Exciting News!
Welcome to 2019, Piranha Families!
I hope your year is off to a great start. I am happy to report that Coach Breanna had an extra reason to celebrate over the holidays. She said "YES!" to a Christmas Eve proposal from her boyfriend, now fiancé, William Halsey! Give her your best wishes and a hug if you see her.
Before I give you details of how you can see several Olympic medalist swimmers right here in Knoxville (SO EXCITING), I want to introduce this year's board members so you'll know who you can contact if you have questions or ideas for us as we plan for this summer. You can also email at [email protected]
2019 Piranhas Officers (resident status, current yrs serving)
President: Ginny Herrick (CH resident, 3rd yr)
VP: Lauren Lorusso (CH resident, 1st yr)
Secretary: Laura Austin (non-resident, 2nd yr)
Treasurer: Ben Duby (non-resident, 2nd yr)
At-Large Rep: Brooke Thurman (resident, 1st yr)
At-Large Rep: Matt Grimes (non-resident 1st yr)
We do still need a few more volunteers to help with non-officer jobs. If you can offer a little extra time to the team, please reply to this email to let me know.
Now for the cool opportunity that needs our support. The TYR Pro Series comes to Knoxville THIS WEEK! I'll paste the specifics sent to us through GKAISA below. As a teaser, do the names Katie Ledecky and Ryan Murphy ring a bell? All the details and a link to purchase tickets follow.
Thanks for being part of the Piranha family!
Best,
Ginny Herrick
Dear GKAISA coaches and Team Reps:
Hope you are having a great holiday!
I am writing in hopes that you can help us promote the upcoming TYR Pro Series meet by sending out an e-mail to your swim team members informing them of the event, the world-class swimmers that will be competing and encouraging your swimmers to attend. This is the first time Knoxville has been chosen to host a TYR Pro Series meet and we hope to show USA Swimming that our city will support such an event. As outlined below, the list of scheduled athletes includes multi-time Olympic gold medalists and world record holders Katie Ledecky and Ryan Murphy, Olympic champions Matt Grevers and Simone Manuel and world champion Chase Kalisz among others.
Adult
tickets are only $10 for prelims and $15 for finals sessions and
children 12 and under pay $5 for prelims and $10 for finals sessions.
The link to purchase tickets is https://tickets.vendini.com/
Let me know if you have any questions. I appreciate your help!
Best,
Taylor Hamilton
909-0308
From USA Swimming:
Loaded Field Set to Open 2019 TYR Pro Swim Series in Knoxville, January 9-12
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – The star-studded 2019 TYR Pro Swim Series will open with the first of five new stops Jan. 9-12 – the TYR Pro Swim Series at Knoxville at the University of Tennessee’s Allan Jones Intercollegiate Aquatic Center. All-session and single-session tickets to catch the world’s best swimmers in action are on sale now at usaswimming.org.
Expected to headline the standout Knoxville field are multi-time Olympic gold medalists and world-record holders Katie Ledecky (Bethesda, Md./Nation’s Capital Swim Club/Alto Swimming) and Ryan Murphy (Jacksonville, Fla./California Aquatics, as well as follow individual Olympic champions Matt Grevers (Lake Forest, Ill./Tucson Ford Dealers Aquatics) and Simone Manuel (Sugar Land, Texas/Alto Swimming/First Colony Swim Team).
Olympic medalist and world champion Chase Kalisz
(Bel Air, Md./Athens Bulldog Swim Club) also is expected to compete
after winning the men’s TYR Pro Swim Series title in 2018 for the second
straight year. Ledecky is the defending women’s series champion.
Kelsi Dahlia (Westampton, N.J./Cardinal Aquatics) and Olivia Smoliga (Glenview,
Ill./Athens Bulldog Swim Club), who just won nine and eight medals,
respectively, at last week’s FINA World Championships (25m) also are
among the large group U.S. Olympians slated to open 2019 in Knoxville.
The four-day, long-course meters competition opens Wednesday, Jan. 9 with the 800-meter freestyle at 6 p.m. EST. Action on Thursday, Jan. 10 through Saturday, Jan. 12 will feature daily prelims at 9 a.m. EST and evening finals at 6 p.m. EST.
The Olympic Channel will air live finals coverage at 6 p.m. EST on Thursday, Jan. 10 and Friday, Jan. 11, followed by a same-day delay broadcast on NBC Sports Network. The NBC Sports app will stream coverage on Saturday, Jan. 12. A live webcast of prelims and the Wednesday, Jan. 9 timed finals session will stream online at usaswimming.org.
Across the 2019 TYR Pro Swim Series, swimmers may earn increased awards for top-three finishes in all individual Olympic events. At each meet, $1,500 will be provided for a first-place finish, $1,000 for second and $500 for third. In addition, one athlete per gender with the highest-scoring prelim swim in an individual Olympic event based on FINA power points will win $1,500.
At the conclusion of the 2019 TYR Pro Swim Series, the eligible athlete (male and female) who has the highest-scoring swim in an individual Olympic event based on FINA power points will win a one-year lease of a BMW vehicle. Complete series rules are available at usaswimming.org.
Returning in 2019 is USA Swim Squads, a second-year feature that allows USA Swimming National Team members to compete for team points and a grand prize throughout this year’s events. Four teams, captained by Olympians Cammile Adams, Elizabeth Beisel, Maya DiRado and Connor Jaeger, will feature six active athletes designated across six event categories (one athlete per team per category) who are eligible to score points in a maximum of two events from that category – free, back, breast, fly, IM or flex.
The TYR Pro Swim Series is being brought to Knoxville in partnership with the Visit Knoxville Sports Commission and Tennessee Aquatics.
