2008 Annual Awards Banquet

Swimmers, coaches and volunteers were honored for their outstanding achievements and contributions at the Annual Awards Banquet, held November 2, 2008 at the Aqua Turf. The banquet commenced with opening remarks made by Jeff Gray, General Chair of Connecticut Swimming followed by presentation of the USA Swimming ConocoPhillips Service Award to Barry Silver, Coach of the Year awards to Tim Wise and Dennis Flores and the Swimmer of the Year award to Katie Gardocki. Over 900 people were in attendance as 462 athletes were recognized for academic achievement and/or Top 16 swims, including open water swimming. At this time CSI wishes to acknowledge Curtis Maher, HNHS, High Point winner in the 10/U Boys category for the 2008 Short Course Age Group Championship. Due to an unfortunate error, Curtis was not recognized at the banquet. CSI regrets the error and congratulates Curtis on his fine achievement.

The entire Connecticut Swimming Board of Directors, extends its gratitude to volunteers Peter Boucher, Wendy Jackwin and Sue Husta-- for their efforts made this Awards Banquet an outstanding success. And, special thanks to Roger Stewart for the photographs.

Swimmer of the Year

Katie Gardocki

Katie Gardocki was named Swimmer of the Year. Presenting her award was her Coach Jon Levine (BEAR). This award is given annually to the highest-ranked CSI athlete for the 2007-2008 season. Katie currently holds 29 Connecticut Swimming records and is ranked first in the U.S. for the 500Y freestyle for 16 year old girls. Katie broke Long Course records in the 200M free, 400M free, 800M free, 200M fly, 200M IM, 400M IM. Her 400M and 800M free, 200M fly and 200M IM times were under the 2008 Olympic trials qualifying times. She finished 10th in both the 400M and 800M free at Olympic trials, and represented the United States in Melbourne in January and Mexico in July. Katie is currently a member of the USA Swimming National Junior Team. Read Katie's acceptance speech here.

Each year Connecticut Swimming has the opportunity to select a recipient for USA Swimming's PhillipConoco Outstanding Service Award. Sponsored by USA Swimming and ConocoPhillips, this award, is presented annaully to a volunteer in recognition of outstanding service to swimming. This year' recipient is Barry Silver. Jeff Gray, General Chair, remarked that Barry's nine years of service started out innocently enough when Barry volunteered as the "Assistant Meet Director" for the New Canaan Y in 1997. Little did he know, at the time, that this was only the beginning of what would be many years of continuous service to Connecticut Swimming. From that point on he has carried out several roles for Connecticut Swimming, including 5 years as Age Group Committee Chair, 4 years Program Development Chair and notably, Meet Director for 9 consecutive Age Group Championship meets. Read Jeff Gray's full remarks and Barry's acceptance speech.

Tim has been the assistant coach at Yale and the Head Coach of OMNI for the last 10 years. This past year Tim has coached 2 Olympic Trial Qualifiers: Chris Pool and Alex Righi. 5 U.S. Open Qualifiers: Susan Kim, Dennen McCloskey; Chris Pool; Alex Righi and Tom Robinson. Alex Righi placed 9th in the 100 meter freestyle at Olympic Trials and was named Connecticut "Swimmer of the Year" for 2007. In the last year Alex Righi and Susan Kim have combined to break 8 Connecticut Long Course records while representing OMNI. Righi represented OMNI and the United States at the 2007 Pan Am Games winning a Gold and Silver medal as part of the 400 Medley and 400 Freestyle Relays.

Dennis Flores has coached the Norwalk ZEUS Swim Team as the Head Age Group Coach for 4 years. He has been in the sport for 16 years as a swimmer, a swim instructor, and the last 8 yeas he has been on the deck as a coach. During his tenure with ZEUS, he has doubled the size of the ZEUS swimmers who have qualified for the Connecticut Age group Championships. In the last 12 months, 5 ZEUS swimmers in the Age Group program qualified for the Eastern Zone All-Star meet. The ZEUS 10/U team, won the Age Group SC Championship. Prior to coaching for ZEUS, Dennis coached with Metro Swimming. In addition to his coaching responsibilities, Dennis currently serves as Junior Coach Representative as a member of the CSI Board of Directors.

Each year Connecticut Swimming recognizes those athletes demonstrating high ability in the classroom and in the pool. Connecticut Swimming Scholar-Athletes have completed 10th, 11th or 12th grade and have earned a minimum 3.5 grade point average as well as competing in designated CSI-sanctioned meets. This year 111 athletes were named and 8 of these athletes were named Scholar-Athletes for three consecutive years. Congratulations to this fine scholars and athletes!

