West Austin Athletic Club News

Swim try-outs for NEW swimmers for group placement at WAAC! Wednesday and Thursday (Aug. 25 & 26) 4:30-6 pm at 25 yard pool. Swimmers should come ready to swim. Coach Janet and Coach John will be there to watch swimmers and talk about group options.

Please note all fall programs start next week. To start in swim team at WAAC, swim team at Lakeway, Guppy classes, tennis, or diving new AND returning participants must complete all registration material. Please help us be organized by completing your registration material. Forms are available on-line www.wfly.com or at WAAC.

We have added a later Guppy class. There are three times: 3:45-4:30, 4:30-5:15, 5:15-6. To be a Guppy a swimmer must be able to motor 6-8 feet independently with face in the water and float on back.

With the start of school, we will be having new play swim hours. Monday-Friday member play swim is available after school from 4:30-6:30 pm. Please get wrist bands from the lifeguard. WAAC will also be closing earlier. This week WAAC closes for lap swimming at 7 MT, 7:30 WTh and 6:30 on F.

Monday, May 30 is the first day of many programs. We will have check-in tables by the pools and will ask anyone not pre-registered to complete a form prior to joining their class. Please be patient next week as we register participants and get to know new athletes. We do our best to come up with a framework for instruction, however sometimes we have more or fewer participants, or different age or skill groups than we guessed. The first week we will be getting to know the athletes and will make adjustments as needed. Rest assured if classes are too large or too small they will be adjusted!!

Lakeway Swim Team begins August 30 with Coach Lauren and Coach Ginger. There are two training groups:

Dolphin ( 5-10 yr olds) M-Th 3:45-4:45
Shark (11-18 yr olds) M-Th 4:45-6:15 ( 9 & 10 year olds who are strong swimmers may join this group with permission from Coach Lauren)

Bronze & Silver (25 yard)
Pre-National & National (50 meter)
Rec Swim Team & Guppies (Island)
Tennis (Courts)

UT divers will be at WAAC beginning next week while the UT pools are being repaired. Check them out most afternoons between 1-5 pm. WAAC divers take to the boards Tuesday and Thursday afternoons!

This is the last week of summer!! Our camps are having a great week. The Hans Dersch clinics are continuing. Late Summer Rec Swim Team has its last practice Friday morning 8-9 am!!

Items to note: Hans make-up clinic for Monday will be this Friday.
Friday all tennis players form WAAC's 2010 Summer Camps will have a pot luck lunch and tournament. Come join Coach Sarah for a fun afternoon from noon-2 pm. Afterwards, families can buy a wristband to go in the pools for $1 per person.

Friday from 5:30-7:30 pm is the Westridge 6th grade party in the 25-yard pool and dive pool. Members please check in with the lifeguard at the Island pool.

Swim team tryouts for new swimmers will be August 25 and 26 from 4-6:30 pm. Swimmers will swim for Coach Janet and Coach John and learn about the different WAAC swim programs.

How can one begin to say thank you a thousand times over. Those of you who volunteered at the meet or donated items, I can't begin to say enough thank yous: so THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!

The season has come to an end and I couldn't be more proud of my staff, my swimmers, parents, and everyone else who helped out this season. Each and every one achieved a best time along the way and trained extremely hard.

I will be in the office Wed., Aug. 25 and Thurs., Aug. 26 if you have any questions, 263-4282.

M-F 8-9 am
M-Th 4:30-5:30 (8 and younger), 5:30-6:30 (9 and older)
Fall Rec Team starts August 30!! Please join me, Coach Ham, and Coach Ginny for a great season.

WAAC is pleased to announce our best fall season ever. We have a talented and dedicated coaching staff, and they are busy preparing great practices, competitions, and fun events. We have programs in tennis, diving, and swimming. In swimming we have programs at WAAC and at Lakeway. See below for a summary of these programs.

Each program is designed for specific ages, abilities, and degree of commitment. Swim programs have daily, weekly, and seasonal lesson plans and goals. Some programs are designed where a twice a week commitment is all that is needed to gain the benefits of the program. Other programs are designed where a swimmer will miss out substantially on instruction if they miss required practices. Swimmers who do not regularly attend practice fall behind and it is difficult on the swimmer, instructor, and teammates to change practice whenever the occasional swimmer shows up. Some programs require participation in meets. Please help the coaches do their best by picking the program which matches your swimmer’s schedule and interest.

Coach Janet and Coach John will be available Aug. 25 & 26 from 4:30-6 to watch swimmers and talk about available options.

Diving – Learn about spring board diving and progress through competitive dives. Diving will meet on Tuesdays and Thursdays. As the program grows we can add days and split classes.

Tennis – Develop tennis skills while learning the game of tennis. Classes are divided by age and ability. In the fall classes will be available on Mondays and Wednesdays.

Swim Team at Lakeway- For ages 5-18 years old. This is a satellite program of the USA Swimming team, West Austin Aquatics. Swimmers should be comfortable swimming 25-yard distances and know freestyle and backstroke. Swimmers should be willing to practice at least twice a week and will have a variety of meets to choose from.

Beginner-Intermediate Group Swim Lessons (ages 3-6) For young swimmers just learning to move in the water.

Guppy Classes (ages 4-8) For young swimmers who move independently 8-12 feet with their face in the water. Classes work on freestyle, backstroke, and swimming further distances.

Rec Swim Team (ages 4-15) For swimmers who are comfortable swimming across a 25 yard length. The team works on the four competitive strokes, starts, and endurance. Swimmers have no practice or meet requirement, however, we recommend they come at least twice a week. Meets are short and fun.

Senior Group (ages 13-18) For swimmers who have a basic knowledge of the four competitive strokes and want to improve. There are no practice nor meet requirements for this group unless someone is using it for PE credit. Swimmers are encouraged to come at least twice a week. This is a great group for those who swim for fitness or cross-training, as well as those who want to continue improving their swimming without the commitment of the USA Swim Team.

Bronze Group USA Swim Team (ages 8-12, younger only with permission from Coach Janet). For swimmers who know the four competitive strokes and are ready to commit to at least three practices per week and monthly competitions, including the end of season championship meets. This group is divided into training groups of different abilities to improve strokes, learn about competition, and become stronger swimmers.

Silver Group USA Swim Team (ages 11-16) For swimmers who have a basic knowledge of the four competitive strokes and are ready to commit to 3-4 practices per week and monthly competitions. This group works to improve strokes and build strength in the water.

Pre-National Group (ages 12-18) For middle school swimmers who are completely committed to the short course season and who have the technical and speed skills needed for this group. The group is also for high school swimmers who do not have the time and/or skills for the National Group. The commitment for this group is 4-5 practices per week. Attendance at meets including championship meets is required.

National Group (ages 14-19) For high school swimmers who are completely committed to the short course and long course season, and have the technical and speed skills needed for this group. The commitment from this group is total, to attend every practice and competition set by Coach Janet.

USA

Swimming Team: Head Coach Janet Risser with Tristen Schalyo, Jimmy Bynum, Besty Spang, and Jordan Johnson

Registration materials available at WAAC (1024 Patterson Rd, 78733) or at www.wfly.com

For more information or questions call Becky or Susan at 263-4282 or becky@wfly.com

Junior Olympics. It was hot, but there were some great swims and we had many compliments about the meet. Thanks to every person who helped before, during, and after the meet! A special thanks to Rich Zbranak for running the meet and his team who worked on sponsors. HEB was one of those sponsors that provided us with gift cards to use as needed. We still need to inventory medals and ribbons and pay South Texas for the ones we used. Janet is exploring bulk heads for the 50-meter pool so we can use it if needed for short course training. Again thanks to all swimmers, coaches, and parents for making this event a success.

Late summer Swim Teams at WAAC and Lakeway have a meet at WAAC on Thursday (tomorrow). Swimmers should arrive by 4:45. Meet starts at 5 pm. We will need parents to help time.

Parent and Tot Class starts August 16 (Monday). Coach Sara will be offering a twice weekly class for toddlers with an adult as a swimming readiness class. If you are interested please contact Becky at 263-4282.

Hans Dersch's clinics are learning a lot and having a blast! Next week is the last week. You can register for the last week. High school 10:15-12:15 (Breaststroke, IM, & turns), Middle school 10:15-11:15 (Breaststroke & Butterfly), Elementary 11:15-12:15 (Breaststroke & Butterfly).

Thursday is the last day of long course practice. Janet and the swimmers at Junior Nationals will be back next week. First day of short course practice is August 30.

Fall information is out on everything except USA team. Janet will finalize it Monday and it should be on-line by Wednesday.

Tennis
Diving
Swim Lessons and Guppy Classes
Rec Swim Team & Senior Group
USA Swimming Team

August 25 & 26 Meet Coach Janet and John 4:30-6 pm. This is a team try-out for new swimmers where John and Janet will assess and make recommendations on the best starting program for that swimmer. Swimmers should come ready to swim any time between 4:30 and 6pm.

Masters Swim
MTThF 5:45-7:15 am Jimmy
TWTh noon-1 Lauren
WTh 6:30-7:30 Ham/John
Monday night lake swim

July and August are busy months at WAAC at we continue with camps, swim & dive lessons, and swim teams. If your kids are looking for something fun to do a half day camp provides a great way to get some exercise while doing kid-oriented activities.

Olympian Hans Dersch will be running the youth elite swim clinics in August. These clinics provide a great way to end the summer or get ready for fall. Clinics are divided by age: high school, middle school, and elementary school. These clinics are open to everyone 7-18 years old so help us spread the word.

Information about fall programs will be coming out soon! WAAC will offer swim lessons, Guppy Classes, Swim teams at WAAC and Lakeway, Masters Swimming, and tennis classes.

Rec Swim Team Coach John at WAAC and Coach Lauren at Lakeway (coachjohn@wfly.com)

We have a great group of swimmers at WAAC and Lakeway. Next week during practice we will be timing the kids to get a season start time.

I will also look to see if there is a movie coming out which would be fun to see.

WAAC’s pools are busier than ever!! We will be changing the guest system to make it easier to check guests in during the week, and to satisfy insurance requirement of liability signatures. If you have a guest, please sign-in at the front. The snack bar attendant will have the guest armbands for guest kids and can take payment for guests or fill out a charge slip. On the weekends the lifeguards can provide the guest bands. Member’s under 18 will still get their arm bands from the lifeguards.

This Thursday is a summer swim meet at WAAC. During the meet other programs will be going on in other pools. Parking will be crowded, so if you are coming to programs after 4 pm please leave extra time! There is morning practice on Thursday, but not afternoon practice. Arrive Thursday at 4 pm. Warm-ups will start at 4:15 with the meet starting at 5 pm. Questions about the meet? Contact Coach John at coachjohn@wfly.com or 656-8195. Friday is water baseball, no am practice and water baseball Friday afternoon!!

USA Swim Team swimmers will be at a meet in Corpus this weekend! There will be regular practice Thursday, Friday, and Saturday for swimmers not going to Corpus. New suits are IN!!!

Learning to do proper dives on the springboard diving boards is fun!! Veteran diver Kathy Fox is teaching classes this summer. Diving classes coordinate with rec swim team, older divers 4:30-5:30, younger 5:30-6:30. Classes will be Tuesdays and Thursdays. (This Thursday’s class will be rescheduled because of the swim meet.)

The next lifeguard class is June 25,26,27. In order to hold this class, we must have 5-6 participants. We have had several calls so if you are hoping to take this class please contact Alex at alex@wfly.com or 415-8955 so she can coordinate those interested.

The next swim lesson session begins June 21. We have a strong team of lesson instructors who teach throughout the day. If you are interested in group or private lessons during this session please call Susan at 263-4282 to know time options for classes in this session.

WAAC’s campers are having a blast as they learn about different sports. The morning camps are running about twice the size as the afternoon camps. Next week is WAACY Olympics Camp where campers learn and practice fun and sometimes silly events then host a competition of these events on Friday. All events stress basic sports skills in a novel way. Another popular camp is Water Sports where campers do a rotation in spring board dive instruction, swimming, and water polo. Already know your swim strokes? Swim Plus teaches turns, starts, and stroke transitions and technique. Tennis Camp helps introduce players to the sport with all sorts of games. Register for camps on-line at www.wfly.com or on forms in the office.

Last Thursday elite swimmer, Josh Davis, was at WAAC giving a clinic for swimmers in the Lake Travis Swim League. Josh told great stories, helped swimmers improve, and was very inspiring. Thanks to the swimmers who supported this event.

Adult Master Coached Times:
5:45-7:15 am MTThF Coach Jimmy
noon-1 TWTh Coach Lauren
6:30-7:30 pm WTh Coach Hamilton

WAAC is a busy place with families enjoying the pools, lap swimmers, teams, camps, and lessons!

What’s the rain plan? This was the most frequently asked question today.
In general, we make a decision about the weather for lessons or teams about 30 minutes prior to lesson start. Occasionally with a large thunderstorm, a coach will cancel a block of lessons. Swim lessons cancelled for inclement weather are rescheduled by the instructor. Team practices are not made up.
Camps are not cancelled unless Austin roads are being closed. So far this has never happened. The camps have alternative plans if they cannot use the pools or courts for part of the camp time.
Please be patient on rainy days as the phone rings a lot with questions about specific classes.

WAACY Olympics Camp, having fun on first week!! New this year is a camp for the adventurous spirit. Each week the kids practice fun activities, like going down the slide fast, swimming cork-screw, or hitting targets on the tennis courts. Friday they then have zany events making up the WAACY Olympics. The camp improves coordination and strength and meets 1-4 pm for one week (Monday- Friday). The next session is June 21-25. Campers aged 5-14 may join the session, however everyone in the camp must be comfortable motoring across the pool.

Diving Back!! WAAC is very pleased to have Kathy Fox teach a series of learn to dive lessons this summer. Lessons will be on Tuesdays and Thursdays. The first session is June 15, 17, 22, 24. Class times are 4:30-5:30 for 9 & Older and 5:30-6:30 for 5-8 year olds. Cost will be $75 WAAC members, $100 non-members. Register on-line or at WAAC.

Summer Membership Want to enjoy facilities at WAAC outside programs? Three month individual or family memberships are available and can start at any time. $425 for a family, and $225 for an individual.

