Good morning SMAC student-athletes & families!

The fees for the ASC meet are posted on the bulletin board at the pool. Please speak with Puja at the Front Desk and let her know how you want to cover those fees (patelpp@co.cal.md.us). Remember, cash or check only, please. I'll be handing out a hard copy of events and fees to everybody entered in the meet (December 9-11) starting this afternoon at workout (Monday, November 28, 2011) as well.

If you have any questions regarding those fees, please email me at erikcollins19@gmail.com.

Thanks for being a part of SMAC, I'm looking forward to the meet!

EC
erikcollins19@gmail.com

Good morning SMAC student-athletes & families!

The meet warmup times for this weekend at GBSA are as follows:

Friday PM: 4 p.m., be on deck by 3:50 p.m.

Saturday AM: 7:10 a.m., be on deck by 7 a.m. (12 & Unders)
Saturday PM: 1:00 p.m., be on deck by 12:50 p.m. (13 & Older)

Sunday AM: 7:10 a.m., be on deck by 7:00 a.m. (12 & Unders)
Sunday PM: 1:20 p.m., be on deck by 1:10 p.m. (13 & Older)

Remember, NO WORKOUT FOR ANYBODY IN PLATINUM, GOLD OR SILVER ON MONDAY, NOVEMBER 21!

We'll resume regular workout on Tuesday, November 22. Email me at erikcollins19@gmail.com if you have any questions.

Thanks for being a part of SMAC, I'm looking forward to the meet!
EC

MEET ANNOUNCEMENT:

The Annapolis Swim Club (ASC) Holiday Meet is December 9-11. This meet has a "No Time" entry standard, so everybody in the Platinum/Gold and Silver groups will be able to swim in the meet.

PLEASE EMAIL ME NO LATER THAN NOON ON MONDAY, NOVEMBER 21 IF YOU'D LIKE YOUR CHILD TO SWIM IN THE MEET (erikcollins19@gmail.com).

I will do the entry that afternoon and nobody will have to worry about it over the Thanksgiving holiday.

Thanks very much for being a part of SMAC, I'm looking forward to the meet!

EC
erikcollins19@gmail.com

According to swiminfo.com (Wednesday Morning, November 9, 2011), the University of Maryland is considering dropping the men's & women's swimming and diving teams. This is very sad news for the UMD student-athletes who will be adversely affected by this move, and for swimming in general. One of the best aspects of competitive swimming for young student-athletes here in America is the prospect of going on to compete at the collegiate level, whether it be at a big Division I school, or a small Division III school.

According to a Washington Post report, the UMD Athletic Department, in defense of the move, claims it is going to lose approximately $4.7 million dollars across 10 sports. It's hard to believe that such a large school - with high profile basketball & football programs generating millions of dollars for the athletic department each year - could find themselves in such dire financial straits. Unfortunately, this is becoming all to commonplace in collegiate sports: high revenue generating, non-Olympic sports are allowed to operate on a budget larger than some small countries, while non-revenue generating Olympic sports (swimming & diving, gymnastics and track & field, etc...) wind up as casualties littering the college athletic landscape, simply because they can't cover their comparatively low operating expenses. Conventional wisdom says those operating expenses are simply a cost of doing business as an NCAA-sanctioned institution of higher education. It's too bad that the profits generated by those basketball & football programs can't cover the costs of the non-revenue generating programs.

Ironically, year after year the graduation rate for swimming & diving programs throughout the NCAA far exceeds that of popular "revenue generating" sports such as football & basketball. This seems to go against the grain of the very mission of the NCAA.

In the event some process is put in place to help save the UMD men's & women's swimming & diving programs, whether it be a fund to contribute to or a petition to sign, that information will be posted here. SMAC encourages all of its families and student-athletes to stay on top of this story as it unfolds. Email me if you have any questions.

EC
erikcollins19@gmail.com

Hello SMAC student-athletes & families!

A REVISED meet schedule is posted on the bulletin board at the pool, reflecting the following changes:

We will be attending the following meets-

November 18-20 @ GBSA in Catonsville;
December 9-11 @ Arundel Swim Center in Annapolis.


We will NOT be attending the December 16-18 meet in Westminster.


Also, the qualifying times for the Retriever ("RAC") meet in January (13-16) are posted; hopefully we will have additional SMAC swimmers qualify for this meet at either the November or December meets. The RAC meet is prelims/finals, and I'd like to make that meet format a priority for SMAC, and get as many people as possible qualified for that RAC meet in Janaury.

If you have any questions about any of this, email me at erikcollins19@gmail.com
Thanks for being a part of SMAC!

EC

Hi everybody, several things to go over today:

GBSA Meet, November 18-20:

• entries are done & submitted;
• hard copy of events & fees will be handed out to everybody at workout starting on Wednesday, Nov. 2. Please let Puja know how you want to cover those fees (pay for them directly or have them taken out of your Meet Fee Account);
• a list of entry fees will also be posted on the bulletin board;

November school holidays:

The schedule for the November school holidays is as follows:

Friday, Nov 11:
Plat/Gold, 8-10 a.m.;
Silver, 10-11 a.m.

Wednesday, Nov 23:
Plat/Gold, 8-10 a.m.;
Silver, 10-11:30 a.m.

Thursday, Nov 24 (Thanksgiving Day):
Plat/Gold, 8-10 a.m.;
Silver- NO WORKOUT ON THANKSGIVING DAY

Friday, Nov 25:
Plat/Gold, 8-10 a.m.;
Silver, 10-11:30 a.m.

I'll hand out the November Calendars later this week. If you have any questions, email me at erikcollins19@gmail.com

Thanks for being a part of SMAC!

EC