Posted 10/29/11

Annual Halloween Party - Fun!

Thanks to everyone who attended the annual GWST Halloween party on Thursday. We all had a fantastic time!

Congratulations to Elizabeth Horn and Jared Hays. Elizabeth took first place in the pumpkin carving contest and Jared won the pumpkin seed spitting contest.

Pictures are posted here for your viewing pleasure. Please contact Brett if you have additional pictures you'd like posted.

Posted 3/27/11

Ironman.com looks back: Smith returns to Kona.

The following article was republished on the ironman.com web site on Wednesday, February 23, 2011. Matthew Dale's story from 2006 profiles Michael Smith, who made a return to the Ford Ironman World Championship after a 22-year hiatus.

EXCERPT FROM ARTICLE: "...Twenty-two years is a long time. For Michael Smith, a 57-year-old P.E. teacher and club swim coach outside of San Diego, it's time enough to watch your six-month-old daughter mature into a college student. Time enough to buy four homes, help more than 30 swimmers earn college scholarships, go through a divorce and suffer a heart attack..."

The article is about Coach Mike Smith winning the Hawaii 2006 Ironman lottery after having last participated in 1984. This picture is of Mike riding in the 112-mile bike leg of the 1984 Hawaii Ironman World Championship. Click HERE for the rest of the story.

Posted 3/13/11

Way to Go Golden Wave Swimmers!

We had an outstanding showing at the JO Max meet, sporting several champions.

JONATHAN HAYS (13) took first place in the 50 freestyle with a JO time of :26.29.

TAYLOR MOULTRIE (8) was the 50 butterfly champion with a time of :41.54.

MALIA NOWLEN (10) swam a :32.87 50 freestyle JO time to take first place. She was also the champion in the 50 backstroke with a time of :39.70.

MARINA AVALOS (11) swam her first JO time in the 50 breaststroke with a :38.68.

Our 10 and Under girls team was the 200 medley relay champion, finishing with an A time of 2:49.31. The team was comprised of MALIA NOWLEN (10) backstroke, MADDY LOGSDON (9) breaststroke, TAYLOR MOULTRIE (8) butterfly, and ABBY GUNTHER (6) freestyle. It was an exciting race, with our team winning by just over a second.

CONGRATULATIONS ON A FANTASTIC MEET GOLDEN WAVE!

Posted 3/10/11

Congratulations Jordyn Gunther!

... for making the 9-10 age group Golden Wave all-time team records list in the following five events!

• 50 Free (:29.97, 4th place)
• 50 Back (:35.09, 2nd place)
• 100 Back (1:15.65, 3rd place)
• 50 Breast (:39.15, 2nd place)
• 100 Breast (1:27.10, 2nd place)

Posted 2/24/11

Informal Team Dinner (March 8)

Mike would like to have the team meet for dinner after practice on Tuesday, March 8. Attendance is not mandatory; this is an informal, fun get together. The restaurant is Los 3 Pedros, located at 2533 Folex Way, Spring Valley.

Their menu is HERE and a map with their location is HERE.

The manager will let us have the Wednesday special on Tuesday (chicken tacos for $1 each). Practice ends at 6:30 that night, so we'll leave right after practice and should all be there at 7:00 PM. We look forward to seeing you there if you can make it.

Posted 2/22/11

SBA 12 and Under Meet Highlights and JOs

Golden Wave Swim Team had an outstanding swim meet! We are sending 7 swimmers to the JOs. Below is a recap of individual performances and JO qualifiers.

The Gunther family is making waves!

Abby Gunther (6 yrs old)

6 year old Abby made an impressive time in the 100 IM, which was her first 8 year old "A" time. In the last two meets she has gone from 2:04.56 to 1:39.31, a whopping 25-second drop! Excellent job Abby!

Jordyn Gunther (10 yrs old)

Jordyn won five "A" events at the SBA meet. She made her first Western Zone cuts! Look for great results in the 50 and 100 yd breaststroke. She will also be a top contender in the 50 and 100 yd backstroke, as well as the sprint freestyles at this weekend's JO meet. Congratulations Jordyn!

