Movie Night at the pool: Wednesday, August 3rd

We would like to end the swim season with a fun (non-swimming) event.  We would like to invite all Gators to a movie night at the pool.  This event is for swimmers only.

Please plan on arriving to the pool around 8:15pm as the movie will begin at 8:30pm.  

We will be showing Surfs Up.

The swim team will provide some snacks and water but feel free to bring something of your own to snack on. 

Come in your pajamas and bring your blanket and pillow (or something to sit on).  Parents you can drop your swimmer off and return to pick them up.  

There will be NO swimming on this night.  Parental guidance will be provided.  

Hope to see you there 

Swimmers of the week

Swimmers of the Week: 

Female: Lexie Lamping! 

Lexie had an outstanding league meet, dropping mad time in every race she had. It wasn't just the time drops, but the way in which she approached each race that really impressed the coaches. Her enthusiasm and confidence in herself combined with her continued effort in practices throughout the year led to major time drops and place improvements. Lexie gave 100% effort this weekend, and was a big part of why the team did so well. 

Great Job Lexie! 

Male: Isaac Perez-Williams 

Isaac had a lights-out meet this weekend. He was clearly in the zone for all of his races, and went after each race with a desire to win. His competitive spirit and focus was fun to be around, and had noticeable effects on his races. No matter the circumstance, relay or individual, ahead or behind, he gave it his all to get to the wall first. 

Great weekend Isaac, well done! 

No night practice

We just wanted to let you know there will be no evening (12& under) or night practice (upper division) this week.  Thank you to all the 12&under swimmers who participated in our first evening practice session and to the upper division and parents who attended the night practice.

We plan on seeing all swimmers and families at the banquet on Wednesday night.

Al Hofstra is the recipient of the FSA Betty Woods award

The Green Mountain Gators would like to recognize Al Hofstra as he received the Betty Woods award this weekend at the 57th FSA League meet.  

The Betty Woods award was created by the Foothills Swim Association in 2010 after Betty passed away.  Betty was a valuable asset to the swim league and they want to carry on her tradition by recognizing people within the League that posses the same qualities and passion for the sport.

The objectives of Foothills Swimming Association are:

1. To promote and encourage competitive aquatics.
2. To promote good sportsmanship in competitive aquatics.
3. To provide an opportunity for summer club swimmers to compete.

This award is created in honor of Betty’s 50+ year contribution to the Foothills Swimming Association.  The award is intended to recognize a person for their contribution to the FSA.  

Nominee: Al Hofstra               Home Team if applicable: Green Mountain Gators

Describe the nominee’s contribution to the Foothills Swimming Association:

I would like to nominate the Betty Woods award to one of the hardest-working contributors to the FSA, Al Hofstra. Al has been working for Green Mountain Swim Club ( a part of the FSA ) for over 10 years. Through his work, he has helped swimmers realize their full potential and has encouraged them to swim. He worked not only as an official during meets, but a swim team board president and has done volunteer work to help maintain the GMSC pool.

Al Hofstra has been a part of the swimming community since he was a child. His parents, Warren and Mary Hofstra, helped found the Terrace Club in the 1960’s, where he swam from age 7 to 17. He earned league titles at ages 8 and 12. When he was 13 the Terrace Club joined FSA. Al also swam on the varsity team for Lincoln High School where he earned an all-city title for the 50 and 100 free. He was also the captain of the swim team at Colorado College, when he joined the Green Mountain Gators as a coach. For two years, Al coached GMST's eight and under age division. In one of the years that he coached, GMSC won League in the eight and under age division. In 2005, his daughter Tess swam as a gator and Al began his volunteer service. He officiated, timed, and maintained the pool. In 2010 he was elected the position of Swim Team board president and head official at Green Mountain, which he held for five years. Even after passing the baton this year, he continues to support both the pool and the FSA team with his work and his wisdom.

A big thank you to Brooke Tompkins who wrote this submission and helped share Al's love for swimming with all of us.

 

End of season banquet: Wednesday, July 27th

Wednesday night we will be celebrating our 2016 Gator swim season.  It is hard to imagine that the summer only began with our first Intrasquad meet 63 days ago.  We would love to see all the swimmers and their support team on this night.  

