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.

Gator Updates – Week of6/17

Happy Father’s Day to all our great swim dads. We know you’re awesome because you are a Gator Dad!!
This Week Summary:
– SAT 6/22: dual meet @ Wheatridge
– SUN 6/23: optional invitational meets (C/D meet @ Golden, Pentathlon @ AAC)
Coming Up:
– WED 6/26: Intrasquad #3 (final one)
– THU 6/27: Team pictures, pancakes and Water World
– SAT 6/29: dual meet @ Stingrays

Details:
-Dual Meet @ Wheatridge: Warm up @ 6:30am / start @ 7:00am. They have a big, beautiful pool and it is estimated that we will be done by 10:30am. sign up to volunteer here
– C/D Meet @ Golden: warm up and start time TBD (usually around 7am) This is an optional meet for all swimmers that have C or D times. You can check the Top Times report (on the side bar) to see if your swimmer qualifies. This is a super fun meet for all the swimmers that are a little slower and want to swim against kids at a similar level. Please sign up directly with the coaches. We will need timers for the meet, but they generally just ask people to step up once you get there.
– Pentathlon @ Applewood Athletic Club: warm up @ 6:20am / start @ 7am. This is another optional meet that requires your swimmer to have a B time or better in 4 of the 5 disciplines at the event. Each swimmer will swim all 5 events (free, breast, back, fly and IM). Please sign up directly with the coaches. Again, we will need timers. click here to volunteer
– Intrasquad 3: warm up @ 4:30pm / start @ 5:00pm. This is our last Intrasquad and we like to have a parents and coaches relay at the end of the meet. We need 4 to 8 parents that are willing to swim a 50 freestyle to be on a relay team. Our parents beat the coaches last year, so we are excited to see what happens this year. Please email gmstgators@gmail.com (or talk to Danielle) if you are in! sing up here to volunteer for the meet
– Team Pictures / Pancakes / Water World Day: We will not have practice on this day. Swimmers can start arriving at 7:30am. We will have individual pictures (if you want them) and one large team picture taken. Please wear your team suit if you have one. – After the pictures, we will serve Gator pancakes (green of course). Sign up here to help with the breakfast. After breakfast, we will have an optional fun day at Water World. Discount tickets can be found here. More details to follow, but the general idea is that we will stake out some picnic tables so everyone is in the same area. You will need to provide transportation, food and general oversight of the kids that you bring. This is an informal event where the kids do what they want at the park, but run into each other all day long.

Gator Update: Week of 6/10

Summary:
Wednesday 6/12: Intrasquad #2
Thursday 6/13: Night practice cancelled
Friday 6/14: Donut Day
Saturday 6/15: Tri-Meet @ Golden

Details:
– Intrasquad#2: warm up @ 4:30 pm / start @ 5:00 pm
We will have pizza, nachos, snacks and al the Gator Gear for purchase.
Volunteer sign up: click here
– Night practice: We will hold upper division night practice on Tuesday, but not Thursday. The Swim Club is hosting a movie night on Thursday, along with the fact that the coaches will be working hard at the meet on Wednesday night.
– Donut Day: We will have donuts at our Friday practice to pump the kids up for our meet against Golden. We have a friendly rivalry with the Golden Marlins and always like to pretend it’s a bigger deal than it really is. They are an awesome team and we love swimming against them.
– Tri-Meet: warm up @ 6:30am / start at 7:00 am @ The Splash in Golden
Golden has an 8-lane pool and will be hosting 3 teams, instead of our normal 2 teams. Team Candalas will also be at this tri-meet. They have a very small team (less than 30 swimmers), so you may not even notice that a third team is there.
volunteer sign up: click here
– A massive thank you to the parents! This is the first season where we have not been pulling people out of chairs and forcing them to volunteer. We are incredibly grateful that everyone is stepping up this season. THANK YOU!!!