Hilton Area Swim Team (HAST)

The STAR meet on February 15-17 is filling up fast. Please have entries in by Wednesday January 30th. We are going to attend this meet Saturday and Sunday. Remember to reserve your hotel room if you are staying overnight in Buffalo.

HAST will be having another pancake night on Friday February 1st. Swimmers will be in the pool at 5:30 for approx 45 minutes and then there will be pancakes and free time. We will have a sign up sheet for snacks and drinks in the glass case at the pool.

Coach Snow has reserved rooms at the Hotel Indigo in Buffalo. Reservations must be made by February 4th. When you call mention it is a block of rooms for HAST. The telephone number is 716-689-4414.

The next dual meet will be February 2nd at Penfield High School. Warm ups start at 8:30 and the meet will be over by 12:00. Coach Snow will assume everyone is swimming unless he hears otherwise. Please email him at darwinsnow@gmail.com if you WILL NOT be able to attend.

There will be a Distance Invitational on February 3rd at Penfield High School. Coach Snow will be discussing the events with the swimmers. There is a $4 deck fee and no events fees for this meet. Following the meet there will be a superbowl party with pizza and beverages. There is no cost for the participating athletes. Please email Coach Snow if you WILL NOT be able to attend.

The next senior meet will be at Rush Henrietta on February 23rd. Warm up is at 3:30 with a 4:15 start.

Team pictures will be January 30th at 5:30. Please wear your team suits. Scott Slatery will also be taking individual photos on January 30th and January 31st. The price list will be to follow.

CAPS-

If you have taken a team cap and have not paid for that cap please do so as soon as possible. The caps are $4 and the money should be placed in the Avery folder. If you need a cap please see Katie Dorschel.

T-shirts-

There will be another order for the new HAST t-shirts. The sign up sheet is in the glass case outside the pool. The deadline to sign up is February 1st. The cost of the t-shirt is $17.28.

Here are the upcoming meets in February:

February 8-10 Niagara District Silver meet at Webster. These entries are due to me no later than Friday February 1st. Swimmers must have silver times to swim in this meet. For every silver time your swimmer can swim a bonus event. Please send entries to dlajuett@hiltonswimteam.org.

February 15-17 Star Gold/Silver/Bronze meet in Buffalo. These entries are due to me no later than February 5th. All swimmers are eligible to swim this meet. Hotel information will be provided at a later date. Please send entries to dlajuett@hiltonswimteam.org.

Information will be to follow on the Churchville meet.

Due to Regents this week Brockport has closed the pool on Thursday for our morning swimmers. So their will not be any practice Thursday am in Brockport. CS
Note:
1. Also as a reminder, practice in Hilton on Thursday is late so be sure to watching the calendar.
2. Star Meet commitment is posted, decision will be made on Thursday by the board. I will give out hotel details after the decision is made.
3. Nice job swimmer - Rest assured this weekend swimmers will be recovering at tonight's practice. It is very important that everyone attends tonight's practice.
4. Awards will be passed out and the 14 and under Gold swimmers are also getting a nice new (blue) IMX gold swim cap from USA swimming.
5. Put it on your calendar - LAST Dual Meet - Feb. 2nd with SDSC, the dual meet will be at Penfield early morning and done before Noon. I will be posting a sign up for this meet, I will be doing entries. CS

The HAST Board would like to thank all of our volunteers for their efforts this past weekend. The Gold IMX Meet went very smoothly! Thank you to all who worked their positions, showed flexibility in changing positions as needed, and brought food for the hospitality room. It was wonderful to see the team pull together and make this HUGE undertaking successful. Thank you to all of our older swimmers who came to support their team mates and also work at the meet. YOU are awesome role models for our younger swimmers! Thank you to our younger swimmers who also came to work as runners! Thank you to our fabulous coaches who not only show their committment with the many hours they devote to our team but their experience and knowledge can be reflected in the improvement seen in our swimmers times. Lastly, CONGRATULATIONS to our swimmers who did an awesome job swimming this weekend. Everyone deserves a pat on the back for a JOB WELL DONE! See you all at practice tonight!

This meet is for the whole team. Being a multi-level meet allows our younger and new swimmers to experience a travel meet. The STAR meet is in Buffalo at Erie Community College. I have reserved 35 hotel rooms @ $89.00 so families will be all together. All the rooms are non-smoking, w/2 queen beds.

This meet in the past has proven to be a team building event, the benefits of a stronger team is endless. At the hotel, swimmers will be allowed to use the hotel pool and hot-tub. Typically the hotel accessories are off limits. I am trying to keep the goal in mind, hard work pays off and has many benefits. In the end I want swimmers to walk away with best times and a stronger team unity (parents and swimmers).
At the pool in the glass case their is a sign up sheet posted.
What I am asking right now is commitment. January 24th will be the dead line for sign up. That evening a decision will be made if their is enough swimmers / familes committed. Swimmers and parents please discuss.

If you have any questions email me darwinsnow@gmail.com or approach me before or after practice.
Coach Snow

The last day to sign up for bring food is Wednesday. If haven't signed up, please do so as SEAS needs to know what we are bringing. Sign up sheets are in the glass case at the pool. We still need crockpot dishes (like chili) for the Sunday afternoon session and cases of soda.

We still have some families who haven't signed up to work or volunteered to send food. We are counting on everyone to help out.

Please check the Job sheet in the glass case. Volunteers should be at the pool at the start of warm-ups for the session they are signed up for as follows:

Friday - 5:00pm
Saturday Preliminaries - 8:00am
Saturday Finals - 4:00pm
Sunday Preliminaries - 8:00am
Sunday Finals - 4:00pm
Monday Preliminaries - 8:00am
Monday Finals - 3:30pm

Each family will be given a copy of the job sheet following practice on Wednesday and Thursday night as a reminder.