Brady Gunther (11 yrs old)

Brady will be swimming in 6 events at the JO meet. His best strokes at the SBA meet were the 100 yd backstroke (where he dropped his time from 1:15.95 to 1:11.85), and the 50 yd backstroke (where he droppped from 34.96 to 32.54). In fact, Brady was the highest finisher of all 11 year old swimmers at the SBA meet! Well done Brady!

Other Individual JO Qualifiers

Malia Nowlen (10 yrs old)

Malia had an outstanding performance! She will be swimming her first individual events at JOs: the 50 yd breakstroke (43.68) and the 100 yd breaststroke (1:35.47). Malia will also be swimming both the 200 yd freestyle relay and the 200 medley relay. Congratulations Malia!

Trinity Ishikawa (11 yrs old)

Trinity is swimming the 50 yd butterfly at JOs, seeded with a time of 32.52. At this past summer's JOs as a 10 yr old, she had an excellent showing in the finals with two 6th place finishes in the 50 yd and 100 yd butterfly. Great job Trinity!

Jonathan Hays (13 yrs old)

Jonathan will be swimming his strongest event at the JOs, the 100 breaststroke. As a 12 yr old, he placed 3rd in the 100 breaststroke and 8th place in the 50 freestyle at the Coronado Short Course Jr. Olympics. Go get 'em Jonathan!

Filling out the other two JO relay spots are....

Madison Logsdon (9 yrs old)

Madison is swimming the 200 yd freestyle relay and the 200 medley relay at the JO meet. We're looking for a great showing Madison. Have fun and let's see you guys fly!

Taylor Moultrie (8 yrs old)

Taylor is joining Jordyn, Malia, and Madison in the two relay events. She has great team spirit, which has manifested itself in really fast times in her relay events. Have fun and swim fast Taylor!

Posted 1/2/11

Announcements

Make sure you get your USS cards before the next swim meet. Only younger swimmers (thru 12 years old) should enter the Fallbrook meet because we're not swimming the afternoon session. All older swimmers should enter the upcoming No Times meet at El Cajon Valley High School.

Coach Mike ordered snow board style beanies. They will be available for sale January 10th. Since there are only 11, it will be first come, first serve.

Posted 10/2/10

Annual Halloween Party

Mark your calendar for Thursday, October 28! It's our 22nd annual Golden Wave Swim Team Pumpkin Carving party.

The event will be held at the high school in an activity room next to the pool.

Swim practice is from 5 to 5:30 PM that night, followed by the party from 5:30 - 7:00 PM.

Cost is $4.00 per person to cover pizza, soda, candy and trophies. Pay that night.

JOIN IN THE FUN! There will be a pumpkin carving contest (no commercial patterns please) and a pumpkin seed spitting contest. Prizes will be given.

Bring a pumpkin, candle, newspapers, and carving utensils. Don't miss it! OCTOBER 28.

Posted 8/23/10

Swim Cards for New Swimmers

New swimmers need to get their USA membership cards by September 1. The swim cards will be good for the rest of 2010 and through the end of 2011.

Coach Mike wants all GWST swimmers to participate in the freestyle meet in late September. In order for this to happen, every swimmer on the team needs to have a membership card. To get the membership form, click here.

Instead of mailing in the form, you have the option of stopping by the local San Diego Imperial Swimming office on Morena Blvd. to get the membership card. They print it out on the spot.

Team Swim Suits

New swimmers need to order a team suit from the coach by the end of this week. See Coach Mike about sizing. Boys can order jammers instead of speedos if they'd like. Click HERE to order.

We Need Officials!

Talk to Brett Hays about becoming a volunteer offical. We need more parent officials for the upcoming swim season.

Team Meet on Sept. 26

The one-day freestyle meet on Sunday, Sept. 26 marks the start of the new short course season. All swimmers on the team should enter by Sept. 14. Meet entry instructions are here.

Annual Pool Fee

Please include the $60 annual pool fee with your Sept. monthly dues.

