Showing posts with label Dreamers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Dreamers. Show all posts

Sunday, October 02, 2016

First Water Polo Game scheduled: Sunday October 23, 2016

Are you ready for some water polo? We'll go to North Allegheny on October 23, 2016.

Our teams of middle school water polo players are getting ready for the first real games. We've called our team, "Pittsburgh Combined" in the past. In 2016-17 we've got players from Manchester Academic Charter School, where we play two days a week for boys and another two days a week for girls. Plus, we have been playing at Pittsburgh Obama, co-ed, on Mondays and Fridays; Arsenal, co-ed on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Our Saturday Swim School can help with water polo practices. Kids from The Pittsburgh Project can join in too. Plus, we've got our 2016 Summer Dreamers who had 27 days of water polo in July and August as well.


If you want your kid to attend, email to Mark@Rauterkus.com, or call, 412-298-3432.

We want to car-pool from Pittsburgh with departing times at noon and arrival to North Allegheny Senior High School, on Rt. 19, at 12:45 pm on October 23, 2016.

Sunday, January 31, 2016

Recap: Final Public Hearing for Pittsburgh Public Schools in its Hiring Quest for a New Superintendent.

Replacing the retiring Linda Lane can be an opportunity to recreate Pittsburgh recreation. We're a sports and river town and should use our swim pools.

From Mark Rauterkus, Mark@Rauterkus.com, varsity swim coach at Obama Academy and leader of the PPS Summer Dreamers Swim & Water Polo Camp with the Bloomfield-Garfield Corporation


On Thursday night, January 28, 2016, right after our home swim meet at Pittsburgh Obama against South Fayette, I dashed over to U-Prep for the public hearing concerning the search for the new PPS superintendent of schools. We lost the swim meets, but game them a good scare. One new school record was set by Obama sophomore, Sead N, leading off the 400 free relay in a 49.

I was speaker 13 and took some notes as the others before me gave the school board their thoughts. It was wild to hear what the others would say as nearly everyone else had statements that resonated with my message too. What they want, and what I want, are identical in terms of values and vision.

Pittsburgh Public Schools needs to make an overhaul to its sports and after-school programs.

Two years ago, the wake of Doctor Linda Lane's state of the district speech when she said she wanted to cut a number of sports from the budget, I released a position paper. Thankfully, those cuts never occurred. Now that there are some new board members, it is prudent to re-introduce this document again to get them aware of these situations.

http://aforathlete.wikia.com/wiki/Fewer_Sports_Alternatives


When Mark Roosevelt became superintendent of Pittsburgh Public Schools, a few of us shared concerns with him. Mr. Roosevelt, a former tennis player, understood the value of sports. To his credit, he was in agreement but said sports reform and athletics were not a priority – yet. He had bigger problems: principal accountability, teacher evaluations and contracts, merit pay, and of course, right-sizing. Nothing changed for years. Then, finally, Mark Roosevelt sent me an email around New Years Day and he promised me that sports reform was coming off the back burner. Wow!

A study was done on Title IX, a consultant was hired with grant money. A committee was established and meetings were held. Real issues were talked about. Mark Roosevelt came to a meeting with about 35 people, VIPs in PPS in terms of coaching, sports, security, transportation, administration, principals, and said, “I'm sorry.” Roosevelt apologized for the terrible treatment and lack of support his administration had given throughout the years to sports and athletics. He had seen the light and now understood what was happening with PPS and how many of the pitfalls could be rectified through a more robust attention to these areas. Improvements in school spirit, attendance, grades, student health, graduation rates, discipline and scholarships are evident. I was so excited to hear of the new change in direction and within the month, Mark Roosevelt resigned and took a new job at a college in Ohio.

Linda Lane was hired by the board without interviewing anyone else so as to sustain the changes Mark Roosevelt was championing in PPS. But sadly, she failed and fumbled the whole sports reform movement. She was clueless. She pulled the plug and wouldn't do anything else in this regard except cut and starve.

