ELITE NEWS BULLETIN 12-05-05

GOOD TIMES CONTINUE TO ROLL AT INTRACLUB MEET; TIRED SENIOR & SENIOR PREPS PLACE WELL AT GRIDIRON:

With the exception of those Senior level swimmers heading to Pittsburgh in two weeks, every Elite swimmer participated in a meet yesterday. For the younger swimmers, the routine of coming to practice (see the attendence blurb below) and working hard while at practice continues to be the reason great times (results located on website) are in abundance. For the Senior level swimmers, the hardwork has (and is part of the training plan) created extremely tired swimmers whom placed well at the Gator Gridiron Meet, but whose times were slightly off their best.

At the intraclub meet, Elite swimmers participated in IM, free and backstroke events. Leading the way for Elite were Peter Davey (with three 1^st place finishes in the Boys 9 & 10 age group), Tad Deatly (with three 1^st place finishes in the Boys 13 & 14 age group), Priya Duvvuri (with two 1^st place & a 2^nd place finish in the Girls 11-12 age group), Spencer Fisch (with two 1^st place & a 3^rd place finish in the Boys 11-12 age group) & Aaron Levin (with two 1^st place finishes in the Boys 8 & U age group).

Other notable swims were:

1) Lindsay Stearns’s 7 second drop in the Girls 10 & U 100 IM to win the event

2) Victoria D’Altrui’s 5 second drop in the Girls 13 & O 200 IM to win the event

3) Carolyn DeMeo’s 9 second drop in the Girls 11-12 100 Free to place 2^nd

4) Greg Keiser’s 10 second drop in the Boys 11-12 100 Free to place 2^nd

5) Christina Pick’s 1.5 second drop in the Girls 8 & U 50 Free to place 1^st

Swimmers who participated were (# in parathesis is # of best times): Lindsay Anderson (1), Chris Balbo (3), Sam Barback (3), Eric Binder (3), Katie Brosnan (3), Meg Brosnan (3), Ryan Buckham (2), Maggie Burd (3), John Burns (3), Taylor Campolattaro (3), Monica Carty, Brannon Cho (3), Josh Choi (3), Ethan Cohen (2), Marshall Cohen (2), Daniel Collins (3), Victoria D’Altrui (3), Peter Davey (2), Tad Deatly (3), Will DeMartin (3), Carolyn DeMeo (3), Daniel DeMeo (3), Parker Dixon (3), TJ Dougherty, Amy Duren (3), Sam Duren (2), Avinash Duvvuri (3), Krishna Duvvuri (2), Priya Duvvuri (2), Venkatesh Duvvuri (2), Noah Eagle (2), Caroline Ellis (3), Helena Elston (2), Kevin Estok (3), Brandon Faris (2), Madeleine Faust (2), Kristen Fedor (1), Lauren Fedor (1), Andrea Ferrell (2), Spencer Fisch (3), Hannah Gleason (2), Emily Goad (2), Katie Golway (2), Alexandra Gordon (2), Dominique Gordon (3), Lydia Gracey (3), Andre Guacelli (2), Julia Guacelli (2), Duncan Hall (3), Raleigh Heap (3), Ben Inglese (3), Chris Inglese (3), Katie Inglese (1), Brent Jones (3), Zackie Katz (1), Gregory Keiser (3), Victoria Keiser (1), Kirsten Kellstrom (1), Michael Kellstrom (1), Morgan Kiley (1), Brandon King (2), Regan Kology (2), Emmie Lai (2), Aaron Levin (1), Jessie Lowe (2), Robert Maloney (2), Daniela Manzi (3), Marisa Manzi (1), Danielle Martinez (3), Sarah McGrath (3), Brendan Miller-Radest (3), Ali Morreale (3), Isabella Morreale (3), Jacquelyn Mullens (2), Cesar Munoz (3), Madison Munoz (3), Julia Muro (3), Kendall Murray (1), Maggie Nelson (2), Gregory Niccolai (3), Rebecca Niccolai (2), Dara O’Gorman (3), Christina Pick (3), Gabrielle Pick (3), Michelle Pick (2), Chris Plunkett (1), Katie Ragan (3), Collin Reilly (3), Nicki Ross (3, Katie Rouse (3), Taylor Savarese (2, Amanda Scherb (2), Claire Serruto (2, Andrea Shepard (1, Alex Smith Wang (3), Bethany Stachenfeld (3), Kaitlin Stearns, Lindsay Stearns (2), James Sullivan (3), Erica Takahashi (3), Lexi Tedesco (3), Amber Teetsel (3), Sydney Todd (3), Jennifer Torre (3), Spencer Turkington (3), Michael Wang (3), Caroline Watt (3), Julia Watt (3), Sarah Weinbrom (3), Nicole Weissman (1), Natalie Wetmore (3), Paige Willian (1), Alex Wolfson (3) & Maggie Woodruff (2).

