High School coach wanted

[I was asked to pass this along...]

SWIMMING COACH NEEDED

Raleigh Charter has an immediate opening for a swimming coach. If you know anyone who is interested in this position, please have that person contact me as soon as possible.

Steve Efird, Athletic Director
sefird@raleighcharterhs.org or 919-715-1221

2009 Board of Directors Meetings

Seats and parking spaces at Board of Directors meetings have been tight for the past two years; we are simply growing too large for the Powell Drive Park facility. As I mentioned last year, we are running out of options with Raleigh city park sites and we need to consider other options. Thanks to several suggestions from members of the Board, we now have meeting places booked for every one of our 2009 meetings.

We’re going to do something a bit different this time. Instead of sticking with one location as much as possible, we’re going to spread our meetings around a bit, among three different sites (all of them still reasonably close to TSA’s geographic center). This will be slightly less convenient than having one main meeting place, but it will give us more experience with the different options that are available. I will definitely be soliciting feedback on all three venues during next fall’s post-season survey, and that feedback will in turn play a part in where we choose to book our 2010 Board meetings. So please come with an open mind, but do take note of what you do and don’t like about each particular location.

Board meetings will continue to be held at 7:00 PM on the third Tuesday of each month. The 2009 meeting lineup is as follows:

January 20th at the Triangle Aquatic Center (TAC), located at 275 Convention Drive in Cary (Exit 291 from I-40, then turn left into Cary Towne Center mall at first traffic signal).

February 17th at University Club, located at 4200 Hillsborough Street in Raleigh (Exit 3 from the I-440 Beltline)

March 17th at Northbrook Country Club, located at 4905 North Hills Drive in Raleigh (Exit 7 from the I-440 Beltline, then right onto Lead Mine Road and right onto North Hills Drive)

April 21st at the TAC The April meeting has been canceled.

May 19th at University Club

Elections

I am pleased to announce that Mike Kaufman of Shepherd’s Vineyard has agreed to stand for the post of Vice-president in the upcoming officer election. However, we still lack candidates for the office of Treasurer. Please consider serving in this role. No experience is necessary! However, I would ask any current and former members of the Audit Committee to please think seriously about standing for this office.

Once we have at least one candidate nominated for each of the two offices up for election (VP and Treasurer), I will send out a link to an electronic ballot.

Post-Season Survey

Almost half of this year’s 71 teams still have not completed the post-season survey. Please take care of this as soon as you can; every team must complete at least the nine questions in the “Team Information” and “TSA Committees” sections even if you choose to skip the rest of the survey. Teams that still owe responses are:

Apex
Bedford at Falls River
Black Horse Run
Brookstone
Dutchman Downs
Garner
Greystone
Haddon Hall
Highcroft
Holland’s Crossing
Jewish Community Center
Kildaire Farms
Lake Park
Lakemont
Lochmere
North Hills
North Ridge
Oak Park
Raleigh Racquet
Regency Park
Scott’s Mill
Scottish Hills
Seven Oaks
Silverton (answers from second half of the survey got mangled by web-site; please complete another response that includes the team name and then skips down to the question about swim caps)
Springdale
The Reserve
University Club
Wood Valley (survey was partially completed, but team size was omitted; please submit another response answering just the team name and team size questions)
Zebulon & Zebulon CC

Trophy Pick-Up

Surprisingly, almost half of the division champion trophies have not yet been picked up by the winning teams! Creative Images got tired of holding them for us, so I now have them in my custody. If you are the rep for one of the following clubs, please contact me to make arrangements to pick up your trophy, either at my home in Cary or at my workplace in RTP:

Abbington
Bedford at Falls River
Devereaux
Falls River
Heritage of Wake Forest
TCC at Brentwood
Weatherstone
Wendell

MOR to hold Fall swim league

The Marlins Of Raleigh Swim Team (MOR) will hold its Fall Swim League on Mondays and Thursdays at St. Mary's School from 7:15-8pm. The League runs Sept. 29 to Dec. 11th and the cost is $185.

Get involved in the excitement from Michael Phelps and the Olympics by continuing to swim this fall.

MOR held a Winter Swim League last year that was hugely popular with over 70 participants. This Fall Swim League will be limited to 50 swimmers. All swimmers must be able to swim 25yards freestyle.

The league will be coached by MOR's staff and swimmers will learn starts, turns, drills for improving technique and will serve as a stepping stone towards joining MOR's nationally ranked swim team.

