Important Dates

Scratch Deadline for Turkey Meet- Tuesday, November 4th
The scratch deadline for the RSa North Turkey Invitational Swim Meet is this Tuesday, November 4th. This meet has been moved from Goldsboro to Ravenscroft and is for 12 & Unders only. There will be a BB and B/C session just liek the last Blue Moon swim meet. Please email coach Brian if you will not be attending the swim meet or only going for one of the days.

Wahoos ROCK Blue Moon Meet

Chants of the word wa-hoo could be heard echoing throughout the Sportsplex as the Raleigh Swimming Association competed in the Blue Moon Invitational Swim Meet this past weekend hosted by New Wave Swim Team.  The meet featured over 300 swimmers from 8 different teams across Eastern North Carolina and Virginia.  Two different sessions were held for age group swimmers 12 & Under on Saturday and Sunday, November 1-2.  There was a BB and faster session, and a B/C time standard session.  RSA had some really fantastic swims from all 12 & Under swimmers.

The 11-12's got the Wahoos off to a great start in the morning BB session. Andy Lamb led the way for the boys. He took second place in both the 50 and 100 fly events. Torrey Bussey and Katie Olson paved a big way for the 11-12 girls. Bussey took second in the in the 50 breast and dropped almost 2 seconds in the 100 free. Katie Olson was just a machine in the 50 back taking first place. She also had 5 second time drops in both the 50 breast and 100 back. Other 11-12's in the B/C session that had great swims and time drops include: Casey Cater who dropped 4 seconds in the 50 breast. Neville Cross had best times in the 50 back and 50 fly. Hannah Gardner swam to a personal best times in the 200 IM with a 3 second time drop. Michael Williams had personal bests in both the 100 Free and 100 Back.

The afternoon session was even better for the 11-12 age group. Thomas Whitehead had some outstanding swims. he placed first in both the 100 free and 50 fly. He also achieved two new BB time standards. Teammate Wayne Erb was not far behind. He swam to a third place finish in the 50 yard fly. Grace Robinson led the way for the 11-12 girls in the B/C session. She placed 2nd in both the 50 and 100 backstroke events. Lindley Hill had almost a 7 second time drop in the 100 free which got her a new B time in the event. Katie Mathis had a outstanding meet swimming to personal bests in 5 out of 6 events for the weekend. Carolyn Daussin had enormous time drops. She dropped 8 seconds in the 100 breast. Sister Steph Daussin, was outstanding swimming to personal bests in every event she swam for the weekend. Melissa Geiss was impressive as well shaving 15 seconds off of her 100 breaststroke. Sage Watkins also shaved some major time off her 100 breast, 100 free and 100 back. Other great swims were turned in by Alyson D'Antonoli and Will Lyke who dropped 6 seconds in the 50 backstroke.

A very young group of 9-10 year olds for RSA participated in the BB morning session. This group of swimmers made some great strides in this session. Sawyer Dove was "the man". He swam to personal bests in three events including a BB time in the 100 Free. On the girls side in the morning both Maggie Holsinger and Becca Young were impressive. Maggie Holsinger swam a grueling 100 fly, and achieved a new BB time in the event. Becca Young swimming in her first BB meet dropped time in every event she swam for the weekend. Emily Facchine dropped a whopping 17 seconds in the 100 backstroke, taking BB times in everything she swam on Sunday. After a shaking start Takuma Kato had a great Saturday morning. He took of almost 4 seconds in his 50 fly, and placed 4th overall in the 100 breast. Toby Rosen also swam to a new BB time in the 100 backstroke. With one more meet to go as a ten year old Matt Lower was ready to swim fast. he placed second in the 100 back and and 3rd in the 200 free.

In the afternoon B/C session for the 9-10 year olds Victoria Bell was absolutely on fire. She swam to new BB times in the 50 back and 100 IM. She also placed first overall in those events. Michael Dickey had to have the swim of the meet. In his first time swimming the 100 fly he achieved a new BB time and took second place overall in the event. Caroline Campbell placed 4th overall in the 100 freestyle and dropped over 7 seconds in the event. Savannah Currens also had a great 100 free as she swam to a a personal best time. Libby Facchine swam to a personal best in the 100 IM, dropping a whopping 18 seconds! Newcommer, Tiffany Flood was also impressive. She took 3rd overall in the 100 free and had personal bests in the 50 free and 50 breast. In her first meet as a 9 year old Britt Hatt did a great job making the jump to 50's. In her first meet on RSA, Cecilia Hellem achieved a B time in the 50 backstroke. Lauren Koepnick's smooth backstroke once again led her to over a second time drop in the 50 backstroke. Thao Le achieved a new BB time in the 100 breast dropping over 10 seconds in the event. Paige Randall did the same by getting a new BB time in the 100 breast. She also had best times in 5 events. Sarah Lincourt dropped over a second in her 50 free, and swam a great 50 fly for the first time. Rachel Minore also achieved a new B time in the 100 breaststroke. Osman Sbaiti swam to personal bests in the 50 free and 50 back, while Thomas Schmedding had a great 100 back and 50 fly. Becky Whatley dropping over s second in the 100 free and had a personal best in the 50 breast.

