Many thanks to all of you who participated in the meet with the Hurricanes and made a successful meet and a great victory. We had lots of time improvements, Invitational qualifiers and new 6 and unders swimming legally. And the boys 13-14 relay team of Greggory Gavin, Tucker Lewis, Maurice Prosper, and Cody Utsler set new Armada records in both relays!

We appreciate your patience and hard work as we all get the hang of the new wireless timing system. Now that we are getting more experienced with it, future meets will start sooner and move more quickly. It was gratifying to see our swimmers and parents work together so well today.

Our next meet is our first one of the season "on the road". We go to swim with the Forest North Stingrays this Saturday and I look forward to a fun and exciting meet.

If you haven't already, check your folder for ribbons (and caribineers to hold them). And don't forget to fill out the Meet Attendance form for the June 6 meet with Block House Creek.

Please take a few minutes to read all of this newsletter - there is a lot of important information including how to scratch from a meet once entered.

You can contact me with questions at board@wbarmada.org. For more team information, check our website at www.wbarmada.org.

Hey guys! Great swimming this past weekend! I'm so impressed how much talent is in our pool, and I can't wait to see you guys improve even more. I am proud of the Armada because they were so gracious and respectful to the Hurricanes. Please keep up the great sportsmanship!

A couple of reminders: We work so hard during the week- remember to eat HEALTHY during the swim meets! We don't want all the hard work we did during the week to go away because we are hyped up on sugar. Your muscles feed off the energy you feed your body, so make sure it's healthy so that your strong muscles can turn that into FAST SWIMMING!

Also, make sure you are at all times representing the Armada. This means wearing your Armada swim suit (if you have one) and your Armada swim cap. Girls, you need to be wearing your caps during meets! I promise it will make such a difference. Boys, it will do the same for you too! (If you have not received a swim cap put a note in the board's folder).

Lastly, make sure that you guys show up on time and check in with your pit parent. We will be scratching you from relays if you have not showed up by warm up. If you know you are not going to be at the meet, let a coach know ASAP (follow the "scratch" procedures below). A big thank you in advance for your attention to this matter! :)

A BIG congratulations to the 13-14 boys for shattering an old record this weekend in the 100 Medley Relay and for setting a new 100 Free Relay record! What a way to start off the season! Congratulations to those who qualified for Invitationals- that is no easy task! I am so very proud of you guys!

This week will be the first week we give out the "Kickin' Hard" award. This is a new weekly award this year and goes to the swimmers who are coming to practice, working hard, and having a positive attitude- being what the Armada is all about! The coaches will vote on it every week, and the swimmer who is chosen gets a special kick board to practice with for the week. If you see the boys and girls who were chosen, make sure to congratulate them!

Since we don't have practice Monday, make sure that you try and come to the rest of the practices this week! Keep up the amazing work!

Coach Elisa

Each week the WBA coaches will recognize swimmers that are working extra hard at practice. Congratulations to this week's winners - keep up the great work!
 

Great job on a great victory Saturday. Congratulations to the following swimmers who raced to GOLD against the Hurricanes!
 

Meet Attendance Forms (MAF) are due each Friday
The MAF for the June 6 away meet against Block House Creek is due by end-of-practice Friday, May 29.

Block House Creek Tidal Waves are located at 259 Block House Dr, Leander, TX 78641 Leander.

Directions: - These are for June 6 meet.See Map

Toll-Road - 25 minutes - 16 miles

• From Shoreline Drive go straight through intersection and then turn right to merger on TX-1N/TX-1 Loop. (0.9 miles)
• Take exit onto TX-45 W (5.6 miles)
• Take exit onto TX-183A N (5.4 miles)
• Left at New Hope Drive(0.9 miles)
• Right at Block House Dr S (0.9 miles)
• Left at Block House Dr (0.1 miles)

Parmer Lane- 32 minutes - 16 miles

• Take Wells Branch Blvd across Mopac and continue on McNeil Road
• Right onto Parmer Lane
• Left onto Whitestone Blvd
• right at Bell Blvd/N US 183
• Right at County Rd 181/E New Hope Drive
• Left at New Hope Drive(0.9 miles)
• Right at Creek Run Dr (0.4 miles)
• Left at Block House Dr

Scratch Forms
If you enter a meet and then have illness or an emergency come up, please fill out a blue Scratch Form by end-of-practice Friday. You may also send an email to mindy@wbarmada.org" and "coach@wbarmada.org" by 8 p.m. Friday. After 8 p.m. please send a text message to Paul at 659-1373 or call . Please don't call between 9:30 pm and 5:30 am but do call before 6:30 a.m.

Vacation MAFs
There are extra forms available in the small folder box located next the family folder boxes. If you have not received a form for a week you will be out-of-town, you can get a form for that week and turn it in early. If you have multiple children that will miss a meet, it is okay to put that on one form.

It is extremely important to the team that each swimmer who signs up for a meet shows up on race morning. Please be on time!

Be on time: This week we need every swimmer to be in their pit area no later than 6:30 a.m. - see map to Forest North. Please allow yourself about 20 minutes for the drive. You should try to leave home about 6 a.m.

Removal from relays: Any swimmer who is not in their pit area by 6:30 a.m. this week may be removed from their relay. This is not punishment for the swimmer - it is necessary for us to get the changes to the computer table on time so the meet can start on time. Saturday we had a lot of swimmers who didn't show up or showed up late and that is the main reason the meet was started over 30 minutes late. This will not be allowed at future meets.

Scratching from a meet: If you sign up for a meet, you are expected to show up on time ready to swim. If the swimmer is ill or there is a family emergency please fill out a blue Scratch Form by end-of-practice Friday. You may also send an email to "mindy@wbarmada.org" and "coach@wbarmada.org" by 8 p.m. Friday. After 8 p.m. please send a text message to Paul at 659-1373 or call . Please don't call between 9:30 pm and 5:30 am but do call before 6:30 a.m.

Acceptable excuses: The WB Armada is just like being on a soccer team or basketball team - we need everyone to sign-up for and show-up for meets. We count on every swimmer each week - everyone who is able to swim the length of the pool is able to participate. There are no bench warmers in this sport.

We understand that swimmers become ill, families plan vacations and sometimes there are other conflicts that make it difficult or impossible to attend. It is Not Acceptable to sign up for a meet and then just not feel like getting up on time. This makes a lot of extra work for coaches and volunteers Saturday mornings as we scramble to replace swimmers in relays and may leave some swimmers unable to swim their relay without a 4th swimmer. We are counting on you to follow the Scratch procedures to let us know if you are unable to attend or are going to be a few minutes late.

The Northwest Swim Circuit holds a Championship Meet at the end of the season for qualifying swimmers. Congratulations to our 22 swimmers who have already qualified in the following events. (Each swimmer will only be able to swim in 3 events.)

We are always excited when an Armada swimmer or an Armada relay team breaks a team record. This group of 13-14 boys broke one record that has been on the books since 1995 and another that was just a few years old. Congratulations to them for being the fastest 13-14 boys relay team in the 20-year history of the team! See team records here.