Vallejo Aquatic Club: Newsletter

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July 1999

Message from the President
As the summer swim season heightens, I would like to once again remind all members of our upcoming events.
On July 15 through 18, many of our swimmers will swim in Concord in a AA trials and finals long course meet. Many swimmers will treat this as a last chance qualifier for the Far Westerns. Good luck to all VJO swimmers in this meet!
On July 24, we have a dual meet with the Benicia Blue Dolphins at Cunningham Pool. This is a chance for both our newer swimmers and younger swimmers to get the feel of what a swim meet is like. All should attend this meet. It will be fun! As always, VJO parents are needed to help set up and to time.
Several VJO swimmers will travel to Far Westerns at Carson City, Nevada. This meet will take place July 27 through August 1. Much thanks to Gail Allison for making lodging arrangements for our team. We ask that those who are planning on attending let the Allison's know IMMEDIATELY! We have reserved several rooms but we will not wait until the last minute to cancel the reservations for those rooms we do not need.
Congratulations to all those VJO swimmers who have qualified for the Far Westerns. They are: Toni de Senna, Jesse Ford, Thomas de Senna, Mario de Senna, Niko Felix, Morgan Zackery, Andrew Allison, Brendan Kearney, Hayden Campo, and Donny Mata. Special congratulations to our 2 newest qualifiers: Brendan Kearney and Hayden Campo. Both of these gentlemen gained new "Q" times
at the Zone III Summer Championships. If the meet was closer to home, VJO may have had as many as 24 swimmers entered because we would have sent several relay teams.
Our BIG meet of the summer will be the REAL Championships which will be held August 7 and 8 in Petaluma. This is a TEAM MEET! ALL VJO SWIMMERS SHOULD ATTEND! The coaches have set an attendance goal of 90 VJO swimmers for this meet. All swimmers should talk to their coaches about what to swim and about entry deadlines.
The week of August 9 through 14 will be great fun. On August 12, we will hold our annual Swim-A-Thon at Cunningham Pool. All swimmers should be collecting pledges for this event. Our fund-raising goal is $10,000.
..... Continued on 2nd column >>>>>

Calendar:
July 16-18 -- Age Group Championships at Terrapins
July 14 --, Dual Meet with Benicia at Cunningham Pool
July 28- August 1 -- Far Westerns at Carson City
August 7-8 REAL Championship at Petaluma
August 12 -- Swim-a-Thon
August 14 -- VJO Family Picnic

Message from the President (cont'd) .....
We can do it! All VJO members should give thanks to Tuffy Williams, Rose Wetzel, Alesia DeOcampo, Otis Parker and Jo Jo Crescines for their work on this event. GO VJO!!!

On August 14, we will have our first annual family picnic. It will be held at Blue Rock Springs Park. Much thanks to Nancy Caravaca for organizing this event. Thanks also to Bing Sangalang and Nanette Bennett for working on this event. All VJO families please attend. Anyone else who would like to help with this event please contact myself or Nancy. We would like to try and get all the food donated. Anyone who has connections in this area please let us know. We are also considering making this a minor fund-raiser ($5.00 adult, $3.00 child). The thought behind this is to underwrite one month's pool rent. Please let us know what you think. IT IS YOUR CLUB!
I would like to close by offering a series of thank yous to VJO members. To all those who helped with the ZONE III Summer Championships, thanks for your tireless efforts. So many VJO parents helped it was fantastic to see. The only bad news is that we did such a good job that
ZONE III officials are already making noises about also holding next year's meet at Cunningham. Further confirmation that we are the best at hosting swim meets.
Finally, much thanks to all those who worked on our Fourth of July Parade effort. A special thanks to Eileen Lynskey, Ray Lynskey and Susie Minahen for leading our efforts. Thanks to Marian Fernandez for making the flyers we distributed during the parade. Thanks to all those
parents who decorated our float and marched along side our swimmers in the parade. Thanks to all those parents who served as street marshals or the parade. Thanks to our swimmers for representing our club so well.
Ken Toch

Welcome to New Team Members!!!
Welcome to our new swimmers: Justin Payendeh; Maurice Simpkin; Vincent Bicamong; Jennifer Minahen; Jessica Arroyo; Sarah Arroyo; Patricia Escalante; Amalia Escalante; Phota Thomas; Kenny Thomas; Daniel Walker; Felicia Wilson; JJ Feldman; Chelsea Doble; Shavon Marie Prophet; Jonathan Payne; Aleece Kirk; Nadine Bueno; Gary Gamboa; Jillian Burdeck; Sarah Payne; Meredith Trujillo; Anthony Brown; Jessica Trujillo; Michael Tangi; Ben Cafuir; Sarah Bourg; Christopher Puzer; and James Puzer. We have 128 swimmers total on the team.