When Dr. Lane gave her State of the District speech at CAPA in the fall of 2013, she talked about saving $600,000 from a budget by cutting some sports and all intramural programs and upgrading computers less frequently. That's some line item: Sports and technology upgrades for $600,000 savings. That move seemed to be a surprise to everyone, even within PPS, who had worked on sports reform. I pushed back with a position paper, “Fewer sports alternatives,” and the cuts to the budget never materialized, thankfully, due in great part by board members who knew better. Two years later in the fall of 2015, the PA auditor general and city controller told the newspapers of a PPS surplus of more than $120-million. Go figure.

The first suggestion in the position paper reads: PPS Superintendent, Doctor Linda Lane, should re-establish our Athletic Reform Task Force. Suggestion #1b: This position paper can fill the early agenda for task force meetings. Suggestion #1c: The next task force should include a research component. Examine student data along with Pittsburgh Promise data.

Some other of my favorite suggestions to PPS administrators include the establishment of PPS H2O for city-wide aquatics, an All-City Sports Camp from May to September and the formation of a private-public partnership, an Olympic Sports Division, to manage the scholastic sports of Swimming, X-Country, Track-and-Field, Tennis and intramural programs. After a three month wait, I finally did have one 30-minute meeting with Dara Ware Allen, PPS Administrator in charge of all student services (including athletics). She hadn't even read the position paper. No follow up since.

Linda Lane's Administration lacks leadership in terms of sports, after-school and community building – that's my top concern with PPS.

With the superintendent search, and new board members, it is time to double down. I want to re-visit the 2014 position paper and to insure the new PPS Board Members see it. But I am releasing a new document, a new vision. We can build upon our Summer Dreamers experiences with Swim & Water Polo and turn them into Year-Round Achievers. Let's train 250 new lifeguards in the next five years. You know, PPS has 14 indoor swim pools and there was a time a few years ago when every pool was closed all summer long. We ran the numbers, we have the opportunity to train 6,000 students a year in a five-week Swim & Water Polo Camp. We can teach every kid in PPS how to swim. And, we already have these facilities. They are too often closed. And, these plans are affordable. The pools are there. The water awaits. The plans call for no extra time for custodians. Done well, I expect sensational health benefits and community school interactions.

In the final public hearing concerning input for the new superintendent search, I was the 13th speaker. Every other speaker that came to the microphone to share insights had common ground with my central message as well.

Speaker #1 said: Services and support are not in place in PPS.

Speaker #2, a young woman, remembered that the only thing she was jazzed about at Allderdice through 9th, 10th, and 11th grade was her involvement in marching band. That experience kept her going through high school.

Speaker #3 works as a professional in out-of-school time activities as a community-based provider. She wants PPS to embrace partnerships and have that as a skill-set. The new superintendent needs to have a “track record” (pun to me) and display “small wins” in after-school programming. Well, I want big wins.

Speaker #4, an 8th grade student in Higher Achievement, spoke of the need for a fresh environment. In past years I coached water polo with students in Higher Achievement. Of course, that's fresh!

Speaker #5, a 7th grade student, wants communication skills and respect in communities.

Speaker #6, Hill District Economic Council spoke of being healthy. Wishing for transforming students, leadership, innovation. Athletic do that.

Speaker #7, a Pitt Education Professor and a parent spoke about deep and sustaining partnerships. Pittsburgh has an incredibly rich network. Civic and community engagement are needed and golly, she said that PPS often seems as if it does not want input. Spot on!

Speaker #8, Sala Udin, wants to see someone articulate a strategy. That's exactly what the position paper did. That's exactly what the Sports Reform Task Force did. That's what was ignored by PPS. Sala wants a “turn around” and I do too. We'll even teach flip turns! Yes, Sala, Pittsburgh is a segregated city with a large number of poor people. That's why we are excited to do water polo in the Hill District's Ammon Swim Pool again in the summer of 2016 and champion swimming and water polo, activities that don't cost much beyond having swim suits.

Speaker #9 wants community schools and job training for parents. I've been working with the Eastside Neighborhood Employment Center, but that's not the social skills job training that is really desired. But the new document speaks of community fitness for the parents and guardians of the students we coach. I want adults to start to train when their kids are youngsters so that a few years later as the kids are in high school we can kayak together in our rivers.