Wednesday night, July 27th at 5:30 will be our Gator banquet.  The swim team board will be providing pizza and will have water and lemonade available.  We are will having a pot luck style dinner.  If your last name begins with A-L we are asking you to bring a side dish to share and if your last name is M-Z please bring a dessert to share.  Please remember to bring serving utensils with your food item and please take all items with you when you leave.  

During this evening, we will be celebrating all the Gator swimmers.  Please remember to check your swimmer folder before you leave for the evening and collect everything that is in there.  

Please let me know if you have any questions.
Look forward to celebrating the end of an amazing season!

July 25th-July 31st schedule

Great swimming this weekend by the Gators at League.  Practice this week will only be for swimmers that have State qualifying times.  If you are not participating in the State swim meet we will see you Wednesday, July 27th for the end of season banquet (see post about the banquet for more information).

If you are swimming any individual events at the State Meet this weekend you need to make sure you talk with Coach Porter on Monday at practice.  Please refer to the list of qualified swimmers to see eligibility.

As mentioned above practice this week is for kids who are swimming at State.  If you did not qualify for an individual event you may be contacted to see if you can swim in a relay.  Swimmers will be contacted Monday if needed for relay events.

Monday, July 18th:  swimmers must select events they want to swim in at League at the beginning of their age group practice

Monday-Friday (July 25th-July 31st):  practice for State swimmers
7:00-8:00am:  13&up
8:00-9:00am:  12 and unders
NOTE:  No night practice will be held

Tuesday, July 26th from 5-9pm:  Swim/Dive-a-thon fundraiserThe GMSC will be hosting a Swim/Dive-a-thon fundraiser. Swimmers will have 60 minutes to complete as many laps/dives as possible. Please help the pool raise money for facility improvements/repairs.
Please use this pledge form to start collecting donations
Please sign-up here for the time/date you can participate

Wednesday, July 27th:  End of season banquet
End of season banquet dinner and awards; begins at 5:30pm at Green Mountain Swim Club
See post about banquet for more information

Friday, July 22nd:  Upper division 400's (Events 1-6)
Warm-ups begin at 2:00pm; Meet starts at 3:00pm
Swimmers must provide their own lap counter

Saturday, July 30th:  Lower division (12&under) State Meet (Events 7-60)
Warm-ups TBD; Meet starts at 8:50am

Sunday, July 31st:  Upper division 13&up State Meet (Events 61-110)
Warm-ups TBD: Meet starts at 9:00am

Please continue to watch to blog for updates on an upcoming swim team movie night and also an Olympic watch party at the pool.

State Week Practice Times

For those with state qual times, the practice times are as follows: 

13 and up: 7:00 - 8:00

12 and under: 8:00 - 9:00

See you in the morning, 

Coach Porter

League Update

The first two days of League went incredibly well. We as coaches are so proud of all that the swimmers have accomplished so far this weekend. We had two relays break FSA records today; the 13-14 boys medley with Andrew Penn, Quinn Meinert, Alex Granquist and Ben Hofstra as well as the 15-18 girl medley, with Kaylyn Schull, Sydni Sich, Ianna Debrunner, and Amanda Ballard! On top of that, we had countless best times and great swims from all age groups. One Applewood Knolls coach pulled me aside to tell me "Green Mountain is swimming with a lot of heart today", a true reflection of the effort the team has put forth.

Tomorrow lets keep up the great work. Lets make sure we continue with the positive and encouraging thoughts, the continuous support of one another, and the effort that has put us in the position we are. I urge the swimmers to not worry about points, rather focus on the races and making sure that they are swimming as well as they can!

Warmups will be at 7:00 again tomorrow, so I ask that everyone swimming is behind the blocks and ready to go by 6:55. Get some good sleep tonight, I will see you in the morning.

Coach Porter

Practice Time

Tomorrow's practice will start at 7, not 6:30. Enjoy the extra 30 minutes of sleep! 400 swimmers do not need to come until 9:15.

See you in the morning,
Porter

Swim/Dive-a-thon fundraiser

Please consider participating in the Green Mountain Swim Club Swim/Dive-a-thon fundraiser.  On Tuesday, July 26th from 5-9pm and/or Saturday, August 6th from 10am-8pm the GMSC will be hosting a Swim/Dive-a-thon fundraiser.  This is for pool member and swim team members.  Each participating swimmer will have 60 minutes to complete as many laps and/or dives as possible.  Each participate will need to bring along a person to count their laps/dives.  The money collected from this fundraiser will be used to help pay for facility improvements/repairs.

