Update -- November 4, 2008

Dear Divers, Parents, and Supporters,  

Happy Election Day!  A toast to the future of our country :)

I have nice results to report from our small, but successful Nightmare event, as well as info about the upcoming season.

NIGHTMARE AFTER HALLOWEEN 

Tate competed a couple of dives that have been haunting her diving existence -- her 002A 3M and her 201A 1M.  She did a solid job getting those dives off, and hopefully that will give her the confidence to start focusing on getting back the form and mechanics she developed so well during the summer.  Emily followed her typical pattern of first event going funky and then calming down.  She did an incredible job with many new dives, including 002A 3M, 101B 1M, 102C 1M, and 401B 1M (the latter of which earned her the 9U high point award for highest judges' scores on a dive!).   Alena did an entire 11-dive list on 1M, and a modified 11-dive list on 3M, and did amazing things on her 401B both boards and her 202A 3M, earning 6.5s andtaking home the 16-18 high-point award.  She keeps showing sparks of what kind of diver she can be if she puts her heart into it.  Joanna was amazing both boards, competing 11-dive lists and scoring well over 300 points on each board!  Highlights were her 201B both boards for 6.5s and her 301B 3M for 6.5-7s (which won her the 12-13 high point award), as well as greatly improved and smooth 5231D and 5132D actions on 3M.    Madison also competed an 11-dive list 1M, throwing a hard enough list and earning enough points to qualify her for the HS state championships --  that bodes well for her during the HS season :)  She earned several scores of 6+ on her 101C, 401B, 402C 1M and 401C 3mShe also competed in the 6-dive event on 3M.

UPCOMING

HDA Championships, November 23 -- TEAM EFFORT!!!   The meet hosts plan to do platform, and I am very excited about getting y'all ready for that!

Chris Vonk Memorial, December 6-7 in Mission Viejo, CA.  I encourage anyone hoping to go to Regionals to come to this trip, so you will be familiar with the facility (Regionals will be in the same place March 7-8, 2009).  I checked fares on American Airlines on Sunday, and found $244 round trip tickets!  This is the cheapest I have EVER seen since I moved here!  Sooo, please contact Coach Jeff immediately to confirm you will go.  I can likely provide housing for all participants for free as well.

High School Season:  Practice officially started on Monday, and we will see some Pre-season Meetings next week, to get a sense of when we will be competing throughout December, January, and February.

NOTES FOR THOSE WISHING TO BECOME ELITE

To go to Regionals and represent Tropic Lightning, you must perform optionals of at least 2.0 degree of difficulty, except the 11U (no difficulty minimum).  It's a great idea to start thinking NOW about which of these dives you want to try to have ready by March, so we can make it happen!  Divers who have already shown what it takes to compete on this level are Kai, Ashley, and Joanna.  Divers who have demonstrated serious potential to compete on this level are Madison, Linnet, and Emily.  Divers I know have the potential to get to this level if they want it are Tate, Cristin, and Alena.

NOVEMBER WORKOUT SCHEDULE

Tuesday, Nov. 4, 3:30-6:00 PM at Schofield

Wednesday, Nov. 5, Kaiser 3:00-5:30 PM

Thursday, Nov. 6, 3:30-6:00 PM at Schofield

Friday, Nov. 7, Kaiser 3:00-5:30 PM

Saturday, Nov. 8, 3:30-6:00 PM at Schofield (note earlier time to accommodate earlier nightfall...)

Monday, Nov. 10, Kaiser 3:00-5:30 PM

Tuesday, Nov. 11, 3:30-6:00 PM at Schofield

Wednesday, Nov. 12, Kaiser 3:00-5:30 PM

Thursday, Nov. 13, 3:30-6:00 PM at Schofield

Friday, Nov. 14, Kaiser 3:00-5:30 PM

Saturday, Nov. 15, 3:30-6:00 PM at Schofield (note earlier time to accommodate earlier nightfall...)

Sunday, Nov. 16, 3:30-6:00 PM at Schofield (note earlier time to accommodate earlier nightfall...)

Monday, Nov. 17, Kaiser 3:00-5:30 PM

Tuesday, Nov. 18, 3:30-6:00 PM at Schofield

Wednesday, Nov. 19, Kaiser 3:00-5:30 PM

Thursday, Nov. 20, 3:30-6:00 PM at Schofield

Friday, Nov. 21, Kaiser 3:00-5:30 PM

Saturday, Nov. 22, 3:30-6:00 PM at Schofield (note earlier time to accommodate earlier nightfall...)

Sunday, Nov. 23, HDA Championships at UH TEAM EFFORT

Monday, Nov. 24, Kaiser 3:00-5:30 PM

Tuesday, Nov. 25, 3:30-6:00 PM at Schofield

No workouts Wednesday, November 26 - Saturday, November 29, Coach Jeff traveling for Thanksgiving

Sunday, Nov. 30, 3:30-6:00 PM at Schofield (note earlier time to accommodate earlier nightfall...)

DECEMBER AND EARLY '09

We will be going to workouts at Schofield on Sat-Sun only for the high school season, which consists of the months of December, January, and half of February.  We will do some Winter Break "camps" during warm weather hours (i.e., 11 AM-1 PM) from Dec 19-Jan 5 or so, depending on all of our availability and scheduling.

Okies, That's all for now! 

Jeff