West Seattle, Washington
29 Monday
(video added 2:06 pm, SLHS gym sendoff for the teams just before 1 pm )
An update this morning from Bil Hood at Seattle Lutheran High School (which is on the northeast edge of The Junction):
Our basketball teams are heading to Spokane this afternoon for the State Basketball Tournament in Spokane.
The boys get started tomorrow night at 5:30 v.s the number 2 team in the state, Napavine. The girls follow at 9 vs. the number 2 girls team, Colfax.
There are links at www.SeattleLutheran.org to live audio and video feeds from the games as well as a cell phone text service that will send you the scores as they happen.
GO SAINTS!!
ADDED 2:06 PM: Video of this afternoon’s sendoff for the teams, before they left SLHS.
P.S. FROM ORIGINAL REPORT: One other high-school basketball note – we told you yesterday morning that Chief Sealth is in the running for its match vs. Cleveland to be chosen channel 7’s “Game of the Week” if it wins a webpoll – last hour to vote – go here (right sidebar). ADDED 2:05 PM: Thanks for voting – they won. Now, they’re trying to sort out exactly what that means – what kind of showcase the game will get – we’ll keep you posted.
RIGHT NOW: Chief Sealth PTSA is asking for help getting the Chief Sealth-Cleveland basketball game chosen as channel 7’s “Game of the Week.” Take a sec to go to this page and vote (in the right sidebar).
TWO REMINDERS FOR SATURDAY: Daylight Saving Time kicks in Saturday night/Sunday morning, 2 am (set your clocks an hour forward). Third year it’s been this early. That happens hours after the first Winter Movies on the Wall showing: The next three Saturday nights, West Seattle Junction merchants (and other co-sponsors including WSB) present an indoor winter version of the popular summer movie series. Free! Inside the huge new West Seattle Christian Church activity center, on 42nd south of Genesee (map), doors open 5:30, “The Mummy” starts at 7; here’s the official site.
QUESTION (added 10:49 am): We’ve now received two reports of a “weird, loud whooshing noise” late last night – both from east of California, south of Admiral. No clue what it was but both notes are from quite reliable sources, so we’ve no doubt SOMETHING was heard. If you have any idea, please post a comment or e-mail us, editor@westseattleblog.com – thanks!
Two updates today on programs to get kids moving – the first one is new to West Seattle, according to Rebecca Evans, who e-mailed us to announce:
Starting in mid-March, Hiawatha Community Center will be a program site for Girls on the Run!
This exciting, non-competitive program combines training for a 3.1 mile walking/running event with self-esteem enhancing, uplifting workouts. The goals of the program are to encourage positive emotional, social, mental and physical development for girls. The program is for 3rd through 5th grade girls of ALL fitness levels. The only requirement is to believe in GIRL POWER!
Where: Hiawatha Community Center – 2700 California Ave SW, Seattle, WA 98116
Dates: March 17th – June 7th, 2009 (New Balance Girls on the Run 5k)
Days: Tuesdays & Thursdays
Times: 3:15-4:45pm
Cost: Fees based on a sliding scale. Click here to view the sliding scale.
Registration deadline is this Friday; you can register online (go here), or by postal mail – here’s the form; send it to GOTRPS, 8757 15th Ave NW, Seattle 98117. You can also find Girls on the Run on Facebook.
Meantime, we also have just received word of West Seattle Little League tryouts/drafts tomorrow:
***TRY-OUTS AND DRAFT FOR MAJORS AND MINORS DIVISIONS THIS SUNDAY, MARCH 1ST AT BAR-S PLAYFIELD****
MAJORS: 9:30 – 11:30 A.M. PLEASE ARRIVE NO LATER THAN 9:00 A.M. TO CHECK IN AND WARM UP.
MINORS: BECAUSE OF THE LARGE GROUP SIZE, WE WILL HAVE TWO SESSIONS BROKEN UP ALPHABETICALLY BY LAST NAME.LAST NAME “A-K”: 1:00 – 2:15 P.M. PLEASE ARRIVE NO LATER THAN 12:45 P.M.
