State of the Storm

Storm Families,

Happy New Year!! We hope everyone had a great holiday season, and we are excited to see all the kids back and ready to go as we hone in on our end-of-season. This is our busiest time of the year, especially for our High School swimmers, so parents, I ask that you are patient with your swimmers and give them lots of hugs and pats on the backs during this part of the season.

Thank you,

Coach Mary

• January 6-8: New Year's Splash (All Lightning & Thunder groups, some Junior & Senior groups as directed by practice group load coach)
  
• January 11-14: TYR Pro Series Knoxville (13/O qualifiers)
• January 13-15: HCY Stingray Splash (Senior 1, Junior 1, Lightning 1/2/N, Thunder 1/2/N; or as directed by practice group lead coach)
• January 14-15: HACY Polar Bear (Waves N/S, Lightning 3, Thunder 3)
• January 28-29: GSCY Miles to Miles (all Lightning, Thunder, Junior & Senior groups)

To all of our swimmers, good luck and swim fast!

More Information: please visit the Events Page of our website.

Questions: please contact your practice group lead coach.

MEET REGISTRATIONS

• January 15th: SAY Deep Freeze, 8/U NJ YMCA Championships, 9/O NJ YMCA Silver Championships, 12/U & 12/O NJ YMCA State Championships, Eastern Zone Championships
• January 31st: NJ Swimming 12/U Silver/Bronze Championships

HOTEL BLOCK BOOKING

• January 18th: deadline to book a hotel room at the Hampton Inn & Suites or Courtyard by Marriott at discounted rates for 9/O NJ YMCA Silver Championships at GCIT
• January 25th: deadline to book a hotel room at the Clarion Hotel & Conference Center at discounted rates for 12/U NJ YMCA State Championship

Dates and deadlines may be subject to change. Please refer to communications from your practice group lead coach for the latest information.

We are happy to announce that the latest practice changes are now featured on our website in one central location. The page features changes across all practice groups and will be noted in yellow.

To view the page, please click here: https://www.teamunify.com/team/njgscy/page/swim-groups/practice-changes.

As we gear up for YMCA championship events beginning in February, the following presents helpful information regarding these events.

8/U Championships (February 11-12)

This meet is for all 8/Under swimmers on the team. There are no qualifying times. Swimmer’s age is determined as of 12/1/2022.

NJ YMCA Bronze Championships (February 3-5)

This meet is for all 9/Over swimmers that have achieved YMCA Bronze times but slower than YMCA Silver times. Swimmers with 5 or more Silver and/or State times cannot participate. Swimmers who achieve a YMCA Silver time at this meet can then swim at YMCA Silver Championships. Coaches choose events for the swimmers where they will most likely achieve YMCA Silver times. Teams are told sessions and locations after the entries are received. All qualified swimmers are expected to attend. Swimmer’s age is determined as of 12/1/2022.

NJ YMCA Silver Championships (February 17-19)

This meet is for all 9/Over swimmers that have achieved YMCA Silver times but slower than YMCA State times. Swimmers with 5 or more YMCA State times cannot attend. Swimmers who achieve YMCA State times at this meet will be able to swim those events at the YMCA State Championships. Coaches choose the events for the swimmers that are closest to YMCA State qualifying times. All qualified swimmers are expected to attend. Swimmer’s age is determined as of 12/1/2022.

NJ YMCA State Championships (12/U February 24-26; 13/O March 9-12)

There are two NJ YMCA State Championships - one for 12/Under and another for 13/O swimmers that have achieved YMCA State qualifying times. Coaches choose events that have the likelihood of scoring the most points. All qualified swimmers are expected to attend. Swimmer’s age is determined as of 12/1/2022.

YMCA Short Course National Championships (April 2-7)

This is a multi-day meet for 12/Over swimmers who have achieved at least one YMCA National qualifying time.

Qualifying Requirements for 9/O Championships

In order for a swimmer to qualify for any of the upcoming NJ YMCA Championships Meets (Bronze/Silver/States):

• Athletes must have met the required qualifying times. To view qualifying times, please visit https://www.teamunify.com/team/njgscy/page/meet--events/time-standards#SC%20YMCA%20Times.
• Athletes have to compete for GSCY Storm in a minimum of three YMCA closed competition meets during the short course season (and prior to the NJ YMCA championship meet). The following YMCA invitational meets count as closed meets:
  - GMNY Harvest Haunt
  - RVY Spooky Sprints
  - GSCY Champions Classic
  - Westfield Devilfish
  - GSCY Green and Black
  - First Frost
  - HCY Autumn Challenge
  - Candy Cane Classic
  - GMNY December Classic
  - HCY Stingray Splash
  - GSCY Miles to Miles
  - SAY Deep Freeze

Please speak with your practice group lead coach if your athlete has achieved a qualifying time but may not meet the required three invitational meets.

Stayed tuned to future newsletters for a primer on USA Swimming championship events!

From time to time, we will be featuring Frequently Asked Questions as part of our newsletter. If you are a new or returning family and have general questions about our program, meets, or anything else that might benefit other parents, please send your questions to gscystormconnect@gmail.com and we might feature your question for future newsletters!

WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A YMCA MEET AND USA SWIMMING MEET?

YMCA and USA Swimming are different swim leagues that each host their respective sanctioned competitions, leading up to separate championship events. Clubs that are affiliated with the YMCA mostly compete with other YMCA-affiliated clubs, but may also compete in USA Swimming-sanctioned meets (as long as swimmers have the required USA Swimming registration).