Crawfish Aquatics is pleased to announce the opening of our new location, Crawfish Aquatics South, to serve swimmers in Thibodaux and Houma. It will be located on the campus of Nicholls State University.

Frank Shepard, Head Coach/Owner of Bayou Barracudas will cease those team operations, becoming the Site Director and Head Coach of Crawfish Aquatics South.  We are also pleased to have Duane Ring join our staff as the Site Administrator for the new Crawfish Aquatics location. 

The swimmers will begin competing as “unattached” as of the CA Intrasquad meet on February 16, with the majority of the CA South members becoming “officially attached” Crawfish Aquatics at the end of May 2013.

We are thankful for the opportunity to serve this area and work alongside the existing swimming community, confident that this combining of resources and experience will benefit the swimmers in the area. We are excited as we look ahead to the future of Houma/Thibodaux area swimming!

From Coach Frank Shepard & Coach Duane Ring:
"We would like to express how excited we are to join Crawfish Aquatics. The swimmers and parents are excited about being part of the team and the opportunities it will bring. Our once elusive dream of having a facility which would give us the opportunity to train long course and create more efficient work out schedules has come to fruition.  We look forward to working with the staff and being a part of the program.

DEADLINE  TO SIGN UP IS FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 30TH!

CA Tri Meet (with FINS and CCSC)

Date: Dec 7 thru Dec 8, 2012

Location: Baton Rouge

Meet Invitation

Meet Schedule
Session 1, Friday:  Warm up-  4:30PM  (5:15PM start)
Session 2, Sat:  8 & Under warm up- 8:00-8:20AM (8:30AM start)
Session 3, Sat:  12 & Under warm up:  not before 10:00AM (meet begins 45 minutes after)
Session 4, Sat: Senior warm up: not before 1:00PM (meet begins 45 minutes after)

Hotel Accomodations for Traveling Teams for CA Events: Renaissance Hotel-  7000 Bluebonnet Boulevard

Click Here for Booking Info- (book online for the discounted rate)
$109  Guest room, 1 King or 2 Queen Room details
$139  Luxurious, Suite, 2 Queen Room details
225.215.7000
http://www.renaissancebatonrouge.com
(to receive discount, must book room through the link above)

This past weekend Crawfish Aquatics athletes had impressive showings swimming for their schools at the 2012 Louisiana High School State Swimming Championship Meets which were contested in Sulphur, LA. We had athletes win state titles, break state records, make new meet cuts, break certain swimming barriers such as under 2:00 in a 200, under :22 in a 50 freestyle, etc. and the most important aspect in swimming, performing lifetime bests. Out of 65 events swum, we had 48 lifteime bests which does not even include the different athletes that did it twice in the same event between prelins and finals swims.

The meets are split into division based on school size and here are some additional highlights.

Division 4: Efforts were highlighted by several runner up finishes and numerous top 8 placings for our ahtletes. Silas Dejean, who swims in Lafayette, broke the state record in the 100 breaststroke in a time of 57.86 and he was also state champion in the 50 freestyle.

Division 3: First, congratulations to Coach Alex Rayner and the Episcopal High School team he coaches on becoming Team State Champions for the first time in their school's history. Their team is led by several CA athletes including seniors Cameron Barney and Anna Singletary. In addition to countless event scoring athletes, John Miller, Gage Alleman and Danielle Miles each won both of their individual events and John and Gage also set state records. Two athletes, Erin Trahan and Sarah Simar, who train in Lafayette with Thomas Clavier, won state titles also.

Winners:

Danielle Miles - 200 freestyle and 500 freestyle

John Miller - 200 freestyle (1:45.51 new state record by .02) and 500 freestyle (he broke his own state record by nearly 6 seconds swimming 4:42.94)

Gage Alleman - 200 Individual Medley (1:54.42 new state record)

Erin Trahan - 50 Freestyle (24.51 new state record)

Sarah Simar - 100 Butterfly

St. Charles Catholic - 200 Medley Relay (CA member Gage Alleman) - new state record 1:42.47

St. Charles Catholic - 400 Freestyle Relay (CA member Gage Alleman)

Episcopal - 200 Freestyle Relay (CA members Anna Singletary, Chanler Turnley and Cameron Barney)

Episcopal - 400 Freestyle Relay (CA members Anna Singletary and Cameron Barney

Division 3 athletes were even interviewed by reporters for their accomplishments.

Quotes from John Miller about breaking state records: Article 

Article featuring Gage Alleman and how his anchor leg of the 400 freestyle relay helped his school win the team state championship: Article

Division 2: While there were no individual or relay state champions we had numerous athletes who contributed to their high schools by scoring points for finishing in the top 8 and top 16.

