TBAY Team Proudly Displays Championship Banner
If you have been around the Westchase Swim and Tennis Center pool on Countryway Boulevard, you have seen a new championship banner.
The banner announces that the TBAY @ Westchase swim team is the Silver Champs for the Harry Meisel Championships. That event was held Dec. 10-11, when the team finished second out of 13 swim clubs. This is no surprise given the number of first, second and third place finishes our team had. Top three finishes were achieved by Lauren Sellers, Maddie Strasen, Richie Bui, Christopher Quach, Ben Parker, Tiffany Quach, Austin Sellers, Kayli Diaz, Carolina Ricardi and Zachary Bennett.
After the team put in their hard work racing, they were ready for the fun of their annual Christmas party. Every year the kids look forward to the very messy but tasty donut eating contest, sack relays and Secret Santa gift exchange. As in past years, Coach Kelley even competed with the kids in the donut eating contest. Everyone ended up with a face covered in chocolate and/or powdered sugar. Club members also feasted on a huge spread of food; these kids have to keep their energy up for swimming!
Over the Christmas vacation, while most of their peers were sleeping late and relaxing, the TBAY @ Westchase swimmers were spending two to five hours at the pool practicing. The older group practiced daily from 7-10 a.m., with some returning for a second practice from 4-6 p.m. The younger swimmers practiced from 10-11:30 a.m. or noon each day.
That is dedication to their sport and the reason this team keeps winning!
By Brenda Bennett
WCA Board Meeting Notes, Jan. 2012: Board Debates Grass Moratorium and Pool Fence
The first meeting of the Westchase Community Association (WCA) Board of Directors in 2012 kicked off with fireworks. The Jan. 12 session began with the residents forum that saw two voting members, Carlos Quiros (Villas of West Park Village) and Gene McArthur (Woodbay), express concerns about fireworks being set off in the community over the recent holiday season. McArthur said a pick-up truck parked in front of his house on New Year’s Eve and set off canister-style fireworks, which burned a neighbor’s screen enclosure. McArthur described the fireworks as, “…not kids’ stuff but major explosives.”
After WCA President Joaquin Arrillaga suggested that the fireworks issue be added to the February meeting agenda so the matter could be properly addressed, the board agreed.
In new business, a motion was made to roll over the year-end cash available balance of approximately $232,000. The motion was seconded and approved.
Directors then discussed assessment deadlines for homeowners’ late payments. The annual homeowner’s assessment was due by Jan. 1; a notice and $25 late fee will be sent to the owner on Feb. 1. A follow-up letter will be sent out on March 1 advising delinquent owners they will be forwarded to legal counsel if the assessments are not paid by March 15. Those homeowners whose accounts are sent to legal counsel for collection generally see significant legal fees added to their bill.
The Nathan Lafer Award, which was awarded to Harbor Links/The Estates resident Ben Stein for his work in establishing the Westchase Thanksgiving Food Drive, was presented to his father, Jonathan, since Ben is currently away at college.
During the meeting, directors debated whether there should be a temporary moratorium on dead sod violations due the winter weather. Dyan Pithers commented, “It’s been a mild year in regards to weather so I don’t support it.”
Greens resident Ernie Sylvester, a supervisors on the Community Development District, asked, “Has anything been written in WOW about how to grow grass in winter?” The board agreed that education of residents might be a good idea.
Directors also discussed adding fencing at the West Park Village pool, which would allow access to the pool bathrooms for tennis players. To protect the association against liability, the suggested fence would keep restroom visitors from approaching the closed pool. Currently, those utilizing the tennis courts have to walk to the Baybridge Park restrooms. Brian Ross stated, “I’m not ready to talk about quotes for fencing when we aren’t clear on a master plan.”
The board agreed it was a good idea to put together a two- to five-year master plan for the facilities first.
Alonso High School requested use of the West Park Village tennis courts from 3-5 p.m. each day for their tennis team’s practices. Westchase Operations Manager Kelly Shires expressed support for the proposal and the board approved it.
In other news:
The board voted unanimously to re-appoint Dale Sells to the Modifications Committee.
The last West Park Village water bill was higher than normal and a leak was discovered and repaired.
Association Manager Debbie Sainz announced that Shires and Westchase Swimming Coach Kelley Allen had received Red Cross certifications. This will allow Westchase to become a training center for certifying individuals seeking to become lifeguards at Westchase pools.
Sainz announced there were 400 violation letters sent to residents in December.
A volleyball tournament is planned for February with Westchase villages competing against each other. Interested residents should contact the Swim and Tennis Center at 855-0662.
Zookeeper will be February’s featured Movie in the Park. It will be shown on Feb. 10 at 7 p.m. at Baybridge Park.
By Lisa Puster
TBAY Swimmers Finish 2011 Strongly
November and December saw impressive accomplishments among Westchase’s TBAY squad, including one swimmer beating an Olympic champion.
