Tonight at 6pm, GTAC swimmers will have their Season Banquet at St Francis, with barbeque, desserts and awards. While there will be NO PRACTICE tonight, we will celebrate all of our hard work and fast swimming, with over 200 of our teammates and family members!

Congratulations, Hurricanes, on an excellent Short Course Season!

At the Barbara Kay Mini-Meet Championships, GTAC's 8 & unders all scored personal best times in several events, and earned 8th place in the State (and best in Northwest Ohio) with a score of 289 points. All swimmers ended their short course season on a high note as they achieved their best times of the season in most of their events, and helped GTAC to score well. The 7 & under boys team of Atticus Dewey, Bubby Barnes, Brody Sahloff and John Burnard took 2nd place in both the 100 yd Free Relay and 100 yd Medley Relay. For all of the results, see http://www.teamunify.com/oswor/__doc__/bk%20meet%20results.pdf

Way to go, Mini-Hurricanes!

At the 2010 Ohio State Senior Championships at Miami University, GTAC's swimmers are achieving personal best times and great national cuts as well.

On Friday, Rowan Williams won the 500 free with a Junior National time of 4:34.77, while four other Hurricanes scored in the top sixteen with Sectional cut times (Matt Zimmerman, Dan Miller, Nick Carmony and DJ MacDonald). Following suit, Tara Vermandere scored 19th and  Anne Marie King scored 24th with personal best times in their 500 frees. The men finished the first night with a victory in the 800 Free Relay with a time of 7:00.52 (Carmony, Miller, Zimmerman, Williams). GTAC Men are in second place as of Friday evening. 

For all results, see http://swimmakos.com/realtime/index.htm 

Based upon her times at the Can-Am Paralympic Championships, GTAC swimmer Angeline LeVasseur has been selected to compete at the International Wheelchair & Amputee Sports Federation Junior World Championships to be held in Prague, Czech Republic, August 22-29, 2010. This is the premier world competitive event for athletes under the age of 18 with orthopedic disabilities. We congratulate Angeline on her achievement and know that she will represent Team USA well! Angeline first will be competing at the 2010 Can-Am Paralympic Championships in San Antonio on March 25-27 and then go to the GTAC Disability Open, May 15-16 in Cincinnati.

A Last Chance Time Trial Meet will be held on Tuesday, March 2 @ SFS for those swimmers who want to try one more time for cut times. Meet info is now posted under GTAC Hosted Meets.

The registration and practice information for GTAC's Season II, from March 8-May 7, is now posted under the Competitive Team tab.

Long Course 2010 brings the 2nd Annual HOLY TOLEDO! Meet, June 12-13 @ BGSU Natatorium. Once again, there will be special coach's prizes, discount rates on the Toledo Mud Hens Home game (Saturday, June 12 @ 7pm) at the Best Minor League Stadium in the US, information about one of the top ten Zoo's in the nation and a wide range of great swimming events. The meet packet will be posted shortly.

And in July, GTAC will be hosting the Northern Ohio Long Course Regional Meet, July 8-11 @ BGSU. The meet packet will be posted later this spring, but mark your calendar now.

We look forward to welcoming you to our meets!

February is the short course Championships Swim season for our GTAC swimmers at all levels, and we are looking forward to outstanding results after all of our hard work.

Check up on our collegiate swimmers by clicking the About GTAC tab, and see how they are preparing for their conference championships now. And read this recent Toledo Blade article about GTAC's Mike Carroll, senior captain and All-MAC team member for the Miami Redhawks. http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100127/NEIGHBORS/1260336

Visit our nationally-ranked UT Lady Rockets who train with GTAC in the off-season as they seek the MAC Championship this year. http://www.utrockets.com/SportSelect.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=18000&KEY=&SPID=10697&SPSID=93626

GTAC's High School swimmers are preparing for sectionals and districts, with many highly ranked in the NW District and at the State level. Visit www.swimmeet.com for the most current Northwest District rankings by our swimmers. GTAC is proud to be the year round training spot for swimmers from several Ohio schools in our area, including St Francis, St Ursula and Anthony Wayne, with many of those swimmers going on to compete at the Ohio Senior Championship at Miami University in March.

Our Age-Group swimmers are getting ready for the Northern Ohio Regional Championships in Fremont on February 19-21. GTAC has won this meet every year since it has been scored, and we are working to do that again this year. Swimmers will be having a Psych Up Party on February 17, and then look forward to JO Championships and, for our littlest swimmers, the Ohio Mini-Meet, in February and March. Many of our age-groupers are ranked in the top 20 in Ohio. See the list of Top Results at www.swimconnection.com/oh

At the National level, GTAC will field its largest team ever to Speedo Sectional Championships in Ft Lauderdale, Florida, March 18-22. Last year, GTAC scored 5th overall, and looks to do even better this year. And our paralympic swimmer, Angeline LeVasseur, will be competing at US Paralympic Nationals in San Antonio in March. Looking forward to the summer, GTAC will have its largest contingent ever competing at the Mission Viejo Swim Meet of Champions as part of our popular June California training trip, now in it's 10th year, as well as several swimmers going on to US Junior and Senior Nationals in Irvine, California in August.

