Gator Updates – week of 7/1

This is our last week of general practice, as well as Gator Week and Spirit Week. Let’s get ready!! What does this mean for your swimmer?

Summary:
– Monday: practice + matching day
– Tuesday: practice + Two suit day
– Wednesday: practice + anything but a water bottle day (No glass items please) and/or wacky socks
– Thursday: NO PRACTICE – HAPPY 4TH OF JULY
– Friday: practice + Freaky Friday day
– Saturday: Dual meet @ GMSC vs. 5Parks – sign up here

Upcoming:
General practice: This is for all swimmers and the week of 7/1 is our last week of general practice.
League practice: for the week of 7/8, only swimmers that have qualified for League will be swimming. Practice will be at the same time.
– State practice: for the week of 7/15, only swimmers that have qualified for State will be swimming. Practice times may be consolidated between the age groups, so stay tuned.
– Details of the League and State Meets can be found on our Practice/Meets page.
– Gator Banquet: Our end-of-season team banquet will be held on Wednesday 7/17 @ 5:30pm at our pool. This is a non-swimming event and a truly joyful evening. We will recognize all the hard work our swimmers have put in this season and give out lots of awards. We hope everyone can make it.
– Team Movie night: we will host a team movie night on Wednesday 7/24 to close out the season. This is a non-swimming event and will be an after-hours affair at the pool. This is a special event for our team members and we kindly ask that swimmers don’t bring friends that aren’t on the team. Siblings and parents are welcome. More info to come.

Spirit Week & Gator Week 7/1-7/5

Spirit Days

  • Monday (7/1): Matching (Match with another swimmer)
  • Tuesday (7/2): Two-suit (wear two swimsuits instead of just one)
  • Wednesday (7/3): Anything but a water bottle and/or wacky sock
  • Thursday (7/4): No practice
  • Friday (7/5): Freaky Friday (switch outfits with another swimmer)

Gator Week

As is tradition, Gator Week will occur in the week leading up to our last dual-meet of the season. Gator Week is designed to be the most difficult week of the summer for swimmers, so come prepared to swim more, and at a higher intensity. Please also note that Gator Week and Spirit Week will occur in conjunction. So, Bring water and a positive attitude, and come prepared for a challenge.

Timers Needed + a Big Thank You!

  • Saturday Meet @ Stingrays: we are still short 10 timers. Please sign up here The Stingrays team requires 3 timers per lane, so please help if you can.
  • Pictures and Pancakes Day: your swimmers were excellent! Seriously. This can be a chaotic day and all the kids were super polite, listening to instructions and generally just on top of it. Thanks so much! Our Photographer, Alex Hearn, will send a weblink as soon as she is done editing the photos. You will be able to order any/all photos directly from the link. In case you want to check out here work beforehand, you can find her website here: https://www.alexhearnphotography.com/

Gator Updates: Week of 6/24

Summary:
MON 6/24: Easy-optional practice. Upper Division starts @ 7:00am
WED 6/26: Intrasquad #3- warm up @ 4:30pm / start @ 5:00pm
THUR 6/27: Team Pictures, Pancakes & Water World Day
SAT 6/29: Dual meet @ Stingrays – warm up @ 6:30am / start @ 7:00am

Details:
Easy (optional) practice: Upper division practice will start @ 7:00am. All other practices will start at the normal time. We had 3 meets over the weekend and the coaches wanted to make sure that all the swimmers have the rest that they need. If your swimmer would like to be at practice, great! It will be a low-key day. If your swimmer is tired, please let them sleep in 🙂
Intrasquad #3: this is our last intrasquad of the year. Please sing up to volunteer here.
Team Pictures: please arrive at 7:30am in your team suit (if you have one) for team and individual pictures. We will have our great local photographer, Alex Hearn, returning again this year to get out gator pictures. She will provide a weblink after the photos for everyone to purchase pictures from her website. A pancake breakfast will follow. We could still use a few volunteers to provide fruit trays. volunteer here for the breakfast. For Water World – we will have a post later in the week with a map of the park and where our group can meet up. Discount tickets can be found here – (If this link is not working, please go to the sidebar on our blogsite)
Dual Meet @ Stingrays: We will be at the 6th Ave West pool for our Saturday meet. Their pool was recently renovated, so it should be fun to swim in their brand new pool. Click here to volunteer. We still need 15 Timers.

C/D and Pentathlon Entries (& Monday Practice)

Entries for the two Sunday meets are posted in the sidebar (mobile users use the menu to find the sidebar). Please check the entries for your swimmer. Entries for both meets can be edited on Saturday before 3pm. Please talk to coach Ethan to make adjustments to the entries.

C/D meet entries are similar to a regular meet and the numbers will be the same. Only C or D times are eligible to swim (NT is not allowed). If you need to add or adjust entries after swimming on Saturday talk to coach Ethan.

Pentathlon entries are different than regular entries. Every swimmer in the pentathlon will swim 5 events (each stroke and the IM). Because of some settings in the program we use for entries, when you look at the entries you will see one of three things.
1. A swimmer is signed up for 5 events. YAY that swimmer has qualifying times in all events! They are eligible for sure.
2. A swimmer is signed up for 4 events. That swimmer is missing one of the qualifying times (usually because they have no time). They are still eligible and they will still swim all 5 events at the meet.
3. A swimmer is signed up for 3 events. That swimmer wants to participate, but still needs to qualify in one more event (B time or better). They are swimming it on Saturday and will let coach Ethan know that they met the qualifying time. They are not eligible yet, but can be after swimming on Saturday and will swim all 5 events.

Practice on Monday will be optional because the coaches and swimmers have a 7 days of swimming. Upper division practice will start at 7. Other practices will start at the regular time. We would love to see you there, but understand if you need some rest after swimming 2 meets.