The Channel Cats kicked off the short summer season with a fantastic home meet in early June at Memorial Pool in Pasco. Thanks to the many family members who joined together working all the jobs needed to make a swim meet happen smoothly. Our meet went well and as usual got wonderful responses from the visiting teams!! We still hold the title of the hosting their “favorite meet” and we always love to hear that. It really takes a lot of people working together. Again, MANY THANKS and well done everyone!!
 
As for our swimmers…Our kiddos showed up ready to race especially in the longer races. The meet was split into younger and older swimmers with the younger swimmers swimming early in the day. Starting off with our younger swimmers, the 100m backstroke was a mixture of great swims and swims that were in need of a bit more “outdoor pool” experience. Sophia N. showed us what great turns look like while Brooke V., Ashling, Maddie N., Katy and Marissa all swam with good body positions and quick arm tempos. Way to go ladies, you started us off well! Bridget, Anikka and Greta all dropped significant time (15, 10 and 11 seconds) while the dynamic duo of Linnea and Emily racked up a best time by 4 seconds as well. Alvin and Jonas also showed great tempo in their backstrokes while (new to the team) Philip V did a flip turn in his first backstroke race!! Way to go Philip, that’s fantastic effort!!
Annalease gave a lesson in how to finish strong in her 200m freestyle, which is not easy at the end of a long race. Way to spin your arms and hold your breath Annalease. Nice job! For the boys, Donavyn (15 sec), Erwin (12sec), Wilson (11 sec) and Alex N (12 sec.) all had solid time drops in their 200m free also.
The 100 breaststroke was a strong event for our Channel Cats and the last for the Friday morning crew. Trinity and Adi W swam new best times, as did Natale (10sec), Mason (13sec), Benjamin C. (13 sec), Beckett (6 sec), Maddox (4 sec), Herky (4 sec) and George (7 sec). Impressive everyone. Nice swimming.
Friday afternoon hosted the older kids and started off with the 100m freestyle, the 200m Individual Medley (aka IM), the 200m backstroke and finished with the 400m freestyle.
Aubrey, Jenna and Olivia swam a solid first long course meet race in the 100m free. Welcome to long course girls, it’s a big pool and so different than indoor! (You did great!) Beatrice continued the solid swimming in the 100m free as she lit the pool on fire and earned a new personal best time by 14 seconds. But she was not the only one: other best times were earned by Sydney K, Makayla U., Mady B., Laney, Macy B., Maycie B., Liesel, LillyAnn and Chamelle. Great start to the meet ladies! The boys rallied and showed what they had in them as well. Kai topped his best time by 9 seconds while Joaquin made a new best time by 7 seconds. Luke B., Ethan J., Luc, Kaleb, Levi, Nathaniel K., Spencer, Austin W., Riley, Austin V., Coleman and Cody S all had personal best swims in addition.
Sisters Maycie and Brooke had a great showing in the 200m IM dropping a whopping 22 and 12 seconds respectively. The long list of best time swims for this race continues with Karma, Laney, Liesel, Madison V., LillyAnn, Makayla U., Beatrice, Emily M., Mady B., Sydney K., Maddie N., Jenna, Emma S., Aubrey B., Carrie M., Mary and Olivia. Way to represent ladies!! Joaquin stunned with a fantastic 49 second time drop for the boys! Wow Joaquin nice job! Nick Z followed dropping 19 seconds in his IM in addition. Other best times were from Andy G, the “Aquaman” himself dropped 10 seconds, Andrew J., Spencer, Austin W., Levi, Luc, Ethan (over 12 seconds), Adam (18), Nathaniel K., Luke B., Coleman and Kaleb (14 sec.). Special cudos goes to Luc J for a great breaststroke leg of his IM and coming home with a strong finish. Well swam Luc!
 