Importance of Fluids for Swimming Performance
During this month there will be championship meets that have trials in the morning and finals in the afternoon and early evenings. With summer heat it very easy for swimmers to become dehydrated. Dehydration can reduce a swimmer's performance by 15% and can cause real disappointments during finals particularly for younger swimmers. Parents can help their children swim better by reminding them often to drink fluids, and more fluids. Also, swimmers should stay out of the sun for health reasons and for their best swimming performances.

Shaving and Tapering
In preparation for championships, our senior swimmers shave off all their body hair. There is measurable evidence that shaving down reduces friction. In addition, it helps swimmers "feel" the water better. The kinesthetic effect lasts about a week. Each year VJO senior swimmers have a shave down party... sounds a bit strange but it helps.
The process of resting during a period before season-ending meets is called tapering. Swimmers can improve their times by 3 to 4 percent after a major taper. Many championship swimmers wait an entire year to better their times due to the significant effects of tapering.

From Coach Chris
We would like to have all swimmers participate in our dual meet with Benicia at Cunningham on July 24th. Look for the flyer from Tuffy. The big meet of the summer for VJO is the Redwood Empire Aquatic League (REAL) Championship in Petaluma on August 7-8. The entry form will be out soon. Please return it to Chris promptly. Last year 60 swimmers went to Ukiah. We would like to increase that number. I've asked Toni DeSenna and Jesse Ford to come up with a "Spirit" theme for the team. They already have a great idea or two.
The Swim-a-Thon is Thursday, August 12th. If you did not receive information, see me. This can be a significant fund-raiser for VJO. We have under-performed in recent years. It would be great if we could set a high goal and accomplish it... $10,000 would be 10 hundred swimmers raising $100. Very doable. Think simple, Fundamentals. Tight streamlines, Keep your head still and hips up. Relax. Work hard. Have fun working hard. Enjoy working hard. Working hard brings good results. -- Chris

Petaluma Meet Results -- June 12&13
New A Times -- Vince Bicomong (100 Breast 1:50.73; 50 fly 46.85; 100 back 1:34.01); Geordan Deocampo (100 fly 1:14.58; 100 back 1:19.86); Brian Domecus (100 breast 1:38.02); Jacqueline Domecus (50 breast 55.16); Tyson Frenn (200 back 3:05.92; 100 free 1:09.29; 100 back 1:25.07); Cecelia Ladao (50 back 47.93); Rodney Rotor (100 breast 1:43.62).
New AA Times -- Vince Bicomong (100 free 1:17.72; 50 back 42.53); Niko Felix 200 IM 2:33.42).
New Q Times -- Niko Felix (100 breast 1:19.19); Donny Mata (200 IM 3:03.18; 200 free 2:43.21).
New PRT Times -- Niko Felix (200 breast 2:50.78); Donny Mata (100 back 1:27.69; 50 breast 45.63).

Zone III Championships (Long Course)
New A Times -- Hayden Campo (50 fly 44.80); Vince Bicomong (50 free 37.16); Geordan Deocampo (200 back 2:48.42); Tyson Frenn (200 IM 2:55.68); Kimberly Kruszka (100 breast 1:43.80); Michael Stanwick (100 free 1:20.85); Morgan Zackery (400 free 5:20.86).
New AA Times -- Vincent Bicomong (100 back 1:29.09; 100 breast 1:43.59); Toni DeSenna (100 back 1:20.26; 200 IM 2:45.84; 200 free 2:27.69); Niko Felix (100 free 1:02.98); Brendan Kearney (100 breast 1:22.47); Kimberly Kruszka (100 free 1:11.51); Lauren Lynskey (50 back 44.16); Aaron Toch (400 free 4:44.20)
New Q Times -- Hayden Campo (200 IM 3:11.72).
New PRT Times -- Toni DeSenna (100 fly 1:10.98); Jesse Ford (100 back 1:06.08); Brendan Kearney (200 breast 2:51.82); Donny Mata (200 free 2:41.53).
VJO had 18 finalists; 12 in more than one event, and 2 first place finishers (Andrew Allison, 200 IM and Donny Mata, 100 breast); VJO placed 8th among all the teams.

