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Ottawa Titans Water Polo Weekly Newsletter
September 3, 2008


Updating the Club's Distribution List for E-News for 2008-2009 Season
Submitted by Sue Sidebottom, Weekly E-News Coordinator

Please reply to this email if you wish to be removed from this distribution list, or if you have an additional email address that you would like added to the distribution list for weekly e-news. 


Titans OPEN HOUSE this Saturday (Registration Day, Merchandise Sale, Meet the Coaches and Board)
 
This is a reminder of our Open House and Registration Day this Saturday, September 6, 1-4pm in Hall F of Nepean Sportplex (Hall F is most easily accessed from the rear of the facility through Entrance #2, and is located above Arena #2)). Please drop in and provide us with your completed registration package.  This is the club's only scheduled registration day where you can drop off your forms and ask any questions in person.
- Programme Registration- Registration material is available online at www.titanswaterpolo.ca  under either competitive, adult or recreational programs.  Inquiries about Registration should be directed to Alka Steenkamer, Registrar at Registrar@titanswaterpolo.ca 

- Merchandise Sale- NEW this year: ALL Titans competitive athletes will be required to have a Titans suit (the new black/ red version) for competition. Both men's and women's are now in stock and will be available for sale, at $100 for women's and $55 for men's. All competitive athletes will be required to have a Titans jacket (the black one with the logo that has been available for a couple of years) for tournaments and travel. We will be placing only ONE order for this, in mid-October. Sample sizes for try-on and ordering will be available at this sale. There are optional wind pants to go with the jackets if this is of interest to you. Finally, all ACADEMY athletes will be required to have their own ball, and to bring it to practice. Balls will be available for sale at the merchandise sale as well. Cheque or cash only, please.
- Meet the Coaches- Head Coach David Hart, as well as the head of the women's (Celso Rojas) and men's (Jerry Tesanovic) programmes will be available to chat informally with athletes and parents about the upcoming year. Many of the other Club coaches will also be available.
- Meet your Titans Board of Directors- Members of the new Titans Board of Directors will be on hand to chat, and to address and questions, concerns and great ideas you may have!
- Bake Sale and Refreshment Sale! Alka Steenkamer, with the help of some of the Titans families and athletes, will be selling treats and refreshments during the Open House. Funds raised at this sale will be split 50/50 between Titans Water Polo and the CIBC Run/Walk For the Cure for Breast Cancer. Please bring your loonies and toonies!  If you are able to donate an item to the sale, we would really appreciate it, and you can contact Alka at ladyslipper@rogers.com


Announcement of Team Coaches

Titans Water Polo is pleased to make the following announcement regarding coaching assignments for the upcoming competitive season.
 
Titans Head Coach: David Hart (David will oversee the implementation of 16 and 18+U programs only, and will not be on deck for these practices. His coaching focus will be Academy and ILWP. He will also spend part of his time working behind the scenes on completing our coaching resource packages, which is partially funded by our CIAF grant).
 
Competitive 16+U and 18+U Womens Program
Women's Head Coach: Celso Rojas (responsible for women's programs)
Assistant coaches: Alison Poirier and Adrian Steenkamer 
**Note- specific coaching team assignments for the women's program will be announced in October.
 
Competitive 16+U and 18+U Men's Program
Men's Head Coach: Jerry Tesanovic (responsible for men's programs)
Great White Sharks- Jerry Tesanovic
Manta Rays- Stefan Pavicevic
Tiger Sharks- Nick Forster
 
Academy/ ILWP
Academy Girls Coach: Jennifer Hampton
Academy Boys Coach: Blake Christie
Kanata Crocs (Walter Baker Pool): David Hart and Andrea Kennedy
Nepean Killer Whales (Pinecrest Pool): David Hart, Blake Christie and Jennifer Hampton
Gloucester Sea Serpents (Brewer Pool): David Hart and Kasia Hart
Orleans Orcas (Orleans Pool): David Hart and Joel Primeau


