West Seattle, Washington
15 Thursday
One meeting tonight that we didn’t have on the calendar yet – and the group itself just got big news – the West Seattle Snowsports Council. Greg Whittaker from Mountain to Sound Outfitters (WSB sponsor and site of tonight’s meeting) says:
We have just got confirmation that the West Seattle Snowsports Council and 4H will be working toward a partnership this winter! … We are excited to see the process moving along, and will be holding a
meeting tonight at Mountain to Sound Outfitters to discuss:Halloween Ski Swap Volunteers and Logistics
Youth development
IT support, such as web development and registration systems
Location- which mountains
BudgetingThis is a great step forward for West Seattle Snowriders!
The meeting’s at 6 tonight at M2SO, which is at 3602 SW Alaska in The Triangle.
(Seattle Times photo by Greg Gilbert, used with permission)
Thanks to Roxhill Elementary School parent Lisa for letting us know about a big event that Roxhill fourth- and fifth-graders enjoyed downtown on Monday – a trip to KeyArena for a special clinic sponsored by the Seattle Storm and the WNBA during an off-day in the Storm’s playoff push. In the photo used with permission of our partners at the Seattle Times, the Storm’s Swin Cash cheers on Roxhill fourth-grader Abigail Salas. (We found more photos in this online gallery from another site.) As you probably know, the Storm play Atlanta again tonight at the Key as their best-of-five series continues; Seattle won 79-77 on Sunday.
10:40 PM NOTE: In case you hadn’t heard, they won! 87=84. Game 3 of the WNBA Finals is Thursday in Atlanta.
Even if you don’t golf, you might consider coming to tomorrow night’s second meeting about the design of the driving range that’s in the works for the West Seattle Golf Course. The design team is scheduled to unveil its proposal for where they believe the driving range would “best fit” – and that was a subject of some discussion at, and after, the first meeting (WSB coverage here; city notes here), since some placements of the range on the west side of the course could lead to a tall net between West Seattle Rotary Viewpoint Park – where the stolen-then-returned-and-refurbished totem pole was rededicated a month ago – and its vaunted cityscape view. While you can certainly comment by e-mail, postal mail or phone, nothing beats being there to see/hear it explained, and to talk directly to the project team. The meeting’s at 7 pm tomorrow (Wednesday) in the golf course’s clubhouse, 4470 35th SW (the clubhouse is on the south side of the parking lot).
Greg Whittaker of Mountain to Sound Outfitters (WSB sponsor) and Alki Kayak Tours shares two bits of news: First, tonight is the final Tuesday Night Stand-Up Paddleboard Demo Night – try a paddleboard for free, and/or race at 7 pm – it’s the last race of the season in the Northwest, Greg says. He adds, “West Seattle finished strong in the second annual Round the Rock event on Sunday at Seward Park. Local paddleboarder Tyler Hesse won his division for the 13-mile race around Mercer Island.” And Greg says he won his division in the 2.5-mile race, as did Kathy Kingen: “All and all, it is a strong showing for West Seattle for a new sport.” (Full results here.) Tonight’s paddleboarding event starts at AKT’s Seacrest HQ.
9:37 PM: Just in from West Seattle Stadium: North Beach High School 7, Seattle Lutheran High School 6. Visuals and details to come.
ADDED 11:21 PM: Game notes – Despite driving down the field and spending the last minute of the game inside the 10=yard-line, Seattle Lutheran was unable to score. North Beach’s lone score came after an 85-yard runback of the opening kickoff. Both teams made significant progress down the field at one time or another, but neither were able to move the ball the last 10 or so yards to score. The Saints seemed to have the game under control for the last few minutes, but a busted pass play with only 31 seconds to go turned the ball over to North Beach, which then only had to take a knee to end the game. On the night, the Saints had 285 total offensive yards – 198 on the ground and 87 passing. Their sole touchdown came early in the second quarter on a 10-yard run by Kevin Moseley.
The two-point conversion failed. SLHS plays at Tenino next Friday night, 7 pm. The Saints, by the way, are displaying #1 this season as a tribute to Sam Backman, the former SLHS football player killed in a car crash three months ago. His family was at tonight’s game.
(Photo courtesy West Seattle Soccer Club)
Soccer is higher-profile than ever – thanks to the stars (and the vuvuzelas!) of the FIFA World Cup earlier this year! – as the West Seattle Soccer Club starts its 2010 fall season today. Tim McMonigle says some teams start today, and everybody will be in action by next weekend:
Players aged 5-18 will be playing at Roxhill North and South, Highland Park, Fairmount Park, EC Hughes, Riverview Playfield, Hiawatha, Sealth and Denny fields (today) and Sunday and for the rest of the season. The season lasts until Thanksgiving for most of our teams, and until early December for the rest. Come and cheer them on!
