Twin City Divers 

Newsletter for February 22 to March 7: Posted February 25, 2009.

We are currently under a winter storm warning until tomorrow Thursday night.  They are predicting that the snow to start tomorrow morning after rush hour and go until late Thursday night, with the majority of the snow (2-7 inches) to fall before 6pm.  I just want to remind you to look at the TCD Website www.twincitydivers.com and WCCO School Closings http://wcco.com/schoolclosings for practice cancellations. 

Below is the E-Newsletter for February 22 to Saturday March 7.  In this issue I will discuss the spring session, the spring regional meet, future meet hotel plans, and upcoming meets we are hosting.  I have attached the meet information for the Spring Junior Region 5 Championships, the Spring West Nationals, Summer Junior Region 6 Championships, the Summer Junior Zone C Championships, and the USA Diving National Zone C Preliminary Meet.

First, I would like to remind you that the spring session starts Sunday March 1, if you have not already registered please do so before March 1.  I did have a few issues with SportsSignUp but I think I have made all the corrections.  We did make a few changes to the spring schedule, we added a Wednesday practice for all groups, we also moved the start time for the 11&U and 12-13 to 5:30pm during the week.  I did this because I noticed that the 6:00pm start time really didn’t work well for the winter session. 

As it is listed on the spring calendar we have quite a few pool conflicts; in an effort to not cancel practice we have found an alternate location.  The only pool that we could get into during this time is at Hamline University, and the only practice time they have available is from 8:00-10:00pm.  We might be able to start warm-up at 7:30pm and get in the water at 8pm which would then allow us to get out of the water at 9:30pm.  I am currently working on figuring that out, but for now practice will be from 8-10pm. 

The Aquatic Center is hosting the Division Three Nationals March 16-22; here is the tentative plan for that week:

Monday, March 16: Parents Meets in the stands starting at 6pm. Practice for the Spring West National Qualifiers will be at the UMN Aquatic Center from 4:00-5:30pm; this practice is only available for divers going to nationals. 

Tuesday, March 17: Practice at the UMN Aquatic Center (11&U/12-13 5:30-7:00pm, 14-15/16-18 5:30-7:30pm; Lessons 6:00-6:45pm, Elite 5:30-8:00pm). 

Wednesday, March 18: Practice for the 11&U/12-13 group at UMN Aquatic Center in Cooke Hall and the Gymnastics Gym 5:30-7:00pm.  Practice for 14-15/16-18 at Hamline Pool from 8:00-10:00pm.  Elite Practice at Hamline Pool from 8:00-10:00pm.  Practice for the Spring West National Qualifiers will be at the UMN Aquatic Center from 4:00-5:30pm; this practice is only available for divers going to nationals. 

Thursday, March 19: Practice for the 11&U/12-13 group at UMN Aquatic Center in Cooke Hall and the Gymnastics Gym 5:30-7:00pm.  Practice for 14-15/16-18/HSE at Hamline Pool from 8:00-10:00pm.  Elite Practice at Hamline Pool from 8:00-10:00pm.  Practice for the Spring West National Qualifiers will be at the UMN Aquatic Center from 4:00-5:30pm; this practice is only available for divers going to nationals. 

There is a new federal law which requires all pool to refit there drain covers, so in April the UMN is draining the diving well to install new drain covers.  The drain and refit will take around three weeks, during this time Hamline is still the only pool available for practice and I am still trying to figure out our weekend schedule. Right, right now I do not know the schedule for Saturdays and Sundays; as soon as it is finalized I will provide additional information.  The tentative schedule is below:

Tentative Diving Well Drain Schedule:

