But don’t let the smiles fool you, when these former Marlins are in the water they are rivals through and through, and they continue to be the best that they can be.

Former Marlins Unite

The four TMSC alumni represented their universities at the 2012 Ontario University Athletics (OUA) swimming championships held at Laurentian University’s Jeno Thanyi Olympic Gold pool in Sudbury on February 9th, 10th and 11th.

Katie Copeland (Laurentian University) swam to personal best times in the 50, 100 and 200m Breaststroke events. Copeland took an impressive 4.8 seconds off her previous 200m best time.

Nicholas Lapointe, co-captain of the Laurentian University men’s team achieved best times in all his swims making it past the preliminary round and into the finals in the 50m back where he nailed down 13th place finishing with a time of 29.04 seconds. Much to the delight of the home town crowd, Lapointe also achieved his goal of breaking the 1 minute mark in the 100 Fly swimming a time of 59.99 seconds.

Elisa Colantonio helped the University of Western Ontario win this years women’s team title. Colantonio had three swims at finals in the 400 Free, 200 and 400 Medley events, achieving all best times. Elisa also garnered a silver medal for helping her team come second in the 8OO freestyle relay.

Andrea Jurenovskis contributed to the University of Toronto women’s team second place finish. Jurenovskis struck gold and bettered her own 50m Backstroke OUA record in a time of 28.44 seconds. She also retained her 100m Backstroke crown in golden fashion and placed 3rd in both the 50m Fly and 200m Free events. Jurenovskis also helped her team win gold in the 400m Medley relay and a silver in the 400 Free relay.

“I always look forward to see my former (TMSC) team mates. Although we now represent different universities, our roots to our home club remain strong and will last for a very long time.” Nicholas Lapointe stated.

Next on tap for Jurenovskis is the Canadian University Championships Fe. 23-25 at the University of Montreal.

A one-stop location for information about what is happening with our club.  This month includes reminders of upcoming events, Swimathon information and details about how Team Champs is different from other meets.  Swimmers should be reading the Coach’s Corner on the last page for tips from Coach Tracy.  Click here to see all of the newsletters.

Marlins look to make big splash

Although you can go online and place your order whenever you want, the official order is every 2nd Thursday at 9:00 am. This is when your order is processed and your bank account is debited. The gift cards for TMSC are all sent to the club and will be picked up by Jocelyne. She’ll be at the pool the following Thursday or Friday with your cards.

Once you are signed up, you will get a reminder e-mail for the week that you can order. An alternative is to set your order up as ‘recurring’ so you recieve the same order each time.

In addition to the basics like food and gas there is a great list of retailers to choose from. What a great way to Christmas shop for those hard to shop for family members! You will also be able to get gift cards from Shop and Support which offers some different retailers from Fundscrip. Jocelyne will let you know when she is placing an order and you give her a cheque payable to TMSC.

Although reaching your commitment in gift card fundraising may seem difficult it is definitely achievable. If you do reach your commitment and continue to participate, a portion of what you raise is deposited in your swim account…a great way to pay meet fees or for equipment for your swimmer.

Registration is now done. Special thanks to Angela McGann for her hard work in making sure that the 69 swimmers from 52 families are part of the Marlins for the 2011-12 season!

The newsletter got some positive feedback and we hope that you will continue to find the content helpful. Without a suggestion for a new name we have gone back to the one from a previous newsletter from TMSC. Of course we are always interested in suggestions if you’re feeling creative.

Representatives from TMSC attended the Swim Ontario AGM September 23rd to 25th and the North Eastern Ontario Region (NEOR) AGM October 1st and 2nd. Along with educational and networking opportunities, the meetings allow those in attendance to have a voice in the decision making that sets the framework for competitive swimming. See highlights from the meetings on p. 2.

TMSC will once again participate in the Santa Claus parade on November 5th. The theme this year is “The Magic and the Music of Christmas”. Chantal Riopel will be looking for volunteers (parents and swimmers) to design and decorate the float. As in previous years, all Marlins simmers are invited to ride! Stay tuned for more information as the parade date nears.

Thanks to a large contingent of volunteers led by Ron Lapointe and Chris Salvador, the event raised over $6000 for the club.

A special thank you goes out to the club members who participated and those who generously volunteered their time. TMSC will be hosting the triathlon again in 2012 and the organizing committee will be looking for volunteers to assist in having another successful event.

If you are interested in taking a more active role in the planning, Ron would love to hear from you.

So you thought a swim meet was a swim meet? Guess again.

Short Course (SC) meets – A short course meet is one that happens in a 25 m pool. Short course season is from September to February.

Long Course (LC) meets – A long course meet is one that happens in a 50 m pool. In our region the only 50 m pool is in Sudbury. Long course season is from April to June (with Provincial and National meets in July). TMSC swimmers may train in a SC pool, but they do participate in LC events.

No Sanction Blackout – In case you wondered why March wasn’t part of SC or LC…Swim Ontario has a rule that there are typically no sanctioned (approved) meets in March while the swimmers switch over from SC to LC. If a meet isn’t sanctioned, the times the swimmers achieve don’t count.

Top Fish Meets – Top Fish meets are meets for swimmers 11 years of age and younger. There are typically two Top Fish meets in our region each season and if your swimmer is within the age requirement, it is a great way to introduce them to competition in a format that is focused on encouraging newer swimmers.

Developmental Meets – There are normally four Developmental meets in our region during the swim season. These meets are for all age groups and can also be a good way for your swimmer to get enthusiastic about competing.

Championship Meets – These meets typically have qualifying times that swimmers must have achieved at a previous meet to qualify to swim. Swimmers who place in the top 6 or top 8 (depending on the number of lanes at the event) of their age group earn points for the team. The team with the most points at the end of the meet gets a banner and bragging rights.

Team Champs – Clubs from across the province are divided into three divisions for a championship meet. Depending on the division, clubs can only bring a set number of swimmers to compete. TMSC is in Division 2 allowing 30 swimmers to attend.

Provincials / Nationals – As swimmers improve, getting a provincial or national time becomes their quest. Each swim has a time based on age that will qualify the swimmer to attend and compete against the best. It’s not an easy goal to achieve but it is a powerful motivator for many swimmers.

Invitational Meets – Invitational meets allow the host club to set their own rules with respect to qualifying times, events and prizes. They can involve travel outside our region but provide swimmers with the opportunity to see some different competitors.

Time Trials – Throughout the season, sanctioned time trials are held in Timmins for our swimmers. These provide an additional opportunity for swimmers who are trying for qualifying times or prerequisite times.

Blue vs Gold (aka The Elf Extravaganza and Spring Fling) – These sanctioned meets occur in December and in the spring with half the TMSC swimmers on the Blue Team and half on the Gold Team. Team spirit is an absolute requirement! Noise, cheer competitions and dressing up in team colours are just a few of the ways that a lot of fun is added to these meets.

Your swimmer’s coach can help guide you in what meets are recommended. The sign up lists for meets only include swimmers that qualify or should consider attending. Remember, no meet is mandatory but competition can show your swimmer that all that practicing has a purpose.