Titans Website Calendar

The new Google calendar that the Titans are using is now populated and ready.  Just go to www.titanswaterpolo.ca and click on the Calendar option at the left. If you note any errors, you can bring them to the attention of Deanna, at INFO@titanswaterpolo.ca. The entries are all done manually, and human error is entirely possible!  Our webmasters have kindly created tabs across the top, so you access your team information more easily.  For any tab that you click on, you will also get 'General' club information, as we thought it was important that you are aware of Club events and happenings. You have the option of sorting by day, week or month. If you click on a specific event, you can see further details.  If you have a team meeting or other event that you would like to have posted, please contact Deanna. If you use a Google calendar already at home for planning your schedule, then it is easy to link your Titans team calendar to your own.

Technical Note for Google Calendar users from the Webmaster:  We had some access control problems with the original General calendar in the new Google based club calendar.  The general calendar is the one that has general club events like the Open House and Dryland Training, and it is included in every group that you can select on the top of the new calendar.  If you did not previously add Titans calendars to your personal Google calendar, you should not be affected.  If you did add the general calendar prior to last week to your personal google calendar, you will need to delete it and add the new one, which with show up as "Titans General".


Fall Practice Schedule

The club website calendar is the first place to check for practice information.  Deanna has also summarized the practice schedule for the new season below.  We will try to keep you apprised of changes to practice schedule in a timely manner. However, we sometimes learn of cancellations with very late notice, and in this case will get the change posted as quickly as possible, as well as get an e-mail message to you. In cases of cancellation due to weather, always check the website first.

There are no practices this week at all.
The University of Ottawa Pool opens September 15, and the Sportsplex on September 22, so practices will be phased in as we approach those dates. The other pools are in various stages of re-opening after maintenance shutdowns, and all information is now posted on the calendar.
 
'I Love Water Polo'- various start dates as per pool availability.
Orleans starts September 30
Pinecrest starts September 24
Walter Baker starts September 24
Brewer starts September 20
Sunday league nights start on October 19.
 
Academy- practices start to phase in the week of September 8.
NOTE- the Orleans pool doesn't open until September 30, so the first three weeks of practices will be moved to Wednesdays at St-Laurent Pool (7:30-9pm), starting on September 10.
NOTE- The Walter Baker pool isn't available until September 24, so the first two weeks of practice for this team will be at Pinecrest Pool (7-8:30pm, instead of the usual team practice time for Walter Baker of 7:30-9pm), starting September 10.
First practice for Brewer is September 13.
First practice for Pinecrest is September 10.
Check the website out for full details.
Each Academy player will have one practice per week at their 'home' team pool. They will have two additional all-Academy practices, Monday and Thursday evenings, 6-7:30pm at the University of Ottawa Pool, starting on September 15. .
Sunday league games will start on October 5, and will be most Sundays 6:30-8:30pm. Keep an eye on the website. There are a number of cancellations due to special events at the pool, and these are noted now on the calendar.
 
Older Boys/ Girls-
As pools are not yet open, note that there are dryland practices being held outside on the grounds of Nepean Sportsplex on September 8, 9, 11, 13 and 15. Details on the website calendar. If you have a pool practice scheduled at the same time, it is the priority. These are mandatory for AAA players and optional (but recommended) for AA players. Because there are so many teams involved, the website lists these practices as 'general'.
Note that as of the writing of this message, we are unsure of the start dates for Carleton Pool time (applies only to Piranhas and Swordfish) on Wednesday and Thursday nights. The website currently has the practices starting week of September 8. Calendar will be updated when we have further information. Here is the usual practice schedule, once pools are up and running:
 
