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

Swimmer of the week goes to......

Swimmer of the Week 2

We would like to thank all their Gators for their team spirit at the Columbine Knolls meet.  It is always amazing to look down at the end of the pool and see other swimmers cheering their buddies, friends or family on.  Keep it up!!

Female Swimmer of the Week:  Lexi Ballard

Lexi Ballard was selected this week because:

- for not looking at the other swimmers in her 25 breast (first time ever)

- didn't let getting DQd affect the rest of her meet

- worked hard all week, with a good attitude

- team support at the meet

Male Swimmer of the Week:  Brett Edwards

The coaches choose Brett because:

- showing his passion for butterfly by openly celebrating fly sets in practice

- going strong in his 50 despite not having goggles

- practice attendance

- attitude

C/D meet entry requirements

To clarify an earlier post about the C/D qualification times, any swimmer who does not have a B, League, or State time for an event may swim that event at the C/D meet. A reminder to send an email to gmstgators@aol.com with your swimmer's name and the events they want to swim (up to 3 individual events) by Thursday, June 23rd.

Happy Father's Day

We would like to tell all the Gator dad's Happy Fathers Day. We hope you all enjoyed this HOT day. We appreciate what you do for your swimmers and the team.

Schedule week of June 20th-26th

Here is the schedule for the week of June 20th-June 26th

Monday-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
 
Monday, Tuesday and Thursday
7:00-8:00pm:  12&under night practice

Tuesday and Thursday
8:00-9:00pm:  Upper division and parent practice

Monday:  Breast stroke clinic
9:45-10:15am (must be signed up online)

Tuesday:  Butterfly stroke clinic
9:45-10:15am (must be signed up online)

Wednesday:  Starts/Turns clinic
9:45-10:15am (must be signed up online)

Friday and Saturday:  Ken Caryl Invitational
Swimmers who are participating are listed in the Individual entries

Friday, June 24th (Warm-ups TBD; Start 1:00pm)

400 swimmers Ages 13-14 and 15-18

Friday, June 24th (Warm-ups TBD; Start at 4:00pm)

Ages 13-14 and 15-18

Events 5-40

Saturday, June 25th (Warm-ups TBD; Start at 7:00am)

Ages 9-10 boys; 11-12 All

Events 41-67

Saturday, June 25th (Warm-ups TBD; Start at 1:00pm)

Ages 9-10 Girls; 8&unders

Events 68-94

Sunday:  C/D meet at Mount Vernon Country Club
Sign-up for this meet will be posted soon
Swimmers must have a C/D time (this is any other time other than S, L or B) or a NT (no time) to participate in the meet.  Eligibility report will be posted soon.  

If your swimmer is not participating in the Ken Caryl Invite or the C/D meet you have the weekend off.  Please let us know if you have any questions.  Also if you would like to purchase Gator apparel please see a board member any morning and we can assist you.

Results from meets

Attention parents and swimmers:
    We are seeking your help in ensuring the meet result information is correct.  As we are all aware the data entry of meet times are subject to human error.  While reviewing the results that are posted from each meet please let me know if there are issues with the information reported.  Sometimes there may be a mistake with not recording your time, sometimes there may be an error inputting the numbers and the time is showing incorrectly, or maybe you don't see the State/League/B/C indicator.  All of these things can be corrected if brought to our attention.

Please continue to be patient with us as we learn the computer system, how things work and implement changes to help our team become better.

Brews & Brats (Guys Night Out - 21+) @ GMSC June 17th

June 17 | Brews and Brats (Guys Night Out) 7-10 pm | Bring your favorite beer and snack/appetizer if you'd like; 21+; Brat dinner will be provided. $10 suggested donation - Funds raised will go to GMSC.

Swim lessons using swim team coaches

Effective immediately, the price of swim lessons using the swim team coaches will cost $35 per half hour when using the GMSC pool. $20 will go to the coach and $15 will go to the pool as a usage fee. This complies with current fees charged by the pool. Thank you for your understanding.

Swim meets next week (June 24th-June 26th)

Next weekend are not the normal swim meets.  There are two separate swim meets next weekend. The first meet next weekend is the Ken Caryl Invitation on June 24th and June 25th.  This meet is for swimmers with specific qualifying times.  The other meet is the C/D meet on Sunday, June 26th. This meet is for swimmers that have a C/D time in any event.

Information on Ken Caryl Invitational meet:
Attached is a link to a report of swimmers that have qualified for this meet.  If your name is on this list we need you to do the following:

• This list will be posted at the pool.  Please put a check mark next to your name, this will let the coaches know you can attend.
• If there are more than 3 events that you have qualified for please circle the 3 events you want to swim
• If your name is on this list and you WILL NOT be attending please email Porter porter.bennett@colorado.edu and let him know.  We are asking for emails so we can refer back to them when we are doing entries.
• If you are participating in this meet we will try to arrange relays based on this information
• There will be a revised list posted on Thursday as swimmers can qualify tomorrow at the Intrasquad.  Swimmers also may make qualifying times at Saturdays meet.  
• Please do this by Saturday, June 18th as entries are due Sunday.  

PLEASE NOTE:  we may need additional swimmers to swim on relays.  We will contact these families on Saturday or Sunday to check availability.

Friday, June 24th (Warm-ups begin at 12:30; Start 1:00pm)

Ages 13-14 and 15-18

Events 1-4 400's 

Friday, June 24th (Warm-ups begin at 3:00; Start at 4:00pm)

Ages 13-14 and 15-18

Events 5-40

Saturday, June 25th (Warm-ups begin at 6:00am; Start at 7:00am)

Ages 9-10 boys; 11-12 All

Events 41-67

Saturday, June 25th (Warm-ups begin at 12:00pm; Start at 1:00pm)

Ages 9-10 Girls; 8&unders

Events 68-94

Information on C/D meet:

This meet will be held on Sunday at Mount Vernon Country Club

If your swimmer has a C or D time and wants to participate in this meet to help improve their time and get practice please email gmstgators@aol.com.  Please include the swimmers name and the events they want to swim (up to 3 individual events).  We will need these entries by Thursday, June 23rd.  This meet follows the regular order of events with no relays.  

This information is a little confusing and we are trying our best to explain these meets as well as make sure everyone that can swim does.  If you have any questions about either of these events please let any coach or board member know.
If your swimmer will not be participating in either of these meets, you have the weekend off.  

Preparing for pictures, pancakes and Water World

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 29th.  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 in each swimmer folder next week and I will also post a link to this form on the blog.  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 tha 8:00am so you can be included in the team picture.

While the pictures are being taken we will have people preparing Gatorcakes (green pancakes).  There will be a parent sign-up for parents to help cook and also bring some food.  Watch on the blog for this sign-up coming soon!

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 GMGators1.
You can purchase tickets for your family and friends to go on this day or any day in the 2016 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.