Dolphin Swim Club Newsletter 
February, 2006
Dolphin Swim Club Newsletter
February, 2006
Important
Dates:
Feb. 7
Feb. 10
Feb. 17 State Short
Course meet entries due JO's
Feb 18-20
Feb 24-26 14&U
Feb 24-26
Mar 3-5 14&
February Birthdays
Amy Bergen 8 on Feb. 12
Stephanie Wahlers 11 on
Feb 12
Sami Jo Medina 10 on
Feb. 16
Riley Snyder 6 on Feb.
19
Jared Fowler 10 on Feb.
26
Brittany Houtris 9 on Feb. 26
February 2006
From our Head
Coach – Dale Leonhart
Hi Folks!
General Meet
Comments:
Another month has shot past us; we had a good month of
results: we swam very well at both the
We are trying to set up a developmental meet for our
swimmers (8Un, 10Un, 12Un) who are not qualified for
Qualifiers!!!
We have 3 swimmers qualified for 14Under JO Champs in
Practice Schedule and
Most of us kept up with our ever changing practice schedule this past month. The good news: we are back to our “normal" training schedules (times and places for all groups) as of Monday, 30 January.
We are resuming our swim school program now that our
schedules have returned to normal.
Please refer new swim school prospects to Tanya! We will conduct classes on Monday and Wednesday
from
Distance Camp
We are looking at conducting our annual 13UP Distance Camp
at NAU /
Concerns?
The coaches’ liaison committee has informed me that some of the parents want to be assured that their swimmer(s) is/are in the proper group. If you are one of these folks, please talk with Tanya, Ed, or me about your concern and we will work it out.
As a general rule, a good time to talk is after a practice session.
Our philosophy regarding group composition is this:
We want all in the group to feel like they “belong” and are having fun.
We look for physical, mental, and social developmental levels to help us place our swimmers.
We want our team members to experience a healthy progression of increasing expectations; physically, mentally, and socially.
We try to accommodate individual variances in development when appropriate.
Feel free to set up an appointment to talk with your child’s coach (es) regarding any concerns you may have.
Relays:
At the Snowflake Meet, we had the opportunity to have many (20) relays participate. This was a great chance to have our swimmers race together for our team. However, we had to scratch quite a few relay teams due to swimmers leaving early, getting sick, and not checking in with their coach before they left the meet.
We, the coaches, understand that if a swimmer has a prior commitment or gets ill; he/she may have to leave early and not participate in the relay event. However, we would appreciate knowing that the swimmer will not be there; this will enable us to reorganize our relay team composition and keep as many swimmers involved as possible. Please do several things if we have relay teams in the program:
1. Check to see if your child is on a relay. If so, have him/her talk with the coach to clarify his/her role on that relay team.
2. If you leave the meet “early” for any reason, check in with your coach so we know. This will help us keep other relay members informed as to the status of their relay.
We try to notify swimmers and parents of our team’s relay status and composition of teams at practices the week before the meet. It is a good idea to ask your coach about relays at practice the week before a meet; that way, we will be able to swim as many teams as possible.
Thanks!
Officials!
Our Club is “Officials” poor!!! We have very few qualified parents to work at swim meets as Stroke/Turn officials, Starter/Referee, etc. We need a strong cadre of parents who are willing to volunteer in this capacity; it’s the only way we can host meets and do our share of support for the Western Slope Conference (our local level organization). Officiating is a vital part of every meet. Please volunteer to participate in this very important role.
To do this, you must watch a video, ‘shadow’ a certified official, and get ‘deck time’ as a novice before you become certified yourself. This can happen at our developmental meets, at local meets, and summer Conference meets. Contact Dale or Brett if you are interested in this important role. Thanks!