• Tentative schedule for Sunday April 26 to Saturday May
  • Sunday, April 26: 11&U, 12-13, and HSE practice TBD.
  • Monday, April 27: Practice for the 11&U/12-13 group at UMN Aquatic Center in Cooke Hall and the Gymnastics Gym 5:30-7:00pm.  Practice for 14-15/16-18/Elite at Hamline Pool from 8:00-10:00pm.
  • Tuesday, April 28: Practice for the 11&U/12-13 group at UMN Aquatic Center in Cooke Hall and the Gymnastics Gym 5:30-7:00pm; and Lessons 6:00-6:45pm.  Practice for 14-15/16-18/Elite at Hamline Pool from 8:00-10:00pm.
  • Wednesday, April 29: Practice for the 11&U/12-13 group at UMN Aquatic Center in Cooke Hall and the Gymnastics Gym 5:30-7:00pm.  Practice for 14-15/16-18/Elite at Hamline Pool from 8:00-10:00pm.
  • Thursday, April 30: Practice for the 11&U/12-13 group at UMN Aquatic Center in Cooke Hall and the Gymnastics Gym 5:30-7:00pm.  Practice for the HSE group will be at the UMN Aquatic Center in Cooke Hall from 5:30-7:00pm.  Practice for 14-15/16-18/Elite at Hamline Pool from 8:00-10:00pm.
  • Saturday, May 2: 11&U, 12-13, 14-15, 16-18, Elite practice TBD.

• Tentative schedule for Sunday May 3 to Saturday May 9
  • Sunday, May 3: 11&U, 12-13, and HSE practice TBD.
  • Monday, May 4: Practice for 11&U/12-13 at Hamline Pool from 8:00-9:30pm.  Practice for the 14-15/16-18/Elite group at UMN Aquatic Center in Cooke Hall and the Gymnastics Gym 5:30-7:00pm.
  • Tuesday, May 5: Practice for 11&U/12-13 at Hamline Pool from 8:00-9:30pm.  Practice for the Lesson group at the UMN Aquatic Center in Cooke Hall and the Gymnastics Gym 6:00-6:45pm.  Practice for the 14-15/16-18/Elite group at UMN Aquatic Center in Cooke Hall and the Gymnastics Gym 5:30-7:00pm.
  • Wednesday, May 6: Practice for 11&U/12-13 at Hamline Pool from 8:00-9:30pm.  Practice for the 14-15/16-18/Elite group at UMN Aquatic Center in Cooke Hall and the Gymnastics Gym 5:30-7:00pm.
  • Thursday, May 7: Practice for 11&U/12-13/ at Hamline Pool from 8:00-9:30pm.  Practice for the 14-15/16-18/Elite group at UMN Aquatic Center in Cooke Hall and the Gymnastics Gym 5:30-7:00pm.  Practice for the HSE group will be at the UMN Aquatic Center in Cooke Hall from 5:30-7:00pm.
  • Saturday, May 9: 11&U, 12-13, 14-15, 16-18, Elite practice TBD.

• Tentative schedule for Sunday May 10 to Saturday May 16:
  • Sunday, May 10: 11&U, 12-13, and HSE practice TBD.
  • Monday, May 11: Practice for the 11&U/12-13 group at UMN Aquatic Center in Cooke Hall and the Gymnastics Gym 5:30-7:00pm.  Practice for 14-15/16-18/Elite at Hamline Pool from 8:00-10:00pm.
  • Tuesday, May 12: Practice for the 11&U/12-13 group at UMN Aquatic Center in Cooke Hall and the Gymnastics Gym 5:30-7:00pm.  Practice for 14-15/16-18/Elite at Hamline Pool from 8:00-10:00pm.
  • Wednesday, May 13: Practice for the 11&U/12-13 group at UMN Aquatic Center in Cooke Hall and the Gymnastics Gym 5:30-7:00pm.  Practice for 14-15/16-18/Elite at Hamline Pool from 8:00-10:00pm.
  • Thursday, May 14: Practice for the 11&U/12-13/HSE group at UMN Aquatic Center in Cooke Hall and the Gymnastics Gym 5:30-7:00pm.  Practice for the HSE group will be at the UMN Aquatic Center in Cooke Hall from 5:30-7:00pm.  Practice for 14-15/16-18/Elite at Hamline Pool from 8:00-10:00pm.
  • Saturday, May 16: 11&U, 12-13, 14-15, 16-18, Elite practice TBD.