Jennifer Abbott	Allison Kreho #
Emily Barber	Emma Lamothe
Garland Bartlett	Katie Lang
Caroline Bazinet	Melanie Larkins
Connor Beaulieu	Michael Lenkeit
Lauren Belak	Kelsey Linstrum
Jessica L. Berg	Roth Hanson Logan
Alivia K. Berg	Nicholas Lusardi
Lisa Bero	Katherine Lynch %
Priyanka Bhargava	Rebecca Maher
Kaela Mae Bjornberg	Daniel Mangan
Rachel Bohn	John Margherio
Eliza Moore Bollinger	Kathleen Marrese
Lauren E Border	April-Ann K. Marshall
Kelsey Boucher	Tim McCarty
Sarah Bradner	Katherine Meerman
Shannon Burr	Jessica Metcalf
Kelly Caggainello	Colleen E. Moore
Ryan P. Cahalane	Jillian Mullany
Hollis Ann Capuano	Tyler C. Naumann
Jillian C. Chudwick	Jenn Noyes
Rachel Cohn	Lauren O'Kelly
Alexandra E. Damon	Catherine O'Leary
Nathan Dembowski	Katie Orem
Thomas DePaoli	Kathryn Outlaw
Brendan T. Deveney%	Joseph Papiro #
Brooke DeVito	Ally Perrotti
Thomas DiGuglielmo	Trevor Pierce
Ryan DiStefano #	Siusi Power #
Kristi Edleson	Tyler Pramer
Kylen Farrell	Laura Reeves
Benjamin Feeser	James R. Remigino%
Jenny Fitzmaurice	Eric Ress #%
Kristen Fitzsimons #	Sara Sampoli
James Forde	Marielle E. Sanchez
Madeline Froehlich	Kyle Savidge
Kyle Frost	Lili Shainis
Ellen Gage	Marisa Shields
Alex Garneau	Sean Simoneau
Dana Gnerre %	Lauren Solernou %
Andrew J. Golankiewicz	Matthew Sottile
Ross Wells Gormley	Ashley Steinfeld
Chris Granata	Carly Strelez
Anna Gryglewska	Karina L. Stridh #
Michael L. Halls #	Sam Stryker
Brad Harder #	Sean M. Sutherland
Matthew J. Harding	Allison Szabo #
Emily Healey	Joanna Tchobanova
Molly Hennessy #	Allison M. Thurston #
Kelly Heyde	Andrew J. Thurston
Caroline Higgins	Alexander Tougas
Christopher R. Hopkins #%	Phillip R. Treesh
Matthew Iassogna	Carolyn Tusa
Andrew Jackwin	Liz Visconti %
Laura Johnson	Michael Yanagisawa
Hillary Kenyon

Additionally, athletes achieving Scholastic All-American time standards and meet eligibility, National Open Water competitors and athletes competing in US Paralympic Nationals and Trials may apply for USA Swimming's Scholastic All-America Team. Congratulations to these fine scholars and athletes that have competed on the regional or national level.

2008 Age Group High Point Awards
Short Course Age Group Championship Over-all High Point

Good afternoon. I’m Jeff Gray, the Chairman of the Board of Directors for Connecticut Swimming, and it gives me great pleasure to welcome you to Connecticut Swimming’s 2008 Awards Banquet. Each year we come together to celebrate the athletes, coaches and volunteers of Connecticut Swimming whose exceptional accomplishments have stood out over the past year.

Our annual banquet is an important opportunity to honor every athlete in Connecticut who made the Connecticut Top 16 in either or both the 2007-2008 Short Course and 2008 Long Course seasons. We come together today to offer our congratulations to all of the athletes who have achieved this distinction. This honor is the result of many hours of hard work and training. Be proud of your accomplishments and enjoy your day.

We also honor today every athlete who earned the status of Connecticut Swimming Scholar Athlete. These student-athletes have completed 10^th, 11^th or 12^th grade and earned a minimum of a 3.5 Grade Point Average. In a sport that requires so much dedication and discipline, it is no surprise that our athletes excel in the classroom as well.

In addition to recognizing our athletes, we will also honor those individuals – coaches and volunteers – who have made special contributions to Connecticut Swimming over the past year. Unfortunately, neither time nor space will permit us to recognize all of the individuals in our swimming community who make so many important contributions to the sport of swimming in our state. I would, however, like to take a moment to mention just a few groups and individuals:

· First, I would like to ask all current and past members of Connecticut Swimming’s Board of Directors who are in attendance with us today to please stand and be recognized. These are the past and present individuals responsible for the overall governance of swimming in the state of Connecticut. It has been my honor and privilege to work with them. On your behalf, I would like to extend my warmest regards and deepest appreciation to these individuals who give their time and energy on behalf of Connecticut Swimming, and more importantly your children and our swimmers. Please join me in giving these volunteers a round of applause.

