The Wildwood Manor Wombat swim team will be well represented at the Speedo Tom Dolan Invitational to be held between 8-11 December at the University of Maryland College Park campus pool.   Qualifying for the annual event, which one of the fastest age-group meets on the East Coast, are Brian Daza, Matthew Daza, Haley Nugent, Julian Wainer, Aram Dommerholt, Jordan Davila, Christopher Emerson and Tatum Good.  The psych sheet for this event can be found at http://www.pvswim.org/1112meet/12-27-psych.pdf while real-time results can be gathered at http://www.pvswim.org/realtime/2011TDI/ .  Best of luck to all Wombat swimmers!!
 

At the monthly WMSPA Board Meeting held on December 5th, 2011, the board elected new officers to serve until the next Annual Meeting in October/November 2012. The new officers are:

Cara Etris - President
Jim Parker - Co-Vice President
Bill Reinsch - Co-Vice President
Michele Good - Treasurer
Lynn Ratnavale - Secretary

There four additional board members: Chris Bajwa, Kathy McKaig, Michelle Winter and Katrina Sukduang (appointed by the board to replace Todd Robinson, who resigned).

At the WMSPA Annual Meeting on Thursday, November 3rd, the 2012 budget was approved and three new board members were elected by the members - Chris Bajwa, Cathy McKaig and Michelle Winter. 
The new board members will hold two-year terms following the bylaw change earlier this year reducing the term length from three years (Current board members will finish their three-year terms). The new board will transition in December. We would like to thank outgoing board members - Domingo Campuzano, Tracy Daza and Larry Gibson - for their time and commitment to the Wildwood Pool over the years!

It is time for our annual meeting.  Our annual meeting will be held on Thursday, November 3 at 7:00 pm at 5805 Lone Oak Drive, Bethesda, 20814. We invite all members to attend this meeting in which we will be electing new board members and voting on the proposed budget for 2012. 

Domingo Campuzano, Tracy Daza and I will be completing our board terms. Three new board members need to be elected. Your nominating committee recommends the following candidates: Chris Bajwa, Cathy McKaig, and Michelle Winter. Biographical information on each of the candidates.  There is also an opportunity for write-in candidates or for others to have their names placed in nomination at the annual meeting as well.

For the 2012 budget, we are proposing a balanced budget that does not include a dues increase from 2011. Although we had a very successful year, with a substantial increase in summer members, the pool is aging, and we have set aside cash reserves to address anticipated maintenance and repairs. However, it is possible, pool repairs will turn out to be more expensive than anticipated, and we may be forced to revisit that decision.  We hope to keep attracting new members to reduce the need for future increases.

The By-Law changes approved this year allow voting to be conducted electronically. If you cannot attend the meeting, we still need your vote!  Please fill out the proxy form and return it as indicated on the form.

Additionally, please make sure that we have your correct email address for sending you pool information. As we are going green, we need to correspond with our membership electronically.  Please email Marney at marneyjacobs@verizon.net to update your email information.
 
Finally, I would like to take this opportunity to say, it has been my pleasure to serve on the WMSPA Board and to have played an active role in keeping the Wildwood Manor Pool a valued asset in our community. I know that everyone is busy, but there are many ways that you can contribute.  Working together as a community is what makes WMSPA such a special place for all of us.  

All volunteering, even just an hour or two to help , such as planting flowers during spring cleanup, is greatly appreciated and can make a real difference in our community. Please consider how you can help!

The board always welcomes your ideas, suggestions, and donations.  Please do not hesitate to contact any board member with questions, thoughts or ideas for making our pool association even stronger.
 
Best Regards,
 

Larry Gibson
WMSPA President

David (Teddy) Owen a boy scout is taking on the task of making repairs to the Wildwood Manor Swimming Pool Bridge as his project to become an Eagle Scout.  The bridge is in need of refurbishing due to deterioration of the wood and an unsuitable structure. Many community members use the bridge for daily walks and such. Fixing the bridge will allow for a safer and more visually pleasing experience when walking.

In order to complete this project, Teddy is in need of donations to cover the estimated $1800 in material costs. The labor will be completed by an entirely volunteer, Boy Scout crew. The only expense is that of purchasing materials.

If the funds cannot be gathered soon, the project may be delayed. Donations to this cause will be highly appreciated and will support the Boy Scouts of America*. Please help by donating, if you can. Cash or checks will be accepted. These can be sent to David Owen at 6104 Wilmett Road, Bethesda MD 20817. Checks can be made out to “Troop 461” with "David Owen Eagle Project" in the memo line. For questions or concerns, please contact Teddy at eagleproject461@gmail.com.

For complete details please review the letter from Teddy.

The last week of the summer swim season started as the first Wombat stepped foot onto the bus destined for Bethany Beach and ended as the last Wombat got into their car to go home after the 2011 Wildwood Manor Swim Team Banquet.  In between, there were a number of big waves during the week…  first in Delaware, where the waves were as big as the smiles on the faces of Wombats aged 6 through 18 (and older)…  followed by the waves made by Wombat swimmers at the Regency Estates pool…  and lastly the waves of accolades and recognition distributed at Walter Johnson High School to swimmers and parent volunteers that made the 2011 season possible.

In the MCSL, two elements determine the success of a team.  The first is its standing within a division, which is determined by the number of wins earned in dual meets, final standings in the Relay Carnival and final results at Divisionals.  Along these lines, the Wombats of 2011 ended up with two wins out of five, finished 5^th at the Division G Relay Carnival and ended up solidly in 4^th at Divisionals…  

1. Regency Estates 924

2. King Farm 890

3. Robin Hood 819

4. Wildwood Manor 750.5

5. Rock Creek 636

6. Olney Mill 601.5

Wildwood swimmers won four of 50 events and finished second in nine others.   Winners included Tatum Good twice and both Haley Nugent and Christopher Emerson with one win each.  Haley earned two second places with Matthew Daza, Tatum Good, Christopher Emerson, Julian Wainer, Aram Dommerholt, Sam Posniewski and the Boys 175M Graduated Freestyle relay also finishing second.