LAST NAME “L-Z”: 2:30 – 3:45 P.M. PLEASE ARRIVE NO LATER THAN 2:15 P.M.PLEASE MAKE SURE YOUR BALL PLAYER IS PROPERLY DRESSED FOR THE WEATHER. ALL PLAYERS SHOULD WEAR THEIR GLOVE, CLEATS, HAT (AND PROTECTIVE CUP FOR BOYS)
Just in from Seattle Lutheran High School‘s Bil Hood:
The Seattle Lutheran High School Saints Are Going to State
Both the boys and girls basketball teams secured an invitation to the State Basketball Tournament with wins at Chief Leschi Friday night.
The boys beat a tough Mount Vernon Christian team and the girls won a nailbiter over Tacoma Baptist.
Both teams are now back-to-back state qualifiers with trips to Spokane last year. They will play again Saturday afternoon at Chief Leschi for seeding. Watch the SLHS website www.SeattleLutheran.org for information about next weekend’s state tournament.
We’ll update you here too. Sports and other school updates ALWAYS welcome – editor@westseattleblog.com – thanks!
If you don’t frequent the city Parks Department‘s page for “requests for proposals” – you might have missed word that the city has finally published the official “request for proposals” to get a private operator for West Seattle Stadium. It’s one of two RFPs of West Seattle interest — the other seeks vendors to sell firewood at Alki (and Golden Gardens). More on that in a moment. First, the stadium proposal has been in the works a while (first covered here last fall), and still seeks an operator that will pay for improvements as well as run the stadium; the desired improvements are described in the RFP this way:
At minimum, the City has identified the North Grand Stand area, including the restrooms, locker room, walkways, and concession building as a focus for major renovation.
That appears to be a shorter wish list than the draft version of the RFP (9/08 WSB report here). Proposals have to be turned in by March 26; a decision is to be made, with applicants notified, by April 23. Now, about that firewood – the RFP for the vendor search is the last surviving remnant of last summer’s brief beach-fire-ban flap:
Interesting tidbit buried in this RFP – year 1, the vendor-sold firewood would be just an option for beach-fire fans, but if there’s a year 2, they would no longer be allowed to have the option to bring their own:
The Department is seeking proposals from operators to sell wood to the general public for beach fires at specific beach locations in these two parks, from May 1 2009 through April 2010. The Summer months which includes May through September and selected special events, such as the Christmas Ship event, would be the required and most-beneficial times to sell. (NOTE: Park Patrons are not required to purchase wood from this concession and are allowed to bring in their own wood during this first year. If the Department decides to extend or advertise again the following year, we will require that all Park Patrons must purchase the wood from the permitted vendor.)
The Department will select the concessionaire(s) that best demonstrates the ability to provide
innovative, affordable, safe and reliable services to park patrons while paying reasonable concession
fees to the Department. The price of the wood must be no higher than the average price of wood
sold in the Seattle metro area stores (ie Safeway, Albertsons, etc.) You are encouraged to offer
services and/or products that would be complimentary to the existing uses of the park. The
Department reserves the right to approve any proposed business activity.
If you want to seek that contract, March 11 is the deadline for your proposal. Forms and details for both RFPs are linked from this city page.
VIADUCT/TUNNEL: Tonight’s the open house at Madison Middle School – drop by any time between 5:30 and 7:30 pm, express your opinion, ask questions, and get a closer look at exactly how it’s envisioned that traffic flow between West Seattle and downtown (and points beyond) will work under the current proposal. (A similar open house happened in Ballard last night; here’s coverage from our fellow neighborhood-news site MyBallard.com; disclosure, WSDOT has an ad running here through tonight to promote the open house.)
HEALTHY YOUTH PARTNERSHIP: At left, coordinator Renae Gaines and chair Phil Tavel, in a photo we took at the last meeting of the Southwest Healthy Youth Partnership, which works to make sure West Seattle-area kids and families have the information they need to grow up safely — in particular, to stay away from alcohol use and abuse. As we reported before the last meeting, the group conducted a West Seattle-wide survey (results here) that turned up some interesting discoveries, including the fact that anti-drinking messages also need to be targeted at families with elementary-age children — before they get into middle school, where peer pressure and alcohol availability can intensify. Tonight’s meeting is at 7 pm at Madison Middle School, and the more people-power they can get to help spread their message throughout the community, the better.