Divison 1: Five CA swimmers were repeat team champions swimming for Saint Joseph's Academy (SJA): Cameron Balkom, MK Miller, Victoria Padial, Caroline Beene and Miranda Serio. As with all other divisions there were a great number of top 8 and top 16 finishers. Additionally, we also had several state champions in individual events as well as being members of relay winning teams, some of which set state records.

Winners

Alyssa Dilldine - 200 Freestyle

Cameron Balkom - 100 Breaststroke

Colin Bone - 200 Freestyle and 500 Freestyle

SJA Medley Relay (CA members include Caroline Beene, Cameron Balkom and MK Miller) - new state record 1:48.37

SJA 200 Freestyle Relay (CA memberes include Caroline Beene and Victoria Padial) - new state record 1:37.17

SJA 400 Freestyle Relay (CA member Victoria Padial) - new state record 3:32.81

CHS 200 Freestyle Relay (CA member Colin Bone)

CHS 400 Freestyle Relay (CA member Colin Bone)

We also have two first time sectionals qualifiers: 

Eric Ferrell - 50 Freestyle

Matt Frederic - 100 Breaststroke

Results for all of the championships can be found at: Meet Results 

Congratulations to all of the athletes on their accomplishments and fast swims regardless of if they were mentioned by name or not here. It is now time to recover and stay in shape during the Thanksgiving break from school and all will refocus on the rest of the short course season.

Happy Thanksgiving to ALL. Below is the Practice Schedule for Thanksgiving Break.

Monday- Wednesday: Normal Practice

Thursday-Saturday: Off

Monday, November 26: Normal Practice Resumes

Crawfish Annual Intrasquad Meet & Team Social- Crawfish Aquatics, Baton Rouge- September 15^th  

We look forward to the kick off the new swimming season with a our 14^th annual team intrasquad meet, September 15.  Following the meet, weather permitting, we will open the outdoor pool, put up the Hippo Waterslide and continue the FUN with our team lunch and social.     

The meet will offer competition in the age groups of 8 & U, 9-10, 11-12 and 13 & over.  Events for 8 & under swimmers will be the 25’s of each stroke and the 100 IM, and for  9-10, 11-12, 13 & over will be the 50’s of each stroke plus the 100 IM.  

The meet entry deadline  Tuesday, September 11.   All swimmers MUST SIGN UP by that date to compete in the meet.  Sign up sheets will be posted in the Meet Binder. Swimmers must be 5 years old to compete and must meet eligibility requirements to enter.

NEW SWIMMERS! This is a great first meet for swimmers new to year round club/ USA Swimming and the coaches highly encourage your participation. If you’d just like to see what a meet is all about, come out and watch, and join us for the team social following the meet! 

Desserts:  We are asking for returning families to bring a dessert, fruit, or snack to the meet (drop off in the gym for lunch set up). 

 
Lunch & drinks will be provided by Crawfish!

First Swim Meet…Questions?  See the FAQ/Resources section of our website for “meet how to’s”. 

Meet Timeline-  Warm-up will begin at 8:30AM and the meet will begin between 9:15- 9:30AM.  Meet will finish by 11:30AM, followed by lunch and team social.

Meet Fee-  $5 per swimmer; Swimmers with meet entry fee balances will not be entered in upcoming meets.

Entries:    The meet entry deadline will be Tuesday, September 11.
-Coaches will generate the entries for all swimmers.  All swimmers may swim 2 events in this meet.  

Meet Assistance:
-Meet Management- (great training meet to learn meet mgmt)
-Officials
-Info Booth- help distribute heat sheets, direct new families, etc. 
-Warm up Session Greeters-  direct swimmers/parents to warm up area, take desserts, etc.

Team Apparel:  Red Crawfish Shirts & Crawfish swim cap (if wearing a swim cap)

Guidelines for Team Suit:
-Swimmers in the Yellow, Red, Blue groups are required to wear the official Crawfish Aquatics team suit for competitions (new swimmers this fall- please have your new suit by the Oct 20-21 meet). 

-Swimmers in the Green Group are encouraged to outfit in a team suit for meets also, however due to the competition option for this division the team suit is not required. 

 Now that the storm has passed we are back to normal practice. We hope that everyone safely made it through the storm.

 There will be no practice Wednesday due to the weather. Please be safe and check back to see if there will be practice on Thursday. 

