This past weekend 28 GTSA swimmers went to St. Pete for the final long course meet prior to championship season.  Some people looking to attain cuts and others just looking to fine tune a few things before the big meets.                 No matter what the goal the meet was very successful.  GTSA scored 414.5 points, which was good enough for 6th place out of 22 teams.  Scoring that many points was a complete team effort, 18 of the 28 swimmers scored points in individual events.  That Included Sarah Whitfield,...

                This past week Ally Donahue represented Trinidad and Tobago in the Caribbean Islands Swimming Championships (CISC) in Aruba. She helped her team fall just 13 points short of the eventual champions, Aruba (890-877), even after a controversial relay disqualification. Ally scored the 8th most points of any 15-17 year old female at the meet amassing 28 individual points. She accumulated those points by winning 2 gold medals (100 and 200 Breaststroke), a bronze medal (50 Breaststroke), and a 5th place finish (200 IM). Even during this high training intensity portion...

          This past weekend a solid contingent of GTSA swimmers made the short trip down to Ft. Meyers to participate in the GCST Summer Open. Before the meet even began one swimmer said, "I swim better when I stay in a hotel." From the look of the results that must be the case for a majority of the team. The team had well over 50% best times including 100% best times from Lindsey Meyer, andSidney Whitfield. While multiple other swimmers only added time in 1 or 2 events. In a...

                  I hope that all of you will take a moment to congratulate GTSA's class of 2012 the next time you see them. This year we had four seniors representing three different schools! Each of them not only excelled in the pool, but more importantly in the class room. They have been great representatives' for our GTSA family and we wish them all the best in their future endeavors. Below is a little information on the group!   A.J.Dienes(Bayshore Christian): A.J. graduated from Bayshore Christian as a part of the...

2012 A3 League Swimmers and Parents,             The A3 Leagueis a developmental league offering good competition in Area Three. The goal of the league is to provide every athlete an opportunity to improve and achieve success at his or her level of ability.  These meets are great for entry level swimmers and experienced swimmers.  They are open to all ages, but swimmers may NOT have accomplished any FLAG or SR. CHAMP standards. The regular league meets consist of two strokes (listed below), but many meets time permitting will swim a...

2012 Greater Tampa Swimming Association Summer Practice Schedule (Begins Monday June 11th) SENIOR GROUP:             AM:    M/T/TH:  6:30-8:30am (Bobby Hicks)                         W/F:   6:30-8:30am (UT)                         S:         7:00-9:00am (Brandon) or 8:00-10:00am (Bobby Hicks)                                     (This will be announced weekly)                       PM:    M/T/W/TH: 4:00-5:30pm (UT)              Weights: Determined with Coach Jimi AGE GROUP I:             AM:    M/T/TH:  6:30-8:00am (Bobby Hicks)                         W/F:   6:30-8:00am (UT)                         S:         8:00-9:30am (Bobby Hicks)                     PM:    M/T/W/TH: 4:00-5:30pm (UT)            Dry land: T/TH:  8:00-8:30am (Bobby Hicks)                             S:  9:30-10:00am (Bobby Hicks)                 AGE GROUP II:             M/T/W/TH:  4:00-5:00pm (UT)             F:        ...

              This past Saturday GTSA participated in the 2012 Hurricane Man Race.  Not only did the team participate, GTSA was the largest team represented at the race.  We had 13 swimmers compete in the 1,000 meter distance and 10 finish the 2.4 mile race.  If you include the 10 parents and masters swimmers there were 33 people competing that call The University of Tampa pool home.                  It was in no way just a show of numbers there were plenty of great finishes from our members as well, which included...

                  Over the weekend GTSA competed with 10 other area teams at the 2012 Blue Wave Invitational.  After the 3 day meet the team had accumulated 261 points enough for a 5th place finish.  There were 17 different GTSA swimmers who added points to the total by finishing in the top 8 in an individual event.  That included event victories from Ally Donahue, Kevin Doran, and Carter Flynn.  In the second long course meet of the season there were plenty of personal bests. Actually 65% of the team’s swims were...

              Friday Night 39 GTSA swimmers participated in the St. Pete Aquatics Friday Night at the Races.  That is the largest number of swimmers the team has taken to a meet in recent memory.  The large number of swimmers led to an even larger number of great swims.  70 of the 106 times a GTSA swimmer hit the pool they finished in a personal best, that is 66% of the time. With those great swims came great finishes, 19 different swimmers finished in the top 8 in at least one...

             This past weekend GTSA’s short course season came to an end with the Area 3/5 Championships.  The season ending meet was hosted by Sarasota YMCA Sharks in Sarasota, FL.  GTSA was represented by 11 swimmers, and represented very well.  49 of the 73 times a GTSA swimmer hit the pool it resulted in a best time.  That means 67% of the swims were best times.  That included 100% best times from Ana Delong, Matthew Dieffenthaller, Reagan Flynn, and Maggie Mullen.  Seven different GTSA swimmers finished in the top 8...