PAY Swim Team News- week of 11-14-2022

PAY Weekly News 11.14.2022

Here is what you need to know for this week. There is a lot of news so please scroll down to the end.

COACHES NOTES & SCHEDULE CHANGES:

UMLY MEET RECAP:

The coaching staff was extremely proud of the effort and performances that were put forth in both our dual meet @ UMLY and our own Turkey Trot invite this past weekend. So many age groups and races were extremely fast and close, and it was good to see so much friendly competition with a fellow YMCA swim team that pushes us to be our best here at PAY. 

I congratulate our 11-12 girls and 8+Under boys on their wins, and we were one race shy in age groups like the 9-10 boys, 11-12 boys, and 8+Under girls from winning these age groups, as well as winning the boys' meet!

TURKEY TROT MEET RECAP:

FIRST AND FOREMOST: THANK YOU!!

Thank you to all the families who made our Annual Turkey Trot meet a huge success!  We were able to raise more than $9500 for our YMCA.  More importantly, perhaps, we were able to host 9 other YMCAs and to see amazing swims.  We also witnessed many many many smiles and actually a lot of dancing on the way to the starting blocks! Thank you to all the volunteers who donated their time and to the families who donated food or beverages AND a Special Shout Out to our fabulous Meet Director, volunteer Rachel Carroll!! We heard many compliments from the attending teams so pat yourselves on the back and see you at Turkey Trot 2023!

Swimmers of the UMLY/Turkey Trot Meet Weekend: 

Cecilia Bryant: However, she will be upset that I call her Cecilia here! Everyone who knows this girl knows that she is CeCe. It cannot be overstated how astonishing it is for CeCe to drop lifetime bests on Saturday, help our (short handed no less!!) 11-12 girls team to a no doubt victory over UMLY, to then turn around with an early wakeup call and drop more lifetime bests in races like the 200 IM and 200 Free at Turkey Trot!

Christopher Merrell: Chris' 100 Back in our dual meet, a lifetime best by nearly 4 seconds, was the race that put our 11-12 boys in a position to win their age group at UMLY. This was an age group that was a back and forth battle from start to finish.  I was also impressed by his unhesitant willingness to step into a relay with extremely short notice. To top it off, Chris woke up early for Turkey Trot and attacked his first 200 IM with aggression and excellence.

Saturday 11/19: There will be a “combined” practice time slot available at 10:30am on this day for any Junior and Senior swimmers not competing at York. Coach Carrie will be there to work with kids on individualized skills that fit their needs. There are NO other practices on this day.

Sunday 11/20: There will be a “combined” practice time slot available at 9:00am for any Novice swimmers not competing at York. Coach Tom will be there to run this! There are NO other practices on this day.

OUR TEAM MEET THIS WEEKEND

11/19-11/20/2022 YY Tournament of Champions – YMCA Invitational Meet - Meet details are posted under the Event in Team Unify and updates/details have been sent to attendees. Any additional updates needed will be sent later in the week.

THIS WILL BE A MEET THAT ALL 13 AND OVER SWIMMERS SHOULD “SUIT UP” FOR ACROSS THE BOARD! PAY IS READY TO SWIM FAST!!    

The PAY theme for this weekend’s Tournament of Champions @York is: 

“Go for GOLD!” 

We’re talking ALL. GOLD. EVERYTHING. Think.. Raise the PAY bar. Set the GOLD standard! Be the example. Be the best you can be! Every swimmer will receive some fun gold swag. We have face paint too! BYO gold as well. You know you own something obnoxiously gold!  :)  We’ll be “going for gold” with a big poster too. The kids can add gold stars to it throughout the weekend. Every time a friend has a great swim (or hey, if they have their OWN great swim), they can jot a positive message on a gold star & stick it on the poster. Go for GOLD. Set the GOLD standard. Go PAY!

UPCOMING MEETS or DEADLINES

Please remind your swimmer that it is every swimmer’s responsibility to clean up after themselves and leave the area we occupy at meets in better condition that we found it AND if your swimmer has to cancel attending the night before or morning of a swim meet, please email coaches and Kate Baganski (kbaganski@verizon.net ) to ensure the lineups are edited prior to the meet starting.  Thank you!

12/3/2022-12/4/2022 HAC (Hershey Aquatic Club) Frosty Frolic - USA Invitational Meet - Hershey Aquatic Club has opened a brand new facility in the heart of Hershey, PA! We are offering this as an additional USA meet opportunity for swimmers that are looking for last chance/last minute cuts for LAC, Winterfest, and other qualifying meets. 

12/10/2022 - AWAY Dual Meet vs. BYNS (Boyertown YMCA) for all our boy and girl swimmers- Deadline to signup your swimmer to Attend/Decline is 12/3/22.  Coaches choose the events.  You just need login to Team Unify and Commit/Decline your RSVP.   Please Sign Up to Volunteer at this meet on the Job Signup under the specific Team Unify Event  (girls meet and/or boys meet).

12/15-12/18 LAC Holiday Classic - USA Invitational Meet (qualifying times required) - This is a Prelim/Final USA invitational that is hosted at F&M. An entry file with all currently qualified swimmers was sent and accepted by LAC. I would ask that qualified swimmers coordinate with me on which meet(s) they attend this weekend, since the RAYS meet is also this weekend.

