So, what did you do on your summer vacation? That traditional first week of school exercise came to mind when, well, I was on vacation, got added to my niece's circle of friends on a social networking board and read how her schoolmates were dreading their impending return to the eighth grade and what must be a very traumatizing assignment.

And should a few athletes from Kings County get this dreaded assignment, will they have some stories to tell ...

Some of the most interesting tales may come from the Kings Water Polo Club, whose under-16 and under-18 teams leave Monday for the 2009 Hawaiian Invitational tournament, which features U.S. and international teams.

The teams start play Wednesday morning at Iolani School in Honolulu, with finals at the University of Hawaii. While no local girls teams are entered, it's worth noting the ladies' games will be played at Punahou School, alma mater of President Obama.

The under-16 team is coached by David Castillo and the under-18's by Vince Roeber, both from Hanford High School. The teams feature players from Hanford, Hanford West and Lemoore high schools.

"It's not just a fun tournament, we're going be se seeing some team that will give us a good opportunity," Roeber said.

The tournament even has its own Web site with cool Hawaiian music on the home page, http://www.hawaiiwaterpolo.com/

It's been a busy summer for Lemoore pole vaulter Kyle Fraley as well.

The junior-to-be at Lemoore High School won the right to jump in Friday's North American pole vault championships in the streets of Old Town Clovis with a 14-foot effort in a meet at LHS July 23.

It's been a busy summer for Fraley, who won a meet in Clovis with a personal best of 14-6 and finished second in meets in Tulare, Reno, Nev., and South Lake Tahoe.

Friday's meet features elite, developmental and high school athletes from across the U.S., including high school girls' record holder Shade Weyhan from Mansfield, Texas, according to meet director Bob Fraley.

Kyle Fraley is the great-nephew of Bob Fraley, the legendary former Fresno State track coach.

The younger Fraley will be on a team with a pair of vaulters from Liberty (Bakersfield), one male and one female, in the competition.

And now, more thoughts worth that second cup of coffee on a Sunday morning as we wonder if the last player traded by the Pittsburgh Pirates will remember to turn off the clubhouse lights:

• Sounds like the folks who run international swimming have let sanity prevail by new rules, effective next year, which will make the sport about the athletes again and not swimsuit technology.

Had they consulted us, though, we had an solution.

No, not going back to the original Olympic ideals and performing in the nude, but one that would, in these troubling times for the media, please U.S. rights-holder NBC.

One competitor would be selected at random to represent all swimmers. He would be greeted on the pool deck by Howie Mandel, who, after some chit-chat, would utter those liblido-lifting word, "Ladies please."

Yes, accompanied not by their familiar theme, but that trumpet fanfare ABC made famous, would come the official models of the Olympics, carrying the official briefcases of the Olympics and wearing the official model outfit of the Olympics as well, come to think of it.

In each case, instead of a monetary amount, would be the type of suit to be used in that's day's competition. Could be a Speedo LZR, could be one of those body suits with black and white horizontal stripes from the 1890s that look like prison garb, or could be one of those diaper-like suits like you got in sophomore PE that balloon up. But at least the competition would be equalized.

Richard de Give is The Sentinel's sports editor. He can be reached at 583-2430 or rdegive@HanfordSentinel.com.

(Aug. 2, 2009)