Parent Info/Updates

Parents:

First, our last two home meets are next weekend on friday, 1/4/2013 and saturday, 1/5/2013.  We still need 3 timers for friday and 1 for saturday.  If you have not signed up yet but would like to you can signup at www.signupgenius.com or email me:  jandahiltner1@att.net  and I can sign you up online.  If you email me, remember to tell me which day.

Second, thank you to the parents who helped provide athlete snacks during December.  Unfortunately the overall response was less than needed to continue it in the new year. We were providing water and gatorade, bananas and clementines, and energy snacks such as clif bars/granola bars/trail mix.  For meets going forward please remind your athlete to pack appropriate snacks and beverages.  It is important for them to stay hydrated and to have appropriate energy sources throughout the meet.  Coach Karr can give additional feedback if you have questions about particular snacks and beverages.

Raffle Ticket Reminder

There are still a few of you who have not turned in your raffle ticket stubs.  The LAB drawings start in early January.  If you found your tickets in the bottom of your swim bag over break you should put your name on the stubs and return them to Cameron Hiltner at practice before January 1.  We will get those stubs to LAB so they are included in the cash drawing.  Remember, you already paid for them, you might as well get a chance at the cash.

New College Program, Fall 2013

I am very proud to announce that Tiffin University has added Men’s and Women’s Swimming and Diving programs to their roster and I have been selected to build the team and develop a championship tradition in the pool. Tiffin University (TU) is a private institution, located in North Central Ohio only 90 miles from major cities like Columbus and Cleveland. Tiffin is comprised of three major colleges; the School of Arts & Sciences, the  School of Business, and the School of Criminal Justice & Social Sciences. The TU Dragons compete at the NCAA II level and are a part of the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC), which is one of the fastest conferences for DIII swimming. Our athletic department at Tiffin is on the rise and now is a home for 22 varsity sports. Our first official season for Swimming and Diving Men’s and Women’s teams will be this coming fall (2013) and I am so excited for what this season will bring.  As I am assembling my team I am looking for swimmers who want to be a part of history and build the program with me. As a former Olympic swimmer I am intense, goal driven coach who loves the competing and winning! I’m looking for swimmers who share the same drive as me and I know that I will be able to build champions in the pool and in the classroom at Tiffin University. Please visit our website http://www.gotiffindragons.com/index.php and pass this information to the high school swimmers that you have. Please feel free to contact me with any questions. I look forward to speaking to you!
Rita Kalmikova Head Coach Swimming & Diving Tiffin University kalmikovam@tiffin.edu Office: 419-448-3314 Cell: 917-497-9744 Fax: 419-443-5007

IPAD WINNER!!!

Congratulations to Tonya O'Tighearnaigh who won the drawing for the OLHS swim/dive team IPad 3.  The drawing was held prior to diving at the OLHS vs Westerville North meet on saturday, December 15.  The raffle tickets have been forwarded to LAB to be included in the three cash drawings held during the winter sports season. 

There are still several team members who have not turned in their tickets.  It's not too late!  Give them to Cameron Hiltner at practice or get them to me before January 1 and we will get them to LAB for the cash drawings.  Remember, you've already paid for them.  Look through the junk drawer or basket in the kitchen, search the swim bags.  Then if they are still unsold, put your own name on them and get them in for the cash drawing.

Delaware County Classic Schedule

@Ohio Wesleyan University
Diving
Warm-ups are at 7 am
Meet starts at 8:30 am

Swimming
Bus departs school at 9:40 am (bus one way drop off only)
Warm-ups are at 10:20 am
Meet starts at 11:00 am

Lineup will be announced by Wednesday's practice and will be posted on Thursday.  Swimmers below 80% attendance are not eligible to swim in this meet.

Buckeye Bounce

Swimmers & Divers!  Join us this Friday from 11-12 for a little bit of team fun at Buckeye Bounce.  Cost is $10 per person, and yes Coach Karr will bounce too!

3967 Presidential Parkway, Powell, OH 43065

Waiver

Link to Electronic Waiver

Exam Week Schedule

Monday: 3:00-5:30

Tuesday: 3:00-4:30

Wednesday: 2:45-4:15

Thursday: 2:45-4:15

Friday: 3:00-5:30

As discussed with the swimmers, we would like to see them a MINIMUM of 2 of the 3 days (Tuesday, Wednesday & Thursday . We strongly believe in the value of getting in the water to swim as a means tor educe stress and clear the mind.  Exercise has been shown over and over to be a major benefit in mental alertness and stress reduction.  Practices these three days will be geared with this in mind.  Anyone that needs to come to part of the practice can.  Practices are 90 minutes each with a  recommended minimum participation of 30 minutes. Our swimmers seem to have a very good grasp of this concept.

Meet this Saturday 12/15

Our next meet is this Saturday at OWU vs. Westerville North.  All swimmers & divers need to be on deck ready to go at 3:45 pm.  The meet itself will begin at 5:00 pm.

You can GPS OWU with the following address: 150 S. Henry St, Delaware, 43015.  Access to parking is off of Harrison.  There is no bus provided to our meets at OWU.

The line up will be announced at practice on Friday  - everyone that has attended practice regularly will particiapte.

Exam week schedule

We are working on the practice schedule for next week with the hopes of getting the kids in and out of the pool slightly earlier each day.  During exams we ask that the kids attempt to get in at least 30-90 minutes of swimming each day.  The break in the day to swim is a great stress reducer in the midst of exams.  As soon as we know the schedule we will post changes to the calendar.

