Banquet tonight is still on

Well Mother Nature is now following our normal Wednesday summer swimming weather pattern and is planning on raining tonight. (I guess we should be fortunate that the weather has been great up until recently). 
But don't worry, we are still going to have the banquet tonight. It might be a little wet and a little chilly so plan accordingly. If your family has a pop-up tent please bring this to help provide shelter from the rain. Bring umbrellas if you need and we will see tonight to end our swim season.
I am hoping by sticking to our original plan and having the necessary items we will be blessed with a few hours of no rain (keep your fingers crossed).
See all of you at the pool tonight at 5:30pm.

Swim Team pictures

If you ordered swim team pictures this year I will have these at the banquet on Wednesday.  Please come find me and I will make sure you get these.  They turned out great.  If you didn't order pictures you still have an opportunity to order the team picture and/or age group pictures online.  I am sure once you see these you will need to get one :) (If you order online these will be sent to your house)
Link to purchase team/age group pictures

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

End of season banquet: Wednesday night

It has come to that time of the swim season that we get all swimmers together to recognize them for an amazing season and share our thank you's.  We would like to invite all the swimmers and their families to our end of season banquet.  This banquet will be at Green Mountain Swim Club and this event will begin at 5:30pm.  The Green Mountain Swim Team will provide pizza and water/lemonade.  We are asking families to bring a side dish and/or dessert based on Last Name to share in our potluck style dinner.
If your last name begins with A-L you are asked to bring a dessert to share
If your last name begins with M-Z you are asked to bring a side dish to share

We look forward to seeing our swimmer families on Wednesday!

State swimmers practice

Practice this week will only be for swimmers who will be swimming at the State Meet this weekend.
Practice times have CHANGED:
Upper division (13&up) practice from 7:00am-8:00am
Lower division (12&under) practice from 8:00-9:00am

Good luck and swim fast this weekend!

Schedule 7/24-7-30

What an amazing weekend for the Gators!  The Green Mountain Gators placed 2nd at the 2017 League Meet.  We are looking forward to our end of season banquet and the State Meet.

Here is the schedule for this week:
Practice this week is only for swimmers swimming an event in the State Swim Meet this weekend.
Practice times have been changed for these swimmers:
         13&up practice 7:00-8:00am
         12&unders practice 8:00-9:00am

Wednesday, July 26th:  End of season banquet at 5:30pm at GMSC
Another post will be coming about information about the banquet

Friday, July 28th-July 30th:  State Swim Meet at Splash (3151 Illinois St.)
Friday:  400s (meet starts at 3:00pm)
Saturday:  Lower division, 12&unders (meet starts at 9:00am)
Sunday:  Upper division, 13&up (meet starts at 9:00am)

We hope to see you all Wednesday.

Upper division swimmers practice time change Friday

Upper division swimmers (14 and up):  practice time change for Friday morning.  Swimmers will begin practice at 7:00 tomorrow on Friday 7/21.  Enjoy your additional 30 minutes of sleep.

Parents of League swimmers please volunteer

This post is for parents of League swimmers
If your swimmer is swimming at League we need you to volunteer.  The parent volunteer sign-up needs to be filled.  Thank you if you have already signed up.  Please continue to check back as parents may need to sign-up more than one volunteer opportunity.

The Data Verification and Card Running responsibilities are essential (and easy).  

Data Verification:  Work with coaches to verify qualification times for any swimmers who fail to make the league qualifying time in any race.

Card Runner: Collect timing sheets from the timers and deliver to data entry

We need to make sure we are completing all of our team responsibilities at this meet.  Please make sure you sign-up soon.  Thank you for your support.

League 400 swimmers

Attention swimmers swimming the 400 at League:
Practice on Friday will be at 9:15am (not 6:30am) if you are swimming the 400
We wish you the best of luck on Friday night!

Swimmers of the week

It is hard to think that we are almost done with swimmer of the week as we will be done swimming soon.  We have amazing kids on our team!

Male Swimmer of the Week:  Conor Sharpe

Conor qualified for league in the 25 free for the first time this past weekend!  This came after a real tough week in practice but that didn't phase him.  Conor has been the chief negotiator for his lanes in practice, making sure to keep us coaches on our toes.  With his quick wit, Conor is routinely a joy in practice.  The coaches are very excited to see Conor swim in his first league meet, where we know he's gonna do great.  Good job Conor!

Female Swimmer of the Week:  Rachel Bakkum

Rachel qualified for league after she dropped a ton of time in her 25 fly at the Intrasquad.  Rachel loves to compete both in practice and in the meets.  In practice she's always gunning to lead the lane and to complete each set first.  She has no fear of any of the strokes or races.  She is a bundle of endless energy that is willing to try hard in any set and also encourage others in her lane to do the same.  Great job Rachel!  

