Wells Branch Armada

It's hard to believe we only have two weeks left of our season. Take a look at the list of events remaining on the right. Don't forget to mark your calendars for our Awards Night on July 1st. 

Keep reading to learn about our Stroke Clinics, Coaches Appreciation, Final Fun Friday, the adults only Meat Raffle, turning in your fundraising money, our silent auction, and our next swim meet. 

This Thursday, June 20th, is a great opportunity for Underwater photos. This fun, quick process creates great photos to commemorate your Armada season. 

Underwater Photo Sessions are FUN and EASY! For 5-7 minutes, your swimmer(s) will swim almost continuously while awesome shots are captured from different angles and strokes, ending with a few posed, just-for-fun shots. Your swimmer(s) are guided the entire time to guarantee we get awesome photos. Whether you have one or more swimmers, packages are available for all. Smiles are encouraged!

Learn more or sign up at: https://www.flashpoolproductions.com/armada

Congratulations on a great meet to all swimmers who traveled and participated this past weekend against Steiner Ranch and Brushy Creek. We noticed a lot of great improvements by some swimmers with some new invitational qualifiers! We will be returning to Balcones Country Club to face the Sharks again this upcoming weekend and hope for another great outing from our swimmers. 

Looking forward into the next week or so we have some events coming up like our underwater photo session (Thursday, June 20th), Coach's Appreciation (Tuesday, June 25th), 2nd Annual Armada Meat Raffle (Thursday, June 27th), Final Fun Friday (Friday, June 28th), and our Annual Awards Night (Monday, July 1st). We look forward to seeing everyone at all those events!

Focuses for this week...

• Strong Finishes
• Turns
• Breath Control
• Strong Kick

"Drag" Day Thursday for 11 up & 9/10 practices (7:15-8:45 &10:30-11:30) This means we want to practice swimming and getting stronger with extra drag on our bodies to help us swim stronger when we don't have as much drag. We request that all swimmers in those age groups bring shorts and/or t-shirts they can swim in. If they are looking for a challenge, they could also bring socks to swim in! We believe this will be a fun way to strengthen our swimmers while also having fun spicing up practice.

Stroke Clinics...

We have heard many great responses regarding stroke clinics, and we are so glad swimmers enjoy the extra practice! One thing we must add is we ask that at any point your swimmer isn't able to make a clinic they signed up for, you need to scratch them off the list or contact one of the coaches. We have had many no-shows with no contact; having something come up and missing it is completely okay, but we want to give other swimmers interested in the clinic a chance to fill that open spot!

Meet Theme: SUPERHEROS

Our next away meet is this Saturday, June 22nd, against Balcones Country Club (yes, again). Please arrive on time. A 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 512-296-6068 to scratch.

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

• Goodwill Front Parking Lot: This option is a short walk to the main gate.
• Crest Ridge Circle: Only park on the side of the street without houses. DO NOT park in front of homes; this is for emergency vehicles only.
• Balcones Club Drive: Park on either side of the street, as this street is wider than Crest Ridge. However, pay special attention to the designated “NO PARKING ZONES” on Balcones Club Dr. 
  
• BCC Parking Lot: Parking for computer reps ONLY. The remainder of the lot is NOT available.
• 4 Iron Drive:NO PARKING. The city has deemed it a "Tow Away" Zone, and it is for bike lane use ONLY. 
• Lemon Spice Trail (South) - NO PARKING due to it being too narrow.
• Please do not block any driveways on the Club grounds, including cart paths.

Other Important Meet Information:

• WE WILL have the Parent Relay
• NO SWIMMERS in the Clubhouse
• Gates open at 5:15 AM; please set up family tents in the designated area
• Timer meeting behind lane 1 starting block at 6:45
• Judges meeting by the baby pool, and ready bench in position at 6:45.

All Swim-a-thon money should be turned in.  

• If you still have any cash or checks, please put them in your envelope and place them in the folder at the pool under the tab Swim-a-thon.  You can find the Swim-a-thon folder in the last file box with the final letters of the alphabet.  
• If you want to Venmo your donation money, use the Business Venmo @wbaswim: please remember to put your swimmer's name and age in the Venmo text box so we know which swimmers get the credit.  

MOD Pizza Spirit night was a hit! 

Thank you to all of our Armada families who came out and enjoyed some tasty pizza. We made $176 for the team! And I now know to order my kids regular-sized pizza!! 

End-of-Season Raffle / Silent Auction

Our final fundraiser is going to be an online raffle. We need our Armada families to donate things to the raffle. These can be fun things, gift cards or even gift baskets.  For example, you can bid on Golf Cart rides with your favorite coaches. Please send an email to [email protected] by June 21st with the following information:

1. Photo of the item(s) or activity
2. Description of the item(s) / activity
3. Value of the raffle item(s) / activity
4. Is there an expiration date on the item?

EXAMPLES of items:

Gift-cards, tickets to an event, gift baskets, anything new and fun, food, etc. Deadline to submit your donation is this Friday, June 21, 2024.

Have questions? Call or text Tricia Hughes at 512-947-8247! 