Sweatshirts

Team sweatshirts will be ordered for October. An announcement will be e-mailed with more specifics.

Be On Time Please!

We need all swimmers to be on time for practice. This means 10 minutes before practice start time in order to hook up lane lines, etc. Practice can then actually start on time. Parents, we greatly appreciate your help on this one. Thank you.

Posted 8/1/10

Practice Location Switches Back to Mt. Miguel HS

Note that on Monday August 16 we switch our practices back to Mt. Miguel High School. We'll be there until mid-May next year. Directions to Mt. Miguel HS are here

Entry Deadline for Jr. Olympics Meet

Please get your Jr. Olympic entry sheets to Coach Mike by the last day of the JO Max meet, which is Sunday, August 8.

Posted 7/18/10

No Practice on Wednesday

There will be no practice on Wednesday, July 21. Coach Mike has cancelled practice.

SBA JO Max Meet

If you are going to miss practice next week (e.g., out of town on vacation), make sure you get your JO Max entry sheets to Mike this week. They are due next week.

Posted 5/16/10

Practices Switch to Helix HS Pool

IMPORTANT! Beginning tomorrow, May 17, we switch to our summer pool location: Helix HS.

Our practices will be held at the Helix High School pool until mid-August. Click HERE to get directions to the pool.

Meet Pictures are Posted

To view pictures from this weekend's meet in La Jolla, click HERE.

Posted 4/30/10

New Fee Structure

New dues structure begins May 1. Rate increase is $7.50 per week. 1st swimmer is $110 per month, 2nd swimmer is $80 per month.

Meet Entries

Entries will only be accepted on the team entry form, accompanied with a check before the deadline. Please go here for MEET ENTRY INSTRUCTIONS. Write the meet check out to Golden Wave only.

Posted 4/18/10

Joan Kroc Meet Results and Pictures

Results and pictures from this weekend's All Ages C Meet at the Joan Kroc Center are now posted. Click here for RESULTS, and here for PICTURES

GWST Team Records

Completed GWST Short Course Yard team records for all age groups are now posted HERE.

Posted 4/2/10

Reminders

April practice schedule is now posted.

Entries will only be accepted on the team entry form, accompanied with a personal check before the deadline. Make check out to GOLDEN WAVE only.

Check the practice schedule calendar for entry form deadlines. Also, CLICK HERE. for instructions on entering meets.

Posted 3/28/10

Spring Break Practice Schedule (March 29 - April 2)

The practice schedule has changed; afternoons only Monday thru Wednesday (4:30 - 6:30 PM each day). Still no practice Thursday and Friday.

Summer Swim Program

Please tell your friends about the GWST Summer Swim program. It's a great way to introduce them to swimming in a club setting to see if they like it. To view the Summer Swim program flyer, CLICK HERE.

Posted 2/28/10

Bring a Friend to Practice! (March 10)

On Wednesday March 10 from 5:30 to 7:00 try and bring a friend to practice. You get to coach the person you bring for part of the practice. Click HERE to get the flyer.

JO MAX Meet March 6-7 El Cajon

Check in by 8:10AM

Novice Meet Mission Vally YMCA Today, Feb. 28

The four GWST swimmers entered in the meet had a great time. It was a quick meet, about 1 hour 45 minutes. Each swimmer won at least one heat. Way to go! Results are below.

Abby Gunther (5 yrs)

25 free (:23.1 sec)
25 back (:28.0 sec)
25 breast (:41.4 sec)
25 fly (:36.0 sec)
100 IM (2:29.0 sec)

Michaela Higginson (6 yrs)

25 free (:25.3 sec)
25 back (:26.7 sec)
25 breast (:34.7 sec)
25 fly (:38.0 sec)
100 IM (2:21.9 sec)

Jordyn Gunther (9 yrs)

50 free (:34.3 sec)
50 back (:41.3 sec)
50 breast (:49.9 sec)
50 fly (:49.9 sec)
100 IM (1:34.3 sec)

Mike Zavala (12 yrs)

50 free (:38.3 sec)
50 back (:49.0 sec)
50 breast (1:04.4 sec)
50 fly (NA)
100 IM (1:51.0 sec)

Posted 2/21/10

SCY JO Meet Feb. 19-21

Congratulations Golden Wave on an excellent showing at this weekend's Junior Olympics meet. Everybody had a good time. Pictures are posted here.