WEST SEATTLE LITTLE LEAGUE: There’s another opportunity for in-person registration tonight – thanks to Cami MacNamara for sharing the news:
West Seattle Little League will be holding the LAST in person registration this evening from 7–9 PM at West Seattle High School , Room 212 ( 3000 California Ave SW ). Please visit http://westseattlelittleleague.com/registration.html for registration forms and payment information. If you are mailing in your registration, all registrations MUST be postmarked by today, February 24th, 2009!
From the West Seattle Weekend Lineup (click here to hop directly to the Sunday list):
BIG GAME: As previewed here earlier this week, West Seattle Soccer Club‘s GU-18 Ladyhawks play in the finals of the Commissioners’ Cup this afternoon, 1:45 pm, Starfire in Tukwila.
OSCAR PARTY: When the big show starts, so does the fun at Talarico’s, including picking the winners and movie trivia, with prizes, 5 pm.
WEST SEATTLE FARMERS’ MARKET: 10 am-2 pm, 44th/Alaska in The Junction. The latest “fresh sheet” isn’t on the WSFM website but we have it from e-mail – read on:Read More
An update from Tim McMonigle at the West Seattle Soccer Club, who told us earlier this month about WSSC teams that made it to the quarterfinals of the state-level Commissioners’ Cup tournament:
Three of the teams have been eliminated in very close matches, with two of them (BU11 WS Jets and BU14 WS Deportivo Moctezuma) being narrowly beaten by the eventual state champion.
Our one remaining team (GU18 WS Ladyhawks, picture above) will be playing for the state championship this Sunday, Feb 22 at 1:45 pm at Starfire Sports Complex. Come on out and root these girls on, as this team will be done playing after this year. Several of them will be continuing on to play college soccer.
Here’s a map to Starfire, which is in Tukwila. By the way, the WSSC is still taking registration for spring soccer, through March 2; more info here.
Earlier Monday, we mentioned the deadline to sign up for West Seattle Girls Softball; we’ve since heard from West Seattle Pee Wee Baseball president Eric Olson, saying their deadline’s fast approaching too:
Wednesday is the last chance to save money on registration with West Seattle Pee Wee Baseball. After Wednesday, registration for the Pinto and Mustang divisions closes when all the teams are full. We accept t-ball registrations for a few more weeks. West Seattle Pee Wee has been offering fun and competitive baseball for West Seattlites ages 5-10 years old for more than 50 years. We offer scholarships for those in need. All of our games are played at our own baseball complex located at the Lower Riverview
fields. You can register at www.westseattlepeewee.com.
Tomorrow’s the deadline to sign up for West Seattle Girls Softball, and league president Steve Peer wanted to put out the call one more time. This year, for the first time, you can sign up online – this link will take you there. Steve adds, “We want to let people know that scholarships are available. It’s really simple – if a girl wants to play in our league – she’s going to play regardless of her parents situation. This is a time when we as a West Seattle community pull together – and WSGS is no exception! If a girl doesn’t have the means to pay the registration fees please contact Steve Peer @ speer17@msn.com and we’ll take care of it. The WSGS board is ready to reach out to those in need – especially in these tough times.”
Lots going on today, so we’re issuing reminders in installments: This morning, 8-noon, you can support youth basketball programs at Hiawatha Community Center by enjoying the 21st annual Hiawatha Pancake Breakfast. All the pancakes you can eat. Side dishes and beverages provided too. $5 for 13-64; $4 for older and (most) younger (under 5’s free). Need a map to Hiawatha? Here’s one.
Then, 10 am is opening time as always for the West Seattle Farmers’ Market, continuing till 2 pm. Here’s the link to this week’s Ripe and Ready fresh sheet; new offerings include cheese with a cocoa/chipotle-dusted rind!
