Good morning, Barracudas!

Meet Last Night: The final score from last night was SWSR - 397 to JCSC - 339. Sugarwood is a fast team! They won all of Smoky last year, have a solid League 1 history, and performed really well at City last weekend. So, despite our winning streak ending, I'm very happy with our score. Last night when I went through the results, I was honestly surprised by how much time some of our kids (especially 10 & Unders) dropped after having just raced at UT. Swimming might seem really complicated to new families, but there's a simple truth to improvement in this sport: The more you practice, and the more you race, the better and faster you become.

Ribbons from last night have been stickered and placed in the file folders—thank you Skeens! Our "regular season" is over since last night was our last dual meet. We will be staying in League 2. Sugarwood will move up to League 1, and Beaver Brook Blue Fins (BBBF) will move down to join us in League 2. Now, our focus shifts to the "last splash" of the summer—SMOKY!!!

Smoky Mountain Invitational (SMI): Attached to this email are our entries for SMI. There are 2 documents. The first is for Saturday, which is 11 & Ups. The second is for Sunday, which is 10 & Unders. Just like we did for City, I need you to look through these to make sure everything looks correct. This is the meet where I've accidentally left people off before. It's easy to overlook details at this point in the summer. Please let me know if you see anything that might need to be corrected.

Also similar to City, we will be having tougher practices this week and then ease up and shift our focus back to resting and race details in the later part of next week. JCSC has a legacy of performing really well at SMI. I'd regard it as the second most important meet of the summer. It's a great opportunity for non-USA Swimming competitors to shine. Here's the SMI website.

This Week: What coaches we have at practice this week will differ slightly than how summer's been so far. Grace returns tomorrow. Me, Grace, Ethan, and Aaron are racing in a Grown-Up Swimming meet this evening (Emma, Will, Sadie, and Chase will conduct practice. This will also be Chase's last practice of the summer; at the end of this week and throughout next week, we will split his group between Ethan and Aaron's). On Thursday and Friday, Will and Emma will be racing at Southeasterns in Huntsville, Alabama alongside other Carson-Newman/Club Talon swimmers. Aaron will be there coaching. Please have patience as we shift things around to make things work, and remember that the time to ask questions is before or after practice, not during. You're also always welcome to text me.

Final Reminders: Tuesday the 22nd of next week we will have our "Smoky Sendoff." Please come to practice in the morning as you're able, because that evening from 5 to 7 we are just having fun, not practicing. We'll have free swim, play water games with the kids, and have a potluck-style meal situation. More details on food to follow. Friends and family are welcome.

The last practice of the season is Friday, July 25th.

Our awards banquet will be Sunday, August 3rd at Maury Middle School at 2 PM. We will be providing food, but may ask families to bring drinks/snacks/desserts; more details to follow. It's always a great way to wrap up the summer.

Y'all stay cool and hydrated. Reach out if you need anything.

GO CUDAS!!!

Josh