BRSC Updates
November 4th, 2008
Dear Families:
Here is the latest of goings on with your favorite swim club. As always, feel free to pass on to anyone not on this list. If you have questions, feel free to ask.
1) Coach Kate will be taking down sign-ups for the Eugene City Invitational tonight (11/4). This meet is scheduled for 12/5-7/08 at Sheldon HS pool in Eugene. 2) At this weekend’s competition in McMinnville, we will need as many parent volunteer timers as possible. If you haven’t done it before, it’s really simply a matter of starting & stopping a stopwatch by pushing a button when the starting horn starts, and when the swimmer’s hand touches the finish wall. OK, you may get a little wet, but what better way to see how different swimmers swim, and interact with each other? We need everyone’s help to show our responsibility when we enter a meet. 3) Coach Kate also tells me that she will be accepting the best time cards only thru the end of the long course season (August ‘08). She will be ordering the plaques and shingles as soon as she can. New parents/swimmers, the time cards are the different colored cards showing your time improvements for each event/stroke. If you collect twenty (20) cards of any one color, you will receive a plaque from which to hang “shingles” for additional strokes. We have been doing this for several years, and it’s become a great motivator for our swimmers. 4) Oregon Swimming is always looking for meet officials. We, as a club, should also strive to provide as many officials as possible - especially when we enter competitions with up to 100 swimmers. I am asking anyone interested in becoming an official to volunteer their time and energy to learn officiating. The club will pay any registration fees, an official can deduct their mileage on their tax returns (unless the law/tax code has changed), and you provide a valuable service to all who participate. If we have enough volunteers, I am willing to coordinate an officials’ clinic here in Salem. Let me know if you’re interested. 5) The Thanksgiving practice schedule will be: NO PRACTICE on Thurs., 11/27 & Friday, 11/28. Senior practice will be decided by Coach Kate. 6) At last month’s Oregon Swimming mini-expo, some decisions were reached that will affect us all. Here are the main points of discussion: A) OSI has decided to abide by the USA Swimming competition suit recommendation that no 12 & unders will be allowed to swim with a suit that covers the shoulders, arms, and legs. This basically eliminates the Laser full body suit for 12 & unders. This was discussed at length, but the bottom line was to try and relieve the financial pressure at the young ages. B) Western Zone team funding will be reduced for next year - more to fall in line with other travel reimbursements (such as Jr. Nationals, Sr. Nationals, Olympics), and for budgetary reasons. The team will also be reduced in size, back to the original number of 8 per sex per age group - again, a budgetary reason as the team will travel to Hawaii next summer. C) Registration fees will increase next year (2010) by $5, and meet surcharges by $3. This was debated ad nauseum because of budget overages, and ranged from increasing surcharges, meet fees, event fees, registration fees, etc. As with the other budget cuts, this was decided as easiest and most cost effective. Whew!! 7) Billing statements have been printed and circulated in your swimmer’s folders. Please get your account balances met, as I will “backup” statements next month to reduce amount of paper used and minimize your statements. WSC & CST Inv. fees are printed at the bottom of the statements. 8) There will be a parents’ meeting, Thursday, 11/20, at 7:00pm in the Sparks Center multi-purpose room (the exercise carpeted room off the entrance to the pool balcony). An agenda for this meeting will be posted, but will include: club updates, Parents Association update (Pres. Joel Rumrill) & election, Pacific Crest Championships meet (scheduled to be here in Salem), and other information. 9) There will be a practice schedule change for Friday, Nov. 14th, due to university programming. Srs. and Sr. Preps will practice from 4-5:30, AG2 from 5-6pm (normal), and AG3 & 4 from 6-7pm. 10) We would also like to schedule a team pot luck, picture, and seasonal party day. If you have any ideas of where we could “host” this party day, let me know.
Thanks for everyone’s support, past, present, and in the future.
Al Stephenson