Reminders for Week of 7/1

Tuesday:  Upper Division Night Practice - 8-9pm
Thursday:  NO PRACTICES - JULY 4TH
Saturday:  Away meet @ Applewood Athletic

Volunteers for AAC Meet: Timers are still needed! Please sign up.
Team Photos- you can still order team photos or Age Group Photos from our awesome Photographer, Alex Hearn. Orders forms and her contact info is on the right side of the blog.
WaterWorld:  you can purchase discounted tickets all season long with our swim team link. Details on the right side of the blog.

Reminders for Week of 6/24

Monday 6/24:  No practice
Wednesday 6/26:  no practice - team/individual picture day / pancake breakfast / WaterWorld
Saturday 6/28: BYE weekend, no meets

Details:
- Please find the order form for pictures on the blog, as well as the link to buy discounted tickets to Waterworld.
- We still need volunteers for the pancake breakfast. Click here to sign up.

Pentathlon and C/D meet cancelled

Due to poor weather this weekend, the Pentathlon and C/D meet, which were scheduled for this Sunday, have been cancelled. We will still be taking Monday off from practice, so I'm looking forward to us all being rested up and ready to go on Tuesday. Have a good extended weekend!

Friday 6/20/19 Upper division practice update

Tomorrow's upper division practice will be optional for those swimming at the Ken Caryl meet that night. The later sessions, held by Lexie and Emma, will be mandatory as usual. I'm looking forward to seeing you all tomorrow, whether at the meet or at practice.

Please pick up your trash

Several people approached me after the intrasquad tonight and told me that the area near the shelter was left in a mess that they cleaned up.  Swimmers - please make sure to pick up your trash before you leave from practices or meets!

REMINDER: INTRASQUAD ON WEDNESDAY

Intrasquad Meet on 6/19 @ GMSC -- Warm up @5:00 pm / start @ 5:30pm -- Concessions and Gator gear will be sold at the meet. Get your hoodies and tank tops. You never know which one you'll need this season!

No night practice tonight, 6/18/19

Because I'm really not feeling well, I'd like to focus my energies on morning practices. Sorry for the inconvenience, I'll do my best to get better ASAP.

Swimmers of the Week

The swimmers of the week are Everett Tompkins and Lily Bell. Both of these swimmers were chosen not only for their great swims this weekend, but also because of their amazing attitudes at practice and at meets. Everett is always active at meets, cheering for his friends and giving advice to anyone who needs it. Lily is always a champ at practice, pushing herself every day in order to improve while also leading her lane and doing her best to keep them on task.

Congratulations to both of you swimmers, for your hard work both in the pool and as leaders among your peers. Come see me tomorrow for your prizes.

Week of 6/17: Another Big Week!!

We have an exciting swim week with lots happening!

Monday:    practice
Tuesday:    practice
Wednesday: practice a.m. // Intrasquad 5pm
Thursday:    practice (entries due to Coach Ben for Pentathlon)
Friday:       practice a.m. // KC Invite upper division
Saturday:   KC Invite lower divisions
Sunday:     C/D Meet @ Splash // Pentathlon @ AAC
Monday     6/24:  NO PRACTICE!

Details:-- Intrasquad Meet:  All swimmers can swim up to 3 events. No relays.  Warm up @ 5:00, start @ 5:30pm
We will be selling Gator gear at the Intrasquad meet :)

-- Ken Caryl Invite:Friday, June 21, 2019
Ages 13-14 and 15-18
Events: 1-4 (400’s)
Warm-Up: 12:30 PM
Start 1:00 PM
Events: 5-40
Warm-Up: 3:00 PM
Start: 4:00 PM

Saturday, June 22, 2019
Ages 9-10 Boys, 11-12 ALL
Events: 42-67
Warm-Up: 6:00 AM
Start: 7:00 AM

Ages 9-10 Girls, 8 & Unders All
Events: 68-94
Warm-Up: 12:00 PM
Start: 1:00 PM

-- C/D Meet:
This meet is for athletes who have NO Time in an event or have C or D times in their events.  This is a fun meet for swimmers that are still building their strength and want to compete against athletes at their same level. This meet is generally over by 10-10:30 am.  If you plan to attend this meet, we will need you to help time. Thank you!
warm up time:  TBD, we have not received yet / start: 7:00 am

-- Pentathlon:
This is an I.M. meet. Athletes will swim in all 5 events at the meet. Swimmers must have a B time or better in 3 of the 5 events.
- 8 and unders (i) 25 Fly; (ii) 25 Back; (iii) 25 Breast; (iv) 25 Free; and (v) 100 IM
- 9-12 (i) 50 Fly; (ii) 50 Back; (iii) 50 Breast; (iv) 50 Free; and (v) 100 IM
- 13-18 (i) 100 Fly; (ii) 100 Back; (iii) 100 Breast; (iv) 100 Free; and (v) 200 IM
warm up time:  6:40 am - 7:00 am / start 7:00 am

Evening practice is cancelled tomorrow night

The club is hosting movie night Thursday, June 13th.  After hours swimming will be allowed, which means that we'll have to cancel evening practice.  It will resume next Tuesday.