USA Swimming Summer Practice Times
Gold 8-11 am MTTh 8-10 am WF Sat 8-10 am
Dry-lands 7-8 am Girls MWF Boys TThS
Silver & Bronze MTTh 3:45-6 pm WF 10-noon

Last minute camp/lesson registrations. We make every effort to accommodate kids wanting to add to camps and lessons last minute. However, if you register late we may not be able to give you a specific time or camp. Several camps are closed for the next camp session, June 14-18. Open camps for the June 14-18 session include: Morning Open Camps are: Court Sports (tennis, basketball, and more!) and Swim Plus (learning swim turns, starts, and racing fifties), Afternoon Open Camps are: Guppy (Improve freestyle and backstroke for younger swimmers now independently swimming 4-8 feet), Dolphin (Learn/improve free, back, breast, and fly), and Just For Fun (Organized activities utilizing WAAC’s pools, courts, and trails). We are still talking registrations for all camps for June 21-25 and later.

New Snack Bar Offerings!! With several hundred people at WAAC everyday during the summer, we are extending the Snack Bar hours and trying out some new items. The Snack Bar is open Monday-Friday from 8:30am-7pm. Besides the chips, candy, and sno cones, we are also selling large pretzels and smoothies. Also new is a lunch special. Lunches can be pre-ordered in the morning for 11 or noon pick-up. These lunches are perfect for team or camp kids. Each day is a different entrée, pick of two sides, and a small bottled water. Cost for the lunches is $5. Monday - Chicken Nuggets, Tuesday-Hot Dog, Wednesday-Pizza, Thursday-Mac & Cheese, Friday-Quesadilla (Pick 2 sides from String Cheese, Carrots, Gogurt, Raisins, or Pirate Booty)

Rec Team Apparel ready for pick-up. Every REC team swimmer receives a t-shirt. Ordered Fan T-shirts are labeled in the box. Please sign the sheet when taking your shirts. Fan lady’s tanks have not yet arrived, but should be here by week’s end. Albert called everyone who hasn’t picked up their ordered bathing suits and caps to let them know they have arrived. Please ask the snack bar person for help. We have a few extra sizes of swimsuits: Girls 24 and 28 (cost $34) and Boys 24,26,28,30,34,36 (cost $28). If we don’t have your size please contact Lane Four and see if they have your size in stock (tell them you are looking for the WAAC Summer League suit).

Masters Time Change On Monday evenings, the WAAC masters swimmers are invited to do an open water lake swim. Please contact Jimmy or Lauren for the details.

Coached adult masters times:
MTThF 5:45-7:15 am Jimmy
TWTh noon-1 Lauren
WTh 6:30-7:30 Hamilton (John this week while Ham is out of town)

When is the 50-meter pool open for adults??? The 50-meter pool is a lap only pool primarily used by WAAC member adults and the WFLY USA Swimming team. Here are the available times for adults:
MTTh 5:45-8 am, 11 am-3:45 pm, 6-8 pm
WF 5:45-8 am, noon-8 pm
Sat noon-8 pm, Sun 1-8 pm
Occasionally, on the weekend the pool will be needed for competitions.

Dear Swimmers and Parents -

We have had a couple of people respond to last week’s note about raising money for starting blocks, thank you! We are currently in touch with a couple of non-profit organizations that may be able to help us. While the discussions are proceeding we are asking you to check with your employer to see if they provide matching funds for non-profit organizations. This could help us to achieve the goal faster.

WFLY will host The Junior Olympics Meet on August 6th through the 8th. We could still use some volunteers to make phone calls and visit local businesses to solicit sponsors. We are expecting 400 to 600 families to be in our area during the three day event. If you are aware of local business that would be interested in getting their name in from of these visitors please pass that along too. Thanks.

Summer is almost here!! This is the last week of the school year. WAAC will switch to summer play swim hours this weekend: Sat. noon-8 pm, Sun 1-8 pm, M-F 10 am-8 pm. Members please sign-in and have kids get a wrist band from the lifeguards.

Summer Camps begin next week, a new session of swim lessons begins, and swim teams switch to summer hours. WAAC’s camps offer a great way for kids to try new sports, improve in a sport, and have a great time. Camp check-in is at the Gray House, down the gravel driveway just past WAAC’s driveway. Swim lessons are held in the Island Pool.

Lifeguard June 4,5,6 (Lifeguard, First Aid, & CPR/AED) must be 15 to take this class
Basic Water Safety June 7 4:30-8:30 pm (great for anyone who is around the water to know how to help people in need)
Basic CPR/First Aid June 8 & 10 4:30-8:30 (an excellent class for anyone who wants to review or learn these important skills)

Lifeguard Challenge – for currently certified lifeguards who need to challenge for renewal June 15 from 5-7 pm
If you would like to register for these classes or if you have questions please contact Alex at alex@wfly.com

Next week the alternative practice time for all ages is 8-9 am. We will no longer have the 3:45-4:30 option.

If you have not yet picked up your picture with Ian Crocker, they are available in Susan’s office.

Summer is almost here!! Family three-month memberships are available for $425. Individual annual members can upgrade for the summer to a three month family membership, then return in September to the $50 monthly rate. For $275 more than you are already paying, your family can enjoy WAAC for June-August. Membership applications are available on-line or at WAAC.

June 4^th Begins Summer!!
Gold 8-10 am
Silver & Bronze 10am-noon
Make sure everyone has shoes, shirts, and shorts for practices this summer.

** Bring H2O bottle to drink each day
We are IN Valero and Palo Alto
Going to run a Last Chance Meet – more info coming with dates!!
Thanks JR

May is the most hectic month at WAAC as all of the youth programs are squeezed into just a few hours. Except for this Thursday (the last Ian Crocker clinic), adults will have a lane during the busy time of 4:30-6:30 in the 25-yard pool. The lanes in the Island pool are available if not needed by the USA team or Guppy classes. There is plenty of lane space before 4:30. We also are open 6:30-7:30 pm on Wednesdays and Thursdays. Please be careful in the parking lot, watching for little ones. Also, please do not block the view of the driveways.

We have had several girls lose jewelry at WAAC. All have been nice silver bracelets or necklaces. If you have seen them, please give to Claudia or Becky so they can get them back to their owners. This time of year there are many people in and out of the bathrooms. Please, do not leave valuables there. Swimmers can take their bags to the deck during practice.

The last Ian Crocker Clinic is Thursday: 6 & under 3:45-4:15, 7-10 year olds 4:15-5, 9 & older 5-6

Josh Davis has been re-scheduled for Thursday, June 10 4-8 pm. If the date won’t work for you let Becky know and we will tear up your check. If you would like to add to the clinic, just fill out a form and give it plus $40 to Becky.

Rec Regular Practice is 8 & younger M-Th 3:45-4:30, M-F 4:30-5:30
9 & older M-F 5:30-6:30 Coach John will lead a parent’s meeting on Friday during practice where he will outline the season and talk about WAAC’s volunteer responsibilities.

Ian Crocker Meet for all clinic participants is Saturday!! Swimmers arrive at 9 am. No entry process, just come. It will be fun and should be over by 11:30 am.

Become a Stroke & Turn judge!! Both our USA and Rec teams depend on parents who are stroke judges. We could not host meets without these great volunteers. Rich Zbranak will lead a training session on Tuesday, May 25 at 6:15 at the Lake Pointe community room. This training is for BOTH parents of Rec Team swimmers and parents of USA Swimmers.

USA Team
Meet this weekend at UT Saturday, May 22
12 & under 9am warm-up, 10 am start
13 & over 1 pm warm-up, 2 pm start
Entries for Palo Alto due May 19^th for meet June 4 and 5
Friday (1 session) Saturday (2 sessions)
May 31^st Memorial Day Gold 8-10 am, Silver/Bronze 10-noon
June 4 Gold 8-10 am Silver/Bronze 10am-noon

There is lots of information about the

USA

team and Rec team on the bulletin boards!!

What happens to tennis after May?
Coach Sarah and her assistant coaches run the WAAC tennis and tennis and swim camps. These are one week camps, M-F, from 9am-noon.

What should my Guppy do in June?
Guppies are invited to join Rec Swim team after the May session. Coach Ginger will be making the move with them. Cost for the Rec Team for Guppies is $100 WAAC members/$145 non-members. The Rec Team goes until July 18. Guppies can join Guppy or Dolphin Camps in June, Guppy classes in July, or swim lessons in June.

Does WAAC have a personal trainer?
Coach Ginger and Coach Diane both have fitness backgrounds. Ginger is available for private and group workout training sessions for youth, teens, and adults.

Is there room is WAAC’s camps?
There is room in WAAC camps. The first session of morning Guppies only has two remaining spots.

Can my family swim after/during practice/lessons?
WAAC has summer and three month family memberships. During the summer we have extended play swim hours of 10 am – 8 pm M-Sat and 1-8 pm Sun.

Can I have a party at WAAC?
Yes! There is a party section on the web site outlining costs.

Who is teaching diving?
Coach Jazmine is currently a training diver with Longhorn Aquatics. She has taught children in swimming, gymnastics, and diving.

Can swimmers add to Summer Rec Team?
YES!! We have five coaches currently working with these swimmers: John, Beth, Hamilton, Rachel, and Jackie. Ginger will be moving to also help with Rec at the end of the Guppy session.

Is my child in the right swim lesson?
Much of swim lessons for 3 and 4 year olds is repetitive and building trust between the teacher and swimmer. Besides teaching, the instructor is also responsible for the safety of the young swimmers. Sara will be doing a few tests today during lessons to ascertain the ability of the swimmers and may suggest lesson changes. If you have questions about the lessons Sara usually has a few moments between lessons to answer brief questions or you can leave a message in the office and Sara will call you.

May programs have started with a BANG!! It has been a busy week and this will be a very short newsletter. More info is available on the website.

There is additional parking around the gray house, gravel driveway just past the paved WAAC lot. Please do not park and block vision of traffic by driveways.

Monday, May 10 is the deadline for the Josh Davis Clinic registration and ordering the summer team swim suits. Suits are optional, but if you need a suit they are pretty nice. Forms available on-line and at WAAC.

Free for all summer rec swimmers (you must be registered for the WAAC Flyers or Lakeway Lakers swim teams, fees for these clinics was part of the registration cost) Two other teams will be joining us (Lake Pointe and Marble Falls)

Friday May 14 Josh Davis Clinic at WAAC for all swimmers who have registered for this clinic and paid the $40. This clinic is from 4-8 pm. There will be no Rec practice that night besides the clinic. It is optional. Checks for the clinic are to be made to USA Swim Clinics. The Clinic will include pizza at the end.

Tuesday May 11 and Thursday May 12 will be normal practice days for summer rec team.

WAAC will host a long course time trial meet on May 16. Please check the bulletin board. Also, rooms for Corpus will be released this Friday. There are two left in our block.

Guppies, Goldfish, and stroke clinics end this week!! There will be a celebration on the last day of class during class. For Guppies, Goldfish, and WAAC Stroke Clinic that will be Thursday, and for Lakeway Stroke Clinic that will be Friday.

Thanks to all the parents who helped at the Trophy Meet. If anyone took pictures please send to john@wfly.com Swimmers did a great job!! The spring season for Lakeway Swim Team and WAAC Rec ends this week with a celebration Relay Meet and Pot Luck dinner. There is no cost for this meet, just bring a favorite dish (suggestions: fruit plate, mac and cheese, brownies, garlic bread, chicken nuggets, sandwiches, etc.) All WAAC Rec swimmers and Lakeway Dolphins and Sharks meet at WAAC at 5 pm.

See the board for meet details. Monday (May 3) starts the beginning of new programs: swim lessons, Guppy classes, WAAC Flyers Summer Swim Team, Lakers Summer Swim Team, Tennis Classes, Dive Classes, and Teen & Pre-Teen Fitness Classes. See www.wfly.com for more info!!

Janet has picked a new team suit. Everyone that returned their Rocket Science suit will have one ordered in the same size. We will also have extras to sell out of the snack bar. Flyers and Lakers summer swim teams will also have team suits this year. We have a few sizes left in the older team suit and practice suits. Boys $15, Girls $20 (Available sizes given at end of this email.)

May Red Cross Classes have been posted on the web site. We are offering a lifeguard class in May and June. We also have CPR, First Aid, and Water Safety Classes which are good for anyone who watches people, especially around water such as camp counselors, baby sitters, lesson instructors, masters swimmers, etc.

I have been very proud of the spring swimmers. They have worked hard on their strokes and have improved greatly. The trophy meet last Saturday was a lot of fun. If you swam, but have not paid please turn in your money at the snack bar this week. Friday (April 30) we have a combined practice beginning at 5 pm. We will have a relay meet, then swimmers and their families are invited for a pot luck dinner. Please bring a favorite dish to share. There is a sign-up on the bulletin board.
This week we welcome Coach Lauren who will be at WAAC this week, then will be over at Lakeway next week helping there.
Monday (May 3) begins the Flyers Summer Swim Season. Thanks to everyone who has registered or let me know you are coming. It is going to be a fabulous season. I am very excited about the coaching staff. Joining me will be Hamilton, Beth, and Rachel. Tell your friends to come join us because we are going to have a great season.

UT Meet is this weekend. Please pick up the handout about the meet. This is our first long course meet of the season!! Please watch the bulletin board for info about up-coming meets.

Two unique opportunities are available for swimmers at WFLY. The Lake Travis Swim League has arranged for two unique clinics to be available to all swimmers in the Lake Travis swim league and has extended the offer to include members of West Austin Aquatics.
(1) Josh Davis Clinic on May 14. Josh Davis is a native of Texas, Longhorn All-American, and Olympic Medalist. He is also a father, motivational speaker, and enjoys sharing his passion about swimming. Josh is one of the few elite coaches who regularly holds clinics for all ages and abilities of swimmers. The cost of the clinic is $40 and includes the swim clinic, time for each person to meet Josh, and a goody bag. Registrations for the clinic are due May 10th. Checks should be made to USA Swim Clinics.
(2) Ian Crocker and friends Swim Clinic. Ian Crocker (Longhorn All-American and Olympic medalist) and an All Star group of swimmers will be guest coaches for four days at WAAC in May. These elite swimmers will then help host a fun meet with the swimmers on Saturday after the clinics. (Dates on WAAC's web site) This is definitely a one of a kind clinic, especially designed for the Lake Travis Swim League swimmers. WFLY's USA swimmers may join the clinic for $100 which includes all five days. If enough WFLY swimmers sign-up for the clinic, Ian will include a special training time for them. Registration for this clinic can be done through Becky (becky@wfly.com or 263-4282)
I am very excited about the long course season, but want to remind everyone that this is a competitive team with training and competitive requirements. For swimmers who cannot make the commitment, I encourage them to participate on the summer swim team during May and the summer. Summer swim team can offer an excellent opportunity to enjoy swimming and racing while improving, yet at a lower commitment level. For May-early August I expect Bronze swimmers to attend at least 3 practices a week and Silver 4 practices a week. I also expect Bronze and Silver swimmers to come to the whole practice (not leave early) and come to train. I also expect swimmers to train for the whole season May-championships (early August). If a swimmer is only train during May, they should spend that month with the rec team working on sprints. If you have any questions about your swimmer please contact me (748-6185).