For more information contact Jonathan Watson at 851-3000 or 01silversurfer@bellsouth.net

Youth Sports Photography

Hello,

My name is Bill McLean, and I am President of McLean Digital, Inc. We are a youth sports photography business. Bob has invited me into your Blog so I could introduce myself to all swim teams.

I am interested in making partnerships with each swim team. We provide team/event and action photography for your clubs. A percentage of the sales from the team/event photography will be donated back to each organization as well as to TSA to provide scholarship funding.

I believe this would be a win-win situation for everyone (your swim team, TSA, and Mclean Digital). If anyone would like to get more information, please feel free to email me (bill@mcleandigital.com) or visit my website: http://www.mcleandigital.com.

Thanks for your time,

Bill McLean

Post-season survey

I apologize for not having this ready sooner, but the 2008 TSA Post-Season Survey is finally available on-line at http://www.bodizzle.com/PostSeasonSurvey2008/2008Survey.htm. Many of the questions on this survey were requested specifically by various TSA Reps, so kudos to everyone who suggested additions. Thanks also are due once again to former TSA President Rebeccah Bodart for generously hosting the survey on her site.

Please fill this out by Labor Day, while your pool is still open and memories of the recently-completed season are still fresh. If your team has multiple reps or alternates, please coordinate among yourselves so that only one of you completes the survey. However, within that single response, you are encouraged to incorporate feedback from all individuals who shared the responsibilities of TSA rep for your team over the previous year.

Note that this survey is not the Fall Election for the two offices whose terms expire this year (Treasurer and Vice-president). That election will also be conducted via a web vote, but not until later this fall (or at the January meeting if no candidates are forthcoming before then). However, clubs must participate in both of the on-line polls (this Survey and the forthcoming Election) in order to receive attendance credit for the Fall Board (virtual) Meeting.

On the subject of elections, please contact any of the four current officers if you are interested in running for either of these offices yourself. Remember, both Ira and Nita have stated that they will not be returning to these posts, so all nominations are welcome!

Enjoy the rest of the summer!

Grievance Committee; Scholarship; Survey; 2009 Board Meetings

Hello again Reps,

The TSA Bylaws require the President to chair the Grievance Committee. That committee met this past week, and the proceedings are now available.

Also, one more reminder to encourage your rising senior swimmers to apply for the $1,000 Pool Professional Partnership Scholarship before the September 1 deadline. The company informed me Friday that they have only received “a couple” of entries so far, so the field is wide open for more applicants.

I will try to get the post-season survey out by next weekend. If you have any further suggestions for questions you would like to see on the survey, please send them to me ASAP. Also, if you have any ideas for better meeting places for next year’s Board meetings, please let me know. I will start trying to book next year’s meetings later this month.

Enjoy the rest of the summer,

Bob

League and Division Champions

Hi Everyone,

Thank you for all of your time and service to the swimmers as well as the TSA this season, I know it's an intense 6 weeks and your work is much appreciated! Below are the 2008 Divisional and Overall Champions. Congratulations to all of you. I spoke with Creative Images today and all of the trophies are ready to be picked up. Their contact information:

Creative Images
122 W. Chatham St.
Cary, NC 27511
919-467-2188

The Divisional and Overall Champion Winners:

TSA Overall Champion: Prestonwood Piranhas

Northern League Division 1 Champions: Seven Oaks Marlins

Northern League Division 2 Champions: Northbrook Dolphins

Northern League Division 3 Champions: Quail Hollow Amberjacks

Northern League Division 4 Champions: Harrington Grove Stingrays

Northern League Division 5 Champions: Falls River Black Racers

Northern League Division 6 Champions: Heritage of Wake Forest Betas

Northern League Division 7 Champions: Wendell Wave

Northern League Division 8 Champions: Bedford at Falls River Sharks

Northern League Division 9 Champions: TCC at Brentwood Seahawks



Southern League Division 1 Champions: Prestonwood Piranhas

Southern League Division 2 Champions: Shepherd’s Vineyard Killer

Whales

Southern League Division 3 Champions: Abbington Alligators

Southern League Division 4 Champions: Walden Creek Wahoos

Southern League Division 5 Champions: Devereaux Devilrays

Southern League Division 6 Champions: Glenridge Gators

Southern League Division 7 Champions: Weatherstone Sharks

Southern League Division 8 Champions: Eagle Ridge Soaring Eagles

Southern League Division 9 Champions: Charleston Village Crocodiles


Ira Planer

Educational Grant Winners for 2008 Announced

TSA Board Members,

I am pleased to announce that the following 20 individuals, having met all of the eligibility requirements, have each been selected as recipients of one of the 400 TSA Educational grants for the 2008 swim season.