Pictures, Pancakes & WaterWorld

It's only 2 weeks away, so start planning!

I wanted to give all the swimmer families (new and old) an idea of what our Pictures, Pancakes  and Water World day will look like.  These fun activities are scheduled for Wednesday, June 26th. 
Please note there is no regular morning swim practice on this day.

Starting at 7:30am we will begin taking individual/buddy swimmer pictures.  There will be an order form on the right side of blog, as well as some copies at picture day. Please have this form completed when you arrive.

At 8:00am we will begin our BIG team picture. If you aren't getting individual pictures taken we ask you arrive no later than 8:00am so you can be included in the team picture.  Please make sure you wear your team swimming suit. 

While the pictures are being taken we will have people preparing Gatorcakes (green pancakes).  There is a volunteer sign-up on the right side of the blog for parents to help cook and also bring some food. 

After the pictures have been taken and Gatorcakes have been eaten, it is off to WaterWorld.  Please know this is not a required event.  Also know that there is no adult supervision so you will need to plan accordingly.  Below is a link and instructions on how to purchase discounted WaterWorld tickets.  Our team receives discounted tickets which can be purchased and printed online.

To purchase WaterWorld tickets please visit:
 https://calypsoclub.waterworldcolorado.com/affiliate.asp?ID=50F8949F-61B1-4EE7-8F31-52797430F005  Once on this page you will be prompted for a Password. 
The password to purchase tickets is GMGators.

You can purchase tickets for your family and friends to go on this day or any day in the 2019 season.

This link will also allow you to purchase discounted for Adventure Golf and Raceway, in case you
need something to do during the summer.

Find Your Buddy

If you do not see your name on the list, then talk to Emma. She has been taking names and assigning buddies trying to make sure everyone is included and a good fit.

Boys
big buddy     -----     little buddy(ies)     
Beck Nicholson   ---   Beckett Holcomb Patrick Davis
Ben Rommel   ---   Jack Donati
Bradley Hall   ---   John Neuroth
Cesar Rosales   ---   David Neuroth Calvin Jones
Charles Wahlberg   ---   Justin Collins
Coleton Carroll   ---   Dean Christensen
Evan Neuroth   ---   Aaron Davis
Evan Walls   ---   Jack Hutchison
Everett Tomkins   ---   Luke Jones
Harry Wahlberg   ---   Benjamin Holcomb    Dominic Anderson
Jacob Swanson   ---   Bryce Elsner
Kaden Fuller   ---   Hunter Biezychudek
Kai Langan   ---   Ian Guenther
Noah Slowey   ---   Connor Burgin
Owen Berg ---   Elijah Polgar
Spencer Coffey   ---   Caleb Eggebeen
William Klein   ---   Benjamin Swanson Dean Christensen

Girls
big buddy     -----     little buddy(ies)
Anisa Valdez   ---   Madison Nash
Anna Sullivan   ---   Sarah Reither    Taetum Fuller
Ayden Fearn   ---   Allison Ives  Olive Petrash
Eden Kuipoff   ---   Isabel Ballard
Elsa Debrunner   ---   Lucy Voss Delilah Adams
Emma Neuroth   ---   Sophie Oliver Amelie Dillon
Jensen Wehri   ---   Teagan Fuller
Jessa Wehri   ---   Alison Barrett
Alexis Ballard   ---   Sloane Gesick
Kati Livingood   ---   Lynae Rivers   Tenley Fuller
Kayli Langan   ---   Phoebe Petrash
Lea Gorter   ---   Allison Polgar
Leah Felton   ---   Giulianna Biezychdek
Lexi Merrill   ---   Lily Bell  Althea Adams
Lucille Wright    ---   Charlize Smith Addy Berg
Lucy Klein   ---   Gianna Murray
Madison Friedrichs    ---   Allie Reither   Rachel Bakkum
Madison Merrill   ---   Raymee Mitchell Chloe Phair
Makenna Maloch   ---   Scarlett Baker
Marie Handy   ---   Lucy Bell Mystic Craig
Marisabel Santistevan   ---   Sevi Gesick
Megan Cooper   ---   Fiona Oliver Tegan Moore
Mia Slowey   ---   Ava Dolan-Stevens
Neva Nicholson   ---   Taylor Guenther
Olivia Kuipoff   ---   Kaelyn McNeilly  Hallie Johns
Sammy Skrzekut   ---   Beth Guenther  Vivianna Mino
Whitney Price   ---   Mbili Boyd

Need Volunteers for Saturday 6/15

Hi Gators. We will be swimming against Mount Vernon this weekend at our pool. They reached out to say that they have a very small team this year (about 35 kids), so I adjusted the sign up genius to reflect what volunteers we need. We will only have two shifts and should be done with the meet much quicker than normal. However, we need lots of timers from our team for those two shifts! Thanks in advance for your help.

