Wells Branch Armada

by Deanna Johnson, President

We  Won!!!

Congrats, Armada, on your win against the Georgetown Aquadillos. 

Thank you to all our incredible Coaches, Volunteers and Swimmers! Your dedication and hard work not only earned you your first victory of the season but also enabled us to finish ahead of schedule. That's like having a double-win!

Reminder: 

All practices are now in the MORNING. 

For all our Valor families and anyone else still finishing the school year, we understand you won't be able to attend practice this week. However, swimmers who miss practice to finish school are still eligible to participate in this weekend's swim meet.  

• NO PRACTICE on Monday, May 27th, in observance of Memorial Day.

• MORNING practices start Tuesday, May 28th.

Please remember the office at Willow Bend Pool is for Lifeguards & MUD staff ONLY. If you need something, please ask for assistance. We should not have any parents or swimmers in the office unless invited by Lifeguards or MUD personnel. 

LOST & FOUND

Our bin was overflowing at practice last week and is now one giant mound. Please take time to review the orange bin by the family folders for your belongings. Due to the overwhelming amount of goods, and our lack of storage space, we will take unclaimed items to Goodwill in the upcoming weeks.  

by: Jake Tolfa and Maddie Wright, Head Coaches

Amazing performance Armada swimmers - we won our meet!! Every swimmer who participated should be so proud of themselves. Your hard work at practice is clearly paying off, we had lots of time improvements and legal swims. We're looking forward to seeing everyone at our next dual meet against Balcones Sharks this Saturday. 

As we begin our first week of morning practices we are aware that it conflicts with some school schedules, please know we are more than understanding of this situation and would still love for those swimmers to attend this week's meet. 

This week’s practices will cover the following skills:

1. "Block Etiquette"
2. Finishes
3. Endurance and Stamina
4. Relay exchanges
5. Breakouts off streamline 
   Also, remember that we will be switching to morning practices this week! 

Last thing, for our meet at Balcones Country Club, all relays will be "in-water" starts! What does that mean? One side of the pool is way too shallow to dive, so the side OPPOSITE of the blocks will be "in-water" starts only. We will be practicing those all week this week at practice, so don't worry!

Our first away meet is this Saturday June 1st against Balcones Country Club. 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: Once we close the meet online, email [email protected], or text to 956-802-2253 if you have to scratch.

If you have to scratch day of please text DJ Loberg as he will be Meet Director this day. (512) 296-6068

Driving / Parking Directions: Please see below for parking & set up maps.

• BCC Parking Lot - There will be parking spaces for computer reps only. The remainder of the lot is NOT available due to a coinciding golf tournament that day. 
• Goodwill Parking Lot - You may park in the Goodwill Front parking lot, it's a short walk to the main gate.
• 4 Iron Drive - All parking along 4 Iron has been deemed for bike lane use only. Park at your own risk as the city has posted this as a complete "Tow Away" Zone.
• Lemon Spice Trail (South) - No parking on this street due to it being too narrow.
• Crest Ridge Circle Parking – Only park on the side of the street that has no houses. Do not park in front of homes on this street. This is for emergency vehicle purposes.
• Balcones Club Drive Parking – You can park on either side of the street as this street is wider than Crest Ridge. However, pay special attention to designated “NO PARKING ZONES” on Balcones Club Dr. We will make every effort to clearly mark all zones.

Also, please do not block any of the driveways that are on the Club grounds, including cart paths.

Other important information: NO Parent Relay, NO SWIMMERS in the Clubhouse, Gates will be open at 5:15 AM, please set up family tents in designated area (map to come), timer meeting behind lane 1 starting block, judges meeting by the baby pool, ready bench in position at 6:45.

Howdy, parent volunteers!

You all rocked our first dual meet against Georgetown! Thanks to you, we finished early. Armada parents always step up when needed. Thank you!

For the BALCONES Meet, we need volunteers for:

• Computer Leads - please sign up.
• Computer Support (Second Shift)
• Stroke Judges (Second Shift)
• Set up and
• Tear Down Crew
• Pit Parents for 6 and Under (Moms for Girls, Dads for Boys)

*Gender-appropriate supervision is required for bio breaks.