Heather Ahmed-Lochmere
Lauren Bays-Greystone
Tracy Brader-Lake Park
Elizabeth Brunk-Stonebridge
Lindsay Cardamone-Planter's Walk
Andy Chansler-Wakefield
Michelle Detloff-Medfield
Beau Dove-Cary Swim Club
Hannah Facchine-Dutchman Downs
Brandon Fannon-Durant Trails
Nick Heyl-Summerfield North
Brendan Hipps-Scottish Hills
Amy Holsinger-Prestonwood
Charlie Johnson-Durant Trails
Katherine Kirk-North Raleigh
Jessica O'Shea-Silverton
Megan Peters-Northbrook
Bennett Rosenthal-Wakefield
Catherine Taylor-Kildaire Farms
Matt Werner-Graystone

Congratulations to all of our winners! The individual notification letters and checks will be going out to the winners in the next week or so.

The selection was performed by Bob Goudreau and myself on Sunday evening (7/27) using a double blind random drawing methodology, where random numbers were generated and then applied to the randomly-sorted list of candidates to determine the winners. Bob and I then simultaneously exchanged information to ensure 100% accuracy.

Whether our senior swimmers were grant winners or not, the entire TSA organization is extremely proud of all of the hard work, sportsmanship and dedication that all of our graduating swimmers have demonstrated over the years and we wish all of them the very best in their post high-school pursuits!

Keep on swimming!

Rick

Why are TSA meets held on Tuesday night?

Why are TSA meets held on Tuesday night?

I have asked this question to a number of people and no one seems to know the answer other than "that is the way it has always been".

With the number of kids in year round school in Wake County, Tuesday night is always a school night for some percentage of our swimmers (MDCC) and I would suspect many (most?) other teams are in the same situation. This year we had quite a few families who did not want their children scheduled in the later events (Fly and/or Free Relay) because it was a school night.

Are other clubs faced with this same challenge? If so, how are you dealing with it?

In other areas (e.g. Virginia where my sister's kids swim) meets are held on Saturday morning.

Between the school night i ssues and the constant battle with severe weather each season, wouldn't it make sense to consider holding meets on Saturday morning instead of Tuesday night?

I am sure there are pros and cons for any day of the week and no particular day will meet with universal agreement but I am curious as to how Tuesday night came to be the night when meets are scheduled.

Mike

Cary Rapids Swim Meet

FOR YOUR FAMILY !!

Produced & Directed By: Fit & Able Productions, Inc.

Saturday August 16

At the Triangle Aquatics Center

www.triangleaquatics.org

Novice, experienced novices, year round, summer league, masters....

ALL swimmers welcome.

On Saturday August 16, 2008 while the Olympic swimming events are taking place in Beijing you can become a champion at the Triangle Aquatics Center in Cary. Swimmers of all ages and skill levels can compete by age group from 5 to 95 years old. Younger more experienced swimmer can age up. PLUS family relays will bring the meet to a close allowing siblings, parents and grand-parents to team up for the FASTEST Family award.

MEET: Cary Rapids Swim Meet - Open to the public!

Date: Saturday August 16

Location: Triangle Aquatics Center next to the Cary Towne Center

275 Convention Dr. Cary, NC 27511 919-459-4045

Time: 9:00 AM Warm-up 10:00 AM Start - see schedule of events posted on August 10.

Fee: $5 per event per person for Individual Events, $2.50 per person (leg) for relays

for registrations prior to August 10, 2008

Information: And entry forms please contact fitandable@nc.rr.com OR www.fitandable.net .

** The Triangle Aquatics Center event viewing area is equipped with many large screen TVs

so you will not be missing the swim competition taking place on the other side of the world at the Olympics.