The other, more important, determinant is harder to quantify…  the team’s attitude…  its drive to never give up, to continue to perform until the end, no matter how tough the competition or the number of wins and losses, the level of sportsmanship shown throughout the season and the interaction between swimmers on the team, from minnows to graduating seniors….   No one would be able to tell the season’s results on the faces and smiles of Wildwood swimmers on Saturday…  or in Saturday’s results…  Ninety two times, Wombat swimmers entered the pool in individual events and over half of the time, they exited with their best performance of the year right behind them.

An amazing 48 personal bests were earned on Saturday, with Laney Shook, Hanna Silnicky and Julian Wainer each earning personal best times in each of their four swims.  In addition, Peyton Campuzano, Brian Daza, Matthew Daza, Christopher Emerson, Billy Gibson, Haley Nugent, Matthew Pottker and Maureen Zech all added two best times to the list while Dai Bajwa, Jordan Davila, Aram Dommerholt, Asher Good, Tatum Good, Mackenzie Johnson, Morgan Lowrey, Colin Lucas, Briann O'Hara, Kara Posniewski, Luke Posniewski, Sam Posniewski, Oilivia Ratnavale, Martin Soros, Jane Umhofer, Tyler Van Wagener, Maryann Webb and Benjamin Williams added one each.  Also, the Boys 200M Medley Relay and Girls 175M Graduated Free Relay teams also saved their best for Divisionals… a meet that saw 13 pool records fall and an average of 7 All-Star times PER EVENT in the four 8&U Girls events and an average of over 6 All-Star times PER EVENT in five 13-14 Boys events.

18 All-Star swims were earned at the meet by Wombat swimmers, bringing the 2011 total of All-Star swims to 88. For the fifth time in a row, Haley Nugent had four All-Star times (23 All-Star swims in total in 2011).  Julian Wainer joined Haley with four All-Star swims of his own, bringing his total to 14 to end the season.  Tatum Good earned her 16^th, 17^th and 18^th All Star times while Jordan Davila earned his 10^th and 11^th and Matthew Daza his 5^th and 6^th.  Also joining the list were Dai Bajwa (his 4^th), Aram Dommerholt (his 6^th) and Paige Etris (her 5^th).

The list of All-Star times:

Haley Nugent (50 Free: 29.27, 100 IM: 1:13.02, 50 Breast: 37.17, 50 Fly: 32.70)

Julian Wainer (50 Fly:  30.92, 50 Breast:  36.88, 100 IM:  1:09.21, 50 Back:  33.55)

Tatum Good (25 Free: 17.07, 25 Back: 20.19, 25 Breast: 24.02)

Jordan Davila (50 Back:  31.98, 50 Free:  27.86)

Matthew Daza (50 Free:  27.83, 50 Fly:  31.37)

Paige Etris (25 Fly:  23.05)

Dai Bajwa (25 Breast:  25.41)

Aram Dommerholt (50 Breast:  35.63)

In addition, two Wombat team records and one Regency Estates pool record were earned during the Divisionals meet:

Tatum Good broke Hannah Berg’s 8&U Girls 25M Backstroke record of 20.28, set in 1993 with a 20.19.  This performance also allowed Tatum to take back the Regency Estates pool record in this event, which she had earned in Week 2 but lost to Robin Hood’s Hannah Owings in Week 5.  Tatum was not as lucky in her attempt to take back the other Regency Estates pool record she lost last week, the 8&U 25M freestyle record, coming in second to Regency Estates’ own Malia Bush.

Dai Bajwa also broke a team record older than he is in the 8&U Boys 25M Breaststroke with a 25.41.  Dai came into his final swim of the season only fifteen hundredths of a second away from the team record of 25.49, set in 2001.  This was his last chance to get the record….. and get the record he did, with a final push at the end to barely out-touch Sean Montgomery from 10 years ago.  Dai adds his name to a prestigious group of current and former Wombats with individual team records.

The capstone of the season was the annual swim team banquet, held on Saturday night at Walter Johnson High School.  Coaches John, Aaron and birthday boy Joey handed out the 2011 awards and kept everyone’s attention to the end, when the Wombat of the Year awards were presented to Morgan Lowrey and Patrick Nugent.  But that wasn’t the end of the fun…  Domingo Campuzano (Peyton and Donovan’s dad) outdid himself once again with the 2011 Wildwood Manor Swim Team Video, which excellently captured the elements of drive, competitiveness, teamwork, camaraderie and fun that made 2011 a special season in Wombat history.

Our end of year banquet for all swimmers and their families will be held at 6pm on Saturday, July 23rd at Walter Johnson High School (in the cafeteria).  The banquet includes an awards ceremony, celebrations of accomplishments and a wonderful slide show of the swimming season.

The food will be Southern Home Cookin' with separate select items for younger children. Vegetarian options will also be available. The price per person is $15 for adults and children aged 11 or older, $10 for children aged 4 to 10, and FREE for children aged 3 and younger. We are asking everyone to purchase their tickets online via WePay.com (with a credit card or bank transfer - no fees will be added). After paying online, you will be able to print your receipt and tickets. Please bring your tickets to the banquet for easy check-in!  Click the button below to pay.



It promises to be a blast and we look forward to seeing you there!