2008 TYR Grand Prix Series

You're tempting me, Paul. My training partner backed out of the Reno meet and I keep looking at the entry info for this one. If my pool would just stay open for 1 more week..... Come on Floyd - JUST DO IT!

Yeah! I feel like we have been talking about and waiting for this meet for months. (Maybe because we have?!) I hope this week doesn't drag ...

Tomorrow is the deadline for Chicago! If you plan on attending, get your on-line entry done ASAP! See everyone this weekend!

PSYCH SHEETS....PSYCH SHEETS!!!! Not that I expect to swim well anyway but it would be nice to see them :banana:

Mark, as usual, you are the man!!!

Well, after reviewing the timeline, this is my 99.9% guarantee that I will be scratching the 200 IM. Just not enough recovery time. Was hoping the meet would be just a tad bit longer on Sat to be able to support 4 events. Ah well. That's life. I'll see how I feel tomorrow evening.

Yeah! I feel like we have been talking about and waiting for this meet for months. (Maybe because we have?!) I hope this week doesn't drag ... It's already Wednesday! We will be there in no time... and the Bad Girls got a nice little upgrade to First Class too! :banana:

Paul, I will have them posted within the hour. I am working on them now. Entries just closed this morning at 3:00 AM and I am still trying to contact so swimmers about their events. Mark

TYR Grand Prix – Chicago Update The entries are in and we are almost ready to swim. The estimated timeline, pysch sheet and preliminary meet program are now posted at www.tyrgrandprix.com. Please take a look at your entry and let me know if you see any mistakes. You can email me at mark.gill@usms.org. I will try to post the final meet program on Thursday night that you can download and bring to the meet. I will send out an email when the program is finalized. Distance Swimmers Wow! A third of the meet participants signed up to swim the 800 and the 1500 free. To accommodate the demand, we added one extra heat of the 1500 and two heats of the 800. Even with that, we still ended up with a waiting list. To help make sure everyone that wants to swim gets a chance, if you know you are going to scratch either of these events, please let me know in advance. We will also have positive check-in for the 800 free on Saturday and the 1500 free on Sunday. The check-in deadline will be 8:50 AM. Check-in will be located at the registration table in the pool area. Parking The parking lot located directly across from the facility on South Ellis is free on the weekends. USMS Card and Guest List In order to enter the facility, you must show your USMS card at the front desk. Please don’t leave home without it. If you are planning on bringing any non-meet participants with you, I need to put their name on the guest list. Please email me by Thursday at 10:00 PM the names of any guests that will be accompanying you. The doors will open at 7:50 AM each day. If you arrive before then, be prepared to wait outside of the facility. Brrr. UC Waiver All swimmers must sign a University of Chicago waiver before swimming in the meet. These will be available at the check-in table or you can print it off the www.tyrgrandprix.com website and bring it to the check-in table. Social Event The swimming is estimated to finish around 1:30 on Saturday. For those that would like to meet for dinner, drinks and telling complete stories about how fast you swam; we are going to meet at Leona’s on Taylor Street (1419 W. Taylor Street, Chicago 60607) at 7:30 PM. Directions will be available at the pool. Leona’s is about 8 miles from UC and located in downtown near public transportation. Support UC Swimming This meet is run as a fundraiser for the University of Chicago Swim Team. They are one of the top DIII schools in the country. Not only are they academically tough, but both the men’s and women’s teams are ranked in the top 20. Last year individuals donated money to thank the varsity swimmers for timing our meet during their exam week. We would again like to collect money to support the UC swimmers. There will be an envelope at the registration desk you can put you tax deductible gift in. Last year we raised almost $1000 for the team. I look forward to seeing everyone in Chicago on Saturday. Mark

TYR Grand Prix – Chicago Update # 2 Meet Program The final meet program is now posted on the www.tyrgrandprix.com website. Download a copy and bring it to the meet. For those without printers, we will post several copies around the pool and in the stands. Series High Point Award The series high point award winners will be announced at the conclusion of the meet. To be eligible for the series high point award, you must have swum in at least two of the TYR Grand Prix meets in 2008. This year, we are awarding the winners a custom TYR warm up – the Alliance Team Jacket. We will take the winners sizes at the meet and then mail the warm up to you. Stats I like statistics, especially when they show growth. This year we have 21% growth in participation with 141 swimmers. 33% of the swimmers come from outside of Illinois. The largest team is the Chicago Smelts with 14 swimmers. The second biggest is the Gray Sharks Leaning Towers YCMA with 13 participants. Swim Kentucky Masters is the largest out of state team with 8 athletes. Timeline Note the improved timeline on Saturday. Due to scratches, we will only have 4 heats of the 800 free. Sprinters, that means you have to wake up a few minutes earlier. I hope everyone has a safe trip to the pool. I look forward to seeing you all on Saturday. Mark