Hi All,

Well, it is here. The last week of swim team for 2023. I feel like this season has flown by! I am certainly going to miss seeing everyone, but before it ends let's close this week out with a bang!!

• Munchin Marlins 7/17
• Meet Tuesday 7/18 Home against Meredith Townes
• Volunteers needed for 7/18 meet
• Ribbons
• North Raleigh Champs Sunday 7/16
• End of Season Awards Banquet 7/19
• Meet Recap

Munchin Marlins:

Theme this week is Chick Fil A (nuggets.) Main dishes will be $5 per swimmer, Venmo Ashley or Jennifer. We are asking for some donations for Fruit and Dessert- signup is open

*****Please RSVP for this event on our website so that Ashley and Jennifer have an accurate headcount for ordering the nuggets.

Meet Tuesday July 18 Home against Meredith Townes:

Please declare your swimmer by Sunday at noon and sign up to volunteer and donate concessions items if you are able.

Be at the pool by 4:45 ready to stretch- no need for swimmers numbers. Warmup is at 5 and volunteer meeting is at 5:45. If you want to bring a shade tent please do. Coaches sang National Anthem last time- anyone else want a turn? We will be recruiting singers!

Special events:

Senior Recognition- at start of 15-18 freestyle events. We will be honoring Allie Pratt and Coach Sam.

6 and under Butterfly Race- at end of 15-18 Breaststroke events. They do not have to swim butterfly, but this race is the entire length of the pool and not the yellow rope. Kid pushers will be available if your swimmer needs help. Once they make it to the other end of the pool they will receive a cupcake. (Donations for those are on Concessions Donations sign up page- if your swimmer has dietary restrictions please let me know so that we can accommodate everyone. Both teams participate.)

End of Meet Relays: Meredith Towns has requested a Parent Relay. If any Parents are interested, please let me know. We would love to have a Parent Team, Parent/Coach or any combo. It’s the last meet of the season so let’s make it the most fun possible. I’m sure your swimmers would love to see what you can do 😊

Volunteers needed for 7/18 Meet

Sign ups are open. Vacant positions are:

• Clerk of Course
• Timers- need 2 – we will be using stopwatches and timer sheets
• Head Timer
• Order of Finish Judge
• Starter
• Not listed as a job but need people to help set up pool deck before 5 PM

Thank you again to everyone who has volunteered this season- I know it has been a lot!

Ribbons from last week:

Ribbons are in your family folders in the kitchen. Thank you to Alej Keigan for sorting and filing!

North Raleigh Championship Meet Sunday 7/16

I have sent details to all the families attending. Sessions were combined- I apologize to anyone who was impacted by this scheduling change. Please be at the Ravenscroft Gym by 7:45 AM to stretch and then warmup at 8. I will have waivers for parents to sign before the meet starts. I will also get you all payment details, I am paying upfront then will let everyone know what is owed. Anyone who wants to come watch and cheer on your fellow Marlins is welcome!

End of Season Awards Banquet Wednesday 7/19 at MSRC:

Please forward to Coach Sam ([email protected]) any pictures you have from the Season that you would like included in a slide show she will compile. Please also feel free to print and post any pictures on our Marlins Bulletin Board at the pool, or send to me to post on our website.

This is a potluck and after the awards portion kids will be allowed to swim so make sure you pack a suit!

Arrive by 6 PM, we will eat and then plan to start awards by 6:30-6:45.

Meet Recap

Once again we were a small team- 47 swimmers to their 94. It all came down to relays again… They had 36 Relay teams while we had 20. However, 34 of their relays teams were naturals (all kids were from that age group.) Only 2 of their 4 15-18’s Girls teams had swim ups- and they were 14 years old. We only had 10 natural relay teams and managed to fill the other 10 relay teams with swimmers who all swam up. 

The positive side of having to swim up is that in speaking with many parents and knowing my own experience with Coaches Sam and Jessie, swimming up is often a highlight of the season for many of these kids. One Senior from the other team was asked what the best memory was from her entire time on her team and her answer was swimming up in a 15-18 relay! 

We have to take the positive and instead of seeing us lose a relay event notice the looks of joy on those kids who swam up and accomplished something new. Or listen to the large group of swimmers actually watching the relays and chanting the names of all of the kids swimming up. The other team commented to me that they thought it was amazing to watch. Our sportsmanship was on point and was again an example of what Summer League is all about!!

Last Soapbox moment: I had many swimmers repeatedly come over and ask for the score and then look disappointed. While I love the competitive attitude I tried to remind them that it is not all about the score and I was happy to tell them where they placed in their events. I explained that if you thought of this as a soccer game (or any other sport actually) we would be playing 5 against 10. In that situation would you expect our team to be blown out of the water? Yes, absolutely! But this was not a blowout. Our swimmers individually swam very well and achieved many new best times (I will have a best times portion at the awards ceremony for those who were wondering.)

Final Score- Stonebridge 327.17 Manchester 184.83

Team Record: Andrew Cook flew a perfect butterfly race to beat Coach David’s old 15-18 Boys Butterfly record of 25.68. Andrew’s new record is 24.91- Congrats!

Double Winners: Mason Curtis, Abbott Keigan, Carpenter Keigan, Sam Miller

Triple Winners: Andrew Cook, Claire Curtis, Gavin Ivory

Relay Swim Ups: Thank you to the following swimmers who swam up in a relay: Keep in mind all of these swimmers only swim 25’s and stepped out of their comfort zone to swim 50’s, which is much more difficult physically and mentally. I am so proud of them for their enthusiasm while stretching their limits.

• Caroline Jones swam with 9-10 Medley and 11-12 Free Relays
• Emma Kincaid swam with 11-12 Medley and 9-10 Free Relays
• Remy Boussious swam with 13-14 Medley and Free Relays
• Eva Ward swam with 11-12 Free Relay
• Rory Convissar swam with 15-18 Free Relay
• Quinn Poplak swam with 15-18 Medley and Free Relays
• Campbell Keigan swam with 15-18 Medley and Free Relays

Thank you again to all those who swam and volunteered.

Summary of actions needed:

• Declare Swimmer for 7/18 meet
• Volunteer for remaining open job positions for 7/18
• Munchin Marlins RSVP for 7/17- VERY IMPORTANT
• Sign up for Concessions donations if able
• RSVP for Awards Ceremony on 7/19
• Let me know if you want to participate in a Parent Relay or have any singers willing to sing the National Anthem

As always if you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact me.

GO MARLINS!
Jackie Miller

Manchester TSA Rep

919-345-9359

[email protected]