NEWS FROM THE EXECUTIVE;

I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate all Nova swimmers for their fantastic performances at the North Trial meet, and wish them the best of luck for their remaining competitions.  Many thanks go out to our fabulous group of Coaches, who have done a wonderful job preparing our girls for this Synchro season.

CASINO

Our next casino will take place July 14 & 15, 2005(Thursday & Friday) at the Palace Casino in West Edmonton Mall.

Nova requires a volunteer worker per swimmer for an 8 hour shift. If you are UNABLE to work a shift, then it is YOUR RESPONSIBILITY to find an alternate worker (18yrs. or older), it can be a family member or friend.  Failure to provide a worker will find you responsible for the operational subsidy of approximately $50.00 per month on top of the usual monthly fees for the 2005 - 2006 season. You will also be responsible for all travel expenses and not entitled to the travel subsidy.

Below is a brief description of Volunteer casino duties:

GENERAL MANAGER: Overall responsibility for the Casino.  Assisted by the cash cage/count room advisors and the paid casino staff.

BANKER: Controls cashier floats. Busy during the opening, volunteer shift changes and closing. Able to run a mouse driven computer terminal is an asset.  Assisted by Cash Cage Advisor.

CASHIER: Pay out cash for players chips and make change.

Cash handling skills is an asset. Supervised by Cash Cage Advisor and/or Banker and/or General Manager.

CHIP RUNNER: Courier for the chips between the cash cage and the gaming tables.  Busy at opening and closing. Will carry chips in their racks and will always be accompanied bay a Security Guard.  Will be shown how to operate a hand held computer for data entries.

COUNT ROOM SUPERVISOR: Makes entries of cash and chips in the count room for each games table.

RECORDER: Makes entries of cash and chips in the count room for each games table.

COUNT ROOM PERSONNEL; Will sort, machine count and amalgamate the cash from the table to drop boxes.

A notice was sent out to parents requesting 2 volunteers, for the job of Casino coordinator. To this date we have only had one parent volunteer her time, and this is a parent who already has two jobs on the Executive. So I would like to thank Daphne Willan for once again helping us out and taking on this job. Since this is a time consuming job, and not one I want Daphne to do on her own I (Sharon Thurston) will be helping her out.

If you might have a particular job, time or date that you would like to work, please contact us a.s.a.p at:

Daphne Willan - jdwillan@shaw.ca 

Sharon Thurston - thurst@shaw.ca 

 This Casino is a very important fundraising event, and pretty much necessary for the operation of this club. I am sure that all parents would agree that volunteering for one 8hr. shift is a lot better then having to pay an enormous increase in monthly fees.

 If you should have questions or concerns in regards to anything, please feel free to contact myself or any other Executive member.

 Thank you,

Sharon Thurston

Nova Synchro Club, President

 

Tiers 1 – 4  Competitions for 2005

 General Travel information for out of town meets:

  It is club policy that all swimmers travel and sleep with their team at the selected club accommodation during out of town meets. The swimmers cover the shared room cost of the volunteer chaperone.   Parents who are NOT chosen as chaperones may choose to come along to the meet and stay in the club accommodation if there is availability, at their own cost. Those arrangements have to be made separately, but you can contact me regarding accommodation and bus seat availability if you wish. Nova generally assigns one chaperone per room or team, depending on the type of accommodation.

A charter bus has been booked for the Red Deer Invitational, Calgary meet and Lethbridge meet (see details below). The club budget (casino money) is going to subsidize the majority of the cost of the charter bus. Parents will be responsible for the accommodation and food costs for their swimmers.

