Wells Branch Armada

We are down to our FINAL TWO WEEKS!

Again, we know the newsletter may get a bit monotonous with repeated information, BUT... there is a LOT to cover! Proposed Executive Board for the 2022-2023 Season, NEW and EXPANDED Information about this week's events and the events for our final week of the season. Deadlines, Upcoming team events, Spirit Nights, Meet Wrap Up, Coach Appreciation Day, our 2nd Annual Relay Day/Fun Friday, and Awards Night! Please read through the entire newsletter! 

by: Soonee Wright, President

What a great way to finish our last home meet of the season! Great swims with an increasing number of time improvements. Our aging out swimmers also finished strong and gave us an entertaining show during our last relay of the day. :)

As we approach the end of our 2022 season, be sure to mark your calendars for lots of exciting events to come. These last two weeks will be busy! For starters, MOD Pizza SPIRIT DAY is this Wednesday, from 10:30 am to 10:30 pm. Please consider supporting Armada by attending and sharing this event with family and friends!

This weekend we travel to Cedar Park for our first tri meet of the season against the CP Typhoons and BCC Sharks. Parents, if you haven’t already, please be sure to read the emails sent from Paul this weekend regarding our tri meet, Divisionals and Invitationals, and high point award eligibility. I also want to remind parents to send in their favorite photos of the season to Mike Zayas at [email protected], if you’d like for them to be included in our end of the season slideshow. These are due today! Speaking of photos, more pictures from this past Saturday’s meet have been uploaded to the shared drive. Please have a look when you get a moment.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me at [email protected]. I look forward to seeing you at the pool this week!

by: Gina Zayas, Head Coach

This past weekend we swam our last home meet of the season. The Round Rock Dolphins joined us in celebrating our aging out swimmers, Beck Wadehra, Justin Good, Riley Zayas, Ephraim Freeman, Rebecca Mejia, Rachel Raymond and Rachel Pinkston. They gave us a memorable going away last relay that involved shirt, spoons and golf balls. :) 

We travel for the next and final regular season meet to Cedar Park. Practice hard this week, our last full week of practice, and let´s get those time improvements, triple drops and qualifying times for Invitational!

The stroke clinic binder will be by the family folders each day this week. 

Upcoming Deadlines

2022-2023 Proposed Board of Directors:

• Deanna Johnson – President
• Aaron Bartlett – Vice President
• Mike Zayas – Treasurer
• Emily Childs – Secretary
• Gabe Perlaza – Circuit Representative
• Catherine Kamenicky – Meet Director
• Justin Anderson – Volunteer Coordinator
• Betty Jo Carreon – Member At Large (Swim Shop)
• Jack Halmon – Member At Large (Sponsorships)

A vote from the Membership will be held at the Annual Swim Team Meeting, on July 7, 2022. Please see the below Article VII; Section A and Article X; Section B for specific information regarding additional nominations prior to July 7, 2022

Thank you,

Anne Clement, Nominating Chair

Brenda Pinkston, Nominating Member

Catherine Kamenicky, Nominating Member

As per our WBA By-Laws:

SECTION A: Nomination Committee Process and Election of Executive Board Offices A Nominating Committee will be appointed by the President with at least one (1) and not more than two (2) current Board Members and must include a representative that is not already a member of the Executive Board. The President is not a member of this committee. The non-board member should be the Chair of the Nominating Committee. The Nominating Committee is responsible for filling all offices of the Executive Board. The Nominating Committee will announce the proposed slate of officers 10 days prior to the SWIM TEAM’s annual meeting, via the SWIM TEAM website and via the SWIM TEAM email distribution list of the membership. Additional nominations may be made from the membership during the 10 days preceding the annual meeting. These additional nominations must be made in writing to the chair of the Nominating committee (with the proposed candidate’s prior consent). Any additional nominations to the slate of officers will be added to the list that will be reviewed at the annual SWIM TEAM meeting. No nominations from the floor will be allowed during the annual SWIM TEAM meeting. The election process for the offices of the Executive Board will be conducted by someone who is not a current or nominated board member and will be determined by upheld hands based on a simple majority of members present at the annual SWIM TEAM meeting.

