News Flash!

HOST "HURRICANE WARNINGS" will be posted here, with the absolute latest news & information concerning the 208 Hurricanes season, coaches' news & notes, swim meets, cancellations, etc. so check back here often!

Note from Coach Ambur (723/08):  Attention all Parents and Swimmers , 

Outstanding season!!! The final score Monday night was 358 to 141. I am very proud of the 105 personal best times accomplished at the meet, along with a few triple winners, and record breaking swims. As a team through out the entire season I have seen an over abundance of awesome swims, whether it was first time swimmers or returning ones'. Triple winners include; Sarah Grawe, Brandon Hamblin, Jake Hoioos, Alexis Brana, and Sara Dix. Team and pool records broken include; Brandon Hamblin, John Kelly, Winston Troy, and Kate Kelly. Relays that also broke records include; boys 15-18 free relay with Steven Schmitz, Shane Quinn, Robert Resch, and Brice Del Toro. Boys 12 & under medley relay with Jonathan Fralen, John Kelly, Matthew Morrison, and Jake Hoioos. Boys 13-18 medley relay with Robert Resch, Steven Schmitz, Brice Del Toro, and Winston Troy. Boys 18 & Under free relay with Brandon Hamblin, John Kelly, Jake Hoioos, Winston Troy, and Robert Resch. Girls 11-12 free relay with Sara Dix, Casey Walker, Caroline Kelly, and Alyssa Adams. Boys 13-14 free relay with Derek Young, Kyle Bumgarner, Nathan Morrison, and Winston Troy. All relays did an outstanding performance. 

I would just like to thank all the new swimmers for giving new events a try this season and doing a great job. Also swim meets would not be possible with out the volunteers, parents you all are awesome. 

If you have any questions or concerns feel free to e-mail me at atlgal2004@hotmail.com or my number 540-207-3485. 
~Coach Ambur 

Note from Coach Ambur (7/18/08): Attention All Parents and Swimmers, 

From wobbly wooden blocks to a wonderful Wednesday night meet at Curtis Park. The final score was 404 to 95. We had 109 personal best times and numerous record breaking times. The following swimmers were triple winners; Danielle Thompson, John Kelly, Alyssa Adams, Nathan Morrison, Ryan Schmitz, Brandon Hamblin, Sarah Grawe, and Megan Comer. Brandon Hamblin, Kate Kelly, and Alyssa Adams broke pool records. We also had relay records that were broken. They included the 11-12 girls free relay with Alyssa Adams, Caroline Kelly, Abby Rosa, and Sara Dix, the 13-14 boys free relay with Derek Young, Nathan Morrison, Kyle Bumgarner, and Winston Troy, and the 12 & Under boys medley relay with Cullen Guthrie, Matthew Morrison, Cameron Brackman, and John Kelly - which broke a record as well. 
Way to go swimmers! I am so proud of everyone - whether it was for making it to their events on time or giving a new event a try. Overall it was a team effort and as a team you all succeeded. I just want to remind everyone that our last meet is this Monday against Grafton. It is home and the swimmers are needed to be at the pool no later than 445. It would also help me out greatly if you can let me know by Sunday if you will or will not be at the meet. The black book will be at the swim-a-thon tomorrow or feel free to e-mail me. 
Look forward to seeing many Hurricanes at the swim-a-thon tomorrow morning at 7 am. 
~Coach Ambur 

Note from Coach Ambur (7/13/08):  Attention all swimmers and Parents,

Woohoo!!!  Congrats Hampton Oaks Hurricanes! Thank you for being patient with the delays at Aquia, whether it was lightening or children missing their events due to others in their way. The final score was 211 to 174! There was a lot of hard work that all 160 participants from Hampton Oaks put into the meet. Out of the 160 swimmers that participated from Hampton Oaks, 110 made personal best times....WAY TO GO!

I am also overwhelmingly excited because many swimmers that have been getting DQs in various strokes, worked hard in practice and for the first time last night accomplished an outstanding goal...they received a time that counted without getting disqualified.   The meet was so intense that Brandon Hamblin was the only triple winner for the Aquia meet. The following swimmers did however break records; John Kelly, Kate Kelly, Winston Troy, and Brandon Hamblin. The Boys 13-14 Free Relay also broke a record- the boys on this relay were; Nathan Morrison, Kyle Bumgarner, Matthew Resch, and Winston Troy. Truly awesome swims!