Finally, the practice season does not end in Feburary or March. GTAC offers its popular Season II from March 8-May 7 in which we work on stroke technique and personalized training before the start of Long Course. Season II information is now posted on our webpage (look under Competitive Team), and more information can be obtained by calling 419-531-2800. At GTAC, we are proud to offer practice 48 weeks out of the year, and offer exceptional training for swimmers at all levels.

Go GTAC!

GTAC, one of only two Ohio teams competing at the Carmel Swim Club's Mid-Winter Invitational, January 15-17 at IUPUI, is scoring very well with its swimmers from age 9-13. This meet, with over 1000 swimmers from all over the US, features prelims/finals from swimmers aged 11 and older, and time finals from swimmers aged 10 and under. GTAC's 11-12 girls got the meet started on Friday with exceptional swims in the 500 free and a 2/3/4 finish by Adrienne Kinor, Haley Rosiak and Zhada Fields.  Zhada continued GTAC's winning ways on Saturday with a 1st place in the 100 back (1:01.77), folllowed by many more who scored in the top sixteen. All Hurricanes have achieved personal bests.

Full results can be found at http://www.iunat.iupui.edu/Eventresults/index.htm  

Congratulations GTAC swimmers on an outstanding Carmel meet!

Kicking off its 3rd year, the 2010 Northwest Ohio Middle School Swim League promises to be bigger than ever. Several teams participated last year, and there will be even more swimmers and teams this season. The league is open to all 6th, 7th and 8th graders, and is a great way to introduce high school swimming to jumiddle school students.

The season runs from April 12-May 20, and the $50 registation cost includes three meets, coaching (if needed) and practice time (if necessary). See the information and registration forms posted to the left. Teams can also purchase suits, caps and t-shirts through NOMSSL. The league is set up so that teams can practice with their existing school coaches and at their own pools, or use coaches and practice time provided by NOMSSL. Home-schooled students are welcome to participate as well. Students with disabilities are strongly encouraged to join.

We think swimming is the BEST sport of all and we want to encourage middle school students to make swimming THEIR sport in high school. Join the team or create one at your school. We are open to all!

A Thanksgiving tradition at GTAC continued this year with the annual collection of gifts, goodies, hand-made decorations and needed supplies for our troops overseas. This year, several boxes were mailed to troops in Afghanistan. There are a few GTAC parents who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan, and through their contacts, we are able to send packages directly to those troops in the combat zones.

GTAC is proud to support and thank our troops in this way, and send our Hurricane spirit to them over the Holidays.

Rowan Williams competes at US Senior Nationals this weekend in Federal Way, Washington, as one of the youngest swimmers there. Joining him will be Roman Willets with his Michigan teammates.

The following week, Rowan and DJ MacDonald compete in individual events at Junior Nationals, Ohio State University, Columbus, with Mike DiSalle, Dan DiSalle and Dan Miller joining them for relay events.

For compete results for both National Championship meets, see www.usa-swimming.org

USA Swimming announced the top ten swimmers in the U.S. in each event and age group yesterday, and two GTAC swimmers made this prestigious list.

Zhada Fields, age 11, 4th place, 50m back, 32.96 and 8th place, 200m free, 2:17.34

Roman Willets, age 18, 2nd place, 100m free, 50:65 and 5th place, 200m free, 1:52.23

Congratulations Zhada and Roman on being among the top ten swimmers in the nation!

GTAC's Rowan Williams, a junior at St Francis de Sales High School, has been honored as a National Scholastic All-American for the 2008-2009 academic year by USA Swimming for his outstanding performance in the classroom and in the pool. Rowan, one of only four swimmers in NW Ohio to be honored (one male and two females from Bowling Green Swim Club were also honored, and we congratulate them as well), was selected for maintaining a 3.5 or higher GPA in grades 10, 11 or 12, and for achieving at least a Junior National bonus cut. Rowan has been on the honor roll at SFS since his freshman year and holds a Senior National cut in the 200 backstroke. He is the son of Carol Sargent and Wayne Williams, Ottawa Hills.

Congratulations, Rowan, on the well-deserved award!