Competition registration fees and hospitality fees are covered by the club budget (casino).  Hospitality food put on by the host club has been purchased by NOVA for all athletes. This will generally include snacks and lunch all day during competitions.  Please send a healthy bag lunch for the bus ride out. Note that NOVA promotes nutritious eating practices, especially during competition. Do not send high sugar snacks with your swimmer as the coaches prefer to avoid the sugar rushes. Note that your coach will ask you to ensure that your swimmer has a list of items for the meet. (Knox gel, hairpins, makeup etc.) Please ensure your swimmers have sufficient items for the competition. Generally the older swimmers and coaches will help the new swimmers with their hair and makeup. A finalized detailed schedule will also be provided closer to the time. Please check your parent handbook (Nova website) for more details or call one of us if you have questions.

Red Deer Invitational One Day Meet 

Saturday March 19: Recreation Center , 4501-47^th A Ave , 9 am – 4:30 pm

            The first invitational meet at Red Deer will have no figure competition and start with the solo & duet competition at 9 am. The team competitions will start at 1:30 pm. Swimmers must meet the charter bus at the Southwest corner (the Bay) of Southgate parking lot at 6:00 am, Saturday March 19^th. Please send adequate food & snacks for your swimmer that day. Since we may purchase pizza for the bus ride home, please send $5 to cover that. You may expect your swimmer back at Southgate Parking lot between 6-8 pm (more details will be available closer to the meet.) A phone tree is activated to tell parents exactly when to pick up the swimmers at Southgate mall. Parents may arrange to take their swimmer home individually, but must notify the team chaperone before or during the meet.

Wildrose Classic Provincial Meet April 22-24, Talisman Center , Calgary

 A charter deluxe motorized coach will transport our club to Calgary , estimated departure would be Friday morning (April 22) depending on the final competition schedule. I have reserved a block of rooms at the Days Inn Calgary South, 3828 Macleod Tr SE, 800.361.3422. The hotel includes a complimentary continental breakfast with the room. Swimmers will sleep with their team mates in Double/Double rooms, with a parent chaperone in each room. Generally they will take Friday and Saturday supper at a local restaurant, depending on the schedule.  

I reserved an extra 3 non-smoking Double/Double rooms at the club rate of $79/night. Parents who have not volunteered as chaperones, may have one of these rooms if they contact me on a first come, first served basis. It is possible that we may take a few non-chaperone parents on the charter bus, depending on seat availability. Many parents carpool down to meets. Swimmers will return Sunday April 24, immediately after competition is finished (generally between 6- 9 pm) if road conditions permit. Please contact me if you have any questions regarding these arrangements. More details will be forthcoming closer to the time.

 MASY Challenge, May 26-29, University of Lethbridge ( Max Bell Aquatic Center )

 A charter bus has already been booked and accommodations reserved at the University of Lethbridge dormitories. Estimated bus departure would be the morning of Thursday (May 26^th). NOVA has reserved an entire floor of the university dormitory. Swimmers will sleep in twin beds (2 per dorm room) with a single chaperone for the team. Bathing facilities are dormitory style. I am working with U of L to determine a room and board package for this stay. It is estimated that the total cost will be on the order of $100 per swimmer for the long weekend but final details have yet to be worked out.

 If you have any questions, please contact me by phone or email.

 Sherry Connors

EMAIL: scon2516@telus.net     

Note: If your swimmer has any medical conditions that require a chaperone’s attention, please let us know as soon as possible. You may contact the chaperone for your swimmer’s team as listed below.

Chaperone List for 2005

Team	Red Deer (may not require one per team)	Calgary   (1 per room)	Lethbridge (1 per team)
Tier 1 GM – Gail’s team	Lori Savard	Linda Laszchuk	Need a volunteer
Tier 2 LM– Laura’s team	Volunteer required	Heather Sadowski	Stephanie King
Tier 2 HB- Heather’s team	Patricia Rijavec(Le Clair)	Mary Bourke (Otto)	Wendy Drysdale ( Ferguson )
Tier 3 AP – Amanda’s team	Sandra Fuechtmann	Need a volunteer	Shelly Hipkin
Tier 3 CM- Caitlin’s team	Sandy Karesa	Barb Oldach	Christine Harvey
Tier 4 VD – Van Dyke team	Karen Romanyk (Bergsten)	Nancy Ellestad & Daphne Willan	Sharon Thurston

