Thanks for a Great Season!

 Good morning, Torpedo Family!

The end of the season is here, and, on behalf of the coaches, we want to thank you all for a great season! The champs meet went well, and we were in the mix among the teams for fourth up until the last two relays. Ultimately, the numbers were a factor, but we did a great job swimming, with a lot of best times and only three DQs the entire meet. A special congratulations goes to Daynesa and Desiree Gonzalez and Lilah Johnson for scoring in the top three for their age groups at the meet!

This Friday, August 16, from 5-7pm, we'll have our end of season potluck at the Splash Pad building. We'll have some fellowship, some fun, and great food, and the swimmers will get their ribbons for the season. Please use the SignUpGenius here to tell us what you're bringing and so we can know what to supplement if we need to. https://m.signupgenius.com/#!/showSignUp/508084CABAE2AAAF58-50647455-2024

Finally, I have two asks of our team this year. First, we haven't done an end of season survey in a couple of seasons, and I want to reintroduce that process. This is a chance to give us feedback anonymously about what is working and what needs tweaking. It takes only a few minutes to complete, and it lets us know your thoughts on the program. The link for that survey is here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/vtst2024

Second, the Town of Valdese Parks and Recreation Department is starting the process for our 10 Year Comprehensive Plan. The first of several steps and opportunities for input and feedback is a survey put together by the Western Piedmont Council of Governments. We want to get this survey in the hands of as many people as possible to help us guide our planning processes for the next decade. What facilities and programs do you like and use frequently? What needs some love? Is the staffing model appropriate for the department? What are some new things that you would like to see? The link to this survey is coming via Remind, but it is also included here: www.surveymonkey.com/r/valdeserecsurvey.

Thank you all for a great season! If you can't make Friday's dinner, please come by the pool to pick up ribbons. We hope to see everyone next season if not before in some of the other programs we offer at the Valdese Parks and Recreation Department!

Champs!

We're off to a rainy start this morning, but let's hope we got it out of our system!

We're excited for a fun day. Coaches are in a tent just next to the shallowest end of the pool next to the pavilion.

Come see us before and after swimming!

The Championship Meet is Upon Us!

Good afternoon, Torpedo Family!

This summer has flown by! We are down to our last two weeks of the season, culminating in our Olympics-themed Championship Meet on Saturday, August 3, in Shelby at the Shelby Aquatic Center at Shelby City Park (850 W. Sumter St. Shelby, NC 28150). All participants should have signed up by now, and we will have entries ready by Thursday. We will share these with the swimmers on Monday.

It is really important that we have everyone who entered participate, as we have a fairly small squad going this year. If for some reason you need to scratch, please let us know ASAP so we can adjust any relays that may be impacted.

Please plan on it being a full day of swimming. The meet will have 10 lanes going in an effort to keep things moving, and we will need a good number of volunteers to time throughout the day. I will send a master SignUp Genius list when I receive it from Shelby. Please plan on at least one family member assisting with the meet.

For seating, we will able to set up tents as early as 6:30am against the pool fence. Per Shelby, tents may be side by side and up to three deep from the fence. 

We will start warmups at 7:20am, which means on deck behind the block ready to jump in the water at 7:20am, not arriving then. We will have the National Anthem at 8:25am and start the meet at 8:30am.

As it seems thunderstorms have rediscovered our area, please be prepared to make your way to your vehicle in case something pops up during the meet.

I'll post any additional information that I receive, but please don't hesitate to reach out with any questions.

Shelby Meet Information!

Good morning, Torpedo Family!

We are slated to be in Shelby tonight for our meet against Shelby, Forest City, and Black Mountain.

This looks like a long meet, so expect to be there until 10pm or possibly 10:30pm. 

That being said, there is a strong chance of storms this evening here and in Shelby. The coaches from the respective teams are going to be keeping an eye on the weather pretty much all day today. If we decide to cancel, it will be by 4pm, and I will send a message on remind and on post on Facebook.

If you haven't heard anything by 4pm, then we will be attempting to get the meet in. Should we  go forward, please see below for information about parking. We will also need four timers per session, and you can sign up for that here: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/508084CABAE2AAAF58-50370324-valdese.

Meet Information From Shelby:

5:45pm: Timers meeting - inside entry way 

The small pool will be open for warm-up and cool down and will be staffed with lifeguards for younger ones to splash and play on shallow side.  

The deep end of competition pool will be closed. No swimmer is to enter the deep end of the pool.  

Clerk of Course and swimmer check-in will be near deep end of pool opposite of diving boards.  

Tents may be placed against the fence and stacked 3 deep or in grassy area.

Do not place tents on pool deck close to competition pool.  

Coaches may sit along short course side of pool - no parents or spectators allowed to set up chairs or tents between pool and covered brick shelter.  Parents may set up chairs under brick shelter.

A concession stand with a variety of foods will be open.  

If there is a weather delay with lightning swimmers and families will be asked to exit pool area and go to gymnasium or personal vehicle.  

Meet will be on Meet Mobile

We will combine heats and have heat sheets by start of meet.

Sprint/Distance Saturday is Upon Us!

Good evening, Torpedo Family!

I want to thank everyone for the well-wishes as I recover from last week's surgery. I'm sorry I am not with you tonight in Granite and won't be with you all at Sprint/Distance. I look forward to being back for our last two meets in Shelby. PLEASE SIGN UP FOR BOTH OF THESE MEETS BY MONDAY, JULY 15!

Now, to business!

For this coming Saturday at Forest City for the Sprint/Distance Meet, please be ready to enter the pool by 8:50am. 15 Minute warm ups will be at 9am, but we don't want to miss the brief window we will have. We will be in lanes 1-3 to warm up (4, 4, and 5 swimmers in each lane). We will need four timers for the entire day, with two in each session. Please sign up here: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/508084CABAE2AAAF58-50300312-2024

Tents will not be allowed inside the fence on the pool deck. Feel free to sit under the pavilion. If you ordered a shirt, they will be available at the meet. There will be a handful of additional shirts available first come, first serve.

Clerk of Course will be handled a little differently from a normal meet. Each swimmer will need to check in at the red tent near the pavilion like normal at FC, but from there, it is YOUR RESPONSIBILITY to get to the proper heat/lane.

MILE SWIMMERS: You will need to check in by 6:15am. If you aren't in the first heat (there will be 4), my suggestion is to bypass the pool warm up and warm up out of the water with some light calisthenics. We will have heat sheets Friday, and I will send those out to everyone so you know what heat of the mile you are in. You will need two timers and a lap counter. Feel free to recruit other swimmers from other heats to assist during this. 

Parents and coaches will get to join in the fun about mid-way through the meet with the "Flamingo Folly" Relay: Teams of 4 (parents and coaches). We will provide floats. You can have up to 2 entries per team. We are planning to run 2 heats. The relay will be around the halfway point of the meet. Rules: Swimmer must remain on the float while they are in the water. No air can be removed from the floats.

FC has included a map for you to use to for reference. Please check the notes on the bottom of the picture.