GTAC Head Coach Keith Kennedy was awarded the National Disability Service Award at the USA Swimming National Convention this evening in Chicago. Citing Kennedy's role as US National Paralympic Coach, Swim Clinician for the US Olympic Committee Military Summit, Coach of Paralympic Gold and Bronze Medalists, and the creator of the GTAC Disability Open, now in its 7th year, USA Swimming, Kennedy was honored for "his outstanding effort in making GTAC a place where everyone can swim and creating opportunities for swimmers with disabilities throughout the nation."

See the article in the Toledo Blade: http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2009910120306 

See the article in the Catholic Chronicle: http://www.catholicchronicle.org/index.php/sports/st-francis-coach-honored-for-work-with-disabled-swimmers.html

We congratulate our Head Coach for this well-deserved award!

GTAC congratulates Coach Peter Malone, who founded our club in the late 1960's, and began our tradition of excellence when it was incorporated in 1972. Coach Malone left Toledo in the early 1970's and founded the Kansas City Blazers. He went on to serve as US National Coach for many years and US Olympic Coach on several occasions, and has trained numerous Olympians and Senior National champions through the years. His honors are too numerous to list here. He was a graduate of St Francis de Sales High School, where he was a member of the State Championship team in 1967, and went on to graduate from the University of Toledo. The American Swim Coaches Association annually honors coaches for years of outstanding service to our sport.

Congratulations to Coach Pete! GTAC salutes you!

The Josh Project will be featured on HBO's "Real Sports" Program with Bryant Gumble on Tuesday, September 15 at 10pm. Filming was done wtih GTAC instuctors at the SFS pool. Check it out!

Due to increased demand for swim lessons, GTAC is moving weekday lessons to the UT Health Ed pool beginning this fall. "This is a win-win move, " states Head Coach Keith Kennedy. "By providing more lanes at the St Francis pool, we can serve our ever-growing competitive team with our personalized training while having more room for our expanding swim lesson program with lessons at UT."

The GTAC Swim School registration form will be posted on the website and be available for download. The Josh Project program will continue at St Francis on Saturday afernoons, as will our private swim lessons and Special Olympics lessons on Sunday afternoons.

Questions about swim lessons? E-mail gtaclessons@yahoo.com

As  Keith Kennedy enters his 10th year as the Head Coach of the Greater Toledo Aquatic Club, one if his prime goals has been achieved: Consistency of excellence in coaching across the board. Along with full-time Age-Group coach Chris Pierson, who has been with GTAC for 7 seasons, and part-time coaches Dave Eisenstein, Rich Szczepinski, Lars Jorgensen, who have been with GTAC for 5 season or more, Kennedy has implemented a training strategy which is used from Mini-Minnow to National swimmers. GTAC swimmers, as can be seen once again by this year's results, have consistently been the top-performing team in Northwest Ohio and one of the strongest in Ohio and the Midwest. From their minnows who always achieve personal bests and 1st places at Mini-Champs, to the age-groupers' 6th place finish and high-point winners at Ohio JO's and Central Zones, the senior team's 6th place finish at Midwest Sectional Championships and the annual placement of GTAC high schoolers into strong collegiate programs (with nearly $2 million in swimming scholarships since 2000), GTAC continues to maintain training excellence at every level.

This year's coaching assignments will have all coaches returning, plus two new assistant coaches, with the exception of Ryan McRoberts, who is returning to his native Australia..

Good luck and our great thanks to Coach Ryan, and congratulations to all of our coaches for another outstanding season.

The 6th Annual GTAC Disability Open hosted 75 swimmers, including 17 Paralympic Team members and 17 National team members. There were 18 new classifications. 12 American Records, 5 Pan-American Records and 1 Wolrd Record achieved at our meet.  GTAC thanks all of the officials, volunteers, and the GTAC parents who make this meet possible each year.
 
See the story about the meet in Swimming World: http://www.swimmingworldmagazine.com/lane9/news/21063.asp

To see bios of the US Paralympic national team swimmers, visit www.usparalympics.org and click on Athletes, Swimming.

Since 2002, GTAC has been the recipient of USA Swimming's prestigious Club Excellence Award six times. One of only 200 clubs, out of over 2800, in the US and the only club in Northwest Ohio to be so recognized, GTAC was honored this year with the Bronze Medal Award for the calibre of its swim training and its business organization. The Bronze Medal is displayed to the left. Congratulations to GTAC's swimmers and coaches for this well-deserved honor!

The Toledo Blade's article (located here) of December 26 examines the awards and milestones achieved by GTAC in this past year. From the Golden Goggles award shared with the Josh Project, to our Make Splash national partner designation, to our Disability Meet, extensive lesson program and state-leading competitive swimming, GTAC is truly a full service, excellent organization. Congratulations to our coaches, staff and families for all of our great achievements!