- Great White Sharks- Monday and Tuesday evenings, 8;15-9:45pm at Nepean Sportsplex, Thursdays 7;30-9:15pm at U of O and Saturdays 2-4pm at U of O.
- Tiger Sharks- Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday evenings, 6-7:30pm and Thursdays 7;30-9;15pm, all at U of O pool.
- Manta Rays- Tuesdays 8:15-9:45pm at NSP, Saturdays 2-4pm, and Sundays 10am-noon at Univeristy of Ottawa.
- Piranhas and Swordfish- Mondays and Tuesdays 8;15-9:45pm, Wednesdays 6-7:45pm at Carleton U (for those not part of NDC program), Thursdays 7;15-9pm at Carleton U (for those who ARE part of the girls NDC program and would have missed Wednesday practice), and Saturdays 4-6pm at U of O.
- Stingrays-  Tuesdays/ Wednesdays/ Thursdays at University of Ottawa, 6-7;30pm and Sundays 10am-noon at University of Ottawa.
- Marlins- Tuesdays and Wednesdays 6-7:30pm at University of Ottawa and Sundays 10am-noon at University of Ottawa.
 
NDC:
We do not yet have confirmed NDC start dates for girls or boys programs. Stay tuned for details.


Roster Announcements for Piranhas and Swordfish (18+U AAA women's teams)

The following rosters will be in effect for the IT Phase (Individual Training phase of training, over the first 6 weeks).
Celso Rojas, our new women's coach will have an opportunity over this time period to assess the athletes, determine their level of commitment etc, and the final rosters for the two 18+U AAA girls teams will be announced at the beginning of week 7 (beginning of the CT phase/Collective Training Phase), on or after October 20, 2008. For the time being, the coaching plan will be as per above, and will be formalized by team when the two team rosters are announced in October.
 
Piranhas
Rachel Stein (goalie)
Nathalie Gallant (goalie)
Rebekka Steenkamer
Meredith Wilson
Christine Snidal
Danielle Hirsh
Annie Chinneck
Lia Richardson
Gillian Massel
Catherine Laroche Boisvert
Lulu Vulpe Albari
 
Swordfish
Evie Marshall (goalie)
Jessica Gaudreault (goalie)
Emily Hodgson
Audrey Caron
Stephanie LeSaux Farmer
Patricia Massel
Michelle Langstaff
Emma Jackson
Tara Hrstov
Katie Walker
Melanie Pabstel
 

Summer Promotional and Recruitment Campaign

With the assistance of a Communities in Action Fund provincial grant, we were able to hire Titans coach Jennifer Hampton on a part time basis over the summer, to go out into the community and promote our ILWP program. This is necessary in order to ensure we have a sufficient pool of athletes to draw from for our competitive programs, and to ensure future sustainability of our Club. As a result of Jen's efforts, more than 800 children have been reached through clinics and events. These included many clinics that were run as part of existing day camps (mostly sports and aqua themes), park events, and free introductory clinics open to the general public. Jen was assisted by her 'expert helpers', who included:  Evan Bradshaw, Audrey Caron, Greg Dodd, Nathalie Gallant, Emily Hodgson, Duncan Kennedy, Owen Kennedy, David Lapins, Jeran Long, Natalie Luciano, Nancy Palanuk, Monique Sidebottom, Rebekka Steenkamer, Demi Tremblay and Macy Tremblay. Jen went above and beyond the call of duty, often picking up and dropping off her 'expert helpers' and ensuring they had sunscreen for the outdoor events!  Special thanks also to coaches Blake Christie and Andrea Kennedy for staffing clinics. We are hoping that these efforts bring in lots of new registrations and that we can fill the teams at our four locations. If you have somewhere you are able to leave ILWP brochures, or put up a poster, we would like to hear from you! Contact Deanna at INFO@titanswaterpolo.ca


Newsletter Submissions

If you would like to contribute an item to the newsletter, please send your submission to Sue Sidebottom at news@titanswaterpolo.ca .  I depend on the readers to submit articles to keep club members up to date with water polo news!   Photos from tournaments or other club events are always welcome.  Any submissions received before noon on Wednesday will go out with that week's news.