Hello Swim Families!

Week 1 of Practices for our 25th summer swim season is in the books! We had an impressive amount of swimmers in the *cold* water!

There is a lot of important information in this week’s message. Please take a moment to read through it entirely.

🐬Message from Coach Ben: I think these season has come off to a really good start. This week we will be working mainly on technique, and will be working on some butterfly, backstroke, and we might pull the blocks out and work on our starts. With the weather getting warmer, I suggest everyone bring a water bottle for their swimmer! Go Dolphins!

🐬 Please take a moment to do the following on SwimTopia:

• Please turn on notifications so you can get weather alerts and emails.
• Please sign up for away/gone dates for meets.
  • Scroll down to Upcoming Events.
  • Scroll to Time Trials.
  • Click on Meet Signup.
  • Click on edit.
  • Click on “attending” or “not attending” for your children’s name(s).
  • Then go back to events, and click on the next meet.
  • Click on Meet Entry.
  • Click “edit.”
  • From the dropdown menu, choose “attending this meet” or “not attending this meet” and save.
  • Repeat for each meet on the schedule.
• Please do the same for Job Sign-ups (volunteer positions) (just click on Job Sign-Ups for each meet next to meet entry.)
  • If you would like to change a job that you signed up for during registration, you can do so here. Please make sure if you delete a position that you choose another in its place.
  • There are still A LOT of available jobs throughout the summer. We thought every family signing up for 4 would be enough, but we still have a lot of empty spots. Please be sure you have signed up for at least 4 positions, and if you feel so inclined, please feel free to sign up for more!
  • Please email us if you have questions about a position.
• To see what jobs/events you have signed up for:
  • On the app, you can simply scroll down on the main page to the events (you do not have to go to the website to see this) and click on the event. It should list your swimmer’s attendance and work shifts on this page.
  • On a computer, click on the upper right hand “Welcome, (your name)” and choose “my account.” Underneath the family names, it should list the jobs you have signed up for and dates.
• Please let Jill know if you have any specific SwimTopia questions or need a brief tutorial! Happy to help! ([email protected])

🐬Potluck and Picture Day–May 28th at 6pm. Picture will be at 6:00pm sharp! Potluck to follow–please plan to bring a dish (or two) to share! RSVP on Swimtopia. Practices will be condensed on this day. More information to come about condensed practices.

🐬Time Trials will run like a meet on Tuesday, June 4th starting at 5:00pm. Mark your calendars! This is an opportunity for everyone to try volunteer positions and for swimmers (and parents) to get a feel for how a meet runs. Please RSVP on SwimTopia as soon as possible so we can get an idea of how many families are planning on attending. We are still in need of volunteers! For anyone considering a more seasoned volunteer position (TSA, Stroke & Turn, Meet Maestro, Clerk)–this is a great time to shadow!

🐬If you need to turn in a check for registration fees, you can give it to any one of the committee members during practices this week, or drop it off in the pink accordion folder on the middle porch at 11624 Pacesferry Dr. Please do so as soon as possible!

🐬Please ALWAYS keep an eye on your children in the pool, even when they are with the coaches. Any children under 14 MUST be accompanied by an adult. If you cannot attend, please make arrangements with another family to be your child’s “parent” for that day at practice. Please note, siblings under 16 years of age cannot be considered the “parent.”

🐬Coaching

~Coaches are focused on our swimmers at all times. The safety of our swimmers is of utmost importance! If you have any grievances about coaching, please see Kristen O., our Coach Manager, or Jill or Andrea, our Team Managers. Please do not interrupt practice to talk to a coach.

~The coaches were trained this past week in BLS (Basic Life Support) and are now certified for CPR and life-saving techniques. We extend our thanks to Scott McGowan for training our coaches!

🐬Junior Dolphins

~All Junior Dolphins are invited to ALL social events and meets! This includes the team picture on May 28th! Please mark your calendars!

~You should have received an email from Coach Mindy regarding your practice time. If you did not receive this message, please email [email protected].

~Practices begin this week!

~For our older dolphins, we ask that they stay out of the shallow end during Junior Dolphin practices. We need to keep space open for neighbors if they choose to come to the pool during practice and we also need to keep our juniors safe.

🐬Our pool is always open to neighbors, even during swim practice. Please do not tell a non-swim family that they cannot be in the pool during practice time. Direct them to a committee member or a coach so we can open a lane for them. The shallow end of the pool is always available. We ask that our older swimmers stay out of the shallow end during practice times to keep our juniors safe and to keep this space open for neighbors not on the swim team.

🐬Several volunteer positions require training (TSA, Meet Administrator, Starter, Stroke and Turn Judges). If you are interested in any of these positions, let us know and we can share the clinic schedule. Additionally, you can shadow any of our current standing volunteers during a meet to “learn the ropes” and get a feel for the position–just let us know if you are interested! We are always looking for people to help fill these positions!

🐬If at any time you have a question, please do not hesitate to reach out. A committee member can be found at all practices or you can email directly: [email protected].

Looking forward to a great season!

Jill McGowan and Andrea Cote-Smith