Again, terrific job to everyone at the Aquia meet! The next meet is July 16 at Curtis Park. Please let coach Ambur if you will or will not be there by using the black book or e-mailing her. Directions to Curtis using the back roads are going to be in everyone's folder on Monday.(If you want to go by Rte. 95 follow the directions on the RSL Website: http://www.rslswimming.com/Directions.htm). Hope everyone had a great weekend!

~Coach AMBUR

Note from Coach Ambur (posted 7/3/08): Attention all Swimmers and Parents,

I want to start out by saying Congratulations to all swimmers last night. We had 160 participants last night and 128 of them achieved a personal best time. So many swimmers keep on improving with every meet and that excites me. Also a very huge thanks to the parents because without your dedication and hard work a meet would not even be possible. The final score was 340 Hampton Oaks Hurricanes to 153 Woodlands Wahoos.

There was an abundance of awesome swims like record breaking Sarah Grawe, John Kelly, and Kate Kelly. Tipple winners at this weeks meet were John Kelly, Brandon Hamblin, Robert Resch, and Sarah Grawe. The Girls 11-12 Relay Broke a Pool Record as well. I am even more proud of hard working swimmers that gave new strokes and events a try. I know it is not fun getting hurt at meets but it shows dedication when a swimmer can not see and swims hard into the wall regardless. Shelby Anderson jammed her finger while finishing hard into the wall. Many more swimmers swam so beautifully that this letter would be 4 pages long if I attempted to write out every well job done out. So GREAT Job to everyone.

Tomorrow is forth of July and in honor of celebrating independence day and a great meet we will be having a fun day with watermelon races and much more. There will be no stroke work from 10-10:30 tomorrow.
~Coach Ambur

Note from Volunteer Coordinator (7/8/08):  Well done Hurricane Parents ! 

We are half way through a great summer swim season and our team has hosted two successful meets. We are fortunate to not only have an exceptional group of swimmers - undefeated in a meet so far - but we also have an outstanding group of parents this year . Thank you to all that have eagerly volunteered for our meets. At this point in the season, I am sure all parents who are new to the team are now familiar with how a swim meet functions, and how your participation is vital. It takes many parent volunteers to be actively involved in all aspects of our swim meets . 

I could not let another week go by without sending out my thanks to the many volunteers who make my job a lot easier by going above and beyond what is expected of them. Thank you to the many parents who have worked through both halves of the meets. Thank you to the 'husband and wife' teams - both parents working at a meet . Thank you to the parents who volunteer ' behind the scenes ' in preparation to a meet - and then step in at a meet to offer their help again . Thank you to the parents who have told me during a meet - "I am here if you need me for anything" - and sure enough, I have 'needed' them to fill a position. Thank you to the parents who come early so they can help the volunteers with 'set-up' and the parents who stay late to help the volunteers with 'clean-up'. Thank you to the parents who have signed up on the website for a volunteer position for all our meets . 

Go Hurricanes! 
See you on deck, 
Monica Carolan. 
cmmncarolan@verizon.net  | Ph #. 720-5170 

Note from Coach Ambur (posted 6/30/08):  Attention all Swimmers and Parents,

Our first swim meet went outstanding! The final score was 321 to 174. The team spirit itself blew me away. 152 swimmers participated in the Chancellor vs. Hampton oaks meet and 122 swimmers set a personal best time. I always love to see swimmers improving. It is great to get first in an event, but I get more joy when my swimmers improve their strokes and realize they accomplished something. 
There were many swimmers that received triple winners, congrats to John Kelly, Brandon Hamblin, Casey Skrobacz, Kate Kelly, Sarah Grawe. 14 team records were broken Thursday night along with 9 new pool records. I am very proud of all those who did such an awesome job.
All swimmers should be proud of all their hard work, I saw a great difference between the mock meet and Austin Ridge to Chancellor's meet. I look forward to continuing the hard work with all the swimmers and getting everyone's strokes looking great! 
This Monday I will not be at practice due to a prearranged trip. However, due to all the team sportsmanship and hard work the team is being rewarded with a fun day full of "swim" games. Coach Heather will let me know anything that you need to let me know. Hope everyone has a blessed weekend and I'll see everyone back on Tuesday.
~Coach Ambur

