As members of the NCSA All-Star Team,  Janet Hu, Chuck Katis, Nick Tremols competed in the Irish Long Course Nationals.    Coach John Flanagan was a Coach of the Team.  They maintained a blog of their experiences on this trip.  Just as it delayed their trip to Ireland, volcanic ash delayed their return.  (You can read their earliers Blogs day here:                          First Day

                                  Day 2 and 3 

                                  Day 4 and 5

                                  Day 6

Day 7 (Third Day of Competition)

5/1/10

To day was our third day of competition. We got up ate breakfast as usual and head out to the meet. Prelims went well and all three of us qualified for finals. In between sessions we ate our lunch and took our usual afternoon naps. At finals Janet finished 7th in the 50 back crawl, Nick swam the semi-finals of the 100 butterfly and qualified for the final tomorrow night, and Chuck finished 4th in the 100 breaststroke and also was part of the bronze medal winning 4x100 medley relay team. It was another ordinary day of competition full of excitement and high energy., We also received our t-shirts today the were AWESOME! We are excited for our final day of competition TOMORROW!

Day 8 (Final Day of Competition)

5/2/10

Chuck swam the 200 IM and 200 Breaststroke, but only swam the 200 IM at finals. Nick swam the 200 IM prelims and the 100 fly finals at night. Janet swam the 50 free in prelims. Overall, we were glad to be finished and excited to go and watch Iron Man 2 after dinner (before its release in the states).

Day 9 (Sightseeing)

Today we went sightseeing. First, we went to a nature preserve/walking trail in the highest city in Ireland (about an hour outside of Dublin). The trail included multiple beach areas, a lake, and enormous rock structures, not to mention a beautiful monastic steeple and city. Following our adventures in the rural areas surrounding Dublin, we drove back into the actual city of Dublin and split into multiple touring groups. Most groups ended up eating in an authentic Irish pub and then shopping for souvenirs. Along the way, we bumped into a wide collection of street performers including a gigantic bubble blower and tin man with pet dog. We bought numerous gifts for friends and family and went to sleep content with our abbreviated tour of Irelands major city.

Day 10
When we woke up this morning we learned that we would not be leaving until tomorrow. So we have at least one more day to enjoy Ireland. We were all happy about this, but also a little eager to get home and return to our daily routines. So we ate breakfast as usual and learned that we would be having practice from 2pm-5pm (we were not thrilled by this). Before practice we were given the day to do what we wanted, the coaches tried strongly encouraging us to do our homework. After lunch we headed out to practice. Practice was tough, to say the least, but at the end we received an excellent underwater kicking demo from one of the coaches, it almost made the INTENSE practice worth it. We then went back to the hotel we ate dinner and spent the final night hanging out with our new friends one last time. Hopefully, this is our last entry (For Nick and Janet at least, Chuck is stuck here with coach Flanagan in Ireland until Friday.) and we will have an uneventful and safe travel home tomorrow. Our trip to Ireland was a once in a lifetime experience and we will never forget the things we learned, things we experienced (good and bad!), and people we met over the course of our trip.
 
 
 
 
-Chuck, Nick, and Janet