Health and Safety Update: Ears, Eyes and Skin

As everyone heads to the lakes and rivers, don't forget to take care of your ears! The bacterial counts in fresh water is higher than our chlorinated pool, and every year we have at least a handful of swimmers who end up with the painful condition. After lake or river swimming, a little water can get trapped in the ear, and it is a perfect environment for bacterial growth.

If your child is complaining of an ear ache, and he or she says it hurts when you tug on the earlobe or press on the tragus (that funny bump on the ear), it is a good idea to get your kiddo to the doctor for a check. Ask your pediatrician if you have any questions or concerns.

For a simple and cheap preventative solution, please click the Mayo Clinic link provided for information about how to prevent Swimmer's ear.

SWIMMER'S EAR Prevention Info

Also, please take care of your eyes and body by keeping your equipment and body clean. Try to shower soon after an open water swim and be sure to change or clean your contacts after open water swimming. Barbara Hummel, head coach of the UV Rays, also recommends swabbing your goggles with a Q-Tip and some anti-bacterial soap to prevent eye infections.

When entering the water, don't forget to check for plants such as poison ivy, poison parsnip or giant hogweed. All of those plants can create havoc on an otherwise great summer day! Poison parsnip and giant hogweed are sun-reactive, and the sap can create chemical burns on the skin when exposed to UV rays.

We want everyone to have as much time on swim team as possible, and we hope this helps keep our swimmers as healthy and as safe as possible!

Happy swimming!
Nicola

On the Horizon

Hi WST,

Believe it or not, it's already time to start thinking about Leagues and States!  For those of you who are new to the team, this post will give some preliminary information about what to expect. 

 

Leagues: Saturday July 28th at Rutland

This is a meet for all swimmers with all of the teams in the Southern Vermont Swim League.  10&under swimmers will compete in the morning and 11&over swimmers will compete in the afternoon.  We do not have specific warmup and start times yet, but we will let you know as soon as we do.

 

States: August 3rd and 4th at UVAC

This is the final meet of the season and is open only to those swimmers who have qualified.  Qualifying times are posted on the bulletin board and are available here: http://www.vtswim.org./2013_VSAMeet/VSA_13_Events_List_and_Time_Stds.pdf. 

Each day there is a morning and afternoon session, and, like usual, 10&unders swim in the mornings and 11&overs swim in the afternoon.  Swimmers can qualify up through Leagues.  In order to be eligible, swimmers must have competed in a total of THREE meets prior to States.  We will soon be emailing about eligibility.

Please don't hesitate to ask if you have questions about either of these two meets!

Happy Swimming,

Maddie and Sam

Update 7/15/13

Hi WST,

Hope you've all recovered from last week and are ready to take on another!  Tomorrow we have a meet at Rockingham.  Swimmers should arrive between 4:45 – 5:00 pm.  Directions can be found here: svslvt.org.  Because it's an away meet, we WILL NOT have afternoon practice tomorrow. 

Our annual Distance Swim will take place this Friday at Silver Lake.  This is open to swimmers 13 years and over.  We will be handing out permission slips with much more information!  We also need at least one adult to accompany us in a canoe/kayak; if you're interested please let us know!

Just a reminder for parents: as the weather stays hot, make sure swimmers bring water with them to practice.  Dehydration is nothing to mess with and we want to make sure all our swimmers are safe.

HUGE thanks to Steve Hiller who was able to secure for us a big batch of new pull buoys, kickboards, and swimming fins.  This new equipment will increase our ability to effectively teach all our Swim Team skills.  Thanks again Steve!  And thanks to everyone who donated time, money, and supplies for the Pancake Brunch.  The money raised will allow us to purchase even more equipment for our swimmers!  

Happy Swimming,

Maddie, Nicola, and Sam

RESULTS- What do all those things mean, anyway?

A small x before a swimmer's name means he or she does not score points for the team because we are only allowed two point-earners per event in dual meets, but the swimmer still earns an award for his or her place. 

A large X next to the name means the swim was an exhibition swim (not usual for most swimmers). Exhibition swims count only in the fact that they are offical times for the swimmers, but they do not count toward the overall score or for placing. 

Disqualifications (usually for a stroke infraction such as finishing on the stomach in backstroke) will show as "DQ" in the results.

Final score is the accumulation of points. In case you didn't know, WST has won both of the dual meets this season! Congratulations!

PANCAKE FOOD DONATIONS-FULFILLED!

