Conference Week 11.02.20-11.07.20

 “A ferocious concentration and fanatical execution is what you need to finish strong.” 

— Gary Ryan Blair

Conference week is here. This is what we have worked so hard for starting back in August. We have put in the work. We have grown together, celebrated together and overcome so much together. This weekend is when we get to see all of our efforts pay off. As Friday and Saturday approach remember to trust the process. Have faith in the time and effort you have put in this season. We are ready to swim fast and to dive our very best.  

There is a TON of information below. All of which is new this year based on the format change so please read everything carefully. I will be letting athletes know what meet they will be swimming in tomorrow before practice begins. Note: Some athletes will compete BOTH days! 

Important News/Notes for Athletes 

• 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". 
• 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.  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.
• All athletes who would like to wear a tech suit are welcome to do so but they are by no means required. 

Diving Conference Championships Info

• Location: Zeeland (pool is located on their Zeeland West campus)
• Teams: The OK Tier One Conference is made up of Grand Rapids Catholic Central, Hamilton, Holland, Holland Christian, Mona Shores, Spring Lake & Zeeland.
• Warm-ups @ 3:30
• Divers will either need to grab food at Subway or pack a lunch and some snacks to eat before and during the meet.  
• Meet at Zeeland pool NO LATER than 3:20.  Divers will be excused from class at 2:30 to give time to get food and get to the pool. 
• If you need a ride, please let Diane know ASAP so she can get things figured out to get you to Zeeland.  
• Bring some "good for you snacks" and a water bottle.
• Please bring your diving cards along with something to do to take your mind off diving until it's your turn to dive again.  You may take word searches, coloring books, journaling supplies, crossword puzzles, Sudoku). Phones may be used for music but NOT social media or texting family/friends... phones can tend to stress us out more than help.
• Meet start: 6:00 PM 
• NO SPECTATORS are allowed.  We will send out the livestream link as soon as we get it. 

Swimming Conference Championships Info

• Location: Zeeland (pool is located on their Zeeland West campus)
• Teams: The OK Tier One Conference is made up of Grand Rapids Catholic Central, Hamilton, Holland, Holland Christian, Mona Shores, Spring Lake & Zeeland.
• Friday/Saturday Timed Finals: Our Conference looks different this year. Instead of a prelim/final format we will be having timed final only split into two different days. A 'JV' meet (non-scoring individual heats & C,D relays) will be held on Friday evening with a 'Varsity' (Scoring heats...up to 4 swimmers per event per team... & A, B Relays) meet held on Saturday afternoon. I hate using 'JV' and 'Varsity' to distinguish between the two days because we are ALL A VARSITY TEAM however, because this is how our host site has differentiated the days, to avoid confusion I will do the same here. 
• Friday Meet: See timeline below. I expect this meet to run approx. 2 hours. 
• Saturday Meet: See timeline below. I expect this meet to run approx. 2/2.5 hours. Heats will be seeded by time and places awarded based on times swam on Saturday. 
• • Scoring and Awards: The 'Varsity' Championship meet will be scored to sixteen (16) places for individual Events. Only “A” relays will score. The top eight (8) individual finishers will receive medals, and the top three (3) relay teams will receive medals. A trophy will be awarded to the overall OK Conference Champions, combining the dual meet records with the places in the Conference Meet. All awards will be presented after the next event (see below) in the order of events. There will be NO ADDITIONAL BREAKS..
  • All Conference Awards: Twenty-two (22) All Conference medals will be awarded. Awards will be given to all first place finishers and the first and second place divers automatically. A third diver will be automatic if they achieve an All - American Consideration score. The remaining All Conference positions will be determined by individual meet points scored.
• Spectators: Zeeland Public Schools Central Office Administration, in consultation with each member school Athletic Director, have determined there will be NO SPECTATORS allowed at the event. ONLY meet personnel determined to be essential to operate the meet, and participating athletes and coaches will be granted access to the building for any reason. All athletes and coaches will be issued a facility pass that must be shown upon entry to the facility. At this time, the bleachers WILL be open for non-participating athletes ONLY (i.e. open for Varsity athletes during the JV session and vice versa) ** It will not be mandatory for athletes to attend the session they are not competing in but everyone is ABLE to if they would like!
• Livestream: The Zeeland High School Broadcasting class will be producing and streaming a multi-camera broadcast of both sessions of the Conference Meet. This is presented free of charge and may be accessed by going to:
• Friday: https://youtu.be/RE4dyHj2T0k
• Saturday: https://youtu.be/yRXQV0mx9go
• Scoring Breakdown (descending by place):
• Relays (A relays only): 40, 34, 32, 30, 28
• Individual (Top 16):  20, 17, 16, 15, 14, 13, 12, 11, 9, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1
• Saturday Awards: On Saturday, there will be an award ceremony for the Championship Finalists from each event and the 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 5:15pm.
• State swimmers out at 5:30pm.
• Divers practice 3:30-5:30

Tuesday 11.3

• Conference swimmers out at 5:15pm.
• State swimmers out at 5:30pm.
• Divers practice 3:30-5:30pm 

Wednesday 11.4

• Conference swimmers out at 5:00 pm. 
•  State swimmers out at 5:30 pm.
• Divers practice 3:30-5:30 pm 

Thursday 11.5

• Conference swimmers out at 5:00 pm.
• State swimmers out at 5:30 pm.

Friday 11.6

• Athletes competing on Friday will be dismissed at 2:30.  Please communicate with your teachers AHEAD OF TIME to get assignments, etc. * I am still figuring out the best transportation to the pool. I will send out an email once this is finalized. Athletes will need to be picked up from Zeeland after the completion of the meet Friday night. 
• Meet Timeline: 
• Devotions 3:15 pm @ Zeeland High School 
• Warm Up @ 3:30pm.
• Prelims Begin @ 5:00pm.
• Athletes not competing Friday will have practice from 3:30 -5pm

Saturday 11.7

** TIMES HAVE YET TO BE SET FOR THIS MEET. BELOW IS WHAT WE EXPECT TO BE CORRECT TIMES BUT THEY ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE! **

• Athletes need to be in Zeeland at 9:45am for devotions
• Warm Up starts at 10:00am. 
•  Meet starts at 12:00pm.