With 23 8 & Unders from RSA South attending the meet, they were ready and fired up after the cap cheer on Saturday afternoon. While Michael Dickey had the swim of the meet, Amanda Lamb was close behind with her swim in the 50 breast. She won the event just edging out a great swim from teammate Natalie Hill. Amanda and Natalie took first and second place in the event. Natalie also had a great 100 breast, achieving her first BB time, and dropping 13 seconds in the event. Sommer Barritt was definitely ready to race in this meet. She swam to personal bests in every event she competed in for the weekend. Kait D'Antonoli also turned in a best time in the 25 yard freestyle. David DeJarnette "the breaststroke Machine" took first in both the 50 and 25 breast. Trey Lower was pumped after he dropped time in both the 50 free and 50 back. McKenna Miller had a great 50 free and finished the meet off in style with a outstanding 25 fly. Sister Ryley Miller was equally impressive dropping over 7 seconds in the 25 free. Alex Manasso swam to personal best times in three out of 4 events. Kristen Pate dropped 10 seconds in both the 25 free and 25 back leading her to new best times. Lucas Piedrahita had best times in everything he swam for the weekend. Teammate Octavio Quezada also swam to a personal best in the 25 free. Neal Nelson did not disappoint with a personal best in the 25 back. Ryan Sbaiti had a great 25 back taking off almost 3 seconds. Julianne Strickland had new personal best times in all of her events for the Sunday afternoon session. Thomas Bell was ready to go and ended up with a great 25 breaststroke. Other great swims were turned in by Sarah Koop and Sarah Doerrer. Congratulations to the following RSA swimmers who competed in their first year round swim meet: Carly Catella, Rachel Kinsey, Tyler Newton, and Madison Musilek.

Outstanding meet RSA! The coaching staff was extremely proud of your effort on both Saturday and Sunday. Keep up the great work!

Ghouls & Ghosts Creep Into Candler for Halloween
The fog rolled in as Ghouls and Ghosts invaded the Candler Swim Club on Wednesday, October 29th. RSA hosted it's annual Halloween Bash for age group swimmers. All Minnows, Novas, Wahoos, Dolphins, and Juniors participated in the event. All swimmers were to wear their Halloween costume to the party. There was plenty of food, candy, games, and prizes. The event culminated with the best costume contest. One boy and one were chosen from each of the practice groups. Thank you to the following parents for you help and the especially to the coordinators of the party: Lori Foernzler, Pam Minore, Sandy Daussin, Jen D'Alessio, Robin Baxter, Karen Pate, Kathy Forest, Ann Doerrer, Aleece Splading, Claire Alonzo, Lisa Casassa, and Mary Hill.

Costume Contest Winners
Costume Contest Winners:
Minnows: Hannah Gulyes, Liam Ryan
Novas: Delaney Rosen, Lucas Piedrahita
Wahoos: Libby Facchine, Riley Mahn
Dolphins: Sage Watkins, Michael Dickey
Juniors: Katie Mathis, Brad D'Alessio

Update on Upcoming Meets
There are a few meets left until the Christmas season. I would like to update all of you on eligibility for these meets.
- Turkey Meet- Nov 1-2 @ Revenscroft- This meet is for all 12 & Under swimmers BB and B/C
- RSA Reindeer Meet- Dec. 6-7 @ Hillsborough- This meet is for 12 & Under B/C swimmers only. If you have BB times their is the opportunity to swim events thst you do not have BB times in.
- North Carolina Fall States- Dec. 12-14 @ Pullen This meet is for 12 & Under BB swimmers only. You can only swim events that you have BB times in. This meet we marked on the calendar as a priorty swim meet. Meaning, if you have any BB times the coaching staff would like you to swim in it. Please try your best to make this meet. This is a championship meet that is scored, and the coaching staff believes we have a really great chacne at doing really well. If you are eligible for this meet please be sure to talk to coach Brian. I want to get this figured out a head of time so parents can plan.

Meet Director Needed for Reindeer Meet
We are in need of a meet director for the Reindeer Meet. Parents who are experienced meet directors will help you along through the process. You can knock out all of your volunteer credits for the year. You get 8 for being a meet director. We are looking for about 2 parents to co-meet direct for this meet. Please let one of the coaches know if you are interested.

Starting to Get Cooler Outside- BRING WARMER CLOTHES TO PRACTICE!
Fall is upon us and it is starting to get much cooler outside. Please be sure to start bringing some warm clothes before and especially after practice. This means jacket, sweat shirt and pants. A hat or hood would be great to cover your wet head. Sometimes it can be hard getting back into shape after your are sick.

What to Bring to Practice

• Dry land clothes- this includes running shoes, t-shirt, & shorts
• swim suit
• goggles (do not forget these because I do not have extra for other borrow)
• towel
• swim caps (this is optional, although I do think that girls with long hair really need to wear one)
• FINS and a Fin Bag

TECHNIQUE FOR THE WEEK
We are two meets down already in the season. It is hard to believe it is moving so fast. This will be an important few weeks for all groups in practice. The dolphins will begin a little interval training this month with the use of the pace clock. There are so many new swimmers in the group so we will be learning how to read the clock. The coaches will be hard at work making little paces clocks so that the swimmers can practice at home. I just want to keep swimmers and parents updated on this. There will be constant stroke work in these practices along with turns (especially IM turns). The coaches will work very hard trying to help them to learn to read the clock. Novas, will be learning freestyle flip turns this week. It is a new skill and like everything it will not come easily. Wahoos will move back through the strokes again, and work on more complex drills to help our swimming. Turns will be in the practice everyday. Minnows, will work on breaststroke this week.

See you all at practice

Coach Brian