This has been a great year!! We are celebrating Friday with a Relay Meet at WAAC from 5-7 pm. All sharks and dolphins should come at 5. We will have the meet then a pot luck dinner!! Please bring a favorite dish. No sign-up is needed for this event. Lakers summer team is almost here!! Summer practices start Monday, May 3:

Please contact me with any questions!! Coaching with me are Jordan/Lauren, Andrea, and Matt.

West Austin Athletic Club is becoming busier as we head into May!! This Saturday WAAC's Rec Team and Lakeway Team swimmers will have a trophy meet!! Please sign-up on-line. In this meet swimmers who swim their five events will receive a trophy!! Meet is at WAAC at 10 am.

Next Thursday (April 29), the Guppy classes will have a celebration and treat during their regular class time.

Needed in May: afternoon lifeguard (must be Red Cross certified) and snack bar help (must be 14 and in high school) on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons. If interested please contact becky@wfly.com

Lakeway Swim Team (Coach Ginny ginny@wfly.com) This Saturday we have a fun meet at WAAC where swimmers will swim events to win a trophy!! Please sign-up on-line by noon on Friday. Cost for this meet is $10. Arrive Saturday at 9:45 am.

Our last spring team event is April 30. We will be at WAAC for a relay meet and pot luck dinner for swimmers and families. After the meet the diving boards will be open! There is no sign-up or fee for this meet, just bring a favorite dish to share at the dinner.

Thanks to everyone for being understanding with the Lakeway pool closed. As soon as it is back open we will resume our practices there.

I am very excited about the summer season. We have a great group of swimmers, parents, and coaches (Jordan, Andrea, Matt, and me) plus a terrific season of practices, meets, and fun activities! First summer team practice is May 3rd!

Rec Swim Team (Coach John coachjohn@wfly.com) Saturday's meet at WAAC starts at 10 am. Please arrive at 9:45 am for a trophy meet! Each participant will swim events to win a trophy. Please enter on-line by noon Friday. If you have any questions about the meet please email or call me 656-8195. Cost is $10.

April 30 we will have a spring team celebration with a relay meet and pot luck dinner!! No entries or fees, arrive at 5 pm at WAAC. Each family is asked to bring a dish to the dinner.

May 3rd starts summer swim team season!! Tell all your friends to register and join us because it is going to be a blast!!

USA Swim Team (Coach Janet becky@wfly.com) Please check the web site for info on summer practice times and long course meets. We are waiting for the UT to post the second May meet.

Spring programs continue with new sessions beginning May 3!! If you haven’t yet registered for May programs contact the office 263-4282 or the website for more info www.wfly.com

Program sessions beginning May 3:
Swimming
* Swim Lessons (ages 3 – adult)
* Guppy Classes (ages 4-8)
* Summer Swim Team (ages 4-18)
* USA Swimming Long Course (ages 8-22)
Other
* Diving (ages 6-18)
* Tennis (ages 4-18)
* Fitness Classes (ages 10-18)

Welcome to Coach Jimmy Bynum to WAAC’s Masters Program. Jimmy has been involved with swimming in Austin for many years and has taught thousands of children and adults to swim and achieve their goals in swimming at all levels. Jimmy will be with the Masters MTThF mornings 5:45-7 am.

Josh Davis Clinic at WAAC May 14 from 4-8 pm. Josh Davis grew up in San Antonio and swam at UT. He met his wife at UT, where she was a volleyball player. Josh swam at the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games where he won three Gold medals. He returned in 2000 to the Olympics in Sydney where he was elected USA Men’s Swim Team Captain. He broke the American record in his event, the 200 freestyle, and won two silver medals. The Davis family now lives in San Antonio. Josh is active in the swim community and an exceptional speaker. Many of our swimmers have attended meets at the Josh Davis Pool, named for him in San Antonio. The Lake Travis Swim League and USA Swim Clinics is making this event available to all Lake Pointe, Lakeway, and WAAC swimmers for $40 per person. Josh will be directing the clinic, interacting with the swimmers. It is a great opportunity for swimmers of all ages. Please help us and Josh plan this event and register now. Forms are available at WAAC and on the web site.

Red Cross Classes Alex is working on dates for Red Cross classes in May. Please watch the website for dates or contact becky@wfly.com if you are interested.

Dumpster Trouble On Monday night someone filled our dumpster and the area around it with tree cuttings. John and Susan had to move the logs so trash could be picked up this week, but there are still two large piles. If you know who dumped this stuff on the WAAC property please let us know so we can have them help remove it.

See below for info about specific programs:

Rec Swim Team (Coach John coach.john@wfly.com)

This Friday we are going to the Bee Caves Park!! There will be NO swim practice that day. Meet at the park at 5 by the basketball courts. Swimmers should be picked up at 6:30 pm. The park is at 620 and Galleria Parkway.

The next meet is Saturday, April 24. I will again have entries available on-line. Meet will start at 10 am.

Summer swim team is coming!! Beth, Hamilton, and I are very excited! Please tell all your friends to come and join us because it will be our best, most fun year ever!! Also, Josh Davis is a great motivator and I think all the kids will enjoy the clinic on May 14. To attend this clinic swimmers MUST REGISTER!!!

I am very excited about the end of the spring season and the great summer season!! This Friday stroke clinic will have class, but Dolphins and Sharks are headed to Bee Caves Park at 620 and Galleria Parkway for fun games!! We will be at the park from 5-6:30 pm.
Upcoming events: Saturday, April 24 Trophy Meet at WAAC 10 am, enter on-line
Friday, April 30 Relay Meet at WAAC and Pot-Luck dinner for swimmers and families
Monday, May 3 Lakers Summer Team first practice!!

Next meet is April 30-May 2 at UT. Heat is on in the 50-meter pool so we will be in it more as it warms up. Long course schedule will be out soon.

Masters (Coaches Jimmy, Janet, John, Hamilton)
MTThF 5:45-7 am Jimmy
TTh noon-1 pm T-Janet Th-John
WTh 6:30-7:30 pm Hamilton
Does anyone have a report and photos from Zones?

Tennis (Coach Sarah slp2222@aol.com)
Classes meet Mondays and Wednesdays through May

This Saturday WAAC will host a best times swim meet for Rec Team swimmers, Lakeway swimmers and Bronze swimmers. Please register for the meet on-line at www.wfly.com by Friday at noon. Cost for the meet is $5 if pre-register and $10 if you register at the meet on Saturday.

Saturday Schedule
9:30 am Late Registration
9:45 am Swimmers Arrive
10:00 am Meet Start

The meet will end with relays for everyone then the slide and diving boards will be open to all swimmers and their families. Parents, we will need help timing and running a ready bench.

Diving is back with Coach Jazmine. Divided into 2 May mini sessions of 6 lessons each it is a great way to try this sport.
Session 1: 6 classes TThF May 4,6,7,11,13,14 Session 2: 6 classes MWF May 17,19,21,24,26,28
May Times: 9 & older 4:30-5:30 pm 6-10 years old 5:30-6:30 pm
Cost: $40 WAAC members/$65 non-members

Fitness classes are also returning with Coach Ginger. These small classes allow participants to set personal fitness goals and utilize the equipment in the weight room to increase strength and flexibility. These classes are great for anyone who wants to become stronger, lose or gain weight, and learn about how to lead a healthier life.
Cost: $75 WAAC members/$95 non-members
May Classes May 3-27
May Times:MW 6:30-7:15 pm 10-14 year olds TTh 6:30-7:30 pm 13-18 years old

Coach Hamilton will be leading evening masters beginning next week. The class will be W and Th from 6:30-7:30 pm. The class is free to all WAAC members. However, we ask that all adults participating in the WAAC Masters classes become members of USMS (United States Masters Swimming).

All members must sign in before using any of the facilities. Children under 18 must get a wrist band from the lifeguard before entering the pools for "free swim".

If you haven't emailed your swimmer's plans to do or not do long course, please do so ASAP. I am trying to get the practice and meet schedule out, but it will depend on numbers to make sure we will not be crowded. Please email becky@wfly.com.

* FIRST Long Course Meet at UT is posted and entries are due by April 8th (tomorrow!!!) Sorry about the rush, but they gave us NOT Much Notice.

* This Saturday Bronze swimmers are invited to a best times meet at WAAC please see details above.

* This Saturday we have a best time's meet at WAAC. Please enter on-line. Arrive at WAAC at 9:45 am. After the meet families are invited to stay to go off the diving boards and down the slide.

* We only have about 15 spots left on the Lakers team. We are limited by the City of Lakeway to 135. Try-outs for new 8 and younger swimmers is this Thursday at 4:45 pm at Lakeway. If you have any questions about the summer please contact Becky or Susan at WAAC at 263-4282 or me at ginny@wfly.com.

REC Team (Coach John coachjohn@wfly.com) This Saturday is our Best Times Meet. Please sign-up on-line. Arrive at WAAC at 9:45 am, meet will start at 10 am. Late entries will be taken at WAAC on Saturday at 9:30 am.

In April and May classes will be Monday and Wednesday afternoons. Please contact becky@wfly.com to sign-up for these classes.

Coached times MF 5:45-7:30 am Coach John TTh noon-1 Janet/John WTh 6:30-7:30 pm Hamilton

What a great week! The sun has been shining and more swimmers are coming to WAAC and Lakeway every week!! The WFLY swimmers that went to Junior Olympics did a super job, coming in 4th and swimming many life-time best times! Results are at: http://www.stswim.org/2010/ST-10-12_Results.htm

Congrats to all of our swim team members!! West Austin Aquatics has been awarded the bronze award for the second year in a row. These awards are given to 200 club teams each year. Only three other teams in South Texas were recognized this year.

WAAC will close early on Friday at 1 pm. Saturday will be normal hours noon-6 pm, but CLOSED SUNDAY for Easter. There are NO Friday afternoon programs at WAAC or Lakeway. Rec Swimmers and others wanting to join them are going to see 3D How to Train Your Dragon on Friday at 1:40 and Barton Creek AMC 14 (In the mall). Please meet Coach John by the ticket booth at 1:25 pm. Friends and siblings welcome, parents optional.

WAAC has a great, active masters program. We are looking for an early morning coach!! If you know anyone who might be interested please have them contact Susan at 263-4282 or susan@wfly.com

Lakeway Lakers- Great Job to our JO's swimmers! Today (Wed) we are having WAACY Olympics at Lakeway. No practice Friday for since the Lakeway pool is closed. If you want to go see the Dragon movie see details above . Reminder that registration for summer swim team is going on now. The year-round program ends April 30, and summer swim team begins May 3. Download or fill out the registration form at www.wfly.com. As of this morning 96 swimmers have registered for Lakeway and we are limited to 135.

Friday, April 9: Combined Dolphin/Shark Practice 4:45-6pm (Lakeway) Saturday, April 10: Best Times Meet at WAAC--Swimmers arrive at 10am (Lakeway and West Austin)

Masters If you did not receive the masters plan please send your email address to coachjohn@wfly.com If you are new to masters please come try us on M or F 5:45 or T or Th at noon.

USA Swim Team from Coach Janet Congrats to the team for being recognized as a Bronze level team for the second consecutive year!! I am planning the long course practice and meet schedule. If you are planning to swim May-August please email becky@wfly.com by April 6th!! Thanks JR

This has been an interesting week! We are disappointed Coach Nate will be leaving WFLY, but wish him the best in a new venture at St. Stephen’s and beyond. For the moment, we want to focus on having a successful end of season for every swimmer on the WFLY team. This weekend we have 10 swimmers at Texas A & M at Sectionals. They had a great first day with our boy’s relay team coming in 8^th!!

There will be a new face at WFLY on Monday. A few months ago we hired Coach Tristen Schalyo. She moved to Austin this fall to be a counselor at Fulmore Middle School. She was a teacher, college advisor, and high school swim coach in Nevada. Originally she was hired to assist Janet with the senior group starting in April. She has agreed to start early to assist Janet with Silver and Gold as we begin looking for another coach to work with the Age Group swimmers. On Monday, Bronze will be coached by Janet assisted by Betsy, Silver and Gold will be coached by Janet assisted by Tristen and Betsy. Janet has been working on a long course training schedule and will have it ready soon. She will be having parent meetings Monday to answer any questions or concerns about the program. Bronze at 3:45 and Silver at 4:45.

For masters, John will be the coach on deck aided with workouts from Steve. We have two coaches who have expressed an interest in the program and we will interview them next week. Next weeks’ coaching will stay on the same schedule, M-F 5:45-7:30 am and MWF noon-1. Any questions or if you know someone who might be interested please contact John at coachjohn@wfly.com

Rec Spring Swim Team is off to a great start. Coach John and Ham have been joined by Conner. Tell your friends to come join us as we get ready for summer with improving strokes and having fun. Stroke Clinic coach is Rachel assisted by Beth on Tuesdays. Guppies start March 22.

Tennis Tournament will be happening tomorrow (Sunday) from 2-5 pm. Coach Sarah has games and prizes to celebrate.

Great job to the WAAC swimmers at STAGS and Senior Champs! Results can be found on the South Texas web site, www.stswim.org Good luck to the WFLY high school swimmers headed to the state competition this Friday and Saturday at UT. The WAAC tennis tournament has been changed from this weekend to the first weekend in March. See details in the tennis section.

Junior Olympics is March 26-28 in San Antonio. Please get your entries in next week by March 4^th. We want to have lots of relays and can only plan them if people sign-up! JO info is on the window of the fitness center.

We are pleased to have Matt Wise join our coaching staff. Coach Matt will be at Lakeway.

I have only had a few people register for the next session of tennis which begins Monday, so we will have tennis two days a week, on Mondays and Wednesdays. I can only add days if enough players commit to more days.

I have been trying to get a day for the tournament that would work for everyone, and it is just not working. The plan was to have it this weekend. However rain is expected this weekend and a couple of the kids cannot make it, and the goal is for everyone to be able to participate.

I have decided not to have it this weekend, but the following weekend. March 7, 2010 from 2-5. The format is as followed:

Competition 1. Up's and down's. Each child will be time to see how many they can do.

