Wells Branch Armada

Welcome to this week’s edition of the Armada Swim Team Newsletter! As we dive into another exciting week, we want to remind all parents to take a moment to read through this update to learn about upcoming events, practice changes, and essential meet information. Don't miss reading about this week's spotlighted swimmer. 

by Deanna Johnson, President

As you get ready for the Memorial Day weekend we encourage everyone to take some time to reflect on the sacrifices made by our military heroes and to participate in local events and ceremonies.

Please note the changes in our Practice Schedule

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

• MORNING practices start Tuesday, May 28th. 

by: Jake Tolfa and Maddie Wright, Head Coaches

Congratulations to all the swimmers and parents who made it to our 1st Tri-Meet! We know it was a crazy learning experience and crash course for our families, but we were pleased to see so many of our swimmers participate. We're so happy to have seen many excited swimmers with proud smiles! 

As the coaches watched and took notes, we discovered some skills we needed to focus on this week. We will prioritize a few things as we prepare for our next meet.

1. Relay Dives

2. Breaststroke/Butterfly Technique

3. Backstroke Stroke Counts

4. Flip turns and Open Turns (mainly for 9 and ups)

We encourage you to branch out and step out of your comfort zone as you choose your events for our next swim meet. By the end of the season, we’d love to see everybody try each event at least once. Even if you are not fully legal in a stroke yet, that should not deter you from swimming in an event. We will continue to work on each stroke, and part of the practice is swimming in these races. The coaches are willing and happy to serve each swimmer as they work toward the goals they have set for themselves.

We do have one more important matter to discuss before next week's meet. It is EXTREMELY important that all swimmers are at the pool and checked in by 6 AM. We understand this is very early for younger swimmers (even older ones), but it is for a reason. As head coaches, we must finalize all events and relays by a certain time and know what swimmers are here and which aren't. For example, if a swimmer is on a relay and doesn't show up to the meet until 7 (after we have already finalized events), they will have to be scratched from all events, including their relays, which then means other kids who were in that relay won't get to swim that relay either! 

We know it is still early in the season. If you are a new family in the Armada, there is a lot to get adjusted to, so we have given a lot of slack the first two meets. Now, since we are a couple of Meets in, we won't usually be able to give the same slack, so we really want to stress how important the check-in time is.

Now, we still understand that things happen! Things come up! We just ask that if anyone needs to scratch an event, add an event, or anything else, that we coaches be contacted ASAP.

Spirit Theme: SummerWeen

Halloween has arrived early!

Our next dual meet is this Saturday against the Georgetown Aquadillos. Each swimmer is allowed to enter up to three (3) individual events. Please arrive on time. Late arrival will result in your swimmer being scratched from their relay & individual events. If you are running late, YOU MUST TEXT ME, otherwise your swimmer could be scratched from the entire meet. Once a swimmer is scratched I will NOT add them back to events.

Scratch: Once we close the meet online, email [email protected], or text to 956-802-2253 if you have to scratch.

Meet Set-up: Friday, May 24th at 6:30 pm & Saturday, May 25th 5:30 am (more details on website)

Parking

Friendly reminder for our new families: For home meets, the parking lot adjacent to our pool is for our guest team. Additional parking will be along Sauls and Crissom next to the pool, the elementary school, and the street on Long Vista. Please DO NOT PARK along Bratton or in any of the parking lots for businesses you see along Bratton and Long Vista or the fire lanes, as you will risk being towed. There will be overflow parking at the Rec Center on Shoreline Dr., but it is a small hike from there to the pool.

Please allow extra time to find a place to park and potentially walk a fair distance to the pool. You may also wish to drop swimmers off and then go find parking.

Thank you to all our families for making our Tri-Meet this past weekend a success. Thank you to every family that provided 2 parents to volunteer or worked double & triple shifts. Your willingness to help prevented more delays in what was already a very long meet. I truly appreciate all of you and what you do to provide this experience for all our kids. 

by Genevieve Bales, Volunteer Coordinator

Hello to all my favorite volunteers! You all crushed our first competitive meet of the season, and that was a TRI Meet! We managed to finish the meet only 20 minutes later than the heat sheet estimate, which is a significant achievement. Despite some early delays and even a lifesaving effort by our lifeguards for one of the Hurricane Swimmers, we stayed remarkably close to our estimated times. No swim meets run ahead of schedule (or even on time), but our volunteers made it possible to come this close. You were all on top of your jobs, and it showed. 

I have to admit, I was a bit nervous when I became stranded in McAllen for work on Thursday evening and wasn’t sure I’d make it back on Friday or Saturday. We still had a lot to do and were short on some key positions, but everything worked out. Our team came through in a pinch, which is the #1 thing I love most about the Armada: y’all show up when we need you. As I am learning my role and discovering changes, I truly appreciate your flexibility. Thank you to all our volunteers for stepping up and making it happen. We had families who completed double, triple and even more shifts between multiple adults to help pull off this meet. Y’all are amazing - thank you again!

Now let’s get down to business. As I’ve mentioned before, we cannot run the meet without our volunteers. If you have a swimmer in the meet, we need you to sign up for a volunteer role. If you have questions about a role or face any challenges, please text me. While I cannot guarantee that I will fulfill every request when you sign up for a volunteer shift, I will do my best to accommodate. Our goal is to have a successful swim meet and provide a positive experience for our swimmers. 

