February 6, 2013

  To:     All New Green Bay YMCA Swimmers & Parents

  From: Coach Dave - voice mail-436-9624

Email- [email protected]   team unify website - www.teamunify.com/wigbymca

 Re:      1)  OSHY/FCY WinterOpen  2)  Strong Kids Community Calling Night and Swim Team Swim-a-long  3) Please welcome two new coaches beginning next week  4)  Best of Luck to Coach Jacob  5) Upcoming Dates  6)  Assorted Notes

1)      One hundred GBY swimmers are participating in the OSHY/FCY Winter Open.  All information including timeline, warm-up assignments and heat sheets are posted on the website.  PRINT YOUR OWN HEAT SHEETS.  Warm-up times are as follows.  Thursday (1650 Frees) 5:30pm, Friday 4:45pm, Saturday & Sunday AM 7:25am, Saturday Mid-day (1000 Frees) 11:20am, Saturday PM 1:05pm, Sunday Mid-day (400 IM’s) 10:40am, Sunday PM 12:10pm.  Please arrive early for all warm-up sessions.  Please make sure that all swimmers have their event #, heats and lanes.  I will be at meet on Thursday & Friday Night. Coach Kari and I on Saturday, and Coach Kari and Kris on Sunday.

2)      The Strong Kids campaign is quickly coming up. Our DT Y Community Calling Night is tonight Wednesday, February 6, at the DT Y.  

Our Swim Team Swim-A-Long will be held on Wednesday, February 20. Gold will swim during their practice time from 4-6pm at SWHS. And both the Bronze and Silver will swim from 6:30-8:00pm at the DT Y.  Pledge envelopes have been passed out to most of our swimmers.  Information regarding the Swim-a-long is on the website. Simply, all swimmers should ask friends, family and neighbors to make a pledge to the YMCA Strong Kids.  They may pledge an amount for each lap you are assigned to swim or can just make a donation to the Green Bay Y Strong Kids campaign.  Swimmers are encouraged to tell of their YMCA/Swim Team experiences while asking for pledges.  Again the top 5 fundraisers will receive Speedo back-packs.  All GBY swimmers will receive a GBY Strong Kids swim cap for their participation.  Thank you to everyone for their help and participation in the Green Bay YMCA Strong Kids campaign.

A special note regarding the Community calling night next Wednesday night, February 6, DT Y.  I could use a few more Older swimmers to help in our skit which will happen at 5:30pm.  I will make this announcement at Gold practices and try to get a few more volunteers.  We will offer you dinner. (Subway and snacks).  For our community team callers we will have a limited amount of cell phones and telephones.  Please if you can bring along your cell phone to make your calls.  Due to the calling night next Wednesday there will be no Gold practice at SWHS but Gold swimmers are invited to attend with the Silver from 7:30-9:00pm at the DT Y. 

3)      Two former UWGB swimmers will be joining our coaching staff next week.  Please welcome Nicole Gill who will be taking over the Competitive Stroke Classes for Coach Jacob and working some other practices including Tuesday Bronze and Wednesday Gold.  Also welcome Amber Bartholomew who will volunteering for us on Tuesday (all practices) and Wednesday nights (Bronze and Silver).  Both of these Coaches have some past Coaching experience and will be a great addition to our team.

4)      Best of luck to Coach Jacob Klika as he moves into a new chapter in his life.  Jacob will begin Air Force basic training next Tuesday.  If you get a chance to see Jacob please wish him luck and of course Thank him for his service.  Jacob did a wonderful job with the team while he was with us.  You will be a great Airman, Jacob.  Good Luck!

5)      Upcoming Dates (Team events and meets)

Wednesday, February 6                Downtown Y Strong Kids Community Kick-off & Calling night, Downtown Y – No Gold practice at SWHS

Thursday-Sunday, February 7-10  Oshkosh Y/FCY Winter Meet, Oshkosh Y

Friday-Sunday, February 15-17     USA Regional, Fond Du Lac Aquatic Center

Wednesday, February 20              GBY Swim Team Strong Kids Swim-A-Long, 4-6pm SWHS, and 6:30-8:00pm DT Y

Friday-Sunday, February 22-24     12&under USA State, UW-Madison Natatorium

Thursday-Sunday, Feb 23-March 3           13&over USA State, Schroeder Aquatic Center

Saturday & Sunday, March 3f       FCY Everybody Wins Meet, Saturday only, Appleton Y

Sunday, March 10                         OSHY Last Chance Meet, Oshkosh Y

Friday-Sunday, March 15-17        Y State Meet, Schroeder Aquatic Center

Wednesday-Saturday, April 3-6    Y Nationals, Greensboro Aquatic Center

Friday, May 10                              Swim Team Awards Banquet, Riverside Ballroom

6)      Assorted Notes

·         There will Friday afternoon practice but no Saturday AM practice this week. Coach Kari will be running Friday afternoon practice this week. Coach Bill will run the Friday practice on February 22.  There will be no other Friday or Saturday practices except for the two listed above.  The only Friday workout in March will be on March 8. Coach Jacob will run the Thursday night Gold practice tomorrow night while I am in Oshkosh.  Reminder-no gold dryland tomorrow night.

