Good Morning Tigershark Families!

A big thank you to everyone who participated in our lap-a-thon fundraiser! This money helps us cover the boring but necessary stuff like insurance, but it also lets us do the fun things like our end-of-year party, tie-dye event, lap-a-thon snacks, and showing our coaches some extra appreciation.

I have to share a story about why this fundraiser is so special to our team. This event has been happening for as long as Tigersharks has existed, and it comes with some serious bragging rights. When Archer first started swimming at age 5, Coach Nan told him about Ralph Long's lap-a-thon record of 106 laps (Ralph is Coach Nan's son and he swam for Georgia Tech). I'll never forget the look on Archer's face when he heard that number. With complete 5-year-old confidence, he announced he was going to break that record.

Well, over the years I've watched so many swimmers, including Coach Zolon, give everything they had trying to beat those 106 laps. Ralph's record is still standing strong! On the girls' side, we did see some record-breaking action when Anara Summers swam an incredible 86 laps in 2021, breaking the previous girls' record. So there's hope yet! Maybe one of your kids will be the one to finally topple Ralph's legendary 106. I love watching them dream big and work hard for it.

Please congratulate your swimmers on what an awesome job they did on Tuesday. Here are the top swimmers in each age group:

• 6 and under: Flora Christopher 28 laps (no fins!) and Flint Chandler 39
• 8 and under: Aralyn Ladd 44 and Bryson Barnes 44
• 10 and under: Amelie Watson 38 and Lee Levine 68
• 12 and under: Arabella Barry 66 and Kam Kilgore and Benjamin Rudd with 56 each
• 14 and under: Elena Brodsky 61 and Asher Kavur 73
• 16 and under: Ruthie Sweeney 64 and Coach Will Turrell 92
• 18 and under: Toby Van de Ven 80

It's not too late to collect donations if you haven't already. My kids have had better luck asking people for a one-time donation instead of getting pledges per lap, in case that helps. The final results are attached below.

Good luck at the meet tonight. GO TIGERSHARKS!

Sincerely,

Barbara King Ladd