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Back to Newsletter Main page


July 1999

Message from the President As the summer swim season heightens, I would like to once again remind all members of our upcoming events. On July 15 through 18, many of our swimmers will swim in Concord in a AA trials and finals long course meet. Many swimmers will treat this as a last chance qualifier for the Far Westerns. Good luck to all VJO swimmers in this meet! On July 24, we have a dual meet with the Benicia Blue Dolphins at Cunningham Pool. This is a chance for both our newer swimmers and younger swimmers to get the feel of what a swim meet is like. All should attend this meet. It will be fun! As always, VJO parents are needed to help set up and to time. Several VJO swimmers will travel to Far Westerns at Carson City, Nevada. This meet will take place July 27 through August 1. Much thanks to Gail Allison for making lodging arrangements for our team. We ask that those who are planning on attending let the Allison's know IMMEDIATELY! We have reserved several rooms but we will not wait until the last minute to cancel the reservations for those rooms we do not need. Congratulations to all those VJO swimmers who have qualified for the Far Westerns. They are: Toni de Senna, Jesse Ford, Thomas de Senna, Mario de Senna, Niko Felix, Morgan Zackery, Andrew Allison, Brendan Kearney, Hayden Campo, and Donny Mata. Special congratulations to our 2 newest qualifiers: Brendan Kearney and Hayden Campo. Both of these gentlemen gained new "Q" times at the Zone III Summer Championships. If the meet was closer to home, VJO may have had as many as 24 swimmers entered because we would have sent several relay teams. Our BIG meet of the summer will be the REAL Championships which will be held August 7 and 8 in Petaluma. This is a TEAM MEET! ALL VJO SWIMMERS SHOULD ATTEND! The coaches have set an attendance goal of 90 VJO swimmers for this meet. All swimmers should talk to their coaches about what to swim and about entry deadlines. The week of August 9 through 14 will be great fun. On August 12, we will hold our annual Swim-A-Thon at Cunningham Pool. All swimmers should be collecting pledges for this event. Our fund-raising goal is $10,000. ..... Continued on 2nd column >>>>>		Calendar: July 16-18 -- Age Group Championships at Terrapins July 14 --, Dual Meet with Benicia at Cunningham Pool July 28- August 1 -- Far Westerns at Carson City August 7-8 REAL Championship at Petaluma August 12 -- Swim-a-Thon August 14 -- VJO Family Picnic Message from the President (cont'd) ..... We can do it! All VJO members should give thanks to Tuffy Williams, Rose Wetzel, Alesia DeOcampo, Otis Parker and Jo Jo Crescines for their work on this event. GO VJO!!! On August 14, we will have our first annual family picnic. It will be held at Blue Rock Springs Park. Much thanks to Nancy Caravaca for organizing this event. Thanks also to Bing Sangalang and Nanette Bennett for working on this event. All VJO families please attend. Anyone else who would like to help with this event please contact myself or Nancy. We would like to try and get all the food donated. Anyone who has connections in this area please let us know. We are also considering making this a minor fund-raiser ($5.00 adult, $3.00 child). The thought behind this is to underwrite one month's pool rent. Please let us know what you think. IT IS YOUR CLUB! I would like to close by offering a series of thank yous to VJO members. To all those who helped with the ZONE III Summer Championships, thanks for your tireless efforts. So many VJO parents helped it was fantastic to see. The only bad news is that we did such a good job that ZONE III officials are already making noises about also holding next year's meet at Cunningham. Further confirmation that we are the best at hosting swim meets. Finally, much thanks to all those who worked on our Fourth of July Parade effort. A special thanks to Eileen Lynskey, Ray Lynskey and Susie Minahen for leading our efforts. Thanks to Marian Fernandez for making the flyers we distributed during the parade. Thanks to all those parents who decorated our float and marched along side our swimmers in the parade. Thanks to all those parents who served as street marshals or the parade. Thanks to our swimmers for representing our club so well. Ken Toch