Speaker #10, the President of the Pittsburgh Federation of Teachers hit a home run and made mention of the word “athletics.” She wants none of this as an “after-thought. Rather, authentic working together is desired. Bravo.

Speaker #11, a U-Prep teacher, Chris, made mention that Pittsburgh has been a sports town with some graduates in the NFL and NBA. Who is going to stand up and take the heat, he asks? I think we teach that in athletics too.

Speaker #12, Fred Logan of Homewood, wants the PSCC (Parent School Community Councils) to return with gusto. And our sports boosters, sports leagues and sports advocate efforts should be a part of those PSCC gatherings, perhaps bringing purpose for some to show up and get more involved.

I spoke at #13.

Speaker #14 ranted about knowledge being power. Learn everything and many things. “We should do better than that so our kids can survive in the world.” Learning to swim is a survival skill.

Speaker #15, a Linden teacher and advocate with gifted referrals wants a universal screening so that all the kids who qualify as gifted get an invite to the Pittsburgh Gifted Center. Of course, all the kids should have some of the same opportunities. We could tie a universal gifted screening approach to a mission to have universal swimming lessons.

Speaker #16, Obama Academy senior, spoke of Teen Block and speaking up with student voices. The most popular messages among the kids have been about school starting too early and PPS teaching the whole person. I just released a new video about the AM Swim Practices we have at 6 am. And, I'm a big fan of holistic coaching.

Speaker #17, a U-Prep junior, a young Mr. Sanders, wants to be an entrepreneur. His personal finance class doesn't have a stable teacher and there are many faculty who seem to change often. The lunches do not seem to be nutritional and he and his classmates do not seem to be energized after eating. With athletes, great nutrition is vital. With growing kids, nutrition matters. I also expect that with more athletes, we'll diminish violence. Learning to play well with others is a central theme we should embrace often.

Speaker #18, a parent wants to develop amazing adults and wants inclusion with the disability community. Unemployment is at 70% in that sector, and teaching needs to be visual, auditory and kinetic.

Speaker #19, Ron Lawrence, 100-Black Men and an A+ Schools board member is one I want to get to meet. Closing the achievement gap is important. That achievement gap happens at the swim pool too.

Speaker #20, Education Rights Network advocate wants to end that pipeline to prison. I agree, the PPS administrative cabinet should have a commitment to include an administrator to work full time on efforts to better support those with disabilities. Another after-thought it seems.

Speaker #21, Kenneth, a long-time community activist and friend wants student government and school newspapers to be a first contact with visitors to the school. The newspapers teach ethics and are a place to get focus in a crisis. What's going on should be written about and he feels Mark Roosevelt was a terrible person, especially as he sold off the printing presses in all the schools.

Speaker #22, Tim Stevens, spoke and sang of his days in the U-Prep school, site of the meeting, as it was then called Herron Hill. He spoke at a past meeting and he highlighted the slogan above the stage, “We are all learning.” Enough said.

Speaker #23, Chris Moore, the new U-Prep principal, a former teacher at Schenley, is back in PPS and he feels the new superintendent should be one who is “called” to the job. That is a great trait. He also says that the new superintendent should have the discipline to put students first as he or she makes decisions. I got to chat for a minute after the meeting with the new principal. He'll help to get the word out to the students about the opportunities to play water polo in the neighborhood on Fridays at the Thelma Lovette YMCA.





Saturday, August 02, 2014

Greatest Article of All Time -- Trib gets it right in coverage of our Summer Dreamers and visits with Elite Runners and the Liberty Mile Efforts

Thank you Karen Price.

By Karen Price
Thursday, July 31, 2014, 10:39 p.m.

Jordan McNamara stood in front of dozens of Summer Dreamers Academy campers at Helen S. Faison Arts Academy in Homewood on Wednesday and asked a question.

“Who likes to run?” he asked, followed by, “Why do you like to run?”
Hands shot in the air.

One boy said because he was the fastest kid in the world. A girl said because it helps her build muscles. Another child said it keeps her energized.