CRAWFISH AQUATICS

2012-2013

Fall Practice Schedule 

Printable Schedule

Swim School

Monday, Wednesday, Friday 4:45-5:30PM 

Saturday 9:00-9:45AM 

Green

Monday, Wednesday, Friday 3:30-4:30PM or 4:45-5:45 or 6:00-7:00 

Saturday 9:00-10:00AM 

Yellow

Monday, Wednesday, Friday 3:30-4:30PM or  6:00-7:00 

Saturday 9:00-10:00AM 

Red & Blue

Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday 4:30-6:30PM 

(Tuesdays & Thursdays Drylands for 1st hour of practice)

Saturday 7:00-9:00AM 

Water Aerobics

Monday-Friday 8:30-9:30AM 

Masters

Monday, Wednesday, Friday 5:30-7:00AM 

Tuesday & Thursday 6:30-7:30PM 

"DIG DEEP!" 

Sugar Bowl Meet (CCSC host @ UNO)

Date: December 2-4 (Fri-Sun)

Description:

All State Sugar Bowl Swim Meet

Hosted by Crescent City Swim Club, at UNO

Meet Invitation

UNO Aquatics Center
6801 Franklin Ave.
New Orleans, LA 70122

Dates/Times/Format:
Friday-  4:00PM warm up-  All Ages, Timed Finals (swim once)
Saturday-  14 & Under Prelims-  8:00AM
Saturday-  14 & Under Finals-  4:00PM  (top 16 from each event)
Saturday-  Senior-  12:00PM,  Timed Finals (swim once)
Sunday-  All Ages-  7:00AM, Timed Finals (swim once)

Qualifying Times-   "BB" times from the 2009-2012 National Age Group Motivational Times stardards required for this meet-  must have the "BB" time standard or faster for each event entered. 
See times here (short course times on page 2)- 

Crawfish Aquatics

Post-High School Swimming

2011-2012

High School swimmers will be offered the opportunity to continue swimming here with Crawfish Aquatics as soon as they want. Crawfish Aquatics offers 2 Group programs: High School Group 1 and High School Group 2. The High School group is run during the HS off-season for HS swimmers wishing to continue physical fitness training, improve their stroke technique performance, develop swimming speed and refine skills associated with swimming competition such as starts, turns and streamlines.  Group 2 also focus on continued and enhancing physical fitness, with a focus on more advanced stroke and racing technique and training/preparation for the USA Swimming season meets that run all-year long.

Swimmers will be placed in these groups based on skills level, experience and swimming goals.   

These are the two group options offered for High School swimmers:

High School Group One: Tuesday & Thursday 5:00-6:30PM and Saturday 7:00-9:00AM

High School Group Two: Monday, Wednesday & Friday 4:30-6:00PM, Tuesday and Thursday 5:00-6:30PM and Saturday 7:00-9:00AM

For more information please call: 988-1415 or email swimcraw@crawfishaquaticslafayette.com

Information Flyer

CA One Day Meet

Date: November 12 (Saturday)

Description:

Meet Invitation

Hotel Accommodations for Traveling Teams for CA Events:

Hyatt Hotel-   6080 Bluebonnet Blvd
Special Nightly Rate for Crawfish Aquatics Meet Participants- $89
Click Here for Booking Info (must be booked through online link url)

This is a great meet for all swimmers. Please check the Meet invitation for all details.

8 & Under Regional Championships

Meet Invitation

TM Events File (coaches)

Meet Schedule
Saturday and Sunday, July 23-24, 2011
Warm-up: 9:00AM    Meet: 10:15AM each day

Hotel Accomodations for Traveling Teams for CA Events:

Hyatt Hotel- 

  6080 Bluebonnet Blvd

Special Nightly Rate for Crawfish Aquatics Meet Participants- $89

Click Here for Booking Info (must be booked through online link url)

This is our next available meet. Please check out the link. this is a great meet for our kids and is close to home. This is a great meet for beginner level swimmers. Please sign up for this meet at the pool by the new concession stand. If you have any questions please feel free to ask Coach Thomas at practice. 

Warm Times for the 10 & Under on Saturday is NOW FROM 8:30-9:15

I just wanted to let everyone know how proud I am of ALL swimmers this past weekend. The kids all had a great time and everyone swam at least one personal best time. They also had a fun time at the hotel running around and swimming in the pool. It was a great time to see families being families. Spending time together supporting their kids and close friends. Thanks again for all who attended. Crawfish Coaching Staff

Meet Results

Here is a link to download a copy of the Championship Picture!