With regards to the Gator Gridiron Meet, although the times were flat Elite swimmers came home with a number of high place finishes.

The swimmer of the meet was Lily Thompson, who churned to 3 best times and won the Girls Open 200 butterfly (2.27.45). Lily also placed 3^rd in the 100 butterfly (1.04.38).

Other double medal winners were: Matt Poloniak, who won the 200 breast and placed 2^nd in the 100 breast; Lindsay Scott, who placed 2^nd in the 200 breast and 3^rd in the 100 breast and Nick Trojanowski; who won the 200 butterfly and placed 2^nd in the 200 IM. Megan Mataga also medaled, placing 3^rd in the 100 back.

Swimmers who participated were (# in parathesis is # of best times): Corey Deatly, Christian DeFluri (1), Claire DiGiacomo (1), Mickey Ennis, Alistair Hall, Tara Juliano, Megan Mataga, Shayla McDonnell, Will Peters, Matt Poloniak, Lindsay Scott, Lily Thompson (3), Nick Trojanowski (2), Kayla Wolonsky (1) & Devan Zambito.

FABULOUS ATTENDENCE CONTINUES THRU 3^RD MONTH; ATHLETES RECOGNIZED:

Swimmers at Elite have continued their fabulous attendence records thru November!!! Since improvement occurs at practice and only “shows up” at the meets, attendence is a great indicator that swimmers are already improving their times.

While the season is now approximately ½ over, SIX of the SEVEN training groups still are AVERAGING over 80% attendence!!!! The Wave Blacks are the leading training group with an average just under 90% attendence rate. Other training group attendence levels are: Marlin Teals: 80.3% Marlin Blacks: 83.0% Wave Teals: 83.1% Wave Golds: 81.1% Senior Preps: 62.76% & Seniors: 81.47%.

Swimmers will greater than 85% attendance are:

Marlin Teals: Christopher Balbo*, Emily Goad, Dominique Gordon, Andre Guacelli, & Julia Watt

Marlin Blacks: Arlynn Baer, Sam Barback, Noah Eagle, Brandon Faris, Katie Golway, Lydia Gracey, Julia Guacelli, Zachary Katz*, Aaron Levin, Christina Pick, Gabrielle Pick, Michelle Pick, Claire Serruto, Kaitlin Stearns, Spencer Turkington & Caroline Watt

Wavebuster Teals: Meg Brosnan, Ryan Buckham, Taylor Campolattaro*, TJ Dougherty, Caroline Ellis, Hannah Gleason, Ricky LaSalvia, Jessica Lowe*, Marisa Manzi, Isabelle Morreale, Collin Reilly*, Taylor Savarese, Lindsay Stearns*, Andrea Tyminski, Sarah Weinbrom, Nicole Weissman & Maggie Woodruff

Wavebuster Blacks: Monica Carty, Brannon Cho, Joshua Choi*, Kristen Fedor, Spencer Fisch*, Breana Fitzpatrick, Brent Jones, Greg Keiser, Brandon King, Regan Kology*, Emmie Lai*, Robert Maloney*, Brendon Miller-Radest, Ali Morreale*, Jacquelyn Mullens, Madison Munoz, Rebecca Niccolai, Chris Plunkett*, Andrea Shepard*, Erica Takahashi, Jennifer Torre & Michael Wang

Wavebuster Golds: Lindsay Anderson, Victoria D’Altrui, Tad Deatly*, Carolyn DeMeo, Duncan Hall, Michael Li, Danielle Martinez, Kendall Murray, Maggie Nelson, Nicki Ross, Amanda Scherb, Alex Smith Wang & Lexi Tedesco

Senior Preps: Cassandra Farnow & Kayla Wolonsky

Seniors: Chris Dart, Corianne Deatly, Julianne Furdyna, Brittany Ross, Veronica Smith & Nick Trojanowski

Swimmers who attend practice greater than 85% have the greatest chance of improving significantly during the season. These swimmers will also be given 1^st consideration when coaches decide whom will be moved up into the next training group in February (and in the Wave Blacks, Wave Gold and Senior Prep training groups, attendence will be a critical component to a swimmer moving up). Lastly at this year’s “End of the Season” Dinner, the coaches will present an Attendence Award to each swimmer who attends practice 85% of the time or more during the entire Winter Session.

WEATHER AFFECTING PRACTICE? CHECK WEBSITE & EMAIL:

As yesterday’s snowstorm displayed, weather will have an affect on practice schedules and meet starting times. When in doubt, check the Elite website and your email for information regarding time changes due to weather.