Nov. 5-6 saw TBAY at the CAT Fall Classic at the Long Center in Clearwater. Many of our swimmers came out with top ten finishes. High point medals for second place were awarded to Jabari Ramsey among the 11-12 Boys and Joshua Bennett among the 7-8 Boys.
On Nov. 19-20 our swimmers participated in a meet in St. Petersburg where triple Olympic champion Brooke Bennett raced. Bennett, now 31, is quite a celebrity to the swimmers and she was kind enough to sign autographs while trying to prep for her own races. TBAY swimmer Jabari Ramsey, 12, raced Bennett on the Long Course 50 Fly and out swam her by sub seconds. How many kids can say they swam against a former Olympic swimmer and beat them?
Twins Carolina and Bruna Ricciardi, 8, also had an outstanding meet and finished in first and second place in many of their races. TBAY’s Westchase swimmers achieved top ten rankings in most events in which they swam.
Over Dec. 2-4 16 members of the TBAY Westchase branch attended the Gator Holiday Classic in Gainesville. This meet was highly competitive and included swimmers from Georgia and Florida. It was quite an accomplishment just to swim in the meet since there were qualifying times for each race. Finals were held for those swimmers 11 and older who achieved top finishes. Many of our TBAY swimmers went on to them on Friday, Saturday and Sunday evening.
Among them Ava Carter placed second in the 10U 50 breast and 100 breast races out of almost 100 girls racing! Ava’s 200 free relay team also came in third place and she finished sixth in the 50 fly and ninth in the 100 fly and 100 IM. Older sister Paige Carter took ninth place in the 200 breast and made it into finals each night.
Jabari Ramsey placed first in the 11-12 Boys 50 breast and 100 breast, second in the 200 yard breast and 100 IM, fourth in the 200 IM and tenth in the 50 fly. All three Kimuras, Kory, Kyle and Kent, made cuts with Kyle making finals in some events and achieving an eighth place finish on a relay. Siblings Austin and Lauren Sellers also both swam and Lauren achieved another FLAGS (formerly called the Junior Olympics) cut in the 100 IM.
As usual the TBAY @ Westchase swimmers represented their community proudly.
By Brenda Bennett
Westchase High School Swimmers Shine
The teen swimmers from TBAY @ Westchase swim club are representing several high schools in Tampa Bay this year.
The Westchase high school swimmers are: Taylor Anderson (Freshman, Mitchell H.S. – Class 2A, Region 2), Jimmy Dang (Sophomore, Jesuit H.S. – Class 2A, Region 3), Kayli Diaz (Freshman, Hillsborough H.S. – Class 2A, Region 3), Harrison Keane (Freshman, Berkeley Prep – Class 1A, Region 3), Kent Kimura (Junior, Jesuit H.S. – Class 2A, Region 3), Kyle Kimura (Sophomore, Plant H.S. – Class 3A, Region 2), Michael Melendez (Junior, Tampa Catholic – Class 1A, Region 3), Ben Parker (Junior, Jesuit H.S. – Class 2A, Region 3), Austin Sellers (Freshman, Jesuit H.S. – Class 2A, Region 3) and Jocelyn Williams (Sophomore, Land O’ Lakes H.S. – Class 2A, Region 2). Also competing for her school with the high school swimmers is Lindsey Marian, a sixth grader at the Academy of the Holy Names.
Currently Taylor Anderson holds the Mitchell H.S. record in the 50 Free, 100 Free and 100 Breast. Kyle Kimura holds the Plant H.S. record in the 100 Fly.
The teen swimmers represented their high schools at the 2011-12 FHSAA Swimming and Diving Championships. All of these swimmers competed in their high school district meets and could only compete in two individual events. The district meets occurred Oct. 27-28. The top eight in each event from the district meets qualified to compete in the regional meets on Nov. 4-5. The top 24 overall swimmers in every region of each class qualified to compete in the state meets Nov. 10-12.
In Class 3A, Region 2, Kyle Kimura placed eighth in the 100 Fly. In Class 1A, Region 3, Harrison Keane placed seventh in the 200 Free and 10th in the 500 Free; and Michael Melendez placed 16th in the 200 Free. In Class 2A, Region 2, Taylor Anderson won first place in the 50 Free and 12th in the 100 Breast and Jocelyn Williams placed fifth in the 200 IM and seventh in the 100 Breast.
In Class 2A, Region 3, Kayli Diaz placed sixth in the 200 Free and 11th in the 100 Fly; Jimmy Dang placed ninth in the 100 Back and 11th in the 200 IM; Kent Kimura placed 10th in the 200 Free and the 500 Free; Ben Parker placed third in the 200 Free and seventh in the 500 Free; and Austin Sellers placed third in the 100 Breast and placed fifth in the 200 IM.
Taylor Anderson, Jocelyn Williams and Austin Sellers advanced to states in their respective classes in individual events. There Taylor Anderson placed 11th in the 50 Free, Jocelyn Williams placed 22nd in the 200 IM; and Austin Sellers placed 16th in the 100 Breast.