• A Pit Parent for 13-14 Boys - they are a great group and do not need a lot of support.

I'll be out of town and Deanna Johnson will provide our Volunteer support.

PIT Reminders:

This week, our new free play area helped minimize bad behavior. Swimmers were respectful, which is huge!

• Pit Parents aren't responsible for what kids bring, so ensure your child keeps track of their things. Everyone must help clean up the pits at the end of the day. Inform the Pit Parent when picking up your child for safety.
• Pit Parents, please arrive at least 5 minutes before swimmer check-in to ensure readiness. If you have a second shift job, check in the morning to confirm your position is covered.
• PLEASE NOTE that leaving a Pit Parent shift early without communicating with our Head Pit Parents and myself will disqualify you from serving in this capacity again

If you or your swimmer can't make it due to illness, text Deanna at (512) 633-2937 or our 6/1/2024 Meet Director DJ Loberg to scratch your swimmer and find a volunteer replacement.

For any questions or concerns, don't hesitate to contact me.

By Tricia Hughes- Sponsorships Coordinator

Swim-a-thon Important Dates:

Download Raise365 App: Between Sat. May 25 - Mon. May 27

Kickoff thru the App: Tuesday May 28

Swim-a-thon Event: Tuesday June 4 from 6:00-8:30 pm @ Willow Bend Pool

End of Fundraiser: June 10

Turn in Money: Give to a Board Member or Venmo Business: @wbaswim 

More Info:

Kickoff for our annual Swim-A-Thon season is TUESDAY, May 28, with the actual Swim-a-thon to be held on Tuesday, June 4, from 6:00 pm - 8:30pm. To prepare for kickoff, please follow the instructions below to set up your Raise365 account. Once you activate your account you will be able to receive donations. Our fundraiser will run from Tuesday, May 28 - June 10. During this time, your app will continue to work with your contacts and send out reminders to help your swimmers reach their goals. Your swimmer can collect cash/check donations from neighbors, family, and friends.

More Swim-a-thon Details:

Your swimmers will have fun setting goals, swimming laps, eating pizza and snow cones, and more. You may be surprised at how much your swimmer has improved since opening practices. 

• Swimmers can swim with and without kickboards. 
• Swimmers can bring fins to use if they have them.
• They can also take as many breaks as they want. 
• Parents - you will be counting laps and crossing them off on your paper as your swimmer completes them. 
• You, too, can grab some pizza and treats! 
• Follow these instructions so your family is ready for our kickoff. We encourage each family to use one member's cell phone to download the app and select contacts to receive texts. If you have any questions- contact Tricia Hughes at 512-947-8247 (call or text anytime).

Download your Raise365 App and follow these instructions.  (Delete the app once our fundraiser is over June 10)

Please be sure to check your swim folders this week for a paper copy of these instructions, your carabiner to clip on a bag or backpack with your ribbons for the swim, and a money envelope for any family that collected cash donations.

Please turn in all cash/checks using the envelope found in your box and hand it to any board member (the folks who wear the pink shirts at the meets) or Venmo BUSINESS:@wbaswim. Reminder: it’s not under people; it’s under business Venmo. 

This week's Swimmer Spotlight is... THE ENTIRE TEAM! As noted in the Captain's Log above, we picked up our first win of the season this past week against Georgetown, which is a huge team accomplishment, and we are all so proud of our swimmers! We saw records being broken, new personal bests, and a ton of team spirit across the entire meet! Thank you swimmers for your dedication to practice throughout the week, this win is all yours!

The following new record(s) were set this weekend. Congratulations!

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

Medley Relay

Freestyle Relay

To achieve a Triple Drop, a swimmer must improve their time in all three of their individual events at a meet. Triple Drops are based on times from the current season only.

The following swimmers achieved Triple Drops at the meet on May 18th.

The following swimmers achieved Triple Drops at the meet this past Saturday:

Each week the WBA honors the swimmers in each age group who recorded the largest time improvement. Fast Fishy times are based on times from the current season only. 

The following swimmers were the fast fishies in their age groups for the meet on May 18th:

This past week we had five new swimmers qualify for Invitationals and two swimmers who had previously posted Invitational times, qualify in an additional eight events which are noted below in bold-italic. (alpha order by last name)