Be advised that both Newark Academy and Morristown Beard tend to close down at the forecast of bad weather. In addition, safety is extremely important. Thus, weather is likely to interrupt practice and even if it does not, parents should make decisions based upon their comfort level regarding travel to and from practice.

ELITE PURCHASES NEW TOUCHPADS:

Elite has purchased 6 new Colorado Timing touchpads. The pads were used with great success during yesterday’s intraclub meet.

At Distance Derby, Elite had trouble with its existing touch pads (purchased last year at a steep discount due to their age-13 years old). Elite had hoped to get longer use out of the old touchpads.

Although not in the budget, Elite determined that touch pads were crucial for the Elite to continue to provide a 1^st rate product to its members. Thus, the new touchpads were purchased without hesitation.

HOLIDAY PRACTICE SCHEDULE POSTED:

Elite has posted the 2005-06 Holiday Practice Schedule on the website. Look under Practice Schedule. Please note that practices will be held during the day.

INTERACTIVE USA SWIMMING WEBSITE WANTS YOU!!

The USA Swimming website wants YOU!

Interactive by design, the website (usaswimming.org) wants you to create your own web account on the website. The process is easy and swimmers can learn how they rank among their peers in swimming (including a IM Extreme Challenge).

To create an account: 1) go to the homepage and click on create a web account 2) enter the requested information (and remember to check box that you are a registered swimmer-all Elite Swimmers are USA Swimming Members) and click on Create Account 3) link your new account to your membership by clicking Search for Membership 4) Click on This is Me when you find the membership you want 5) You have an account.

Information will be automatically sent to your inbox such as meet results, your personal results (only USA Sanctioned Meet times will appear-non dual meet/intraclub meets) and your IM Extreme score (a ranking system based upon your performance in a combination of 5 or 6 events-depending on your age).

SUMMER LONG COURSE MEET SCHEDULE REVISED:

Adjusting to the increased participation in summer “long course” competition, New Jersey Swimming has announced a restructure of the schedule of its championship meets.

To meet the additional interest in summer competition (last summers meets were terribly overcrowded), NJ Swimming will hold a Bronze Level Meet this summer in addition to “moving back” the Junior Olympic competiton.

Junior Olympics will be held Friday, August 4 thru Sunday, August 6, 2006 at Rutgers University. Silvers will be held Saturday, July 22 and Sunday, July 23 at Rutgers (same weekend as in the past). Bronze will be held on Saturday, July 29 and Sunday, July 30 in Bayonne (at an outside venue!).

WAVE BLACKS TO HOLD INTRACLUB DISTANCE MEET FRIDAY, DEC 9^TH:

On Friday, December 9^th, the Wave Blacks will hold an intraclub Distance Meet at Newark Academy during its regular practice time. Each swimmer will participate in either a 500 Free or 400 IM swim.

Due to the lack of opportunity for swimmers to compete in distance events, the coaches have decided to provide the opportunity during practice. The intraclub meet will be run like a regular Elite meet (with electronic timing and watches-Wave Black parents, we will need your help timing!).

Swimmers should discuss with Leighann which event they would like to swim. Swimmers who do not anticipate being at this intraclub meet should email Bill (just like a regular meet).

SWIM MEETS ON THE HORIZON:

Elite’s meet schedule remains extremely very busy thru the middle of December. Upcoming meets include:

1) Sunday, December 11: The Elite 8 & Unders have been invited and will attend the “Candy Cane” Invitational Meet, an 8 & Under Only Championship Style Meet at Somerset Hills YMCA. In lieu of admissions, Somerset Hills Y is accepting donations to benefit the Valerie Center (a pediatric outpatient clinic at Morristown & Overlook Hospitials that treats children with cancer and blood disorders). Updated meet information is now posted.

2) Sunday, December 11: 9 & Olders will compete vs Caldwell at Morristown-Beard School. 9 & Olders will compete from 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm. Meet information is now posted

3) Friday, December 16 thru Sunday, December 18: Christmas Meet in Pittsburgh. Only qualifying Seniors and Senior Preps. Meet information is posted.

4) Friday, December 16 thru Sunday, December 18: Holiday Classic at Rutgers. Only qualifying 12 & Unders. Meet & Event Information is posted.

5) Saturday, January 7^th and Sunday, January 8^th: Winterfest at Rutgers. Only qualifying swimmers will attend. Meet information is posted.

6) Friday, January 14 thru Sunday, January 16: Burgdorff Invitational at Rutgers. Only qualifying swimmers will attend. Meet information is posted

HIGH SCHOOL TEAMS TO START PRACTICE; PLEASE REVIEW PRACTICE SCHEDULE:

The Newark Academy, Millburn High School (at Newark Academy) and Morristown-Beard High School Swim Teams will begin their seasons starting tomorrow (Tuesday, November 15). How does this affects Elite?