From the West Seattle Soccer Club, that’s the GU18 Ladyhawks, one of three WSSC teams still in the Commissioners’ Cup statewide tournament as the quarterfinals approach. Here are the other two, followed by information on how to register for the WSSC spring season, a process that’s happening right now. First, the BU14 West Seattle Deportivo Moctezuma:
And the BU11 West Seattle Jets:
Tim says the fact each of these teams have made it into the Elite 8 for their division is big, because the Commissioners’ Cup is meant for organizations’ “select teams,” but since WSSC is a recreational club, they don’t have “select teams,” so the volunteer coaches and players are doing a great job competing at this level. We’ll update you on how these West Seattle teams fared, after the weekend. Meantime, the WSSC Spring Season is now signing up younger players. Here are the details:
The spring season is a lower key soccer season than our fall season, and it is for U7-U12 players (has to be 5 or 6 years old by April 1, 2009 for U7 or 7-11 years old by August 1, 2009 for U8-U12). There are no practices and games are held on Sunday afternoons at various West Seattle fields. Games start on April 5th and are played on six Sundays, ending May 31st. There are no games on Easter, Mother’s Day and Memorial Day Sunday.
You can sign up through the WSSC website at westseattlesoccer.org.
HIAWATHA PANCAKE BREAKFAST: This Sunday morning, chow down while beefing up the coffers of Hiawatha-based programs: It’s the 21st annual Pancake Breakfast at Hiawatha Community Center, raising money for youth basketball programs: All-you-can-eat pancakes, with side dishes including ham, sausages, bagels and fruit, PLUS coffee/juice, free for kids 4 and younger, $4 for 5-12 and 65-up, $5 for ages 13-up, 8 am-noon Sunday at Hiawatha.
ANTI-VALENTINE COMEDY SHOW TO BENEFIT PUPPY-MILL RESCUEES: The Cathy Sorbo/Rod Long show at the Admiral Theater on February 13th is now not just a benefit for West Seattle-based Furry Faces Foundation – it’s going to benefit the North Sound dogs rescued from suspected “puppy mills,” and you’re asked to bring donations along these lines. Tickets are available online.
NATURE CONSORTIUM’S FIRST-EVER BENEFIT BRUNCH: The Youngstown Arts Center-based organization that quietly works to restore West Seattle forest land is having its first Benefit Brunch, 11 am March 14th, at the Youngstown theater. As the Nature Consortium pitch puts it, “This is a free hour-long brunch for people to come and learn more about our organization. Yes, it is a fundraiser, too. You will be asked to consider making a contribution. There is no minimum and no maximum gift requested. Nature Consortium staff, volunteers, and program participants will produce an inspirational program.” RSVP to Lisa Corbin, lisa@naturec.org or call (206) 923-0853.
From Bil Hood at Seattle Lutheran High School:
Congratulations to Seattle Lutheran High School student Ashley Shaw! Ashley was featured in this month’s ESPN Rise Magazine for her achievements in this past soccer season. Ashley ranked #3 in the state for most goals scored and the SLHS Saints team took 3rd in state. Look for plenty more where that came from; Ashley is just a freshman and the team will be returning all but one starter next year.
Another youth sports team is getting ready for next season: We have word from 12U West Seattle Thunder Fastpitch Softball that they’re “looking for athletes with a good attitude and desire to play tournament softball this spring and summer.” To find out about arranging a tryout, call Coach Greg at 206-669-6881 or e-mail him at gkormanik@comcast.net. More team info is here.
According to the Seattle Times, West Seattle High School cornerback Aaron Grymes has decided to sign with Idaho instead of UW, saying the Huskies had asked him to “grayshirt” instead of starting next season. (Realdawg.com reported the news earlier today; its story requires membership to read.)