·         Wednesday & Friday AM practices have begun. These are held at the BV Y from 5:30-7:00am. Gold I and Invited Gold II swimmers may attend. 

·         There will be no Gold Dry land workouts February 7. 

·         Due to the Strong Kids Calling Night on Wednesday February 6, there will be no Gold practice at SWHS. Gold swimmers are welcome to come with the Silver team at the DT Y that evening from 7:30-9:00pm.

·         Noodles & Company National Team Fundraiser – Wednesday evening, February 13, the GBY National Team will receive a percentage of all who dine at the Noodles and Co. on Oneida Street. You must tell them that you are there for the GBY National Team fundraiser.

·         Speakers – We are in need of one – two speakers to use for swim meets in the gym. If anyone has any old “working” speaker(s) they would like to donate please contact me.  Thank you!

·         Hotel Blocks – Due to very little interest in the Hotel Blocks being arranged by the parent committee we are going to discontinue making room blocks for away meets.  Please plan for the upcoming summer meets to make your own reservations. 

·         Team Pictures and Picture discswill be at the DT Y front desk beginning tonight for pick-up. Please pick those up by the end of the week.

·         I have posted the Summer meet schedule on the calendar and website.  I will try to get the practices and stroke clinics on the calendar ASAP.

·         Just a reminder about weather cancellations.  Unless the Y closes we will still plan to run practices for the team.  If we do close the Y or have to cancel practices I will send a note out through the web site ASAP.  Do remember that you may add additional e-mail addresses and phone numbers on your account page to receive the notes I send out through the web site.

·         Parent Group committee meetings have been moved to the first Mondays of the Month. Next meeting is Monday March 4, 2013.

·         GBY swim families have the opportunity to participate in a scrip program to help raise monies for your escrow accounts.  A power point presentation is posted on the website (under documents tab) to explain the whole program and to allow you to get involved with the Scrip program.  Thank you to the GBY Gymnastics Team for allowing us to join in with their program.

·         We have scheduled our annual awards banquet for Friday, May 10, at the Riverside Ballroom.  Please get this on your calendars right away.  We will do a sign-up for this on the website.

·         Our graduating High School Seniors are also in need of pictures for their presentations at the Award Banquet.  Please put all pictures on a disc or flash drive and drop off to Coach Dave. I am storing pictures for them on our computer.  Any pictures are welcome and we encourage parents to take pictures at meets for the graduating Seniors.  Thank you!

·         Please make sure that you are keeping up with entry deadlines, etc.  All meets are opened for entry for the remainder of the Winter Season.  Please check the team events regularly for all team activities. 

·         Please ensure that you have monies in your escrow account to cover all upcoming swim meets.  Thank you for taking care of this ahead of the charges. Remember that a negative number is really a positive balance for your account. While an amount without a negative is what you are behind in payment to the YMCA.  Escrow payments can be made at the DT Y front desk. By either stopping in and making a payment or by calling in and making a credit card payment over the phone.

·         A reminder that all GBY swimmers ages 8&over must scan their membership upon entry to all Green Bay YMCA’s.  If you need a new card stop at the front desk and have them make you a new one.  It is very time consuming especially during the rush around team practices to have to stop and type in your information manually to make sure you are a member. Thank you for taking care of this matter.

·         It is winter time.  Please make sure that all swimmers dress properly for the weather.  I expect all swimmers to have on and zipped up a winter coat as well as wearing hat on your wet heads when you leave practices.  A sick swimmer does no one any good. 

·         REMINDER - All swimmers should be showering before using any pool for practices.  This can be a big help with the air quality.  Thank you for doing this.

·         Remember to always check the awards box when at the DT Y. This is located on the bench in the corner underneath our bulletin board.

·         Also please remember that we now have a “For Sale” section on the swim team bulletin board in the DT Y hallway above the pool.  You may list almost new items to make available for sale to other team members.