I hope everyone that participated in the All City Meet had a great time, despite the heat!!!

I realized that we forgot to announce at the Awards Picnic how much money we raised at our overnight fundraiser and which charity will be receiving the money. So�€�.I am very proud to announce that the Sundevils raised $590 for the Johns Hopkins Pediatric Oncology �€“ Camp Sunrise. Way to go Sundevils!!! I know the money will be greatly appreciated by Camp Sunrise and we should all be proud of ourselves for raising so much money!

Thanks again for a wonderful season! I am really looking forward to managing the team again next year. I know that Bruce & I have some thoughts on things we would like to do a little differently next year and we would love any input from our parents & kids. So please feel free to e-mail if you have any suggestions for things that could be improved upon next season.

See you all at Splashdown in the Spring!! Have a wonderful rest of the summer, a fantastic school year & wonderful holidays.

- Rebecca Jackman

Coaches, swimmers and families will come together to celebrate the end of another super-fun Sundevils season. Everyone contributes to a great pot luck dinner, trophies and awards will be handed out, and the pool is open for the evening (except during awards). All families are asked to bring a contribution towards our pot-luck picnic dinner:

Last name A-E - dessert

Last name F-J - side dish

Last name K-S - main course - chicken nuggets, sandwich wraps, popcorn chicken, ziti, casserole, etc.

Last name T-Z - single serving drinks - water bottles, juice boxes/pouches, soda cans

5:30-6:15 pm Open swim time for children and adults

6:15-7:15 pm Picnic dinner (pot-luck)

7:15-8:00 pm Trophies and awards

8:00-9:00 pm Games and activities

9:00-9:30 pm Clean-up

For all you Sundevils who like to get all �€œpurpled up�€ before the swim meets, please plan to be at Clary�€™s Forest pool this Saturday at 6:45. We will have purple & black hair spray, purple make-up sticks for writing on faces, etc�€�, and streamers & window paint for cars. There weren�€™t many Sundevils that came to the last caravan�€�please come join us!! The kids love entering the pool as a team, all decked out in their purple & yelling a cheer. It is a great way to get the meet started & get our team pumped up. We will leave PROMPTLY AT 7:00 to get to Dasher Green pool, so we have enough time to gather & do a cheer. SEE YOU AT CLARY�€™S FOREST POOL ON SATURDAY AT 6:45!!!!! GO SUNDEVILS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED!!!! We still have to provide volunteers for our away meets so check out Volunteer Spot for a list of available positions for Saturday�€™s meet.

Swim, play games, camp overnight, and raise money for a great local charity. We hope that Sundevils of all ages (& their parents!) will come out to support our team. Complete details regarding this event, the permission slip, and a pledge form can be found on the Overnight Fundraiser flier.

Our swimmers will be �€œBobbing for Bucks�€ in order to raise money that will be donated to either Special Olympics of Howard County Aquatics Program or Johns Hopkins Pediatric Oncology - Camp Sunrise. Due to trademark restrictions we are not allowed to solicit donations per lap. Instead we will be monitoring how long the swimmers stay in the water (up to 60 minutes). They may swim laps, tread water, float, bob or otherwise fool around as long as they do not touch the bottom of the pool. Please help us support the charity by either pledging an amount per minute or by making a flat donation. Checks can be made payable to �€œCHS Sundevils�€ and are due by July 25, 2011.

Families are asked to bring food or drink to share:

Last name A-H please bring desserts - cookies, cupcakes, etc.

Last name I-P please bring single serving drinks - water bottles, juice boxes/pouches, soda cans.

Last name Q-Z please bring snacks - chips, pretzels, carrots, crackers, etc.

It is hard to believe but the All-City Meet is only a few week's away. The meet takes place in three sessions over two days:

Session 1: Friday, July 29th for 8 & Under swimmers
Warm Ups at 4:30pm, Meet starts at 5:30pm

Session 2: Saturday, July 30th for 13 - 18 year old swimmers
Warm Ups at 8:00am, Meet starts at 9:00am

Session 3: Saturday, July 30th for 9 -12 year old swimmers
Warm Ups at 12:00pm, Meet starts at 1:00pm

This weekend's home meet will be against the Oakland Mills Tigersharks at Swansfield pool. As always our team will gather to the right side as you enter the pool. Be sure to have your swimmer(s) check in with the clerk of course upon arrival

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED!!!! We still have a lot of positions available on Volunteer Spot for Saturday�€™s meet.