8 & Under Regionals (at UNO)

2011 Short Course State Championship

Thursday: Results / Scores

Friday: Results / Scores

Saturday: Results / Scores

Sunday: Results / Scores (Final) 

Electronic Results:  TM File / MM File

Meet breakdown and highlights coming soon!

2011 Short Course State Champs!

Crawfish Aquatics Rocks the Pool!    

We would like to thank everyone who came to the Team Christmas Party this past Friday. We know that some people were unable to attend due to prior Christmas engagements. Everyone who attended had a fun time socializing and shared pizza and drinks. The Crawfish Coaching staff would like to thank all of the parents who contributed to our Coaches gifts. The gifts were very nice and very appreciated. This is the time of year when we give thanks and celebrate life. We would like to thank everyone in the Crawfish Family for making this happen and we are ALL very thankful and grateful for everyones love and support. Thanks and have a Happy New Year. Crawfish Coaching Staff

Pictures of the Party

Winter Break Schedule

Practice Schedule, Week of December 20 

Blue & Red- Mon & Wed, 4:30-6:30; Tue & Thurs, Drylands 3:30-4:30, Swim 4:30-6:30; Fri & Sat, OFF

White- Mon-Thurs, 4:30-6:00; Fri & Sat, OFF

Yellow- Mon-Wed, 3:30-4:30 or 6:00-7:00; Fri & Sat, OFF

Swim School- Mon-Wed, 3:30-4:30 or 6:00-7:00; Fri & Sat, OFF

*We ARE offering a Tuesday practice for Yellow and Swim School groups since there will be no practice on Friday and Saturday

Practice Schedule, Week of December 27 

Blue & Red- Mon & Wed, 4:30-6:30; Tue & Thurs, Drylands 3:30-4:30, Swim 4:30-6:30; Fri 10:00 AM-12:30 PM; Sat OFF

White- Mon-Thurs, 4:30-6:00; Fri 10:00 AM-12:00 PM; Sat OFF

Yellow- Mon-Thurs, 3:30-4:30 or 6:00-7:00; Fri & Sat, OFF

Swim School- Mon-Thurs, 3:30-4:30 or 6:00-7:00; Fri & Sat, OFF

*We ARE offering a Tuesday & Thursday  practice for Yellow and Swim School groups since there will be no practice on Friday and Saturday

Resume Regular Schedule Week of January 3rd

We will be having a Team Christmas party this Friday the 17th. There will be no practice this day. Instead we will have a pool party in the indoor pool from 5:30-7:00. We will be serving pizza and drinks. There will be a $5 fee per child to cover pizza and juice boxes. We are looking forward to this night of fun and celebration.

When: Friday the 17th

What time: 5:30- 7:00

Cost: $5 per child for pizza and drinks (cash or check)

*No 3:30-4:30 practice this day. Seniors will be swimming at this time from 3:30-5:30 (kids that normally swim from 4:30-(6:00-6:30)

I just wanted to personally thank everyone who came to the meet this weekend. We had a great turn out and had some kids swim some fast times. I also wanted to thank the participants who donated a toy for the Toys for Tots Foundation. This is what Crawfish Aquatics is all about. We collected over 275+ presents. These presents will be donated to the Toys for Tots Foundation in both Baton Rouge and Lafayette. So many kids will benefit from this swim meet. Thanks to Fins and CCSC for contributing to this event.  Coach Thomas 

Results

We are glad to announce that the construction has begun our New Crawfish Aquatics Lafayette Facility.  We will be adding a new 8 Lane 25 yard competition pool and a two story observation deck and pavilion. Each lane will be 8 feet wide, making this the fastest competition pool in Lafayette. Our construction is being carried out by local contractors and this facility will be benefitting many kids and adults here in the Lafayette community. We are very thankful during this time of remodeling and ask for everyone's patience and support. We will keep you posted with the great things coming to Lafayette. "Dig Deep!"  

Pictures of the Skeleton of the New Pool

Pictures of the Demolition and Remodeling Process

(Fall Practice Schedule Will Begin August 23rd) 

Masters- 

Monday, Wednesday, & Friday; 5:30-7:00 AM 

Tuesday & Thursday Lap Swim; 3:30-7:00 PM 

Blue, Red- 

Monday- Friday; 4:30-6:30 PM 

Tuesday, Thursday; *Drylands 3:30-4:30 PM Swim 4:30-6:30 PM 

 Saturday; 7:00-9:00 AM

White- 

Monday- Friday; 4:30-6:00 PM

 Saturday; 7:00-9:00 AM 

Yellow- 

Monday, Wednesday, & Friday; 3:30-4:30 PM or 6:00-7:00 PM 

Saturday; 9:00-10:00 AM 

Swim School- 

Monday, Wednesday, & Friday; 3:30-4:30 PM or 6:00-7:00 PM 

Saturday; 9:00-10:00 AM 

Printable Schedule

*Swim School and Yellow Groups will each have two choices 

of practice times.  This is to help spread out the kids so they 

get more individual attention and so working parents can also 

get their kids to practice. 