3. Forehand/backhand drill. Each child will be given 20 balls to see how many forehands and backhand they can hit,

Trophies, T-shirts and other goodies for all the kids. Parents, family and friends are invited. Snacks and drinks provided. Donations are welcome.

Hopefully rescheduling the tournament will give everyone time to make plans to attend. Should you have questions or have some concerns please feel free to email or call me at 512-466-6545, slp2222@aol.com. Sorry if this has caused any inconvenient for anyone. Please past this on to anyone that you think I may have missed.

We are in the middle of our championship season. Great job to the Stags and Sr Champs teams. This weekend many WFLY high school swimmers will be representing their schools at the Texas State Meet at UT. Junior Olympics is at the end of March. This is the championship meet for most of our Bronze and Silver swimmers. High School swimmers are also welcome to attend this meet. The deadline for this meet is during spring break, so I would like all entries in next week so we can get them in before the break. I am hoping to have a lot of relays, so please get your entries in by Match 4^th!!

We have a new coach!!! Please welcome Matt Wise!! Coach Matt is a graduate of Pepperdine University where he played water polo. He loves swimming at the pool and in the ocean. Please give him a big welcome.

Junior Olympics is almost here!!! Our championship meet is March 26-28 in San Antonio. Swimmers can pick which days to attend, but I think everyone would enjoy going and being part of the WFLY JO Championship team. Please email entries to becky@wfly.com If you need help in selecting entries for your swimmer, please let me know. Info is on the web site. http://www.wfly.com/Lakeway/SwimTeam.htm

Goldfish classes start Monday!!! Goldfish classes are a great way to get ready for summer! Goldfish learn proper freestyle and backstroke including freestyle side breathing. They also learn to swim farther distances with the goal to swim across the pool by May to join summer swim team. To be a goldfish, swimmers must happily swim with face in water and be able to submerge head under water, float without assistance, and swim 8 feet unassisted.
Goldfish Classes Ages 4-9 years old
March 2—April 29 Monday, Tuesday, Thursday         Cost $180
Goldfish classes DO NOT meet the week of spring break (March 15-19)
4:15-4:45 4-6 year olds
4:45-5:30 5-9 year olds
5:30-6:15 5-9 year olds

Rec Swim Team (Coach John coachjohn@wfly.com) This week we are having fun challenges both in and out of the water!! Monday marks the start of Spring Rec Swim Team!! Tell all your friends it is time to get back in the water!! Rec swimmers are welcome to join the WFLY swim team going to Junior Olympics. If your swimmer is interested please let me know by next week so we can process their USA Swimming registration and entries.

Masters (Coach Nate coach.nate@yahoo.com )
M-F 5:45-7:30 am
M-F noon-1 coach on-deck MWF

Spring is almost here!! Spring REC Swim Team, Swim Stroke Clinic, and tennis classes start March 1 at WAAC! Goldfish Classes starts March 1 at Lakeway! Register NOW on-line or at the WAAC office!!

Swim Champs are off to a great start. Our high school swimmers did a fabulous job at Regions! Results can be found at www.aaaa-sa.org under high school meets. Also, at this web site are the psych sheets for this weekend's South Texas Champs in San Antonio where swimmers will be competing for WFLY. Last Friday, swimmers who attended the Sweetheart Meet had a great time with races and fun food afterwards!! Results for the meet are posted on the side window at WAAC and on the website www.wfly.com .

Tennis players please register for the next session if you are planning to continue and let Sarah know which days you will be attending. There must be at least four people per day per class or Sarah will reduce the number of days and times. Please help spread the word about WAAC's tennis program to get more players involved!!

Masters!! Coach Nate will be out of town Friday. Rachel will open up Friday morning. Nate will coach a noon session on Thursday and leave a workout for Friday.

STAGS is a 12 and under qualifying prelim-finals meet for South Texas swimmers. A swimmer must qualify in each event they swim! Congratulations and Swim Fast to the 2010 Short Course WFLY STAGS Team: Steven Austrian, Mitchell Beckage, Taylor Bishop, Jessica Conrad, Elena Corbae, Jennifer Good, Maggie Jukes, Hailey Martin, Christopher Mayer, Sam Mayes, Mogan Michael, Rachel Pedley, Lauren Quincy, Sean Quinn, Randilyn Sasser, Grant Thompson, Sedera Zbranak

Senior Champs is a 13 and older qualifying prelim-finals meet for South Texas swimmers. A swimmer must qualify in each event they swim! Congratulations and Good Luck to the 2010 Short Course Senior Champs Team: Reese Bishop, Paul Corbae, Luke Brennan, Matt Davis, Jason Easter, David Farr, Philip Farr, Aidan Fumagalli, Megan Grose, Adrian Krach, Kyle Lucas, Kyle Lux, Sutton Mayes, Andre Newlands, Ben Shepard, Emily Shepard, Megan Thompson, Jaquelyn Zbranak

USA Swimming at WAAC Coach Janet (Becky@wfly.com) There is NO Bronze or Silver practice this Friday. There is NO Silver practice this Saturday.

Gold Sectional and HS State swimmers DO have practice this Friday AND Saturday. Please contact me if you have forgotten practice times.

4A Lake Travis: Katie Grose, Chris Griffin, Zach Hoffman, Travis Bauer, Reid Elliot, Relays Dripping Springs: Jessica Shepard, Ben Shepard, Timothy Wylie, Relays (Ellen McCarthy, Morgan Emmons, Cameron Huron, Christian Conway) 5A Chris Johnson (Bowie) and Westlake Relay (Paul Corbae) Good Luck to those attending STAGS and Senior Champs! Events & Relays are posted on the windows by the pool.

USA Swimming at Lakeway Coach Ginny (ginny@wfly.com) Great job at the Sweetheart Meet! Good solid swims and the hot dogs and s'mores were great!! We will now be gearing up for our championship meet, Junior Olympics in late March. We have a new section of the web site !! http://www.wfly.com/Lakeway/SwimTeam.htm takes you to info about the year round swim team. Also available is info about the Goldfish Classes which begin March 1 and Stroke Clinics which will begin March 22.

There is NO practice Thursday!! But we will have practice Friday, combined from 4:45-6.

Goldfish Classes beginning in March are for young swimmers 4-9 years old who can swim about 8 feet. The class teaches freestyle and backstroke and builds confidence for swimming across the pool. This class is perfect for kids to get ready for summer swim team or other activities like camps or vacations. Swimmers who can traverse the 25 yard pool can join the Stroke Clinic beginning March 22. Swimmers who know their four strokes can join the swim team for March and April and get a refresher on the four strokes before summer starts! For more info see the web site or contact becky@wfly.com.

Rec Swim Team at WAAC Coach John (coachjohn@wfly.com) Great job to the Rec Swimmers who participated in the Sweetheart Meet! Of all the swims I only saw two DQ's. Way to go, all the hard works (and fun time) is starting to pay off. I was very impressed with those roasted marshmellows! We have two weeks of Winter Swim Team remaining! Next week is Challenge week. Every day we will have a different challenge for the rec kids with Monday and Thursday being an out of water challenge and the other three days an in water challenge. Be prepared to jump off the high diving board into that cold diving pool!

Spring Swim Team Starts March 1 and we will be back in the water every day. The early practice schedule will be MWTh. I have a lot of fun events planned for spring. We should be having more pool space and we have hired an additional rec team coach. Tell all your fiends and siblings to join the rec team Mar 1st and get ready for the summer!!

Hi everyone! We had beautiful weather today. Our next session begins March 1. I am trying to come up with a schedule and will combine any classes that don't have at least four players. Please let me or the WAAC office know which days you plan to attend. Days with three or fewer players will no longer be offered as I try to find a schedule which will work for everyone.

Masters/Triathletes Coach Nate (coach.nate@yahoo.com) I will be out of town Friday coaching my age groups swimmers in San Antonio. Rachel will open up and Sarah will be at WAAC by 7. I will coach the noon group on Thursday, leaving a workout for Friday.

Although the weather continues to be cold, it is only a few weeks until WAAC's spring programs start!! Stroke Clinics and Spring Rec Swim Team start March 1!!!

Good luck to all the swimmers going into High School Regionals and participating in the Sweetheart Meet on Friday at WAAC.

USA Swimming at WAAC Coach Janet (becky@wfly.com Please return all female Rocket Science suits - we will be sending them back Feb. 23.

On Thursday, Feb. 11, Relays for STAGS and Senior Champs will be posted on the WFLY bulletin board.

Tomorrow is the last day to enter Friday's Sweetheart Meet at WAAC. Fill out entry form or email entries to becky@wfly.com.

USA Swimming at Lakeway Coach Ginny ginny@wfly.com Friday is the Sweetheart Meet at WAAC. Please enter by looking at the events posted on the Lakeway web page www.wfly.com/SummerLeague/Lakeway.htm and email becky@wfly.com or bring to practice tomorrow. Warm-ups are at 4:15 pm. Meet starts at 5. After the meet swimmers will have hot dogs and s'mores.

Spring programs at Lakeway:will be posted this week on the web site. We will have Goldfish classes beginning March 1 and Stroke Clinics after spring break. Swimmers can also join the Dolphin and Shark groups!

REC Swim Team Coach John coachjohn@wfly.com Friday is the Sweetheart Meet. Please help us organize for this meet by signing up by tomorrow. Warm-ups are at 4:15 and the meet starts at 5. Parents!! I will need help with timing. Please send swimmers with something to keep them warm between races. After the meet we will have hot dogs and s'mores!!

Our next meet is Junior Olympics in San Antonio, March 27 & 28. This meet is a USA Swim meet so swimmers must be registered to attend this meet. The cost to become a member is $66 per year. Please fill out a form and give to Becky. I think anyone in the winter rec team would enjoy attending this meet. If you have questions about the meet, or would like help picking events please contact me.

I am terribly sorry that when I was sick last Friday the substitute did not come as arranged. I will be holding make-up days on March 6 and March 7 in the afternoon. 2-4 pm We will have a WAAC tennis tournament Feb. 27 from 1-4 pm. Mark your calendars.

The next session begins March 1. Please let the WAAC office know if you are continuing in this session!

WAAC Masters and Tri Group Coach Nate coach.nate@yahoo.com Getting ready for a triathlon?? Thinking it would be fun to try a swim meet? Wanting to lose a few pounds before summer? Come join us!!

Winter is indeed still with us. It is a time where many adults are getting back into their regular exercise schedule, the USA swimmers are in their championship season, youth tennis is back into full swing, and we are planning WAAC's spring and summer programs. You can register at WAAC or on-line at www.wfly.com.

Staring March 1:
Spring Rec Swim Team
Swim Stroke Clinics for beginners and intermediate swimmers
Spring Tennis

Starting March 22:
Guppy Classes

Good luck to swimmers going to UT this weekend, going to SPC (Phillip Farr and Louis Leon), and Rec swimmers having their Dash and Splash!!

Congrats to all the WFLY swimmers who swam great at Districts. Last weekend we had swimmers representing five high schools! Below are the swimmers who placed in the top six at Districts and will compete at High School Regions. In Texas, swimming is divided into 4A (1A-4A schools) and 5A schools.

Regional Qualifiers are:
5A: Westlake: Luke Brennan and Paul Corbae
Bowie: Chris Johnson

4A Vandergrift: Brendan Quinn
Dripping Springs: Ali Cisewski, Christian Cosway, Morgan Emmons, Aidan Fumagalli, Cameron Huron, Ellen McCarthy, Ben Shepard, Jessica Shepard, Megan Skinner, Blake West, Timothy Wylie
Lake Travis: Marissa Bauer, Travis Bauer, Reese Bishop, Jonathan Chambers, Chandler Crouch, Reid Elliott, Jason Easter, Java Giles, Chris Griffin, Katie Gross, Mariah Harper, Katie Hathaway, Zach Hoffman, Adrian Krach, Libby Linton, Patrick Linton, Kyle Lucas, Sutton Mayes, Kendall Miller, Keeley Ratliff, Natalie Strait, Travis White

USA Swimming at WAAC Coach Janet becky@wfly.com Please check the board for info about UT this weekend and the meet for Bronze and Silver swimmers at WAAC Feb. 12.

Rec Swim Team Coach John coachjohn@wfly.com We had a great time last Friday eating pancakes with strawberries and whipped cream Yummy!!

Wednesday, Feb. 3, we are having a Dash and Splash! All season we have been running and swimming so Wednesday we will put it all together. Send swimmers with their swimsuits under running clothes. Wear running shoes and bring clothing suitable for the weather.

Next week on Friday, Feb. 12 we are having a fun swim meet followed by hot dogs and s'mores! I will be creating a heat sheet for this meet so please sign-up this week! Information is posted on the bulletin board. Sign-up sheets are by the water fountain.

I hope everyone is enjoying the new format of being able to choose more days to come to practice. With this new format, we will not have make-up days as players are welcome to substitute to a different day if the courts are wet on the day they planned to come. This procedure is used for the rec swim team at WAAC and works very well so we are trying it out this spring with tennis. I take attendance and if you have questions please ask me or Susan Walsh in the WAAC office.

Please mark your calendar for Feb. 27! I am planning a tournament for the WAAC players and hope everyone will come.

Masters with Coach Nate coach.nate@yahoo.com M-F 5:45-7:30 am M-F noon-1 Coach on deck MWF

WFLY Caps: Reminder to all swimmers: WFLY swim caps are to be worn at ALL MEETS. They can be purchase in the office (latex and silicone).

Technical Suits: We are working through our issues with Rocket Science Swimwear. They will not have technical suits ready by season championships. Swimmers may wear any technical suit of their choosing. Suits must be on the USA approval swim suit list. Find the best fit for your child. If you have questions please talk with me or Nate. Swimsuit info: (http://www.fina.org/project/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2768&Itemid=107 )

Championship Meet info has been posted on the glass windows by the gate. Go ahead and begin turning in your entries ASAP.

Our next meet will be at WAAC on Feb. 12 (Friday), then Junior Olympics in San Antonio (March 26-28). At JOs we will compete as a team against other South Texas teams. We will have relays and will need all of our swimmers so put the date on your calendar and plan to attend!

Up coming dates: Feb. 3 Dash and Splash!
Feb. 12 Sweetheart Meet then Hot dogs and s’mores

March 26-28 Junior Olympics in San Antonio. WFLY competes against other teams. If you want to go see Susan or Becky to get you registered for USA Swimming.

We have had great weather the last two days! I am forming classes so please let me know asap if you are joining me this session with the days of the week you want to come!