We have worked really hard trying to find an alternate location and practice schedule, if there are any changes or updates to the schedule I will let you know as they come in.

Second, we have 18 divers signed up to go to the Spring Region 5 Championships in Evanston IL, Kaitlin and I will be going to coach the meet.  We are planning on leaving Thursday around noon and arriving on Evanston around 6pm, I will send our final travel plans on Monday.  Please make sure you register with divemeets.com as of today you have 7 days left to register; if you do not register before March 5 you will have to register on deck in Evanston with a $30 late fee.

Jason and I have decided that the coaching expenses for the Spring Regional and West National are going to split evenly among all the athletes attending the regional. We are doing our best to keep all travel expenses as reasonable as possible.  Our best guess is that travel expenses will be approximately $175/diver attending the regional.

We are in the process of ordering t-shirts Lisa Keefer has a friend that does printing and is helping me with everything.  I do not have a price yet for the shirt but Lisa said they’d be around $12-$15 per shirt, as soon as I know the t-shirt price I will pass that on to you.  I also wanted to let you know that Elsmore has received the orders from Speedo and has passed them on to Gold Country for the embroidery.  I sent our contact at Gold Country an e-mail yesterday and haven’t heard back from him yet, but I will give them a call and announce at Thursday’s practice any information I receive.

As I stated in a previous newsletter if you qualify for the Spring West Nationals you will need to know on the spot if you are planning on going.  I have been working with Natalie Bonfig to find the best hotel for the best price keeping in mind location and free breakfast.  Here is a note from Natalie regarding the Hotel for Spring West Nationals: “The hotel chosen for the Spring Nationals on April 1-5 in Houston is the Quality Inn & Suites Reliant Park/Medical Center: 2364 South Loop West; Houston, TX 77054.  5.2 miles from the pool; reservations can be made by calling: Choice Sports Line: 1-877-240-2929 and use Quote USA Diving rate code: 00169370.   The Quality Inn and Suites is the best value with a free breakfast, free parking and it also offers both regular rooms (2Q $76.44) and suites ($101.99).  Free breakfast plus refrigerators in all rooms as well as microwaves.”  I have reserved a room for the coaches at: Quality Inn & Suites Reliant Park/Medical Center from April 1 to April 5; if Jason and I decided we want to arrive on April 2 it is really easy to cancel all or part of a reservation.  So when you call please reserve a room from April 1 to April 5 just to make sure we cover all our bases.

I would also like to start the ball rolling on hotels for the Summer Zone C Championships.  Here is what Natalie found: “The hotel chosen for Summer Zones July 7-12 is the Four Points Milwaukee North: 8900 North Kildeer Court; Brown Deer, WI 53209.  Reservations can be made through National Sports Travel www.ntssportstravel.com/events/diving.html or there is a link on the US Diving www.usadiving.org.  Located less than a mile from the pool; Room Rate: $119/night; Rooms include refrigerators, Microwaves and coffee maker.”  I have reserved my room from July 7 to July 12.

Here is an explanation from Natalie regarding NTS Spring and Choice Hotels: “US diving has a partnership with Choice hotels and the also have one with the National Sports Travel (who does not make any reservations with any Choice hotels).  Between the two options, we are trying to find the best overall value.”

Finally, as many of you know the Aquatic Center is hosting the NCAA Zone C Championships March 13-15; and as members of TCD you are required to volunteer to help run the event.  Right now it’s only looking like we need volunteers to help run the table.  Wendy Morrison and Sheila Thorstenson have volunteered to help me organize volunteers.  Wendy will be contacting you very soon asking for volunteers.  Also keep in mind that we are also hosting the Summer Junior Region 6 Championships June 12-14 and the USA Diving National Preliminaries July 17-19.  I have attached the meet information for the Spring Junior Region 5 Championships, the Spring West Nationals, Summer Junior Region 6 Championships, the Summer Junior Zone C Championships, and the USA Diving National Zone C Preliminary Meet.