Swimmers of the Week

After some tough consideration, the first two swimmers of the week have been decided! This decision is based on performance in both practices and meets, and an overall positive attitude. The choice was difficult to say the least, as so many of our swimmers are starting off strong and with smiles on their faces. But without further ado, the two swimmers of the week are Tenley Fuller and Dominic Anderson. Come find me at practice for a toy gator and a $5 Dairy Queen gift card.
Tenley has been trying extra hard in practice this week with the goal to move up to the top lane with all her friends, and that effort has not gone unnoticed. On top of that, she swam in both the 5 Parks meet and the freestyle frenzy this weekend, and worked interactively with her coaches to perform "swimingly." As the cherry on top, she was one of the five winners of the gator toss at the end of the freestyle frenzy. Good job Tenley!
Dominic has also been exceeding in practice, and he swam both meets this weekend. He swam out of his mind at 5 Parks, and got first place in his age group at the freestyle frenzy. Dominic, if you keep up the good work you are sure to improve faster than your dad can start a race. Good job Dominic!

FREESTYLE FRENZY - WARM UP TIME HAS CHANGED!

Warm up for the Frenzy has moved to 7:00 am. More sleep, maybe a few extra degrees on the thermometer and we got ourselves some fast swimmers!  Start time for the meet is 8:00 am.

BIG BUDDY / LITTLE BUDDY PROGRAM

We are excited to continue our Big/Little buddy program.  The purpose of the Big/Little buddy swim program is to help younger swimmers transition into becoming Gators and to help them navigate swim meets.  The program also fosters team spirit, family and camaraderie by connecting the older swimmers with the younger ones.  Big buddies are generally 11&older while Little buddies are 10&under.  This partnership should focus on team unity, spirit and sportsmanship.  The buddy program is not about elaborate gifts-it is about being a supportive teammate! 
There is no requirement that swimmers participate in the buddy program but we strongly encourage everyone to participate.  The coaching staff will organize the buddy program and pair swimmers together.  Once buddies are assigned, we expect the Big buddies to introduce themselves and get to know their buddy.
Responsibilities of buddies include but are not limited to:

• meeting your buddy and introducing yourself
• greet your buddy at each meet
• Big buddies help Little buddies at meets with event numbers
• Create something for your buddy:  write a note, draw a picture, make a friendship bracelet
• CHEER, CHEER, CHEER, CHEER and CHEER!!!
• Congratulate your buddy after their swim

All kids under the age of 11 will be assigned a big buddy. ALL KIDS OVER 11 YEARS OF AGE NEED TO TELL COACH EMMA IF THEY WANT TO BE A BIG BUDDY.  Please let Emma know by this weekend (Sunday 6/9).

WEEK OF JUNE 3RD

Night Practices: will start for "real" this week as long as the weather holds. Between bad weather and the instrasquad rescheduling, we never got off the ground last week.  8:00pm-9:00pm for Upper Divison swimmers.  Lower Division swimmers can attend only with the approval of Coach Ben.

Results and Qual Times:  We had a slight technical screw up last week. We had 2018 Qual Times in our system to start this season. We will get them changed this week and post updated Top Times.  Please note that there will be a few of you that qualified for League or State but didn't actually make it based on the 2019 standards.  Updated results coming soon. (So Sorry!!)

Saturday 6/8 Meet at 5Parks  See the "Next Event" section on the right side of the blog for more information.

Sunday 6/9 FREESTYLE FRENZY:  This is an optional meet (hosted by GMST + our competitors in the Foothills Swim Association) for swimmers that have a "B" time or better in any freestyle race.  Swimmers will swim in all 4 events at the meet which include: 
Upper Divison:  200 free, 100 free, 50 free, 25 fun free
9-12 year olds: 200 free, 100 free, 50 free, 25 fun free
8 and unders:  100 free, 50 free, 25 free, 25 fun free
Swimmers must tell their Coach if they want to swim on Sunday. There is no paper sign up on the board. They must talk to the coach.