Please help the swim club that we swam at everyday!
Here is a link to sign-up for the time that you want to attend
Here is the Swim/Dive-a-thon pledge form.  Please start collecting pledges and turn after completing your laps/dives.

I have also heard there will be some fun stuff going on at the pool during these events and some special treats.

League Meet: July 22nd-July 24th

Congrats to all the swimmers that will swim at the League meet this weekend!  It will be a fun long weekend.  Please note the location and warm-up/meet start times.  Parents please sign-up to help volunteer during this meet and it will allow you front row viewing of the meet.

Please read the following regarding parking at the meet (at Splash on Saturday and Sunday):

• Parking will be available in the main parking lot on first come basis
• Additional parking will be located in the lots to the west of the pool at the Jefferson County Health and Human Services Parking Building
• ABSOLUTELY NO PARKING is allowed at the Golf Course, dirt lot, or bus lot!!!!
• Those who choose to walk down the dirt paths from the upper lots do so at their own risk

Good luck Gators!  Swim fast!

Swimming at State?

Please review the list of qualified swimmer, as we need to know if you are able to swim at State (this list includes swimmers who qualified as of 7/18/16).  We are aware that swimmers still have the League meet to qualify for State and to qualify in additional events.  Please review this list and if your name is on here we need you to send an email to gmstgators@aol.com or talk to Coach Porter to let us know you will be able to attend.  You will not need to select the events you are swimming until Monday at practice.  As of right now we are looking for a "yes or no" you can be at the meet.

Please let us know if you have any questions regarding this meet.
This list will be updated after the league meet on Sunday is completed.

Practice

Radar doesn't have this storm clearing anytime soon so no practice tonight.

See you in the morning.

- Coach Porter

Swimmer of the Week

Congratulations to all swimmers who have qualified for league and state! Its been a great season so far and the coaches are excited to see what happens at League and State.

Male Swimmer of the Week:

Sonny Donati!

Sonny had a good week of practice and topped it off by getting his state time in the backstroke at the last chance meet. He is extremely close to getting the state cut in the 25 free, which is one the most difficult times to make. Sonny has routinely displayed a great attitude coupled with a strong work ethic in practice which has led to noticeable improvements in his swimming. It will be fun to see what happens with Sonny come this weekend!

Female Swimmer of the Week:

Brooke Tompkins!

Throughout Gator Week, Brooke displayed an excellent determination to fight through every set, making sure she gave full effort every day. Brooke made sure to provide encouragement to the swimmers around her and led by example. Her continuing team spirit is prevalent both in practice and the meets, always cheering others on and staying positive at all times. We as coaches enjoy seeing swimmers not only working hard to improve, but working hard to help others improve as well, just as Brooke has done all year. Great job Brooke!

See you guys tomorrow,

Coach Porter

Schedule July 18th-July 23rd

The end of our regular swim season is upon us.  We enjoyed watching all swimmers compete and improve in their events.  Starting this week practice will be held for kids who have a League and/or State qualifying time.  If you are not participating in the League and/or State swim meet we will see you again on Wednesday, July 27th for the end of season banquet.

If you are swimming at League this weekend you need to make sure you have emailed the events you want to participate in to gmstgators@aol.com or talked with Coach Porter.  You must do this by practice tomorrow.  Please refer to the list of League eligible swimmers and the qualifying events

As mentioned above practice this week is for kids who will be swimming in the League meet.  If you did not qualify for an individual event you may be contacted to see if you can swim in a relay.  Swimmers will be contacted Monday if needed for relay events.