According to the West Seattle Soccer Club website, the fall season includes about 1600 players and 275 coaches!
(2nd Sealth touchdown, #24 Devante Meullion, so soon after the start of the 4th quarter we’d barely hit “record” – he scored the Seahawks’ 1st TD too)
9:27 PM: Two varsity football games tonight involving local high schools, and the first final is in: Chief Sealth International High School beat Ingraham HS at home, 12-6. Sealth had made it 12-0 by scoring its second TD just a few seconds into the 4th quarter (video added above); Ingraham scored its only TD with about 7:33 left in that same quarter, and that was the final scoring of the game. (Sealth beat Ingraham last September too.) West Seattle High School is still playing at Nathan Hale (we’re tweeting at @wsblive).
9:51 PM UPDATE: Final score just in from the WSHS game – Hale 56, West Seattle 26. (added 11:30 pm) The Wildcats’ final TD, with seconds left in the game:
That’s Isaiah Johnson, who scored three TD’s for WSHS – the other one happened in a memorable moment in the second quarter, when Isaac Johnson squibbed a punt that went straight up and came straight back down; when the ball hit the ground it bounced backward until it was behind the original line of scrimmage. At that point, it was ruled “live,” and Isaac picked it up and ran for a score.
NEXT: Sealth vs. Cleveland at Memorial Stadium downtown next Friday, 5 pm. WSHS vs. O’Dea at West Seattle Stadium next Friday, 7 pm.
ONE MORE NOTE: The pregame rally and barbecue at Chief Sealth included a 50-year reunion – the Class of 1960!
Mike Merta shared that video in hopes of stirring up interest in rowing on the Duwamish River – take a look, and listen carefully. After watching the video, we asked him to elaborate:
Rowing has a long history here in Seattle but as far as I know, there has never been any rowing on the Duwamish. This is unfortunate since it is a sport that pretty much began on a river (Thames in England), and the boats are made to be rowed on calm, flat bodies of water. I realize that the Duwamish is not the Thames, but it’s actually a beautiful place in some parts and would be perfectly suited to the sport of rowing. So far, it’s just me out there in my single. I’d like to raise some money in order to buy a double, then a four, then someday an eight. I’m hoping to connect with other oarsman and oarswomen in the area to see what ideas they might have for fundraising and to find out what interest there might be for starting a club.
There are already a lot of positive things happening on the river these days such as Kayak tours, the Duwamish River Cleanup Coalition, and Duwamish Alive. I’d like to add to that and to bring a great sport to this part of town. If anyone is interested in helping to get this project going they can contact me through the Duwamish Rowing Club Facebook page.
You can find that page here.
ORIGINAL 8:07 PM REPORT: And now, the third of this weekend’s three season-kickoff games involving local high schools is in the books: West Seattle High School lost to visiting Eisenhower HS, 13-54. As with last night’s Chief Sealth game and this morning’s Seattle Lutheran game, we covered it live via Twitter, at @wsblive.
ADDED: Game toplines and video from WSB’s Patrick Sand: Eisenhower’s large, physical team dominated the night and finally took the game 54-13. West Seattle scored twice, once in the second quarter after Isaiah Johnson recovered the ball when Eisenhower flubbed the return:
That recovery set up this score by the Wildcats’ Benny Saeteurn five plays later:
West Seattle’s only other score came on a 38-yard pass to Isaac Johnson just a few minutes before the recovered punt. The Wildcats are scheduled to play next at Nathan Hale, Friday night at 7.
(SLHS cheerleaders on the field before this morning’s game)
Another of West Seattle’s three major high schools has its first varsity football game of the season in the books. In the Emerald City Kickoff Classic at Qwest Field, Seattle Lutheran High School fell to Life Christian, 22-44. (We tweeted key plays live at @wsblive.)
ADDED 3:01 PM: Game toplines from WSB’s Patrick Sand: The Saints played the Eagles pretty close for the better part of two quarters trading touchdowns and two-point conversions. Early on, Lutheran managed to be opportunistic on defense and repeatedly threw the Eagles for losses, but by just before the half the game began to break in Life Christian’s favor.
The Saints managed three touchdowns, the most spectacular of which was Fred Lisko‘s 81-yard pass reception in the second quarter:
A few quick highlights from the WSB West Seattle Events calendar: Two more local high-school teams play their first football games of the season today – Seattle Lutheran plays Life Christian at Qwest Field, 9:30 this morning, as part of the all-day/all-night Emerald City Kickoff Classic (David DeSiga just shared the field-overview photo above, via Facebook); West Seattle High School is scheduled to host Eisenhower at 5 tonight; we’ll tweet live from both games at @wsblive … Also today, International Bacon Day is celebrated at The Swinery – here’s the rundown of what they’re planning … At the Duwamish Longhouse tonight, proceeds from a concert by noted multi-media artist Jeff Brownell will benefit the tribe – 7 pm; details are on this Facebook events page. … More on the calendar!