SECTION B: Annual Swim Team Meeting Version Date: April 30, 2015 Page 10 of 12. The Annual Swim Team Meeting will be held at the close of each season, as set by the Executive Board. At all general membership meetings, the members present shall constitute a quorum, each member shall be entitled to one vote.

Our Raffle Tickets are $2.00 each or 6 for $10.00, with the exception of the raffle tickets for a 2023 Armada Registration and the 2023 VIP Parking Pass for home meets which are $5.00 each. Raffle sales started the evening of the Swim-a-thon and will conclude with the drawings and winners announced on Awards Night. Check out the Google Form to request your raffle tickets/items online. Payment will be confirmed via Venmo or Pay Pal PRIOR to raffle tickets being created and sorted into the appropriate raffle envelopes.

The 2023 VIP Parking Pass allows you to park in the POOL parking lot (usually reserved for the visiting team) right up front for all home swim meets!!! No more driving up and down the street or way down to the school parking lot on meet mornings!!!

Below are just a few of the items in our fabulous Awards Night Raffle...

• WBA VIP Parking Pass for the 2023 Season!!!!!
• VIP Family Passes from Inner Space Caverns
• One-hour Riverboat Cruises
• Scavenger Hunt Certificates for friends and dates
• Natural Wellness Foot Bath Detox Certificates
• TWO Baskets from Huntington Learning Center (Elem and High School)  valued at approximately $200 each!!!

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by: Catherine Kamenicky, Volunteer Coordinator

Howdy all! I just want to thank everyone for stepping up on Saturday and helping us make our last home meet a success! I truly appreciate every person who stepped up and did double duty, I try so hard to prevent that, but sometimes it's just unavoidable. The good news is that the next 2 meets are a tri meet and our Divisional meet which is a quad meet. This essentially means we will need to provide less volunteers than usual. I have had to make some corrections to both meets, so please log in and make sure you have the job and shift you want. 

That being said, for this Saturday, it looks like we only need 2 pit parents for the 6 & under boys, and 1 more vehicle for equipment transport. Please log in or reach out to me if you can help with either of these positions. 

Thank you all so much for always being willing to help out in anyway. 

by: Paul Wadehra, Meet Director

Our meet is this Saturday a tri-meet at Cedar Park with the Typhoons and Balcones Country Club Sharks. Please arrive on time. Late arrival could result in your swimmer being scratched from their relay. Allow extra time to find the pool and to find parking.

Scratch: After we close the meet online, please email or text Paul, our Meet Director ([email protected] or 512-659-1373), in order to scratch.

Key Information:

Pool:

Due to fire code, they must limit the number of spectators inside the pool fence at any given time. Spectators should enjoy their swimmer’s race, and then leave the fenced in area to ensure that all families are able to view their swimmer’s races. No chairs or permanent seating (blankets, etc,) are allowed within the pool area. Swimmers should be informed to stay off of the playground equipment, sand volleyball pit in the park area, and out of the kiddie pool. 

Parking:

Parking is available in the Milburn Park lot. Please park only in paved spots, not in grassy areas or in fire lanes. Limited parking is available on both sides of Sun Chase Blvd North of the pool entrance. Red curbs in Sun Chase is a no parking zone. You will be ticketed. Check signage carefully to avoid fire hydrants, mailboxes, and other no parking zones. Please avoid parking in the lots of nearby businesses, as they have been known to tow. 

Spirit DAY at MOD Pizza is on Wednesday, June 29th beginning at 10:30 AM and lasting ALL DAY! Come by right after practice or for dinner later that evening! The restaurant is located in Stonehill Shopping Center at 18817 Limestone Commercial Dr. Suite 500, Pflugerville, TX 78660.

MOD Pizza is donating 20% of the receipts to Armada. In order for us to receive credit, please mention that you are there supporting the Wells Branch Armada Swim team, prior to check out. Please share with your families, friends, neighbors and coworkers too. Hope to see you there!

Applicants: Please return your completed application to Deanna Johnson’s Board file box on or before June 30th. Applications will be reviewed by a scholarship committee and recipients will be announced at our end-of-the-year ceremony on Thursday, July 7th. If you have any questions, please contact Deanna Johnson. 

Happy Birthday, America!

