HOWJ: Welcome to the Swim Team Season!
May 6th
Hello HOWJ Families-
This is a long email... please hang with us as many of your questions will be answered here.
Swimsuits: Today (May 6) is the FINAL day to order your child's swimsuit from Kiefer Aquatics. If you order after today, your suit is not guaranteed by the first meet. For a fitting (highly recommended) visit Kiefer Aquatics 9850 Providence Rd. (near Charlotte Latin). It is mandatory that all swimmers wear a Hunter Oaks swim suit at the meets. A suit from ANY previous season is absolutely fine. If you order from Kiefer - they will notify you when the suit is ready to be picked up.
Practice Policies: Swim Practice begins MONDAY - May 13th at Beckford Glen pool.
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. If your shrimper is not able to swim the length of the pool unassisted by the second meet, per the Greater Charlotte Swim League, they will not be allowed to participate in the meets for the rest of the season. They are still welcome at practices. 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 during the first week of practice. Look for your neighbors in the green HOWJ shirts if you have questions next week. 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 for making that happen.
Practice Schedule: (Mondays-Thursdays). Here is a link to the practice schedule. https://waterjets.swimtopia.
There is no practice on Fridays, on Memorial Day, or on meet dates when we are still in school (5/30, 6/1, & 6/6). Once we switch to morning practices there will be practices on meet dates.
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. Any case, any size - we will happily accept. Please no MINIs!
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.)
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. Any case, any size - we will happily accept. Please no MINIs!
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 over 200 swimmers and 107 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. For home meets, please arrive by 5:15pm, for away meets please arrive by 5:30pm. For the Mock Meet - 5/30 - this is JUST our team and we will take our team and individual pics before the meet begins so please arrive by 4:45pm.
The meets begin sharply at 6pm. For home meets, please arrive by 5:15pm, for away meets please arrive by 5:30pm. For the Mock Meet - 5/30 - this is JUST our team and we will take our team and individual pics before the meet begins so please arrive by 4:45pm.
Complete Meet Schedule can be found here: https://waterjets.swimtopia.com/calendar-and-meets
Meet Attendance: 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.
Meet Attendance: 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.
Sickness 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. Just like last 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. Please don't leave us high and dry!
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!