Hello Stingray swimmers and families!

First and foremost, on behalf of the coaching staff, I want to say how proud we are of Sugarwood's performances last week! We were down big time in numbers in a crucial two-meet week of the season, yet we overcame early deficits and a constant threat of bad weather en route to two incredible victories! We did so in true Stingray spirit--having fun, cheering on our teammates, and racing hard! To everyone involved, thank you and congrats!

Both meets drove home critical points that we've been trying to stress to swimmers all summer.

Every swim counts!-We won our meet on Tuesday by a mere 12 points, and it wasn't decided until the final event! We fully expect our final two duel meets to be similarly close.  EVERY swimmer needs to be ready to race hard EVERY time they're hitting the water!

Cheer, cheer, cheer!-The energy behind the blocks in that win was electric, and I have no doubt that it played a huge role in shifting the tide of the meet in our favor. I want to carry that energy into the rest of our season! No team in GKAISA has the spirit of Stingray Nation, so let's make sure we are never out-cheered!

Good Sportsmanship-Let's also make sure that as individuals, relays, and a team that we are winning AND losing with grace and humility! We always encourage racing, but we race others to better ourselves. Let's take the emphasis off of "I won" or "you lost" and put it on "great race!" and bettering our times.

With that said we have A LOT of swimming left this summer including another big week ahead of us! We have a duel meet against Benington Farrington on Thursday followed by SMI this weekend.

SMI FAMILIES: Smoky Mountain is the first of our two championship meets, and Sugarwood is poised for a great showing this year! We are now only five days out, so while practice is never "mandatory," we are strongly encouraging all SMI swimmers to attend every practice this week! Also, let's do our best to stay safe and healthy this week! Please no bike or rip-stick wrecks! :)

We will inform everyone of warm-up times once they are assigned but a general reminder that 11&ups swim on Saturday while 10&unders swim on Sunday.

Keep in mind that SMI (and City Meet) differ greatly from our typical duel meets in that they are much bigger and longer. We will be warming up early Saturday/Sunday morning, and families should be prepared to stay until mid/late afternoon. We want to make sure our swimmers are hydrated, fueled, and warm throughout the entirety of the meet! 

Please bring:
Swimsuits and goggles! (You'd be surprised! Extras don't hurt.)
Lots of water
Gatorade
Healthy snacks (fruits, powerbars, ect.)
Lunch to have in the tent
Multiple warm towels
A couple sets of gym clothes
Sweatshirt in case it gets cold
Chairs, pillows, and blankets to relax in the tent (for swimmers and family)
Entertainment (board games, cards, music, handheld video games, books, music)
Stingray Smiles and good attitudes!
Your racing britches!!

Thanks everyone! See you at the pool and Go Rays!