Hello Water Jets Families- 

This is a long email... please hang with us as many of your questions will be answered here. Swim Practice begins this coming MONDAY - May 15th at Beckford Glen pool. 

Practice Policies: While we do not take attendance at practices - please make every effort to attend. Swimmers should wait patiently outside the gates until it's time for their practice to start. Parents, please be on time to practices. When practice is over, the gate opens and the kids run out. We (board and coaches) are no longer responsible for them when they leave the gates. Please be mindful of this and make sure your child knows where to meet you after practice. 

Parents on Deck: The only parents allowed on deck during practice is ONE shrimper parent during shrimper practice - should you feel it necessary. Please stay back from the pool and allow the coaches to do their thing. If you know your shrimper will be fine without you on deck, you are welcome and encouraged to wait on the hill by the playground, watch practice, and socialize with neighbors! 

Not what you thought? This is swim team, and not swim lessons. And while you will likely see an improvement in your child's swimming abilities in the coming weeks - if you feel at any point like this is not what you expected, please come and talk to a board member. We can discuss with you and the coach if your child is ready for the team, or if we need to wait till next year. Remember, this is supposed to be FUN and above all SAFE for all kiddos! 

Team Swag /T-shirt Pick-Up: Board members will be distributing the team bags hopefully one day next week. SOME swim suits are in - we will let you know when the rest arrive. We have additional swag (t-shirts, ladies tanks, and hats) for purchase if you'd like to show your support of the Water Jets. Shout out and thanks to Lydia Mobley and Molly Gliemmo for making that happen. 

Practice Schedule: (Mondays-Thursdays). Below is the practice schedule through June 8th. Morning practices will begin Monday June 12th. There is no practice on Fridays, on Memorial Day, May 29th, or on meet dates when we are still in school (6/1, 6/5, & 6/8). Once we switch to morning practices there will be practices on meet dates. 

• Shrimpers (6 & under)- 4:45-5:15pm 
• 7/8s- 5:15-6:00pm 
• 9/10s- 6:00-6:45pm 
• 11 & up- 6:45-7:30pm 

What to Bring to Practice: Filled water bottles so the swimmers stay hydrated, goggles, towel, caps for the girls. Please LABEL all your items so they don't get mixed up. Two piece suits, board shorts, or rash guards are not recommended. 

Drink donations: Every year we ask each family to donate one case of drinks. This helps stock our concessions stand. This helps tremendously to cut costs! Please bring your case of drinks to practice with you next week. We will store them safely in a clubhouse closet.

• LAST NAME A-G – Case of Gatorade or Powerade 
• LAST NAME H-O - Case of Water (Still or Sparkling) 
• LAST NAME P-Z - Case of Soda (Coke/Pepsi/Sprite/Lemonade etc.) 

Meet Schedule: Our team has just under 200 swimmers and 120 families this season. That's a LOT of people on deck at the meets... not to mention the visiting team! On deck, the pavilion will be reserved for our visiting team. Water Jets will set up on the clubhouse side. You and any extended family/guests are encouraged and welcome to set up outside the fence on the hill to watch the meets. Reminder we will have some concessions and food trucks available at all meets - thanks to Barb Silagyi for securing these options for us. A full food truck schedule will be posted in the coming weeks. 

The meets begin sharply at 6pm. Arrival times are listed below. 

• Thursday, June 1st - Mock Meet (just our team at home / will take our team pic please arrive at 4:45pm) 
• Monday, June 5th - @ Providence Downs (AWAY - arrive at 5:30pm) 
• Thursday, June 8th - vs. Olde Georgetown (HOME - arrive at 5:15pm) 
• Monday, June 12th - vs. Sardis (HOME - arrive at 5:15pm) 
• Thursday, June 15th - @ Ballantyne CC (AWAY - arrive at 5:30pm) 
• Monday, June 19th - @ Windy Rush (AWAY - arrive at 5:30pm) 
• Thursday, June 22nd - @ Foxcroft East (AWAY - arrive at 5:30pm) 
• Monday, June 26th - vs Weddington Racquet (HOME - arrive at 5:15pm)
• Thursday, June 29th - Banquet at Beckford Glen Pool 6-8:30pm 
• Saturday, July 8th 12pm - Rock Hill - All Star Meet (by Coaches Invitation Only)

Recording your child's meet attendance is CRUCIAL. This tells Coach Whitney who can swim and impacts the meet heat sheet! You will use Swimtopia to "declare" your child's attendance for every single meet. If they can't come last minute - please email [email protected]. If you already know the dates you will be on vacation, please go ahead and record it now. 

NO ALCOHOL AT THE MEETS: The Greater Charlotte Swim League has bylaws that we are expected to follow. Please note that per the bylaws, alcohol is prohibited at the swim meets. Thank you in advance for your cooperation. 

Illness Policy: Our goal is to have a safe, healthy and successful season! We need your help with this. If your child is sick - please don't send them to practices/meets. We appreciate your help as we work together to have a healthy and safe season.

Volunteering: If you cannot make your volunteer slot - it's up to YOU to find someone to swap with. It takes around 50 volunteers to run every meet - in addition to our hard working board and coaches. Please do your part. If you need help finding a replacement - please email: [email protected] and our amazing Volunteer Coordinator Sarah Tate will assist you. NEW THIS YEAR: If you bail on your volunteer slot and do NOT find a replacement, next season you will not be considered a "returning family" when it comes to registration. 

Contact us: Please keep the lines of communication open! Don't hesitate to reach out to a Board member or email us at: [email protected] should you have any questions or concerns. We can help connect you to the coaches. If there are weather delays or cancellations - we will be in touch via email. If you don't have an email from us, then the event is as scheduled. MOST of this information in the email can be found on the Swimtopia site. Please refer to it often. 

We also post most emails under the "ABOUT-->NEWS" tab if you feel like you are missing something. 

See you on deck Monday afternoon - GO WATER JETS! 

- Water Jets Co-Presidents (Lisa Jordan & Molly Gliemmo) 

Please visit SwimTopia for meet attendance, volunteering, schedules and more. GO WATER JETS!