First, thank you to everyone for a great season–we cannot run this team without our families’ support. As a committee, we acknowledge that signing up for swim team is a huge 10-week commitment…but we believe it is all worth it for our children!

Also, thank you to all families that completed the parent survey! We appreciate your candid thoughts and suggestions. Please know that we do our best to improve all aspects of the team each year through your suggestions and our own assessments of what worked and what didn’t.

The Swim Committee wanted to share with you some important updates as we think toward next season.

Changes for next year:

1. We plan to merge the Junior Dolphins back into the main team. There will no longer be a separate “Junior Dolphins” aspect of the team. All previous Juniors will be considered 6 & unders (or placed in their appropriate age group, ie., 7/8s, 9/10s) and will practice at the same time as their age groups. Coaches Ben and Mindy will be working with all 6 and Unders at the 5:00-5:45 practices.

A few more important notes:

• Swimmers must be at least 4 years old by June 1st.
• Swimmers must be willing to put their face in the water and blow bubbles without coaxing.
• Swimmers must be willing to go under the water without coaxing.
• At meets, all non-swimmers will have kid-catchers to help guide them to the 15 yd. rope.
• All families will be asked to fill their share of volunteer positions.**
• To help non-swimmers remain comfortable with the water in the off-season, swim at our pool until it closes in mid-September, “swim” in the bathtub with goggles on, swim at local public pools through the winter, or join a local YMCA, Aquatots, or similar swim instruction pool. This could greatly help them at the beginning of the swim season next year!

1. All families will be asked to fill their share of volunteer positions. There will be no “non-competitive” swimmers allowing for exemption from volunteering.** Everyone will be considered a part of the team, and we ask that everyone do their part to help make the team run. In addition, several parents suggested splitting volunteer times into two slots. We are unable to do this as we do not have enough volunteers in the first place. However, we encourage you to split volunteer positions with a spouse or neighbor/friend.

(**Our hope with these two changes is to alleviate the total per family volunteer load.**)

1. Several families suggested a morning practice in lieu of an afternoon. We are not willing to give up another afternoon (we’ve already conceded Fridays to our neighborhood) and this would be unfair to our Year Round school families. We will continue with Monday through Thursday afternoon practices but may add in additional morning options next year.
2. We are in search of someone to head up our KickOff/Ice Cream Social, Potluck Picture Day, and End of Season Party. If you are interested, please let Jill know.
3. We are considering a Spring Social/Info Session with the Hudsons heading up the food! Be on the lookout for information regarding this event early next year!

Thanks again for a great season! Have a wonderful rest of the year and we look forward to seeing you in 2025!

The BBWHL Swim Team Committee