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THE JACKSON HERALD
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 28, 2012
Racing
Gresham Motorsports Park
adds sponsors, partners
GRESHAM MOTORSPORTS Park has added new sponsors and
partners for this year’s race season, which begins Saturday, April 7.
GMP has worked to grow the sponsorship program and to develop
lasting relationships with each sponsor. The list of continuing sponsors
for 2012 includes Atlanta Thrifty Nickel, Budweiser, Chapman Fence,
Comfort Suites, Hometown Community Bank, Johnson and Bryan,
Racing Radios, Simpson Tracking and Grading, Slack Auto Parts,
Statewide Wrecker Service. Summit Racing, Tanger Outlet Center,
Thomas Concrete and US Auto Sales.
GMP race fans will also notice new names around the track through
out the 2012 race season, including, Dave Jensen Enterprise South,
Garrison Racing Equipment, Texas Roadhouse and many others.
“We are extremely proud to be associated with all of our sponsors, no
matter if they have been with us from the beginning or if they have just
come on board,” said GMP general manager Dan Elliott. “We wish to
thank all of our sponsors and we hope that all of our fans will continue
to support them.”
The first race of the 2012 race season at GMP will be the Beau
Slocumb Memorial on Saturday. April 7. The grandstand and trackside
gates will open at 11 a.m. and tickets are $25 in advance and $30 on
race day. At 4:25 p.m., Easter eggs and candy will be dropped onto the
front straight away from a helicopter for the kids. Opening ceremonies
will begin at 5:25. Tickets can be purchased at www.RaceGMP.com,
or by calling (706) 367-9461. For a detailed 2012 GMP race schedule,
visit www.RaceGMP.com.
Swimming
Sea Dragons out to build
on third-place finish
From submitted reports
After a hugely successful sea
son last year the 2012 Jefferson
swim team will look a lot differ
ent this summer.
The 2011 team took third place
at the GRPA district swim meet,
won the District 7 swim meet
( defeating 10-time state champi
on Oconee All-Stars) and finished
runner-up in the North Georgia
Swim League but loses its coach
and several key performers.
“We are not only losing a lot
of swimmers but we lost our
head coach this year,” team presi
dent Chad Klinck said. “Coach
Matthew Grant left after earning
his doctorate from UGA, and I
can’t say enough about what he
did for us in his four years here.
We are just lucky to find anoth
er great coach to follow him in
Coach Tess.”
Tess Nunnally is a former
nationally ranked age group
swimmer and happens to live
five miles from the Jefferson City
Pool. She has coached swim
ming off-and-on for the last 20
years and luckily for Jefferson
has a 5-year-old ready to start
swimming.
“The other big challenge for us
this year is that we are losing a
lot of long-time swimmers from
the team,” Klinck said. ’We have
had very little turnover in kids
for the last six years and now
we have a lot of teenagers who
are ready to try some different
things. We want to keep them
forever but that’s the way swim
team works.”
Klinck said another thing that
has hurt the swim team’s develop
ment is that none of the local high
schools field a team.
“Commerce started a team this
year and I am really happy for
their kids,” Klinck said. “They all
work hard and deserve to be able
to swim in High School. I’m just
ready for our kids to have that
opportunity.”
Some Jefferson parents did start
a club middle school age team
this past year and the team “did
very well,” according to Klinck.
“We’ve got some very, very
talented swimmers around here
and I just want to keep them in
the pool,” he said. “Kids, and par
ents, have trouble seeing a future
with swimming if there is no high
school team.”
The Sea Dragons expect to
fill their roster of 125 swimmers
— the same as last year — but
instead of the normal 30 new
faces there could be 70. A lot
of kids who have never been to
a state swim meet could get a
chance this year.
“I love seeing new swimmers,”
Klinck said. “They beat their
times every race and when they
qualify for state for the first time
it is priceless”
What is the biggest miscon
ception about the swim team?