We will be celebrating and thanking our coaching staff for their hard work this season during practices Tuesday, June 25! 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 are compiling a list of “Favorite Things” from the Coaches and Junior Coaches and will email this information later this week. This is helpful if you are looking for gift ideas for your child's coach. There will also be a binder with the printed forms at practices near the family file boxes. Each Coach and junior coach will have a "goody bag" that will be set out for your convenience on Coach Appreciation Day!

*Homemade thank you cards are always enjoyed and appreciated*

Coaches: Maddie, Jake, Fox, Ephraim, Frank, Lisa, Rebecca, Reese & Emily

Junior Coaches: Abigail, Caden, Cailyn, Carra, Connie, Hallie, Jack, Jonathan, Luke, Parker, Richard, Sarah, and Sloan

Junior Coaches in Training: Caleb, Greyson, Levi, Olivia, Simon

2nd Annual Armada Meat Raffle

Hanover's Draught Haus-108 E Mail St, Pflugerville TX 78660
Start: 6:00 PM - End: 9:00 PM

Adults, join us next Thursday, June 27th, for our incredibly popular Meat Raffle!

How does it work? $2 raffle tickets can be purchased and used across multiple drawings for meat! If you are a winner of a drawing, you get to take your pick from the remaining items in that drawing. Each drawing will have multiple pieces of meat, including ground beef, steaks, pork ribs, chicken drumsticks, etc. We will cap the night with our epic, super-deluxe drawing ($5 tickets), including premium cuts of meat, bacon-wrapped filets, and a full brisket!

Bring your friends, this fun event is open to the public. Note, this is an adults only event.  If you have any questions, please get in touch with our "Meat Director" Aaron Bartlett at [email protected].

Final Fun Friday is coming up fast! Be on the lookout for an email explaining the events and the general timing of the day. We will have sno-cones, music and the race for the coveted Parents vs. Coaches Relay trophy! 

Just a note to all our parents, this day is A LOT of fun and the entire family is encouraged to participate.  It is VERY much organized chaos, so please be patient and try to roll with it.  

Please join us Monday, July 1 at 6:30 pm for our Annual Awards Night. This year's 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 2024 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.

Happy Birthday, America!

Fourth of July festivities are quickly approaching. 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: To give back to the WB community, the Armada Swim Team will assist in one of the many activities planned for this day. We need volunteers to work shifts in the morning and afternoon. If you plan to enjoy the day's festivities, please consider picking up a shift. We will send out additional information when we know more about our assigned activity.

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, and a Concert at the Shoreline Soccer Complex that culminates with fireworks above the Willow Bend Pool and Recreation Center. 2024 Wells Branch Fourth Fest Parade and Activities

As we head into our last 2 meets of the season we wanted to send a reminder out to those swimmers who are trying to earn the High Point Award!

High Point Earners
Armada has a requirement that anyone receiving the regular season-high point award has swum all individual events offered for their age group for which they do not have to "swim up." To qualify, swimmers must have swum at regular season meets where points may be earned (ie, not at the Red, White, and Blue meet, nor at Divisionals). Please note that the swimmer must have attempted the event in a regular season meet, but need not have obtained a legal time (so if DQ'd, that counts as their attempt). Also, events entered at a rained-out meet also count as their attempt, provided the swimmer is listed on the official attendance report.

This policy is discussed in detail in the FAQ section of our website. 

All points earned at any Tri-Meet will be cut in half in order to prevent any one meet from being weighted more than another.

Please keep in mind that to swim at our end-of-season Divisional meet, a swimmer must swim in two regular season meets AND have a legal time in each event they enter at this meet. We really need as many of our swimmers as possible to enter the Divisional meet. Swimmers, note that at the Divisional meet, points and places are awarded for places 1-8.

Also, please remember that it is an Armada team rule that a swimmer who wishes to swim in the Invitational Meet must swim at the Divisional meet.

We appreciate your cooperation with the above requirements, which we feel emphasize the team nature of this mostly individual team sport.

2024-2025 Proposed Board of Directors:

• Genevieve Bales – President
• Patrick Ricci – Vice President
• DJ Loberg – Meet Director
• Christina Cox – Treasurer
• Manuel Leos Rivas – Secretary
• Ben Williams – Circuit Representative
• Juli Thatcher – Volunteer Coordinator
• Krystal Whipple – Member At Large (Swim Shop)
• Tricia Hughes – Member At Large (Sponsorships)

A vote from the Membership will be held at the Annual Swim Team Meeting, July 1, 2024. Please see the below Article VII; Section A and Article X; Section B for specific information regarding additional nominations prior to July 1, 2024.

Thank you,

Donna Malone, Nominating Chair
Emily Childs, Nominating Member
Tricia Hughes, 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.

This week's Swimmer Spotlight is Meira Nehme! 

Meira came into the season determined to drop times and do her best, but has been sidelined with a broken arm for most of the season. In her first meet of the season, Meira won her very first heat! What a way to come back from injury, and what a great story. Congrats Meira! 

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!

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 swim meet on June 8:

The following swimmers were the fast fishies in their age groups for the meet on June 15:

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 June 8:

The following swimmers achieved Triple Drops at the meet on June 15:

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