Monday, July 18th:  swimmers must select events they want to swim in at League at the beginning of their age group practice (if they haven't done so already)

Monday-Friday (July 18th-July 22nd):  morning practice for league swimmers
6:30-8:15am:  Upper division practice and dry land (8-8:15am)
8:00-9:00am:  10-13 year olds
9:00-10:00am:  9 year olds
9:00-9:45am:  8&under

Monday, Tuesday and Thursday (July 18th, July 19th, and July 21st)
7:00-8:00pm:  12&under night practice for league swimmers

Tuesday, July 19th and Thursday July 21st
8:00-9:00pm:  Upper division and parent practice

Friday, July 22nd:  League Meet @ Stringrays 6th Ave West Pool--All upper division 400s

Saturday, July 23rd-Sunday, July 24th:  League Meet @ Splash

Are you swimming in the Last Chance meet?

Great swims today Gators!  Today was our last regular season swim meet.
Tomorrow our team will host the Last Chance meet.  This meet is for swimmers that are trying to get a league qualifying time.  If you want to participate you must send an email to gmstgators@aol.com by 5pm tonight.  The results from today's meet are posted and the Top Times have been revised to include these updates.

If you are going to swim tomorrow morning warm-ups begin at 5:55am at the Green Mountain Swim Club.  The meet will begin at 7:00am.  If you have a swimmer at this event we ask parents to volunteer.  Also if you don't have a kids swimming come on down to the pool and volunteer to support the team and other swimmers.  Thanks in advance.

8-9 night practice canceled

No upper division night practice tonight (8-9). It's been a long week, get some rest.

See you in the morning,

Porter

League entries

Congratulations to those swimmers who have qualified for League!  Now it is time for our coaches to do entries for this meet.  Since this meet is for swimmers with qualifying times we need to get verification that your swimmer will be able to participate in this meet (July 22nd for 400 swimmers and July 23rd-July 24th for all other events).  You must email gmstgators@aol.com to confirm your swimmer will be able to attend the meet or talk with Coach Porter by Sunday 7/17 at 5pm.  If swimmers are qualified in more than 3 individual events you must specify in your confirmation email or discuss with Porter what events you want to swim (or the coaches will place you in the events they want you to swim).

Instructions for swimmers/parents:

1. Please check to see if your name is on this list
2. If your name is on this list send an email to gmstgators@aol.com or talk with Coach Porter to let them know if you can swim at this meet
3. If you are qualified in more than 3 individual events please pick the ones you want to swim

Please let us know if you have any questions about this.

Last Chance meet Sunday

On Sunday our swim team will host the Last Chance meet.  The Last Chance meet means just what its name says....this is the swimmers last chance to get qualified for League.  If a swimmer is within a few seconds of qualifying for League and they want to try to get qualified they can swim in this meet.  If swimmers want to swim in this meet you must email gmstgators@aol.com by 3pm on Saturday afternoon.  Please include the event they want to swim in.

We need volunteers for this meet.  Since our swim team is hosting 4 other teams at our pool we need parent help with this meet.  Even if your swimmer is not participating in this meet we still would love to see you at the pool.  Please see the parent volunteer sign-up and volunteer your time.  Thank you in advance for your help.  

Saturdays meet at Applewood Knolls

Can you believe that Saturday is our last regular summer swim meet?  What happened to the summer?  It is amazing to see how the swimmer have developed and improved in their skills.  We are excited to have their kids bring their "A" game to the meet on Saturday and finish the season strong.

Due to the size of the team we are swimming against we are only sending a maximum of 2 relays per age group.  We wanted to let everyone know this so you understood if your swimmer wasn't on both relays.  We are going to try our best to let all swimmers that are able to swim in one of the relays for their age group.

We will have all the individual and relay entries posted tomorrow morning.
See you all Saturday!  Go Gators!

Tomorrows Intrasquad meet

I have a feeling tomorrow night is going to be a great night.  The pool will have food and entertainment!  What else can you ask for?  The only other thing we need is to make sure you volunteer so we can have a meet.  Please sign-up if you haven't already done so. 

There will be hamburger and hot dog meal available for purchase tomorrow as well as additional items from the snack shack.  All you need to do is show up (with money).

The free entertainment will come after all our kids swim.  Please make sure you stay around and watch the coaches relay (and the parents relay).  Yes parents I mentioned your relay again.  This is just to make sure you don't forget your swimming suit or something important.  I have heard that we have had parents "practicing" at the night practice so it sounds like you are ready.

See you all tomorrow night. 