“That you live at the pool and
practice is all the time, every day,”
Klinck explained. “We practice
about one-hour a night three
nights a week,” he said. “We offer
nine meets and you can do as
many as you want. Parents don’t
have to stay at practice and meets
are fun.”
Registration just opened for the
7th season of the Jefferson Sea
Dragon swim team. The team is
open to anyone in the county and
registration runs through April
20.
Schedule
May 2: parent orientation and swim
mer evaluations
May 7: evening practice begins
June 6: mock meet (home)
June 9: pentathlon (at Winder)
June 14: dual meet (at Shamrock)
June 16: SPLASH Meet (at
Habersham)
June 20: dual meet (away at
Commerce)
June 23: Invitational (at Dacula)
July 7: GPRA District Meet
July 11: dual meet (at Athens
Dolphins)
July 13-14: NGSL League
Championships
July 20-21: GPRA State Meet
Track
JCCHS’s Woodring places
at freshman showcase
JACKSON COUNTY
freshman Todd Woodring
took home two medals in
Thursday’s Parkview Whitley
Freshman Showcase.
Woodring placed fourth
out of 30 in the 400
meters and seventh out of
94 in the 200 meters.
The top eight placers
in each event medal.
The event included over 20
teams from Gwinnett County
and over 600 athletes.
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LOCAL MAN COMPETES IN 50 th HALF MARATHON
Bert Elder, pictured with a copy of The Jackson Herald, competed in his 50 th half marathon when he ran in the
inaugural Rock ‘n’ Roll USA Half Marathon in Washington, D.C. March 17.
Sports Shorts
EJCHS hosting
basketball camp
THE EAST Jackson basketball teams are
hosting their first-ever fundamentals camp May
29 to June 1.
The camp is open to boys and girls ages
6-14 and will be held at the East Jackson
Comprehensive High School gym from 9 a.m.
to 3 p.m. daily. Campers will learn the funda
mentals of ball handling, passing, and shooting,
while competing in various activities including
5-on-5 games and skill contests.
The camp will be under the direction of head
coaches Brian Turner and Katie David along
with both girls and boys players and assistant
coaches.
“The camp will be a great place to build
a foundation of success as we continue to
strive to improve the overall quality of both the
girls’ and boys’ basketball programs at East
Jackson,” organizers said.
The cost is $75 for one child and $50 for each
additional child in a family.
“No child will be turned away because of a
financial crisis,” organizers said. “If there is a
problem, please contact coach Turner or David
as we do not want to stop any child from attend
ing camp because of money.”
All participants are asked to bring a sack
lunch daily except for Friday when lunch will
be provided.There will be a concession stand
open daily for participants to purchase drinks
and snacks.
Walk-ups are welcome.
For more information contact coach Turner at
706-336-8907 or 706-614-7487 orcoach David
at 706-347-6577 or 706-336-8908.
Sea Dragon
registration open
through April 20
Registration is open until April 20 for the
Jefferson Sea Dragons youth swimming team.
The team is open for boys and girls ages
5-18 as an introduction to competitive swim
ming. The Jefferson Sea Dragons are head
coached by record-setting former UGA swim
mer Tess Nunnally. For more information, log
onto www.jeffersonseadragons.com or call 706-
367-5116.”
Junior golf
tournament planned
at Traditions,
Chateau Elan
THE ATLANTA Junior Golf will hold several
of its 2012 summer series golf tournaments at
area golf courses, including those in Jackson
County and Braselton.
A tournament will be offered at Traditions
of Braselton golf course on Tuesday, June
26. Another tournament will be offered at a
Chateau Elan golf course on Wednesday, July
11. Other tournaments are also planned in
Suwanee, Gainesville and Athens.
The events are some of the more than 70
golf tournaments planned in 23 counties in the
state for boys and girls of all levels, between
the ages of 7-18.
