CBAC Parents' Newsletter
Spring 2003

Dear Swimmers and Parents:
I began this edition of Coaches’ Notes some time ago. In January a very dear friend of the St. Mary’s Community passed away. Some of you may remember Phil Roberts officiating at club and summer league meets. Phil spent many years involved in children’s activities, most notably, Boy Scouts and U.S. Swimming. Phil was an excellent example of parental involvement. We’ll miss you, Phil.

Does Swimming Contribute to Academic Achievement?
Look around, read aquatic sports articles and you’ll find that most swimmers are equally successful in the classroom. Our sport takes tremendous effort and determination. Those who have the self-discipline necessary to swim also use that strength to make good grades. Congratulations to all of you whose names I see again and again in the listings for school honor rolls. Keep up the good work!

Junior All Stars Blossom
Reflecting upon our very successful December and January meets I have to say we saved one of our greatest efforts for the Junior All Star Meet. What a phenomenal weekend of swimming! The coaching staff had many reasons to be pleased: Starting with 92% best times achieved. Outstanding! Parents: You did an exceptional job, also! CBAC received numerous compliments on the professional manner in which we ran our meets. Thanks to all of you who helped make our meet memorable. Check our website for all the competition results.

All Stars Qualifying Meet Takes Five CBAC Swimmers Again
There is something special about the way we swim at the Naval Academy. Simply put, we just swim fast. Five CBAC swimmers made the All Star Team. Three more swimmers came very close. Eric Skrabacz, Will Richards, and Emily Dobson return from last year’s squad. Joining them this year will be: Natalie Morris and Eric Pinno. Steven Kram, John Kitner, and Lindsey Mummaugh just missed making the team by one spot each. All of our swimmers worked hard. Congratulations to Brittany Culpepper, Melissa Boughton, Trey Ruffle, and Beth Dobson—made the meet qualifying times.

Speedo Championship Meet
Sewell, New Jersey
Three CBAC teammates qualified for the meet in New Jersey: Eric Skrabacz, Beth Dobson, and Trey Ruffle made qualifying standards to swim individual events. Our boys’ 400 Medley relay also qualified, but will not compete until this summer. Relay teammates: Steven Kram, Will Richards, Eric Skrabacz, and Trey Ruffle. Way to go!

CBAC and College…
Beth Dobson attends St. Mary’s College and swam for the Seahawks this season. Trey Ruffle attends West Virginia University and will be swimming for the Martimers this fall. Both currently swim for CBAC in between college seasons.

CBAC Olympic Hopeful
Jillian Martin, currently at senior at the University of Maryland, is enjoying a great year. She won the 200 yard breast ACC Conference title and will compete at NCAA’s in March. If she stays on track the next step would be Olympic trials. Jill plans to practice with CBAC again this summer. Be on the lookout for her and wish her luck!

CBAC Team Party At Hyper Space
The CBAC party is coming soon! More information to follow in April…

Team Meets

April 13th is a team tri-meet for 9 & Unders hosted by Annapolis Swim Club (at the Arundel Olympic Swim Center). All CBAC 9 & Unders should attend. Our team will compete with ASC & NAAC. See our website for details. This is a quick, fun, fast meet. See next page for more…

June 15th: A team double dual meet is scheduled between NAAC, FAST, and CBAC. This will be a fantastic finish for the season. We need strong team spirit and fast swimming to win this one. ALL CBAC families are expected to be there, so mark your calendars, now!

GO, CBAC!!!!

Interested in officiating? Contact Randy Morris at 301-872-4266 or Coach Chuck at 240-725-0034

Communication: High-Tech Replaces Worn Out Phone Trees
WE HAVE ADAPTED TO THE NEW MILLENIUM… FOR ALL INFORMATION PERTINENT TO CBAC, PLEASE CHECK OUR WEBSITE. IT IS FREQUENTLY UPDATED. PRACTICE SCHEDULES, UPCOMING MEETS, RATES, AND EVEN THE COACHES’ NOTES CAN BE FOUND AT www.cbacswimming.org.