Jasper Synchro Camp

July 3-8, 2005

 Synchro Alberta is hosting is bi-annual summer camp for synchronized swimmers this July. All Nova swimmers between the ages of 12 – 16 would be eligible to go. Cost is $450 for the week and includes room and board at the Jasper Activity Center . Brochures are available on the web at http://www.synchroalberta.com/. If you are interested in a carpool or bus for this camp, please contact Sherry Connors before April 21^st. Deadline to register for camp is May 11^th. (Note I’m out of town after April 25^th.)

 Coaches’ news

Head Coach Report

Now through the hectic month of January and Northern Trials, everyone is taking a deep breath before the next plunge to Provincials for the Tier 6’s and Wildrose Classic for the Tier’s 1-5. All of the teams are working to make changes to their routines (based on judges’ comments) and fine-tune their routines for the next phase of the competition season. I encourage parents and family members to stop by the pool to enjoy some of the fantastic work that takes place every practice. NOVA will no doubt have a strong foundation heading into the upcoming competitions!

Northern Trials was held at the Kinsmen Sports Centre on February 4-6 this year. This competition involved all tier levels and was a great chance for our swimmers to see each other’s routines, cheer their club-mates on and show the audience what a unified club NOVA is. The feedback from the judges and audience alike was very positive and we had many NOVA routines taking top honours in their respective tier level. For our upcoming competitions, we are taking club spirit and club appearance one step further by working to improve those aspects that were identified at this competition. If each athlete adheres to club/team outfit guidelines, we present as a unified and strong club to all the other competition.

Again this year, I have had the opportunity to work with all of the teams on a monthly basis. We have worked together on figure development and routine choreography, among other things. I have noted a multitude of strengths in each of the teams and am enjoying this opportunity to get to know the swimmers and routines better.

In addition to this, Synchro Alberta has provided each club with the opportunity to participate in a routine critique through Synchro Alberta ’s Coaches’ Outreach Program. In mid-February, Jennifer Flowers, the Technical Coordinator for Synchro Alberta will be coming to visit our club and view our routines. All coaches will be provided with feedback on their routines and opportunities to ask questions. It shall be a rewarding and beneficial experience for all coaches and swimmers.

Spring Break practice times were released in the last newsletter. They have been made available on the Nova Synchro website (www.novasynchro.org). Families are strongly encouraged to review this information and should questions arise, please contact your coach.

I look forward to seeing everyone at the pool!

Kari Donahue

Tier 6 ‘Open’ team news

NOVA’s own team of ‘assassins’ has just finished our first test:” Northern Trials. The team had a solid swim for the judges and in the end, ranked first overall in the Tier 6 category. We are now ready and waiting for the next competition. The team will participate in the Tier 6 open team event and figures at Provincials in early March at the Kinsmen Sports Centre. A few short weeks after that, the team will compete at Western Divisionals in Kamloops in late March/early April.

Once through Westerns, the team will have a bit of a “breather” and a few more weeks in preparation for Nationals that will take place in Saskatoon on June 1-5. We plan to use the time in mid-March to revise the routines based on comments from the judges and build endurance/strength for Westerns. The team will go “back to basics”, such as sculling, positions and required elements that are choreographed into the routine to improve the overall strength and polish of the routines.

As part of our team goal setting, the team has identified strengths and areas for improvement. We strive to maintain our strengths: team cohesiveness, rare complaining, raw talent and skill, artistic expression, land flexibility, cool music and choreography. We are focused on improving the following areas: Socializing during practice, loss of focus, tight patterns, element execution, water flexibility, and core line stability.

Until next time,

Kari and Cheryl

Pre-competitive team

The pre-competitive girls have been working very hard.  In late January, the girls all passed their star one and star three levels and now are working hard at the moment to finish learning their routine.  Keep up the great work girls! 

