Da Zone
PCA Home  PCA Ohana News Swimmers	Zone Blog Archives 2008 Zone Team Hawaii before departing Honolulu International Airport (missing: Maui and Hawaii swimmers) Last Day (8/10/08)   The last day of activities for Team Hawaii has come.  Its time for the Team activity, which will be white water rafting down the White Salmon River.  After the team put on their wet suits, life vests and rain jackets, they were briefed on safety and techniques for our 8 mile rafting ride down the river.  It was sometimes a bumpy ride with everyone getting soaked in the chilly river water.  The highlight of the ride was a 14 foot drop down a water fall (which was not allowed for anyone 12 and under).  The chaperones and one of the coaches had their own raft and was intent on challenging this waterfall.  The entire raft got submerged and everyone got soaked, but we all survived with smiles, a sense of accomplishment, and pictures to brag about.  After the ride, lunch was a few minutes away at Collage at the Gorge a small restaurant and gift shop, where the team feasted on burgers, chips and smoothies.  We also had the opportunity to blow glass ornaments at a neighboring glass workshop... fun!  After a long bus ride back to our hotel, the hotel staff wanted to celebrate Team Hawaii' s success by throwing us a pizza party, with pizza, salad and drinks.  Wow, what a way to end an awesome trip.  The dinner was capped with an award ceremony to recognize and award all of the medalists for their hard work in the pool throughout the week.  Tomorrow Team Hawaii leaves early for the airport and will soon be back home to relax.  This ends my summary of the 2008 Western Zone Swimming Championships for our PCA swimmers on Team Hawaii .  Hope you enjoyed it. Day 8 Photos          Day 7 (8/9/08) It was another cold morning for TeamHawaii on the last day of competition.  Events for PCA swimmers today included 100 Free for Aimee andKylie, and 200 Free Relay for Aimee.  Both had solid prelim swims in their events, but unfortunately not enough to make finals against this tough field at Zones.  Lunch was Subway sandwiches and chips back at the hotel.  The swimmers then got their trade items together to trade with swimmers from the other teams.  Kylie and Aimee brought their extra Team Hawaii shirts, leis, caps and other Hawaii items, hoping to get some great souvenirs from the other teams in return.  We were told that Team Hawaii items are greatly sought after in trades, and when Team Hawaii got to their tent, they were quickly approached by the other teams to trade items.  Back at the pool, all of the meet officials wore aloha attire for a short ceremony in tribute to the late Char Tester.  PCA's Coach Ken was able to give everyone some background an history on Char and her generous contributions to Zone swimming.  It was then time for finals and the Girls 10 and under Freestyle relay.  The sun was out in the afternoon with warmer conditions.  It proved to be a strong 10 and under field, but the girls team held their own with quick exchanges and managed an 8th place finish overall in this event.  In the final point standings for the meet, Team Hawaii ended up cracking the top 10 with a 10th place finish overall.  Team Hawaii stayed at the pool in the evening for the Zone banquet, where there was dancing, rock climbing, inflatables in the pool, inflatables in the parking lot, food, ice cream, and fun.  It will be a fun day for Team Hawaii tomorrow with white water rafting and glass blowing activities. Day 7 Photos       Day 6 (8/8/08) It was a very, very cold morning for TeamHawaii who is not used to this kind of weather.  The skies were overcast and the temperature in the mid 50s.  Team Hawaii swimmers had to stay warm before their morning prelims at the pool and the cold weather may have affected some. Kylie was PCAs first swimmer, competing in the 100 Fly and 50 Breast prelims and was able to swim good, hard races despite the adverse weather conditions.  Aimee was next up in the 50 Breast, and she managed to swim a decent time to get a sixth seed going into finals in the afternoon.  A good portion of the team was shuttled back to the hotel to rest up for their Zone skit/dance and afternoon Finals.  The swimmers chowed down on another bento lunch, this time with Kalbi, mixed vegetables, and gyoza.  My roommates made quick work of the meal, and this was probably by far the most ono-est lunch.  Afternoon finals brought us warmer, sunnier conditions that made our swimmers feel more at home and more comfortable on deck.  The team skit/dance that the swimmers performed before the crowd was a Hukilau hula and Tahitian dance, where they ran into the stands at the end and presented random spectators with fake flower leis to spread Aloha in Gresham, Oregon.  Team Hawaii is hoping that their performance will win them the Spirit Award at this meet.  Well find out after the judges cast their votes based on all of the Teams performances.  Then it was back to swimming where in the 50 Breast final, Aimee was in an all out sprint against the field to a personal best time in the event that was good enough for a 6th place finish.  After finals, the team had dinner at the meet, and headed back to the hotel for some free time and well deserved, good nights sleep.  Last day of Zones is tomorrow!                                                                               The Team Hawaii T-Shirts                                                                       pink cap in front is Aimee....50BR prelim                     Aloha!  From Team Hawaii                           10 & U Girls Team                                                        Dinner.....I'm hungry! Day 5 (8/7/08) Today was the day of the 200IM event for PCAs Zone swimmers.  The day started out a little earlier than usual - probably because of all of the 400 Free events this morning.  Team Hawaii had to wake up earlier than usual to make it in time for warm-ups.  The bus rides have been about 15 minutes from our hotel to the pool.  Today was cooler than usual until late morning when the sun finally came out from behind the clouds.  The 200IM event proved tough for Aimee and Kylie, who faced the best swimmers in the west.  