The Week Ahead: 11.2 to 11.7

A bird sitting in a tree isn't afraid of the branch breaking

because its trust is not on the branch, but on its own wings.

ALWAYS BELIEVE IN YOURSELF!

Anonymous

With Conference this week, our "lasts" as a team are in full-swing: last Monday Meeting, last full practice, last team prayer, last post-meet cooldown...  Our goal for those tapering for Conference is certainly to peak results-wise for the season, to cash-in on that work we've been putting in.  There is no room for negativity or doubt this week.  Trust the work that you've put in and get excited that you get to compete with your team  for two straight days! This is going to be a FAST, HIGH-SCORING week of FUN together...I cannot WAIT for Friday!

There's LOTS of information below. Please read this post carefully for all the dates, times, etc.

Transportation Info

• Our school transportation to Byron Center for both days is DROP OFF ONLY. Each athlete will need to have their own transportation for the ride home. You're allowed to carpool with another family...just make sure you have a ride lined up!

Important News/Notes for Athletes

• As I mentioned last week, we need to make sure that we're doing everything we can to stay rested up throughout the week.  Get enough/extra sleep and avoid adding extra vigorous physical activities.  If you have a question about something that you're doing, employ the motto "when in doubt, leave it out".  For those Conference swimmers who are taking PE classes right now, I have emailed your teachers. You will have to participate minimally in regular class activities, but can sit out from physical testing, running, etc.
• Between warm up and the actual meet, each day of Conference will be 5+ hours long.  Each day, be sure to bring plenty of snacks and a couple water bottles or other drinks so that you can stay fueled-up throughout each session.  On Saturday, eat a good breakfast (much more than just a piece of toast!).  
• Each swimmer needs to bring a pair of comfortable, broken-in tennis shoes to wear on-deck during the meet on both Friday and Saturday.  Walking around barefoot on a hard-surfaced pool deck for five hours is more draining than you would expect.  Please clean the soles beforehand so we're not tracking dirt everywhere.

Conference Championships Info

• Location: Byron Center High School
• Teams: The OK Green Conference is made up of Holland, Zeeland, Hamilton, Byron Center and Unity Christian.
• Prelims/Finals for Individuals: Our Conference meet is split up into two days: Prelims on Friday and Finals on Saturday.  For individual swimming events, on Friday, everyone will swim their two individual events and up to two relays.  On Saturday, there will be 3 heats of each event:
• The last two heats (the scoring Consolation and Championship heats, respectively) will be made up of the Top 16 swims from prelims, with a maximum limit of 4 athletes per team (with 6 teams, 8 out of the 24 eligible scorers will be left out).  
• The first heat of each event is a non-scoring "Bonus Heat" made up of the next 8 fastest times, regardless of team (thus, even if an athlete was one of the 4 eligible scorers, she is NOT guaranteed to swim in the bonus heat).
• Relays: On both Friday and Saturday, there will be a heat each of non-scoring B and C relays followed by a heat of the scoring A relays.  
• Diving: Divers will do 8 dives for prelims on Friday.  The final 3 dives will be completed on Saturday during the normal diving slot with the Top 16 from prelims eligible to score.
• Scoring Breakdown (descending by place):
• Relays (A relays only): 40, 34, 32, 30, 28
• Championship Finals (Top 8): 20, 17, 16, 15, 14, 13, 12, 11
• Consolation Finals (9-16): 9, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1
• Note: if a swimmer qualifies for the Consolation Finals (9-16) but swims a time on Saturday that would make the top 8, she still receives 9th place.
• Saturday Awards: On Saturday, there will be an award ceremony for the Championship Finalists from each event and the  A relays.  This will occur after the completion of the next event (eg, the awards for the Medley Relay will be after the Championship Finals Heat of the 200 Free).

Daily Info

Monday 11.2

• Conference swimmers out at 5:30pm.
• State swimmers out at 5:50pm.

Tuesday 11.3

• Conference swimmers out at 5:15pm.
• State swimmers out at 5:45pm.

Wednesday 11.4

• Conference swimmers out at 5:15pm.
• State swimmers out at 5:50pm.

Thursday 11.5

• Conference swimmers out at 5:00pm.
• State swimmers out at 5:15pm.

Friday 11.6

• Athletes will be missing a couple classes on Friday.  You need to communicate with your teachers AHEAD OF TIME to find out what you will miss, have to make up, etc. Work due on Friday still needs to be turned in on Friday, so arrange for that as well.
• Dress: team sweatshirts and t-shirts.
• Divers:
• Dismissed from school at 11:00am. Meet Diane, who will be driving a school van.
• A lunch will be provided!
• Diving Warm Up @ 12:00pm. 
• Stands Open @ 1:30pm.
• Diving Prelims Begins @ 2:00pm.
• Swimmers
• Dismissed from school at 1:30pm.
• Carpool to Coach Lisa's house (on Arbor Trail off of 147th) for lunch. Please bring $5 to cover the cost of the meal.
• Bus LEAVES the HIGH SCHOOL at 2:30pm.
• Warm Up @ 3:30pm.
• Stands Open @ 4:00pm.
• Prelims Begin @ 5:30pm.

Saturday 11.7

• ALL athletes, regardless whether they qualified to compete on Saturday or not, are required to be at the meet.  Anyone not competing needs to have on their team shirt and team warm up top.  Between our B and C relays and the bonus heat for each individual event, we hope to get everyone a swim on Saturday, but it's not guaranteed.
• Bus LEAVES from the HIGH SCHOOL at 9:15am.
• Warm Up starts at 10:00am. 
• Stands open at 10:30am. 
•  Meet starts at 12:00pm.
• After the meet, we will be having a team pizza dinner at the high school in the cafeteria.  All parents, siblings, etc. are welcome to attend!  An RSVP email was sent out last week.