As always please let me know if you have any questions, fee free to email me at info@twincitydivers.com.

Newsletter for February 15 to February 21: Posted February 25, 2009.

I wanted to remind everyone of the practice schedule this week; we will have normal practice on Monday and Tuesday; the practice for Thursday February 19 is moved to Wednesday February 18; also practice on Saturday February 21 is moved to Sunday February 22 the practice schedule is: Elite 11:30-2:00pm, 14-15/16-18 11:30-1:30pm; 11&U/12-13 11:30-1:00pm; and HSE 11:30-1:00pm.

With the Spring Junior 5 Regional only 4 weeks away we would like to get an idea of who is planning on attending.  If you do not yet know if your child is able to participate in this meet, I will have the coaches talk to the diver and let them know if they are ready.  There is a sign up sheet at the pool, please sign up by Tuesday February 17, we use this sign up sheet to see how many divers plan on going, and then we decided how many coaches we will need to go. 

You will also need to sign your divers up on/with DiveMeets.com to register with divemeets.com please go to www.divemeets.com.  If you already have an account with then you already know what to do, if you do not have an account with them you will need to make one, it is really easy just follow directions and use the help menu if you have any questions.  If you need further assistance please contact Kelly Jackman: pjackman@meetcontrol.com or Paul Holzmann: pholzmann@meetcontrol.com, they can answer all your questions.

When you register with dive meets you will need to have your divers USA Diving Number and there diving list(s).  We currently have a tentative dive list for most divers; I have attached it to this e-mail.  If you do not have a list in the attachment please let us knows and we will work on putting one together.  If you/we need to make changes or update the dive lists on DiveMeets we can do so on-line until March 5, or we can change the lists when we check in at the pool in Chicago.

We would like to make TCD t-shirts for those divers going to the meet, so when you sign up for the meet on the bulletin board please indicate your divers t-shirt size; parents if you would like a t-shirt please indicate that on the bulletin board sign up sheet as well.  The t-shirt company will need at least two weeks to prepare the shirts so the cut of date to order is Tuesday February 16.

Newsletter for February 2 to February 8: Posted February 2, 2009.

I wanted to remind you that practice on Saturday February 7 has been moved to Sunday February 8; the practice times for the 11&U/12-13 is 11:30-1:00pm; 14-15/16-18 11:30-1:30pm; HSE 11:30-1:00pm; and Elite 11:30-2:00pm.  The updated calendar can be found on the TCD website at February Calendar.

If you are interested in ordering TCD clothing/suit, our order form with payment is due Tuesday February 3.  I have attached the order form to this e-mail.  You are not required to purchase clothing/suits, however if you are planning on competing in the spring regional you are required to at least have a team suit.

I know a few of the divers would like to receive this e-mail, to help me get it to them can you please long on to your account on Sports Sign Up: under child/children click on the edit link next to here name and enter in there e-mail address.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

I hope you have a great week! 

Newsletter for January 26 to January 31: Posted January 26, 2009.

Hello, in an effort to keep you better informed of the goings on at TCD we have decided to start an E-Newsletter.  I am hopeful that the newsletter will keep you up to date on our practice schedule, meet schedule, and any other important information.  In this issue I will discuss changes to the January and February practice schedule, provide you some information about the Spring Junior 5 Regional Championships, Spring Junior West Nationals, the meets we are hosting this spring and summer, and dates and times of a few parents meetings.  I have also attached the TCD/USA Diving Events Calendar with the meets we will be hosting or attending highlighted. 