The 200m backstroke was another strong race for our Cats as Karma, Liesel, Makayla, Lilly and Mary led the way shaving 6 seconds off their best times. Regan followed  with a fantastic swim cutting 14 seconds while Mady B dropped 11 sec and Brooke B made a new best time by over 23 seconds! Holy guacamole! The boys also swam to a bunch of new personal best times with Andy G leading the charge taking 8 seconds off his former time. Riley earned a best by over 4 seconds with Levi, Austin W., Kai, Nick W., and Nick Z also posting best times. Shout out to Adam (16 sec) and Andrew J., (18) who had major time cuts in this race additionally.
 
Winding up day 1 for our older kids were Bryn and Chamelle both having good swims finishing close to their best time in the long, tough race. Laney had a great swim posting a time nearly 16 seconds faster than her best. Andy G. made waves again for the boys swimming to a 7 second time drop. Best time swims also came from Coleman, Cody S., and Spencer while Luke B., and Adam were close to their times with solid swims of their own. Zach (trying something more than a 50 or 100!!) had a solid swim taking off over 9 seconds while Kaleb (24 sec), Kai (12 sec), Luc (18sec) and Ethan (over 26 sec) all swam to best times in addition.Well done Channel Cats way to rock Day 1!
 
Saturday morning began with the 100m butterfly. Marissa started us off with a 19 second time drop but even better she hung tough racing her competition beside her in lane 2 the whole way!! LOVE, love, love the effort to race regardless of how difficult or tiring it is and both girls swam best times. Way to go Marissa! Adi W. dropped over 12 seconds in her fly followed by Emily E., Linnea, Paisley, Trinity, Anikka and Audrey. Some toughed it out to complete their first 100m fly ever so congrats go to Isabelle, Katy, Bridget, Alvin, Benjamin C., Louis, Clayton and Wilson. Also in the fly was Kody S. who crushed his best time by over 21 seconds while Aiden W. followed dropping nearly 15 seconds. George, Alex N., Maddox, Herky and Max all swam a personal best as did Jonas who crushed his by 18 seconds. Great swimming boys, way to go!
The final two races of the morning were the 50m free and the 50m breaststroke. Sophia N., Avi, Alice, Brooke V., Sophia C., Abby S., Katy, Maddie N., Michael S., Davis, Mark B., Rowan, Luke N., Clayton and Philip all swam their first long course 50m free. The majority of our kids swam best times even if just by a little. Coaches were happy and the morning performances were solid for our team. Nice swimming Channel Cats. Your hard work paid off!
Our older swimmers had a successful afternoon as well. Lots of best times, some good, solid swims that were close to but not quite best times happened and some strong, brave racing showed up on our team. Special props to our first time 200m butterfly swimmers: Mady B., Mary W., Makayla U., Cathy H., Liesel, Luc and Nathaniel K. You guys are animals and it is impressive whenever anyone steps up to try this race. You all rock in my book!
In the 100m back Maycie, Claire, Laney and Liesel all had stellar swims as did Brooke B., and Juliana. Karma, Chamelle, LillyAnn, Beatrice, and Emily M posted personal best times while Emma S and Macy crushed it with a 32 second and 20 second time drop of their own! Wowzers girls. That’s Awesome! Riley and Andy G lead the charge for the boys yet again dropping time and earning new personal bests. Cody S., Andrew J., and Hayden also swam best times as did Adam, Ethan J., Lincoln, Levi, Luke B., Kai, Luc, Nolan N., Coleman, Broden, Kaleb, Nick W., Austin V., and Peter C. In addition,  Tim Q and Joaquin took off 10 and 17 seconds earning new best times as well.
The 200m Breaststroke had some crazy swims as Neomi, Maycie and Beatrice all dropped amazing amounts of time (30, 24 and 21 sec). Chamelle and Mary had solid races while Claire dropped a little time too. Always happy when they can get a candy, any time drop is a good one for our older kids and the boys stepped up to the challenge of earning some as well. Nick Z and Tim (25sec and 18sec) rocked their swims while Riley, Nathaniel K., Andrew J. and Spencer all posted best times.
The 50m free is always fast and furious and for our kids it was loaded with best times. Some special swims worth noting came from Jenna who had an awesome finish holding her breath and racing into the wall. Nick W and great friend/ former Channel Cat (Ethan F) had a great race as well with Nick earning a best time and eeking out a victory in the close race.   
Finally, the last race of the day on Saturday was the 800m free. The tough Channel Cats who braved the race were Regan, Bryn, Karma, Cameron, Carrie, Cole, Skyler, Nick W., Broden, Coleman, Andy G., Spencer, Luc, Hayden, Kaleb and Ethan. We had some great swims and some gutsy swims. Special props to the big time drops from Luc (32sc), Ethan (36 sec), Andy G (10sec), Hayden (9sec) and Coleman (4sec). Way to go gentlemen!
 