Winter is upon us! Heated pools are the 50-m and 25-y competition pools. Please dress kids appropriately for activities at WAAC. Swim practices are held in the cold and rain as long as there is no thunder. WAAC only closes if area roads are being closed for ice.

Parents please remember WAAC is an outdoor facility. If your child will be waiting here before or after practice they must be in adequate clothes and follow all WAAC rules. We have had some problems in the bathrooms, so please talk to your children about respecting other people’s property.

We have been enjoying the wonderful weather!! When the sun goes down it can get cold quickly so please send swimmers with adequate clothing for after practice! Last weekend was the last of the Rec Team Dual Meets!! The swimmers swam well, with many best times and much improved strokes! Great job! This weekend the USA Swimmers will be competing at UT.

There is NO Rec Swim Team practice at WAAC this Friday as the team will be at the movies.

Many kids enjoy coming by the WAAC snack bar in the afternoon. We try to be open from 3:30-6:45 pm, however we have early shifts open so cannot always open before Jordan or George gets there at 5. If you know anyone who can do a day or two early please let Becky know becky@wfly.com.

We are looking for suggestions for the snack bar. If you have an idea send it to Becky. Also, you can purchase a snack card for your swimmer so they don’t have to bring cash each day. These can be purchased at the snack bar window. In time for cool weather around the corner, we are starting a hot drink express service. Purchase a hot chocolate or hot cider before practice and we will have it ready at the end of practice in a cup with a lid.

USA Swimming at WAAC Coach Janet (becky@wfly.com)
UT Meet this weekend – check Bulletin Board for events and days
               Friday warm-up 5 pm
               Saturday warm-up (12 and younger) 9:10 am
                              warm-up (13 and older) 2:00 pm
               Sunday   warm-up (12 & younger) 7:50 am
                              warm-up (13 & older) 12 noon

Starting Nov. 16, sign-up for Thanksgiving feast on Wed. Nov. 25^th. We will post on-line and on the bulletin board.
Don’t Miss this special day of thanks!!

UT Meet this Friday. Warm-ups begin at 5pm. If you are going to the meet please pick up a handout at practice.

Coach John and Coach Hamilton bragged on the great job swimmers did this Saturday at the dual meets! The alligators, barracudas, catfish, and dolphins have one more meet for the fall season, Nov. 22. This will be a fun meet with prizes.

The next USA Meet we will attend is Dec. 12 & 13. Entries for this meet are due Nov. 16. If you have questions about if this meet is right for your swimmer or what events they should swim please contact me.

I am starting a weekly treat to encourage our hard-working swimmers. This can be anything, hot chocolate, cookies, ice cream sandwiches, muffins, etc. If you would be willing to supply treats one week please let me know!! The kids really enjoy having surprises. Please continue to send your swimmers with warm clothes for pre-practice stretching and to put on when they get out of the pool!

Upcoming events: Next Friday (Nov 20) we will have movie night instead of practice. Nov 23-25 we will have practice at WAAC for the week of Thanksgiving. Check your calendar or next week’s newsletter for specific times. I hope everyone can attend the Turkey Shoot on Nov 25^th.

Great job this Saturday!! Swimmers are getting better at their starts, strokes, and finishes. Everyone did a super job!! Results are posted on the web site. We have one more meet, Sunday, Nov. 22. It will be super fun with prizes.

This Friday, the 13^th, there is NO practice but the team will meet at Hill Country Galleria to watch 3-D Christmas Carol. I have heard it is very cool, but does have a few scary moments so prepare your kids. I believe cost for the movie is $10. The show starts at 5:15. All swimmers, siblings, and friends are invited, parents optional. I will be at the theatre at 4:55.

Masters Swim Training Group Coach Steve (steve@achievementbridge.com)
Come join us!! All abilities welcome!

Monday-Friday 5:45-8 am
Monday-Thursday noon-1 pm
Monday, Tuesday, Thursday 6:30-7:30 pm

Tennis Coach Sarah (slp2222@aol.com)
Youth classes for all abilities. Come join the FUN!!

Friday and Saturday WAAC was filled with all sorts of characters!! The Halloween Party was a blast. Thanks to all the parents that brought apples, cupcakes, and other goodies. Saturday the goblins transformed and did a great job at the swim meet. Thanks to all parents who helped especially WAAC's in-training stroke and turn officials. There are five sessions at UT in November so that will be an excellent place to get in more training sessions.

We love to share good photos on the web site. Please send them to susan@wfly.com.

This Saturday (Nov. 7) is the last of the fall rec team dual meets. Please sign up by circling your name at WAAC on the bulletin board and at Lakeway in the binder. We will need parents to help time, stroke judge, start, and help swimmers to their lanes. If you can help please contact Coach John at coachjohn@wfly.com .

It looks like Saturday will be crisp and clear. Please send swimmers with a blanket or sleeping bag to wrap up in between races and warm clothes to change into.

We have heard that our team apparel order is being processed and should by here around Nov. 15 !!

Alex will be teaching a lifeguard class in December. This class will certify participants in lifeguarding, first aid, and CPR for the professional rescuer. The lifeguard and first aid certifications are good for three years, CPR for one. Participants must be 15 or older. The class will be taught Dec. 22, 23, 28, 29, 30 from 11-5:30. The class costs $250 ($225 WAAC members) which includes pocket masket, Red Cross book, and all fees. The class is limited to ten participants. Please contact Becky to register for this class. becky@wfly.com

Alex is willing to teach or challenge anyone needing CPR. We are tentatively setting this for Monday, Jan. 4. Please let Becky know if you are interested in becoming current in CPR. becky@wfly.com

USA Swimming at WAAC Coach Janet (becky@wfly.com) Thanks for all of the help at the Halloween Meet and Party. Everyone was GREAT!

November is here and the weather will be cooler, so keep warm clothes in your bag.

Also, sign-up for the December UT meet. Deadline is Nov. 18th. The meet info is currently posted.

Watch the bulletin board and newsletter for the schedule over Thanksgiving week, turkey shoot, practice, and feast !! Go fliers !!

USA Swimming at Lakeway Coach Ginny (ginny@wfly.com) Halloween party and meet were tons of fun!!

In December, we will again be going to a meet at UT. Entries are due Nov. 18. Check the binder and sign up now! Late entries will not be accepted.

I am so proud of the swimmers continuing to work hard despite the cooler weather. I would like to start a treat program at Lakeway. This week I will bring a treat to enjoy at the end of practice with the hope that I can get some volunteers from each group to "fill the tin" once a week at the practice of their choice. This will provide a little incentive for these hard working athletes!! Also please send your kids in warm clothes as we will be stretching/doing short drylands some days and swimmers need to bring warm clothes to put on after now that it gets dark sooner.

Mark your calendar: Nov 13-15 UT Meet, Nov 20 Movie night, Nov 22 Championship Rec Meets at WAAC. We ran out of November calendars tonight at practice, but I will have more copies on Thursday.

Rec Swim Team Coach John (coachjohn@wfly.com) The Halloween Party was great. I loved seeing everyone's costumes!!

This Saturday (Nov. 7) is the last dual meet. Come help your team. Every swim gives your team points!!

I love movies and am looking forward to the 3D Christmas Carol coming out soon so the swim team is going to go on Friday Dec. 13th time to be announced. Swimmers, friends, and siblings welcome, parents optional. We will meet 15-20 minutes prior to show time, each person will buy their ticket and we will sit together. Movie will be at the Hill Country Galleria near Lake Pointe.

We are having perfect weather for tennis. We welcome all abilities in WAAC's tennis classes. Come join us on Mondays and Wednesdays!!

Masters/Triathlon Swim Coach Steve (steve@achievementbridge.com ) As non-heated pools are getting too cold to swim in we are having new swimmers join. Let your friends know we have training sessions for all abilities in pleasant water!

Last weekend over 100 WFLY swimmers raced at a meet at UT. The swimmers looked great and besides many lifetime best times, there were many firsts, first time at a USA Swim meet, first time to swim at the UT Swim Center, first time to do a flip turn, and more. Congrats to all the swimmers and coaches!!

Thursday is the last day of Guppy classes!! Coach Lexi will have a surprise during class.

Thursday the Masters Swimmers will be meeting at Little Woodrow’s after 6 pm to discuss the season and other important matters.

Friday WAAC will have our annual Halloween Party!! The coaches have great games planned with Halloween goodies. The party is open to all swimmers and siblings. Come in costume for ghoulish FUN!!

Saturday WAAC hosts the Spooky Meet for USA Swimmers. Warm-ups begin at 8am. Any deck entries must be given to Clerk of Course at 7:45 am. Any USA swimmers may time trial any 50, 100, 200 event after the meet. Swimmers doing a time trial need to sign-up at Clerk of Course by 11 am. Swimmers are limited to 5 events for the morning (meet plus time trials). Please watch the weather and send your swimmer with adequate clothing, tents, sleeping bags, blankets. It is suppose to be a crisp cool morning. Help you swimmer stay warm in between races by having extra towels and warm clothes!!

Winter Recreational Swim Team is around the corner!! After creating information about the winter rec team, Coach John had several people ask about the earlier practice time (3:45-4:30). He thought is was a great idea so has added two early practice days so swimmers can continue coming to this time. On water days, Tuesday and Wednesday the 8 and younger will have two practice times and on dry-land days and Fun Fridays they will meet together at the later time.

Revised Winter Rec Swim Team practice times: (Nov. 30 – Feb. 26)
8 & Younger TW 3:45-4:30, M-F 4:30-5:30
9 & Older M-F 5:30-6:30
M & Th Dry Land Days, T & W Swim Days, F Dry land game followed by swimming

2 Days per week $135 WAAC Member/$165 non-members
3-5 Days per week $150 WAAC Members/$180 non-members

We are fine-tuning our masters program to be more accommodating to those in the program while maintaining a professional coaching staff. For adults in the masters program who attend the adult training sessions we will provide the weekly workouts in email form to replace the workouts in the drawer. In this way we won’t waste paper and whoever wants to print a copy can. Other WAAC members can also take advantage of this service for $10 per month. Steve will coordinate with Becky who will send the emails out. If you are interested in receiving the workouts please contact Becky at becky@wfly.com .

As many of you know, the USA team is working with a new swimsuit company Rocket Suits to supply swimsuits, caps, parkas, etc. Becky has asked for a definitive date for when the ordered merchandise will arrive to us. As soon as we know we will post the date on the bulletin board and in this newsletter. Becky is in daily communication with our representative to get our items as quickly as possible.

Friday: Halloween Party 4-5:30 wear costumes, parents please bring in items to Becky’s desk. We still need hot dogs and crescent rolls (bring by Thursday).

Saturday: Meet at WAAC, arrive 7:45 am. Please sign-up to help at the meet by timing or running (sheet on bulletin board). Meet starts at 9 am. We will have deck entries at the meet. If your swimmer wants to deck enter please be at WAAC at 7:45 am. We will also be running time trials of all 50, 100, 200 events after the meet as desired. Sign-up for time trials must be done by 11 am.

All USA Meets sanctioned by our LSC, South Texas, can be found at www.stswim.org . We must send all of WFLY’s entries and payment in together to the host team, so we have a deadline early enough to enter all entries into the required entry program and allow coaches to edit the entries. If you are not at WAAC on the day entries are due please email your entries to becky@wfly.com before practice that day.

Great job to all swimmers who attended the UT Meet. The swimmers did an awesome job racing in the huge swim center and I was very proud to watch everyone try their flip-turns! Best times ribbons will be handed out at practice.

Also, awesome job to all swimmers at practice tonight. Goldfish did a 50 Free for time, Dolphins did a 200 Free for time, and Sharks did a 500 Free for time. Way to step up and go the distance!!

Please sign up to bring stuff to the Halloween Party this Friday at WAAC. I hope all swimmers can dress up and attend! UT December meet write up is also in the binder if you want to start looking at events. We will be attending on Saturday and Sunday.

Saturday Oct 31: Spooky Meet at WAAC (swimmers arrive 7:45am) *If you have not already signed up, but would like to attend, email becky@wfly.com and we can try to deck enter you.

*Look for your November calendar to be passed out at practice will all the important dates and holiday practice information!

We are having a blast starting to swim longer sets and improving our strokes and starts!! This Friday there is NO swim practice because we are having a party!! Wear your costume and be ready for some very FUN games, 4-5:30 !! Hamilton and I will be in costume too so don’t be surprised if you don’t recognize us!!

The last dual meets are Nov.7, sign-up by circling the roster on the bulletin board.
Barracudas vs. Dolphins 9:45 am
Catfish vs. Alligators 11:15 am

13 (Friday) Movie: Christmas Carol 3D Time TBA
22 Fall Team Champs at WAAC Arrive 11:45

Info and details are posted on the bulletin board. Here is a summary of up-coming events.

Dec. 5 Belton Masters Meet
Jan. 1, 2010 Get ready for New Year’s Day practice!!!

Saturday at WAAC the Rec Swim Team showed off their strokes in a Race for Ribbons meet. They did a fantastic job. Thanks to all the parents that helped.
Many of WFLY’s high school swimmers were at a meet where they presented Coach Janet with a unique Lake Travis/Dripping Springs t-shirt as she was supporting our swimmers on both sides of the aisle!!
This upcoming weekend many WFLY swimmers (over one hundred) will be at UT for a swim meet Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. For several, it will mark their first time to swim at this great pool. Only swimmers, coaches, and parents helping with the meet, are allowed on deck. So, if you want to be on-deck, please offer to time. The meet will be running in two pools. A psych sheet is available at WAAC’s home page www.wfly.com
All swimmers going to UT should wear a team cap and their WFLY t-shirt. Caps can be bought this week in the snack bar and Ginny will have them available at Lakeway tomorrow.

Tomorrow during Silver practice, WFLY parent and USA Swimming referee, Rich Zbranak, will be offering a stroke and turn clinic for parents wishing to become an official to help at meets. This is a great way to help our team and the young swimmers who swim in our area. Contact Rich at 916-1200 or zbranak@yahoo.com for more information or just come by the class.

Also starting tomorrow, Austin High School will be training at WAAC for two weeks while their pool is being repaired.

Heating pools is very expensive. The covers on the 25-yard pool are designed so that taking one off, provides two lanes and only uncovers a small part of the pool. This is the pool to swim in when a small number of swimmers are swimming. The 50-meter pool is designed where one half of the covers must be removed to swim. The only time this pool should be uncovered is when there is a group of swimmers who swim together and then immediately recover the pool. Unheated pools in the Austin area are now between 70-74 which is too cool for most swimmers.