Posted 2/14/10

RECAP: Feb 5-7 SBA ABC 12 and Under Meet at Loma Verde Pool

The Golden Wave Swim Team had an outstanding swim meet! Below is a recap of results for our fifteen swimmers entered in the meet.

Marina Avalos

In this meet Marina earned JO times in the 50 breast (44.45) and 50 back (39.52)! She placed 2nd in two events and finished 3rd and 4th in two others. Marina also moved up from B to A division in the 50 free and 50 back. She will be swimming in four JO events: the 50 breast, 50 back, 200 free relay and the 200 medley relay. Congratulations Marina!

Jordan Golden

Jordan is one of our newest swimmers - 4 months on the team. She had an excellent meet. Can you believe she finished 4th and 6th in the 50 and 100 breast in this her first seeded meet? And she will be swimming in next week's JO meet as a part of the 200 Free Relay team. Well done Jordan!

Abby Gunther

At five years old, Abby is our youngest swimmer. She dropped her time a whopping 19 seconds in the 50 free! She also swam strong races in the 100 free and 50 back. Abby grabbed 3rd, 5th and 7th place finishes. Excellent job Abby!

Jordyn Gunther

Jordyn dropped times in each of her five events, with a huge 16 second drop in the 100 IM! She actually moved up from C to B division in four events. Jordyn had two 2nd place finishes, and 3rd, 4th and 5th place finishes. She'll also be swimming in the JO meet as part of the 200 Free and 200 Medley Relay teams. Nicely done Jordyn!

Mary Kate Jones

Mary Kate had a fantastic meet, with an impressive 6 second drop in the 100 free! She dropped times in five events, with two 2nd place finishes, a 3rd place finish and three 5th place finishes. Mary Kate moved up from C to B division in the 50 free. Congratulations Mary Kate!

Madison Logsdon

Madison, another one of our younger swimmers, had a great meet. She lopped 4 seconds off of her 100 free time and earned ribbons in five events. Madison recorded 1st, 4th (twice), 5th and 6th place finishes. Excellent job Madison!

Malia Nowlen

Malia had an excellent performance. She logged impressive time drops: six seconds in the 50 back, four seconds in the 100 IM, three seconds in the 100 breast, and three seconds in the 100 free. Malia is also swimming in the JO meet, as a member of the GWST 200 Medley Relay team. Congratulations Malia!

Trinity Ishikawa

In this meet Trinity earned a JO time in the 50 free (33.21), where she dropped 1.5 seconds from her previous best! She had 1st, 2nd and 3rd place finishes. Trinity is swimming four events in the JO meet: the 50 free, 50 fly, 200 free relay, and 200 medley relay. Well done Trinity!

Brady Gunther

Brady's performance was impressive! He moved up from B to A division in three events: the 100 IM, 200 free, and 100 free. He earned a JO time in the 100 IM (1:24.00). He dropped his times by eight seconds in the 100 IM and by seven seconds in the 200 free. Brady is entered in eight JO events, including two relay teams. Excellent job Brady!

Jared Hays

Jared swam a great meet! His times dropped in four events, including an impressive eight second drop in the 100 IM. Jared had three 3rd place finishes, and moved up from C to B division in the 100 IM and 50 breast. Congratulations Jared!

Jonathan Hays

Jonathan earned JO times in the 100 IM and 50 fly. He moved up from C to A division in the 50 fly, and from B to A division in the 50 back and 200 IM. Jonathan shaved seven seconds off his 50 fly, five seconds off his 50 breast, and five seconds off his 200 IM. He is entered in five JO events. Nicely done Jonathan!

Brian Jones

In this meet Brian dropped an impressive six seconds off his 100 free time and he continues to show consistent improvement. Great job Brian!