Movie Night tomorrow: Moana

Here is a reminder that we will have our swim team movie night tomorrow.  We will be watching Moana.  Parents please drop your swimmers off at the pool around 8:00pm and pick them up by 10:00pm.  There will be popcorn and water available for all the kids and they are welcome to bring their own snacks if they want as well.  They are encouraged to bring something to sit on (blanket/sleeping bag/chair) as we will be sitting in the grass.
Note:  no swimming allowed tomorrow night and this event is for swimmer only

Schedule 7/17-7/23

It is crazy to think that 56 days ago we started swim practice for the summer swim season.  It is sad to think that some of our Gators are done swimming for season.  We have had a great season and many kids made huge accomplishments.  These accomplishments include kids swimming on a team and in a meet for the first time, meeting a new friend, swimming a new stroke, being a big/little buddy and getting qualified for the League or State meet (these are just a few examples).  Great job Gators!

The schedule this week will be as follows:
Practice this week will only be for swimmers who are swimming in the League meet this weekend.
There will be no upper division night practice this week

If swimmers are needed for relays in the League meet they will be contacted on Monday and can begin attending practice on Tuesday.  Thanks in advance to any swimmer who participate in relays as the team appreciates your support.

We hope all swimmers will attend movie night on Wednesday, July 19th.  We will be watching Moana on the grass at the pool.  The movie will begin a little after 8:00pm and kids will need to be picked up by 10:00pm.  This is a drop off event so parents don't need to stay.  There will be popcorn and light snacks available and water will also be served.  Kids are welcome to bring additional food and/or blankets, sleeping bags or pillows.  This event is for swim team kids only and there will be no swimming during this time.

League meet is this weekend.  Good luck to all the swimmers swimming at this meet!  Parents please see the sign-up genius to volunteer to help at this meet.

Please continue to check the blog/Facebook as there will be information soon about the end of season banquet on July 26th

Intrasquad meet--RESCHEDULED until tomorrow

We have made the decision (with the support and cooperation of the swim club) to move the Intrasquad meet to tomorrow night.  We weren't positive on what the weather was going to do so we played it safe and changed our plans.  We hope that everyone can still make this meet tomorrow.

• We will still start with warm-ups at 5:00pm with the meet starting at 5:30pm.
• The coaches will still swim a relay at the end of the night (we gave them one more day to prepare)
• If your swimmer CANNOT swim tomorrow evening please let Jennifer or a coach know at practice tomorrow and we will revise our entries. (original individual entries)
• If parents are no longer able to volunteer as originally planned please delete your sign-up and we will have other parents fill-in where needed.
• Pizza meals will still be served and Gator apparel will be available for purchase for the last time this season.

We also understand that swimmers planned on picking the events for Saturdays meet after they swam tonight.  Swimmers will have until the end of practice on Friday to pick their events for our meet on Saturday.  We will get the results from the Intrasquad posted as soon as we can on Thursday night.

Thank you for understanding that we don't have total control and Mother Nature won today :)  Please email any questions you have to gmstgators@aol.com

Intrasquad meet tonight

We are really hoping the weather will cooperate with us tonight.  We are just asking for a few hours of nice weather between the hours of 5:00pm and 8:00pm (that doesn't seem like a lot :)).  Please watch the blog and/or Facebook for updates.  We will post any changes (cancellations or later start time) as soon as a decision is made.  Hope to see you all tonight and do a little rain dance for the Gators!

Night practice canceled tonight

Attention upper division swimmers and parents
Night practice is canceled tonight due to weather. Let's hope Mother Nature gets it all out tonight so we can have good weather tomorrow for the Intrasquad.

Swimmer of the week

We are excited to announce the swimmers of the week.

Male Swimmer of the week:  Jakey Skimel
Jakey qualified for league in his 100 freestyle this past weekend.  It was the first time Jakey has swam the race this season.  In practice, he is one of the most focused swimmers on the team.  He is always eager to start on the next part of the set and gives it his all each time.  He is also very good at finding any mistakes in the sets for the day, providing both humor and relief for the coaches.  Jakey is a great example in our 8 and under group and we look forward to seeing him continue to improve the rest of the season.  Good job Jakey!

Female swimmer of the week:  Jensen Wehri
This past weekend Jensen qualified for league in her 50 breaststroke!  Jensen has been targeting the league qualification time in the 50 breaststroke all summer.  Her constant effort in practices and her ability to stay focused and committed is clear everyday.  She continues to demonstrate the attitude and sportsmanship we look for in all Gator swimmers.  We're very excited to see Jensen compete at league.  Great job Jensen!

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 please click here to sign-up.  Swimmers must sign-up by Saturday at 5:00pm.  

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.  This is a great time for parents to volunteer since they won't miss their kids events.  Also swimmers are welcome to come help and support their teammates by cheering them. on.  Please see the parent volunteer sign-up and volunteer your time.  Thank you in advance for your help.  

League qualifiers

This week the coaches will begin getting swimmers signed up for the League meet if they qualified.  Here is a list of swimmers who have qualified for League (as of July 8th).  Swimmers still have a chance to qualify on Wednesday at the Intrasquad, Saturday at our meet against WheatRidge and also on Sunday at Last Chance.