Stroke Clinic and Guppy Classes: Oct. 29 is the last day for these fall programs. Swimmers should talk with Lexi and Nate about what program is the best for them after these classes. Guppy classes and stroke clinics will return in the spring.

Senior Group for middle school and high school swimmers continues M-Th 6:30-7:30 pm, F 5:30-6:30 with Coach Hamilton. This group offers a great way to improve swim strokes and use swimming to stay in shape!!

USA Swimming at WAAC Coach Janet (becky@wfly.com)
Oct. 23-25 UT Meet
Friday warm-up 5:00 pm
Saturday warm-up 9:00 am (12 and younger)
warm-up 1:45 pm (13 and older)
Sunday warm-up 8:30 am (12 and younger)

Halloween Party Firday Oct. 30 4-5:30
Wear your costumes and sign-up to bring something on the board

Spooky Halloween Meet – Oct. 31^st
Next meet is at UT – Nov. 13-15 (entries due Oct. 26th !!!)

I was so proud of all of our swimmers this weekend. To see how far their strokes have improved was great!! Excellent job! Thanks to all the parents that helped.
This Friday is the meet at UT!!! Warm-ups are at 5 pm so please have swimmers arrive by 4:45 pm. The swimmers will sit together on the deck, look for me, Janet, and Nate. Parents sit in the galley unless they are helping with the meet. Ordered team stuff won’t arrive until end of October-early November. Everyone should wear their team t-shirt and have a WFLY cap. I will bring the t-shirts tomorrow to pick up if you haven’t already, along with caps to buy. Please send your swimmer with a water bottle and healthy snack. UT Swim Center is at the corner of MLK and Trinity. Parking garages cost $10. My understanding is the closest free parking is near the baseball field.
Halloween Party at WAAC Oct. 30 4-5:30. Sign-up on the list at the pool to bring something.
Upcoming Meets:
Oct. 31 Spooky Meet
Nov. 7 Third Dual Meets
Nov. 13-15 UT (I will pick a session) Entries due Oct. 26^th
Nov. 22 Dual Meets Champs

Swimmers did a super job showing off their strokes this weekend and we had an amazing spaghetti feast. Great job!! Thanks parents!!
We have two meets left in the fall season, Nov. 7 and Nov. 22 along with several fun activities.

October
30 Halloween Party 4-5:30
November
7 dual Meets #3
Barracudas vs. Dolphins 9:45 am
Catfish vs. Alligators 11:15 am
13 Movie
22 Fall Champs noon (Arrive 11:45 am)
25 Turkey Shoot
Winter REC Swim Team begins Nov. 30!! Sign-up now on-line or in the office. The program shifts emphasis to be about improved strokes while building strength and endurance. As we did last year, two days will be set for dry-land training (Mondays and Thursdays), two days for swimming (Tuesdays and Wednesdays), and Fun Fridays will have a land game followed by swim practice. One of the events the swimmers train for will be a dual-a-thon at WAAC with a run then swim. The Winter REC Team continues the fun and improves swimming in a format young swimmers enjoy during the cooler months. Swimmers can register for a two day or three-five day option.

Please contact me with any questions. Hamilton and I are enjoying working with this great group of swimmers.

Adult Swim Training Sessions Coach Steve steve@achievementbridge.com
Practice M-F 5:45-8 am, M-Th noon-1 pm, MTTh 6:30-7:30 pm

Older News

During the week, WAAC play swimmers should check in with Coach John. Likewise, lap swimmers who are not sure where to swim laps should check with a coach on deck. ALL swimmers, not participating in a program must sign-in with the books on the ledge of the snack bar.

Our insurance carrier has a new requirement concerning liability. At present, all members and program participants sign a general liability statement. Our insurance also now requires that guests also sign a waiver. If you bring a guest to WAAC they or you (if it is a minor in your care) must sign and turn in a guest pass which has the waiver on it. At the same time we are streamlining the accounting time to enter guest fees into billing. Single guest fees must be pre-paid or paid at the time of club usage. In other words, we will no longer bill for the occasional guest. To help make this easy on us and stay in insurance compliance, WAAC members can purchase 10 guest passes for $25. These passes can be used for adults or children. These pre-purchased guest passes can be billed to your WAAC account. Please remember, guests must be accompanied by a WAAC member.

Last weekend Janet and John attended the South Texas Annual Meeting in Corpus Christi. Over the next several weeks championship times will be finalized and Janet will have more information about the rest of the season meets. Dates and locations of championship meets can be found on the LSC web site www.stswim.org. WFLY was again awarded to be host for the long course Junior Olympic meet in August.

One of the concerns for our LSC, is a shortage of officials. As in many youth sports activities, swim meets can not fairly be conducted without sufficient number of officials. In age group swimming, this is a volunteer position. Currently WFLY has two referees: Rich Zbranak and Rob Johnson, one Starter Kim Fumagalli, and two Stroke and Turn officials John Trowbridge and Becky Shepard. We would like to train five-eight more officials this season. Please consider becoming an official, especially if you were a high school or college swimmer, or if you want to learn more about the mechanics of the strokes. Rich will be offering a stroke and turn training class 4:45-6:30 on October 20, and then class attendees that complete the needed paperwork and test can help at our Oct. 31st meet. Please consider taking this class and helping with swim meets. All USA Swim meets require officials to be sanctioned. It makes it easier for us to host meets when we have an adequate number of officials. Summer swim team meets also require officials and often John needs parents with training to help with his meets. If you are interested please contact Becky at becky@wfly.com and she will forward paperwork to you. If you have questions about becoming an official please contact Rich Zbranak (Dad of Jacquelyn and Sedera) at zbranak@yahoo.com.

Dolphins (82) defeated the Alligators (79) Catfish (125) defeated the Barracudas (102) This week, on Wednesday Oct. 7, we will be having WAAC Olympics during regular practice time.

Adult Swim Training Sessions (Coach Steve steve@achievementbridge.com) All abilities welcome!! Contact Steve for more information.

Monday-Friday 5:45-8 am
Monday-Thursday noon-1 pm
Monday, Tuesday, Thursday 6:30-7:30 pm

Tennis (Coach Sarah slp2222@aol.com) Youth tennis classes are being offered on Mondays and Wednesdays. Please contact Sarah if you are interested in tennis instruction.

Please keep in mind we have around 100 young swimmers at WAAC each afternoon. Be respectful in the changing rooms: keep bags on the shelves, don’t hog all the hot water, and share the space.

We welcome a new coach to WAAC’s staff. Amanda will be joining Ginny at Lakeway beginning tomorrow.

Please see below for information from WAAC’s swim coaches.

WAAC USA Swimming announcements from Coach Janet (becky@wfly.com)
               Upcoming Meets and Events:
(1) UT Meet Oct. 23-25, entries due Oct. 1^st (Note: Bronze and Lakeway swimmers see Friday session)
(2) Halloween Meet, Saturday Oct. 31, entries due Oct. 14
(3) Halloween Party, Friday Oct. 30 4-5:30 for Bronze, Silver, Lakeway (no Gold practice)
               Practice Schedule for October
Bronze M-F 3:45-4:45
Silver M-F 4:45-6:15 Sat.
Gold MTThF 4:45-6:45 (W optional 4:45-6:15), Sat. 10/3 & 10/17 8-10:30 am
               Weather – fall is upon us-always bring warm clothes to the pool
               Thanks for all you support!!

Lakeway USA Swimming announcements from Coach Ginny (ginny@wfly.com)
               Great job at the first dual rec swim meet!!
               Tomorrow (Sept. 24) is Shark Bring a Friend Day!! Bring a bud, it will be FUN.
               Friday (Sept. 25) Combined practice for Dolphin and Shark 4:30-6 pm.
               Sat & Sun (Sept. 26 & 27) Round Rock Meet (if you are going to the meet please pick up an itinerary from me at practice)
               In October we have several meets to choose from. Swimmers should go to at least one meet a month and are welcome to go to as many as they wish.
Oct. 3 Second Dual Rec Meets at WAAC Entries due Oct. 1
Oct. 17 Race for Ribbons at WAAC Entries due Oct. 15
Oct. 23 Friday Sprint Session at UT Swim Center (50’s) Entries due Oct. 1
Oct. 31 Halloween Meet at WAAC (Longer distances) Entries due Oct. 14
               Beginning tomorrow Coach Amanda will be joining me at Lakeway.

Rec Swim Team News from Coach John (coachjohn@wfly.com)
               Great job everyone last Saturday!! Results have been posted on the window and are available on the web site. Scores were:
               Barracudas (131) defeated the Alligators (102)
               Dolphins (133) defeated the Catfish (117)
Next dual meet is October 3. Alligators vs. Dolphins arrive 9:45 am, Catfish vs. Barracudas arrive 11:15 am. Remember to sign-up by circling your name on the bulletin board. You can’t help your team score points unless you are there!! Every swim earns a team points!
Tomorrow (Sept.24) is Bring a Friend Day. Even if it rains we will have FUN so bring your friends!!

Older News

WAAC Senior Group

Several years ago, WAAC created a swim training group especially for middle school and high school swimmers who wanted to continue their swimming, but did not have the time or interest to be on the Rec or USA swim teams. This group provides a way busy students can continue to improve in swimming and receive the fitness benefits of this aerobic sport. The group can be used as PE credit at most schools if participants come a certain number of hours per week. This group meets Monday-Thursday from 6:30-7:30 when the pools are very quiet. They also have practice with the Rec team on Fridays from 5:30-6:30. There are no practice or competition requirements for this group. Coach Hamilton is coaching this group T-F with Nate or John coaching the group on Mondays. This year it is a small group (about 6 swimmers) so it is a great opportunity for a swimmer to have a lot of individual stroke improvement. If you have questions about this group please contact becky@wfly.com.

REC Swim Team from Coach John (656-8195, coachjohn@wfly.com)

WAAC Rec swimmers and Lakeway swimmers have been divided into four teams: alligators, barracudas, catfish, and dolphin. The teams are posted on the bulletin board and on the web site (www.wfly.com). Please check which team your swimmer is on. We will have a series of five meets this fall, four of these meets the swimmers will compete for their team. In the dual meets each swimmer earns points for their team by (1) participating in the meet, (2) achieving personal best times, (3) placement in heats. These dual meets are fast and fun. A swimmer can only help their team by coming!!

All swimmers are encouraged to participate. It will help us run a better meet to know who is coming, however if you forget to sign-up please come on Saturday. It is easy to sign-up, just circle your name for the meet on the bulletin board. Lakeway swimmers will have an entry form from Ginny. You can also let me know (coachjohn@wfly.com)

Rec Swim Meet Schedule (all meets at WAAC)

Sept. 19
Alligators vs. Barracudas Arrive 9:45 am
Catfish vs. Dolphins Arrive 11:15 am

Oct. 3
Alligators vs. Dolphins Arrive 9:45 am
Catfish vs. Barracudas Arrive 11:15 am

Oct. 17
Race for Ribbons Everyone Arrive 12:45 pm

Nov. 7

Barracudas vs. Dolphins Arrive 9:45 am
Alligators vs. Catfish Arrive 11:15 am

Nov. 22 Fall Champs
Everyone arrive 11:45 am

Older News

New hours begin in September:

Adult Lap swim, tennis, fitness: M-Th 5:45 am - 7:30 pm, F 5:45 am - 6:30 pm

Play Swim: M-F 4-6:30 pm, WAAC member kids check in with lifeguard for wrist band

Weekends: Saturday noon-7 pm, Sunday 1-6 pm

Labor Day (Sept. 7) 1-6 pm (NO programs)

The WAAC Snack Bar is ready to open once we find people to run it. We are looking for cheerful, reliable people. They can work partial or whole shifts, and can work a minimum of once a week. They need to be in high school and be at least 14 years old. If you know someone who is interested please contact Becky at becky@wfly.com.

WAAC Newsletter August 14, 2009

Congratulations to all the USA swimmers who participated in the Long Course championships. A special thanks to Coach Janet, Nate, and Ginny for working with these great swimmers all summer and to John for helping at Senior Champs. On a personal level, there were MANY best times and as a team WFLY had great performances!! As I am writing this, three swimmers (Chris Griffin, Tim Wylie, and Alex Etz) are with Coach Janet competing at Junior Nationals in Seattle.

West Austin Aquatics was represented at all of the championship meets in our LSC, South Texas, as well as qualifying and having swimmers at TAGS, Nationals, Senior Zones, and Junior Nationals.

LSC Team Placement - Junior Olympics Central 2nd, STAGS 6th ( with only 5.5 points behind 5th place), Senior Champs 5th.

Coach Steve Dailey began his coaching career in 1975 with a summer league team not unlike the one offered at WAAC. Energized by the gratification of helping young swimmers excel, he pursued and completed a degree in Exercise Science and immediately secured a Head Coaching position for both High School and USS programs in Oklahoma. Success in that program led to similar positions in Illinois, South Carolina and Texas where, along the way, his programs experienced rapid growth (often 10x) and accolades at the state, regional and national level. Steve had the privilege of coaching former Olympians, several #1-ranked age group athletes and a dozen Olympic Trial qualifiers. After starting his first business in 1984, he reengaged in his own swimming pursuits and over two decades has ranked in the top 10 in the country for each of his successive age groups, held several South Central Zone records and participated in the Masters World Championships.

Steve also has been a lifelong advocate for fitness. He is an avid backpacker, has competed in numerous triathlons, many long distance bicycle challenges and other extreme sport events including, most recently, the Texas Water Safari - a 260 mile canoe race from San Marcos to the Gulf over four days and nights. Outside of swimming pursuits, Steve owns his own company - AchievementBridge.com - serving small business owners and leaders as a Business Success Coach.

WAAC is extremely pleased to have Steve lead the adult swimming program. We believe his enthusiasm for the sport will help WAAC's programs grow and attract swimmers and tri-athletes of all abilities. If you would like to be in touch with Steve please contact him at steve@achievementbridge.com Beginning in October, these structured instruction-oriented classes will have a cost like all of WAAC's other programs, where WAAC members attend the classes for a substantial discount. The monthly cost for the adult swim classes will be $20 for WAAC members and $50 for non-members. Punch cards will still be available for $85 for 10 swims. Individual memberships will remain at the quarterly price of $225 and annual price of $600 ($50/month or $540 paid at once). WAAC members receive the class discount and can swim laps and use WAAC's facilities including the weight room whenever the club is open.