See any board member at practice Wednesday or Thursday if you have any questions.

Thanks for all help.

Practice Today, Tuesday is 6:15 to 8:00.

There will be no practice on Friday, January 18.

Thank you to everyone who has signed up already. We need every family to pitch in and help with this meet. Remember this is a fund-raiser for the club and helps dues down. We still have many slots available to work the meet 1/18 - 1/21. The sign up sheet is in the glass case at the pool. Also, we need families to sign up to bring food for the Hospitality Room for coaches and officials. These sheets will also be at the pool. If you don't make it to the pool, please email me with the time you can work and what you can bring. My email is pwilso3@rochester.rr.com

Practice on Thursday night is late - 7 to 9 due to the Boys meet.

I also wanted to thank everyone who helped out at the Dual/Quad meet and post-Holiday Party last Saturday. The meet went smoothly and the kids really enjoyed the party.

These two meets will be held in Webster January 25-27. Please submit entries to me no later than Tuesday January 15th. Please send entries to dlajuett@hiltonswimteam.org.

There will be a swimming officials clinic for all levels (stroke & turn, starter, referee; new and recertifying) at Hilton Middle School - Merton Williams on January 14 @ 7:00. Merton Williams Middle School is located on 200 School La., Hilton and the pool is located behind the building. Directions --> http://www.hilton.k12.ny.us/directions.htm. Signs will be posted from the pool. Please check your certification expiration date and make sure you are ready for the upcoming season. You must recertify every 2 years. Please encourage people from your swim club to become a new official - we need them!! If you have any questions or plan on attending, please contact me at 719-2500 (w) / 671-2078 (h) / E-Mail to rieth@frontiernet.net or jrieth@rohmhaas.com so that I have enough handouts for everyone. (Of course, if someone discovers at the last minute that he or she is able to attend, feel free to come--but it sure helps to have a ballpark number!). Thank you. The following tests must be completed for each level:
Stroke & Turn
New Official - stroke & turn and timer tests.
Recertifying – stroke & turn and timer tests.
Starter
New Starter – starter, stroke & turn, timer, clerk of course and timing judge tests
Recertifying – starter recertifying test.
Referee
New Referee – referee, starter, stroke & turn & timer tests.
Recertifying – referee recertifying and administration test.___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ For New Swim Officials Certifying as a Stroke & Turn Judge takes a little time, but it's a lot of fun, adds to your understanding of the sport, and sure beats sitting in the bleachers at a long meet. It would be terrific if you do the "book learning" and take the certification tests before the clinic. Otherwise, go to the clinic and finish the tests as soon as possible. Here's how to get started: 1) Learn the rules. 2) Take the certification tests. 3) Attend a clinic. 4) Get a USA Swimming insurance card. 5) Apprentice with other officials. Rules
Everyone starts as a Stroke and Turn Judge. To do your job properly, you need to learn the technical rules for the four strokes--freestyle, backstroke, breaststroke, and butterfly. It's not so bad really, just four pages in the rule book. Go to the USA swimming website: www.usaswimming.org. Click on the "Volunteers" tab at the top of the page, then click on "Officials" at the menu on the left. Then, "Rules and Regulations." Then, "2007 Swimming Mini-Rulebook." Plus, you will need to at least skim the other rules on how meets are conducted.
Tests
You take two on-line, open book tests, also at www.usaswimming.org, for: Timer and Stroke and Turn Judge. This way you'll know what the other people on deck are doing and be cross-trained for those jobs. Your results will go to the Niagara District automatically. You'll get an e-mail with your scores. Please forward your passing scores to me at rieth@frontiernet.net or jrieth@rohmhaas.com.
The tests are fairly easy. Just register and follow the instructions. Open a copy of the rules in one window and the test in another. The questions are multiple choice and you must cite the section number(s) of the rule(s) that apply. If you get stuck, go back to the rules. If you need to take a break, the program saves your answers and you can return at your convenience. You can keep taking the tests until you pass. Not everyone passes every test the first time.
Clinic
This is where you begin making the transition between understanding the rules on paper and understanding the rules as they apply to bodies torpedoing through the water. The clinic will be a good review. You get to see all four strokes in a video. The video also covers the basics of officiating--where to position yourself for good calls, how to ensure a fair swim for the athletes in your lanes, etc. After you pass your certification tests and attend the class, you'll be issued a blue card so that you can apprentice before you begin officiating on your own.
Insurance Card
This "deck card" is a combination ID and proof of insurance. USA Swimming provides liability coverage for coaches and officials. Obtain a USA Swimming non-athlete application from your club registrar, complete and return. The club will pay your application fee. You need a deck card to apprentice.
Apprentice
You need to "shadow" for four sessions--watch other officials at work and get some on-deck pointers from them--before you can officiate on your own. A session could be a dual meet, or a morning, afternoon, or finals session at an invitational. Most invitationals are two or more sessions. I don't recommend shadowing for more than two sessions a day. Just report to the referee at any USA Swimming meet. You don't even need to have a swimmer at the meet. Let the referee know you'd like to shadow and follow his or her instructions. They usually have you rotate among the positions on the deck. Observe; ask questions. You're there to learn. After the session, have the referee sign your card. Once you have proof of at least four shadow sessions, you need to send me a blue card and I'll send you your permanent (white) certification card. You need to recertify every 2 years.
You will need a uniform to shadow. You've seen the officials on deck. The uniform is a white polo shirt, navy blue shorts or slacks, and white sneakers.

Our HAST Team Tee Shirts have been ordered. The cost for the shirts is $17.28 including tax. Payment must be made before picking up shirts. Please make checks payable to HAST. Please see Whitney Hickey ASAP.