If your swimmer is qualified for League they need to talk with a coach this week to let them know if they are/aren't able to swim.  The coaches will talk to the swimmers during this time to determine what events they want to swim.  We will publish this list again after the meet on Wednesday to include any swimmers who qualified that night.   The coaches will email/call swimmers who qualify on Saturday/Sunday or if swimmers are needed for relays to verify attendance.  Our teams entries are due on Monday so we need to have these completed.

Here is the schedule for the League meet so you confirm if you can attend or plan what events to swim
Friday, July 21st at 5:00pm upper division 400's (events 1-6)
Saturday, July 22nd at 8:00am all swimmers medley relays through backstroke (events 7-64)
Sunday, July 23rd at 8:am all swimmers free relay through individual medley (events 65-110)

Please let me know if you have any questions

Schedule for 7/10-7/16

This week will be the last week for regular morning practice and night practice.

Monday-Friday:  regular morning swim practice

Wednesday:  Intrasquad meet (warm-ups at 5:00pm and meet starts at 5:30pm).  Parents please sign-up to volunteer.  Swimmers will sign-up at the pool by the end of practice on Wednesday.  They can swim 2 events (or 3 if they are trying to qualify for League/State).  This night will end with our coaches relays.

Tuesday and Thursday night 8:00-9:00pm:  night practice for upper division (and parents).  This will be the last week for these practices.  Please let Porter know if you plan on attending.

Tuesday and Wednesday stroke clinic 9:45-10:15am:  freestyle and backstroke clinics for swimmers who have already signed-up

Saturday:  meet vs WheatRidge (warm-ups at 6:00am and meet starts at 7:00am).  Swimmers will need to sign-up for this meet by the end of practice on Thursday.  Swimmers will sign-up for 3 individual events and indicate if they can participate in relays.  Parents need to sign-up to volunteer.

Sunday:  Last Chance meet at GMSC (warm-ups at 6:00am and meet starts at 7:00am).  More information about this meet to be posted.

State Meet program advertising

The 2017 State swim meet will be hosted by our Foothills Swimming Association.  This meet will be held at Splash in Golden.  We would like to support any family or local businesses by encouraging them to advertise in the State meet program.  If you are a swim team family and have or know a local business that would like to advertise please complete the following form.
Thank you for your support in this meet

3-DAY FLASH SALE FOR LEAGUE APPAREL

The Stingrays are trying things a little different this summer with the sales of League T-shirts and apparel.  They are doing a VERY quick ON-LINE pre-sale starting Saturday, July 8th and running until Monday, July 10th at midnight!  On-line ONLY specials will be available along with SPECIAL SALE pricing for all the merchandise on-line!

All orders can be placed online at http://www.acsapparel.com/fsa-swimming/ ONLY UNTIL MONDAY JULY 10TH AT MIDNIGHT!

Get your league champion shirts now! Act quickly. These deals are online only!

*More colors/styles to select if pre-ordered

Last Intrasquad meet Wednesday

It is sad to think that we will be swimming our last Intrasquad meet of the season on Wednesday, July 12th.  This meet will begin at 5:30pm with warm-ups starting at 5:00pm.  Swimmers can sign-up for 2 individual events (or 3 if they are trying to qualify for League and/or State).

You won't want to miss this night.  Swimmers will be swimming fast, parents will be helping time, pizza will be served and coaches will be swimming.  Everyone is going to want to stay until the end of the meet to witness our coaches swim.  The Gator coaches will swim in a medley relay against swimmers in each age group (as well as parents).  We will put together relays that night but parents please come prepared to participate.

Please let me know if you have any questions.  We will plan to see you all on this fun entertainment filled evening.

Saturdays meet

This Saturday will be the Gators last away meet for the season (that is hard to believe).  If your swimmer is swimming in this meet they need to sign-up today.  If they didn't sign-up at the pool today during practice please send an email to gmstgators@aol.com.  This applies to swimmers who were on vacation this week but will be at the meet on Saturday.  Please include in this email the three individual events they want to swim and also if they can participate in relays.

Parents we need your help timing.  There are still slots available so please click here to sign-up.  If your swimmer is swimming the IM we need you to sign-up for third shift timing.  Thank you in advance for your help.

Schedule 7/3-7/9

We hope you all enjoyed your swim free weekend.  Here is what this week looks like.

No morning practice Monday or Tuesday

Regular morning practice Wednesday-Friday

Wednesday, July 5th:  Starts/Turns stroke clinic 9:45-10:15 (swimmers must already be signed-up to attend this clinic)

Thursday, July 6th:  Evening practice 8:00-9:00pm for upper division and parents.  Please don't forget to let Porter know if you will be there.

Saturday, July 8th:  GMST vs Applewood Knolls (meet starts at 7:00am and warm-ups begin at 6:30am).  Swimmers need to sign-up for their events at the pool by the end of practice on Thursday.  Parents please see the volunteer sign-up to help out during this meet.  Many families are still on vacation so we need your help.

Thank you and have a wonderful July 4th!