WFLY LONG COURSE NEWS

Congrats to those who swam at Sectionals, including Philip Farr, Timothy Wylie, Jessica Shepard, Ben Shepard, Paul Corbae, Ryan Holody, Alex Etz, Chris Griffin, and Zach Hoffman.

GOOD LUCK!

WAAC was represented at the Zones Meet in Houston by Karen, Rachael, Aubry, Ginny, Dan, and John. Everyone did a great job and had a super time. Results are posted at: http://www.asicampbell.com/SCZ/SCZ-LC-2009-p7.htm

If you are an adult lap swimmer, please send me how many miles you have completed so far this year so I can add you to the poster.

Join WAAC for the summer with a Quarterly Membership As we near summer the best place to be is at the pool. WAAC offers quarterly single and family memberships which are for any three consecutive months. Members enjoy use of WAAC’s 5 pools, tennis courts, weight room, & sports court, free masters swim classes, and discounts on all programs! Family quarterly membership is a one time fee of $375, single quarterly is $225.

WFLY Received Bronze Medal Honors from USA Swimming! USA Swimming honors the top 200 swim teams in the country by naming them a medal team. WFLY is one of only 4 teams in South Texas to receive this honor. Congrats!!

Congrats to all Swimmers Who Attended Junior Olympics!! Our girls finished in 6^th place, boys finished 2^nd and our team was 4^th place overall! Thanks to all the parents that timed and worked at the meet. Thanks to all of the swimmers & parents who cheered loudly for all of our swimmers—Great Job! Ribbons & medals will be passed out today at practice. If any parents took pictures please email them to me so that I can make a poster.

Congrats to WFLY on Being Named a Level 4 team!! Congrats to Coach Janet and everyone associated with West Austin Aquatics as they have been named a level 4 team. Big thanks to Cherie Collister for coordinating the needed responses to USA Swimming to make this happen. Read below about what this distinction means:

Designed over a two year period by USA Swimming's Club Development Committee, this voluntary program presents four levels of achievement across four component areas deemed critical to long-term club success. The program encourages clubs to establish organizational goals and to benchmark their progress toward those goals. The ultimate objective of the program is to strengthen the club system in USA Swimming by guiding clubs through a development process that ultimately positions the program and its coaches to better serve athletes.

The Club Development Committee looked at many different factors that helped create "great" clubs. The committee grouped all of the factors into four major component areas:

These component areas, along with the markers in each area, were further subdivided into four different levels of achievement from Level 1 to Level 4 (Level 4 being the highest):

REC Team Announcements: Congrats to Trinity for participating at JO’s. She swam 2 events for end of season best times. Coach Beth comes on board starting this week. With the nice weather John, Beth, and Peter have decided to have all 5 days in the water!! No more dry-lands until next winter. April will be spent getting ready for summer! REC Swim Team Schedule: M-Th 4:30-5:30 8&younger, M-Th 5:30-6:30 9&older, Fabulous Fun Fridays one practice for everyone 5-6pm.

Afternoon Play Swim Notes: This spring we are going to try out adding Mondays to the schedule. All play swimmers and adult lap swimmers must be WAAC members or guests accompanying a member. Members should sign in. Children (everyone under 18) must also get a wrist band from a lifeguard. During the week play swim will be available in the Island Pool. Kids can go off the diving boards when a lifeguard is available to watch that pool. Play swim hours in April are M-F from 4-6pm, Saturday from noon-6pm, and Sunday from 1-5pm.

Masters Swimmers Please Send Me your 2009 Yardage: Adult swimmers please get your yardage in to Coach Ginny so we can see how close we are to a team breakfast.

Congrats to Dan Hoffman on his swims at Southern Zones!: Dan Hoffman represented WFLY at the Southern Zones master’s meet this weekend.

Congrats to Paul & Jessica on great swims at TAGS!! Jessica Shepard & Paul Corbae both made finals and had great times at the Texas Age Championships.

100 Breast 1:08.57 3^rdPlace
100 Fly: 101.41 11^th Place
100 Back: 1:01.21 9^th Place
200 Back: 2:13.40 12^th Place
200 IM: 2:10.45 2^nd Place

100 Breast: 1:05.31 13^th Place
100 Breast time trial: 1:04.30
200 Breast: 2:14.20 3^rd Place

Summer Swim Team Registration Now Online: Summer league swim team begins on May 4^th. Registration forms can be filled out online or picked up at WAAC. We have a fun season planned and want you to be part of it!

Congrats to all those who attended Grand Prix & Sectionals! Zach Hoffman, Jessica Shepard, Ben Shepard, Paul Corbae, Bethany Corbae, Christopher Johnson, Chris Griffin, Alex Etz, and Timothy Wylie did a great job at both the Grand Prix & Sectionals swim meets over the weekend!!

Island Pool Reopened: The island pool heater is back on and is available for lap swimmers and play swimmers in the afternoons. Adult lap swimmers may also swim in the 50 meter pool although it is NOT heated.

Great Job High School Swimmers at State! Awesome job to all Flyers (Alex Etz, Tim Wylie, Ben Shepard, Jessica Shepard, Zach Hoffman, and Chris Griffin) who represented their high schools at 4A & 5A state this weekend!

Swim Lessons Will Begin in May: WAAC’s group, semi-private, and private lessons will begin on May 4. This year we are having each session be 1 week. Visit our website for more information or to download a registration form. If you have questions email becky@wfly.com.

Congrats to Dave Pernell Michael Harper and Ginny Whyte on Completing 25 miles so far!! Congrats to Dave, Michael, and Ginny who have joined WAAC’s Go the Distance master’s swim challenge. If you have questions about the challenge or if you would like to send in your results email ginny@wfly.com. Keep up the great work!

Great Job to Swimmers at Senior Champs & STAGS!! Best times by everyone!! Yeah Flyers! Check out the poster in the breezeway for results!

Good Luck to High School Swimmers Competing at State This Weekend: Both 4A and 5A schools will compete at their State Championships this weekend at UT! Alex Etz will compete in the 5A meet in the 100 Back for Austin High School. In 4A for Lake Travis, Chris Griffin will compete in the 200 and 500 Free and Zach Hoffman will swim 200 IM and 100 Fly. Representing Dripping Springs, also in 4A, Timothy Wylie will compete in the 100 Free and 100 Back, Ben Shepard in the 100 Breast, and Jessica Shepard in the 200 IM and 100 Back. Go Flyers!!

Spring REC Team Begins March 2: It’s time to get back in the water!! Come join Spring Rec Team to work on your strokes and have a blast. Go to www.wfly.com to fill out a registration form and you can either pay online or mail a check. Coach John, Peter, and Beth want you to be part of the fun season they have planned! Email Coach John john.walsh@logicgroup.com with any questions.

REC Friday Practice 5-6pm: Friday practice for all ages for the Rec Team will be from 5-6pm for the rest of the season. This will allow everyone on the Rec Team to get to know each other and team build a little while working on their swimming.

In 5A schools, from Westlake High School we had Paul Corbae, Bethany Corbae, and Luke Brennan. Bethany helped in prelims for the 200 medley relay that got 2^nd and Paul was part of the 200 medley relay that got 3^rd place. Alex Etz represented Austin high school and placed 2^nd in the 200 Medley Relay, 3^rd in the 100 Fly, 1^st in the 100 Back, and 4^th in the 400 Free Relay. Chris Johnson competed for Bowie and placed 4^th in the 400 Free Relay, 3^rd in the 100 Back, 6^th in the 200 IM, and 5^th in the 200 Medley Relay.

In the 4A schools, Jessica Shepard, Timothy Wylie, and Ben Shepard competed for Dripping Springs. Jessica placed 3^rd in the 200 Medley Relay, 3^rd in the 200 IM, 1^st in the 100 Back, and 3^rd in the 400 Free Relay. Timothy placed 2^nd in the 200 Medley Relay, 2^nd in the 100 Free, 2^nd in the 100 Back, 5^th in the 400 Free Relay. Ben placed 2^nd in the 200 Medley Relay and 1^st in the 100 Breast. Reese Bishop, Jason Easter, Chris Griffin, and Zach Hoffman competed for Lake Travis. Reese placed 5^th in the 200 Medley Relay and 7^th in the 500 Free. Jason placed 5^th in the 200 Medley Relay. Chris placed 1^st in the 200 Free, 1^st in the 500 Free, 2^nd in the 200 Free Relay, and 3^rd in the 400 Free Relay. Zach placed 3^rd in the 200 IM, 4^th in the 100 Fly, 2^nd in the 200 Free Relay, and 3^rd in the 400 Free Relay.

Good Luck To STAGS & Senior Champs Swimmers!! WFLY swimmers are headed to San Antonio this weekend to compete in South Texas Championship meets. We are excited to watch some amazing swims! Good luck to Ali, Bethany, Jessica, Jackie, Reese, Luke, Paul, Jason, Ben, Taylor, Annie, Rachel, Sedera, and Mitchell!

Stroke Clinic & Spring Rec Team Begin March 2: It’s time to get back in the water!! Come join a Stroke Clinic or Spring Rec Team to work on your strokes and have a blast. Go to www.wfly.com to fill out a registration form and you can either pay online or mail a check. We have lots of fun things planned and can’t wait to teach your child!

We are starting to look for lifeguards & camp counselors: WAAC is starting to hire more lifeguards and camp counselors for the summer. If you are interested in working at WAAC, stop by and pick up a job application. If you want to be a lifeguard but are not Red Cross certified you should take the CPR class we are offering on March 1. We will offer the full lifeguarding class in May, and if you already have CPR certification, you get to skip that part.

Congrats to WFLY Being Named a Level III USA Team: Big Thanks to Cherie Collister for filling out paper work and helping us receive Level III distinction. We are the only swim club in Austin with Level III!!

Spring Break Camp: If you are looking for something fun for your kids to do during spring break, this is the camp for you. The camp is Monday-Thurs from 9am-2pm. It will include multiple swim lesson instructions, lunch, water games, land games, free time, and more!

All Registrations and Payments Can Now Be Done Online: Signing up for WAAC programs is now easier than ever. You can fill out and send all registration forms online and then either mail a check or pay with a credit card online also. Go to www.wfly.com and click register/pay online at the top of the page.

Swim Meet at WAAC on March 12: WAAC will host a swim meet on March 12 for all swimmers in the USA Team or REC Team who want to compete and get times before Junior Olympics. This meet will be for fun and will not be sanctioned but is a great opportunity to practice your races. Mark your calendars. More details to follow.

Online Registration and Payment Now Available: Now you can fill out your spring and summer registration forms on www.wfly.com and either mail us a check or pay by credit card online using Google checkout! This is the easiest and fastest way to secure your spot in our popular Spring Guppy Classes, Spring Stroke Clinic Classes, and Summer Camps! Our online system is completely new so if you encounter a problem please call us at 263-4282.

Nice Job at Districts: Congrats to all high school swimmers who swam at Districts!!

Congrats to Timothy Wylie on his Top 10 Swims in 2008! Timothy Wylie earned Top 10 honors from USA Swimming for his 5^th Place finish in the 100 Back and 9^th Place finish in the 200 Back out of all swims in his age group during the 2008 year!

Lap Swimmers Join the Go the Distance Challenge: All adult lap swimmers should join WAAC’s Go the Distance Challenge. To join, record the amount of yards you swim and the time it takes you throughout 2009. WAAC has incentives posted on the glass window when you enter the breezeway for both individuals and everyone combined. Email ginny@wfly.com when you complete a milestone so that I can add you name to the poster.

Register Now for Spring Programs—Spring Break Camp, Guppy Class, and Stroke Clinics: Spring programs begin March 1. Don’t wait to turn in your registration forms. Spring Break camp is Mon-Thurs from 9am-2pm and is the perfect activity for your kids on their week off of school. They will have multiple swim instruction sessions, lunch, and all of the favorite summer camp activities. Guppy Classes are for kids age 4-8 who can jump in the pool and motor 5-8 ft. This class will work on freestyle, backstroke, swimming across the 25 yd pool and how learning to swim can be lots of fun! Stroke Clinic classes are for kids age 5-17 who can swim 25 yds and want to perfect their strokes, starts, and turns. Classes are divided by age and ability. Check www.wfly.com for class times and costs and to register.

Congrats to Dave Pernell and Mike Good for Completing the Master’s Postal Challenge: Dave and Mike did a great job competing to see how many laps they could swim in one hour!!

Please Do Not Trash our Dumpster: We are having some problems with people dropping off furniture and other items in and beside our dumpster. Please take your unwanted items to Good Will or dispose of them elsewhere. Please report any unlawful dumping to John.

Championship Meet Schedule: Please mark your calendars with the Championship Meet dates below. If you are unsure which meet or meets your child should compete at, ask Coach Ginny, Janet, or John. USA Team members look for a handout in practice this week with more information.

Senior Champs & STAGS: Feb 20-22
Grand Prix & Sectionals: March 4-7
TAGS: March 12-14
Junior Olympics: March 27-29

Upcoming Masters Events: This year WAAC will be encouraging adult lap swimmers to participate in both USM Swimming’s Go the Distance challenge and the Checkoff Challenge. Look for an email with more details or check the master’s bulletin board.

Come Join Youth Tennis: Coach Sarah’s tennis classes are having lots of fun. They now meet Wednesday & Friday from 4:30-5:30 and Saturday from 9-10am. There is also a class for 8 & younger players Wed. 3:30-4:15. If you have questions about spring tennis contact Sarah at 466-6545.

Congrats to Ian Trowbridge and Paula Bryant—Winners of the College Football Season!

Great Job to REC Dash N Splashers: Congrats to Trinity, Bic, Elizabeth, Jaclyn, Jenna, Suzanna, Duran, and Neel!! Everyone did a great job running and swimming their way through the race.
Big Thanks to Cherie Collister (Trinity’s Mom) for Helping Our Team Become a USA Level II Team: Thank you Cherie for filling out all the paperwork so that our team received Level II distinction!

Ongoing and New Adult Programs at WAAC: WAAC had many programs to help adults with all of their fitness, swim, and competition goals.

5:45am-7:15; 7:00am-8:00 Monday-Friday
12:00-1:00pm Monday-Thursday
6:30-7:30pm Monday & Wednesday
Free to all adult members

Ladies Triathlon Swim Class
9:00-10:15am Monday & Wednesday
Session I: Jan 19-March 11
$80 members, $110 non-members

Adult Fitness Class
8:45-9:15am Tuesday & Thursday
$8 members, $12 non-members per class
$50/month members, $75/month non-members

Women’s Triathlon Class To Begin Jan 19: WAAC is excited to offer a triathlon swim class for all ladies interested in training for triathlons this spring and summer. This class led by Coach Holly will work on both stroke skills and speed and endurance training for triathlon distances. The class will meet Mondays and Wednesdays from 9:00-10:15am. Session I will run from January 19-March 11 and session II will run from March 23-May 27. Call 263-4282 for more information.

