We had another great meet on Saturday with the Balcones Country Club Shark. There as some nice weather and our swimmers did very well as usual. We are now 4-1 on the season.

Saturday, we're hosting the Round Rock Dolphins. They will be bringing a large number of swimmers so the meet will start at 7 a.m. and may end later than usual. Check the meet information in this newsletter and watch for reminder emails from Mindy later in the week.

Thanks to the many families who came to Swim-a-thon on Tuesday. Swim-a-thon is always a very fun night, but this one was a blast. I want to take a moment to thank Ange Trent and her family for running it every year, especially since this will be their last year with the team. They do a fantastic job! Armada Night at Pluckers was a success Saturday night too, with a number of families coming and having good food and fun. 20% of the proceeds will come back to the team, so thanks for coming.

A note to parents: Our pit parents have a tough job and we need to support them, especially those who are trying to corral our younger kids. Please make sure your kids listen to and respect their pit parents during meets and things will go smoothly.

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

Regards,
Paul

Coach Elisa is having computer woes so Mindy Lewis is sitting in as a guest columnist.

Wow - we pulled out another victory this week and had lots of time improvements and quite a few Invitational Qualifers. And thanks to everyone for being patient with the timing system. The instruction manual doesn't spell out everything and we are learning as we go.

The WBA is having a great season and kudos to all our families who get up early and arrive at the meets in great moods ready to chip in and help make the meet happen.

I want to encourage everyone who is able to participate in our Divisional meet. It is great that we get to host it this year and although it is a long day it is a great way to finish up the season. We have been swimming great this year and all the training is building to our final weekend of championship swimming.

Forms are not due until July 1 - please let us know on your form if there is an event you really want to swim because it is your very favorite or because you are close to an Invitational time or a team record. Please turn them in on time so we can avoid late entries.

See you at the pool!
Mindy
WBA Meet Director

The WB Armada has a snack bar open at each home meet. We sell items such as breakfast tacos, coffee, baked goods, hot dogs, sausage wraps, water, sports drinks, soda, etc
 
Parents - Please help the team by donating baked goods to our concession stand for each home meet. It is fine to purchase items such as muffins and bagels but please avoid pre-packaged items such as store-bought rice crispy treats, Twinkies, etc. Important notes: Chocolate melts too quickly in the summer heat. Fruit, such as individual-size bags of grapes, or cups of cut-up fruit are very welcome.

The following is the recommended snack bar donation schedule but any age group is welcome to contribute.

The Round Rock Express Team Night on June 29th is fast approaching! The tickets already purchased with the team discount will be in family folders this week. Even if you did not purchase the tickets through the team, there still are tickets for the game through the regular box office. Come join the fun! There were over 135 tickets purchased so far. There will be plenty of Armada families to join!

Coaches' Appreciation Day is scheduled for Friday, July 3,for our coaches!

The Board will provide breakfast for the coaches and we encourage swimmers to make homemade cards, pictures and signs to say thanks to our awesome coaches. Don't forget our awesome junior volunteer coaches!

Thank you Coach Elisa, Coach Gina, Coach Andi, Coach Lauren, Coach Bryn, Coach Bethany, Coach Anna, Jr. Coach Amy, Jr. Coach Greggory, Jr Coach Lela and Jr. Coach Tucker.

Hey everyone! Let's show our Armada spirit and wear those WBA swim caps at meets. We want everyone to know what team you belong to! Ask Beth Gavin, Trish Koester or coach Elisa if you need a swim cap and haven't been given one. We have replacement caps and silicone caps for sell.

Swim-A-Thon & Silent Auction
What a great swim-a-thon our committee put together this year. Many, many thanks to Ange Trent, her mom Elaine Trent and Cathy Standage for many years of Armada service and for heading the Swim-A-Thon! Most of you don't remember the years Ange spent on the board but she has put in a lot of Armada volunteer hours.

Mary Hale brought the idea of a silent auction to us this year and spent many hours making it a reality. She was assisted as a great team of friends, two of whom are not even swim team parents. Thank you Pam Simpson and Terri Perry.

Swim-A-Thon donations are due June 30. You can put donations in the file folders. For large cash donations, please give directly to a board member or Coach Andi if a board member is not avilable.

Each week the WBA honors the swimmers in each age group that record the largest time improvement. In swimming, the goal is to try to beat yourself each week by recording a personal best.
 

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!
 

Congratulations to the following swimmers who raced to GOLD against Pflugerville!
 

Meet Attendance Forms (MAF) are due each Friday
The MAF for the July 11 Divisional Meet is due by end-of-practice WEDNESDAY, JULY 1.

Swimmers must have competed in two dual meets and have a legal time in the event they will be swimming. If you are close to an Invitational cut or a team record, pleas don't fill out your form until after the Round Rock meet in case you want to specifically request an event. Coaches will take your requests for other events under consideration but will be putting swimmers in the events where they can contribute most to the team.

Please, please participate in this meet. The more swimmers we have participating the greater chance we have of winning this championship meet. The scoring is different for Divisionals and they score all events with points down to 8th place. This makes every swimmer critical! Plus - we are having a fantastic concession stand that day!

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.

Attention WBA Swimmers!
Here is your chance to be artistic and creative! Help us design the 2010 WBA T-Shirt! See the contest rules below.

Your design will not be returned to you, and if chosen, it may be changed to fit our needs. Judges will be a team of coaches, board members and parents*. The winning design will be announced at the banquet and will be used on our 2010 T-Shirt. Your name or initials will be included in the design on everyone's t-shirt – you’ll be famous!

Contest Rules

• You must be a swimmer this year (2009) and plan to swim in 2010
• Your design should be on 8½ X 11 paper and made with 1 or 2 colors only (black counts as a color)
• You need to include the words Wells Branch Armada and 2010
• Your design is for the shirt front only
• Turn in your entry any time to the MAF box. Absolute deadline is end of practice on July 1, 2009
• Do not put your name on the design—put your name on a cover sheet and attach it to your design
• Your design should be your original creation – not a copy of someone else’s ideas (for example, no design from clip art)

*Judges must not have a child or sibling participating in the contest.

The NWSC is sponsoring a contest to see who will sign the National Anthem at the NWSC Invitational Swim Meet to be held at about 10:30 a.m. Sunday, July 12 at the UT Swim Center.

• To enter, you must a current member of a NWSC team
• You do not have to be an invitational qualifier
• Must submit entry on CD by July 1 - Turn in to Mary Hale. Do not label the CD with a name - place in an envelope with your name written on the envelope.
• Must be sung a cappella
• Must use a traditional song base
• You can sing as a group
• Only one entry per CD

The Northwest Swim Circuit holds a Championship Meet at the end of the season for qualifying swimmers. Congratulations to our 31 swimmers who have already qualified in the following events. (Each swimmer will only be able to swim in 3 events.)