Before we and the rest of the world go All Inauguration/All The Time for much of the rest of the day/night, 3 other events of note TONIGHT: (1) First meeting of the year for the West Seattle Crime Prevention Council – including your chance to take neighborhood concerns directly to local police. 7 pm, Southwest Precinct. (2) First meeting of the year for Sustainable West Seattle, 7:30 pm, Camp Long Lodge. (3) Second and final registration night for West Seattle Little League, 7 pm, Room 212 at West Seattle High School.
(Photo courtesy Southwest Seattle Pony Baseball: Red Sox, 2008 Bronco Division champs)
In the past week, we’ve brought you news of West Seattle Little League registration (another session coming up Tuesday) and West Seattle Association of Pee Wee Baseball signups (ongoing, online). This morning: Southwest Seattle Pony Baseball. It’s spring tryout time, according to the announcement we’re sharing, from Doug Groesbeck:
Southwest Seattle Pony Baseball will be holding Spring Tryouts for the Bronco Division on February 7th and 8th between 11 AM and 1 PM at High Point Playfield in West Seattle (map). The Bronco Division is open to players ages 11 and 12 (birthdays between 5/1/1996 and 4/30/1998). You can pre-register for the tryouts through the league website (link here).
Southwest Seattle Pony Baseball also has two teams in our Pony Division for players ages 13 and 14 (birthdays between 5/1/1994 and 4/30/1996). Currently, both teams have a full complement of players and we will not be holding tryouts for this age group on the dates listed above. If however, your child has an interest in playing at this age level, we can facilitate getting you and your child in touch with another Pony League in our area who may be in need of players. If your child would like to have this opportunity, please contact Dennis Crawley (Player Agent) through our website (here’s the link).
Southwest Seattle Pony Baseball is dedicated to providing a competitive, fun and affordable baseball experience to the families of the Greater West Seattle area. The majority of Bronco Division games are played in beautiful Lincoln Park right here in West Seattle. Pony Division home games are held at High Point and Highland Park Playfields, also here in West Seattle.
(Micah Shapiro from Grindline at center, with skatepark meeting attendees)
Even though money to build the Delridge Skatepark didn’t make it into this year’s budget, there’s money ($76,000) to design it – so that’s why dozens of people gathered last night at Youngstown Arts Center, including some of the skaters who will use it. With reps from the city Parks Department and from the renowned West Seattle-based skatepark-design/construction firm Grindline and landscape designers Abbotsford, they discussed possible features. The city estimates the skatepark will cost about $446,000 to build, and there’s hope that money might make it into the 2010 budget, if not from some other source (we asked about the parks levy passed by voters, since some of that wasn’t specifically spoken for upfront; decisions about that $ are still being worked on). Once that money’s in hand, and a design’s complete, construction would only take about 90 days. Also from last night’s meeting: Lots of support for integrating art into the project. One commenter’s words summed it up: “Make it West Seattle.” More design discussions ahead; we’ll keep you posted.
From the WSB West Seattle Events calendar, two major meetings tonight: 6 pm at Youngstown Arts Center, it’s the second design meeting for the Delridge Skatepark; though the city has not currently budgeted the money to build it, the design process is proceeding so the project will be ready when construction money becomes available. (Here’s our coverage of the first meeting last summer.) 7 pm at The Hall at Fauntleroy, our area’s biggest political organization, the 34th District Democrats, gather for “reorganization” – choosing the group’s new leaders. More at 34dems.org.
This week we’re sharing news of baseball signups — first West Seattle Little League (here’s our Monday mention), tonight West Seattle Association of Pee Wee Baseball. President Eric Olson tells us it’s the largest baseball league in West Seattle, with more than 350 kids ages 5-10, who live in neighborhoods from Admiral on the north all the way to Sea-Tac Airport in the South. Teams are named after their sponsors, like the 2008 Mustang Division champs, Tom’s Automotive, coached by Manny Flores:
Eric shares the league’s goals: “The objectives of the WSAPWB shall be to firmly implant in the boys and girls of the community the ideals of good sportsmanship, honesty, loyalty, courage, and reverence so that they may be finer, stronger and happier children and will grow to be good, clean, healthy men and women. The objectives will be achieved through providing supervised, competitive baseball and softball games. The supervisors shall keep in mind that the attainment of exceptional athletic skill and the winning of games is secondary to the above objectives and that the molding of future men and women is of prime importance.” WSAPB traces its history back more than half a century; read about it here. And yet, starting this year, they’re offering the most modern of conveniences — online registration! You can sign up (and even pay your registration fee) right now, at westseattlepeewee.com.
