Check out our new site for up to date information!
http://www.teamhydro.org
Team Hydro 2010 Video
Dec 23 2009
Click Here for the latest and greatest video from TeamHydro.
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Open Letter to Team Hydro 2010
Dec 19 2009
Welcome to TEAM HYDRO 2010! We take the plunge from Alcatraz into the Sharkfest Swim in just 6 months! This email is meant to welcome you to the team and will hopefully answer many of your questions!
Between now and June 6th, I will send out a periodic (monthly) emails. These emails will contain updates on our fundraising progress, information on optional group swims, and will also point you towards resources that you can use in your awareness and fundraising efforts! As we near the race I’ll have race day tips and hotel recommendations for those interested in staying in the area.
Thank you so much for your time, effort, and enthusiasm! I cannot begin to express how much it means to have you join with us in our cause. Together we can achieve so much! Please do not hesitate to reach out to me with any questions you might still have after reading the information below! I look forward to meeting each of you.
Sincerely,
Peter Finlayson
Team Hydro Co-Founder
TEAM HYDRO HISTORY
Inspired by the struggles of our sister, Kate (who suffers from hydrocephalus), my brother and I founded Team Hydro three years ago. There were just 4 of us that year and we raised just $10,000, but we felt an amazing sense of accomplishment – both for having escaped from Alcatraz AND for having done something to help our sister. Our numbers have grown since then – this year we already have a roster of over 40 swimmers and we are still recruiting members! If you’d like to read more about the history of Team Hydro, click here.
GOAL FOR 2010
I may have bit off more than we can chew this year. Our goal is to sponsor the first annual TEAM HYDRO RESEARCH GRANT! Our efforts will allow a skilled physician to dedicate time and energy towards promising research aimed at alleviating the suffering of those with hydrocephalus. This means we each must do our part to raise as a team…$55,000! There is no fee to be on the Team Hydro roster. While there is no “minimum” amount you are required to raise — but we do ask that you make an effort. Just think, if we didn’t get any more teammates and we each raised just $1,250 we would reach our goal of funding research for an entire YEAR!
As a team we can contribute significantly towards the effort to find a cure for hydrocephalus. Our goal is to raise awareness, give hope to those suffering from hydrocephalus, and contribute towards research for the cure. We are finalizing the web portal we will use to accept donations and I will also provide you with information on how to donate by check in the near future – stay tuned!
ABOUT HYDROCEPHALUS
To be an effective fund and awareness-raiser you need to know about our cause yourself! J Hydrocephalus is a neurological condition affecting the brain and afflicting over 1 million Americans. It describes the abnormal accumulation of cerebral spinal fluid (CSF) in the brain. Left untreated it causes chronic pain, coma, and even death. Hydrocephalus afflicts people of all ages. It can be congenital or can develop due to stroke, tumor, head trauma — even from old age!
There is no cure for hydrocephalus and the only treatment requires invasive surgery to insert a device (called a shunt) directly into the brain to regulate the amount of fluid in and around the brain. There have been no significant advances in the treatment of hydrocephalus since the shunt was conceptualized in the 1950s. Susceptible to clogging, infection, and malfunction, shunts remain an imperfect and insufficient treatment solution. To read more about hydrocephalus click here.
NOW WHAT?! SUGGESTED NEXT STEPS
1) Set YOUR OWN personal fund-raising goal for 2010 and do your best to meet (and exceed!) it. $1,000? $5,000? $10,000? What will you shoot for? We only have 6 months left until we take the plunge – so GET CRACKING!
2) Tell your friends and family to join the cause…it isn’t too late but they need to act fast! Have them visit http://teamhydro.org for instructions on how to register to swim with us in 2010. For those who can’t swim, get June 6th on their calendars — of course it is great to have lots of swimmers in the water, but we LOVE to have Team Hydro Members cheering us on as we run up the beach. They can stand next to my Dad and Grandparents! J
3) Contact your local media about our cause and your efforts! Experience shows that local TV and Newspapers love reporting about Team Hydro. Reach out to them, tell them what we’re up to, and see what happens!