Fourth of July festivities are quickly approaching. As a reminder, we will not have practice on this day. Instead, join us in celebrating at the Wells Branch FourthFest.

Parade Information:

The WB Armada SwimTeam will have a team float in the parade. If you want to participate, please be at the KF park by 9:00 am to help decorate the float. Line up begins at 9:30 am and the parade will begin promptly at 10:00 am. Swimmers - come dressed in your most spirited 4th of July attire and/or wear your Armada t-shirts! There is limited seating on the float. Swimmers are welcome to bike, scooter or walk behind the float as float participants. If participating, please do not forget to bring candy to toss to the crowd.

Volunteers needed: In an effort to give back to the WB community, the Armada Swim Team will be assisting in one of the many activities planned for this day. We will need volunteers to work in 45 minute shifts (Soccer Darts Inflatable) from the hours of 11 am - 2 pm. If you are planning on enjoying the day's festivities, please consider picking up a shift.

For a complete description of the WB FourthFest, parade route, list of activities/entertainment and pool hours please follow the link below. Wells Branch is famous for its Fourth of July celebrations and this year should be no different. The traditional parade begins at the Katherine Fleischer Park at 10 a.m. on July 4th. When the parade returns, there will be an afternoon of music, food, and games in Katherine Fleischer Park, a Concert at the Shoreline Soccer Complex that culminates with fireworks above the Willow Bend Pool and Recreation Center. 2022 Wells Branch Fourth Fest Parade and Activities

We will be celebrating and thanking our coaching staff for their hard work this season during practices this Wednesday, July 3rd! The Armada Board will provide breakfast items and snacks for the Coaches and Junior Coaches. Please feel free to add any food items you’d like to donate. Fresh fruit is always appreciated.

We have also compiled a list of “Favorite Things” from the Coaches and Jr. Coaches - helpful if you are looking for gift ideas for your child's coach. Look for the binder at practices near the family file boxes or check out the document online located on our main page and on both the Coaches and Junior Coaches Pages.  Each Coach and Jr. Coach will have a "goody bag" that will be set out for your convenience on Coach Appreciate Day!

Coaches' names and pictures are listed below and the names of junior coaches are available by clicking on the “Coaches” and “Junior Coaches” links.

*Homemade thank you cards are always enjoyed and appreciated*

Coaches:  Gina, Kayla, Caitlin, Fox, Jake, Stacy and Maddie

Junior Coaches: Asher, Ayden, Bella, Caden, Cara, Connie, Elias, Emily, Haley, Hayden, Jack, Juliana, Luke, Natalie, Rachel, Rebecca, Reece, Richard, Riley and Teagan

Join us for Spirit Night at Torchy's Tacos in Round Rock on Wednesday, July 6th from 5:00-9:00 pm at 1500 NI-35 Round Rock, TX 78681

Please join us Thursday, July 7th at 6:30 pm for our Annual Awards Night. This years Awards Ceremony will be held at the Wells Branch Community Church located at 2113 Wells Branch Pkwy, Austin, TX 78728. Each swimmer on the team will be recognized for being a part of the 2022 Wells Branch Armada Swim Team. Additionally, swimmers will be recognized for perfect attendance, age group high-point winners, record breakers, scholarship winners and more! Raffle sales will conclude this evening and winners will be announced! Swim-a-thon prize winners will also be announced.

ULTIMATE FUN FRIDAY!

Tentative Schedule of Relays and Contests (may be a few surprises on Friday)

A day of ultimate FUN, Snow Cones, Family and Friends!

These WB Armada swimmers and their teammates excelled by placing first in the Freestyle Relays at the Red, White and Blue meet on Saturday, May 18th. Congratulations.

Medley Relay Winners:

These WB Armada swimmers excelled by placing first in one, two, or three individual events at the meet this past Saturday. Congratulations Swimmers!

The following swimmers achieved a Triple Drop (improved their time in all three of their individual events) at the meet this past Saturday:

This past week we had FOUR new swimmers qualify for Invitationals in SIX events! Please congratulate: John Foster, Ephraim Freeman, Alyssa Nguyen and Rylan Stephenson

This past week we had 4 swimmers, who had previously qualified for Invitationals, qualify in 5 additional events, which are noted below in bold italic. (alpha order by last name).