Thank you to the many parent volunteers

I just wanted to send a thank you message to all the parents who volunteered at the meet on Saturday.  It was a long and HOT day.  We had parents volunteer for all three shifts, we had parents volunteer for a shift and stay until the end of the meet and we had parents volunteer who didn't even have a swimmer.  You are all amazing and we appreciate your help.  Thank you for all the support you give to the Gators!  It takes each and every family to makes these meets successful for our swimmers.

Swimmer of the Week and Gator week notice

Great job to everyone who swam this past weekend! We had some fantastic swims Saturday against AAC, and although everyone was a little tired Sunday there were still great swims and a lot of time dropped. And now your swimmers of the week:

FEMALE SWIMMER OF THE WEEK

Emma Neuroth!

Emma took first place overall for the 13-14 girls division at the Pentathlon and also had a strong meet on Saturday. Her attendance was consistent all week, and when she was in the water she was working hard the whole time, continuing a trend she has had all year. Her continued dedication and competitive spirit has led a strong 13-14 division this year. The coaches are excited to see what she will do come league and state. Keep up the good work Emma! 

MALE SWIMMER OF THE WEEK

Jaimen Whittenburg! 

Jaimen swam incredibly well on Sunday, placing second overall for the 9-10 boys division. It was fun to see all the hard work Jaimen puts in at practice day in and day out pay off in a big way. He was either faster than or right at his seed times in his races, which is impressive after such a long week of swimming. Jaimen is always consistent at practice, working hard and constantly improving. Great job Jaimen! 

GATOR WEEK NOTICE!!!

Today was the introductory day to Gator Week, a week where are sets are tougher and we ask a lot of the swimmers during practice. The sets will be getting tougher and tougher each day, ending with a “game day” of sorts on Friday. Make sure to stay rested and hydrated all week! We know the practices will be tough, but we ask that all swimmers come with a positive attitude and readiness to work hard to ensure good and healthy workouts.

Good Luck!

- Porter

You don't want to miss the Intrasquad on Wednesday

This Wednesday will be our last Gator Intrasquad meet.  This is a night that you don't want to miss (not that you want to miss any of them)!  You will have to read this whole post before you get to the exciting news.....(don't cheat and skip to the bottom)

• All swimmers can sign-up for 3 individual events.  We are allowing swimmers to swim an additional event so help them qualify in more events.  We also challenge the swimmers to pick an event they haven't swam yet :)
• Swimmers must sign-up for this meet by the end of practice on Tuesday
• Warm-ups begin at 5:00pm and the meet starts at 5:30
• Parents please volunteer your time and sign-up to help

This will be the last meet that we will have Gator apparel for sale (you can still purchase items during practice).    So if you don't have your gator shirt, sweatshirt, hat and/or sticker for your car (or around the house) please stop by and purchase it.

More information to come about dinner options that may be purchased at the pool.

And for the exciting news that you have waited to read.......

At the end of the meet on Wednesday.......is the coaches relay!!!!!

The coaches will challenge the parents and other age groups to a relay swim.  The kids will already be ready to participate so we are reminding the parents.  Parents please bring your swimming suit, goggles and a towel and be ready to swim if you want to participate.

See you all Wednesday!

July 11th-July 17th schedule

It is sad to think that this is the last regular week of the summer swim season (more information about what happens next).  Please see below the schedule for the week of July 11th-July 17th.

Monday-Friday (July 11th-July 15th):  Regular summer morning practice
6:30-8:15am:  Upper division practice and dry land (8-8:15am)
8:00-9:00am:  10-13 year olds
9:00-10:00am:  9 year olds
9:00-9:45am:  8&under

Monday, Tuesday and Thursday (July 11th, July 12th, and July 14th)
7:00-8:00pm:  12&under night practice

Tuesday, July 12th and Thursday July 14th
8:00-9:00pm:  Upper division and parent practice

Monday, July 11th:  Butterfly stroke clinic
9:45-10:15am (must be signed up online--slots still available)

Tuesday, July 12th: 
9:45-10:15am Breat stroke clinic (must be signed up online--slots still available)
All swimmers must sign-up for the Intrasquad meet by the end of practice

Wednesday, July 13th:  
9:45-10:15am Starts/Turns clinic (must be signed up online)
Intrasquad meet @ Green Mountain Swim Club
     Warm-ups begin at 5:00pm; Meet starts at 5:30pm
     Please note that swimmers can sign-up for 3 events
     Parents please sign-up to help volunteer at this meet.

