This Week In Swim Vol X: The Quintessential Champs Email
Good Morning Everyone,
It's almost Champs week. The lineup went out yesterday and I have attached it again below. This email is mostly Champs-centered, but we have plenty of other information to impart as well. For those not swimming at Champs I have frontloaded the email with team-wide events; however, Champs attendance is open to all and we will always welcome more to our cheering section (especially the Champs Parade on Tuesday morning at 10:30AM). So I want to make sure Champs information is open and available to all of our families. There are quite a few events over the next week, including some that will require registration. So please make sure to read through the first half of this email even if you do not have a child swimming at Champs.
Team Splash Party -- Tuesday, July 29th -- 5:30-9PM -- Arlington Olympic Pool
All are invited to the post-Champs Splash Part on Tuesday night. There will be food, drink, and general merriment throughout. Get a little time at home after Champs and then come join us at the pool with your float. There will be a buffet and music throughout. The coaches will do the senior gag gifts somewhere in the middle and we will be here at the pool until Wendy kicks us out. Make sure to sign up for the buffet prior to the event to help House with numbers for service.
Swim & Dive Team Banquet -- Fri, Aug 1st -- 5:30-11:00PM -- Five Star Ballroom
Registration Link -- You must RSVP to attend
The annual Banquet is the event of the summer. Dress in your summer finest and join the whole team for a night of recognition, acknowledgement, and dancing. The night will start with food and drink, then diving awards, on to the swim team awards, into the slide show, and finally clearing out for the dance floor.
It is always a great night of remembrance for the season and I encourage everyone to attend.
Now on to the Champs stuff:
First, as always, these meets do not happen without the volunteer effort of many. We have assigned timer slots (2 each session) and one clerk of course spot to fill on Monday morning. Getting a spot on the deck to watch may not be a bad idea as sightlines may be...interesting at Lakewood. Please and thank you!
Attached below, in addition to the lineup, is the Champs Master Packet provided by the host club, Lakewood CC this year. I will dive into the pertinent information below, but information about parking, food services (with menus), inclement weather plans, etc... can be found in the attached packet. Please take the time to read through the sections pertinent to you.
Additionally, I think all of you have probably seen how far away Lakewood is. Everything except Sunday's pool familiarization will be during a work day. Please make sure to plan for traffic and such throughout the meet. We want your swimmers to have the best possible meet and that means showing up with enough time to get settled, get warmed up, and get pumped up. We will have tents up to keep your swimmers in the shade and plenty of water to keep them hydrated if they show up early.
Pool Familiarization -- Sunday, July 27th -- 11:00AM-12:00PM -- Lakewood CC
This is an optional practice time for swimmers to familiarize themselves with the pool. It is a good chance to do some starts and turns off of different blocks and different walls and get a feel for the arena we will be competing in on Monday and Tuesday. As I said, it is completely optional, but it can be helpful in quelling some of the anxieties for those that have not been there. Our coaches will be there to help with last minute tips. There is no need to RSVP or let us know and we will be there for whoever shows up during our hour.
10 & Under Prelims -- Monday, July 28th -- 9:00AM-12:00PM -- Lakewood CC
Our warm ups are from 9:25-9:50AM. All swimmers should arrive by 9:00AM and make their way to the team area. The theme for Mondays prelims is Safari.
Starting at 10:00AM prelims will run through all the 8&U and 10&U individual events. Swimmers are free to leave once they have completed their events. Please make sure to see a coach prior to leaving. The top 16 swimmers make finals on Tuesday. All swimmers should plan to make finals, so keep your Tuesday clear.
11 & Over Prelims -- Monday, July 28th -- 1:00-4:00PM -- Lakewood CC
We will warm up from 1:00-1:25PM with events beginning at 2:00PM. All swimmers should arrive to be in the team area by 12:40PM. All 12&U, 14&U, and 18&U events will be swum with the top 16 qualifying to come back and swim on Tuesday. All swimmers should expect to swim on Tuesday. Swimming should be done before 4:00PM barring any weather interruptions. Swimmers may leave when they are finished swimming if need be, but it is always great to have swimmers stick around to cheer on their friends. Please make sure your swimmers sees a coach before leaving deck at Champs.
Champs Finals -- Tuesday, July 29th
This is a long day split up into two separate sessions, morning and afternoon. Most swimmers will be there for the whole day even if they are only swimming in the morning or afternoon session. They will have a great time cheering for their friends and the team on the way to defending our title. Here is the schedule for the day:
Warm Up for Events #1-24: 9:45AM
Please have all swimmers in the team area ready to go prior to 9:30AM. They are conducting an open warm up for Tuesday's sessions (as opposed to having assigned team lanes) so we will need to be organized before getting the kids to the pool for warm up.
Champs Team Parade: 10:30AM
This is the opening ceremony of finals. We will dress in our blue and gold best take to the deck with all the other teams in the league and cheer our hearts out before taking them on in the water. This is a great team spirit event and all swimmers, whether they are swimming or not, are encouraged to attend. The more the merrier (read: louder).
Events #1-24 Finals: 11:00AM Start
All IM, Freestyle, and Backstroke individual events for all ages will be swum in the morning session.
Events #25-50 Warm Up: 1:15-1:40PM
Again, these will be open warm ups with no assigned lanes. So please have your swimmer at the pool ready to go prior to 1:15PM so that we can organize and have them ready to swim as best as possible.
Events #25-50 Finals: 1:45PM Start
This session will swim the Medley Relays, Breaststroke, Butterfly, and Free Relay events. The relays will be finalized by Monday evening.
At the conclusion of the afternoon session they will read scores and hopefully we will be hopping in the pool again as a team. We will have a little time to get home, clean up, and get to the Splash Party back across the river in Arlington.
WOOOOOO!
From the Deck,
Coach Ian