Winding up the meet Sunday, the racing started with the 100m free for our young ones. Best times were swam by Adi and Annalease. In addition, our first time swimmers were Avi, Abby, Brooke V. and Sophia C. Our 11-12 years olds lit up the pool with a bunch more best times in this race too. Congrats to Emily E., Paisley, Linnea, Anikka, Trinity (almost 10 sec), Greta (13), Bridget (14), Karrin and Audrey X.(14). What an awesome showing to start us off on Sunday! Tori had a great first time race proving she is a force to be reckoned with and the competition better keep an eye out for her. Erwin, Beckett and Kody S led the charge for the boys along with Aiden W., Alvin, Benjamin C., Nikko, Benji K., Davis, Mason and Rowan. Also earning a personal best time were some of our 11-12 year old boys: Alex N., Clayton, Maddox, George, Cody C., Colin, Wilson, Jonas, Donavyn, Natale and Louis.
Adi and Annalease continued firing up the pool with best times in the 50m backstroke race which was the next event.  First time swimmers finishing with a legal swim and therefore a best time were Avi, Alice, Brooke V. and Sophia C. The 11-12 year old girls brought their own charge as Linnea posted a personal best followed by Paisley, Trinity, Bridget, Anikka, Greta and Audrey X. First time swimmers for this age group were Tori and Emily E. Nice job girls!
Our boys had a good showing in this race as well proving it wasn’t just the girls who were on fire. Beckett, Erwin and Aiden W., along with Kody S., Alvin, Benjamin C., Benji K., Mason and Nikko all swam to new best times. Rowan, Davis and Mark B. all swam their first 50m backstroke for our younger boys while the 11-12 year old boys rocked the pool with some best times. Congrats to George, Colin, and Cody C. along with Clayton, Wilson, Alex,  Jonas, Maddox, Donavyn, Andy L., Natale and Louis. Luke C, making a comeback from illness put on a solid display that he is coming back strong. We are happy to see that Luke. Way to go boys!
Wrapping up the younger session with the last event (the 50m butterfly) Adi and Annalease  each had an impressive swim dropping 4 and 8 seconds. Our other awesome swimmers willing to swim it for the first time and challenge themselves at the end of the meet were Avi, Alice, Abby, Brooke V. and Sophia C. For the 11-12 year old girls Linnea, Paisley, Trinity, Tori, Anikka, Bridget and Greta all had great swims and best times. Love your gutsiness girls! Keep it up!  For the boys, Erwin, Beckett, Aiden W., Kody S., Benji, Benjamin, Alvin and Nikko (28 seconds!!) all posted best times in this race too. Clayton, Alex N., Maddox, George, Cody C., Colin, Jonas, Andy L., Louis and Natale also finished up the meet with new best times. A great showing from our young Cats, way to start the summer season strong!
