JUNE - Soon as you guys get out of school, we will begin practicing in the mornings at the Miller Park Pool, 6:00-8:30 AM for Senior and Pre-senior swimmers, 7:00-8:30 AM for Gold and Blue swimmers. Afternoon practices for seniors and perhaps some preseniors will be on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays from 4-6 at the Jamerson Y.

June 8-10th Team Travel Meet to Chattanooga. Hop on the Y bus and travel with the coaches to a meet in Chattanooga. The meet format has changed somewhat from previous years but we still expect that the older kids will get to white water raft. Younger kids will have a fun adventure too, I am just not sure what it is yet .... Look for more details in future newsletters.

Firecracker Invitational

July 6-8th LY Firecracker Invitational at Miller Park Pool Open to ALL USAS swimmers!  Mark your calendar to swim in LY’s very own meet on July 6-8 at Miller Park in downtown Lynchburg. There will be a Friday evening session and then two sessions each day on Saturday and Sunday. Swimmers who are not swimming long course can still participate. We will also need, as always, lots of help with timing, officiating, setting up tents, cleaning up, running hospitality, etc. to pull off a successful meet. Watch for more information coming your way in the future.

July 19-22 AG Champs for those qualified.

July 26-29 Senior Champs for those qualified.

July 29-Aug. 4 USAS Summer Nationals for those qualified. Indianapolis

August 6-10 USAS Junior Nationals for those qualified. Indianapolis

August 8-11 Zone Meet for those qualified.

The Zone meet that is held in August is a competition between LSCs in our Zone. Virginia Swimming competes as a team against Potomac Valley, Maryland, Maine, Connecticut, etc. Swimmers who make FOUR qualifying times may be on the team (For the short course meet in the spring, swimmers must finish 1st or 2nd in an event at the Championship meet). You can find the qualifying times on the Virginia Swimming website or, just ask me for them and I will get you a copy. Swimmers travel with the Virginia team as a group and the coaches selected by Virginia Swimming. This year the meet is in Buffalo, New York. Swimmers will be departing by bus on Monday, August 6th to travel to Buffalo. On August 7th, they will likely do some swimming and then ALL the swimmers will get to go to Niagara Falls (in the past, only the 10 & unders have done this). The meet will begin on Wednesday, the 8th.

This meet is not a great set up for fast swimming - travelling with a group of strangers and unfamiliar coaches to upstate New York. However, several of our swimmers have attended this meet in the past and they have had FUN. Plus, you get some cool stuff from Virginia Swimming. So, if you have any interest, keep this meet in mind. In the summer of 2008, the Zone meet is supposed to be held at the Freedom Center in Manassas and the Patriot Center in Fairfax. George Mason University is trying to highjack the dates, so we’ll have to wait to see what happens there.

Post Script: NOW you may have your annual summer vacation ....

For those of you who like to plan ahead, following is a look at how we expect our fall season to begin. Remember that we always start out slowly, reviewing drills and technique before we move into more training. The schedule I am giving you may be adapted to meet our swimmers’ needs as the season gets underway.

SENIOR swimmers will begin with MORNINGS ONLY. The first practice will be on Tuesday, August 28th at the Jamerson.

Tuesday, 8/28 5:30-7AM at the Jamerson

Thursday, 8/30 5:30-7AM at the Jamerson

Saturday, 9/1 8-9:30AM at the Jamerson

Tuesday, 9/4 5:30-7AM at the Jamerson

Thursday, 9/6 5:30-7AM at the Jamerson

Saturday, 9/8 8-9:30AM at the Jamerson

Beginning Monday, 9/10, expect a normal morning schedule, with Monday morning at the downtown Y and Tuesday and Thursday backed up to 5AM at the Jamerson. Afternoon practices will be added on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.

ALL OTHER SWIMMERS (presenior, gold and blue and NEW SWIMMERS) will begin practice on Tuesday, September 4th at the Jamerson Y. Swimmers who are 11 and younger will swim from 4-4:45pm, while swimmers who are 12 & older will swim from 4:45-5:30pm on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. We will follow this same pattern the next week, Monday through Thursday. Some of the presenior swimmers may go downtown beginning on the 10th, but we will wait and see how everyone looks and try to make those adjustments accordingly. Saturday, September 15th, will be our first stroke clinic and we will also have our fall picnic that day at the soccer pavillion.

By Monday, September 17th, we should have more regular practice times. The Blue group will be practicing from 4-5pm, two days with practice offered Monday through Thursday, and the Gold group will be practicing 4-5:30pm, Monday through Thursday. We will be using ALL EIGHT LANES at the Jamerson YMCA during this time and you can expect to see Lisa, Priscilla, and Hank on the pool deck. Please encourage your summer league friends to come join us so that we can fill up the lanes!

We will also be hosting the first meet of the season again on September 29th and 30th.