Welcome to New Team Members!!! Welcome to our new swimmers: Justin Payendeh; Maurice Simpkin; Vincent Bicamong; Jennifer Minahen; Jessica Arroyo; Sarah Arroyo; Patricia Escalante; Amalia Escalante; Phota Thomas; Kenny Thomas; Daniel Walker; Felicia Wilson; JJ Feldman; Chelsea Doble; Shavon Marie Prophet; Jonathan Payne; Aleece Kirk; Nadine Bueno; Gary Gamboa; Jillian Burdeck; Sarah Payne; Meredith Trujillo; Anthony Brown; Jessica Trujillo; Michael Tangi; Ben Cafuir; Sarah Bourg; Christopher Puzer; and James Puzer. We have 128 swimmers total on the team.
Importance of Fluids for Swimming Performance During this month there will be championship meets that have trials in the morning and finals in the afternoon and early evenings. With summer heat it very easy for swimmers to become dehydrated. Dehydration can reduce a swimmer's performance by 15% and can cause real disappointments during finals particularly for younger swimmers. Parents can help their children swim better by reminding them often to drink fluids, and more fluids. Also, swimmers should stay out of the sun for health reasons and for their best swimming performances.
Shaving and Tapering In preparation for championships, our senior swimmers shave off all their body hair. There is measurable evidence that shaving down reduces friction. In addition, it helps swimmers "feel" the water better. The kinesthetic effect lasts about a week. Each year VJO senior swimmers have a shave down party... sounds a bit strange but it helps. The process of resting during a period before season-ending meets is called tapering. Swimmers can improve their times by 3 to 4 percent after a major taper. Many championship swimmers wait an entire year to better their times due to the significant effects of tapering.
From Coach Chris We would like to have all swimmers participate in our dual meet with Benicia at Cunningham on July 24th. Look for the flyer from Tuffy. The big meet of the summer for VJO is the Redwood Empire Aquatic League (REAL) Championship in Petaluma on August 7-8. The entry form will be out soon. Please return it to Chris promptly. Last year 60 swimmers went to Ukiah. We would like to increase that number. I've asked Toni DeSenna and Jesse Ford to come up with a "Spirit" theme for the team. They already have a great idea or two. The Swim-a-Thon is Thursday, August 12th. If you did not receive information, see me. This can be a significant fund-raiser for VJO. We have under-performed in recent years. It would be great if we could set a high goal and accomplish it... $10,000 would be 10 hundred swimmers raising $100. Very doable. Think simple, Fundamentals. Tight streamlines, Keep your head still and hips up. Relax. Work hard. Have fun working hard. Enjoy working hard. Working hard brings good results. -- Chris
Petaluma Meet Results -- June 12&13 New A Times -- Vince Bicomong (100 Breast 1:50.73; 50 fly 46.85; 100 back 1:34.01); Geordan Deocampo (100 fly 1:14.58; 100 back 1:19.86); Brian Domecus (100 breast 1:38.02); Jacqueline Domecus (50 breast 55.16); Tyson Frenn (200 back 3:05.92; 100 free 1:09.29; 100 back 1:25.07); Cecelia Ladao (50 back 47.93); Rodney Rotor (100 breast 1:43.62). New AA Times -- Vince Bicomong (100 free 1:17.72; 50 back 42.53); Niko Felix 200 IM 2:33.42). New Q Times -- Niko Felix (100 breast 1:19.19); Donny Mata (200 IM 3:03.18; 200 free 2:43.21). New PRT Times -- Niko Felix (200 breast 2:50.78); Donny Mata (100 back 1:27.69; 50 breast 45.63).
Zone III Championships (Long Course) New A Times -- Hayden Campo (50 fly 44.80); Vince Bicomong (50 free 37.16); Geordan Deocampo (200 back 2:48.42); Tyson Frenn (200 IM 2:55.68); Kimberly Kruszka (100 breast 1:43.80); Michael Stanwick (100 free 1:20.85); Morgan Zackery (400 free 5:20.86). New AA Times -- Vincent Bicomong (100 back 1:29.09; 100 breast 1:43.59); Toni DeSenna (100 back 1:20.26; 200 IM 2:45.84; 200 free 2:27.69); Niko Felix (100 free 1:02.98); Brendan Kearney (100 breast 1:22.47); Kimberly Kruszka (100 free 1:11.51); Lauren Lynskey (50 back 44.16); Aaron Toch (400 free 4:44.20) New Q Times -- Hayden Campo (200 IM 3:11.72). New PRT Times -- Toni DeSenna (100 fly 1:10.98); Jesse Ford (100 back 1:06.08); Brendan Kearney (200 breast 2:51.82); Donny Mata (200 free 2:41.53). VJO had 18 finalists; 12 in more than one event, and 2 first place finishers (Andrew Allison, 200 IM and Donny Mata, 100 breast); VJO placed 8th among all the teams.