Swimmers of the Meet

Congratulations to our swimmers of the meet this past week-end.
Gahanna
Turner Schade and Justine Kenny. Turner broke the minute barrier in the 100 free for the first time capping off a great meet.  Justine led the relay with a quick 50 back and had a stellar 500 free on Friday night.

Ned Reeb 
Our swimmers of the meet at the Ned Reeb Invite were much harder to pick -we had a lot of GREAT swimming!  Congratulations to Cameron Hiltner and Cameron Thatcher.  Cameron Thatcher broke another team diving record, for 11 dives, on his way to a 2nd place finish in the 11 dive event.  Cameron Hiltner out together an amazing 40 minute triple, first anchoring our Medley Relay then in less than 10 minutes breaking 2:00 in the 200 freestyle.  She capped the triple off 30 minutes later with a best time in the 100 fly finishing in 1:01.36.  All swims were top 10 finishes!

Pasta Party Friday night at Hiltners

6-9 pm
2231 Ashbury Close
Powell

Directions from the Y:

Go south on Liberty through downtown and over the railroad tracks.
Turn left on Jewett Rd and go 1 mile to Ashbury Close (3rd street on the right)
Turn left in the fourth driveway, go up the driveway and park in the circle and in the grass.  There will be stakes at the edge of the yard like there were for the fall party. Please avoid parking on the street as it is a narrow road.

RAFFLE TICKET REMINDER

Only a dozen kids have turned in their raffle stubs so far!  If your kids are like mine, they are in a ziplock at the bottom of their swim bags.  Remind them to turn them in to Alex McCloskey  ASAP.  Jen McCloskey and I will both be at the Gahanna meet tonight if you have them.  You can also give them to me at the morning session tomorrow or to my wife Ann at the afternoon session tomorrow.  Remember, completed stubs with your athlete's name on a piece of paper in a ziplock baggie.  The drawing is next saturday at the meet (December 15). 

Pasta Party at the Lennon’s

Thursday, December 6th from 5:30-8:30 pm.

332 Tree Haven Ave.

Coming from the Y.  Take Liberty Rd. to Powell Rd.

Turn right onto Powell Rd.

Take Powell Rd. to Sawmill Rd. (old Sawmill not the Parkway).

Turn left onto Sawmill Rd. at the UDF

Take Sawmill Rd. to Grandshire

Turn Left onto Grandshire

Take Grandshire to Tree Haven Ave which is the 5th street on the right.

Turn right onto Tree Haven Ave and we are the first house on the left.

Week-end Meet Schedule

We have a busy week-end with a dual meet at Gahanna Lincoln on Friday and the Ned Reeb Invite on Saturday at OSU.  Please note the following:

Friday, 12/7 at Gahanna YMCA
555 YMCA Place  Gahanna, OH 43230
Bus leaves the school at 3:10 pm

Warm-ups are at 4:00, the Meet starts at 4:30
All swimmers that make the line up for this meet are required to ride the bus to and from the meet.  The line up will be announced at practice on Thursday.  Due to limited entries we will not be able to take our entire girls squad.  Also there are no diving boards, thus no diving at this meet.
Due to limited seating at the YMCA, parents are encouraged to bring their own chairs.

Saturday, 12/8 Ned Reeb Invite at Ohio State
A Flight
-The bus will leave the school at 6:15 am
-Warm-ups are at 7 am, Meet starts at 8:45 am
-This is a prelim/finals meet.  Top 20 prelim swimmers in individual events AND relays return for finals in the evening.  Finals warm-ups are at 4:30 pm, the meet starts at 5:30.

B Flight
-The bus will leave the school at 10:45 am
-Warm-ups are at 11:30, Meet Starts at 12:30
-This is a timed final session.  No relays.

LINE-UP
A flight psych sheet, top 24 divers are posted here: http://cosa.clubspaces.com/pagecustom.aspx?id=11&o=571923 

All swimmers in the meet are required to ride the bus to and from their appropriate A flight or B flight session.  Divers are not required to ride the bus for this meet.  Finalists are asked to provide their own transportation back to OSU.

Divers smash 2 records

Congratulations to Junior diver Olivia Ball and Freshman diver Cameron Thatcher!  Olivia broke the girls team record by nearly 20 points on Saturday with a 289.65. Cameron smashed the team record by over 70 points with a score of 294.50.  WTG Divers!

Winter Break Training Schedule

We have been able to acquire pool time at Worthington again this year in order to maximize our swimmers day with their club training.  While the times aren't ideal  they are an improvement from the 3:00 time slot that the YMCA has made available and should help our kids get in some doubles.  Please make note of the following schedule - all practices are REQUIRED.

Wednesday, 12/26: 11:30-2:00 at Worthington
Thursday, 12/27: 11:30-2:00 at Worthington
Friday, 12/27: 3-5:30 at Liberty YMCA
Monday, 12/31: 3-5:30 at Liberty YMCA
Wednesday, 1/2: 12:00-2:00 at Worthington
Thursday, 1/3: 8-10:30 am at Worthington
Friday, 1/4: 8-10 am at Worthington

No Practice 12/24, 12/25 and 1/1.
Happy Holidays!

Swimmers of the Meet

Congratulations to our swimmers of the meet from Saturday!
Girls - Reilly Haas for stellar performances in the 50 fly, 50 free & 100 free!
Boys -Jack Saczawa with a strong showing in the 100 back.

Raffle Ticket Reminder

Raffle ticket stubs are due to Alex McCloskey no later than Friday, December 7.  Please remember to put the completed stubs along with the athlete's name in a ziplock baggie.  The Ipad drawing will be at the December 15 home meet.