*If you are not sure of your child's group please see Coach 

Lyndsey before or after practice.

Pool: (337) 988-1415 

www.crawfishaquaticslafayette.com

Be sure to check the Team Meet Schedule or Team Calender for more information. This is a great meet and the kids last year really bonded and had a great time!

Dates for SC and most LC meets are now posted on the website on the events calendar. The Short Course State Meet will be in Sulphur, Feb 17-20 and Long Course State Meet will be at UNO July 14-17. The 2012 locations for state meet will be Short Course- at LSU and Long Course- at UNO (dates will be set at the planning meeting in Sept 2011).

The following changes were voted on and going into affect this season at the LA Swimming meeting.
State meet:
-The 19 & Under age group has been changed to “Open” age group; a swimmer that is 19 or older can participate in state meet, provided they were a LA registered swimmer as of January of their senior year.
-The 11-12 500 Free (SC state) and 11-12 400 Free (LC state) will be changed to 12 & Under. It will be scored as a 12 & U event and the qualifying time will remain the same as the current 11-12 time standard.
-The 13-14 1000/1650 Free (SC state) and 13-14 800/1500 Free (LC state) will be changed to 14 & Under. It will be scored as a 14 & U event and the qualifying time will remain the same as the current 13-14 time standard.
-The individual event limit for both short course and long course state meet will now be 6 events (instead of 7).

Meet information for the November 13 meet is posted online and on the Bulletin Board at the pool. This is a GREAT meet for Swim School swimmers regardless of their swim meet participation this fall and there will be a variety of events offered. Standard meet entry fees apply; payable within one week following the meet.

Format: 10 & under events in the morning (8:00AM warm up) and 11 and older old events in the afternoon (warm up not before 11:30AM- exact time to be announced the week of meet, once all entries are received). With the division of the ages and time of season we do not expect either session to be longer than 2.5-3 hours.

*Be sure to sign up at the pool by Nov 3rd or your child will not be entered! No late entries!

Date: Sat, November 13

Location: Baton Rouge Facility

Description:

Meet Schedule

10 & Under warm up:  8:00AM (8:45AM start)
11 & Older warm up:   not before 11:30AM (meet begins 45 minutes after start of warm ups)

Meet Invitation

This is the story of Dick & Rick Hoyt, the most inspirational father and son team to race in an Ironman. I am posting this because it is a great video for anyone to watch. "Dig Deep!"

Video Link 

Hotel Block info for Short Course State is posted under the Meet Info section of website (Long Course info also). Please note that the cut-off dates for most of the blocks (3 hotel options for SC state) are mid-January so book early!    Hotel Info 

Be sure to check our Team video channel on Youtube. We are happy to share these videos with everyone. Please be sure to show them to friends and family around the world. Thanks again for everyone who makes this possible. Dig Deep!

Below is a link to the 8 & Under Regional Champs Poster. Thank you to everyone who made this possible! Dig Deep!

8 & Under Regional Champs Poster

Congratulations to the swimmers on the LA Zones team on a successful meet this past week in Atlanta (Gage Alleman, Cameron Balkom, Colin Bone, Austin Butler, Hannah Core, Connor Futch, Alex Miller, John Miller, MK Miller, John Michael Moore, Victoria Padial). Overall the LA Zones team finished 9th at the meet.

ALL Crawfish swimmers swam one or lifetime bests following their state meet performance, in addition to several Top 10 finishes and team scoring:
Gage - 8th place finish- 200 back
Cameron- 2nd place finish- 100 breast
Austin- 1st place finish- 50 free, 4th place finish- 100 free
John Michael- 1st place finish- 100 back, 6th place finish- 100 fly

See the full results here: http://results.teamunify.com/gsdsc/

9 new team records! 
Colin Bone- 50, 100, 200 free
Gage- 200 back
Austin Butler- 50 free (New Record Breaker)
MK Miller- 400 IM
JM Moore- 100 back
Cameron Balkom- 100 Breast (New Record Breaker)
Alex Miller- 200 fly (New Record Breaker)

