Happy Chinese New Year 2014 • Year of the Horse

When God created the HORSE, He said to the magnificent creature: I have made thee as no other. All the treasures of the earth lie between thy eyes. Thy shalt carry my friends upon thy back. Thy saddle shall be the seat of prayers to Me. And thou shalt fly without wings, and conquer without sword; oh, horse. ~Anonymous 

Wishing all Rossi families a wonderful Lunar New Year celebration with your loved ones. And when you're able, please send a family photo for our "annual family album." Thanks.

Part 2 - Zone 3 Championship • Santa Rosa, CA | January 18-20, 2014

Zone 3 Championship • Santa Rosa, CA | January 18-20, 2014

A big CONGRATULATIONS to all Rossi swimmers who attended and worked really hard at this meet! It was a very long, tiring and eventful meet full of ups and downs but we persevered!! Out of 23 teams, the RAYS came in 3rd and took home a trophy! This is amazing since we did not have a full team and did not have as many swimmers as some of the other teams. It was very exciting and close and came down to the the scores for the very last event. We won by a margin of only 2 points. That being said, we want to encourage all swimmers to come every day of a "mandatory" meet and participate in every event they qualify for. 

A big THANK YOU to the parents for stepping up and working at this meet. We had many families who worked 2 shifts every single day, and we very much appreciate the extra effort from those who volunteered to take on extra duties, and did more than 2 shifts, came early in the morning to set up, marshall and also stay late! 

To prepare for this meet, the coaches worked very hard to train our swimmers. So in particular, we need to THANK ALL our coaches--Anthony, Tim, Billy and Coach Mike for being there for this important championship meet. Head Coach Michael Wong and Age Group Coach Billy Tam were there ALL 3 days to guide and support our swimmers. Also putting in extra work to represent us were our team officials, Karen and Roger Tam and Jeremy Vu.

Here is the breakdown of scores for the top 5 teams:
Neptune Swimming - 936
Marin Pirates - 734
SFRP Rossi Rays - 689
Napa Valley Swim Team - 687
Vallejo Aquatic Club - 530

~Tina

Everyone was working non-stop that the opportunity to take photos was scarce. Here are a few shots by William (Mr. Chen, Christopher's dad). Thanks, William, for sending them over right away. 

If you took some, please send them over so we can share. Thanks.

Tina when she learned that we won 3rd place by 2 points!

Team meet scores

Photo op with the coaches before they left. They had a full weekend!

3rd Place, Baby!

Survivors! Last (wo)men standing ~ the few that stayed before the pool closed

Next meet: Vallejo Swim Meet on February 8th/9th. Register soon if you haven't.

And don't forget to send in the team annual fee which due by the end of this month. See Tina or Irene for any questions.

NOTE: I'm still gathering family photos for our Annual Family Holiday post. Please send a jpeg files so we can post them in time for the Lunar New Year celebrations.

Have another awesome warm winter week!

~christinE

Annual Family Holiday Photos

If the family were a fruit, it would be an orange, a circle of sections, held together but separable - each segment distinct.~Letty Cottin Pogrebin

Here are some of our family holiday photos. Please send in yours via email as a jpeg file OR you can always hand it to Diego. We'd love to fill this post with memories. Happy 2014!

 TUCKER with dad-David, mom-Fay and sister-Bianca

TAYLOR, TYLER & SOPHIA with mom-Jennie and dad-Peter (one of our parent-photographers)

CAMERON & JADEN with dad-James and mom-Xin

KAITLYN & EMILY with dad-Brian, mom-Irene, brother-Khalil

DIEGO with dad-David, mom-Christine (me =.) and sisters-Taylor & Sydney (former Manta Ray)

RAYS Christmas/Holiday Party | December 22, 2013

Christmas is not a time or a season but a state of mind.  To cherish peace and good will, to be plenteous in mercy, is to have the real spirit of Christmas. ~Calvin Coolidge, 1927

Yes, Christmas and New Year have come and gone! But we can always carry on the "state of mind" to "cherish peace, good will and mercy" all year long.

With that said, we hope you all had a wonderful celebration with family and friends. And talk about celebrations, here are photos from the recent holiday party at Classic Bowl and Moonstar Buffet. Thanks to Peter (Mr. Tran) for once again capturing those awesome moments (click on link below).

RAYS Holiday Party @ Classic Bowling and Moonstar Buffet

We also want to take this time to thank our swim club officers for everything they do to help run this team smoothly. Most often than not, we tend to forget that they have their own families to take care of and they work outside of home...not realizing that it takes a LOT of effort and energy to keep this team afloat (no pun intended =.) 

So thank you, Tina, Ed, Irene, and Lynn Holden (our treasurer who works behind the scene - see side bar) for every little and big thing that you do for Rossi coaches, swimmers and parents/families! We appreciate you!     

With that said, please send your holiday photos for our annual Christmas/Holiday post. Check last year's HERE. You can turn them in until Chinese New Year (January 31st). Thank you!