Wrap up

The first meet is in the books! Thanks to everyone who volunteered to help with the meet. I will be sending out a signupgenius link for anybody who would like to help provide water, gatorade, energy bars, fruit for the team at meets. Yesterday there was a case of water, a case of gatorade, 3 bunches of bananas, a big bag of clementines, a box of clif bars, a box of Costco trailmix, and a box of Kashi trailmix bars. There were 6 waters, 3 bananas and half the Kashi bars left at the end of the meet. I'll tweak the mix a little next week to avoid leftovers. The total cost was about $60. This was not in the budget for the year so if it continues it will be because of volunteer contributions. This is a no-pressure sales pitch. Ask your swimmer/diver if they appreciated having it available and help out if you want to.

Also, if you took pictures of your athlete being woken up before the breakfast gathering last Monday (G rated only), or if you took pictures at the McConaghys pasta party, or if you took pictures at the meet on saturday, please post those pictures to the shutterfly website. Let me know if you need another link to the site (jandahiltner1@att.net). Shutterfly says you can also post pictures to the site by emailing the jpeg file as an attachment to: olhsswimdiveteam@sfly.com . The only limitations are on your outbound mail size. I have tested this function and it did work.

John Hiltner

First Meet is 12/1

Our first meet is this Saturday at OWU vs. Olentangy Orange.  All swimmers & divers need to be on deck ready to go at 3:45 pm.  The meet itself will begin at 4:45 pm.

You can GPS OWU with the following address: 150 S. Henry St, Delaware, 43015.  Access to parking is off of Harrison.  There is no bus provided to our meets at OWU.

The line up will be announced at practice on Friday.(everyone participates).

Go Patriots!

Pasta Party!

Friday, November 30 from 6-9 pm

at the McConaghy's

385 Retreat Ln W   

The easiest way to get there is to go down Powell road towards 315 and then turn left into the Chase. From there take a left just past the stop sign(raccoon run), take another left at the end of that road (retreat ln) and we will have a sign out for the party. The McConaghy house is between the house with white lit balls hanging from their trees and the house with red lights wrapped around their tree.  

Please do not park in the driveway.  Park along the road by the ditch or down the side street. Seating might be limited, so if you have a folding chair please bring it along.

Pay to Play fees

Pay to Play fees have been posted to your SPS EZPay accounts.  Please login and take care of these before our first meet. Please note, the district has eliminated caps on pay to play fees (I found this out the hard way when I logged in to pay my kids fees).  Here's the blurb on the district website:

Has the district eliminated caps on athletic participation fees?

Posted: July 19, 2012

Yes, beginning with the 2012-13 school year, student athletes will be charged a $75 fee for every sport in which they participate.  The district has eliminated the per-building and per-family caps on these fees in order to better offset the costs associated with offering comprehensive athletic programs.  All fee balances must be paid prior to the first contest. Eligibility will be restored once all fees have been paid, or if a hardship exists, a payment plan may be established by a building administrator. For more information, please refer to the athletic handbook or contact the fee secretary in your building.

Team Pictures

Team Pictures are this Thursday, November 29 at 3pm at the Liberty YMCA. All swimmers and divers should wear their team suit for the picture.

Children who swim are Smarter

Melbourne: Children who learn how to swim at a young age are reaching many developmental milestones earlier than the norm, scientists say.

As well as achieving physical milestones faster, children who swim also scored significantly better in visual-motor skills such as cutting paper, coloring in and drawing lines and shapes, and many mathematically-related tasks.

Their oral expression was also better as well as in the general areas of literacy and numeracy, found researchers from the Griffith Institute for Educational Research in Australia.

The study surveyed parents of 7000 under-fives from Australia, New Zealand and the US over three years.

A further 180 children aged 3, 4 and 5 years have been involved in intensive testing, making it the world`s most comprehensive study into early-years swimming.

Lead researcher Professor Robyn Jorgensen said the study shows young children who participate in early-years swimming achieve a wide range of skills earlier than the normal population.

"Many of these skills are those that help young children into the transition into formal learning contexts such as pre-school or school," Jorgensen said.

"The research also found significant differences between the swimming cohort and non-swimmers regardless of socio-economic background," Jorgensen said in a statement

Thanksgiving Week Schedule

Monday & Tuesday: regular practice schedule

Wednesday 9-11 am

Thursday: No Practice - HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Friday: 3-5:30 pm

Monday 3-5:30 pm

IMPORTANT REMINDERS!!!!

1.  The last day to order spirit wear is wednesday, November 21.  The link is shown below:

http://teamshowroom.com/libertyswimming

2.  Raffle ticket stubs and a piece of paper with your swimmers name should be put in a ziplock baggie and given to Alex McCloskey at high school practice.  The last day to turn in stubs is friday, December 7.  This allows us a week to make sure all stubs are in and completed prior to the drawing at the meet on December 15.  Please contact Jennifer McCloskey at jenmccloskey4@gmail.com  or John Hiltner at jandahiltner1@att.net.

3.  We still have a few open timing slots at all four meets.  Also, we will be asked to provide timers on at least one lane at the Delaware County Classic on December 22 at OWU.  I will put up another signup list once we know how many lanes.  This is a longer meet so I would expect we would split it into shifts.  So if we have one lane (two timing slots), then we will ask for 4 timers.

Booster Meeting Recap

Thank you for attending the first swim/dive booster meeting this evening.  We had a great turnout.   Over 90% of the athletes have turned in their gear order and raffle money.  Please remember you cannot turn these in to a coach.  We'd like to wrap up the rest of the forms/checks by the end of the week.