 The Crawfish team has had the great privilege of having Coach Mark Ranatza on our staff for the past 4 years and wish him the best as he moves to New Orleans this week in preparation to enter the Nursing program at LSU this fall. During his time at Crawfish he has coached all ages/skills of Swim School, Green, Yellow, White groups and High School Squad. For the past 3 middle school seasons, he has directed the training groups at our facility and did an excellent job as a Crawfish representative for those new swimmers and families. Coach Mark has been a true team player- a valued trait that cannot be taught- he has shown leadership and helped to bring up the level of all of our age group programs. He has made the swimmers laugh, pumped them up and guided them to reach for their goals. We are happy to know that friends and LSU football will bring Mark back in our direction from time to time and look forward to updates from him as he begins this new stage. Thanks Coach Mark, you will be missed!

2010 Long Course State

Hampton Inn Metairie
2730 North Causeway Blvd.
Metairie, LA 70002
504-831-7676
 
Reservations must be made no later than 6/24/2010. All rooms remaining in the block at this time will be released.  Any reservations made after this date will be based upon availability and subject to the best prevailing rate. Please inform the front desk agent that you are with the Crawfish Aquatics Team group of group code CRF.
 
 A complimentary breakfast bar is located in the lobby area from 6:00am-10:00am.  A team dinner will be held Friday, July 16 and Saturday, July 17 in the meeting room of the hotel.

 This past weekend Crawfish Aquatics hosted the 8 & Under Regional Championship where our swimmers shined from event to event, winning the meet by over 139 points! Congratulations to all swimmers for the numerous best times and event finalists. Congratulations also to Carson Foster for winning the 8 year old boy high point award for the meet. Medals are awarded for 1st-3rd place and ribbons for 4th-16th place and will be placed in the swimmer’s ribbon folders on the pool deck week of March 29th. 

Thank you to all parents and older swimmers that helped run the meet and make it a success!

 Crawfish Aquatics closed the 2010 short course season with an outstanding performance at the state championship. Crawfish had the highest number of state qualifiers in the team’s history (90) and enjoyed the team’s largest margin of victory (over 900 points).

Individually we enjoyed the highest percentage of life time best swims in recent memory and had excellent relay results. We also dressed up nicely at night, cheered with enthusiasm, and displayed the class and humility in victory that set this team apart.

Achieving excellence requires hard work, dedication, and desire. Maintaining excellence requires living in the moment. While we rightly enjoy our recent success we will attempt to maintain these results in the future. That is no easy task. However I am confident that we have the ingredients in place that allow continued success to be a possibility.

Of note is the job that Coach Courtney and our stable of 12 and under coaches did this season. As will be apparent from the meet highlights below they did an outstanding job. Also to Coach Thomas in Lafayette and his staff whose swimmers were prepared and performed at their best. They are a welcome addition to the Crawfish family. My thanks to Coach Alex Rayner for his efforts and caring attitude towards the 13 and over swimmers and Crawfish Aquatics. He is truly a team player.

Our thanks go to Dr. Ripple for the team dinners Friday and Saturday night. That convenience allows for extra sleep which certainly leads to enhanced performance. We sometimes overlook how much he cares for each member of this team. His enthusiasm at finals is also inspiring and enjoyable to watch.

Our parents deserve special note for their timing and cheering and the fact that they care for all the Crawfish children as well as the love and support they give their own. We would not be a successful team without you.

Finally it should be noted that this was last short course state meet that Bruce Thomas will officiate. As a coach I will tell that in all my years on deck I have not met an official whose dedication and fairness towards all swimmers compares to Bruce’s. He is someone we have come to depend on and his presence has always allowed coaches a sense of calm in an atmosphere that is quite the opposite of calm. I will enjoy the remaining meets he chooses to officiate and will; without doubt, miss him when he is done.

Coach Billy


Highlights:

Team records:
Gage Alleman 13-14 boys 200 back 
Colin Bone 11-12 boys 500 free, 200IM, 100 free, 50 free, 50 fly, 200 free 
Carson Foster 8&under boys 100fly, 50breast, 100IM, 50free, 50back, 50fly, 100back 
MK Miller 13-14 girls 400IM, 200IM
Claudia Apsey 13-14 girls 1650 free
13-14 girls 200 free relay (Alex Miller, Tiny White, M.K., and Victoria Padial)

Age Group High Point Winners:
Hannah Foster, 9-10 Girls
Colin Bone, 11-12 Boys

State Champions
Gage Allemann, Cameron Balkom, Caroline Beene, Colin Bone, Austin Butler, Joanne Chien, Hannah Foster, Jake Foster, Connor Futch, Michael Kuhlmeier, Alex Miller, MKMiller, J.M.Moore, Victoria Padial, Gabrielle Williams

