function preload_images()
{
  var width  = 141;
  var height = 36;

  var imgDir = "images/nav/";
  var imgTypes = [ "up", "hover", "down", "here" ];
  var menuItems = ["home", "calendar", "coaches", "forms", "links", "maps", "meet_info", "parents", "records", "schedules", "volunteers" ];
  var numImgTypes = imgTypes.length;
  var numMenuItems = menuItems.length;
  var theImage = new Image(height, width);

  for (var i=0; i<numMenuItems; i++)
  {
    var imgBase = imgDir + menuItems[i];
	for (var j=0; j<numImgTypes; j++)
	{
	  theImage.src = imgBase + "_" + imgTypes[i] + ".gif";
	}
  }
}