CBAC Parents’ News
March 2003

Winter “Home” Meets were Great Successes!
Thanks to Coach Chuck, the many Parent Volunteers and to Towson University’s fine facility, CBAC swimmers were able to participate in 2 more “home” meets this year – The Winter Wake Up Meet held January 25th-27th, and the Junior All Star Meet held February 28th-March 2nd.
Special thanks to Meet Director Mardy Millen and his team of hardware and software specialists, as well as Randy Morris and the other CBAC Officials and Apprentices for running these meets so efficiently! We couldn’t have done it without Marty Kitner and his timers, too. Concessions ran smoothly, thanks to the many volunteers on that end – including Tess and Bob Buckley who kept the coffee and electricity flowing!

CBAC’s home meets are an extremely important source of revenue to the team, enabling us to operate year round. They also provide our swimmers with opportunities to compete in a familiar and friendly atmosphere. Thanks again to all those families who participated and congratulations to the kids for swimming so well! Keep up the good work!

Local Pool Project on Track
Coach Chuck and other team members have reported that progress is being made on the renovations of the St. Mary’s College pool. No official occupancy date has been given, but it is hoped that the pool will reopen in late 2003. St. Mary’s County is still committed to opening the new outdoor pool near Great Mills High School in late summer, assuming recent inclement weather doesn’t hold up construction. In the meantime, CBAC swimmers will continue to practice on base and at Spring Cove Marina. Spring Cove plans to remove the bubble around the first week of Mary. Let’s all hope for an early, warm spring!

Mark your Calendars for the…
Year End Team Picnic & Awards Ceremony
The “Big Event” will be held on Friday, May 16th on base at the beachfront picnic pavilion near the Officer’s Club. More information will be available in early May and passes will be issued for base access prior to the party. Tess Buckley has kindly offered to organize the party, but if you would like to lend a hand in the planning of this fun event, please see Tess. A general membership meeting will be held at the picnic to elect the Parent Board of Directors for the 2003-2004 season. Several positions will need to be filled, including Vice President and Ways & Means Chairman. If you are interested in a Board position or a non-voting position (Special Chairperson, Apparel Coordinator, Newsletter Editor, etc.), please contact Trevor Richards. Every volunteer helps make CBAC a better swim team and the coaches and kids couldn’t do it without you!

Meet Schedule
March 20th-23rd: Mid-Atlantic Eastern Zone Sectionals Meet. Eric Skrabacz, Trey Ruffle, and Beth Dobson will compete in this Regional Championship meet in Sewell, NJ. Best of luck to them!

March 22nd-23rd: NBAC Mini Meet

March 27th-29th: Mid-Atlantic Eastern Zone SC Championships, Sewell, NJ. Eric Skrabacz, Natalie Morris, Emily Dobson, Eric Pinno and Will Richards were chosen at the MD All Star Meet to represent part of the Maryland Zone Team. This is the 2nd year in a row that CBAC has sent 5 swimmers and Coach Chuck will be representing the Maryland Coaching Staff as well! The CBAC Swimmers will compete in a total of 11 individual events as well as several relays against swimmers from 12 Local Swim Committees in 12 states.

April 1st: Parent Board of Directors Monthly Meeting. Please join us for the next meeting which will be held at 6:00pm Tuesday, April 1st, at Spring Cove Marina. We value your input!

Looking Ahead:
? May 2003: May marks the beginning of the long course season in competitive swimming. CBAC hopes to utilize the 50 meter outdoor pool on base beginning in May to enhance the training of our swimmers. Upcoming Long Course Meets:
May 3rd-4th NAAC (A & Over)
May 17th-18th RAC (A & Over)
June 15th Double Dual Meet

? June through August 2003: CBAC’s summer session will run for 9 weeks. Registration will commence at the team picnic and on June 12th & 13th. The session starts on June 16th and lasts until August 15th. Practices will be held both on base and at Spring Cove Marina. Participation in this session provides swimmers with extra individual attention because groups are smaller and provides a competitive boost to those summer league swimmers. Don’t miss this great opportunity to swim! Registration information will be posted in early June.

Team Communication
Please remind your swimmers (Levels 3 through Senior) to check their boxes in the lounge at Spring Cove Marina for meet entry reports, escrow updates, and other notices and bulletins. Coaches will distribute handouts to Level 1 & 2 swimmers. Check the CBAC website often for all the latest news.

Noteworthy News

Did you get your CBAC Bumper Sticker? Thank you Mardy and Dora Millen for creating, producing and donating them to the team!

The swimmers look great in their new team apparel! Additional orders are being taken. Contact Donna Cameron or Coach Chuck if you are interested.