From GJD Board President
The first
month of the new year has come and gone, and with that
means we have successfully completed the 2006 Grand Junction Dolphin winter
Snowflake swim meet. The 2006 Grand Junction Dolphin Snowflake swim meet was
spectacular! There were 113 swimmers, 688 splashes; the Grand Junction Dolphins
provided 54 swimmers and 327 splashes to the total and with 156
best times or a 48% personal best time improvement! This comes from the
swimmers dedication to the sport, hard work in the practice pool and three of
the best coaches in the state. Please let them know your appreciation. We also
had comments from other coaches that their swimmers had also seen considerable
time improvements as well. We have looked back in the years we have hosted the
Snowflake and this year was the biggest in Dolphin swimmer and volunteer participation.
I would like to thank everyone who volunteered their time and helped to make it
a success. The great help and efforts from everyone, proves that it’s what it
takes to hold a successful swim meet!
Figures from the sign in sheet
that was posted at the clerk of course table were totaled for hours worked and
here are the results, a total of approximately 337 volunteer hours!!!
Snowflake 2006 Volunteer Hours
Set
up:
36 hours (24 people came out to help so we finished with set up in 1.5 hours.)
Hospitality:
48 hours
8 &
under: 8 hours
Timing:
78 hours
Head
timer: 8 hours
Officiating:
36 hours from Dolphin members (more hours from other officials)
Heat Winners: 6 hours
1st/last
call: 7.5 hours
Announcing:
8.5 hours
Safety/misc.:
10.5 hours
Runners:
8.5 hours
Computer:
22 hours
Timing Console: 24 hours
Clerk of Course: 12 hours
Awards:
4 hours
Tear down: 20
hours (Approximately 20 people helped. Thanks to everyone’s help, we finished
in about an hour.)
Total Volunteer hours 337!!!!!
As well, many hours were spent
over several months in the pre-meet preparation and organization that is not
included in the above total hours, Thank you.
This meet is also a fundraiser for
the Dolphins and netted almost $2700 that is used for operating expenses! Food and basket item donations from team
families and local businesses were monumental - nearly $1000.00 in donations;
Dora Smith and the hospitality crew had the biggest hospitality spread this
side of the Mississippi, and Susan Young and her very crafty assistants put
together 6 of the nicest raffle baskets I have ever seen! We all appreciate their time and hard work!
Leanne and Thane Depuey, along with
9 senior swimmers who volunteered their time at the swim merchandise table,
netted approximately $440.00 for the senior swimmer equipment fund. I think
that may bring the pot very close to having enough to purchase the first piece
of resistance training equipment!!!!!
Thank you to everyone who helped
and participated in the swim meet and remember we do this for our kids. Thank
you, Brett Walton
Senior Dolphin Swimmer of the Month
Kristin Scandary, a senior at Grand Junction High, has been
swimming for the past 8 ½ years with teams in Farmington (FCAT),
Water is Kristin’s passion.
She have lived around and participated in many activities involving
water. This summer she would love to go
to
Kristin plans to go to college in
“Free Time,” when not swimming, involves hanging out with friends, skiing, rock climbing, and attending as many high school sporting events as possible. She has a pet cat named Sam, her favorite food is ice cream (I forgot to ask what flavor), enjoys watching “Law & Order”, and her favorite movie is “10 Things I Hate About You”. As far as music, “it all depends, I love everything though.”
Kristin has listed her parents as her personal heroes, stating they have been there every step of the way through her eighteen years. They have sacrificed countless hours allowing Kristin to enjoy and participate in competitive swimming. She is very grateful and thankful. Laura, Kristin’s younger sister, used to swim when she was eight years old but now enjoys dance and is very active with the GJ High School Poms Dance Team.
Kristin is a very poised young lady and offers this advice to the younger swimmers on the Dolphin Swim Team, “Always have fun.” “Having fun is what helps me swim fast and lets me enjoy my sport.” From swimming she has learned to manage her time. Swimming has provided goals that she has been able to achieve through practice, dedication, and focus.
Kristin has been a very accomplished and instrumental role model for the Dolphins and we wish her well in college, swimming, and future career endeavors.