First, as many of you know the University of Minnesota Aquatic Center is a very busy and well used facility; it is because of this we have a few practices that conflict with meets being held at the Aquatic Center.  I have made the changes to the Spring Calendars on the website, and I have listed the changes below:

• Saturday January 31, practice will be as follows: 13&U 9-10:30am, 14-18 9-10:30am, and Elite 8-10:30am.
• Saturday February 7, practice is moved to Sunday February 8 practice times will be: 13&U: 11:30-1pm, 14-18: HSE: 11:30-1pm, 11:30-1:30pm, and Elite: 11:30-2:00pm.
• Thursday February 19, practice is moved to Wednesday February 18 practice times will be 13&U 6:00-7:30pm, 14-18 5:30-7:30pm, HSE 6-7:30pm, and Elite 5:30-8:00pm.
• Saturday February 21, practice is moved to Sunday February 22 with 13&U: 11:30-1pm, 14-18: HSE: 11:30-1pm, 11:30-1:30pm, and Elite: 11:30-2:00pm.

As I stated above the Aquatic Center is a very busy facility, we had to move practice times around for the following reasons:

• Saturday January 31 the University of Minnesota Swimming and Diving team will be going against Purdue, Illinois, and Wisconsin.  If you have time please consider staying after practice and watching the meet.  It is a great chance to see some of the best divers in the Big Ten.  The meet starts at 12:00pm, admission is free.
• Saturday February 7 the University of Minnesota Swimming and Diving Team is hosting the Minnesota Challenge.  Right now they are expecting over forty divers from Division 1, 2, and 3 Colleges and Universities. 
• February 19 thru the 21 the Aquatic Center is hosting the 2009 MIAC Championships.  All the division three colleges in the state of Minnesota will be attending this meet. 

Second, on March 7 and 8 we will be attending the Spring Junior Region 5 Championships in Evanston Illinois.  I am currently in the process of figuring out practice times; right now they are only offering practice on Friday March 6 from 7-9pm.  I do not feel that is enough time, so I am communicating with the meet director for more practice time on Thursday March 5 in the evening and Friday March 6 all day.  As soon as I hear from the meet director I will pass on the information.  The tentative schedule with the current meet information is for all divers to arrive in Evanston Illinois no later than 12pm on Friday March 6, and be at the pool by 4pm for registration/check-in, warm up, and practice.

When we travel to meets divers are required to have chaperones; divers are responsible for getting rides to and from Evanston, and to and from the hotel to the pool.  Divers are required to offset the cost of coach’s travel (Travel, Hotel, and Coaches Fees), the larger the travel party the more the cost is spread out.  The top 6 divers from each age group in event will qualify on to the Spring Junior West Nationals April 3-5 in Houston, TX.  If you qualify you will need to know on the spot if you’re going to go to nationals or give up your spot.  I will provide you with more information about the Junior West Nationals at a later date.

Third, Twin City Divers will be hosting three meets this year: NCAA Zone C Championships March 11 thru 15, the Summer Junior Region 6 Championships June 12-14, and USA Diving National Preliminaries July 17-19.  As members of Twin City Divers you are required to volunteer and help run these meets.  Here are the areas to volunteer: announcer, registration table workers, hospitality workers, runners, table workers, deck marshals, and deck clean up.  I have attached to this e-mail a description of all the volunteer opportunities.  I am also looking for people to chair the following areas: Volunteer Chair Person and Hospitality Chair Person.  If you are interested in being a chair person please let me know ASAP.

Finally, I would like to hold a parents meeting this Saturday January 31 shortly after practice at 10:30am.  We will discuss changes to the practice schedule, the upcoming Spring Regional Meet, and start to talk about the meets we are hosting.  As always please feel free to contact me via e-mail at jim.zagaria@twincitydivers.com or call me before or after practice at 612-387-7368. 

Thank you for your time and I hope you have a great week.  See you on Saturday at 10:30am.