Wednesday, July 29, 2009

Championship Warm-Up Schedule

The pool deck/lawn will be open for setup at 12 noon Friday July 31st.

Attention parents! Everyone should plan on arriving at the pool by 4:00 pm on Friday, and by 7:00 am on Saturday, regardless of which warm-up you are scheduled to be a part of. If your coach tells you to come even earlier, then you should follow their instructions. It is important that you give yourself plenty of time to park, check in with your coach, set up tents & chairs, buy a heat sheet, and mark your swimmer's event/heat/lane. I'll post more about this later, but I just wanted to make sure that everyone was aware that there is a lot more going on during Warm-Ups than just warming up. If this is your first championship swim meet, the most important thing you need to know is to be early!

Friday - July 31, 2009 - 8 & Under Championship

1st Warm-Up 4:10-4:30 pm

Lanes 1-3 Bell Road
Lanes 4-5 Wynlakes
Lanes 6-8 Southeast Y

2nd Warm-Up 4:30-4:50 pm

Lane 1 Deer Creek
Lanes 2-3 Grandview/Greenville
Lanes 4-5 Wetumpka
Lanes 6-7 Maxwell
Lane 8 East Y

1st call for swimmers will be 4:45 pm - Competition will begin at 5:00 pm

Saturday - August 1, 2009 - 9 & Over Championships

1st Warm-Up 7:10-7:30 am

Lanes 1-2 Deer Creek
Lanes 3-6 Maxwell
Lanes 7-8 East Y

2nd Warm-Up 7:30-7:50 am

Lanes 1-2 Grandview
Lanes 3-8 Bell Road

3rd Warm-Up 7:50-8:10 am

Lane 1 Wynlakes
Lanes 2-5 Southeast Y
Lanes 6-7 Wetumpka
Lane 8 Greenville

1st call for swimmers will be 8:05 am - Competition will begin at 8:20 am

Thursday, July 23, 2009

Heat Sheet Ads

It's not too late to purchase space in the heat sheet for an ad or to show support for your swimmer or team. I must receive your copy by early Thursday morning in order to include it. Proceeds will go to either the Montgomery YMCA Barracudas or the Montgomery YMCA Summer Swim League, your choice. For more information contact ememlu@gmail.com.

Full page $65
Half page $40
1/4 page $25
1/8 page or business card $15

Sunday, July 19, 2009

2009 Championship

The MYSSL 2009 Championship is less than two weeks away! Read the meet invitation for full details. If you are not attending, now is the time to let your coach know. Unnecessary entries can negatively impact your teams score, so inform your coach if you know your child cannot attend. We have some really cool new awards this year! I look forward to seeing everyone there.


emily

Friday, July 17, 2009

Tonight's Meet @ East Y

There is a 25% chance of storms this afternoon, HOWEVER, the meet will not be cancelled unless thunder and lightning prevent us from getting in the pool until after 6:30. In other words, even if there is bad weather, we will delay the start of the meet until as late at 6:30 or 7:00.

If it is storming in your area this afternoon, please check here for updates. I will do my best to keep you informed on the status of any delay or cancellation. Remember, it may be storming in one part of town but beperfectly clear at the meet location. So unless you hear otherwise, plan to be at the East Y by 5:00 for warmups. If there is a delay we will notify you here as soon as possible.

Thanks,

emily

Thursday, July 16, 2009

Tonight's Meet Cancelled

The meet tonight at Wynlakes Country Club has been cancelled due to bad weather in the area. Please contact your coach for rescheduling information.

Tuesday, July 07, 2009

Tonight's meet in Wetumpka

Due to the threat of inclement weather and power outages affecting the setup of the meet, tonight's meet has been rescheduled. Please check the meet schedule to the left for details.


Thank you for your patience,

emily

Wednesday, July 01, 2009

Official Thoughts :)

There are two main reasons why we have officials at summer league swim meets. The first is the most obvious: to provide fair competition. Imagine a breaststroke race where one swimmer swims correctly while the other flutter kicks the whole way. It is only fair to the legal swimmer to disqualify the flutter kicker, especially if that flutter kick resulted in a faster time for the swimmer. Having officials on deck ensures a fair outcome for all swimmers.

The other reason for officials is less obvious. Because human reaction time can result in watch time variations of three tenths of a second (or more) we always have at least two officials recording the order of finish of each race. Without this, approximately 20% of the results are wrong due to variations in timer reaction time and the occasional timer error. Timers aren't perfect, and they sometimes don't notice that the watch didn't start until after the race is over. Without officials recording the order of finish there is no way to know what result to give that swimmer. Also, when races are really close the watch times do not always reflect the true outcomes, and the order of finish is necessary to determine the true winner.

I say all this because I think there is a misconception about the purpose of the official. If we care about the fairness of the competition, and more importantly the accuracy of the results then we have to have 4-6 officials at each swim meet. No experience is necessary, although a small amount of training is required. (I personally think that being an official is much easier and more fun than working in bullpen or clerk of course.) I will be happy to conduct as many training classes as necessary. There are links to training videos on the website. If you would like further information you may contact me at ememlu@gmail.com.

Finally, a big thank you to those of you who have been to the training classes and/or worked at a meet. Every year I strive to make this program better and better, and your contributions are greatly appreciated!

See you at the pool...

emily