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