12/16-12/18 RAYS Winter Classic YMCA Invitational Meet - NEW MEET INFORMATION DETAILS ARE LINKED HERE!!! This is a Prelim/Final YMCA invitational that is hosted at Swarthmore College. All PAY team members are eligible and highly encouraged to attend this meet. An initial entry file was sent and accepted by RAYS. Additions to this file are not guaranteed, but I can try to get your swimmer in nonetheless!

1/7/2023- HOME Dual Meet vs. RY (Reading YMCA) for all our boy and girl swimmers- Deadline to signup your swimmer to Attend/Decline is 12/31/22.  Coaches choose the events.  You just need login to Team Unify and Commit/Decline your RSVP.   Please Sign Up to Volunteer at this home meet on the Job Signup under the specific Team Unify Event  (girls meet and/or boys meet).  PAY Class of 2023 Seniors will be recognized during this last home meet of our winter season.

1/8/2023- SAVE THE DATE- Volunteer opportunity for all our teens and families- We will be hosting the annual Bill Heebner Winter Freeze US Masters Swimmers meet in the morning and early afternoon and we’ll need many hands to volunteer to facilitate this wonderful annual meet.  Thank you in advance! Job signups will be posted by the end of this month.

1/13-1/15 SPY Winterfest - YMCA Invitational Meet (qualifying times required) - This is a Prelim/Final YMCA invitational that is hosted at the University of Maryland. The meet has qualifying times associated with it. THE MEET INFORMATION IS NOW PUBLISHED HERE

1/14-1/15 GPAC New Years Meet - USA Invitational Meet - This is a USA invitational that is available for all USA registered swimmers that do not qualify for Winterfest. Although the deadline is now passed, we can do our best to get your swimmer into this meet. If swimmers qualify for Winterfest between October and December, we can shift them from one meet to the other.

1/28-1/29 PennDel Washington Division Championships - YMCA Invitational - This is our league’s division champs meet that will be hosted at the West Chester YMCA. This is a time of year where our high school swimmers have a lot on their plate, and they can coordinate with me on a plan for this weekend. However, I do feel it is important that our whole team supports our league champs meet with as close to 100% attendance as possible. The event is posted on TeamUnify, and more information will be forthcoming.

2/3-2/5 John DeBarbadillo Invitational at the York YMCA - USA Invitational Meet - This is a USA sanctioned invitational that is hosted at the York YMCA in February. This serves as an important meet opportunity for those that are looking at a Last Chance for District or JO cuts. The 1650 on Friday evening is also an opportunity that I want many of our swimmers to take advantage of. The meet information and event is posted on TeamUnify.

AWARDS- Our Swim Team Family Folders are stored alphabetically in the bins and filing cabinet in the hallway near the Myrin window. If invitational swim meets hand out ribbons or medals then volunteers will file the awards in swimmers’ folders within a week or two.  Thank you to Swimmer Max Miller (see the attached photo) who filed the Turkey Trot awards this week for our team! 

TYR TEAM PORTAL- for suits, apparel and equipment-Please visit  teams.tyr.com, create an account and use the access code "PAYSUM25". You will then get access to your custom team portal with TYR, who sponsors our team. By shopping through the custom portal, you will receive 25% off anything you order including parkas, suits and equipment. PLUS, your purchase helps to support the team as TYR provides benefits back to us, based upon our total sales. Please email our TYR rep Joe Eiden with any questions at jeiden@tyr.com or cell 714-615-3757.

FACEBOOK-Come follow “PAY Swimming” on Facebook to celebrate the achievements of all of our kids.  Even better, text or email your child’s photo and “brags” from our swim meets to swim mom Donna Hungarter to share on the PAY Swimming page at (484) 686-3156 or  dmhungarter@gmail.com. ***Please be reminded that cell phones are prohibited in locker rooms as are photos taken from behind the starting blocks. 

FOUND- A 3 legged folding chair was found in the West Gym at Turkey Trot (see attached photo). We left it folded on the bottom shelf on the Myrin Pool deck.  Also- The lost and found piles on the shelves on the Myrin pool deck keep growing each week! Make sure to have your swimmer label all their clothes and items brought to practices and meets AND if you are missing something look carefully on the shelves and in the bins on the shelves.

LOST- another size 24 PAY boys jammer suit was lost last week. Please reply if you find an extra suit this size in your swimmer’s bag by mistake.

BIRTHDAY ROUND-UP Wishing a wonderful day to our teammates who are aging up:

Lucille Obenski turned 15 on 11/14!!

Hayley Heckler turned 15 on 11/15!

Bhuvi Patil turned 15 on 11/15!

Julianne Thomas turned 9 on 11/15!

Paige Wilson turns 13 on 11/16 (today)!

Emily Gaskins turns 12 on 11/17!

Augustus Gilmore turns 8 on 11/17!

“Never regret a day in your life: The good days bring happiness, the bad days bring experience, and the best days bring memories.” – Unknown

 Have a wonderful week! Go PAY!