19&under boys 400 free relay(JMM,Louque,Stewart,Butler)
9-10 boys 200 free relay(C.Foster,G.Dawson,M.Padial,J.Foster)
13-14 girls 200 free relay(A.Miller,M.K.,J.White,V.Padial)
19&under girls 400 medley relay( J.Chien,C.Balkom,M.K.,H.Core)
19&under boys 400 medley(JMM,M.Braun,H.Louque,A .Butler)
11-12 boys 200 medley relay(C.Futch,S.Apsey,C.Bone,D,Holliday)
15-18 girls 200 medley relay(G.Williams,C.Balkom,J.Chien,H.Core)


Finalist
Claudia Apsey, Sean Apsey, Caroline Berlin, Martin Braun, Chris Cazenave, Gabby Core, Hannah Core, Carson Foster, Andrew Frazier, Jeanne Frederic, Alex Goay, Jesse Haltom, Margeaux Hebert, Darren Holliday, Mason Hutchinson, Sara Kudijaroff, Joseph Lacing, Hunter Louque, Dainon Miles, John Miller, Kirby Moore, Paul Stewart, Julianne White

Consolation Finalist
Dylan Apsey, Ian Armentor, Jacob Bares, Cameron Barney, Baker Bradley, Olivia Bradley, Addie Brown, Michael Budetti, Alex Cruz, Jacob Dawson, Will Duhe, Matt Frederic, Rachel Laciny, Drew Landry, Annalane Lee, Sara Lessard, Lilly May, Brielle Miles, Danielle Miles, Amy Miller, Michael Padial, Bryan Primeaux, Zach Redpath, Andrew Rothkmann, Sarah Simar, Eric Thomas

 Crawfish Aquatics Swim-A-Thon will take place Saturday, May 8 with a morning full of activities. This fundraiser is one of our most important sources of income for those items outside our normal operating expenses. Success of the Swim-A-Thon allows us to make capital improvements, purchase equipment, assist in team travel trips, educate the coaching staff and make improvements to the age group swimming programs. It is vital for our team to continue to improve! More Information to come in the following weeks and months!

 The dual meet with CCSC and gift donations for Brave Heart Children In Need of Baton Rouge & Marine Toys for Tots of Lafayette was a HUGE SUCCESS! From fast times to abundant generosity this was one of the most successful events by Crawfish Aquatics in 2009!

235 gifts (!!!) were collected for the two organizations. THANKS to all families for your generosity and taking part in this event. We plan to make this an annual Crawfish Meet each December! If you were not able to participate in the meet this weekend, but would still like to make a gift donation please bring to the Info Booth by Tuesday practice.

The coaches were pleased with the improvements in time, skill and conditioning shown across the board and there were numerous state times achieved.
New State Qualifiers: Grant Dawson (9-10 boys), Lily May (11-12 girls), Asher Laciny (11-12 boys), John Miller (13-14 boys), Sarah Simar (13-14 girls), Joseph Laciny (13-14 boys)

Video from Meet & Toy Drive - Check it out!

Hampton Inn Metairie
2730 North Causeway Blvd.
Metairie, LA 70002
504-831-7676
Mention you are with the Crawfish Aquatics group. The group code is CRA.

Rate- $89/night
Reservations must be made by 2/10/2010. Please book early!

A complimentary breakfast bar is located in the lobby from 6:00-10:00AM. If a rollaway bed is needed, please request when booking- these are on a first come, first serve basis.

See Tentative List of Legal Suits on USA Swimming website
The new suit rules went into effect this past Thursday and there is a list of suits that, for now, fall under the legal technical suits category. This list may be added to/updated once FINA releases the list of approved suits.
In Summary, suits meeting the following criteria are no longer allowed:

1. Swimsuits for men may not extend above the navel or below the knee and for women may not cover the neck or extend past the shoulders or below the knee;
2. No zippers or other fastening devices are allowed except for a waist tie on a brief or jammer; and

3. Suits must be of textile material and must not be made of any rubberized type of material such as polyurethane or neoprene.

Posted on the CA You Tube Video Channel…
http://www.youtube.com/user/CrawfishAquatics#play/all/0/KCoUwNNw4yw

What a day!
The day began with the team competing with each other. For many it was their first taste of competition and the swimmers did an excellent job. Their coaches were very pleased and very enthusiastic throughout the morning. This was also our first opportunity to host our new team mates from Crawfish West (Lafayette) and a very friendly and welcoming attitude was evident.