General Meet Information

a) The meet will be held under USA Swimming Rules.

b) The competition is an open meet for all swimmers, all ages & level.

c) Entries should be sent by using the entry form attached. The entry fee is $5 per individual event, $2.50 per person (or leg) for relay team entries submitted before August 10, 2008. Add $1 per person per event for entries post marked August 10 and later. Relay teams need to submit their forms together. Athletes on several teams should complete separate forms. Checks should be made payable to Fit & Able Productions, Inc. If you have any difficulty please contact Alisa Wright Colopy. Closing Date August 15 at 5 PM.

d) The program will cover the following age groups 6 years and under, 7/8 yrs, 9/10 yrs, 11/12 yrs, 13/14 yrs, 15 - 17yrs, 18/19 yrs, 20 – 29 yrs, 30 -39 yrs, 40 – 49 yrs, 50 – 59 yrs, 60 – 69 yrs, 70 and up. Age division is determined by age on August 16, 2008.

	Age Group	Event Description for 25 yard pool
	6 and under	25 yards or one length each of freestyle and backstroke
	7 to 10 Years	1 length of the pool each of freestyle, backstroke, breaststroke and butterfly, 100 IM
	11 and Up	2 lengths of the pool each of freestyle, backstroke, breaststroke and butterfly, 200 IM
	Special Events & Relays	Vary in length – see registration details

e) The pool is 25 yards long with 18 lanes and anti-wave lane ropes. Warm-up lanes will be available.

f) Starts: Buzzer Start off blocks

g) The competition will operate without cards. Competitors must sign in on the sheets provided which will be in the entrance area of the pool. Sheets will be removed 30 minutes before the advertised start time of the session.

h) Results will be posted on the wall in the viewing area. A full list of results will be available on the TAC website after the competition on August 18.

i) Relay teams - Should have 4 different swimmers and they can swim in any order. A reserve name may be listed.

Relay team members must compete separate registration forms and submit them together with the teams entry fee.

j) Awards: Ribbons will be given to the top three finishers in each event and for the “Fastest Family” in the Family Free Relay

k) Entries to events may have to be restricted but will be accepted on a first come first served basis to encourage early entry. Any

rejected entries and entry fees will be refunded in full.

l.) Please do not bring food into the Triangle Aquatics Center. Concessions are available to swimmers and spectators.

m.) Parking is available at the Triangle Aquatics Center and the Cary Towne Center. Please park in designated areas only. Vehicles

illegally parked will be towed at the owners expense by the Cary Police.

n.) Volunteers: If you are not swimming but would like to have an important role in the meet please volunteer (see contact above)

The End (of the season) approacheth

[Originally emailed on Sunday 7/20]:

Hello everyone,

I hope you’ve all had a good season so far. It’s amazing how quickly it all rushes by, and now here we are, two days away from the final meets of the summer. Let’s pray that the weather on Tuesday is as cooperative as it’s been for the other meets this season.

A few things I’d like you all to keep in mind over the next few days…

1) Census: If you don’t already have an extra printed copy of your team’s roster (and remember, you’re supposed to give one to the other team’s rep before every meet), please put one aside for yourself before the season ends. You will need this information in a few weeks, when I send out the post-season survey. One of the most important questions on the survey is how many swimmers your team had this season. If you have a roster set aside, you will be able to answer this question quickly and accurately. (And accuracy is important – we don’t want people making estimates for this figure; we want hard numbers.)

2) Survey questions: While we’re on the topic of the post-season survey, now is the time to send me any suggestions for questions you would like to have on the survey. Some of you have already done this over the past few months – if you have, please send your suggestions in again, as otherwise I might lose track of them. Please send all survey suggestions in by the end of the month (July 31) so that I can prepare the survey itself for use in early August.

3) Officer positions: Vice-president Ira Planer and Treasurer Nita Dail will be stepping down after their terms end next January. Please consider standing for one of these posts. Ira and Nita (or I) can answer any questions you may have about the duties of each office (which, rest assured, are not onerous).

4) Grants: As Secretary Rick Rudd reminded everyone a few days ago, entries for the TSA Educational Grants drawing are due no later than 24 hours after the end of your last meet. Realistically, almost all your eligible swimmers will have already qualified for entry, so please send him the information sooner than that if you can. Rick and I will conduct the double-blind drawing of the winning numbers as soon as possible after the deadline, so please let him know in advance if you expect to send him anything later than Tuesday. We will announce the winners as soon as we have completed the drawing. Also, remember to alert your rising senior swimmers of the Pool Professionals Partnership scholarship. They must apply themselves for that scholarship by September 1^st.

5) Division titles and trophies: As soon as the final meet results are posted, VP Ira Planer will determine the winner of each division, and the overall league champion. If your team page doesn’t already list your team’s full name (including the mascot part of the name, such as “Sharks”, “Dolphins”, etc.), it would be very helpful if you could add that now. Ira will double-check all the spellings before we send out the trophy order, so you will get a chance to review your team name before it’s engraved in metal. Make sure you are clear on how your team spells its name – TSA has one team of “Sea Dragons” and another of “Seadragons”, for instance.