Thursday, July 14th:
All swimmers must sign-up for the Intrasquad meet by the end of practice

Saturday, July 16th:
Swim meet at Applewood Knolls Swim and Tennis club (11520 W. 32nd Ave., Wheat Ridge).
     Warm-up begin at 6:30am; Meet starts at 7:00am
     Parent please sign-up to volunteer to time at this meet

Sunday July 17th:
Last Chance swim meet at Green Mountain Swim Club
This meet is for swimmers who are within seconds of qualifying for League or State.
There will be another post about this meet.

The summer is finally here with the 100 degree weather.

This weekend

We are excited for this coming weekend. This weekend we will host our last dual meet and participate in the Pentathlon hosted by Applewood Athletic Club. If your kids are swimming in either of these meets we need you to volunteer. Please use the links on the right hand side of the blog to sign-up.

If you are swimming in the meet on Saturday warm-ups begin at 6:00am and the meet begins at 7:00am

If you are swimming at the Pentathlon on Sunday warm-ups begin at 6:30am and the meet begins at 7:00am

Please see the coaches on Saturday before the Meet to get your Gator tattoo!
See you in the morning

Swimmer of the Week

I hope everyone had a great 4th of July / weekend with no swim meets!

Here are the swimmers of the week:

Male Swimmer:

Kai Langan!

Kai showed up to practice with endless energy and an excitement to swim all last week. Every time Kai was near the water he had a giant grin and was ready to go, eager to get in. Despite no meet, he put a lot of good hard work in this past week. Congrats Kai!

Female Swimmer:

Jensen Wehri!

Jensen worked hard at all practices last week, constantly working to improve. She brought a positive attitude to the practices as well as a strong work ethic. Jensen's positivity is contagious, impacting everyone else in her lane (which is fun to see as coaches). Keep up the great work Jensen!

We are about to hit a tough stretch of the season, with 5 swim meets (4 meets and 1 inter-squad) in the next two weeks, followed by League and then State. I urge all swimmers to attend practice as regularly as possible. The practice difficulty will be ramped up for the next two weeks so come prepared!

Age group photos (sneak peek)

I am excited to share a sneak peek of the Age Group photos.  The photographer has put the Gator Team photo and the age group photos online for those people who didn't order this originally.  Once you see these photos you may change your mind and want to purchase one.  You are in luck and you can purchase them online through this link.  This link will be available through the end of the month so don't wait too long.  If you order any pictures through this link they will be mailed to you directly.
https://alexhearnphotography.smugmug.com/GM-Swim-Team-2016/n-xKfcJN/

July 4th-July 10th weekly schedule

We hope all of our Gator families had a fun 4th of July!  Hope it was fun and safe and everyone enjoyed not getting up for swim team practice.

Here is the schedule for the week of July 4th-July 10th
Monday, July 4th:  There is no swim team practice (Morning or Evening)
Tuesday, July 5th:  Morning practice and donut day **please see the revised start time for upper division
    7:00-8:00am:  Upper division practice
    8:00-9:00am:  10-13 year olds
    9:00-10:00am:  9 year olds
    9:00-9:45am:  8&unders
Evening practice and treat
    12&unders:  7:00-8:00pm
Night practice
     Upper division and parents:  8:00-9:00pm

Wednesday-Friday:  Regular summer practice
6:30-8:15am:  Upper division practice and dry land (8-8:15am)
8:00-9:00am:  10-13 year olds
9:00-10:00am:  9 year olds
9:00-9:45am:  8&under
 
Thursday, July 14th
All swimmers must sign-up for Saturdays meet by the end of practice or email gmstgators@aol.com if you are out of town this week but will be at the meet
7:00-8:00pm:  12&under night practice
8:00-9:00pm:  Upper division and parent practice

Saturday, July 9th:  AAC vs GM @ Green Mountain Swim Club
Warm-ups begin at 6:00am; Meet starts at 7:00am
Parents please see the volunteer link to help with this meet

Sunday, July 10th:  Pentathlon @ Applewood Athletic Club
Meet begins at 7:00am
This meet requires swimmers to have 3 of 5 events with  B or better qualifying time( freestyle, back stroke, breast stroke, butterfly or IM).  Please see the Pentathlon post for more information about this meet.  To sign-up please email gmstgators@aol.com with the swimmers name.