(Photo by Ian McKay)
9:58 PM: From Southwest Athletic Complex, that’s the final score of tonight’s game: Port Angeles 41, Chief Sealth 0, in West Seattle’s first high-school football game of the season. More details to come, including the special tribute to Sealth alum Petty Officer Jarod Newlove, the Sealth alum killed in Afghanistan last month. (We tweeted live during the game at @wsblive.)
12:02 AM UPDATE: The night began with a barbecue at Sealth. That’s where we found principal John Boyd sporting the official T-shirt, plus showing the Sealth helmets with “JN” as a tribute to Petty Officer Newlove. The barbecue raised money for a scholarship fund in PO Newlove’s honor:
Athletic director Sam Reed tells us the team had the idea to dedicate the season to PO Newlove. Meantime, we noted the signage going up outside the renovated campus, where there’s a ribboncutting on Tuesday and classes begin Wednesday:
And before the game, the band, cheerleaders, and team marched from the campus over to the stadium:
More high-school football on Saturday: Seattle Lutheran High School plays in the morning, West Seattle High School in the evening.
Got a 3- through 12-year-old interested in playing outdoor soccer this fall? There’s stiil time to sign up with the West Seattle Family YMCA (WSB sponsor) – this Sunday’s the deadline. According to the Y’s sports director Matt Schlede, practices start the week of September 13, the first games are September 25, and the season ends November 6, with all games played Saturdays at Lincoln Park – one practice and one game per week during the 7-game schedule. Here’s the page you can use to find out more, and to register.
2 quick reminders about Sunday’s Alki Beach 5K Walk/Run, benefiting Northwest Hope and Healing, which helps breast-cancer patients: First, 11 am tomorrow is your deadline to register online – you can do that here. Second, a reminder that Alki SW will be closed approximately 8 am-11 am Sunday for the 5K – this is a CHANGE from past years; the run got so big (1,400 last year) that it needs to be on the street, same course as the West Seattle 5K.
Almost three weeks have passed since the first design meeting for the new West Seattle Golf Course driving range (WSB coverage here), so we just checked in with Seattle Parks‘ Garrett Farrell, who’s leading the project. He tells WSB the date has been set for the second public meeting: Wednesday, September 15th, 7 to 8:30 pm, at the golf course. According to Farrell, “Meeting #2 will answer questions from meeting #1 and put some of the design team’s ideas in front of the public.” As you might have read in our story from the August 4th meeting, some big issues were raised – not just for golfers, but also for those who will see the driving range’s tall nets from 35th SW, Rotary Viewpoint Park, and/or nearby neighborhoods – so they’re hoping for a big turnout at the Sept. 15 meeting.
(WSB photo from Alki Beach 5K Walk/Run in September 2009)
A couple things are different about this year’s Alki Beach 5K Walk/Run. First, it’s in August this time, not September. It’s just one week away – Sunday, August 29. Second, instead of walking and running along the Alki Beach pathway, participants will be out in the street on Alki Avenue SW, which will be closed next Sunday morning for the event – approximately 8 am to 11 am, according to Shari Sewell from Northwest Hope and Healing, the Alki Beach 5K’s beneficiary, a nonprofit that helps breast-cancer patients. You can sign up online till 11 am Friday morning – might as well do it now! – just go here.
We stopped by the Sounders FC Soccer Beach Blast Tournament on Alki late this afternoon just in time for the end of the men’s final. We can tell you the Vashon team, in orange, won – via penalty-kick phase following regulation. The Sounders were expecting more than 40 teams for the day of three-on-three play. If and when we spot other results, we’ll link them here.
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
A team of Seattle Parks managers and design consultants made it clear last night: They’re just beginning to dig into the details of one potential layout for the West Seattle Golf Course‘s future $3.4 million driving range.
Here’s what else they made clear: Whether you’re a golfer, a neighbor, or an occasional visitor to the vicinity, they want to hear from you about what they’re looking at – right now, and down the line as the design proceeds.
The 50-stall driving range has to go somewhere between the golf course’s 9th hole and 35th SW. The very-tentatively-sketched-out location (photo above shows roughed-out art displayed at the meeting) would require a whole lot of earth-moving and tree-removal – and would dramatically change the experience at West Seattle Rotary Viewpoint Park immediately west of the driving range (see the “dash” type marker on the left side of the drawing): What’s now a greenery-framed view to downtown would wind up on the other side of the net setup meant to keep golf balls from flying onto 35th – a net that would rise 50 to 90 feet above the street level at the viewpoint site.