Spiritwear was picked up yesterday and is being sorted through and packaged for pick up at our first pep rally on Friday 6/24. Parents are asked to stop by the table and pick up their family's spiritwear orders tonight. A note for families who ordered swim bags; the bags are still at the embroiderer and should be ready Tuesday 6/28.

updated 6/22/11 by ldp

The regular season practice schedule begins bright and early 8:00 Thursday morning at the Hawthorn pool. During regular season practices will be held at all three of our neighborhood pools with both morning and afternoon practice sessions available. Swimmers are encouraged to attend as many practice sessions during the week as possible. Check out the practice schedule to see where and when your age group will be practicing each day.

updated 6/22/11 by ldp

Our first home meet of the season will be against the Long Reach Marlins at Swansfield pool. Our team gathers to the right side as you enter the pool. Be sure to have your swimmer(s) check in with the clerk of course upon arrival.

If you haven't done so already, check out the post below with important meet information from coach Jennifer.

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED!!!! We need volunteers for Saturday�€™s meet!

Concession Aides (NO ONE IS SIGNED UP!!!), Runners (NO ONE IS SIGNED UP!!!), Scorers, 50/50 Raffle, Relay Coordinator�€�.these are just a few of the positions that need to be filled. Our concession stand is a vital part of the meets. This is how the team makes most of our money! We need people to man the table during the meet. Please take a moment to review Volunteer Spot and sign up for something. Thank you to all of the parents who have already signed up. You help is greatly and truly appreciated!

Best of luck to all our swimmers this weekend. Swim your best and don't forget to have lots of fun.

updated 6/19/11 by ldp

Important Meet Information a message from coach Jennifer

Congratulations to all Sundevil swimmers on a great meet on Saturday! It seemed like everyone had a lot of fun and it was great seeing all of the team spirit. A couple of notes for next time:

1. Make sure your children stay until the end of the meet if they are in a freestyle relay or are an alternate. Unfortunately, we had a couple of relays that could not swim because swimmers left. If you know you will be unable to stay until the end of the meet and participate in relays you can write this in the vacation book (found by the pool entrance during practice) or email me at chscoaches@gmail.com.

2. If your children have a preference for what events they would like to swim, they can request events through Wednesday evening. The coaches try to have the line up completely finished by Thursday, so the sooner children request events, the easier it is on the coaches. To request events, you can write your children's name, age, and two events they would like to swim in the back of the vacation book. We cannot guarantee that your kids will swim both strokes they want to swim, but we will definitely take it into consideration.

3. If you are going to miss a meet, do your best to let me know as early as you can. Again, because we try to have the line up finished by Thursday, it is important to know earlier so we can plan relays and which kids swim which events. You are welcome to email me if you are going to miss a meet (or leave early) at chscoaches@gmail.com or write it in the vacation book during practice (kept by the entrance to the pool).

Thanks so much for all of your help, parents! See you at practices this week!

updated 6/19/11 by ldp

Superhero Pep Rally at Swansfield Pool Friday 6/24 from 6:00-8:00

updated 6/19/11 by ldp

updated 6/15/11 by ldp

Our first meet of the season is fast approaching. We will be swimming against the Huntington Dolphins at their pool. In a change from the normal warm-up schedule, Huntington has allotted our team 20 minutes in the water from 7:20-7:40. As a result our morning caravan plans will all be moved back 10 minutes.

Families wishing to caravan over to the meet should assemble at Clary's Forest pool at 6:50 to get all purpled up before driving over to the Huntington pool.

An important parking warning.....Please be careful where you park at the Huntington Pool. There are several �€œNo Parking�€ signs along Murray Hill and Vollmerhausen Roads, and we have been told by the Huntington team managers that police do patrol these roads and do ticket during swim meets. Please make sure you are parking in a legal spot so you can avoid getting a ticket.

All swimmers should check in with the clerk of course immediately upon arrival.

New families might want to take a moment to check out the new swimmers guide or swim meet FAQ posted under publications on this website. They will provide much helpful information to get you through your first meet.

Coach Jennifer is collecting requests for events from swimmers. She has left a composition notebook at the front desk as you come in where you can enter you name and the strokes you would like to swim. She will make every effort to place swimmers in requested events but at the end of the day she has to balance out swimmers across events and swimmers may need to be entered to another event. Event entries will be posted at the swim meet so swimmers should be sure to check and see which events they have been entered to.

Swimmers should take note of whether they have been assigned to a relay or not. If you are assigned to a relay and will be unable to stay for the relay event please, please, please advise the clerk of course so the relay coordinator will have time to try and find a swimmer to replace you in the relay team.

Call for Volunteers!!!! Please check Volunteer Spot and help us out this Saturday at Huntington!

There are still LOTS of volunteer opportunities available and we need your help to make the meets happen. If you have not received an invitation to join Volunteer Spot, please contact Bruce. We couldn�€™t do all of this without the help of our wonderful parents!! Thank you!!