· On your behalf and on behalf of the Connecticut Swimming Board of Directors, I would also like to publicly acknowledge Peter Boucher and Wendy Jackwin for once again coordinating this year’s annual banquet. Today’s event is a special day for everyone associated with Connecticut Swimming, and it is a tribute to their volunteerism, hard work and dedication. We therefore extend our gratitude and appreciation to both Peter and Wendy for their time and contributions to make today’s event possible.

On behalf of the Board of Directors, I would like to extend our appreciation and thanks to all of the parents, coaches, and friends of Connecticut Swimming who have volunteered countless hours in support of Connecticut Swimming throughout the year. Your efforts are appreciated, and your many contributions have made Connecticut Swimming an exceptional organization.

Connecticut Swimming is a non-profit organization with annual revenues and expenses in excess of $600,000. We are a strong, well managed, fiscally sound organization, comprised of dedicated and competent volunteers. The strength of our organization can be found in the volunteer base, and our effectiveness in the future will remain contingent upon the willingness of our many volunteers to pool their collective knowledge, skills and abilities, and work together to achieve our common mission: advancing the sport of swimming in the state of Connecticut on behalf of our athletes. Once again, I thank all of those who contribute their time and energy to Connecticut Swimming. Moreover, I encourage others to volunteer their time through involvement in Connecticut Swimming. It is my pleasure to serve as the General Chairman of the Board of Directors for Connecticut Swimming.

Once again, congratulations to everyone in attendance today, and thank you for your generosity of spirit and support.

It’s an honor to be here today, and I would like to thank CT Swimming for inviting me here to present this year’s Swimmer of the Year award. I have had the pleasure of working with Katie Gardocki for over 10 years, and it really has been a lot of fun. Practice is more fun for everyone when Katie is there. A lot of swimmers show promise at a young age, but most don’t get even close to the levels that Katie has reached. The secret to Katie’s success is really not a secret, and I want to share that “secret” with all the swimmers in the room today. Katie shows up every day, and works as hard as she can. That’s her secret and it amazes me that more swimmers haven‘t figured this out. To those of you who think she just has to show up at meets and swim fast, and that it is easy for her, you aren’t really giving her the credit she deserves. She is an extremely dedicated athlete, takes her training very seriously, and has put a lot of time and effort into the sport for over 10 years. In her mind there are no valid excuses for missing practice, and she is always there. Even if she isn’t feeling 100%, she shows up and gives it her best effort. The only time she will miss is when I tell her she absolutely has to take a night off, and that is rare. The other key to Katie’s success is the support she receives from her family. Peter and Lynda have always been there to get her to every practice and meet, and parental support is key to an athlete’s success in our sport. They deserve a round of applause for this. Katie has also had the support of her sister Sara, who has developed into an excellent swimmer herself and never seemed resentful of having a younger sister who is so successful. I would like to present this award to Connecticut Swimming’s 2008 Swimmer of the Year, Katie Gardocki. - Jon Levine, Head Coach, Aquabears

I would like to thank the Senior Committee for choosing me to be the Connecticut Swimmer of the Year. I feel honored to be standing here today. I would also like to thank my family whose support and love has guided me along the way. I also need to thank my coach Jon Levine who has inspired me to be the best I can be. Jon sets his expectations high and accepts no less.
Lastly, I would like to thank all of my teammates and friends. Not only my friends on the Aquabears, also the friends I have made over the years on Connecticut and USA swimming teams.
Swimming has provided me with lasting memories and friendships. Swimming has also opened many doors of opportunity. You too can achieve your goals in swim all it takes is determination and hard work.

Good afternoon again. I’m pleased to have the privilege of introducing this year’s Volunteer of the Year for Connecticut Swimming. Before I bring him up, allow me to offer a few words about Barry Silver’s tenure as a volunteer for Connecticut Swimming, which spans 11 years.

Barry started out innocently enough, volunteering as the "Assistant Meet Director" for the New Canaan Y in 1997. Little did he know at the time that this was only the beginning of what would be many years of service to Connecticut Swimming.