The agenda packet that was handed out tonight had a lot of information about what we are doing this season from a volunteer perspective.  I will post a PDF version of this document in the next day or so in case you weren't at the meeting or have lost your copy.

Thanks to Jennifer McCloskey for volunteering to be our raffle coordinator.  We are still looking for volunteers for the following:
-Parent Social Coordinator
-Swimmer Sustenance Coordinator
-End of season Banquet Coordinator (also help coordinate gathering of vast quantities of pictures)

Please let me know of updates/changes to the athlete/booster roster. I'd like a complete list of names, phone numbers, addresses, and email addresses before the season starts.  My email address is: jandahiltner1@att.net.

Finally, thanks to Kelli Ball and the apparel committee for pulling together a variety of spirit wear.  This link will be active for a week.  Spirit wear makes a great Christmas gift for the whole family. Any items ordered will be delivered to Kelli in about 3 weeks and she will let everyone know when it arrives.  The link is:

http://teamshowroom.com/libertyswimming

 

Several of you also volunteered to time.  I will update the signupgenius website before I send out the next reminder.  Thank you for signing up.

Reminder-Booster Meeting November 14

The OLHS Swim/Dive Team Boosters are having their first meeting of the season Wednesday evening (November 13) at 8:00 pm, immediately following the winter sports meeting.  Please ensure that at least one parent of each team member is present.  The meeting will last no more than 1.5 hours.

We will be collecting payments (checks made payable to LAB) and order forms.

Great Start!

Just a  quick note to let everyone know that the swimmers are off to an incredible start this year. Our conditioning level is far ahead of any team we have seen in the past 7 years.  The swimmers have been divided into 4 training groups based on their conditioning level and training needs: Club, Varsity, JVA & JVB.  Please feel free to email or call with any questions.  

Coach Karr

Parent Meeting Wednesday, Nov. 14

7:00 pm Winter Sports Meeting
8:00 pm Swim/Dive Meeting
Your presence is required at the swim/dive meeting
Your presence is required at the winter sports meeting if you did not attend the fall sports meeting for an OLHS Fall Sport

At the parent meeting you will turn in your order form and Boosters check for equipment and raffle tickets.  Payment on these items is due at this meeting.

The Swim & Dive Boosters will present you with helpful information about the upcoming season.

If you need an order form, please ask your student for theirs.  If they cannot find it email Coach Karr - she'll send you pdf of the form.

Extra 'Contact" this Saturday

We are offering all of our swimmers & divers contact credit if they attend the OHSAA State Soccer Final on Saturday to cheer on the OLHS Boys Soccer team.  Swimmers & Divers will be asked to solve a puzzle as a group while at the game in order to earn the credit (Coach Baxendale is supervising).

Here are the game details:

Our Boys Soccer Team earned a hard-fought 1-0 victory over the Mason High School Comets last night in the State Semi-final Game at Bellbrook.  This means that they have earned the right to again represent Liberty High School and the Olentangy Local School District in the OHSAA Division I Boys Soccer Championship at Columbus Crew Stadium on Saturday, November 10 at 7:00pm.  The Patriots Soccer team is making their second consecutive trip to the State Championship Game and is looking to win the 1st-ever Team Championship for Liberty HS.

We will play against the Sylvania Southview Cougars who won last night in their semi-final contest with Aurora High School.

Details for the game are below:

• 7:00pm Crew Stadium.  Directions to Crew Stadium
• All Tickets are $8.00. Pre-School Age does not require a ticket for admission
• No Pre-Sale of tickets permitted for State Final Game. All tickets must be purchased at Crew Stadium Ticket Windows
• Parking Cost is $5.00 per vehicle
• Time Warner will broadcast the game and show it on Tape Delay Sunday

OLHS will be holding a school Pep Assembly Friday afternoon to honor our fall athletes, our marching band, and our academic award recipients as well as celebrating the success of our Boys Soccer Team.  The Pep Assembly will begin at 2:15 in the Main Gymnasium.

Practice starts Friday!

Tryouts are this Friday at 3:00 at Liberty YMCA!  We are trying to finish these by 4:00 in order to accommodate our swimmers attending meets this week-end.

Please make sure you have filled out your athlete questionnaire prior to tryouts - we are missing a few
LINK TO QUESTIONNAIRE

Liberty Swim and Dive Team Parents

Welcome to the 2012-2013 Olentangy Liberty Swim and Dive Team season.  I am contacting you regarding several opportunities that are available for you to contribute to the team to make the best experience possible for the athletes, as well as asking for your active participation in the swim and dive season.  The team requires not only substantial assistance to run its home meets but also involvement to coordinate team activities throughout the season. 

Many of you are coming to the high school team from a large club team environment where it is possible to spend a lot of time in the stands cheering your kids throughout the meet.  High school teams are significantly smaller and therefore require a larger percentage of parents to be involved in the meets in order to get everything done.  For example, if we run 6 swim lanes at our home meets then we need to provide 14 timers (2 per lane plus a head timer and a backup timer).  Assuming 55 swimmers and divers with roughly 110 parents, which means approximately 13% of our parents need to be involved just as timers!  That number goes even higher if you look only at the swimmers participating in any particular meet since not all 55 swim every meet.  Over the course of 3 home meets (plus providing supplemental timers at Invitationals) then we need half of our parents to volunteer to time at least once during the season.  We need you to volunteer to time at least one meet.