Alec Padilla

Alec lopped a whopping nineteen seconds off his 200 free time! He finished 2nd in the 50 free and 3rd in the 100 free. Alec will be swimming in the JO meet in the 200 free relay and the 200 medley relay. Congratulations Alec on a strong performance!

Andreas Padilla

Andreas had a great meet, grabbing a JO time in the 50 free. He moved up from C to A division in the 50 free and from C to B division in the 100 IM. Andreas dropped a whopping eleven seconds off his 100 IM time, with 1st, 2nd, 3rd (twice) and 4th place finishes. He will be swimming three events in the JO meet (50 free, 200 free relay and 200 medley relay). Well done Andreas!

Mike Zavala

Mike once again showed his tenacity with a seven second drop in the 100 free. We're expecting great things from you Mike. Congratulations!

Posted 2/12/10

JO Entry Sheets are Posted

Congratulations Golden Wave! We have eleven swimmers entered in the Junior Olympics meet next weekend. Click here view GWST JO entries.

Posted 2/7/10

New Swim Meet Pictures Uploaded

Click here to see pictures from the Feb. 5-7 SBA 12 and Under ABC Meet. Results are also posted here for Girls and here for Boys

Posted 2/3/10

New Swim Meet Pictures Uploaded

Click here to see pictures from the Jan. 29-31 HSA 12 and Over No Time Stds. meet.

Posted 2/1/10

Miscellaneous

Swim meet entries will only be accepted on the team entry form and accompanied by a check before the deadline. Please click here for instructions on entering meets.

JO MAX meet is coming up. Please get your entry sheets in early. Due date to Coach Mike is Feb. 22.

Jr. Olympic entries are due after the ABC meet 7 Feb. See Coach before you leave the meet on Sunday.

New team suit is mandatory for all meets.

Posted 1/15/10

Short Course Jr. Olympics Meet Sheet Published

The meet sheet for the SI-Imperial 2010 Short Course Jr. Olympics is available here.

Posted 1/2/10

New Swim Meet Entry Procedure

We've just implemented a new, more formal meet entry procedure. Parents and/or swimmers need to submit a meet entry sheet to Coach Mike at least three calendar days prior to the due date for meet entries.

Click here to get specifics regarding the new procedure.

Posted 12/23/09

Congratulations Jonathan Hays!

... for achieving another JO time. 12-year old Jonathan swam a 29.63 second 50-yard freestyle on Sunday, 13 Dec. at the SBA B/C all ages meet. He took first place not only in that event, but also in the 100 yard IM, in which he finished within 0.48 second of a JO time.

Posted 12/17/09

Christmas Potluck Dinner

Coach Mike is hosting a team Christmas potluck dinner at his home this coming Sunday, December 20. Start time is 5:00 PM. Please let him know what you'd like to bring.

Mike's address is 1717 Fabled Waters Dr., Spring Valley, CA. Directions from Hwy 94 are: Sweetwater Springs Blvd to Jamacha Blvd., right turn, go down hill, right at first stop light at Pointe Parkway, gate code is 6653 or tell guard you're here to see Mike Smith, go up hill, take right at first stop sign onto Fabled Waters Drive, second house on the right. 619-335-0396.

Posted 11/21/09

Congratulations Trinity Ishikawa!

... for making your first JO time. 10-year old Trinity swam a 36.79 second 50-yard butterfly on Sunday, 11/15 at the A/B all ages meet in Poway.

Good Luck Coach Mike!

Coach Mike will be competing in the Ironman competition in Cozumel, Mexico on November 29th!

Happy Birthday Coach Mike on November 29th!

Prize goes to the one who can guess his correct age! (hint: He is NOT 29!)

Posted 11/15/09

Announcements

• IMPORTANT! Swimmers need to get 2010 registration completed before December.
• Bi-annual official's fee is due in your November bill: $15 now, $15 next May. Applies only if you are not a parent official. This needs to be paid.
• Please add meet fees to your dues if you have not paid for the meet.
• Meet entries for B/C All Ages Meet at SBA Loma Verde on 12/12-13 are due 12/2.