Best of luck to you and your teams for the remainder of the summer!

Bob

WC Insurance

We just got our Worker's Compensation bill - over $2000 for a year. This seems extreme when we hire two coaches for about 20 hours a week for 12 weeks a year. I would be interested in learning what other teams are paying and who their insurance agent is - anything that can help me get a handle on this expense.

Thanks,

Jerry

2008 Grant Drawings + Pool Professionals Scholarship

Board Members,

This is a friendly reminder to all clubs to submit names of eligible swimmers and coaches for the grant drawing to be held soon after our final meet. This is for the twenty $400 grants that TSA is sponsoring. Please study:

http://www.tsanc.org/about/documents/pdf/2008_Grant_Candidate_Rules.pdf)

carefully and make sure that any swimmer or coach you enter meets the eligibility requirements. Please submit name, address and phone number of each eligible candidate to me no later than 24 hours after the end of your final meet of the season. I will send you a reply confirming receipt of your information. If ALL meets are completed on Tuesday, I will e-mail the results of the drawing by Thursday noon. Don't let your eligible swimmers miss their chance to receive a grant.

Also, make sure you communicate with your rising senior swimmers who are eligible to apply for the Pool Professionals Partnership Scholarship. This is a single scholarship worth $1,000, generously offered by Pool Professionals. See

http://poolprofessionals.com/about_news.html

for information and the application form. Unlike with the TSA Grants, swimmers must apply individually for this scholarship, so please pass this information along to your team. The application deadline is September 1.

Best wishes to all your eligible swimmers.

Rick

Additional Event Sheets

Board Members,

I've heard from a few of you that you have (or are about to) run out of boys and/or girls event sheets for 2008. Because some teams were coming up a short I had a small additional batch printed and will be picking those up today. If you are in need of additional event sheets, please contact me via my cell phone at 919-244-8852 so that you can make arrangements to pick up the additional forms you need prior to the final meet of the season next week.

If you like, you can also print them off from the forms section of the TSA website.

http://www.tsanc.org/about/forms.php

Thanks!

Rick

Seeking Instructors! Tell your coaches and swimmers

Triangle Aquatic Center needs INSTRUCTORS
for August and the Fall/Winter season!!


Please spread the word at your pool and email me if you need a flyer to post and/or applications for interested coaches/swimmers.

Swimming background a must, certification preferred though not necessary since training will be provided.

Thanks!

Doracy Harrison
Program Manager
dharrison@triangleaquatics.org
459-4045 x 223
www.triangleaquatics.org

2nd annual Lake Park Kids' Triathlon August 9th

I am posting this Kid's Triathlon Invitation on behalf of the Helene Lane, the Kids Triathlon organizer.
- John Gordon
TSA Rep, Lakepark


Hello Parents -

Registration is now open for the 2nd annual Lake Park Kids' Triathlon.

Race date is Saturday, August 9, 2008. The kids will compete by swimming, biking, and running on a course in the Lake Park neighborhood. Details at http://www.lakeparkswimclub.com/triathlon.html.

This year we'll be making up T-shirts for all of the kids (and volunteers), so the registration fee is (slightly) increased to $8.00.

Registration deadline is July 30th and this year the race cap is 70 participants. Go to the web site for your registration form and waiver. http://www.lakeparkswimclub.com/triathlon.html

We're looking forward to another great event. As always, we need parent volunteers to make this happen, so please indicate on the registration form how you'd like to help.

Let me know if you have any questions.

Helene Lane
274-8527 (cell)

Possible Conflicts for Meets on Night of 7/22

Fellow Board Members,

Thanks to Bob Wombacher of Walden Creek for catching the following.

Apparently the night of 7/22 coincides with open house / meet the teacher / curriculum nights at some of the local elementary and middle schools.

As this could impact the availability of many of your swimmers, you might want to get together with the TSA rep of the team you are due to swim against and discuss whether moving the swim meet to an alternate night would be mutually agreeable and in the interest of both teams. Remember that TSA rules allow for some flexibility as long as the change is mutually acceptable to both teams.

I'd recommend that you check with your local schools, parents and team managers to see how big of an impact this might have to your local neighborhood and then handle accordingly.

Rick