Nevertheless, they both had good, solid swims that made the Team Hawaii cheering section proud.  Coaches Malcolm, Harry, Ken and Chris are doing a great job everyday.  PCA's Coach Ken is also keeping busy serving on the meet jury for this Zone championship.  Subway sandwiches were passed out for lunch, and it was a hop back to the hotel for a short rest, and then back to the pool to cheer on the teammates for finals.  For dinner, the team had the opportunity to have a bento at a state park along the Columbia River .  The swimmers had a chance to relax for a short while and practice their skit/dance for tomorrows spirit competition.  Kylie and Aimee are looking forward to the 50 Breast and 200 Free events tomorrow.  Go Team Hawaii! Day 5 Photos             Day 4 (8/6/08) The day started early with warmups for the swimmers at 8:00am and TeamHawaii setting up their store at a new location near the pool deck area.  The meet officials had restricted access to the team tent area so parents and spectators could not visit the store yesterday.  The new area gave us better visibility and access, and sales hit an all time high.  PCAs ownKylie and Aimee looked confident before their 100M Breaststroke events.  Kylie held her own and did a great job in her prelim.  Aimee swam strong and was able to make the cut for finals being seeded third for her efforts.  For lunch, the swimmers chowed down on a mixed bento filled with gyoza, chow mein, and teriyaki chicken, thanks to Team Hawaii officials who picked up lunch for the team.  The bento was pretty darn good too, considering it was made in Oregon and not in Hawaii.  The bento would provide the energy Team Hawaii needed to swim fast in finals.  All of the swimmers looked great in finals, and with Coach Harrys enthusiasm on deck, they were awesome!  Aimee took the 100 Breaststroke final out strong, as Coach Ken had reminded her, and was able to pull off a 4th place finish!  She later joined her 200 Medley Relay Team and finished 4th.  The end of the day was capped off with an onolicious Mexican taco dinner, which was enjoyed by all.  After dinner, the swimmers had a little while to work on their skit and dance that they will be performing on deck for the spectators in the next couple of days.  Then it was back to the hotel and into bed to dream about tomorrow's events........ Day 4 Photos            look for the pink caps in the picture......that's Team Hawaii! Day 3 (8/5/08) The day started early with a morning warm-up for the entire team.  Then it was time for the "milers" to start Team Hawaii' s events for this meet.  The 5 of them managed to perform their best to finish this grueling event.  While the milers were busy with their races, Team Hawaii chaperones were busy setting up inside the team tent so the swimmers had a quiet place to rest between races, hydrate themselves, and have snacks to keep their energy levels up.  Also, the Team Hawaii tent has earned a reputation with their team store, selling Team Hawaii and Hawaii goods to fundraise for travel expenses.  The team store was quick to sell T-shirts and other popular Hawaii goods to other team's swimmers, parents and chaperones.  The meet ended with various boys and girls 400FR relays, with fantastic finishes (see results above).  Team Hawaii was definitely the most spirited team on this day, with their creative and loud cheers.  After the meet, the team was shuttled back to the hotel, where they were met with a carbohydrate loaded spaghetti and pasta dinner, some free time, and off to bed for tomorrow's backstroke, breaststroke and free prelims.  PCA's Kylie and Aimee swim tomorrow! Day 3 Photos             Day 2 (8/4/08) The swimmers were able to get a good nights rest last night and were up early for a heavier workout in the long course competition pool.  The swimmers looked strong and they were put to a heavier workout than the first day of the trip.  Kylie and Aimee made it through the morning workout with smiles on their faces.  One thing that the swimmers noticed that was different was seeing the set up crew installing reaction pads on all of the blocks (to automatically check false starts and reaction times), and touch pads that hung from the top of the pool deck instead of the gutter (see photos).  Wow different from what they are used to but just like Olympic competition!  The team then took a break for lunch and team building at the Lloyd Center , a large shopping mall in Gresham .  Of course I quickly learned that Team Hawaii is just as proficient at shopping as they are at swimming.  They were also put to the test with a scavenger hunt at the mall in several small competing groups.  This was one activity that quickly brought the swimmers, coaches and chaperones together as a team.  The team finished their afternoon with another workout, this time in the indoor short course warm up pool, working on quick starts, turns and finishes.  This worked up the kids appetites and the team ended the evening with a buffet dinner at Hometown Buffet Restaurant.  Then it was good night in anticipation for Team Hawaii s first day of competition tomorrow (Tuesday).  Some photos from Day 2 practice:       Day 1 (8/3/08) TeamHawaii looked sharp at workouts this morning and afternoon at the Mount Hood Community College Aquatic Center.  They went thru an hour and a half workout in the morning and a 45 minute workout in the afternoon in the 8 lane 50 meter pool.  PCA's Aimee and Kylie and the rest of the 12 and unders worked out under Coach Chris from Manoa Aquatics and PCAs own Coach Ken.  Coach Malcolm from the Maui Dolphins and Coach Harry from the Kona Dolphins worked out the 13 and older swimmers.  The swimmers took a break between workouts at the OMSI Museum of Science and had lunch there and had a chance to view the science exhibits including dinosaur fossils, physics labs, animal exhibits, and a lot more.  The day was filled with team building and activities to bring Team Hawaii together on their first day of their trip.  Even with little sleep on the first night due to a delayed flight, Team Hawaii was high energy and enthusiasm on their first day of their Zone trip. Here are some photos from Day 1.