Update -- November 25, 2008

Dear Divers, Parents, and Supporters,  

Happy Turkey Day!  Enjoy the little break from diving, remember we will have a workout on Sunday, November 30, 3:30 PM.  Especially important for those going to California for the Chris Vonk Invite.  Oh, and those people also should register with divemeets.com and then register for the Chris Vonk Invitational online -- nice thing about the online system is that late entries are almost impossible, because the deadline is only like 3 days before the meet!

And welcome to Keegan, who joined us last week on Thursday and is bouncing up a storm already :)

OK, on to the meat of the letter:

HDA CHAMPS 

I have nice results to report from the HDA Championships, aside from my noggin bump on the board on my 403B 3M  (grrr).  The team did very nicely, and we had several debuts and advancements happen.  I still have not gotten official results, so I do not know all the scores and placements for sure, but I will provide highlights.

Tate did some solid jumping actions, particularly when we backed her off of hurdles, and a nice 401C 1M as well.  She competed her 002A 3M for the second time, and is gaining confidence, while her 201A looked awesome for 5-5.5s!  

Emily had the most consistent meet of her life so far!  In addition to solid for 5.5-6s on everything 3M, she competed Junior for the first time on 1M, with her newly learned 202C taking center stage.  She also was solid for 5.5-6s on platform (too bad she didn't get scored on her two amazing 001ds in warmup -- UH Coach Mike Brown gave her 8s on both of those!).  

Joanna dominated the 12-13 age group, competing Junior on all three levels and winning three golds.  She threw several new dives (105C 3M, 403B 3M, and her 403C 5M) and did some fantastic scoring dives as well (5231D 3M for 5.5-6s, 403C 1M for 6-6.5s, 301C 5M for 5.5-6s).  She should be looking forward to a great entree into the 14-15 age group come January.   

Linnet won her first gold, taking the 1M title with a smartly performed list of dives that showed good focus and concentration (highlighted by her ever-improving 201B, a well-controlled 403C, and a surprisingly strong 5221D).  She also had one of the best dives of the meet with her 401B 3M!  She also dived Junior on Platform, marking her debut as a tower diver at the Junior level.  

Ashley did some nice stuff on her 201B 1M and 301B 3M, as well as her 403C 3M, all earning 6s.  She had some great warmup 105Cs, but competition nerves got the best of her in the meet on that one.  She also did the best 5231D she's done in months -- that dive is coming along!  She hit her 103B and 5221D 1M as well, and did a nice job on the tower (TLDT will soon be known as the tower team!)   

Alena  dived Junior on 1M and 3M and is showing off a lot of potential to move beyond the basic lists and into some harder optionals (witness her newly learned 403C 1M :)  She did an especially nice 103C and 302C 1M and is figuring out her 202A on 3M.    

Cristin battled back from some freaky nerves suffered when she lost her 103C and 103B a few weeks back (but she should be encouraged that 104C will be very easy -- she's done several of them already heheh), and did some beautiful dives, including her ultimate effort, a 402C for 6s.  

Madison competed in the Future Champions event on 3M as she gets ready to learn the number of dives it takes to be a Junior diver on 3M (she has 5, needs 9 total).  In a very close contest, Madison won the bronze, but with the OUTSTANDING dive of the meet, a 200A for 7-7.5s.  She also showed nice control on her 001B for 6s and her 103B, which had a great entry line.  On 1M, she dived Junior and showed she will be a presence at the HS state meet, scoring on her 9-dive list more then the points needed to qualify for the HHSAA Championships.  

Kai dived inconsistently on 3M, which is fitting given he practices up there only inconsistently (mostly at meets and not so much in between).  He still managed a 403B for 6-6.5s, a 105B for 5.5-6s, and a VERY smooth 303C for 5.5-6s.  Once he practices more up there, he'll be a threat!  He dived VERY nicely on 1M, earning 7s on his 401B, and 6s on his 203B and 5223D -- his two newest optionals!  

Coach Jeff is a bonehead (and thank the powers that be for that -- his hard head suffered almost not at all) and grazed the board on his 403B, causing him to sit out the rest of the competition -- and the rest of this week, as per doctor's advice.  No worries, he'll be back up there in no time at all :)  He did do an OK 101A and a pretty nice 5132D before the incident --he really wanted to show off his 5335D 3M and 303B 1M, though :(

UPCOMING

Chris Vonk Memorial, December 6-7 -- Wish Kai, Madison, Alena, Ashley, Linnet, Joanna and Coach Jeff good luck in their trip to the big bad mainland.  Should be a GRAND time (and perhaps a trip to Magic Mountain) :)

High School Season:  First ILH meet is Saturday, Dec 13 at 1 PM at Iolani School (1 PM might be the warm-up time...I'll check the schedule carefully and let you know).  There are no currently scheduled OIA pre-season meets, but we can always host one :)  I'll keep ya posted on that as well.

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.

REST OF NOVEMBER/DECEMBER WORKOUT SCHEDULE

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

Monday, Dec. 1, Kaiser 3:30-5:30 PM

Tuesday, Dec. 2, 3:30-6:00 PM at Schofield

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

Thursday, Dec. 4, 3:30-6:00 PM at Schofield

Friday, Dec. 5 - Monday, Dec 8 -- no practice  Chris Vonk Invite in Cali

Tuesday, Dec. 9, Kaiser 3:30-5:30 PM

Wednesday, Dec. 10, Kaiser 3:00-5:30 PM

Thursday, Dec. 11, Kaiser 3:30-5:30 PM

Friday, Dec. 12, Kaiser 3:30-5:30 PM

Saturday, Dec 13, 10:00 AM - 12 Noon at Schofield (note earlier time to accommodate WINTERISH WEATHER) ILH Diving Event at Iolani at 2:30 PM

Sunday, Dec. 14, 12 Noon - 2PM at Schofield (note earlier time to accommodate WINTERISH WEATHER but also to allow for religious services...)

Monday, Dec. 15, Kaiser 3:30-5:30 PM

Tuesday, Dec. 16, Kaiser 3:30-5:30 PM

Wednesday, Dec. 17, Kaiser 3:00-5:30 PM

Thursday, Dec. 18, Kaiser 3:30-5:30 PM

Friday, Dec. 19, Kaiser 3:30-5:30 PM

Saturday, Dec 20, 10:00 AM - 12 Noon at Schofield (note earlier time to accommodate WINTERISH WEATHER)

Sunday, Dec. 21, NO PRACTICE -- Coach Jeff on a hike :)

Monday, Dec. 22, Schofield, 10 AM - Noon; Kaiser 3:00-5:30 PM

Tuesday, Dec. 23, Schofield, 10 AM - Noon; Kaiser 3:00-5:30 PM

Wednesday, Dec. 24, Schofield, 10 AM - Noon

Thursday, Dec. 25, NO PRACTICE -- Have a great Christmas!

Friday, Dec. 26 - Wednesday, Dec 31 -- Coach Jeff's parents visiting -- we WILL have workouts, but schedule is TBD  -- great time for y'all to plan a trip :)

Thursday, Jan. 1:  Kaiser, 11 AM - 1 PM

Friday, Jan. 2, Schofield, 10 AM - Noon; Kaiser 3:00-5:30 PM

Saturday, Jan. 3, NO PRACTICE  Kalani HS Diving Invitational at Kaiser High (8 AM - 11:30 AM)/ILH Intermediate and JV Event at Iolani at 2 PM)

Sunday, Jan. 4, NO PRACTICE -- Coach Jeff on a hike

More January Info to come :)

Okies, That's all for now! 

Jeff