HELLO HURRICANE FAMILIES!  Lots of info in this email - please read to the end!

PRACTICE DETAILS FOR MAY 23-MAY 30 (keep reading for May 31 meet details):

REMINDER - NO PRACTICE on Friday, May 23 or Monday, May 26 for Pool Opening and Memorial Day!

Next week, some kids are out out of school while others are not so we will transition to both morning and afternoon practices.  If your kiddo is out of school, please come to morning practices!  We will start morning practice only on June 2.

Tuesday, May 27-Thursday, May 29

Morning Practice (all kiddos out of school already)

10 and Younger - 8:00 -9:00 a.m.

11 and Older - 9:00 -10:00 a.m.

Afternoon Practice (we have to limit numbers because we will only have 2 lanes)

6 year olds and younger - 4:30.-5:00 p.m.

7-8 year olds - 5:00-5:30 p.m.

9-10 year olds - 5:30-6:00 p.m.

11-12 year olds - 6:00-6:30 p.m.

13-14 year olds - 6:30-7:00 p.m.

15 and older - 7:00-7:30 p.m.

No Practice Friday, May 30th - we will have our traditional Spaghetti Dinner.  5:00-7:00 p.m..  See a previous email for what to bring based on your last name.

Starting Monday, June 2 - Morning practice only, regular times

9-12 Year Olds - 7:00-8:00 a.m.

8 and Unders - 8:00-8:45 a.m.

13 and Older - 8:45-10:00 a.m.

MEET INFORMATION FOR MAY 31 HOME Meet:

Our 1st Swim Meet of the summer is right around the corner - a HOME MEET on Sat. May 31 You must go onto our website to declare your swimmer as participating or not participating in this meet by noon on Wednesday, May 28 at noon. If nothing is entered, it will be assumed that your swimmer is NOT participating and they will not be entered into any events. See below for step by step directions on how to enter meet declarations. As always, please reach out to any coach or parent rep with any quesitons! I also encourage you to go ahead and download the Swimtopia App on your phone in preparation for the season - you will be able to follow along during the meet, get notified when your swimmer is almost up, and see results in the App!  If this is your first year on the team, it is ok to skip a meet or two to make sure your swimmer is ready - feel free to come and watch to get a sense of what a meet is like!  You can ask Coach Aaron, Coach Syd or Coach Rachel is you want guidance on whether your kiddo is ready to swim in a meet!

To enter Meet Participation for May 31 HOME Meet:

1. Go to the team website - hampdenheights.swimtopia.com

2. Navigate to the "Meets & Events" tab at the top

3. Scroll down to the May 31st meet. Click on the green link that says "Meet Entry".

4. You will see your swimmer(s) - click on the yellow "Edit" button.

5. For each swimmer, use the dropdown menu to select "Attending" or "Not attending".

6. Once you select "Attending", you will see the events for which your swimmer is eligible. You CAN select up to 3 events - this is an opportunity to make a request if there is a specific race(s) that you want your swimmer to do, however coaches have the final say in which events each swimmer does. If you do not know or care which races your swimmer should do, you can leave this screen blank and coaches will select the appropriate events. Don't forget to hit save at the bottom.

7. You will see a dropdown menu about relays. There are relays at the beginning and end of the meet. You have the ability to let coaches know if your swimmer is or is not available for both the early and late relays. Remember - swim meets are long and those late relays will not happen until at least 11:30-12:30 or so. Opt out if you cannot commit to staying until the end.

8. Finally, there is a spot for you to enter notes and comments to the coaches to help them in setting events for the meet.

9. Click save and you are all set! THIS MUST BE COMPLETE BY NOON ON WEDNESDAY, MAY 28th. Undeclared swimmers will not be placed into any events for the May 31st meet.

Note - you can go in and declare your swimmer for all of the meets at this time (we have 5 meets - 2 Home and 3 Away). The deadline will be noon on the Wednesday prior to each Saturday but you can knock out the whole season now if you want to!!

I will send out an email on Thursday night each week with the details about what events your swimmer is registered for and many other meet details.

MEET DETAILS:

Location & Warm-Up - This is an HOME meet at Hampden Heights Pool.  Please plan to arrive by 6:30 a.m. prior to our 6:45 a.m. team Warm-Up. Warm up is optional for our littles but definitely encouraged for our older kiddos.  When you arrive, look for our team tent on the north side of the pool.  The meet will begin at 8:00 a.m. and last until approximately 12-12:30.

Volunteer shifts - please see attached list of who is signed up to volunteer this Saturday. IF YOU ARE SIGNED UP TO BE A STROKE JUDGE - please remember to complete the required video training and submit the form emailed out by Sadie Levine prior to the end of the day on Thursday, May 30th so we know you are ready to work!  You can sign up on the website by navigating to Events, clicking on the meets, and then Job Sign Up. ALL Timers and Stroke Judges must attend a brief meeting with the Starter prior to the start of the meet which will begin at approximately 7:30 a.m.

WHAT TO EXPECT if this is your first meet - We know many parents and children who are new to swim meets can find it overwhelming. Once you've been to one meet, you quickly advance from Amateur to Pro. It's truly organized chaos, but tons of fun. My suggestions to make it a little easier would be: remember lots of towels (so one is always dry), cozy clothes (there will be many breaks between events), sunscreen, snacks & water ('nuff said...) and some concession stand money (Venmo also accepted) (a little donut/candy/cup o'noodle bribery can go a LLLLOOOOOONNNNGGGG way!) Also helpful are chairs &/or blankets and activities (books, games, etc...) for between events. We will have a big team tent but you are welcome to also bring your own pop up tent or join another family to get to know each other! Coaches will be available help your swimmer make it through Heating but you should keep an eye on the event numbers and the “heating through” numbers to know when your kiddo should start to get capped and goggled.

THEME - We will have a weekly theme to keep things interesting and the spirit up! For this 1st meet, let's do a PURPLE OUT! You are encouraged to wear Hurricanes gear and lots of purple to show the other teams our PRIDE AND STRENGTH - we are the biggest we have ever been with over 130 swimmers!!  WOW!

Please remember, any questions at all, feel free to get in touch with us!

Just Keep Swimming... Just Keep Swimming...

Parent Reps: Alli, Emily and Sadie  

Coaches: Aaron, Rachel and Syd

Assistant Coaches: Lia, Murphy, Olivia and Sydney