Important Dates

Blue Moon 12 & Under Invitational
The Blue Moon 12 & Under Invitational is approaching fast. The scratch deadline for the meet was Monday, Oct. 20th. The entries will be posted on the bulletin board and on the website on Wed., Oct. 23rd. An individual meet report for each swimmer will also be placed in their folders so the swimmers know exactly what events they are to swim in the meet. Relays will be posted the day of the meet. RSA and RSA North combine for relay competition at meets, so decisions on who is in what relay will not be made until the day of the meet.

Halloween BASH!
Go look for your costumes, or get them made because the Minnow, Nova, Wahoo, and Dolphin groups are going to have a Halloween Bash on Wednesday, Oct. 30th. Each swimmer should wear a costume to practice. We will have a best costume contest, and hand out some treats to the swimmers. This will be an all around fun day for everyone. Because of Halloween there will be no practice on Thuds., October 31st. Take the day off and go trick-or-treating. Parents, we really need your help in planning this event. If any parents would like to help plan this event please let me know as soon as possible. We need treats for the kids, decorations, etc. If you would like to help please email Coach Brian at bgill@swimrsa.org or you can call the office at 859-4881.

RSA Time Standard Award
Once again congratulations to everyone who swam in the WOW Meet two weeks ago. I was really proud how everyone swam. This past week I introduced the RSA Time Standard Award. These awards will be given out to those who achieve their time standards in USS Swimming. They will be given out after each swim meet. A list of the time standards can be found on our web page if you are interested in looking at them. Several RSA swimmers achieved either a B time, or a BB time at the WOW Meet. Congratulations to the following swimmers who achieved their B and BB times:
B time standard achievement: Victoria Bell, Carolyn Daussin, David DeJarnette, Michael Dickey, Nicole Esplin, Caitlin Kelly, Andy Lamb, Katie Mathis, Emily Facchine, Melissa Geiss, Deniz Gurel, Natalie Hill, Katie Olson, and Katie Weber.
BB time standard achievement: Andrew Clarke, Katie Mathis, Karen Perry, and Gabi Shishkoff.

Next Meet: RSA-Noth Age Group Thanksgiving Invitational Swim Meet
The next swim meet for age group swimmers is the RSA-North Thanksgiving Invitational Swim Meet to be held at Ravenscroft School in Raleigh, NC. The meet will be taking place on November 22, 23, & 24. The Friday session of the meet are for BB and faster swimmers only. On Sat. and Sun, BB and faster swimmers are in the morning, while B/C swimmers are in the afternoon. The scratch deadline for this meet will be November 10, 2002. Please email Coach Brian at bgill@swimrsa.org by Nov. 10th if you will not be attending the swim meet or if you will only be going to the meet for one of the sessions. Meet information and event schedule will be distributed to the folders this week.

Looking for a Meet Director
RSA parents, we are looking for a meet director for the Reindeer Meet to be held later this year at the Hillsborough Sports Complex Dec. 7-8. We need to get this meet director soon or we will not be able to host this meet for the kids. Any parents that are interested please let me know as soon as possible.

Private Lessons
Coach Brian is still giving private lessons. They are $25.00 a half hour. Please contact Coach Brian in the office at 859-4881, or by email at bgill@swimrsa.org to schedule a lesson..

Technique for the Week

Dolphins
As you have noticed practice has gotten more and more difficult. The reason being is that I am trying to prepare you for your races. Most of you swim at least 3-4 events during the span of a meet session. This is a lot of swimming and you use a lot of energy quickly. We have continued to work on the technique of swimming every day, but also throwing in more yards to improve your endurance for a swim meet. Everyone has done such an excellent job, and worked really hard in practice. This will really pay off in the next swim meet. Keep it up!

Wahoos
Great job this past week in practice. This group has also swam a lot more than the past few weeks. Everyone has done an excellent job. Remember to streamline off the walls, do flip turns at every wall, and think about what you are doing in the water. If you think in practice then you will not have to in a meet. You can just go out, give it your best, and swim fast.

Novas and Minnows
Great job working on butterfly this past week. This is a hard stroke to learn, so keep it up. Remember to do the little dance in the water: it starts with your hands, then goes to your head, waist, and let your legs follow you. You kick with your hips not your knees. We will continue to work on butterfly. Keep it up!