4) Use social media! If you are on facebook, twitter, youtube, or any other site, share our videos, webpages, and stories! There are great videos and resources to share on http://teamhydro.org, our facebook page http://tiny.cc/THonFB, and our blog http://teamhydro.blogs.gabrielslife.org/. You can also follow TeamHydro on Twitter!
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TEAM HYDRO IS NOW RECRUITING SWIMMERS FOR 2010!
Dec 18 2009
The team hydro roster for 2010 has already grown to over 40 members! Don’t be left out!
To Join/Swim with Team Hydro 2010:
1) Email info@teamhydro.org indicating you have joined the cause!
2) CLICK HERE
3) Click the “Register” button and follow registration instruction
4) Enter “Team Hydro” when asked how you learned about the site
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Taking the Message to Campus
Oct 14 2009
Guest Blogger: Thara Jinadasa, Development Associate at the Hydrocephalus Association
The Hydrocephalus Association is proud to announce the new “Campus Community Coordinator” initiative, which is the brainchild of HA member Peter Finlayson.
In January 2009, Pete contacted the Association with an idea to harness the potential awareness-raising, fundraising,and advocacy work that exists in college campuses across the country for the purposes of hydrocephalus research. He proposed a Campus Community Coordinator program that would recruit motivated students on selected campuses to create grassroots events to raise awareness of hydrocephalus at their schools. His goal is to create a self-sustaining program that will eventually reach about 100 campuses nationwide. For the program’s inaugural year, Peter has recruited three CCC’s, two from the University of California at Berkeley and one from Stanford University.
Peter has already lent his imagination, energy, and dedication to our community. In 2008 he started Sharkfest, a team swim in the icy waters of San Francisco Bay that benefited the Association. In 2009, he transformed that event into a tradition that is now bigger and better than last year.
We here at the Hydrocephalus Association would like to express our gratitude and support to Pete for his innovative ideas. We are very excited about the Campus Community Coordinator program.
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Success!
Aug 21 2009
The donations continue to trickle in, but we’ve raised an astounding $24,224 so far! Thank you and Congratulations! You are amazing and inspiring.
We are also featured in a video on YouTube…that’s going to air on a national cable station in the coming days. This is a professionally done video and very cool, in my opinion. 
Check it out and spread it around!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bAOFmzHK4Ss
Some Highlights from the Sharkfest Results:
1st, 2nd, 3rd, & 4th place OVERALL, non-wetsuit
Mike Sample
Charlie Steffens
Ryan McCarthy
Sage Wright
1st - 5th places in the 20-24 yrs (male, non-wetsuit)
Bryan Schnugg (+1-4 above)
3rd place 13-14 yrs (male, …wetsuit)
Brayden Curry
4th place OVERALL
Steven Wright (2nd, 20-24 male, wetsuit)
5th place 25-29 (male, non-wetsuit)
Peter Finlayson
Thanks for all you do!
Peter
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Zero hour…9am!
Aug 11 2009
Hello Teammates, friends, and family!!
We will have a TEAM HYDRO “home-base” set up on raceday where you will find your t-shirts & towels…and there will be sandwiches, hot chocolate, warm soup, and lots of smiles there after the swim! This will all most likely be on the grass right next to the bleachers in Aquatic Park (the best place to watch the swim as this is where we will run out of the water and across the finish-line)! My father will be there with his cell phone 925-200-7700 if you can’t find us. Parking can be tricky. It’s probably worth taking a pass by Aquatic park as there is some metered street parking and a number of pay-parking garages, too.
Click Here for a Map and Directions!
I am told that the Hydrocephalus Association [HA] will also be setting up a “booth” at the event with a banner as well as literature and other information about hydrocephalus to hand out. I suspect we will set up our TEAM HYDRO table close to the booth, but at the very least if you head to the HA booth, someone there will be able to direct you to our table.
RACEDAY ITINERARY
* 5:30–7:00 am: Athlete Check-In will be held in the Aquatic Park Maritime Museum (inside the Senior Center, located on the lower level on the water side of the building). You MUST BRING A PHOTO ID to athlete check in.
* 7:10 am: Pre-Race Announcements will be made in front of the grassy area to the east of the grandstands.
* 7:15 am: Athlete Parade to the Ferry from Aquatic Park to the Blue & Gold Ferry.