Have a great July 4th and see you Tuesday for practice!

Pentathlon: Sunday, July 10th

This Sunday Applewood Athletic Club is hosting the Pentathlon meet.  This meet is for swimmers who have a B or better qualifying time in 3 of the following 5 events:  freestyle, back stroke, breast stroke, butterfly and/or IM.  If your swimmer wants to participate they will swim all 5 events (freestyle, back stroke, breast stroke, butterfly and IM) at this meet.  Please send and email to gmstgators@aol.com to sign-up.  All entries must be received by 12pm on Saturday, July 9th.

A pentathlon is a contest featuring five events. The name is derived from Greek: combining the words pente (five) and -athlon (competition).

If you have questions regarding is meet or eligibility questions please ask a coach or board member.

Patriotic Pool Party @ GMSC July 4th

Stars, stripes and lots of fun; Join our annual 4th of July celebration in the sun! The lifeguards will be hosting annual favorites, including family-oriented events, relay races, a skit, and more. The Snack Shack will be having special meal deals, plus an assortment of tasty treats for sale. Bring your tents, sunscreen and plan an afternoon relaxing by the cool of GMSC pool. The pool is open from 10 am - 5 pm; events will be from 1-3:30 pm....seeGMSC Calendar for details and times. Red, white, blue and you....hope to see you there!

No 8-9 practice

It looks like a big storm will be coming in around 8 tonight, so there will be no 8-9 practice tonight. 

- Porter

A few things to remember as we head into our quiet weekend

It is strange to think that our summer swimming is about half way over.  As we head into a weekend with no meets please take this time to think about a few things:

• Thank you to all the parents who helped with our pancake breakfast and all the families that went to Water World.  It was a great Gator day!
• Please remind your swimmer to check their swimmer folder.  It is important to take everything out to make room for any new items.
• I would like to make sure the Buddy Families are established.  By this time you should have meet your buddy and in some way showed them some encouragement and swimmer support.  Hint:  the little buddies love to get items in their swimmer folder :)
• Anyone looking to purchase Gator apparel can do this during practice with any board member.  Also the swimoutlet.com link is available to purchase additional Gator items.  
• The link to the discounted Water World (and Adventure Golf and Raceway) will be active all summer long.  You are more than welcome to purchase tickets for your family and friends to go and enjoy the fun.  

Also please remember that we do NOT have practice Monday, July 4th.  We hope your family enjoys this day.  The sign-ups for the next swim meet (July 9th) will be posted this Friday at the pool.  All swimmers need to sign-up for their events by Thursday 7/7 at the end of practice.

Swimmers of the Week

This past weekend the team placed second at Ken Caryl, a meet with with over 25 teams! There were great swims from all age groups and it really took a team effort to place so well. So nows the time for the swimmer of the week announcement:

FEMALE SWIMMER OF THE WEEK: 

Amanda Ballard!

Amanda killed it this weekend, placing 1st in the 200 and 100 free and 2nd in the 50 free, taking home the high point award for the 15-18 girls division. She anchored the winning medley relay (with Kaylyn Schull, Sydni Sich, and Ianna Debrunner) as well as the winning free relay (with Tess Hofstra, Sydni, and Ianna). Amanda continued her streak of dominating sprint freestyle races at major meets. Congrats Amanda! 

MALE SWIMMER(s) OF THE WEEK:

Alex Granquist, Ben Hofstra, Quinn Meinert, Andrew Penn

This past weekend these boys won both the Medley and the Free relay, crushing the Ken Caryl and the GMST records. Their free relay was a 1:51, beating the team record by over 5 seconds and the Ken Caryl record by 4 seconds. They all swam well in their individual events as well, racking up a good amount of points to help the team place 2nd. Quinn placed 3rd in the breaststroke, Andrew 2nd in the backstroke, Alex 2nd in the fly, and Ben 2nd in the 400. Well done guys! 

There is no meet this weekend, but let's keep up the good work in practice. Keep an eye out for Gator Week... 

