NEW TEAM MEMBER TRYOUTS

Tryouts are necessary for most new team members for the purposes of group placement. We will hold new swimmer tryouts on following dates:

TUESDAY, JULY 22ND 11AM TO 1PM

TUESDAY, JULY 29TH 6PM TO 7:30PM

THURSDAY, JULY 31ST 5:30PM TO 7PM

Swimmers should come prepared to get into the water and the tryouts typically last about five minutes. If you have any questions or need to schedule a different tryout time please call 856-468-1445 x. 2304.

The GCIT Aquatics Center will be closed during the month of August. New swimmers should call the team hotline to schedule a tryout during the first week of September. THE ONLY REASON A SWIMMER WOULD NOT QUALIFY FOR THE TEAM IS IF THEY CAN NOT MEET THE BASIC REQUIREMENTS FOR THE MINI GROUP OR IF THE GROUPS ARE FULL.

Root For Team USA

I had the idea to try and introduce you to some of the members of Team USA in the weeks leading up to the Beijing Games. Most know of the Michael Phelps' and Katie Hoff's; we will be inundated more and more about the household names on the team leading up to the start of the swimming competition in Beijing. But there are a number of team members many people don't know very well.

FIRST UP: ERIC SHANTEAU, (Click on the name for a link to his USA Swimming Bio)
Shanteau earned a spot on the 2008 Olympic Team by finishing second to teammate Scott Spann in the 200 Breaststroke. This event served as one of the big surprises of the meet as Spann and Shanteau outdistanced defending World Champion and former World Record Holder Brendan Hansen for spots on the team.
Shanteau graduated from Auburn University in 2006 where he was an 11-time All-American and a member of four straight NCAA Championship teams. He finished third in both the 200 and 400 IMs at the 2004 Trials in Long Beach, CA narrowly missing a spot on the Olympic Team.
Shanteau moved to Austin, Texas after graduating to train with TXLA. He finished 4th in the 100 Breaststroke earlier in the meet before securing his spot on the team with the 2nd place finish in the 200 Breaststroke. Shanteau also finished 3rd in the 200 IM a day later.
This is all well and good, but read this article from ESPN.com for another reason to root for Eric Shanteau in Beijing.

2008-2009 Swim Team Registration

Registration information for the 2008-2009 swim season, which begins on Monday, September 8th, has been sent to all current team families. Registration and deposits for all current team members in good standing are due by July 30th. We will take registration and deposits for new team members during this time period, but they will not be placed on the team until July 31st. Once the caps on the groups are reached that group will be closed to further registrations, regardless of how long you have been a member of the team...SO GET YOUR REGISTRATION AND DEPOSITS IN ASAP, DON'T WAIT UNTIL JULY 30TH!!!

Anyone wishing to get information on our team for the 2008-2009 season should call or email me directly: 856-468-1445 x. 2304 or msprang@gcit.org.