Liesel finished up the meet with 3 more best times notably dropping 23 seconds in her 200 free…That’s a great swim Liesel! Sydney K swam a solid 100m fly and shaved off 10 seconds in her 200m free while Macy B wow’d with big time drops in her 3 races (10, 34 and 11sec). Chamelle swam personal bests or was right on her best times, Juliana swam the 200m free for the first time and earned a new personal best in her 100m fly, Brooke B dropped over 5 seconds in both her 100br and 200m free, Maycie B had a standout day with best times in all 3 of her races (specifically the 200m free…over 25 sec drop!) and shaved off over 14 seconds in her 100m breaststroke. Continuing with more awesome swimming, Luke B had all 3 swims best times (5,11,9 sec.), Levi had 2, Peter C earned 1 and Adam ( 3 best times) crushed his 200m free time by almost 19 seconds! Forest D showed up Sunday for his first long course racing, Kai had fantastic swims in his 3 races (30, 35 and 8) and Olivia completed her 100m fly for the first time (we knew you could do it Liv, way to go) and also swam a strong 200m free and 100m breaststroke in addition. Andy G continued dominating his former times with 3 more best times (1,4,10 ½) while Laney had significant swims in her races (200fr -21, 100br -10sec). Way to go Cats! Nathan H had a great meet as well, with solid swims in the 100m fly and breaststroke, Broden and Karma swam best times in the 100m fly while Luc dropped in his 3 races (Luc swam the 400IM for the first time- woo hoo, way to go Luc!!). Ethan J. earned 3 best times (dropped over 11, 4, 6) as did Andrew J.(Andrew nabbed a whole lot of personal bests this weekend) and Hayden. Kjerstyn showed us a solid 200m fly, Nathaniel K. dropped time in his 200fr and 100br, Neomi swam best times in her 200m free and 100m breaststroke (11sec!), Carrie took down her former best time in the 100m fly, Emily M crushed her 3 races (8,15, 10) and Maddie N earned 2 new best times. Zach dropped time in his 100br, Nolan swam a great first ever 100m fly then rocked a 31 sec time drop in his 200fr and (14sec) 100br. Great job Nolan! Riley sliced 3 seconds off his 200fr and wow’d us with a fantastic 400IM (18sec). Nice swimming Ri! Kaleb swam hhis first ever 100m fly and dropped time in his other two races, Beatrice had a best swim in her 100br while the other two races were first ever in long course. Claire and Spencer shaved off time in 2 races, Jaxon swam his first long course meet, Emma S had 3 great races (specifically her 200m free – 22 and 100br -16) while Joaquin had a break out 200free dropping nearly 25 seconds. Woo hoo team, that’s wonderful swimming! The best time list continues with Chloe and Lincoln earning new times, Cody S. (all 3 races), Ella swam well for her first long course meet as did Erik (and brother Philip), Lillian dropped in her 2 races, Makayla U had a great meet finishing on Sunday with 3 more best times, Madison V. had 2 best times, Lilly swam a best time in her 100br and 400IM while Austin V earned a best time in his 100m fly. Jenna W swam her first long course meet which included her Sunday swims of the 100m fly and the 200m free. Love that courage and determination Jenna! Nick W. swam 2 new best times dropping over 12 seconds in his 400IM and was close to earning a best in his third race. That’s an impressive job with such a big time drop at the end of the meet Nick. Well done. And finally Austin W swam 3 best races (8,6,10 sec drops), Katy swam in her first long course meet, Mary W earned 3 new personal bests, Sean nabbed 2 new bests and Nick Z had all three best time swims (10, 15, 11). Great job everyone!!!
 