AJG features three main divisions: Beginner,
9-hole and 18-hole. Beginner division events
take place on par-3 and executive style courses
and are open to participants just getting started
playing. This division provides an opportunity to
grow with golf while learning the inherent values
and traditions of the game. The 9-hole and
18-hole divisions, each separated into “club”
or “open” categories and also by age divisions,
provide juniors an appropriate level of competi
tion allowing them to have fun with the game
while progressing at their own rate.
Atlanta Junior Golf is a non-profit, tax-exempt
501 (c)(3) organization and gains its funding
through memberships, sponsorships and con
tributions.
Registration for the golf tournaments is now
open. To register, or for complete details, visit
www.atlantajuniorgolf.org.
JHS baseball hosting
‘Dinner on the
Diamond’ April 29
THE JEFFERSON baseball team will host
its annual Dinner on the Diamond fundraiser
Sunday, April 29, at 7 p.m. at the Jefferson High
School baseball field.
Those purchasing tickets will receive a steak
dinner served on the Jefferson baseball dia
mond. Entertainment for the evening includes
live music.
Ticket purchasing information and contact
information will be announced later.
Racing
Raceweek Illustrated announces local partnership
RACEWEEK Illustrated
announces a partnership that
will help bring the latest racing
news and results to race fans.
Raceweek Illustrated and
Every Other Man Productions
are partnering with Dave Wiley
and Georgia Broadcasting
to bring elements of the fast
growing motorsports website
to television sets throughout
North Georgia.
“Raceweek Illustrated
Garage Talk” will soon pre
mier on Windstream cable’s
north Georgia community
channel. Hosted by Raceweek
Illustrated editor and publisher
Brandon Reed, the program
will report the latest racing
news from around the region
and around the country, along
with driver and racing insider
interviews, and previews of
upcoming racing events, all in
a 30-minute package,
“We are very happy to be
joining forces with Dave Wiley
and Georgia Broadcasting,”
Reed said. “Dave shares
our vision for presenting the
‘hometown heroes’ of racing
with the same importance as
the biggest name drivers. He’s
worked hard over the last few
years to cover local racing, and
we feel we can put together a
great program that race fans
will enjoy.”
For Reed, it’s the next move
in a career that’s seen him
work in broadcast radio and
newspapers as a motorsports
reporter. In the last year he
moved away from both forms
of media to launch Raceweek
Illustrated as the fan’s “online
connection to the world of
motorsports.”
Joining Reed as co-host
on many of these programs
will be Doug Turnbull, best
known for his work as traf
fic and NASCAR producer
and reporter for WSB Radio
in Atlanta, as well as one
of the voices of Gresham
Motorsports Park’s play-by-
play team.
“Doug is a consummate
professional in broadcasting,
and was our first choice to be
a part of the program,” Reed
said. “He’s also been a great
friend to us at Raceweek
Illustrated. Having him as a
part of Garage Talk will help
to make it a strong show
right out of the gate.”
The shows will reach a
potential 40.000 homes in
North Georgia. In addition,
each program will be avail
able for viewing via the
Internet.
“It’s very exciting to have
the opportunity to bring
the latest information from
the racing world into peo
ple’s homes,” said Reed.
“We’ve worked hard to be
able to do that online with
Raceweek Illustrated, and
now to have the chance to
do more through Raceweek
Illustrated Garage Talk is a
huge thrill. We hope to not
only keep people up to date
on what’s going on in racing,
but to also be able to put a
special spotlight on the local
racers and local race tracks
that we feel are as important as
any national touring driver.”
“We’re going to have a lot of
fun with the show, and we hope
everyone will come along with
us for the ride.”
Specific air dates and times
will be announced later.
For more info or for the latest
motorsports news, visit www.
raceweekillustrated.com.
For more information on
Raceweek Illustrated, including
how to contribute race results
or advertising inquiries, e-mail
editor @ raceweeklllustrated.
com or call (678) 805-RACE
(7223).
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