1) on normal practice days, Newark Academy will practice until 5:15 pm (our start time). Elite swimmers will be required to stay out of the pool until NA has concluded their practice and has left the pool deck

2) on normal practice days, Millburn will begin practice after Elite has concluded practice at NA at 8:30 pm. On these days, Elite swimmers will need to exit the pool area quickly

3) on normal practice days, Morristown-Beard’s practice will not affect Elite

4) on those days when one or more of these teams host meets, Elite’s practice schedule will be affected (practice may start later than 5:15 pm or conclude earlier than 8:30). When possible, these changes will be highlighted on the Elite two week scheduled posted on the website

Elite swimmers need to remember that we are guests of both Newark Academy and Morristown-Beard School, and we need to act accordingly.

FIFTEEN SWIMMERS HEADED TO PITTSBURGH FOR CHRISTMAS INVITATIONAL:

Elite will field a team of 15 swimmers for the 44^th annual Christmas Invitational Meet to be held Friday, December 16 thru Sunday, December 18 at the University of Pittsburgh.

Swimmers who have qualified are: Danielle Basile, Crissy Condus, Chris Dart, Cassandra Farnow, Julianne Furdyna, Alex Gonzalez, Katie Inglese, Kim Jones, Katie Kilcullen, Danielle Martinez, Colleen Mason, Austin Meszaros, Maggie Nelson, Brittany Ross & Veronica Smith.

The Christmas Invitational is the oldest “holiday” championship meet in the country. Elite only takes swimmers who are 13 & Older. Elite swimmers who are 12 & Under and have qualified for the Holiday Classic will be entered in that meet, which is held this year on the same weekend at Rutgers.

FOURTEEN SWIMMERS TO REPRESENT ELITE AT HOLIDAY CLASSIC:

Elite will field a team of fourteen 12 & Under swimmers for the 19^th annual Holiday Classic Meet to be held Friday, December 16 thru Sunday, December 18 at the Rutgers University.

With very high level qualifying times, Holiday Classic is one of the fastest meets of the season in the entire Northeast. Elite only sends its 12 & Unders to this meet (as the 13 & Olders head to Pittsburgh).

Swimmers who have qualified and will be attending are: Courtney Brosnan, Ryan Buckham, Peter Davey, Carolyn DeMeo, Krishna Duvvuri, Priya Duvvuri, Greg Keiser, Regan Kology, Emmie Lai, Michael Li, Ali Morreale, Chris Plunkett, Nicki Ross & Lindsay Stearns.

As a testament to Elite’s continued development, only 8 Elite swimmers qualified last year.

OLYMPIAN TARA KIRK COMING TO ELITE:

Bubblely breaststroker Tara Kirk, an Olympic Silver Medalist at the 2004 Olympic Games, will visit Elite on Saturday, January 28, 2006. Elite is now taking reservations for the clinic-and smart swimmers have already signed up. There is a special Tara Kirk webpage on Elite’s website: check out her accomplishments!!

Tara will be at Morristown-Beard from 2 pm to 6 pm. Tara will 1) discuss her swimming experiences (including the 2004 Athens Olympics), 2) stretch and warm-up swimmers 3) give stroke instruction and 4) get into the water and swim with Elite swimmers!!!

Tara will be the 6^th Olympian who has visited visited Elite for a (4 hour) stroke clinic. Past Olympians to visit Elite are: Dr. Ron Karnaugh, Tom Wilkins, Jenny Thompson, Janet Evans and Neil Walker.

Originally from Washington State, Tara is a graduate of Standford University and an 11 time NCAA Champion!! Also noteworthy is that Tara, and her sister Dana, were the 1^st sisters to qualify for the same US Olympic Squad.

Tara is known for her ever present smile and gracious personality. One can check out Tara’s career by going to the USA Swimming website (usaswimming.org) and reading her bio under “swimmers.”

PARENTS ORGANIZATION HAS BALL ROLLING:

Showing as much energy as their swimmers, parents and their committees are gathering momentum with regards to the different tasks needed completed by the Parents Organization:

FUNDRAISER:

New: The Fundraiser Committee has begun selling “Swim Strong” bracelets in Elite’s Teal and Black colors. Contact Brandy Deatly (Brando32@comcast.net) if you would like to purchase one.

PUBLICITY:

Plenty of photographs were taken at the two meets yesterday with an eye towards posting some of them on the website. If you have not done so already, please sign the Publicity Waiver that authorizes Elite to use pictures of these swimmers and get it to Bill. The Publicity Waiver is now posted on the website under “Forms.” Please place the signed waiver in Bill’s Mailbox at Newark Academy.