Congratulations to our Westchase high school swimmers!
By Rachel Sellers
Fall Brings Great Times and Pumpkins to TBAY @ Westchase
September and October saw Westchase swimmers bring home championship times, high point awards and pumpkins.
On Sept. 18 some of the TBAY @Westchase swim team’s 11-and-older swimmers took on the 1,000-yard swim at the St. Petersburg invitational meet. All of the swimmers who participated successfully completed the distance.
Three swimmers, Lauren Sellers (11-12 Girls), Jabari Ramsey (11-12 Boys) and Austin Sellers (13-14 Boys), achieved Florida Age Group Championship (FLAGS, formerly Junior Olympics) time cuts and Paige Carter (13-14 Girls) achieved a Senior Champ cut.
While this is exciting news for these racers, it also means they are going to be swimming the event at least once more at the championship competitions. None of these swimmers look forward to swimming fast for that distance, but they enjoy the challenge!
The weekend of Oct. 8-10 the TBAY @ Westchase swimmers and their parents endured a full day of extreme wind followed by a full day of non-stop rain. Nevertheless they continued to excel at the Nike Swim Classic. At the meet Westchase’s team came in second place out of 15 teams. This was a significant accomplishment because Westchase was the only TBAY branch racing. Many of our swimmers placed in the top ten for high points. To determine high point awards, points are given each time a swimmer races for first place and so on.)
High Points Awards:
Carolina Ricciardi, fifth place (8U)
Joshua Bennett, sixth place (8U)
Ava Carter, third place (10U)
Kory Kimura, third place (10U)
Lauren Sellers, eighth place (11-12)
Zachary Bennett, fourth place (11-12)
Christopher Quach, ninth place (11-12)
Paige Carter, first place (Senior Girls)
Kendal Allen, eighth place (Senior Girls)
Austin Sellers, first place (Senior Boys)
Michael Melendez, ninth place (Senior Boys)
One fun thing about the meet was that swimmers who won their heats were allowed to pick out pumpkins from the pumpkin patch.
The TBAY @ Westchase team took home lots of pumpkins!
By Brenda Bennett
TBAY Westchase Swim Team Works Hard and Plays Hard
While TBAY swimmers work hard, they also know how to play hard.
Most TBAY swimmers attend swim practice five to six days per week for one to two-and-a-half hours per day depending upon their practice group. That is a lot of hard work and dedication. Every year in August, the team also has a fun day at Typhoon Lagoon, but of course, it’s on a Sunday to avoid interfering with the longer Saturday morning practices!
The TBAY kids had a great time riding down slides, tubing and relaxing in the lazy river. Swim team kids were not at all intimidated by the huge waves kicked out of the wave machine. You could see TBAY swimmers toward the front of the pool body surfing the six-foot waves effortlessly.
After the fun, the TBAY kids knew when they needed to focus. At our yearly Sweet September meet held Friday-Sunday, Sept. 9-11, our swimmers came out with the first place team trophy and a whole slew of high point trophies. Awards were:
U10 Girls – Ava Carter, First Place
U10 Boys – Zachary Bennett, First Place; Kory Kimura, Second Place
11-12 Boys – Jabari Ramsey, First Place
13-14 Girls – Paige Carter, First Place; Casey Knowles, Second Place; Kendal Allen, Third Place
13-14 Boys – Austin Sellers, Third Place
Senior Girls – Jocelyn Williams, First Place
Senior Boys – Michael Melendez, First Place; Mason Rinehart, Third Place
This team knows how to have fun and race hard! If you would like to see more information about the swim team and upcoming activities, go to http://www.tampabayaquatics.com and click on Westchase.
By Brenda Bennett
TBAY Places Third in FLAG Championships
Fifty teams across Florida sent swimmers to the Florida Age Group Championship Long Course meet in Orlando Florida and Tampa Bay Aquatics came away with third place overall.
The third place finish is a huge accomplishment based on the competitiveness of Florida’s swim clubs. Directly after that meet, Westchase’s Paige Carter was one of 48 swimmers selected for the Southern Zone team. The top five swimmers in each age group are chosen to swim for the Zone team and it is quite an honor to be selected.
Carter flew to Cary, North Carolina, where she spent the week training and competing in various races including a three-kilometer open water swim. Carter had never done an open water swim before but she ended up loving the event. Carter’s mom, April, her dad, Marc, and sister, Ava, were able to travel to North Carolina to see some of the events.
TBAY continued their high performances at the Area 3 meet July 29-31, where the team garnered many first, second and third place finishes. In addition, swimmers Taylor Anderson, Kory Kimura, Ryaan Hatoum, Austin Sellers and Lauren Sellers achieved new Florida Age Group Championship short course cuts.
For more information onWestchase’s TBAY team, visit www.tampabayaquatics.com then click on Westchase.
By Brenda Bennett