Jersey Shore Swimming Community Seeks to Save High School Swimming Pool

Toward the end of the Monday April 11^th school board work session meeting, school board president Harry Brungard questioned the need for the high school pool and was concerned about some upcoming maintenance costs.  It should be noted that all high school facilities need to be maintained like bleacher repairs at the high school football stadium.  Go here to view school board minutes on costs associated for bleacher repair. 


To add to this story, there has been a strong push by the wrestling community to get their own wrestling room and the chatter around town has it that they have been eyeing the pool area.


If you would like to see the school board discussion regarding closing the pool, here is a link to the online video page.


It is the video from the Monday, April 11th Work Session. Be prepared, the video link takes a bit of time to load. The specific discussion concerning the pool takes place at the very end of the video. You can jump to the end and see the discussions and the statements above.

The pool is used extensively for a variety of groups:

1. The pool is used to train lifeguards.
2. Physical education classes hold snorkeling, swimming, and kayaking classes during the school day
3. Home of the successful High School Swim Team. This team is growing every year and is now significantly competitive within our region. Every year Jersey Shore send swimmers to districts and states. 
4. Growing after school program (YMCA Winter Swim team).
5. Home to the JS Community Swim. Run during the winter months.
6. Other district opportunities: JS Elementary classes were recently taken to the pool in the afternoon as a reward for completing the PSSAs. This has also been done the last few years for the outlying elementary for students who met their AR goals.

Come show your support for the pool by attending the School Board Meeting on April 25, 2011 at 7:00 PM at the Jersey Shore Area School District building at 175 A&P Drive.

Spring Safety Splash

SWIMPOSIUM

What is a Swimposium? A Swimposium is a Workshop program covering several subjects that is offered by USA Swimming to promote the exchange of ideas and to inform it membership about its programs and services. Members of the USA Swimming staff and volunteers attend the Swimposium to present and discuss the various subjects.

The Middle Atlantic Swimposium will be held on April 30 and will present programs on Club Leadership and Management, sessions for Coaches and Athletes, and several sessions on officiating. The afternoon will also feature a workshop for athletes and parents on ‘Swimming into College’.

The Officials program will be presented by John Wilson, who has experience as an International and National Referee and Starter. The general topics are ‘A General Philosophy for Officiating’ in the morning session and ‘The Role of Referee and Starter – for Novice and Experienced Officials’ in the afternoon. Both sessions are designed for officials at any level, as well as anyone that might be considering becoming an official. If at all possible, please register and attend the Swimposium.

The Athlete’s session will feature Olympian Brendan Hanson. Among his topics, he will discuss what it is like to be a swimmer at that level. The Club Leadership sessions should be essential for anyone involved in the operation of their club. Complete information on the Swimposium is available on the front page of the Middle Atlantic website – http://www.maswim.org/ If other members of your club are not yet aware of the Swimposium, be sure to advise them to check the website.

The Swimposium will be held at the new Salvation Arm Kroc Center in northeast Philadelphia. Pre-registration for the Swimposium is $10; the fee is $15 on the day of the Swimposium. (Please pre-register so that we can adequately plan the event - send your registraion to the MA Office asap.) The first session begins at 10:00 am; lunch will be provided. Parking will be at an off-site location and a shuttle bus will provide transportation to the Center. Directions to the Kroc Center are also on the website.

I hope to see you at the SWIMPOSIUM !

College Swimmers Trained in Mill Hall During Summers

Jersey Shore School Board Looks to Close High School Pool

At the conclusion of the Jersey Shore School Board meeting this evening, Harry Brungard questioned the value of the high school pool and its worth to the school district.  Now link that to an incident where a high school wrestling parent came up to a high school swimmer and said that they are going to fill in the HS pool with concrete and turn it into a wrestling room. What is the agenda of the Board?  Is it to save money or get a "wrestling room"?

