Team News October 2 2023
Highlights
- CANCELED: Splash Away Cancer October 7 – Rescheduled to March 2, 2023 (tentatively)
- We would love to have you and your swimmers begin/continue their fundraising efforts in support of the American Cancer Society and their local Relay For Life Events coming up in 2024. With this being the heart of our efforts, we will keep the registration form active. Students can register and access their team’s Relay For Life team page where they can have family, friends, and fans donate to their team. We will continue to communicate with each of you over the coming months.
- Fall Team Spirit Activity – Corn Maze Saturday October 14th
- 2023 Meets and Team Events are updated in the Swim Meet and Events page. Deadlines:
- Fox Invitational Oct. 21-22 OPT-IN CLOSED Tuesday October 3.
- Nov 4 Mountain State Storm meet OPT-IN OPENS October 11th, CLOSES October 24th.
- Volunteering and Fundraising are a MANDATORY part of Sea Snakes participation starting Session 2. Send at least one representative of your family to the October 9, 7 pm Booster Club Meeting for more information.
- MANDAROTY Parent Meeting for Session 2: Monday 10/16 6-7pm & Thursday 10-19 7-8pm
- One representative from each family registered for Session 2 MUST attend ONE of these meetings
- October 27 – Deadline to have TeamUnify and USA Swimming registrations complete, have all required gear, and sign up for your Volunteer spot (or your swimmer may not join practice).
- Halloween Practice – October 26th, October 27th (no practice scheduled for 10/31)
The next Sea Snakes Booster Club committee is Monday, October 9, 2023 at 7 pm at the Shepherd University Wellness Center. Every swim family should plan on sending one representative.
Practice news
- Thanks to parents for watching nicely from deck. Remind swimmers to put their bags and shoes on the chairs to the side of the pool.
- If you come to practice and don’t see anyone, we are probably outside stretching in the fresh air.
- Required gear needs to be with your swimmer on deck every practice. See here for a list of gear for your swimmers’ practice group.
- Deadline to have required gear: October 27, 2023.
- Swimmers will be invited to watch practice from the side of the pool instead of swimming if they do not have required gear.
- Write your name on all your gear and Team Shirt/Sweatshirt (maybe inside of bottom hem). Check the lost and found in the meet office (we try to collect it there after practice specifically). Or in the lost and found behind the front desk.
- Late policy.
- Let your coach know via email if you will be late. Swimmers may not be permitted to swim in practice if unexcused.
- Practice attendance.
- Attendance – 50% to hold your priority registration spot moving forward
- Swimmers that are being disruptive during practice (i.e. horseplay, talking over coaches, going under water/not listening) may be removed from the pool for the remainder of practice for that day.
Meet News
Mee ts this Fall
- October 7-8 - Mercersburg Invitational
- October 21-22 – FOX Invitational
- November 4-5 – Mountain State Storm meet
- December 15 – In-House time trials
- For Fall Session 1 – we did not have set meets prior to the start of the season, so we did not charge or assess fees when setting session costs
- Fall Session 2, and all sessions to follow, meet costs are incorporated into the pricing
- Meet November 4-5, 1.5hr of practice added each day to competitive team groups to cover coaches at the meet and their preparation time that goes into setting up the meets for the swimmers
- Additional 3hr of practice time was added to all competitive groups for Time Trials on December 15 (5-8pm)
- Each meet assesses fees that are collected by the host team to cover their cost or raise money for their team
- Likely to vary each meet
- Will be collected by a Booster Club Member or Sea Snakes coach. No Swimmer Meet Fees should be given to the Wellness Center front desk staff.
- The Swim Meet and Events page is updated with all meets and events. If you would like to swim in more meets than our team is committed to, you may reach out to your coaches. They have a list of good meets for you to attend as an unattached swimmer (means you are going without your team or your coach, and register yourself with the host team). You must have already attended at least one USA Swimming meet with your team before you can attend unattached.
Registration Information
Second round of priority registration begins October 8.
- Participants can register for a DIFFERENT group than what they are currently in.
- I am currently enrolled in Bronze LITE TTh. During this week, I am able to register for Bronze LITE MWF instead.
As a reminder, and as noted in the registration information email sent last week, we will not process group changes during priority registration. All sales are final. The Wellness Center does not refund for programs or memberships, in accordance with our Membership Handbook.
USA Swimming Premium Membership - Full access to practice participation and all swim meets for the year including championships
USA Swimming Flex Membership- Full access to practice participation and up to only TWO swim meets for the year, NOT including championships. Flex is for 12 and under only.
Deadline for USA Swimming Registration: October 27
Outreach memberships are Premium-level USA Swimming memberships offered by our LSC (Local Swim Committee) at a reduced cost to those who apply and qualify. Please reach out to Coach Erica for an application.
Coaches Note
"I love the enthusiasm and energy everyone is bringing to practice. To get the most out of practice, let’s make sure we are ready for stretching 15 minutes before practice with all out of our equipment (swim journal, yoga mat, water bottle, board, buoy, flippers, cap & goggles etc.) It’s great to see everyone bonding, making friends and creating a great swim family."
Coach Beccah
