Update -- June 14, 2007

Dear Divers and Parents,

I am so sorry about the website being down over the last few weeks.  I am not sure what happened, but when I tried to update after the Aloha State Games, I got some weird error messages, and then the whole web publishing process froze and I couldn't get any access to it, and then the routes were changed and the site itself became completely frozen for users even!

I think I have the problem solved after completely importing the entire site from the server into a new folder on my computer.  Fingers crossed!

OK  Now to the important stuff:

ALOHA STATE GAMES HIGHLIGHTS:

We had a great showing at the Aloha State Games, which was held for the first time at the Central Oahu Regional Park Veteran's Memorial Aquatic Center.  Everyone won at least one gold, and in actuality, the silvers were at least as, if not more, impressive than the golds!

Emily made her 3 meter debut at this meet, having spent a month working to get comfortable on the high board again.  She learned her final skill (001C, sitting front lineup tuck) independently the day before the meet, and she was set to go.  In the actual event, she added her full lift and press to her back jumps (200A and 200C) and did them for 6s!  She is really showing herself to be a competitor, as she dives very comfortably, and even adds new skills during a meet!

Braden dived well on both boards, and was even entered in the silver level for the novice divers.  Because of his age, he did not have to dive against several divers aged 10-13, but he could have held his own even if he had to.  He impressed the field with his 401C (inward dive tuck) 1M and his 200C 3M.  With a little more focus and experience, Braden will do quite well in meets.

Jace was AMAZING in this meet.  If anyone took video of his event and got the judges in the background, take a close look at Coach Jeff's facial expressions after most of his dives (especially his 101C, 401C, and 102C, but most especially his 101C).  You'll see "shock and awe" in a very good sense of the phrase, and a jaw that dropped all the way to the deck.  Jace really put it all together with his form and mechanics in a way we had never seen before and won the gold in the novice event (silver level).  On 3M, he dived against West National qualifier Joey Sisler and held his own very nicely, showing that he, too, is about ready to make a move to that level.

Justine also amazed.  Competing against divers with a 2-3 year experience advantage, Justine came away with the gold on 3M in a very close contest for the Novice -- Gold Level championship and the silver on 1M in an even closer 10-11 Junior contest.   She nailed her 101C, 401C, and 201A 1M for 6s and better, and did her best-ever 100A and 002A on 3M.  She is coming along nicely now and will soon have her 3M junior list.  By next year, we hope to have that at the national level :)

Lance competed 12-13 Junior on both boards, and did so despite being seriously injured a week earlier when someone jumped onto him while he was swimming at Waimea bay.  He even competed some big new dives he learned -- 5141D 3M and 403C 1M.  He really nailed his 201C 3M (still a little too far out, but with excellent mechanics and lines) and his 101C 1M, which completely ripped for 6.5s.  He also proved himself about ready to move on to the national level.

BJ competed in the Novice/Gold Level 3M and the 14-15 Junior 1M events.  He quickly relearned most of the 3M dives he competed at last year's AAU Nationals, and did many of them better than ever!  His 5211A for 6s was his biggest highlight, but he also did a very nice 403C.  On the 1M, he showed himself to be very ready to do some bigger dives with strong tops on his 103B, 402C, and 302C on which he received 6s.  And he again nailed his signature 5211A.  BJ is also ready to break out to the national level in his new age group.

Coach Jeff set up a fun challenge for himself in this meet:  to make all of his "voluntaries," or easier dives that show off the grace and beauty of the sport, have a 1.9 degree of difficulty (the DD max for voluntaries is 9.5 -- this equals 1.9 x 5, although you can reach that total with different DDs).  He then proceeded to make all of his optionals have a 2.4 degree of difficulty.  He was very hit and miss in this "early" morning 3M event.  He came back on the 1M to have a really solid event, though, especially nailing his 403B and 5132D for 7.5s.

AFTERMATH OF ALOHA STATE GAMES

On the basis of the Aloha State Games results, I informed some members of the team that they are up to the standard of going to the AAU Nationals.  In order to make it official, we will be hosting the 2nd AAU Hawaiian District Championship meet on Sunday, July 8, at 4 PM at the Schofield pool.  We will host 1M and 3M events for sure, and probably add a platform event as well.  The events are open to all AAU registered divers, so I would like to see everyone on the team participate!  There will be no entry deadline (on deck is fine) and the events will be $5 each to cover the costs of sanctioning and awards.  More details soon!

KEO NAKAMA INVITE

Sport Basics is hosting a new addition to the Hawaii Diving circuit, the Keo Nakama Invitational.  This is the 46th annual invite honoring one of Hawaii's greatest swimmers ever.  We are excited to see diving being included in it this year!

This invite is only open to USA Diving Registered athletes.  I encourage all of you who are not yet registered with USA Diving to do so, in order to participate in this and other USA Diving events that are being planned.

This is also a good opportunity to try out new dives in front of judges prior to the AAU Hawaiian District Championships so you'll be ready to have a peak performance there! 

The Keo Nakama Invite will be held on the morning of July 4th.  I do understand how this might be difficult, timing-wise, for military families, so please see Coach Jeff if this is a barrier to participation.

REMAINDER OF JUNE WORKOUT SCHEDULE:  (Note Time Changes due to increased rec swim numbers during summer)

Thurs, June 14, 4:30 -- 6:30 PM at Schofield

Saturday, June 16, 4:30 -- 6:30 PM at Schofield 

Sunday, June 17, 4:30 -- 6:30 PM at Schofield  

Tues, June 19, 4:30 -- 6:30 PM at Schofield 

Thurs, June 21, 4:30 -- 6:30 PM at Schofield

Saturday, June 23, 4:30 -- 6:30 PM at Schofield  

Tues, June 26, 4:30 -- 6:30 PM at Schofield 

Thurs, June 28, 4:30 -- 6:30 PM at Schofield

Saturday, June 30, 4:30 -- 6:30 PM at Schofield

JULY WORKOUTS

July's workout schedule is going to increase -- you will have options to do mornings from 9-11 AM every weekday (except on July 4th, when we'll be at the Keo Nakama Invite) from July 1 until July 20, in addition to afternoon practices on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays, and Sundays at 4:30 PM through July 22.

The final week of July we will have off, as some of our team members are going to the AAU Nationals July 24-29 :)

ASL CORNER

Now that the deaf kids are back, and you'll see them at least once a month at meets, check out the ASL Corner,  Do the lessons as you want to, ask me for help as you need.

WELCOME TO NEW DIVERS!

Welcome to Samantha, a Level 5 gymnast who has just started up with us, and to Megan, a UH diver who is training with us to get ready for the Pan American Games while her coach is on a break.  We also have had a few inquiries from other acrobatic sports participants and locals at the pool, so hopefully we will see an increase in our team's numbers soon!

Okies, That's all for now! 

Jeff