TAAF Regionals 2018

After 5 swim meets & too many swim practices to count, Sadie finally had her biggest swim meet this past weekend:

We compete against several cities from the DFW area at most of our normal meets, but in order to go to regionals, you have to swim a certain time. Luckily for Sadie, she qualified for both of her events, the 25 meter backstroke & the 25 meter freestyle in her very first race so we have been excited for regionals:

When we got there, it was crazy. It was so crowded & very official. They had to get there early for roll call, they warmed up together as a team, were very strict on dress code, no jewelry, etc. & they even had official judges there handing out disqualifications. Definitely a first & talk about a lot of pressure for the kids! There were actually 30 kids in Sadie's age group & she was seeded 1 in the backstroke & 3 in the freestyle. Ribbons went to the top 8, medals to the top 3 & the top 5 get to swim at the state meet. Granted, we didn't tell Sadie all of this! We tried to keep it as normal as possible but inside, Bryan & I were so nervous for her! She went into this meet undefeated & she had beaten her time in every single race. But, something happened in her first event, the backstroke & she lost it. She ended up getting 10th overall & we were heartbroken. I wouldn't have cared if she lost had she swam a good race, but everything about the race was off. And she was over 3 seconds slower than her race last week. Actually, none of the girls from Frisco did good. She was disappointed but honestly, she is too young to really understand what happened & we have tried not to talk about it:

So, we gave her a snack, cheered her up & then she wanted to get back in the pool to warm up for her next event & let me tell you, she definitely redeemed herself! Her freestyle was amazing & she finished confidently, breaking her best time:

She got 2nd place but it was so close! Literally, these races are so close sometime you can't tell from the top of the water - we have to wait & see what time comes up from where they hit the wall under the water. Not only was her time good, but she got 2nd out of 30 girls, she earned a silver medal & she gets to swim at the state meet!

Her final event was the 100 meter freestyle relay with 3 other girls & it was my favorite event of the day! Our 1st girl had a strong start & easily had a big lead, but we had another team member who had a hard time & the team had dropped to 4th place but Sadie was the last girl in the water & she really turned it on because she swam one of the best swims I have ever seen to bring the team from 4th to 2nd place! Seriously, it was so exciting! So she earned another silver medal & her relay team also gets to swim at state!

We have this awesome app where we can follow times through the meet & it lists everyone's name, times, history, etc. Anyway, thought I would throw some of the details on here for reference. 

After their relay, I ran down there to congratulate her team & unfortunately, Lexi had already left but I was able to get a picture with Caroline & Vivian:

Vivian has became one of her closest friends at FASST so we were so excited she came in 5th place in the freestyle so the girls will get to swim together at state in the relay & their individual race:

There were 8 girls from FASST who were in Sadie's age group that qualified for regionals & honestly, I am so proud of all of them for the way they handled the pressure & had fun in such a big meet:

I have a feeling we may be seeing these girls at swim meets for many years to come! Or who knows, we may see some of these girls training at the pool during the school year :)

Once Sadie finished her last meet, her first request was to get a sweet treat. There was an ice cream truck parked outside & she had been asking for a snack all day so I promised her afterwards she could get whatever she wanted:

Then we went back inside to order spirit gear for state & to wait for the medals. This is what happens when a bunch of 6 year olds get ice cream & are bored waiting around for their medals:

Finally, they got their medals & Sadie couldn't have been more proud:

My personal goal was for her to earn a red swim cap:

The white swim caps are part of their team uniform & that is what she has worn all year, but if you make the state team, you get a red swim cap & it is a big deal to get to wear your red swim cap, especially in meets. 

Of course we couldn't leave without taking a ton a pictures with her cheerleaders. She was lucky to have both sets of grandparents there:

Who knew we would become a swim family?! I mean we have always loved swimming & we have definitely put the girls in swimming lessons since they were young, but we have really enjoyed it as a sport. Sophie has already asked if she can join FASST next summer when she is old enough so I think we have a lot more swim meets in our future. But first, the State Games of Texas in 2 week. I still can't believe we have a daughter who will be swimming there! Sadie, we are so proud of you & can't wait to see where you go from here!