Every parent of a team member is also a member of the Liberty Swim and Dive Boosters.  In addition to the board, there are nine committees where volunteers are needed.  I have listed these below.  We are working on job descriptions for each one, but they will incorporate the brief description below.  Please pick a committee that you are interested in or where you have particular experience through another athletic   team, other organization, or your job.  Our goal is to see every family volunteering in some capacity to make this season a great experience for our kids.

Liberty Swim and Dive Booster Committees:

Apparel:-This committee works with the team to design and order spirit wear for swimmers and parents.  We have a list of vendors that have been used in the past and who may be able to help with both the design and ordering process. 

Banquet:-This committee organizes the end of season banquet and normally includes one parent from each class as well as additional volunteers that have an interest.  All four class slots are currently filled by: Sue Pollner, Chris Miller, Angela Hosler, and Cheryl Newton.  Additional volunteers are welcome to assist in planning as well as facilitating.

Home Meet Committee: This committee organizes and facilitates the organized running of home meets.  Within the committee is a Meet Manager-who is the point person for the setup and management of  our home meets.  Our role will change a little since home meets are moving from the Y to OWU and our responsibilities are still being defined.  Diana Gaiss has volunteered as Meet Manager and we need additional volunteers to assist..  John Lennon has volunteered as the head timer and will coordinate volunteer timers and materials including stop watches.

Parent Social Committee-This committee helps parents acclimate to the team, host parent mixers and gatherings. 

Pasta Parties:-This committee helps organize the pasta parties throughout the swim and dive season.  Eleanor Bently has volunteered to coordinate this committee.  Senior parents host pasta parties every few weeks for all the team members and coaches.  Some parents have the pasta party food catered by local restaurants while others will band together to provide a home cooked meal.  Host parents need lots of help to pull off serving more than 60 people at their home.  This is a good way for new parents to help out without being overwhelmed.  It is also a good opportunity to meet other swim and dive parents as well as the athletes.

Raffle Ticket Committee:-This committee is responsible for making sure raffle tickets are sold, or at least the ticket money is collected.  As Coach Karr described we are doing things a little differently this year.  Essentially, the parent of each swimmer or diver is pre-buying 15 lottery tickets.  The parent has the choice of putting their own name on all 15 tickets for a chance to win the cash prize paid by the Liberty Athletic Boosters and the chance to win an Ipad offered by the Liberty Swim and Dive Boosters, or having their swimmer or diver sell the 15 tickets to recoup their money and give others the chance to win the cash prize or Ipad.  Since the tickets are being pre-purchased the money will be collected up front and this committee will be responsible for ensuring that all ticket stubs are filled out and turned in to LAB in order to qualify the buyer for the raffle.  This is our main fundraiser and will replace school conference babysitting.  The team will get 40% of the proceeds for the first 10 tickets and 80% of the next 5 tickets sold by each swimmer or diver.

Senior Night Committee:-This committee is responsible for putting together the extravaganza honoring our seniors after the final home meet on Friday 1/4/2013.  Cyndi Dawson has volunteered to chair this committee but needs at ,least 2 additional volunteers per class to assist.

Senior Scrapbook Committee:-This committee is responsible for gathering materials and assembling scrapbooks for each of the seniors to be presented on senior night.  Senior parents also assist in gathering photos for their athlete and submit them.  Cyndi Dawson has volunteered to chair this committee as well and needs  2 volunteers per class to assist.

Travel Committee:(in seasons with overnight travel to meets)- This committee facilitates and organizes travel, food and accommodations when the team travels.  This committee will probably not be active this season because we have no overnight meets other than the state meet on 2/21-2013.

Sustenance Committee: Finally, several parents have expressed an interest in providing healthy snacks and beverages for our swimmers at each meet.  This is not covered by a current standing committee but could be added if there is enough interest and we can figure out a way to pay for it.  Please let me know your thoughts and willingness to help with this function as well.  We would need a coordinator and several volunteers to help with the food and management.

Please consider volunteering if your name is not listed here.  We need committee chairs and committee members.  Home meets at OWU are scheduled for 12/1, 12/15, and 1/4.  We will need 14 timers for each of those and we’d like those positions filled by the 11/14 boosters meeting.  Apparel always has a longer lead time because we are dependent on outside vendors for product.  This committee also needs to be up and running by the start of the season.  Raffle tickets will be distributed by LAB shortly after the team is able to practice so that committee also needs to ready to go by the first booster meeting.  We hope to make the swim and dive season a wonderful experience for the athletes with active parent volunteers on the committees and participating at home meets.

You can send me an email at: jandahiltner1@att.net .  Please volunteer for at least one home meet as well as one committee for the season.  If yyou are willing to be a committee chairperson also let me know.  I will then route any other volunteers to the committee chairpersons for follow up communications.

Thank you for your time.  I am looking forward to a great season for all the swimmers and divers!

p.s. Our two most immediate needs are for a Raffle committee chairperson and an Apparel committee chairperson.  Most of the work for these two committees will take place before the first meet so we must get started right away.  Also, it would be helpful if every parent were to send a message to jandahiltner1@att.net indicating that they have received this message, the name of their team athlete(s), the gender of their team athlete(s), and their school year(s).

Booster Member Needed

We are looking for a returning parent who would like to serve on our booster board as an at large member.  If interested, please email John Hiltner at jandahiltner1@att.net

Reminder - Team Meeting Wednesday 10/24

We will hold a team informational meeting for parents & athletes (swimmers & divers) on Wednesday, October 24 in the OLHS commons at 7:00 pm.  We will discuss many important details including:

• Changes in fundraising (we are not babysitting this year)
• Swim Boosters
• Practice times
• Participation Requirements
• Letter Requirements
• Team Rules
• Tryouts

Tryouts are Friday, November 2 & Monday November 5 at 3:00 at Liberty YMCA.  