Note from Coach Ambur (6/25/08):  Attention All Parents and Swimmers,

This Thursday is our first official meet and it is very important that I know who all will be able to attend. Please let me know by either circling in the black book, by phone, or by e-mail if you will not be able to be at the meet. I need to know TODAY (Wednesday) NO LATER THAN 3pm!

Also I enjoy having tons of team spirit and the coaches and I have decided to make this first meet have a theme.  IT is going to be HAWAIIAN theme night, this means wear as much as blue and yellow along with a terrific Hawaiian outfit. I feel this will be a fun activity to bring the swimmer together as a team.

Also this Thursday will be at home and I encourage all swimmers to be on the look out for their events and to help each other get to the clerk of course. The clerk of the course is in the far right corner of the pool. 

Again thanks for all you great parents and swimmers and I look forward to Thursday night.
~Coach Ambur

Team Pictures were taken on Thursday, July 10th at 9 a.m. at the pool We were lucky to have “one of our own” taking the pictures this year- Andrea Adams will be the photographer and will have extra order forms the morning of as well.

Swim-A-Thon will be held on Saturday, July 19th from 7 to 11 am at the pool. Please note that this is a different date than originally posted!! Information and envelopes have been distributed in the family folders in the black box- be sure to check your folder.

  • What is Swim-A-Thon? Swim-A-Thon is a fundraiser for our team and also a community service as portion of the donations will go to The Make a Splash campaign is a major public service initiative of USA Swimming. The campaign is aimed at decreasing the number of drowning accidents in the U.S., fostering greater diversity in the sport and encouraging people of all ages to embrace swimming as a direct route to a healthier lifestyle.

  • How does it work? Each swimmer chooses a block of time on July 19th during which you want to participate and swim and their laps. The maximum number of lengths that you can swim is 200 and there is a 2 hour time limit. Flat rate pledges are encouraged, and even if you are unable to swim you can still collect donations! Checks should be made payable to HOST.

  • Do the parents need to be there? Yes, we need the parents (or an adult) to accompany their swimmers during this event. Parents need to be available to count lengths for their swimmers and to support all the swimmers in their efforts.

  • Where do I put the money I have collected? Once you have collected donations from your sponsors, you can turn in your money to Chris Hamblin by placing it in her family folder. Money and envelopes must be returned by July 23rd. 

  • I want to help- who should I contact? If you are willing and able to help with this event please contact Chris Hamblin at hamblinc@aol.com

  • Why should I participate at Swim-A-Thon? 

    1. It is a fun-filled morning- prizes will be given intermittently throughout the event!
    2. There will be free food and drink!
    3. It raises money for the team allowing us to keep registration fees low, maintain equipment and pay great coaches!
    4. Our team gives back to the swimming community!

Finals Heat Sheet Ads are due July 16th. Look for a flyer in your black box or print the attached file and place in Chris Hamblin’s folder by July 16th. Heat Sheets Ads are an “advertisement” in the RSL Finals Program that you can place to send a special message to your swimmer. The ads must be print ready. Look for a poster at the pool for more information and examples.

Note from Coach Ambur posted 6/16/08:
Attention all swimmers and parents!  I just want to start off by saying that the mock meet went really well I am very proud of all the swimmers for trying the strokes and making it to all their events. Also, I was so happy to see the swim parents stepping in and helping where ever they could! 

This week we have our first dual meet!!  I am going to put the meet together Tuesday afternoon so it is very important for all swimmers to let me know whether they are coming or not. Please don't forget about the black book that is for attending meets. Thanks again for everyone's hard work and I look forward to a great meet against Austin Ridge on Wednesday! All swimmers should be at Austin Ridge by 5pm.
~Coach Ambur

Go Hurricanes!