From that point on he has carried out several roles for Connecticut Swimming, including the following:

Barry served as the Meet Director for Age Group Championships 9 times; anyone who has worked at or even attended an Age Group Championship meet understands the magnitude of this particular responsibility; serving in this role on 9 different occasions is something that elevates one to heroic status, and qualifies Barry for combat pay;

Finally, in two terms as the Vice Chair for Program Operations, a role he currently occupies, Barry has:

In his spare time, Barry became a Referee at some point along the way, and has been recruiting and training new officials in the New Canaan area for several years.

For fun when he’s not “working” for Connecticut Swimming, Barry serves as the Senior Vice President and Manager in the Global Markets Division for the Americas at the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ in New York. He has two children - Miki (18) who is a Penn Quaker and Tamaki (16) who is a swimmer for the Darien Blue Wave and the New Canaan Caimans.

A personal note about Barry Silver: Once I got past the initial impression I had of Barry, after he unceremoniously tossed me off the pool deck at my first Age Group meet, I had the pleasure of getting to know him in other capacities. I have had the honor of serving on the Connecticut Swimming Board of Directors alongside Barry for several years. He is intellectually gifted, conscientious, generous with his time, principled in his approach to Board matters, thoughtful, reflective and willing to ask the tough questions that sometimes need to be asked. Barry is also one who is willing to draw and hold the line on policy matters, in the interest of fair play and with the goal of ensuring equitable competitive opportunities for our swimmers. He is the kind of consummate volunteer that any non-profit organization would be proud and privileged to have on their board, and we are a better organization because of Barry Silver’s contributions of time, talent and effort over his many years of service.

It is my distinct honor and privilege to present to you Connecticut Swimming’s 2008 Volunteer of the Year: Barry Silver.
-Jeff Gray, General Chair, Connecticut Swimming

Thanks for those kind words, Jeff. They were so generous towards me that I am legally required to say “I’m Barry Silver, and I approved this message”. I want to also thank the CT Swimming Board, many of whom have already received this award or richly deserve it.

Grateful as I am for getting this recognition today, I have to say it is a little bit embarrassing to be given an award for something that has been so personally rewarding and so much fun. There have been a lot of laughs and friends made since I stumbled into the New Canaan Y meeting 11 years ago and signed up in one of the empty slots marked “assistant Meet Director”. I would say “I’ve enjoyed every minute of it”, only Jeff Gray would call me a liar and leap up to tell you about some of the spicier of those minutes. His favorite is when I was accused loudly of being a National Socialist. But never mind that, I feel I should be giving thanks for what I have personally gotten out of my time in CT Swimming more than receiving it.

For one thing it has been a privilege to work with so many of the outstanding coaches we have in CT. In addition to my respect for their considerable professional skills, I admire that they have opted to dedicate their careers to working with our kids rather than, for example, being a fancy-pants banker like me. Coaching is not an easy way to make a living, that’s for sure.

I also have a word for the athletes in the room. You have in my opinion made a very smart choice, to invest significant time and effort in developing yourselves as swimmers. As you know well, swimming is not like Halloween, where they give you candy just for showing up. It’s very hard - a lot of time and struggle and plenty of pain. You’re probably not thinking about it this way, but in addition to the ribbons and medals you learn some very valuable life lessons from your time at the pool. Wisdom that your friends won’t get from sitting around watching Gossip Girl reruns, and that will serve you well now, in your further education and throughout your lives. The relationship between hard work and achievement. The importance of managing your time. The rewards that can come from following the right leaders, supporting teammates and being supported by teammates, and developing your own leadership.

And parents – it’s very clear to me that the time we put into providing the program allows these smart kids and nearly 4000 others in the state to make that right choice is time very well spent indeed.

10/U	Allie Romanowski Curtis Maher and Brian Savidge
11/12	Dana Grindall Nathaniel Boley
13/14	Shannon Ahearn Alex Pascal
15/18	Katie Gardocki Paul Dyrkacz

10/U	Val Daigneault Brian Savidge
11/12	Olivia Katcher John Carlucci
13/14	Hannah Scobee Alex Pascal
15/18	Lisa Bero John Hug

10/U	Val Daigneault Brian Savidge
11/12	Gabrielle Daigneault Joe Shepley
13/14	Samantha Pierce Grayson Smith
15/18	Katie Gardocki Paul Dyrkacz

10/U	Val Daigneault Brian Savidge
11/12	Gabrielle Daigneault Patrick Savidge
13/14	Karen Chu Grayson Smith
15/18	Cooper Kearns John Hug

2008 Awards Banquet
November 2, 2008

Jeff Gray, General Chair
Connecticut Swimming

2008 Awards Banquet November 2, 2008

Jeff Gray, General Chair Connecticut Swimming

2008 Awards Banquet
November 2, 2008

Jeff Gray, General Chair
Connecticut Swimming