* 7:45 am: Ferry Disembarks
* 8:30 am: Race Begins approximately at this time, signaled by the SECOND ferry horn blast (first ferry horn is a one-minute warning)…first finishers washup around 9am!
* 11:00 am: Informal Awards Ceremony will take place, announcing the winners for all age groups in each division. Final results will be posted on our site and awards will be mailed a few weeks later.
Thank you all, again for your love and support. Make the most of these last 4 days, and I look forward to seeing you on Saturday! http://teamhydro.org
Peter
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The Johnson Sisters
Jul 21 2009
NAME: Jackie Johnson
AGE: 23
HOMETOWN: Sierra Vista, Arizona
PROFESSION/SCHOOL: Brigham Young University Athletic Media Relations
FAVORITE FOOD: Anything Mexican/TexMex
FAVORITE QUOTE: “Do not wish to be anything but what you are, and try to be that perfectly.” -St. Francis de Sales
TELL US SOMETHING ELSE ABOUT YOURSELF: Swimming is my favorite sport, I have swam for over 17 years competitively and have coached six seasons since the age of 18.
HAVE YOU EVER DONE OPEN WATER SWIMMING BEFORE?: I have done a few triathlons in open water, but never just a straight swimming race.
WHY DID YOU JOIN TEAM HYDRO?: My sister told me about it and I wanted to join her and support this great cause.
WHY SHOULD PEOPLE SUPPORT THE TEAM?: Because we’re ordinary people just like everybody else, trying to fight for something we believe in.
NAME: Jessica Johnson
AGE: 34
HOMETOWN: Lafayette, CA
PROFESSION/SCHOOL: Cisco Marketing Events Strategist, Brigham Young University MBA
FAVORITE FOOD: Peanut Butter
FAVORITE QUOTE: If you serve only when it’s convenient - you’re serving yourself. — My Mom
TELL US SOMETHING ELSE ABOUT YOURSELF: I was a gymnast…not much of a swimmer growing up. But my little sister is a swimming star and also very persuasive. So we’re swimming Sharkfest together.
HAVE YOU EVER DONE OPEN WATER SWIMMING BEFORE?: Not in a competition.
WHY DID YOU JOIN TEAM HYDRO?: Peter’s passion for the cause and influential emails.
WHY SHOULD PEOPLE SUPPORT THE TEAM?: Because everyone deserves a chance to enjoy good health and the absence of daily pain.
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BBQ Details (6/20)
Jun 18 2009
We will meet at aquatic park at 11:30am on Saturday morning. I’m excited to have so many of us in one place at one time!! I’d like to be in the water by 11:45 for a quick swim and out eating a delicious dog by 12:15 or so. Friends and family are, of course, welcome to join even if not planning on swimming. A few of our friends from the Hydrocephalus Association plan to join us, too.
The water will be very cold! Please plan accordingly. I’m bringing a lot of warm clothing to bundle myself up in afterward (sweatshirt, beanie, etc)…I highly recommend you do the same. If you plan on swimming in a wetsuit, bring it! I recommend all non-wetsuit swimmers purchase a wet-suit cap for use during the swim. Don’t forget your goggles. “Facilities” are limited at Aquatic park so I plan to show-up wearing my speedo under my clothes (or changing under a towel). There is a (dirty) public restroom for the modest among us. The SF-Tri Club has a nice website with some tips-and-tricks for a successful Aquatic Park swim. Check it out here.
I plan on bringing a portable charcoal Weber grill, assorted sausages, and some non-alcoholic beverages. Mama McCarthy has volunteered to bring a veggie platter, so it sounds like a party to me! Please feel free to add to the party if you have a favorite BBQ/tailgate item. (If anyone has means and motivation to somehow make/keep hot chocolate hot, for example, I’m sure we’d all love it after the swim).
Call or email me anytime with any questions, comments, or concerns. Thank you all so much for you love and support — I get teary everytime I think of you all…SEE YOU SATURDAY!!
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Practice Swim and BBQ
Jun 08 2009
On June 20th we will meet at San Francisco’s Aquatic Park for a quick splash in the Bay and some delicious BBQ afterward.
We plan to take the plunge around 11:30am and then get our grub on around 12:15pm.
Directions and more details will be posted here in the week leading up to the swim.
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