Before long, McNamara and two other professional runners in town for Friday's Liberty Mile race, Heather Kampf and Leo Manzano, were running through the grass with the kids. They jogged around the perimeter of the field, set up mini races and ended with some stretching and strengthening moves.

For the past five weeks, approximately 120 campers in the Pittsburgh Public Schools program have been training with a coach from the Liberty Mile in preparation for the race through the streets of Downtown on Friday. The Liberty Mile, in its third year, is produced by Pittsburgh Three Rivers Marathon Inc. A total of 1,200 runners competed last year.
McNamara, who has finished second at the Liberty Mile each of the past two years, said Pittsburgh is the only place where race organizers get the elite runners involved in the community at this level. The elite runners also visited campers at Langley K-8 on Thursday.

“There's always some level of involvement with the race but in terms of going to kids' elementary schools and all that, I think that's different. It's cool,” said McNamara, 25, of Eugene, Ore. “Liberty Mile is really the first race that takes the professionals and integrates them directly into the community at ground level, which I think is really special.”
Manzano, a two-time Olympian from Austin, Texas, told the children at Faison that he wasn't the fastest runner when he started in the fifth or sixth grade, but he wanted to be the best. He talked about perseverance, and the importance of never giving up. Then he told them about racing in the 1,500 meters in the London Olympics in 2012.

He was in ninth place early in the race, he told them, and wanted to give up. He started thinking about his family and his community and started to pass other runners. With 100 meters to go he was in sixth place and ultimately won the silver medal with a time of 3:34.79.

“Not giving up is the important message,” Manzano, 29, said. “I feel like it applies a lot to life as well. Sometimes in a race you come across hills or mountains and you have to continue and push past those, but you know that eventually things will be better. You'll be done and you'll be celebrating.”

Kampf, 26, of Minneapolis had a similar message and told the story of when she fell during the Big Ten Indoor Championships in 2008 and went from last place to first in the 600 meters.
“Running is the ultimate blue-collar sport,” she said. “It's just good, pure, hard effort.”
All three hoped to show the kids that while being a top runner takes hard work, running in general can be a sport they can enjoy their entire lives.

“A lot of these kids at this age, you can tell running is awful to them,” McNamara said. “For us to come in and introduce a little bit of seriousness, a little bit of inspiration but also playfulness and silliness, it makes it so they can associate running with fun and it will be something that they'll want to do and enjoy.”

Karen Price is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. Reach her at kprice@tribweb.com or via Twitter @KarenPrice_Trib.


Read more: http://triblive.com/sports/otherlocal/6533055-74/mile-race-liberty#ixzz39HtHBCOu
Follow us: @triblive on Twitter | triblive on Facebook

Friday, February 28, 2014

Summer Dreamers 2014, here we come!

Camp Site
Grade Level(s)
Number of Kids Served

Carmalt
4th Grade
30
Hope to go to Carrick, Brashear or PCA
5th Grade
30

6th Grade
5

7th Grade
5


Faison
5th Grade
20
Team 1 - Hope to go to Westinghouse
6th Grade
20
Team 2 - Hope to go to Highland Park Pool
7th Grade
20
Team 3 - Hope to go to Obama 
Langley
3rd Grade
40
Two teams of 20 each. All can swim in Langley's pool.
Total:

170



This is my puzzle and it is what I'm good at dealing with and love to do.

The best case is we get to use more PPS pools. Want to go to Carrick, Brashear and/or PCA, plus Westinghouse, Obama in addition to Langley. Kids would move to different sites with their coaches as per a schedule.

Tuesday, December 03, 2013

PR memo to swimmers at PPS Elementary Swim Meet

MEMO:

FROM:
Mark Rauterkus, Executive Head Coach for
Swim & Water Polo Camps at
PPS Summer Dreamers


TO:
Swimmers, Parents, Guardians, Coaches
PPS Elementary Swim Meet

Tuesday, December 3, 2013

Way to go in the swim meet today! It is not easy to invest time and energy into swimming or supporting swimmers. But, swimming has its own set of rich rewards. Swimming as an activity and a sport is well worth the efforts for all growing young people.