The next two Tuesday nights, it’s sign-up time for West Seattle Little League. Cami e-mailed us the official announcement: “Grab your glove – It’s time to register for Little League! In-person registrations will be held on Tuesday, Jan 13th and Tuesday, Jan 20th – 7-9 pm at West Seattle High School, Rm. 212. West Seattle Little League teaches not only baseball, but lessons learned through teamwork, dedication and pride. Divisions include T-ball, Coach-Pitch, Minors, Majors, Juniors and Seniors. T-ball through Majors play most games at Bar-S Fields, at 6464 SW Admiral Way. For forms, payment and more information, go to westseattlelittleleague.com.” Registration also is under way now for West Seattle Pee Wee Baseball — details on that, coming up later.
There’s a chilly memory from mid-December – that’s Sami MacKenzie of the West Seattle Cheetahs soccer team scoring a penalty shot during their state-championship game in Tukwila on December 14. Before the snow and ice forced almost everything else onto the back burner, we had brought you a few updates on the Cheetahs and two other West Seattle-based soccer teams playing in the championships that weekend (archived here, below this post). The evening of 12/13 was when the first wave of snow rolled in, but it didn’t stop these intrepid athletes. Though none of the three teams (the GU13 Cheetahs, the BU17 Xtreme, and the BU18 Eagles) won their title games, that still means they’re each in the state’s top two in their class, reason to celebrate. Here’s the photo and story that Cheetahs coach John MacKenzie sent after their big game 12/14, unpublished here at the time because of Snowmare ’08:
Frozen Coaches left to right: Eric Klapperich, John MacKenzie, and Cori Roed. Frozen Back Row, left to right: Julia Denison, Kelsey Klapperich, Charli Elliott, Sam Tanzer, Maddy Winter, Annalisa Ursino, Abby Tuthill, Sami MacKenzie. Frozen front row, left to right: Tatum Dahl, Anne Jorgenson, Julia Nark, Laura Jetland, Ali Campagnaro, Danielle Nielsen, Nicole Roed, and Gabby Rivera
Braving the snow and cold with the wind chill in the teens, the West Seattle Cheetahs fought to a 1-1 tie through regulation and 2 overtimes, only to lose a heartbreaker 3-2 in a shootout.
The field was frozen and covered with a layer of snow, the ball was frozen and the feet were frozen, but the competition was hot! The Cheetahs scored early in the first half on an excellent cross and tap in, but the Tornadoes came back with a great shot to tie the game just before the half. The second half saw many attempts, some missed opportunities, and some great goalkeeping to end regulation time tied 1-1. The 2 ten-minute overtimes saw much of the same, so a shootout was needed to determine the winner.
Both teams made their first 2 shots, then both teams missed their next 2, but the Tornadoes made their 5th shot to win the game 3-2 and take the title as #1 GU-12 recreational soccer team in Washington. It was the most incredible game we have ever been involved in. With the weather, the overtimes, and the shootout, it was an emotional roller coaster. “I was so drained, I slept for 16 hours afterward,” said Coach MacKenzie. “I am very proud of the girls and how hard they have played all year, and rightfully so – we are 1 of the 2 best teams in the state.”
“The Tornadoes were a worthy opponent and gracious winners, and you could hardly ask for a more exciting finish to the tournament,” said Coach Roed. The Cheetahs promise, “Wait till next year!”
The Cheetahs players and coaches would like to thank all the supportive West Seattle soccer fans who braved the below-freezing temperatures to come and cheer for us in the finals of the President Cup. You mean the world to us!
Congratulations again to the Cheetahs, the Xtreme, and the Eagles. They all are part of the West Seattle Soccer Club, which has spring leagues as well as fall; find out more about WSSC at its website.
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