Required Participation Paperwork (please hand in at the team meeting):

• Alternate Transportation Form 
   
• Emergency Medical Form
   
• Code of Conduct 
   
• Insurance 
   
• Physical 
   
• Permission to Treat  

Athlete Questionnaire

Swimmers & Divers, please take a few moments to fill out this Athlete Questionnaire - prior to the 10/24 meeting. To date about half of the questionnaire's have been completed.

This will help us prepare for the season and set a correct practice schedule for the number of swimmers & divers interested in participating this year.

LINK TO QUESTIONNAIRE

Dive Meeting

Our Head Dive Coach, Jennifer White, will hold a divers meeting Monday, October 15 at 6:30 pm at Olentangy High School. The meeting will take place in room 1204 or 1205. Coach White is our most amazing OLSD Dive Coach and will handle diving for all three schools. All interested divers and parents should attend.

Dine out for No Kid Hungry

On 9/22/12 (This Coming Saturday), Buffalo Wild Wings, 3878 Attucks Drive, Powell, OH is donating $.50 from each order of their Dessert Nachos, Molten Dip and Tailgating Sampler to Share Our Strength’s “Dine Out For No Kid Hungry” campaign. Help support this initiative, by visiting Buffalo Wild Wings this Saturday and while ordering one of the 3 items listed tell your waiter or waitress your with “Hometeam E”.

Remember, Liberty Athletic Boosters receives 10% for all checks (Less Alcohol, Taxes and Tips) when stating your with “Hometeam E” while placing your order.

“No child should grow up hungry in America, but one in five children in the U.S. struggles with hunger. Share Our Strength's No Kid Hungry campaign is ending childhood hunger in this nation by ensuring all children get the healthy food they need, every day.

The funds raised through Share Our Strength’s Dine Out For No Kid Hungry (www.nokidhungry.org) support the campaign and its work connecting kids in need with nutritious food and teaching their families how to cook healthy, affordable meals.”

Fitter & Faster tour comes to Delaware

Coach Rietz kindly shared the following email with me: Dear Parents and Swimmers, I have some very exciting news to share with you: the Fitter & Faster Swim Tour Presented by SwimOutlet.com is coming to Delaware, OH on Sept. 16th! The first 30 registrants for this event receive $45 off the event day fee! The good news is: our team has an exclusive opportunity to sign up for this event before it is announced to the public! Use promo code delaware-presale. I strongly encourage every swimmer from our team to sign up before the ticket sales are open to the public, as this will be a memorable learning experience! Regards, Coach Bill Rietz Delaware Hayes and DARTS Head Coach

Welcome to a New Year

Welcome everyone to a new year!
Just a few notes about how to get in or out of the communication loop for Liberty Swim & Dive.

• Subscribe to our blog for the quickest updates  http://libertyswim.blogspot.com/  There's a link on the right hand side of the page to follow by email
• Go to our website  http://libertyswim.com/  and sign up to be on our email list.  Mail chimp pulls our new blog posts each week and sends weekly news.  During the off season, those emails are few & far between.  In season they are once a week.
• Like us on facebook  https://www.facebook.com/pages/Olentangy-Liberty-Swim-Dive/344416240336
• Follow me on Twitter: coachlkarr (I do not tweet much until the season begins)
• Students can become a member of the team facebook page-you can find it here:  http://www.facebook.com/groups/314599951957249/

Every piece of communication that we use has unsubscribe links.  If you child has graduated you can easily follow those links to be removed. 

Our first team meeting will probably not happen until October.  

Some notes about the upcoming season:

• We will not be babysitting for our fundraiser this year :(  
• The new pool that Buckeye is building in the district will not open this season, so we are likely back a the Y.
• Our meet schedule is not yet complete - this should be out in late September.

LAB Dine In at City BBQ -this Saturday

City Barbeque, 3758 W. Powell Road, Powell, OH is partnering with Liberty Athletic Boosters (LAB) to raise money for the Student-Athletes. City Barbeque will donate 25% of the purchase back to (LAB).

This is how it works:

1.     Good all day Saturday August 25, 2012 on Dine in or Carry out Orders at the Powell, OH location
2.     Present this flyer at the time of order to receive credit for the sale.The flyer can be cut in half to distribute.

Please help spread the word by emailing or passing out the flyer to family, friends and neighbors as this is an easy way to make money for the Student-Athletes.

   

Sincerely,

Eric Kunar  LAB Vice -President

Buffalo Wild Wings of Powell supports Liberty Athletic Boosters

Buffalo Wild Wings, 3878 Attucks Drive, Powell, OH is partnering with Liberty Athletic Boosters (LAB) to raise money for the Student-Athletes. Steve Wheaton, Manager, Buffalo Wild Wings has agreed to Donate 10% Of All CHECKS (Excluding Alcohol, Taxes and Tips) to Liberty Athletic Boosters Every Day Of The Week, Every Week Of The Month through 5/31/13!

The program is a simple 2 step process:

1.       Eat At Buffalo Wild Wings, 3878 Attucks Drive, Powell, OH

2.       While Ordering, Inform Your Waiter Or Waitress Your With “Home Team E” And The Waiter Or Waitress Will Mark The Check

Please help spread the word to family, friends and neighbors as this is an easy way to make money for the Student-Athletes.