Everyone should be a strong swimmer as that skill and fitness may some day save your life of the lives of others.

Swimming and Water Polo Camps have been a wonderful experience for lots of PPS students as part of the annual Summer Dreamers Academy. Last year nearly 200 students became aquatic athletes. We were at every Summer Dreamers site and kids got to improve swimming skills, run for fitness and races including the Liberty Mile, and play inspiring water polo.

To help further your swimming opportunities, do these three things:

1. Consider getting yourself, and your siblings, cousins and friends to sign up for Swim & Water Polo Camp as part of Summer Dreamers 2014.

2. Check out the new swim team about to start at the recently opened Thelma Lovette YMCA at 2114 Centre Avenue in the Hill District, just up 8 blocks from the Consol Energy Center. An organizational meeting for parents and guardians is slated for 6 pm on Wednesday, December 18, 2013, in the conference room of the YMCA.

3. Send an email, text or phone call to Coach Mark Rauterkus, 412-298-3432,Mark@Bloomfield-Garfield.org, for updates and news about opportunities in Pittsburgh for extra swimming and water polo fun.

Our varsity boys swim team at Obama Academy is the defending champions of WPIAL Class AA Section 6. Two of our recent graduates are using their Pittsburgh Promise scholarships and also swimming on their college swim teams. Two others are playing water polo at colleges outside of Pennsylvania. (Lock Haven, Swarthmore, American Univ. and Univ. of Minnesota) The students in today's swim meet should plan on being high school swimmers in a few years.


Tuesday, August 20, 2013

Foundation to assess city schools' Summer Dreamers Academy



Foundation to assess city schools' Summer Dreamers AcademyAugust 14, 2013 12:08 am
Niederberger / Pittsburgh Post-GazetteAs part of a $50 million investment in summer K-12 programs including one in Pittsburgh, the Wallace Foundation is taking a close look at whether those programs work.
Wallace has been one of the funders for Summer Dreamers Academy operated by Pittsburgh Public Schools.
The academy drew 2,200 students this summer. The foundation has spent a total of $2.8 million in 2011, 2012 and 2013 in Pittsburgh. It also has contributed to programs in Boston, Cincinnati, Dallas, Duval County in Florida and Rochester. In addition to the district investments, Wallace also awarded grants to four nonprofit organizations that support summer learning.
Wallace has hired the Rand Corp. to study whether the summer programs improve student learning and what the best practices are in such programs.In a report released Monday, the researchers made recommendations on how to launch summer learning programs, including planning early for summer programs, hiring teachers by February so the best teachers are available and using commercially available curriculum rather than district-created curriculum.
It also recommends spending three to four hours a day for academics.To be cost conscious, the report recommends avoiding assigning small numbers of students to many sites, using enrichment providers to fill out the program, hiring staff based on projected attendance rather than enrollment and operating a full-day program for five to six weeks.
The studies focus on summers of 2011 and 2012. Some 5,000 students are being tracked in the studies.
One goal is to document what efforts can narrow the achievement gap between low-income and higher-income students.
Ann Stone, senior research and evaluation officer at the Wallace Foundation, said many students forget a portion of their school year learning over the summer.
However, she said, research shows the losses are greatest for low-income children, who already enter school academically behind their higher-income peers.
"We think summer learning could be one of the best ways to reduce that achievement gap," Ms. Stone said.

Here is my $.02 for this overall mission.

We need more parent engagement. The parents need to know that the schools are going to try hard, but without some boosters and support at home, then the efforts won't really work in the long run. 

I enjoyed meeting the parents when this was possible. But, it isn't woven into the programs as it is now. The kids get on the bus. The kids get off the bus. There are few, if any, times when the kids, their parent(s) / grandmothers / guardians, and their peers and the teachers as well as the activity providers get to interact. 

The "night out" was a flop.

The "open house" was a flop. too. 

Our swim party and group swim lesson had potential, but it wasn't organized in advance and didn't occur. 

Our post camp trips / days were great, but too many were not invested and tied into the program.

I loved seeing some of the parents play SKWIM. That's more of what we need. Then, sky is the limit for the kids and the district.