We wish all our swimmers good luck at this weekend's meet. Don't forget to swim your best and have lots of fun!

updated 6/15/11 by ldp

Cy's will be at practice this coming Friday evening with our team suit and other pool paraphernalia for sale. The team will also be holding a pizza fundraiser so come for practice and stay for pizza.

updated 6/10/11 by ldp

Please arrive promptly ready to swim! Remember that the coaches are encouraging all swimmers to swim all eligible strokes even if they are not legal. This is a great opportunity for the coaches to evaluate each swimmer's stroke technique as well as a chance for the stroke and turn officials to prepare for the first dual meet next week.

updated 6/9/11 by ldp

One of our super Sundevils parents, Ama Brown-Fenton, has offered to run a suit swap for our families at Saturday's Time Trials. Any family that wants to participate can bring their gently-used (and freshly washed) team suits and/or practice suits to Time Trials. We will swap among participating swimmers so that none of the outgrown suits will go to waste. If you have a suit to donate or swap, or if you are new to the team and need a suit, please fill out the swap form and bring it to practice or email it to Ama at amatsb@comcast.net. If you have any questions you may contact Ama by email at amatsb@comcast.net or by phone at 240-893-5141. Thanks to Ama for organizing this for our families. It is definitely a great idea.

updated 6/8/11 by ldp

updated 6/7/11 by ldp

Volunteer for Time Trials via VolunteerSpot

Time Trials has been added to the 2011 event calendar. There are many slots that need filled in order to pull off this event this weekend so click on the link above to view available volunteer positions and sign up to help out.

We will be using VolunteerSpot again in 2011 for volunteer sign-up for all swim meets and team activities. In addition to time trials you will find all our 2011 season swim meets, pep rallies and events on the schedule so sign up to volunteer early and often!

updated 6/4/11 by ldp

Can Your Child Swim One Length of the Pool Yet? a message from coach Jennifer

CNSL has a participation rule stating that all kids on the team must be able to swim a length of the pool without any assistance (holding onto the wall or lane line, etc.) to join swim team. This rule will be enforced on our team. We recognize that at this point many of the new, younger swimmers are not there yet; however, the coaches will do our best to get each swimmer to that point by time trials. For those swimmers unable to complete the full length of the pool by time trials I encourage you to take lessons and join us next year. Swim team is not a substitute for swim lessons and the coaches simply do not have enough hands to be able to teach swim lessons to kids who cannot swim and coach the kids who can.

updated 6/4/11 by ldp

Time Trials Saturday 6/11 a message from coach Jennifer

All kids will be expected to swim all eligible events at time trials. Even if their stroke may not be legal yet, it is important to try so the coaches can see what kids are capable of and also so that the stroke and turn officials can get practice. Eligible events by age group are:

	IM	Free	Back	Breast	Fly
6&under		X	X
7-8		X	X	X	X
9 & older	X	X	X	X	X

updated 6/4/11 by ldp

Going on Vacation? a message from coach Jennifer

It is very important that you let the coaching staff know if your swimmer will miss a meet so your swimmer is not placed in events, especially relay events, for a meet they will not attend. There is a composition notebook at all practices that is left at the front desk as you enter the pool. Parents should write down what swim meets their kids will miss. You may also email swimmer availability to coach Jennifer at chscoaches@gmail.com.

updated 6/1/11 by ldp

2011 Sundevils Coaches
Gillian, Jennifer & Mary

Our new head coach, Jennifer Lucht, (center) grew up in the area and is currently attending college at the University of South Carolina. She grew up swimming for the Forest Hills team just outside Columbia and later swam year-round with the Retrievers. Jennifer will be doing double-duty at our meets as she will also be competing as a Sundevil swimmer.

Joining the team as assistant coach, Mary Green (right) is new to the area having arrived a year and a half ago from Texas. She is currently studying at Howard Community College.

Last but certainly not least, our very own Gillian Sawyer (left) is stepping out of the pool and onto the pool deck as assistant coach this summer. Never fear, Gillian will still be competing for the Sundevils team at our dual meets.

Let's give our new coaches a super Sundevils welcome!

updated 6/1/11 by ldp

Practice starts today and continues daily through the pre-season at Hawthorn Pool. Check out the practice schedule below to see when your age group will be practicing.

updated 5/31/11 by ldp

updated 5/12/11 by ldp

updated 4/11/11 by ldp

Save the date for the Sundevils 2011 season kickoff party at the Columbia Swim Center Splashdown in Wilde Lake Village Center. We have rented the facility for our team for an evening of fun with a bit of team business thrown in for good measure. Hope to see you at the pool.