Steve Wheaton states, Buffalo Wild Wings strives to be a supporter of our community and the people and organizations in it. Their goal is to help make our community the best place to live, work, play, and dine. Come enjoy some food and fun at the Powell Buffalo Wild Wings and support Liberty Athletic Boosters (LAB).

Sincerely,

Stephen G. Mullins, LAB President

Community Rewards for LAB

Just a quick note to tell you about an easy way to help our athletic program and all it takes is a couple minutes to sign up. Both Kroger and Meijer Stores have committed to helping our communities grow and prosper. Year after year, local schools, churches and other non-profit organizations will earn millions of dollars through their Community Rewards Program. So here is how you can help me. I have sent directions to sign up below. It only takes a couple minutes, but the rewards will go a long way to help my athletics programs.

LAB would like each player and coach to sign up 10 people for the Rewards Programs…Remember the 10 people don't necessarily have to live in Powell. This will be a great way to build an annuity for Liberty Athletic Boosters (LAB).

Thanks for taking the time and helping. GO PATRIOTS!

  

Kroger Community Awards:

• Register online at www.krogercommunityrewards.com
• Be sure to have your Kroger Plus Card handy
• Click on Sign In (even if you are not enrolled)
• Click Get started. Sign up today
• Enter your email address and create a password
• Select your Kroger store using your zip code and agree to Terms and Conditions
• Click on Yes, you have a Kroger card
• You will then get a message to check your email in-box. Click the link in the email to confirm
• Now click Log In to Your Account and use your email address and password
• Click on Community Rewards then on Edit Community Rewards Information and enter your Kroger Plus Card Number
• Update or confirm your information
• Enter 81014 or Liberty Athletic Booster then click to confirm
• To verify you are enrolled correctly, you will see your organization's name on the right side of your information page
• You must swipe your Kroger Plus Card or use your phone number relate to the account when shopping for each purchase to count
• Each year in the month of April you will need to re-enroll in the program for the period of May1- April 30.

Meijer Community Rewards Program:

• Go to www.meijer.com/rewards
• Under Meijer Customers, click on Join Now
• To use a Meijer Rewards Card, click on Join How on the last option then create an account
• Once you have entered your information, choose option A and Enter 838033 by Organization 1
• You will then receive your Meijer Reward card in the mail
• Remember when using your Reward card, you need to pay with Cash, a Debit Card or a Meijer's Credit Card

Indoor Pool Meeting

Coach Laurie Karr of Buckeye Swim Club will be present at a  meeting on Tuesday, May 22 at 7:00 pm in the Olentangy Orange HS auditorium. This will be an informational meeting for the Olentangy School District & Buckeye swimming community.  The meeting will focus on three aspects: (1) Educate and inform anyone interested in swimming within the district about Buckeye's quest to build a pool within the district (2) recruit additional investment into the pool and (3) discuss forming a booster board comprised of parties interested in renting the pool long term (annually).  Currently long term users may include the high school teams, a local synchro club and Buckeye Swim Club.

Sport Physicals

HIGH SCHOOL/MIDDLE SCHOOL SPORTS PHYSICALS

OFFERED 3 NIGHTS-ANY STUDENT MAY ATTEND ANY DATE

ORANGE HIGH SCHOOL COMMONS

MONDAY MAY 21, 2012

6:00- 9:00 pm

CHECKS PAYABLE TO OOAB

Cost $10.00

LIBERTY HIGH SCHOOL COMMONS

TUESDAY MAY 22, 2012

6:00- 9:00 pm

 CHECKS PAYABLE TO LAB

Cost $10.00

OLENTANGY HIGH SCHOOL COMMONS

THURSDAY MAY 31, 2012

6:00- 9:00 pm

CHECKS PAYABLE TO OLENTANAGY ATHLETIC BOOSTERS

Cost $10.00

­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­FORMS MAY BE OBTAINED IN THE HIGH SCHOOL OR MIDDLE SCHOOL OFFICE OR ONLINE @ www.olentangy.k12.oh.us

** Forms must be completed and signed by parent and athlete prior to the physical Exam**

**All paperwork must be completed prior to any try-out for a sport**

Sport Physicals Available at the School

   HIGH SCHOOL/MIDDLE SCHOOL SPORTS PHYSICALS

OFFERED 3 NIGHTS-ANY STUDENT MAY ATTEND ANY DATE

ORANGE HIGH SCHOOL COMMONS

MONDAY MAY 21, 2012

6:00- 9:00 pm

CHECKS PAYABLE TO OOAB

Cost $10.00

LIBERTY HIGH SCHOOL COMMONS

TUESDAY MAY 22, 2012

6:00- 9:00 pm

 CHECKS PAYABLE TO LAB

Cost $10.00

OLENTANGY HIGH SCHOOL COMMONS

THURSDAY MAY 31, 2012

6:00- 9:00 pm

CHECKS PAYABLE TO OLENTANAGY ATHLETIC BOOSTERS

Cost $10.00

­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­FORMS MAY BE OBTAINED IN THE HIGH SCHOOL OR MIDDLE SCHOOL OFFICE OR ONLINE @ www.olentangy.k12.oh.us

** Forms must be completed and signed by parent and athlete prior to the physical Exam**

**All paperwork must be completed prior to any try-out for a sport**

Lifeguard Class

                                                       

SAFER SWIMMERS

LIFEGUARD CLASSES

Delaware Community Center YMCA

and the American Red Cross

AMERICAN RED CROSS LIFEGUARD TRAINING will instruct:

·         Skills and knowledge to prevent and respond to
aquatic emergencies

·         CPR for the professional rescuer

·         First Aid

·         REQUIREMENTS

·         Must be at least 15 years old by the last day of the course attended

·         Attend ALL training sessions

·         Successfully complete the following prerequisites:

§  Swim 300 yards continuously

§  Surface dive to a depth of 7-10 feet

§  Retrieve a 10 pound object & return with it to the surface

§  Perform all required skills with accuracy

§  Pass a written test with a score of at least 80%

·         Participants must pass the entire pre-skills test in order to continue the course!  FAILURE TO PASS THE PRE-TEST RESULTS IN FORFEITURE OF CLASS FEES.

