June 24, 2009 - Thoughts from Coach Jeff...

Dear Rose Bowl Families:

I wanted to recognize and thank all the Rose Bowl families that made our 2009 Swimathon – "Bringing It Home" a huge success. We surpassed our goal and raised over $50,000!! An amazing job. As our only team fundraiser, the Swimathon helps support every member of our team from purchasing team tarps, to supporting relays at meets, to helping our most senior members attend national level meets. Thank you for your support, this is just another reminder of how great a TEAM we have here!

We’d like to first recognize our top 10 Swimmers who together raised $11,230: Stephanie Samudro, Grace Carey, Rebecca Cohen, Katalina Sher, Katie Altman, Ella Prebel-Jackert, Katie Altmayer, Trenton Julian, Johanna Linna & William Newman.

We’d also like to thank and recognize our families that were lane sponsors. These families helped underwrite the cost of the Swimathon and make the event a tremendous success:

Altmayer, Edens & Shewfelt Families
Bell & Altman Families
Meg Bradbury & Jaime Hernandez (for Carson Becker)
Brandt Family
Cheng Family
Chersi Family
Citadel CPM, Inc. (Rassam Family)
Cohen, Siskel & Bloch Families
Eich-Fernandez & Vega-Fujioka Families
Flynn Family
Gorvetzian Family
Harrison, Hoffman & Billy Families
Hobby Family
Hughes Family
Icheva Family
John Family
Maarse Family
Mendenhall Family
Samudro Family
Swinney Family
Dr. Michelle Tyson-Hagopian (on behalf of Maarse swimmers)
Varraveto Family
Wakabayashi Family
Yerian Family

Thank you also to the following families who each raised over $750, collectively raising over $6500 for the team:

Maarse Family
Altmayer Family
Koh Family
Campbell Family
Gorvetzian Family
Wakabayashi Family
Halley Family

The winning group this year, taking the top spot in both "Average $/swimmer" and in "Participation" was the PLATINUM GROUP! Congratulations goes out to those swimmers.  Your beach party will be held in September (more details to come).

Finally, a big thank you to Chris and Dede Brandt. Without their leadership and energy, the 2009 Swimathon would not have been possible. Thank you to the Brandts for all their efforts in chairing this year’s Swimathon.

On behalf of the Boosters and coaching staff, thank you for everyone’s TEAM effort on the 2009 Swimathon.

One last reminder, we do have a few more swimmers that still have the "prize" of pushing a coach in the pool. We will be do the next round of pushes today, immediately following the TEAM picture. Those swimmers are Gary Lee, William Newman and Stephanie Samudro.

Go Rose Bowl!

Jeff

June 15, 2009 - The Platinum group & Stephanie Samudro are tops for 2009 Swim-A-Thon!

Stephanie Samudro dropped out of the "Top 10" last week only to come storming back with over $1,500 in donations to take the title as top overall fundraiser while also giving a huge boost to the Platinum group for the top group titles. 

The Platinum group was our only group this year to hit 100% participation, but it was a real team effort that pushed them ahead of the National group, who has reigned as the "top earning group" for the past six years.  Twelve of the Platinum group's 21 swimmers brought in at least $200, with both Katie Altman and Stephanie Samudro finishing in the "Top 10."  Finishing just out of the top 10 was Kirsten Vose (12th with $630) & Paul Gouw (16th with $500) - Paul has been on the team for only a couple months!  Also worth noting is that Hayley Grosklags joined the Rose Bowl just a few weeks after the swim-a-thon campaign kicked off but got right to work and raised $352 to help her group win the title!

Congratulations Platinum group swimmers!... Katie Altman, Nick Bell, Johnny Brandt, Daniel Chao, Marco Flores, Paul Gouw, Hayley Grosklags, Grant Haxton, Kate Herrill, Shelby Hopkins, Anna Huang, Sarah Hughes, Gary Lee, Briant Leytman, Jennifer Montejo, Mark Raybukh, Stephanie Samudro, Lucy Schouweiler, Matt Varraveto, Kirsten Vose & Grace Wakabayashi.

We will soon announce a day that prizes will be awarded.  There are also three swimmers that still get to push a coach in the pool - Stephanie Samudro, William Newman & Gary Lee - that date will be announced soon also.

June 5, 2009 - Grace Carey surges into first; Silver & Platinum are top groups; William Newman is top earner for week!

May 29, 2009 - Ella Prebel-Jackert remains the leader & Trenton Julian is the week's top earner!

What a great day!  Thank you to ALL Rose Bowl TEAM members for making our Swim-A-Thon such an exciting event... Thank you SWIMMERS for your enthusiastic fundraising.  Thank you PARENTS for counting all those laps.  Thank you COACHES for your dedication.  Thank you SENIORS for speaking about your great Rose Bowl memories.  Thank you DeDe and Chris Brandt for leading our 2009 Swim-A-Thon.  And THANK YOU to every one of you that tirelessly volunteer so much of your time and effort to make this TEAM a success on so many levels!

With two more weeks of fundraising, we've raised $31,394 so far - great job!  Participation is 50%, and of course our goal is 100%.  While meeting our goals requires a TEAM effort, it is worth noting some individual standouts...

Trenton Julian gets to pick a coach to push in the pool after bringing in donations totaling $725 this week - will it be mom or dad?  Or maybe Coach Ben?  Find out on Monday!

Ella Prebel-Jackert remains on top of the "Top 10" with $850, but right behind her, also bringing in over $800 each, are Katie Altman & Grace Carey.  Or maybe there's someone else out there who will be our top fundraiser, waiting to sprint the finish?  Swimmers, you have until June 12th to have your donations count toward grand prizes, raffle prizes, weekly winners and group totals. 

Please send your swim-a-thon photos to Coach Kristine if you want them posted here on the swim-a-thon page.

May 26, 2009 - THE SWIM-A-THON IS JUST 4 DAYS AWAY!!

This is the swim team’s only fundraiser of the year and we need every swimmer out there and ready to BRING IT HOME. The fun and excitement will start at 4:00 pm on Friday.  Last year Rose Bowl finished #2 in the country for in USA Swimming fundraising results and we expect nothing less for 2009!!

So, get ready to swim on Friday.....our goal is for every Rose Bowl swimmer to raise at least $300!

In addition to exciting individual prizes, the group that generates the most donations and the group with the highest participation will win a beach party courtesy of the Booster Club. Watch for regular updates on the team website to see where your group stands. You don’t want to let your team down.

We will be collecting donations Friday afternoon beginning at 3:00 and getting ready for the big send-off at 4:00 pm. Rose Bowl parents please come early and help with setup. Each swimmer should have at least one parent or friend there to help count them down to their 200 laps.

Last week's biggest fundraiser was Gary Lee, who brought $460, so he will get to push the coach of his choice in the pool on Friday. He was closely followed by Katie Altman, who raised $425 - all of it through PayPal donations.

Raffle Winners: Heather Abrams, Caitlin Smith, Lauren Mendenhall and Nick and Brett Bell (won the raffle for the chocolate chip cookie basket donated by the Haxton family.

As of last Friday, the PLATINUM group is leading participation with 60% (followed closely by Silver at 48% & Bronze at 46%) and the PLATINUM group is leading the average per swimmer with $133 (followed by Senior at $97 & Black at $72).

Following the Swim-a-thon we will celebrate our success and send off our graduating seniors.  Pizza and drinks will be provided for all swimmers and parents. It will be a fun and exciting afternoon for all Rose Bowl parents.

So get ready to BRING IT HOME on Friday afternoon for the ROSE BOWL!!