Wednesday, June 29th

Please remember we don't have regular morning swim practice on Wednesday.
Wednesday is our Pictures, Pancakes and Water World day.  Here are a few important reminders:

• If you are planning on having your swimmers individual/family pictures taken please arrive at 7:30am
• If you are purchasing any pictures please complete the order form and have this and your payment completed when you arrive.  Forms will also be available in your swimmers folder on Tuesday morning. 
• All Gators must be at the pool in their team suits by 8am to have a team photo and age group photos taken.  Even if you are not purchasing a photo we encourage your swimmer to be in the photo.  
• Pancakes will be prepared and served around 8:00/8:30am.  We do need some parent help so please sign-up if you are available to volunteer.  
• If you need to purchase Water World tickets you still can do that.  Please follow the link the purchase tickets (Password:  GMGators1).  These tickets can be used for this day or any day this summer.

We can't wait to see all of you Wednesday morning.  

KC Invite Results

Congrats to the swimmers and coaches on a 2nd place finish at the KC Invite! We also had a high point winner for 15-18 girls (Amanda Ballard). Great job, Gators! We'll have the results posted to the website soon, but you can see them now on the Ken Caryl site.

C/D Meet Warmups

The warmups are from 6-7am. There is still no information on parent volunteer requirements. Please plan on at least helping out with timing if your kid is swimming in the meet. Thank you!

C/D meet: Sunday 6/26

Thank you to those parents and swimmers that have signed up to swim at the C/D meet on Sunday.  This meet will be held at Mount Vernon Country Club (24933 Club House Circle, Golden).  This meet will begin at 7:15am.  Warm-up times and parent volunteers haven't been assigned yet.  Please check the blog Saturday evening for more information.

I have posted the Individual entries for this meet.  I have also posted an eligibility report.  This report shows the swimmer names with what events they could swim if they wanted to participate.  You must send an email to gmstgators@aol.com with the events you want to swim by 8:00pm Friday night to participate.

Live poolside entertainment--Saturday, June 25th

Aloha!
Join GMSC on Saturday night, June 25th from 5-9 pm for a Hawaiian themed evening of live poolside entertainment with the band, Sweet Spot! The band will play while you enjoy a late evening of swimming with your family and friends (adults and kids welcome.)

• The swimming pool is open until 9 pm.
• The Snack Shack will stay open late and offer meal deals (until ~7/8 pm)
• Alcohol is permitted per GMSC rules (no glass bottles, drink in moderation, 21+)
• Free with membership; $5 per guest/non-members

We hope to see you there. Mahalo!

NO practice Friday 6/24

There will be no practice Friday. If you are swimming Ken Caryl do your best to get a good night sleep. For anyone not swimming this weekend enjoy the long weekend.

See you tomorrow,
Porter

Important information for this weekends meets

If your swimmer will be swimming Friday or Saturday at the Ken Caryl Invitational please remember the following:

• The parent volunteer has been posted.  Please sign-up to volunteer timing.
• The warm-up times have been posted for each session. 
• Please park responsible.  Don't park too close to corners, hydrants and please respect the neighborhood.
• Bug spray is highly recommended especially in the evening
• Swimmers will use the side gate to enter and exit the pool
• The Recreation Ranch House is currently under construction.  This means the restrooms in this building and the water fountain are out of order.  There are restrooms on the side of the Ranch House that you can access outside as well as port-o-potties around the area.  There is no working drinking fountain in this area.

If your swimmer will be swimming Sunday at Mount Vernon Country Club please remember the following:

• We have not received all the information on this meet yet.
• If your swimmer wants to participate in this meet please send an email to gmstgators@aol.com with your swimmers name and the individual events (up to 3) they want to swim.  Please see other older posts for more information about qualifying times for this meet.
• I will post the individual entries as soon as I enter these.
• The meet will begin at 7:00am with warm-up times TBD
• There will not be a team tent set-up at this meet.  Please make sure you are watching the First Call/Last Call board so your swimmer doesn't miss their event.
• Coach Porter will be at this meet so please see him with any questions.
• We will need parent volunteers for this meet to assist with timing.  I will post a sign-up as soon as I have more information.

Please continue to watch the blog for more information to be posted.

Evening Practice

Practice is canceled tonight due to thunderstorms. See you all in the morning.

- Porter