			March 19 – March 23 9am – 5pm MEMBER RATE   $175 N0N-MEMBER RATE   $225
	CONTACT Kevin Timmons Delaware Community Center YMCA 1121 S. Houk Rd 740-203-3051 ktimmons@ymcacolumbus.org
							SUNDAYS APRIL 15-MAY 6 Facility Member Rate $180 Non-Member Rate $200
		CONTACT: Phillip Sobers NORT­­H YMCA 1640 Sandalwood Place Columbus, OH 43229 614 885 4252

Banquet RSVPs due

State Champ!

Congratulations to Liberty's newest State Champion, Olivia Ball!  Our divers fought fierce competition at States on Saturday but prevailed!  Olivia was 1st, Alex 5th and Brittany 10th.  Olivia Bentley had a great prelim swim tying for 16th place but in her swim-off was unable to hold off her opponent, leaving her in 17th place.  We are so proud of all of our State competitors efforts - WTG ladies, you represent the Patriots amazingly!

Team Banquet

Our team banquet is March 5!  Click for details.

Schedule Reminders

Practices this week are for District Qualifiers only.  We swim at 3:00 at the Liberty YMCA every day (no more practices at Delaware).

Districts are at 2:00 (diving) and 2:30 (swimming), Saturday at Ohio State.  Please come down to support your Patriots!

The team banquet is March 5 at OLHS.

Winter Babysitting

It's time for winter babysitting sign ups.  We really need extra help at Liberty Tree on 2/23, Indian Springs on 2/28 & again at Liberty Tree on 2/28. Please make sure you are signed up to help by clicking the links below:

2/23:


2/28:

Pasta Party

The District Pasta Party is this Friday at the Rosi House!  We'll celebrate Alex K's diving and get fed and fired up for Saturdays swimming and diving!

District Meet Schedule

Congratulations again to all of our District Swimmers & Divers. All District Swimming & Diving is at Ohio State's McCorkle Aquatic Pavilion.  The schedule is as follows:

Boys Diving, Friday 2/17; 1:00 warm-up, 2:00 start
Girls Diving, Saturday 2/18; 1:00 warm-up, 2:00 start
Boys & Girls Swimming, Saturday 2/18; 1:00 warm-up, 2:30 start

We will have a bus to Ohio State on Saturday for all swimmers and girls divers, leaving the school at 11:45.  We have decided not to provide transportation home as many of our athletes prefer to self transport after this meet.  All divers are excused after the diving awards ceremony.  All swimmers are excused after the boys 400 free relay.

Congrats Patriots on a Great Season of Improvement!

Since the start of the season our swimmers have dropped over 800 seconds from their best times.  That's an average of 3.5 seconds per 100!  This is a huge improvement for swimmers at this age and level and truly shows the high level of hard work and focus they have put into this season.  Congrats!!

Volunteer needed

I'm looking for someone that can pick up our sectional t-shirts from Ares in Hilliard tomorrow.  Last word was that they would be ready by 10 am.  I would really like to hand them out at practice on Wednesday.  Please email if you can help.

Timers Needed

We need 8-12 timers (6 for the first half of the meet and 6 for the second half) at Saturday morning sectionals.  All 3 Olentangy schools are providing timers for this meet.  In return our boosters are splitting $200.  We have 19 girls attending the meet - we need you to chip in for half of the meet.  Your admission will be free.  Please click below to sign up.

Sectionals

The sectional line up was announced at practice yesterday.  We were able to work all of our boys into the line up and all but 9 of our girls.  The kids have all worked so hard - we are looking forward to seeing some pay off over the next few weeks!  As a reminder the top 30 swimmers overall from our 3 sectionals and the Athens sectional advance to Districts at OSU on Saturday 2/18.  We will have a general idea based on your performance Saturday whether or not you will advance.  District Qualifiers are typically announced by noon on Sunday.

Bus and Meet times:
Girls 7:45 am bus, meet starts at 10:30.
Return time is 2-2:30

Boys 2:30 pm bus, meet starts at 5:00
Return time is 8-8:30.

Schedule this week

No huge changes once again.  Practices are ending about 30 minutes early each day -the kids have already been communicating this nicely to their rides.  Thursday will be time trials and our final day for our swimmers that did not make the Sectional line up.  All swimmers attending sectionals will have practice Friday from 3-4:30.  Next weeks practices will be for District qualifiers and anyone that needs to time trial.  At this time we plan to hold all practices next week at the Liberty YMCA at 3:00.

Last Call for Raffle Tickets

16 swimmers & divers have yet to turn int heir raffle tickets.  And worse -we are being outsold by tthe basketball team! Here are the current raffle stats.  please turn in your tix ASAP!

Cheer-Winter	32	85	27%
Gymnastics	20	7	4%
Basketball-Girls	23	28	12%
Ice Hockey	34	25	7%
Swim/Dive	49	270	55%
Basketball-Boys	35	309	88%
Bowling	16	162	101%