can do to help out!

This Saturday, June 18, will be our first meet in Valdese!

Tents will be set up on the tennis courts or in Rotary Park. The gate to access Rotary from the pool deck will be open. Setup will begin at 7am. 

Please be ready to warmup at 8am. 

The clerk of course will be at the entry from the tennis courts to the pool deck. This is where your swimmers will check in for their events. 

We will also need volunteers for Saturday, and that SignUpGenius will come out this week.

Thank you for all you do! See you soon!

2022 Info, Practice Schedule, & Meet Schedule

 Hello Torpedo Family!

I wanted to take a moment to introduce myself. My name is Morgan Hall and I am going to be the new head coach for VTST this summer. Some of you may have seen me around as I was an assistant coach last year and I am a guard at the facility. I have swam for nearly a decade and recently just finished up my collegiate swimming career at Mars Hill University. I am super excited to share with you what I've learned and use that knowledge to help each and every swimmer grow! I attached a picture of myself so you can put a face with my name!

I wanted to go ahead and share a little bit of information concerning the upcoming summer season. 

The first big piece of information concerns sign-ups. We have recently moved them to an online format so you can use the link https://valdese.recdesk.com/Community/Program?category=16 to register. Registration begins Monday, April 18th! T-shirt and cap orders will still be handled in person at the pool/fitness desk. 

Next, is the practice schedule. Please remember that swimmers need to be at the appropriate practice time. If there are situations where attendance at another practice time is necessary, please speak to me to confirm. Practices will start on Tuesday, May 31st. I know there are school districts that don't get out until later. For this reason, from Tuesday, May 31 to Friday, June 3 practices will be from 3:30-5pm. All groups will practice at the same time for these 4 days. 

Starting on Monday, June 6, practices will be as follows:

9-10, 11-12, Novice 13-14: Mon-Fri. 8am-9am

Advanced 13-14, 15-18: Mon-Fri. 9am-10am

8 & Unders: Mon.-Thurs. 5-5:45pm

Finally, and arguably the largest piece of information, is our meet schedule. Swimmers should be signed up in the book located at the pool/fitness desk by the deadline for each meet in order to be entered. If the deadline isn't met, the swimmer won't be entered. All of our home meets are on Saturdays this year, with warmups at 8am. Away meets will be on Tuesday or Thursday evenings with warmups at 5:30pm. 

Sprint/Distance (11 & up only) and Champs will both be Saturday meets. You should plan for Champs to last all day. More information about these two meets will be sent out closer to time. However, remember that swimmers must compete in at least two meets in order to be eligible to compete at Champs on July 30.

Tuesday, June 14: @ Forest City Stingrays, 5:30pm warm-up

Saturday, June 18: Lenior and McDowell Mariners @ Valdese, 8:00am warmup

Saturday, June 25: Granite Falls Sharks @ Valdese, 8:00am warmup

Thursday, June 30: @ Black Mountain Stingrays, 5:30pm warmup

Saturday, July 2: Forest City Stingrays @ Valdese, 8:00am warmup

Saturday, July 16: Sprint/Distance Meet (11&Up only) @ Forest City Stingrays, warmup TBA

Tuesday, July 19: @ McDowell Mariners, 5:30pm warmup

Thursday, July 21: @ Granite Falls Sharks, 5:30pm warmup

Saturday, July 23: Black Mountain Stingrays @ Valdese, 8:00am warmup

Saturday, July 30: TSL Champs Meet @ Granite Falls Sharks, warmup TBA (ALL DAY MEET!!)

As always, we are in need of officials and volunteers. If you're interested, please reach out! There will be more information coming in the upcoming weeks. If you have any questions, feel free to reach me at the following number by call or text.

My information is as follows: 8287645007 (mobile)

I'm looking forward to seeing all of you and working with you; it's going to be a great summer!