New Fitness Class and New Years Fitness Challenge: WAAC wants to help all individuals with their 2009 fitness goals! Pick up a 2009 fitness challenge and contact Coach Diane (billing@wfly.com) to set up an appointment to plan workouts to fit your schedule and goals. We are also offering a fitness class with Coach Holly that will meet Tuesdays and Thursdays from 8:45-9:15am. The cost per class is $8 for members and $12 for non-members. The cost per month is $50 for members and $75 for non-members. Participants can come in 15 minutes early or stay 15 minutes late to include aerobics to have a complete workout.

CPR Classes at WAAC: WAAC will be offering both a regular CPR and a renewal class this spring. Sunday March 1 from 12-8pm is the class for new participants or those with an expired CPR card. Monday March 2 at 6:30pm is the renewal class. If you are new to the class please preregister so we can order your Red Cross book and pocket mask.

Sign Up Now for WAAC’s Spring Break Camp: WAAC is offering a spring break camp for the first time ever. This camp will be led by Coach Ginny and will have swim instruction as well as the favorite activities from all of our summer camps! The camp is Monday-Thursday from 9am-2pm and includes lunch. All ages kindergarten-age 14 are welcome. Cost $175 members, $225 non-members. Pick up a registration form or email ginny@wfly.com with any questions.

Congrats to Masters on their New Year’s Day Challenge: Members of West Austin Athletic Club’s Masters team set a challenge for New Year’s Day, 2009, to swim 109, 100 yard laps. The team began this over 10,000 yard journey at 9 am and finished before noon. Team member Steve Daley organized the event to kick off the new year and to give the adult swimmers a challenge. Participants included: Rachel, David, Jesse, Bill, Kathy, Steve, Yan, Keith, Brad, Dan, Sarah, Kathy, and Jennifer. Congrats to this group for a job well done!!

USA Team Fee: please note that the second team fee is assessed in the January bill. The fee is assessed three times a year, fall, winter, and summer.

New Year Fitness Program: WAAC is excited to help individuals with their 2009 fitness goals! Coach Diane and another staff member will help you come up with workouts that fit your schedule and needs. Whether you are working towards weight, body type, strengthening, cardio fitness, flexibility or overall health goals we will help you succeed this year! More details next week. Contact Coach Diane at billing@wfly.com for more information.

Support and enjoy WAAC’s facilities by getting an annual membership: Support the WAAC facilities and coaches by purchasing an annual single or family membership. Members who pay for one year at once get a 10% discount, members who pay for two years at once get a 20% discount. WAAC members enjoy use of the facilities whenever WAAC is open, adults can attend masters classes for free, and they receive discounts on all programs and camps. For more information call 263-4282 or pick up a membership information packet at WAAC.

Lap Swimmers Please Send Us Your Email Address—We Have Lots of Exciting Things Planned for the New Year! We are trying to set up an email database for all adult lap swimmers at WAAC. Whether you come to an adult class or swim on your own, please reply to ginny@wfly.com with your name and email address. We have many events and challenges planned for the WAAC adult swim community this year and want you to be a part of it! Look for a calendar of events to be posted on the masters bulletin board soon.

Masters Workouts Available in the Drawers for Lap Swimmers: Masters’ workouts are again available in the drawers near the bulletin boards. Take your pick between long, medium, and short workouts.

Beginning Ladies Tri-Class Planned: This class will be available beginning in mid-January. This twice a week program will have two sessions. In the first session participants will work on stroke technique and set goals based upon their triathlon schedule. The second session will continue to improve swim strokes while also working towards improving the time for goal distances. This ladies only class will be for all abilities with new swimmers welcome.

Beginning next week the REC team will meet 5 times a week! Coach John is adding another day for dry-land exercises!

Monday & Thursday: Dry-land Practice Days
Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday: Swim Days
8&younger 4:30-5:30
9&older 5:30-6:30

Billing Questions contact Diane: If you have questions about your WAAC bill please contact Diane Welch at billing@wfly.com

Are you getting the weekly newsletter emails? If you, or anyone you know is not getting the weekly emails, please email ginny@wfly.com so we can add you to our list. If you think we already have your email, either it is incorrectly in our database, or it is getting bounced back. Check that your email provider is not blocking our address. A list of bounced emails is on Susan’s door.

Great Job to Chris Griffin Who Competed at Junior Nationals!! Chris Griffin had some awesome swims this past weekend at Junior Nationals. Congrats on placing 17^th in the 200 Free and 4^th in the 200 Fly! Chris got all best times and made a US Open cut in the 200 Fly! Big thanks to all the WFLY swimmers who volunteered to carry the baskets on Friday night—y’all were awesome!

Diving: Regular schedule this week. Make sure you come for the last week of diving this fall! Dive classes will resume in March.

Tennis: Regular schedule this week. This is the last week of Session 3 of school year tennis. Session 4 will begin on January 12^th. Check www.wfly.com for information and to download the registration form. Questions call Coach Sarah at 466-6545.

Candy Lane Meet a Total Success!! Thanks to the coaches, swimmers, and parents that made the Candy Lane Meet a success! The weather was a gorgeous setting for some good swimming and fun for all! Swimmers who participated in the meet can pick up a card with their times from Coach Janet or Coach John.

Thank You Coach Andy! A special thanks to Coach Andy Williams for his dedicated work with the early morning masters group. Coach Andy is taking some well deserved time off to spend with his family. WAAC is dedicated to our masters program and John and Janet will both be helping Coach Holly by providing workouts and anything else needed by the group. Andy’s shoes will be hard to fill as he has provided great attention to each swimmer and has helped many make the transition from a fitness swimmer to an adult competitor. Coach Holly has many years of coaching and instructional experience. She has worked at WAAC since last spring. She has a BA in English and is currently working towards her teaching credentials at Texas State. Please contact John (656-8195 or john.walsh@logicgroup.com) or Janet (266-3400) with suggestions or information to help make this a smooth transition.

Winter Swimming Advise: We have the heater cranking so the pools are nice and warm, but there are some important things to remember as the weather gets chillier. If you are cold in the water, wear a swim cap. Lots of body heat is lost through the head so this will help tremendously. Caps can be purchased in the snack bar. You can also wear a thermal swim shirt or leggings. Even more importantly, it is essential to get dry and warm as soon as you get out of the pool. Temperatures drop quickly when the sun goes down, so make sure all swimmers have pants, sweatshirts, shoes, jackets, and something warm for their head when they get out of the pool. WAAC hoodie sweatshirts can be purchased in the snack bar for $25.

Pools Update/Winter Instructions: Currently two pools are being heated, the 25-yard pool and the dive pool. Adults who come during the day can open up more lanes when needed. Please at least split lanes and help with covers. On cold days it is important to keep unused lanes covered. On windy days the covers will be tied down so they will need to be untied prior to cranking. During swim practice there will be at least one lane for adults in the 25-yard pool. If you need assistance please ask a coach on-deck (Janet, John, Ginny, or Peter). During the day Susan, Becky, or Ginny can help you. Adults may swim in the colder pools. We recommend wet suits and please let someone in the office know so we can keep an eye out if you go in the 50-meter or Island pool. Winter is a great time for lap swimming! WAAC caps are available which help you retain body heat.

Fall Diving Continues Through December 20, Spring Diving will begin in March: Diving classes will continue through December 20^th. After that, we will take a short break during the winter. Look for information about spring diving which will start up again in March.

Congrats to all who participated in the Tennis Tournament: Coach Sarah had a great turnout for the CTTA/WAAC Junior Tennis Tournament this Saturday. Great job to the players at WAAC’s first ever tennis tournament with about 30 players! Coach Sarah was so proud of everyone!

Parent’s Meeting Recap: If you missed the parent’s meeting yesterday, check out the bulletin boards for the handouts that we passed out. If you would like a copy of one, email ginny@wfly.com. Parents watched stroke videos of elite athletes to see the stroke techniques that their swimmers are striving towards, learned some effective ways of supporting their children, and about the progression of swim meets from beginner to Olympic trials. Coach John talked about how the strokes have evolved over the last ten years and how coaches begin at an early age helping the swimmers learn proper stroke movements. John also discussed how strokes are different for different swimmers and will change over the course of a swimmer’s life and body changes.

Note from Janet for USA Team: This month is a busy month for everyone! UT Meet is November 15&16. Sign up for the December West Austin Meet (posted on the bulletin board). Wear warmer clothes—it is getting darker earlier so stay warm! Let’s have a thankful November!

BIG Thanks to our Stroke Judge Parents: Stroke judges are a very important for running a successful swim meet. Thanks to Rich Zbranak for hosting a stroke judge clinic yesterday to begin certifying parents. We really appreciate all of our parent volunteers! Thanks for Rich Zbranak, Rob Johnson, and Sabine Johnson, our certified stroke judges and to Becky Shepard, John Trowbridge, and Karen Krajicek who took the class! If you are interested in becoming a stroke judge please contact Rich at zbranak@yahoo.com

Congrats to Jessica on Making the All Start Team: Tell Jessica Shepard good luck as she will be representing West Austin Aquatics and South Texas at the Texas All Star meet. This meet for 14 and younger swimmers who represent our LSC against other Texas groups.

Great Job Divers! Coach Brian was very proud of all divers that attended the diving meet in Magnolia, TX. All divers did a great job! Here are the results:

Maxson Boyd: 1st (3m, 13-Under); 2nd (1m, 13-Under)
Charlie Boyd: 4th (1m, 9-Under)
Luke Boyd: 5th (1m, 9-Under)
Nick Appling: 1st (3m, 11-Under); 2nd (1m, 11-Under)
Matthew Villagomez: 1st (1m, 9-Under)
Grace Carpenter: 3rd (1m, 9-Under)

Adult Swimmers, Take a Free Pass to Your Friends: If you know anyone who is looking for a heated pool to swim in this winter, come by the office to get a few free passes for them to try out WAAC. We have several different options for adult swimmers. Single membership is $50/month for an annual membership or $185 for a quarterly membership. Family membership is $80/month for an annual membership or $325 for a quarterly membership. Adult members can swim laps any time that we are open or attend any master’s classes for free. Master’s class punch cards can be purchased for $85 to attend 10 classes.

Snack Bar Reopened: Back by popular demand. We are excited to reopen the snack bar in the afternoons M-Th 3:30-6:30 and for special events like Friday’s meet! Juice and Java is providing freshly made smoothies, mini muffins, and cookies. Also available are big pretzels (with salt or cinnamon sugar), water bottles, juice boxes, Gatorade, snow cones, hot chocolate, coffee, and ice pops. Prices range from ice pops at 25 cents to smoothes which are $3.50. We are still looking for volunteers in the afternoons, so if you can help please sign up on the list by the snack bar door. The vending machine is still available for soft drinks and snacks.

South Texas Swimming News Update: This weekend Coach Janet and Coach John attended the South Texas Swim Meeting. Legislation was passed prohibiting “fast suits” from all South Texas and TAGS meets. Girls can only wear suits from the hip to the neck and boys can only wear jammers or racers (“speedos”). None of the outrageously priced suits such as blue ray or lazar suits are allowed. These rules do not apply to Sectionals, Juniors, or Senior Nationals. Parents, if you have questions about this rule, check with a coach before purchasing a suit.

Junior Nationals: December 11-14 at UT Austin
STAGS (12&under): February 20-22 at 1604 Pool in San Antonio
Senior Champs (13&up): February 20-22 at Northside Pool in San Antonio
JOs: March 27-29 at Incarnate Word in San Antonio
Grand Prix: March 5-8 at UT Austin
Sectionals: March 5-8 at Texas A&M in College Station
TAGS: March 11-16 at Loos Pool in Dallas

WAAC Awarded the Hosting of Summer Junior Olympics: It is exciting for our team to be chosen to host Summer JOs in July. We will be having both Long Course and Short Course events!

Congrats to Coach Janet: Coach Janet was recognized as a South Texas Age Group and Senior Coach of the Year this year for her swimmers’ outstanding performances at Short Course and Long Course Meets for 2007-2008.

Bring a Water Bottle to Practice: For swimmers who practice for more than an hour, it is important to bring something to drink on deck such as water or Gatorade. Also, encourage your kids to drink fluids throughout the day to stay well hydrated.

Please Wear Team Caps to USA Meets: Swim meets are a great way to build team unity and allow Coach Janet and Coach Ginny to watch the progress swimmers have made. It is important that swimmers wear a West Austin swim cap so that they can easily be identified by coaches, swimmers, and parents and so we look like an official team. Silicone caps are $12, latex caps are $6.

Send us recent pictures for the website: We would love to put pictures from swim meets, practice, or activities on the website but our staff is usually too busy at these events to take pictures. If you have some, please send them to susan@wfly.com so we can add them to the pictures section on our website.

Parents help! Whatever happens in the pool needs to stay in the pool. It is our job as coaches to fix the good/the bad/or the ugly. It is your job as parents to comfort, support and listen to your child. If at any time you have an issue with my staff, myself, another child or anything else, please, please, please call me and discuss the issue—there is always more to the story than one hears or sees. I am always available no matter what the circumstance is.

748-6185 cell

Janet’s Meet Hints (Especially for parents and swimmers going to UT): Our first short course meet at Round Rock was a huge success. Everyone swam great and looked to have lots of fun. Here are a couple of meet hints for the future: Pack all items the night before—suit, goggles, cap, and lots of towels. Pack your cooler early—Water, Gatorades, fruits, sandwiches (have swimmers help). Remind them of what they are swimming (posted at pool or on the meets psych sheet). Always, always be on time to warm-ups. This is the time the coach checks in with the swimmer, makes sure they know what they are swimming and gives the swimmer a chance to swim in the new pool. (If you are running late, lost, or something different CALL the coach.) If and when relays are swum (coach will decide) it is done at the beginning of warm-ups. If your swimmer isn’t present they will NOT swim in a relay. Remind your swimmer to talk to the coach before and after their swims (get feedback). At many meets parents will not be able to sit with their child. The swimmers will sit in the team area. The coaches will help them and you as parents need to sit back and cheer and get excited for them. I am so excited to be working with your child and look forward to this year and all that it has to offer. If at any time you have questions or problems or concerns, you can reach me at home 266-3400 or on my cell 748-6185. Thanks, JR.