Thanks to your generosity, we have all the food supplies we need to cook and feed the team on Friday. Please be sure to RSVP by email, blog or bulletin board, so we can prepare for the number of people who wish to eat!

Updates, Updates, Updates! 7/8/13

Meets

Rutland comes to town tomorrow for our first home meet of the season.  Swimmers need to arrive by 3:45 to prepare for warmups and parents are asked to provide a deliciously healthy snack to sell at the concession stand during the meet.

If you're still not signed up for the make-up meet on Thursday please stop by the bulletin board or email the coaches before practice on Wednesday.

If you're planning on signing up for Rutland Sprints that must be done soon, and the $8 must be paid before swimmers can be entered.  Money and signups must be done through the upstairs office before afternoon practice on Thursday.  Warmups will be between 7:30 - 9:00 AM.

Pictures On Wednesday!

Bring your team bathing suits and bring your smiles for pictures on Wednesday at 12:45.  Older Swimmers who attend the 1:00-2:00 practice will want to arrive a little before 12:45 to ensure they're prepared to promptly take pictures and start practice.

Pancakes

Meet Week! July 8th-July 13th

WST v Rutland, Tuesday, July 9th at HOME
WST v UVAC rescheduled for Thursday, July 11th at HOME

For Tuesday's and Thursday's home meets, please be sure swimmers arrive to WRC by 3:45 in time for 4pm warm-ups. Swim practices will be offered at the regular times on both days.

Rutland Sprints Invitational meet on Saturday, July 13th at White's Pool in Rutland
More information to follow.

Pancake Brunch July 12th from 12-2pm

Our 2013 Annual Pancake Brunch is Friday, July 12th.

All WST swimmers and families are invited to attend our Annual Pancake Brunch from 12-2pm on Friday the 12th. Brunch will be served starting at 12:00pm.

The donations raised during our Pancake Brunch will go directly to the WST program, including helping us purchase new equipment for the swim team, including kick boards, pull buoys and training fins. With your support, we can ensure a high quality swim program that remains both accessible and affordable for our community.

2013 Menu:

3 Buttermilk Pancakes and juice- $3.00

3 Chocolate Chip Pancakes and juice-$4.00
4 Pancakes and juice-$5.00

We are also hoping for donations of the following items:

• 20 boxes of buttermilk pancake mix (just add water)
• 12 sticks of butter
• 2 cans of non-stick spray
• 10 large bottles/cartons of juice
• Maple syrup
• Your time (1-2 hours, 2-4 volunteers)

If you can donate any portion of these items or if you would like to assist on the day, please post a comment below by Wednesday, July 10th! This way others can see what has already been offered.

Thanks in advance to Amy Martsolf and Teresa Tan for offering to donate the chocolate chip pancake supplies and for help with flipping and consulting!

Please RSVP by July 10th

with the number of people in your group.

There will be a sign-up sheet on the WST Bulletin Board or you can post a comment here or email us at wstcoaches@gmail.com

Team Photos Wednesday, July 10th

Swimmers are encouraged to wear a team suit if they have one.

 

Schedule:

12-12:45 10 and Unders swim practice

12:45-1:15 Team Photos, all WST swimmers should attend

1:15-2:00 11 and Overs swim practice

7/1/13 Update

Hello WST Families,

Tomorrow we will be heading over the mountain to swim against the Killington Sharks.  We’re asking that swimmers arrive at 4:15 in order to prepare for warm-ups.  Since this is an away meet, we will not be having any afternoon practice.  If you’re looking for directions they can be found on the SVSL website.

In addition, there will be no practice Thursday July 4 or Friday July 5.  We hope everybody enjoys the Fourth of July Weekend!

There are a few upcoming dates that families ought to keep on their radar.  Next week we have a home meet against Rutland on July 9, a home meet against UVAC on July 11, the pancake breakfast on July 12, and Rutland Sprints on July 13.  Swimmers are expected to arrive by 3:45 for all home meets, and just to remind parents: every swimmer who is attending the UVAC make-up meet must be signed up on the bulletin board or via email.  The Pancake Breakfast will most likely be during the 12-2 time slot on that Friday, and we’ll provide further information on that event later this week.  Right now there’s a sign up sheet on the bulletin board so we know how many attendees to expect (siblings and parents are welcome!).  This year it is a fundraiser for our team, so there will be a small, expected donation of $3-4 per attendee.

One final note: as we continue to swim and as swimmers continue to earn ribbons, those ribbons will be placed in the ribbon box outside the guard office!

Happy Swimming,

Maddie, Sam, and Nicola