Speaking of our swimmers, there are some behavior issues we need to address. When kids are in the pit, they need to respect their pit parent. We have had issues with respect and roughhousing, and our pit parents are not there to discipline your child. They are there to keep them safe and ensure they arrive at their events on time. Please remind your kids that they need to be respectful to their pit parent. This includes asking to leave, listening when it’s time to line up, and helping to clean up. Everyone is responsible for helping to clean up the pits at the end of the day. If they refuse, we will ask parents to step in and demonstrate how to clean up. 

Our pit parents are not responsible for what your kids bring with them. They do not monitor or keep track of your child’s possessions. Make sure your child keeps track of their things and understands your expectations for their use of markers. Lastly, please inform the pit parent when you pick up your child. It’s a safety issue; we want to ensure everyone goes home with the right people. 

Going forward, if you are a pit parent, please arrive at least 5 minutes before swimmer check-in. This helps me ensure we have adults in every pit ready to receive swimmers and helps the meet start on time. If you have a second shift job, you still need to check in for your role in the morning. This helps us know that every position is covered. If you or your swimmer wakes up ill on the morning of the meet and cannot make it, PLEASE text/call me at (210) 268-9008 and Catherine at (956) 802-2253 so we can scratch your swimmer and find a replacement for your volunteer position. 

As always, if you have ANY questions or concerns, don’t hesitate to text/call/email me. We are very much looking forward to another successful home meet this weekend as we host Georgetown! Thanks y’all!

by Tricia Hughes, Sponsorships

Hey Hey Armada Families,

I am so excited to be in charge of fundraising. It takes a village to keep our WB Armada Team afloat. I know together we can set new records for this year.

This year, the minimum fundraising amount is $100, per family. We have a variety of options to assist families with raising funds.  We hope you will try one additional way to raise money for our swim team, as every bit counts!  

Calendar: PICK A DATE to DONATE! I have added a photo of what my family's current calendar looks like. Don't worry if you haven't started- it's super simple- download now and print out your copy. We went out and knocked on doors for an hour and did a little bit on a different day as well. The kids really got into it and they are able to do it all on their own as I stand at the end of the driveway. My 4 yr old pushes the doorbell and smiles, while my 8 year old explains who they are, what they are doing, and shows them how the calendar works. Having your Venmo QR code printed out allows your kids to do the whole show without your cell phone. I encourage you guys to grab a swim team buddy, put on your Armada Swim shirts, and talk to your neighbors and surrounding areas.   Once you have collected all your donations, you can submit them to the Wells Branch Armada VENMO by June 1st:  @wbaswim  (Not in PEOPLE, but BUSINESSES)

Swim-A-Thon and Raffle: Our annual Swim-A-Thon will be held on Tuesday, June 4 from 6-8:30 pm at the Willow Bend Pool. This is our traditional FUNdraiser, with emphasis on the "fun," and the funds raised help us to keep our fees low and purchase needed equipment. We encourage all families to attend, regardless of how you pay the fundraising fees. Swim-A-Thon is a fun and relaxing event where families can socialize and enjoy food provided by the Armada Board. 

Swimmers will receive a donation envelope in their family folder next week. We ask that each swimmer collect pledges per length of the pool or flat donations.  We are always happy to accept payment as we have in the past, in the form of cash or checks; however, we are trying out a new platform to assist with Swim-A-Thon fundraising, RAISE365.  We will send out an email detailing how to use the app to collect donations without lifting your feet off the couch.  We CAN raise $20,000 if we all download the app, and participate!  As part of registration, each family has committed to getting donations of at least $100. There was an option to pay this online at registration, which many families did; up-front payment of the Swim-A-Thon fee covers your minimum obligation but does not prevent you from further participation in fundraising and prizes if you would like.

During the Swim-A-Thon, swimmers swim laps and parents can bring chairs and sit pool side to count their swimmers' laps. Free food and drinks for all family members are provided! Due to insurance coverage, only Armada swimmers are allowed in the pool during Swim-A-Thon.

Finally, Swim-A-Thon is when we kick off our Raffle (drawings and winners will be announced at Awards Night at the end of the season). 

2023 Swim-A-Thon

Swim-A-Thon Lap Sheet

DONATIONS NEEDED FOR RAFFLE/SILENT AUCTION 

We will host our final fundraiser, RAFFLE/SILENT AUCTION, and we want to collect items to put in the raffle/silent auction. Our goal is to open the purchase of raffle tickets at Swim-A-Thon. Families can purchase raffle tickets through the remainder of the season, and we will draw the winners at our Awards Night on July 1st.  

We are asking for donations to the raffle.  Many of you have access to things like gift cards, goodie bags, free stuff, memberships, and whatever it may be. We need your help collecting items and getting them to the auction/raffle. 

This year, we even have one parent donating ACL tickets!!!!  We need big ticket items and small ticket items as well. Please begin reaching out to your connections. Fill out this info so we know what you will contribute and its dollar value.  

Please reach out to me, Trica, at [email protected] or 512-947-8247 if you have any questions about our fundraising options or the end of year raffle.

Spotlighted Swimmer - Charlie Logan

Do you have a fun story or accomplishment about your swimmer this year?
Email [email protected] with details. We'd love to highlight it in a future newsletter!

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

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

These WB Armada swimmers and their teammates excelled by placing first in the Medley and/or Freestyle Relays this past Saturday. Congratulations swimmers!

Medley Relay

Freestyle Relay

This past week, we had 14 swimmers qualify for invitationals! Please congratulate:

Please bear with us as we work on these reports to ensure they are pulling the correct information. Once we are confident we can correctly award all swimmers earning these accomplishments, we will provide updates in the next newsletter and award fast fishy caps and triple drop ribbons.