Happy Halfway

One of our now-graduated swimmers used to yell “Happy Halfway!” at the midpoint of some of our worst sets, to encourage everyone to push through to the end.  In that spirit, Happy Halfway to your Spring Break.

Registration Open

Registration is open for the spring session.   We’re very pleased with how the schedule sets up for this spring, and we’re looking forward to some very strong registration numbers.  Thanks to everyone who is taking the journey with us!

Practice Starts Monday

For most groups, practice will get underway Monday. 

Website Changes

Over the course of March, we’ve done some wholesale website updates.  Wide tables & images have been replaced with a more mobile-friendly look.  If something seems to be working incorrectly or you’re finding dead links, let us know.  Finally—a quick reminder: don’t fall for the temptation to use the app.  It’s riddled with bugs and is more harm than good.

Calendar Change

Most of the things are just small visual changes, but please pay special attention to the calendar portion.  First: we won’t be using the TU calendar again.  It’s clumsy, redundant, and dead.  In its place, we’ve made independent calendars for EACH group.  This way you can import the practice calendar into your own personal calendar and know exactly where and when to be at each pool.  We’ve put each group’s calendar links on its own page along with group prerequisites, necessary equipment, etc.  Finally, we’ve made a separate calendar for meets & events, it can be found here on the schedule/results page.

Parent Practice

We’re trying our first “parent practice” on Saturday, April 6^th at SP West.  Groups will swim per usual that morning, but the 10:00-11:00 group will be Storm Aquatics parents.  Bring a suit and goggles and some humility.  Swimmers will get the chance to coach their parents through some strokes and drills, followed by a few family relays. 

Banquet

Our end of season banquet will be Sunday, April 7th at 5pm at the Central Heights Performing Arts Theater.  This event will have a small token for every swimmer that competed in a meet this season, awards for training groups, swimmer of the year, volunteer of the year, and more.  We’ll also hand out ribbons from the last few meets and have cake!  The event is not formal, but you know—have your kid shower and wear decent clothes.

Brownies

If your swimmer is due their under :30 brownies, send me a reminder here.  I’ll have them ready for pickup at the banquet.

Team Picture Day

On April 9^th, we’ll have team/group/individual pictures at SP West.  This is for all our fall/winter/spring swimmers.  Even if your swimmer swam the winter and is sitting the spring out, we still want them for the pictures!

I’ll have more specific times for you in next week’s newsletter.

Open Water Training

On Saturday April 27^th we’ll be doing two big events.  First, an intro to Open Water Swimming at the Kalahari Water Park Lazy River.  This year, we’re expanding our field a bit to allow for some newer swimmers to get the experience.  Any swimmer, Tropical Storm or above, that’s under 8:30 in their 500 freestyle pay participate in the open water training.  We’ll swim with the current of the river and against it—learning turns, pacing, sighting, and pack swimming.  It’s  perfect place to work on endurance without the worries of fish or seaweed.  There’s no charge to the event.  Swimmers need to 1) sign up on our event page and 2) be ready to walk into the water park area of Kalahari around 7:50A. The event will run until 9:30, at which point we’ll pop back out of the water park and collect ourselves for Part 2….

Kalahari Play Day

Swimmers, siblings, family, friends, foes, and competitors are all invited to play at the Kalahari at the conclusion of the OW Training.  This event runs from 10:00 on the 27^th until swimmers conk out or the park closes.  Tickets are sold in advance here, and include the group rate, a slice of pizza, and a drink.  We’ll have a cabana for families to store things as well.  Tickets can be purchased here.

Golf Scramble

We’re excited to see spots filling for our 2^nd annual Spring Scramble golf event, held May 5^th at The Oaks.  This event is quickly becoming a great fundraiser for the team and requires just a bit of work from each family.  There are three ways in which to help, any of which are extremely valuable:

1. Come golf!  Find some friends or join someone else’s foursome and golf 18 holes with us.
2. If you don’t want to golf, find us just one sponsor.  Sponsors range from $50 hole sponsors all the way up to some big ones with lots of perks.  If you find a sponsor for us and get referred, you’ll get 10% of any golf sponsor credited to your account.
3. If none of those work, consider donating an item that might work in a raffle basket.  Gift certificates, sports tickets, any new cars you have lying around, whatever.  Reach out to Erin if you have something for a basket.