Message to PPS Board and Administrators at public comment about Erik and Summer Dreamers too

My name is Mark Rauterkus

My family and I live at 108 South 12th Street, South Side.

I'm a proud parent, concerned citizen, scholastic coach and the lead activity provider with the BGC with Summer Dreamers Swim & Water Polo Camp.

Erik is going to make a great swimmer for Swarthmore. Of course he'll take care of his studies and figure out what to devote his life to along the way.

Erik was also a varsity golfer. He was in the top 10 in PA Junior cycling.

As governor, he delivered more than a dozen podium speeches to hundred-plus audiences. He gave 2 keynote speeches. One to the PA Lobbyist Assn and another to the state-wide YMCA professionals.

He attended three week-long conference: One for fellow youth governors and twice went to CONA, a Congress of North American Affairs. As he enters college he already has good friends and contacts from around the nation.

Erik was a fixtures on a great Ultimate Frisbee team that played in the regional semi-finals.

He and his mates went to Ohio twice for water polo. Last year our side had 8 wins and 1 loss there.

He was 7th in his graduating class.

For 4 years he went to the PIAA Swim Championshps. Last year our relays set new city records in the pool, going faster in 2 events than than anyone ever in the city.

But this is what I want to stress. For the past 3 years, Erik worked as a coach for PPS Summer Dreamers Swim & Water Polo Camp.

This summer, Erik, with 2 other recent PPS graduates, led Swim & Water Polo activities at Camp Carmalt. They bonded with the kids, taught butterfly, and backstroke. They played great water polo. Almost all passed their deep water test. The last day of Summer School, tears came with their Good Byes. They bonded with the kids. Eight of the Carmalt kids, ran in the Liberty Mile. Erik WON the Liberty Mile in 2012.

It was a busy, action packed summer for myself and the 25 others on the staff in five sites. We ran, exercised, swam, played water polo, raced and did an “A for Athlete” literacy project that we're sharing with the world on a wiki.

The staff, like Erik are mostly young adults, mostly varsity swimmers. They worked half a day and made some money. Plus, they made tremendous impacts on the lives of the PPS students. The students, mostly going into 4th grade, learned a life skill that they'll never forget and had a sports-camp experience.

I think it is imperative that PPS put at the top of its priority list a vision that screams: WE PLAY Well with Others.

That is what we need in our neighborhoods. The wellness has to spring to life in the afternoons, evenings, nights, weekends, holidays and summers.

Summer Dreams is 5 weeks. I also worry about the other 47. Summer Dreamers had 5 sites, 2 with PPS pools, and had more than 1,300 rejection letters.

Our capacity in terms of QUALITY interactions leaves something to be desired.

We had a lot of help: Shoe vendors, Pgh Marathon, PPS, sponsors, partners, Citiparks.

With a little more help from PPS and a philosophy that puts Erik and other kids much like him on our team – together – we are 10-times better, stronger and more robust.

The key to a thriving PPS comes with a serious change of heart to the overall after-school approach within PPS.

PPS has to be a place were we value, teach and learn how to play well with others. Playing well with others is a learned skill that must happen year-round and beyond the school day.

Monday, July 15, 2013

Thunderbirds hosted Swim & Water Polo at Cupples Stadium

Save the date. Saturday evening. Our athletes are getting to take the field at 5:30 pm with the professional team, the Pittsburgh Thunderbirds. Show up after 5 pm and before 5:30 to visit with the coach and volunteers.


Handout to Campers:

Our swimmers, water polo players, SKWIM athletes, staff and lifeguards -- plus family and friends -- are invited to join together for a special event this Saturday evening, tomorrow, July 15, 2017, at South Side's PPS Cupples Stadium for interactions on the field with Pittsburgh Thunderbirds, a city's professional ULTIMATE team.

Arrive after 5 pm to check in with Coach Mark, and be ready to hit the field from 5:30 to 6 pm with the players. Then we'll stay to watch and cheer for the team at its 7 pm game.

Meet up at the gates of the stadium AFTER 5pm and before 5:30 pm. Youngsters should be accompanied by an adult. This is an optional event. Everyone has to get there on their own.