Allison

Hello everyone!

Our first competition has come and gone in a tornado of excitement and
stress.  We are now making changes to the routine for our next competition
in April.  I have to say congratulations to my team on their amazing
performance in figures.  Good job.  I would also like to say congratulations
to my solos, Lauren and Sarah for their fabulous performances as well.

We will be working hard over the next two months to continue to improve our
performance and to feel good with our swims.  To my team, YOU CAN DO IT!!! 
NEVER LOSE HOPE!  IT'S ALL IN YOUR HEAD!

To the parents, I realize that the roster has the incorrect information.  I
would like to remind everyone that all the correct contact information is in
the log books that each girl received at the beginning of the year.  Just in
case that was lost, here is my contact info:
Email apodjarkowski@msn.com

Also, if you would like to contact me for any comments, questions or
concerns please try and do so on Fridays from 8-10pm.  I will make an effort
to be near a phone at that time.  Thank you.

SMILE :)
Amanda

Hello All,

Congratulations to all the swimmers on their performance at the recent Northern Trials Competition.  I am very excited about the performance of our team, the Tier 2 "L" team, who placed 3rd in routine and 5th in championship.  We need to continue focusing on our figures to improve our overall championship score for the Wildrose Competition.  Also, the Tier 2 duet of Christine and Stephanie placed 1st in routine and 2nd in championship. Great job girls! Currently, we are in the process of changes to the routine and also focusing on being really picky about the smaller details. I am also very pleased with the energy and positive attitudes the girls had during the competition even until the last few minutes before we competed.  Let's keep up this positive energy and bring it with us to the next competition. Great job! 

Thanks,

Laura Mumme

Hey everyone! Well, So far so good! Xenia , Marie-Helene, Samara and Beth have been working very hard since Northern Trials to polish up their routine and learn the new changes. We are focusing very much on flexibility and extension especially at home when they have free time ie. Watching TV, reading. We are now preparing to show of our routine in Red Deer as a practice for provincials and an opportunity for judges feedback. If your daughter is unable to attend practice or will be late please either e-mail me at h.d.b@shaw.ca or please do not hesitate to call my cell and leave a message

 Heather

 “G” Team

Since September our goal has been on the development of our synchro skills, flexibility, endurance and strength.  The improvements in some areas are outstanding and continued effort is needed in other areas. 

The girls have contributed their ideas to the choreography of their routine.  Together I believe our “Weather” theme is a balanced and fun routine that has audience appeal and is competitive.  We received our first official judges’ comments at Northern Trials in February.  They were very positive about the routine and the girls’ performance.  Currently we are completing revisions based on judges’ feedback.  We will have an opportunity to perform in Red Deer on March 19 and again receive feedback. 

The girls are learning to work as a team and we continue to concentrate on being attentive, positive and focused during practices.  It is very rewarding to see the progress these young athletes have made and I am confident of their ability to continue to develop and mature as the season moves into the more competitive stage.  Keep it up Alison, Ariell, Heather and Kimberley ! 

I greatly appreciated the advance notices I received when it was necessary for your daughters to miss a practice.  Please contact me with any questions or concerns.

Keep synching,

Gail McKnight

Hello Everyone!

            First I would like to congratulate Julie, Sarah, Leah, Rhea and Lauren on a Great competition weekend and Great swim-through of routine at Northern Trials. The Tier 3 ‘Stomp’ team placed first in both routine and championship which is excellent for such an early February competition. Good job Girls! Your hard work at practice is really paying off.  For the next 2 months leading up to our Invitational Meet and Wildrose Classic, we will be making some changes to the routine and focusing a lot on ‘nit picking’ many tiny details. 

            Keep land-drilling and stretching at home whenever you can – and even practice our facial expressions too.

            See you at the pool!!

             Caitlin