Looking For Swimmers

An earlier blog post (can be seen here) showed the almost 'preserved in time' swimming pool in Renovo.  An article appeared in the April 7, 2011 edition of The Record, where they are looking for swimmers.  Click on picture below to view request.

Support the Mill Hall Pool!

Hey Central Mountain Wildcat Swimmers and their Parents and other friends of the Mill Hall Pool --

There is a fundraiser for the Mill Hall Pool and, if you are so inclined, we'd love to sell you a ticket!!!

Click on calendar to enlarge

The fundraiser is a Calender Raffle for the month of May. We've collected a host of great prizes (including an overnight stay from...Sue Stover and The Avenue Bed & Breakfast). Prizes will be drawn each day throughout the month.

Tickets are $20 (all of the prizes have a value of $20 and most are more valuable than that)! I've attached the calendar so you can take a peek at the great prize offerings.

We would love to hear from you if you'd like to buy a ticket.

748-7199 or 814 - 441-4451 - leave a message and we can make arrangements to give you a calendar and help the Mill Hall Pool keep providing a great experience for kids and families!!!!

Click on picture to enlarge

Swimming and March Madness

March Madness is over (took several days into April to determine the champion) and the college basketball season ends. Did anyone happen to watch the commercials during the tournament? Several commercials featured swimming and the athletes that dedicate countless hours to the sport. Two that are really interesting are from Hartford and Buick.

Hartford is a major sponsor of the US Paralympics and features a woman that used swimming to overcome some obstacles. It is up to you to find the rest of the story. Here is the commercial that ran during the basketball tourney and here is the full interview.

Buick had a thirty second spot called the Buick Human Highlight Reel which featured men’s college basketball, track and field, and baseball and women’s college soccer, gymnastics, and swimming. It can be viewed here. It invites you to visit the Buick site and watch the athlete’s stories. To view the swimming story, you need to visit here and move your mouse over the profiles at the bottom until you get to the picture of the little girl at the pool edge. Very inspiring story but it is troubling when you see all the potential in the Williamsport African-American community. Does it really have to be all football and basketball? Is there any effort by parents and community leaders to target these youth?

Wanted: Builder of Pools

Will it become reality?  A bid notice appeared in the April 4, 2011 edition of the Lock Haven Express for renovation of the Mill Hall Borough Pool. 




Click on newspaper clipping to enlarge

 

Central Mountain Swimmers Reach Podium at PIAA District VI/IX AAA Swimming and Diving Regional Championships

Emily Holladay (left) standing on the podium after the 100 breaststroke award ceremony.

Senior Emily Holladay, a member of the Central Mountain High School Swim Team – and swimming in her last high school event, took to the podium during the PIAA District VI/IX AAA Swimming and Diving Regional Championships, held March 4th & 5th at Penn States’ McCoy Natatorium. Holladay placed 6th out of 11 in the 100 yard breaststroke. In doing so, Holladay left her previous accomplishments in this event in her wake with a new personal best time of 1:16.04. Holladay also joined her teammates in the 200 yard medley and the 200 &400 yard freestyle relays.

Jordan Suter (left) standing on the podium after the 200 freestyle award ceremony.

Jordan Suter, freshmen member of the Central Mountain High School Swim Team, alsoi took to the podium at the PIAA District VI/IX AAA Swimming and Diving Regional Championships.  Suter made a huge splash his first day by placing 6th out of 15 in the 200 freestyle with a time of 2:00.75. Suter’s time was enough to break the Central Mountain school record of 2:00.95 set by Tom Dent in 2001. Day two of championships, Suter sent more ripples to shore when he placed 6th out of 13 in the 500 freestyle with a time of 5:35.22. Suter’s time in this event was enough to set another school record, shattering the previous record of 5:44.00, also held by Tom Dent and set in 2002, by almost 10 full seconds.

 

Back On Track - Swimming Pool Open This Weekend

The Jersey Shore Community Swim on Sundays at the Jersey Shore Area High School will resume Sunday, April 3, from 2:00-4:00 pm. and continue through Sunday, April 17.