Hi Everyone,

This email has lots of important information you need to know about the TAAF Regional Meet which will be held on Saturday July 19th.  Please read the entire email and you will have a good understanding of what you need to do to get ready for TAAF.

REGIONAL MEET ENTRIES

You have until Thursday, July 10th at the end of practice to sign up for the Regional Meet. This means NOON.  Not 1pm, not 3pm.  End of practice Thursday is FINAL.  So don't delay - there will be a sheet at the pool starting Monday where you can sign up for events.

At TAAF,  10 & Under swimmers can swim in 3 events TOTAL, 11 - 14 can swim in 4 events TOTAL and 15 - 17 can swim in 4 individual and 3 relay events.  TOTAL number of events includes relays.  So you need to decide if you'd like to be on a relay. Here's how you sign up: 1.) sign up for the 3 individual events you'd like to swim. 2.) If you'd like to be on a relay, say YES for relays, then circle the event you want to drop if you are chosen to be on a relay. PLEASE, ONLY SIGN UP TO BE ON A RELAY IF YOU ARE WILLING AND ABLE TO GO TO THE STATE MEET.  The State Meet is July 31 - Aug 3 in Bryan, TX. 

***If you did not swim on the Riptides, Waves or Hurricanes, you need to be timed in your events at practice some time this week.  Please see Coach Russell, Coach Stephanie, Lynn Shortt or Cindy Stein so they can get your swimmer timed.

Here is some general information about the Regional Meet:

Date: Saturday, July 19, 2014

Start Time: 10 & Under: Warmups 8:00 a.m. / Start 9:00 a.m.

                      11 & Over: Warmups 11:30 a.m. / Start 1:00 p.m.

Location:  Matthew T. Doyle Natatorium - 1900 5th Avenue North                        

                    Texas City, TX 77590

Volunteer Responsibilities: 2 Timers per session.  Please volunteer - the more the merrier so the shifts will be shorter.

Ready Bench: The morning session will use a Ready Bench area for lining up the swimmers.  The afternoon session will have the swimmers report directly to the blocks for their event.  Just as with Invitationals, parents are responsible for making sure their swimmers get to the ready bench / blocks in a timely fashion.

Setup: The pool is an 8-lane indoor pool with touchpads and electronic scoreboard; however, it is not clear whether there is indoor or outdoor setup.  Prepare for outdoor setup (tents, chairs, coolers, etc) until we find out otherwise.

Eligibility: If you swam on a USA swim team from January 1 - April 30, 2014, you are NOT eligible to swim in the Regional or State Meet.  The exception to this rule is if the swimmer is 13 years or older.

State Entries: The number of top finishers that can advance to the State Meet varies from year to year based on the number of entries.  At a minimum it is the top 3 finishers, but some years it has been as many as the top 5 finishers.  This will change so be sure to ask the day of the meet. If you qualify for States, you need to declare your intentions by the end of your session at the Regional meet.  If you know you DO NOT want to go to the State Meet in Bryan, please let them know because they will bump up the next qualified swimmer.  If you DO want to go to States, you will need to declare and pay your entry fees right then and there.  State Meet fees are $7.00 per individual event and $28.00 per relay event (price for the whole team).  The entry fees for States must be paid in CASH so BRING CASH.  No checks will be accepted.

Hotel Reservations: Bryan, TX is pretty close to The Woodlands; however, if you are planning to stay overnight, I urge you to make hotel reservations sooner rather than later.  Just make sure you can cancel the reservation if you don't qualify.  It gets crazy after the regional meet. Remember we are not the only regional meet and not the only sport competing at the TAAF games and all roads lead to Bryan.

Well, that should get you started.  Lynn Shortt or Cindy Stein will be at the pool during practice to answer any questions you may have.  You can also email me, if necessary.  

Thanks for reading.

Kallie