Our Channel Cats swam very well and the coaching staff was very pleased at the many best times, courageous swims and great races to the finish! BIG thanks to all who helped make the meet a success and start our summer off right!! Way to go TEAM!!
 

SAFE SPORT
 

MARCH  APRIL MAY JUNE JULY

Each month, the coaches will be sharing a SAFE SPORT TOPIC provided by USA swimming. I will post the MONTHLY topic link in the newsletter and you can reinforce the topics and talks at home.
If you ever have a concern or question regarding Safe Sport, Contact our Coaches or April Walkley TCCC Safe Sport representative at aprilwalkley@gmail.com
 

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REMINDER.. In your August 1st invoice everyone will be billed for volunteer hours that they have fallen short of the required 34 hours.  All families are required to volunteer 34 hours this year. Ask your friends and family to help you out, sign them up and you get the credit!

To make scrip more predictable I will place scrip orders on the 5th of every month. Please have all scrip money in the day before (the 4th). You can pay with presto pay or by mailing a check to the address below.  So the next scrip order will go in on Oct 4th. Any questions, text or phone call to 509 840 2475.

Tri City Channel Cats

PO Box 1668

Richland, WA 99352

Thanks
Faith Smeenk

TEAM Recycle + Lost and Found

Please pass on any items that are too small or not needed anymore to April Walkley. I will keep a list of items and if there is anything you are in need of, send me size and item and I will see if we can find something!
I currently have the items posted on Tri City Parents Facebook Page lost and found and a donated Parka.

 

Congratulations!
2018 Graduating Seniors

Claire S
Nate J
Maddie E
Teddy L
Sarah W
Neomi M
Connor M

not pictured Teddy or Sarah

We will miss you all and wish you the very best!

 

To the Channel Cat Families:
We began our association with the Channel Cats in the summer of 2000 (part of the Olympic bump that happens every 4 yrs).  Eventually 16 years passed as a member family, with 4 swimmers (and one tech support non-swimmer) making their way to countless open meets, IES Champs, Sectionals (including swimming against a 14 year old Missy Franklin), Zones, and Jr Nationals, before they all graduated high-school and went on to college – two of them making good on all those swim dues and earning swimming scholarships.  During that time we have seen IES teams come and go, and a virtual revolving door of coaches on other teams.  Through all those years we went to the annual Channel Cat banquet – awards and recognition for swimmers.  In our early days, Todd and Jennifer provided a homemade award for every swimmer.  Eventually, the club grew too big for that to be feasible.  But the banquet (note that pizza qualifies as a banquet) continued every year, as did recognition of swimmer achievements and typically some kind of gift for each swimmer.  I can tell you that no other club in the IES has the same coaches hosting an annual swim club banquet, with individual awards and recognition for the swimmers, for over 20 years (most would say 5 years is a long time).  I’m pretty sure that no other club in the state of Washington has this experience, and I’m also sure that very few other clubs in the whole country share in the blessing that the Channel Cat swimmers and families enjoy as a result of the dedication and long term commitment of Todd and Jennifer to your Channel Cat swimmers. Also, when we joined the Channel Cats, we hosted the premier meet in IES at the premier pool – George Prout in Richland.  At that time it was an 8-lane 50 meter pool and we hosted the June meet and the IES Champs.  But within a few years, the city condemned the 50 year old pool and rebuilt it with a rinky-dink 25 yard pool and we were banished to Pasco.  It took us years to build up the venue, but with Todd working with the City of Pasco and some generous donors, as well as some committed member families, we were able to once again build up the June meet to become the premier IES summer meet.  We also were able to host the Champ meet once again, even if on a rotational basis.  Our family moved away from Tri-Cities 2 summers ago.  There are now probably more member Channel Cat families that we don’t know, than those that we know (or know us).  So let me say, even plead, do not take any of this for granted.  What we have on the Channel Cats is unbelievably rare in any club sport, much less swimming. I also want to point out to you that Todd has both the best job and the worst job.  It is the best job because he gets to work with the best assistant head coach and with all your kids, watching their struggles turn into successes, for those who put in the effort, year after year.  It is the worst job because he has a new boss every year, and unlike most of you, his boss (the parent board), generally knows way less about his job and how to do it than he does.  Certainly the success of the Channel Cats is not achieved by the coaches alone but by and along with supportive and committed member families.  I urge you to always be more supportive than critical.  Anyone can be a critic; don’t be that guy (or gal).  Ensuring the success of a swim club involves many committed member families with a long-term perspective.  Swimmers and their families come and go.  But obviously, these Channel Cat coaches are here for the long haul.  I and my family are indebted to the coaches and leaders of the Channel Cats for the incredible experience our children have enjoyed.  Yes the dues are expensive, the service hours are inconvenient, and serving on the board is generally thankless.  But I urge you to support your swimmer and the club by finding a place to plug in – serving the team and helping continue to make Channel Cat swimming an awesome experience for everyone for many years to come.
-John Tixier
 

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