Thanks Joan and Jay for another great year
Wow! What a fantastic finish. The meet went a little longer than expected, but I enjoyed the entire day. This was expected to be a very close meet and it lived up to its billing. It’s been a long time since the competition was so even. The top three spots could have gone a number of ways. Look how close between Ruby Hill and Briarhill. When you think of all the races that were swam, it’s amazing that the score could be so close.
I say it over and over, but I am so proud to be a member of this team. I’ll speak more on this tonight. I just have to say that our entire team showed up ready to swim and you all saved your best for yesterday. I felt like all of you were swimming for yourself, of course, but also were doing it for the team. What great athletes and people you are. (Okay, crying already. Makes it hard to type.) Del Prado had NO scratches for the meet yesterday. For those of you not intimately involved in the running of the meet, that’s huge. I just love going over and giving that report. It’s a very rare thing to have NO scratches. I LOVED walking into the pool area and seeing that some chalk fairies made it all the way into DBAC to cheer us on. Brought a huge smile to my face. In fact, many neighborhoods around Pleasanton, Dublin, and San Ramon spotted the chalk fairies work. They do work magic. Just look at how many swimmers swam their best yesterday. Thank you, chalk fairies. I think everyone enjoyed swim buddy week. I know the coaches loved that attendance spiked way up for the week. And, that pancake breakfast did make you all swim fast. We are so lucky to have so many things going for us as a team.
Former Stingrays stopped by yesterday to cheer us on. How nice it was to see former coaches Erin Cooper and Julianne Strom there along with Colleen Mayes, Cole Payan, Josef Costa, and Andy Halseth. Andy told me he’s turning 30 next month. I watched him swim. How could he be turning 30?? Someone…me….is getting old.
Parents…aka volunteers…thank you for doing all the jobs it takes to run a good meet so well. I was told all of you showed up to work and on time. It’s a long day and a big meet and it takes all of us to make it happen. Thank you so much for doing all you did to make it such a good day and meet.
Coaches…oh, our coaches. You seeded us a great meet and held our team together yesterday. (I don’t think Coach Tom ever sat down. He made it his job to keep everyone pumped-up and ready to swim their fastest.) I loved that cheer, as usual. It started with that and your enthusiasm and energy kept our team ready. Thank you. So nice to see the tu-tus come out for the meet and that “war paint.” Great idea. You are the best, and I love hanging out with you guys all summer. In case any of you were wondering, here are their splits from the coaches’ relay: Jamie-back 32.63, Jill-breast 37.34, John-fly 29.31, and Tom-free 28.13. Very impressive. 
Swimmers, congratulations to you all. Thank you for giving us excellent races to watch all day long. I am so proud of all of you. I think my most favorite story from yesterday is this: Seeing so many of you during the free relays cheering on your teammates–moving from one lane to another at the end of the pool and cheering. When all the races were over, regardless of the final outcome, you chanted, “wish you were a Stingray.” There is not a lot better than that. Thank you.
See you all tonight for our awards banquet and BBQ potluck dinner. Please bring a salad or side dish or dessert to share. We’ll start serving at 4:30 and will begin the program at 6:00. I did pick up a solid black jammer, size 28, from our lawn area yesterday along with a black camera case (I think) that says Fuji Film on the front. Let me know if it’s yours.
Go Del Prado,
Joan