Tickets (generally $10 each) to the game between the Pittsburgh Thunderbirds vs. Detroit have be obtained by Coach Mark for our group. Everyone who can attend the game needs to reserve their family's tickets by doing ONE of the following:
  • EMAIL Mark@Rauterkus.com with the names of the people who are attending.
  • TEXT Coach Mark at (412) 298-3432 with the names of the people attending. OR,
  • Go to the site, https://Read.SwimISCA.org/ (you are here) and do "web join" and then leave a comment with the names and number of tickets of those who are attending.
At the game, Coach Mark hopes to visit with guardians and players and share some other insights into additional activities to come in our normal sessions slated for this summer -- plus some other optional activities too.

Thank you Pittsburgh Thunderbirds. The game of ULTIMATE is a disk-game much like our aquatic game of SKWIM. Seeing these players and their teamwork, passing, defense, hustle and sportsmanship can inspire our play and help us become better athletes.
In other news:
We're going to be playing SKWIM and water polo from 6 to 7:45 pm every TUESDAY and THURSDAY evenings for the weeks to come at the outdoor Citiparks AMMON Swim Pool, Bedford Ave & Memory Lane, Hill District. -- Weather permitting.
Mark Rauterkus     Mark@Rauterkus.com
 PPS Summer Dreamers' Swim & Water Polo Camp Executive Coach
 Swimming Coach with The Pittsburgh Project
 Varsity Boys Swim Coach, Pittsburgh Obama Academy
 Pittsburgh Combined Water Polo Team
 https://SwimISCA.org
 (412) 298-3432 = cell
https://youtu.be/Uc9RkIP06hU

 

Sunday, June 30, 2013

Swim & Water Polo Camp Squad Name Choices

Our Swim & Water Polo Camp with Summer Dreamers and PPS is going to start. One of the first tasks is to get into 'squads.' Then each squad gets to pick its own squad name. This year, squad names are from the list of national parks, plus a few extra parks beyond the United States.

The campers vote. Use elimination voting at the outset.

If your top pick is already selected from another camp site, you'll have to go to the 2nd choice. So, pick early to get what you wish.

Acadia
American Samoa
Arches
Badlands
Big Bend
Biscayne
Black Canyon of the Gunnison
Bryce Canyon
Canyonlands
Capitol Reef
Carlsbad Caverns
Channel Islands
Congaree
Crater Lake
Cuyahoga Valley
Death Valley
Denali
Dry Tortugas
Everglades
Gates of the Arctic
Glacier
Glacier Bay
Grand Canyon
Grand Teton
Great Basin
Great Sand Dunes
Great Smoky Mountains
Guadalupe Mountains
Haleakalā
Hawaii Volcanoes
Hot Springs
Isle Royale
Joshua Tree
Katmai
Kenai Fjords
Kings Canyon
Kobuk Valley
Lake Clark
Lassen Volcanic
Mammoth Cave
Mount Rainier
North Cascades
Olympic
Petrified Forest
Pinnacles
Rocky Mountain
Saguaro
Sequoia
Shenandoah
Theodore Roosevelt
Virgin Islands
Voyageurs
Wind Cave
Wrangell - St. Elias
Yellowstone
Yosemite
Zion

International parks okay to pick:

Kakadu, in Northern Australia. Largest National Park in Australia (also known as AUS) and a World Heritage Site. Billabong
http://www.gorp.com/parks-guide/kakadu-national-park-outdoor-pp2-guide-cid361775.html

Fiordland, home to Millford's Tramp, in New Zealand (also known as NZL) . http://www.gorp.com/parks-guide/milford-track-outdoor-pp2-guide-cid350488.html

Kruger National Park in South Africa (also known as RSA) . http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kruger_National_Park

Banff in Canada north of Calgary. http://www.gorp.com/parks-guide/banff-national-park-outdoor-pp2-guide-cid361921.html

Galapagos Archipelago http://www.gorp.com/weekend-guide/travel-ta-galapagos-birdwatching-ecotourism-sidwcmdev_054328.html

See the one page ballot that can be used with the campers.