Aaron Peirsol and Shelly Johnston displayed their knowledge and expertise in a fun, informative, and motivating clinic. Crawfish parents and swimmers were three deep around the pool and took advantage of the opportunity to watch and listen to one of the best swimmers in the world. Aaron was accommodating and accessible as was evident by the more than one hour autograph session after the in water display.

Food and fun was next as we managed to fill the bellies of all the attendees and Aaron and Shelly did a second clinic for high school, middle school, and many other swimmers and parents from Baton Rouge and other cities. It was obvious from the attendance at both clinics that people in the swimming community relished the opportunity to see one of the best in action.

My thanks go out to all who made the day a success. They are many I can mention but Mr. Bone manned the pit and managed to cook 240 burgers, 180 hot dogs, and several pounds of sausage. The coaches did a terrific job throughout the day and we are blessed to have such a fine group of people on our staff.
Finally it should be noted that it is the vision and generosity of Dr. and Mrs. Ripple that makes such a day a possibility. This was the perfect way to kick off what will be a very successful season.

DIG DEEP! Coach Billy

#1 Ron Moore was on hand ALL DAY taking pictures of CA swimmers and families, during the meet and during the clinic. Check them out on his site (along with pictures from past CA meets), download and enjoy!
http://www.rempics.com/Sports/Swimming

#2 Many of these pictures have been uploaded to our Team Photo Gallery on the website… please share your pictures with us and we will post the to the gallery and/or the CA homepage! http://www.crawfishaquatics.com/photo-gallery/

http://www.youtube.com/user/CrawfishAquatics
Coach Thomas, Lafayette Team Site Director, has set up a You Tube video channel for posting numerous swim videos ranging from clinic videos, individual technique analysis and video from professional swim meets. This is a great resource for our swimmers and updated regularly with new video. Coach Thomas will video and post footage from the Intrasquad meet and Gold Medal Clinic… check it out!

Crawfish Aquatics is in the process of evaluating the best possible options for meet opportunities for the 2008-2009 meet schedule. We will offer our annual Intrasquad meet in the month of September and competitive opportunities in the months of October, November and December in Baton Rouge and hopefully at UNO in New Orleans. We are examining our previous schedule and trying to develop the best possible schedule for our families and swimmers for the next year. We are looking at a winter and a summer travel meet, possibly to new places for BOTH of these trips. The tentative schedule will be announced after the Louisiana Swimming meeting in late September. We will also vote on State, District, 8 & Under meet dates and host teams at this meeting. Please review the possible updates to the short course/long course state meet dates on the website.

Upcoming Fall Meet Schedule To Date
Sept 19- Intrasquad Meet at Crawfish
Oct 17-18- Fall Invitational at Crawfish
Nov 21- CA One Day Meet

In case you have not heard, Crawfish Aquatics is the 2009 Long Course State Champions! The hard work, sacrifice of sleep and free time, and the poking and prodding from coaches paid off in a big way. The victory was made possible because of contributions from every age group, excitable parents, knowledgeable and motivating coaches, and great leadership from our senior class.

15 new team records, 2 runner up and  3 age group high point winners, 8 relay and 32 individual event champions, 6 swimmers named to the LA Allstar/Zones team and point contributions individually or on relays from ALL Crawfish Aquatics swimmer entered are further repudiation of how much this was a TEAM victory.

Class is sometimes an overused and misunderstood qualifier, but this team displays it in so many ways. We will always continue to acknowledge and respect the accomplishments of our opponents whether they beat us in the water or vice versa. We will continue to support every member of our team through the good times and, more importantly, through the tough times. We will continue to strive for improvement in every aspect of our sport in how we practice and compete. It is these qualities that will allow us the opportunity for continued success.

 As an organization we will continue to grow through the efforts put forth by all individuals involved in the many parts that make up Crawfish Aquatics. From the patient and attentive swim lesson instructor of a screaming three year old to the effort of our Masters coach to make that 60 year old a better swimmer, the whole is certainly a sum of the parts. Any organization that does not strive to get bigger and better will become the opposite and be left wondering what happened. We have achieved our success through the efforts of many and we will continue that success by traveling the high road, working hard, and being a constantly changing and very large family.

On a very personal note we look forward to the appearance of our newest member, Ms. Riley Roedel, and wish Courtney a very safe and exciting start to the joys of parenthood.

Finally , if it has not been made clear in this wide ranging state meet wrap up , I could not be more proud of what we have done and what we will continue to do.

 
Advocate Article
Full Meet Results
Final Team Standings