WEST Weekly

Dear WESTonians,
Spring is here and we are finally getting some sunny days! I hope everyone enjoyed their spring break and has had time to reflect and recover from the end of SCY season, and is ready for the start of LCM season!
 
SwimAThon - this Friday & Saturday!
Please see the following practice schedule changes:
 
Friday 4/14
Senior & Senior Elite normal practice 3:15-6:30pm, SwimAThon 5:30-6:30pm
No practice for Explore, Discover, Challenge, and Accelerate swimmers - come join Kara Lynn and the rest of the team for our 2nd Olympian Clinic of the year!  WEST will also provide pizza for all team swimmers, paid for by USA Swimming!
No PreComp practice
 
Saturday 4/15
Senior & Senior Elite practice 6-7:50am
Exp-Acc SwimAThon check-in 7:30-7:50am, SAT 8-10am, team breakfast 10-11am
Normal PreComp practice
 
Click here to view the SAT event page and job sign-up!  There are a limited number of volunteer positions available for this event, so please allow new/less experienced families to sign up first if you have already fulfilled your service hour requirement.  Thanks!
 
Summer Team - Registration Now Open
As spring flies by, get ready for summer by registering for Summer Team early!  Registration is now open online and through the office - click here to view our 6-week schedule and sign up today.
 
Spring Coloring Contest - Winners Announced!
Thanks to everyone who participated in our Spring Coloring Contest!  Winners have been posted at the office - congratulations to Tatyana (5yrs), Anna (8yrs), Hanami (10yrs), and Calvin (14yrs)!  Come by the office this week to collect your prizes.
 
Limited Edition Pink WEST Caps – Now for sale in the office!
We ordered a limited number of bright pink WEST caps in celebration of summer. Get yours before they run out!
 
Coaching Changes
As many of you are aware by now, we have hired a new coach. Coach Tim has joined our staff to coach the Accelerate group and manage the Lessons program. Coach Bryan is now the lead coach on Challenge group. Coach Jess is heading our new seasonal conditioning program and helping both in the office and with lessons.
 
McCollum Spring Schedule (Starts 4/24)
Starting Mon April 24 th, we will be renting lane space at McCollum. This allows us to begin training meters earlier and spread out to more lanes, while better utilizing pool space at WEST. These changes will only impact Senior & Senior Elite groups until the end of school when we switch to Summer Schedule.
Senior Elite:
Monday & Tuesday: 3:30-6pm @ McCollum + DRYLAND @ WEST 6:30-7:15pm
Wednesday - Friday: 3:30-6:30 @ McCollum **NOTE: Swimmers not @ mornings are expected to return to WEST for dryland with Senior Group 6:30-7:15.
Wednesday & Friday - Early AM DRYLAND @ WEST 5-6:15am
Saturday: Normal
Senior:
Monday – Friday: 4-7:15pm @ WEST (Dryland 6:30-7:15pm)
Saturday: Normal
Swim-A-Thon
 
Senior Elite Carpools Needed
When we start swimming at McCollum, we will need to set up carpools to transport swimmers back to WEST for dryland. Please let Coach Nick know if you are willing to help (or allow your swimmer to drive others) and how many seats are available in your car.
 
Colman Pre-Season Schedule (Starts 5/30)
Long Course practices will start at Colman Pool in West Seattle on Tuesday, May 30 th. During the Pre-Season (Memorial Day until School is out) WEST has the following schedule:
Tuesdays: 4:30-8pm Senior Elite
Fridays: 6-8pm Senior, Accelerate & Challenge
Saturdays: 8-10am Senior Elite
 
WEST Home Meets Added to Schedule
We are in the sanctioning process of adding two meets to the schedule. We will be running a Pentathlon style meet on May 6&7 (13&O on Sat / 12&U on Sun) and a Distance meet (11&O only) on Fri, May 12. They will be added to the website and more information will be sent out soon.
 
Team Travel Meets
This summer we are planning 3 team travel meets. Swimmers will be encouraged to room together and the team will organize logistics so parents do not have to attend. We will need several chaperones for each trip, so if you are planning on attending please let us know so you can help out and be part of the planning process.
Mel Zajac (UBC Vancouver – May 26-28)
Qualifying times are similar to Senior Sectionals and the meet info is available here. We room in the dorms on campus and chaperones help to organize and cook meals for dinner each night. Lunch can be done individually and breakfast is served on campus.
Firecracker (Missoula – June 23-25)       
There are no qualifying times for this meet and we are open to taking swimmers (over 11) from Challenge, Accelerate, Senior and Senior Elite groups. Swimmers 12 and under must room with their parents and swimmers from Senior & Senior Elite must room as a team.
Futures (Santa Clara – Aug 3-6)
With both male and female relays qualified for Futures, we are very excited about taking so many swimmers to a national level meet. Meet information, including qualifying times is available here. Since we are planning to swim relays, it is important that we get a commitment from swimmers planning to attend ahead of time. We have listed the qualified swimmers below, please confirm with us whether you plan to attend.
 
Happy Swimming!
Coach Nick