Two sports notes to share – first, from Chief Sealth International High School athletic director Sam Reed:
Attention Chief Sealth International families: Sports packets are now available for pick-up in the main office down on Delridge. A completed packet must be turned in prior to hitting the practice field later this month (football starts 8/18, while volleyball, girls soccer, cross country and golf tee off 8/23). As part of the packet, students need a current physical (good for two calendar years) from a licensed physician.
Packets can be picked up and returned in the main office, from 9 am-3 pm and running until operations are moved to the new building.
Up-to-date athletic information, including summer practice times, will be published on the school’s website beginning August 9th.
In addition, those that may be in need of some new or updated athletic equipment – make Big 5 your place to shop from August 14th – August 23rd and 5% of your total purchase will benefit Chief Sealth Athletics (must present attached coupon – [click here to get it as a PDF])! Valid at ANY Big 5 store during that time.”
Also this morning: West Seattle Pee Wee Baseball has a new “Fall Ball” league, and signups are under way right now. From Pee Wee president Eric Olson:
We play on Sundays starting August 22nd until October 17th. This is Sandlot Baseball to the core. Kids will get to play with a different team of kids each week. It’s a chance for kids moving up a level to learn the rules of the higher division. As usual, it’s geared toward having fun. We’ve chosen to play on Sundays so we don’t interfere with West Seattle Soccer. To register, go to www.westseattlepeewee.com.
Eric says you have until the end of next week to sign up for Fall Ball.
EDITOR’S NOTE: When Rene Bibaud showed off her championship jump-rope talents yards from where we were stationed during West Seattle Summer Fest – the clip below is one of two we published during Summer Fest coverage – we thought she seemed like a West Seattleite you might like to get to know better. So WSB contributing reporter Keri DeTore set out to catch Rene in a non-airborne moment.
By Keri DeTore
Reporting for West Seattle Blog
Rope-jumping is one of civilization’s oldest pastimes.
It’s possible that as a Pharaoh-kid, Tutankhamun was jumping vines to pass the time between headdress fittings while his contemporaries in the Pacific Islands were jumping between bamboo poles held on the ground. The Dutch brought rope-jumping with them to America, including their specialty team-building exercise: the “Double Dutch.”
Many of us jumped rope, but gave it up after our first bicycle or video game came along; we now think of it as a simple activity for kids to do when they’re restless — something that you might think doesn’t require much skill or effort. You’d re-think that if you met one of the many boxers who use rope-jumping as a serious workout to refine their speed and coordination – as well as if and when you meet Rene Bibaud, who has elevated rope-jumping to an art and a career, running her own business, Ropeworks.
(Photo courtesy Rene Bibaud)
Rene, who has lived in West Seattle for six years, has won multiple jump-rope championships, coached hundreds of kids and adults, and appeared in Cirque du Soleil’s traveling shows.
As previously reported here, a meeting is set for next Wednesday (August 4th) for everyone interested in the driving range that’s in the works for the West Seattle Golf Course. We’re mentioning it again because the city just sent an official reminder this afternoon – read on:Read More
(Photos by Cliff DesPeaux)
7-year-old Damar Johnson was among the first tonight to aim for the net at a new basketball court dedicated tonight at the South Park Community Center. The event, covered for WSB by photojournalist Cliff DesPeaux, was more than a dedication; it was a tribute in honor of Teresa Butz, killed a little more than a year ago during a desperate, and successful, bid to save her partner’s life during a vicious attack in their South Park home; tomorrow is the anniversary of a memorial attended by hundreds, also at SPCC (WSB coverage here). The Fight the Fear Campaign has been active in her memory – helping create new opportunities for South Park youth, like the new basketball facility:
Fight the Fear provided $5,000 seed money for the court. The Seattle Storm – co-owned by West Seattleite Anne Levinson – is a partner in the project.
Storm players came to tonight’s event to present a basketball clinic, and to meet fans like 9-year-old Fernando Cruz:
Here’s Fernando with Storm forward/center Abby Bishop:
All that basketball worked up an appetite for a barbecue on the beautiful summer night:
Among the dozens who attended tonight, Teresa’s partner, who spoke with our partners at the Seattle Times (here’s their story about the event), calling the dedication “healing and hopeful.”
That photo’s from last Wednesday, when we checked in on the new weekly “learn to play soccer” series that High Point Community Center is presenting over at Commons Park – while Seattle Sounders Women midfielder Tafara Pulse was visiting. This week, HPCC’s Rebecca Hall tells us, Seattle Sounders FC defender Taylor Graham, #26, is the special guest, and, she says, “We’d like to invite everyone out to come play soccer that evening.” 6-7 pm Wednesday, free – Commons Park is right by High Point Neighborhood Center at Lanham/Morgan.
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