Week 6 of Swimming Here we come!

June 12th

Swim Team Friends,

Wow what a crazy meet last week, Laine and I are still recovering which is why the newsletter is going out late! We try to make these short but there is so much information, please read all the way through.

We want to say a big Thank You to everyone who went above and beyond during the madness to keep us fed, safe and flowing with toilet paper! All swim meets are now BYOTP….just kidding(I hope) 😊

At this point in the season, we are getting into a nice rhythm. We hope you and your swimmers are enjoying the program. It is amazing to think about where our Barracudas started with their swimming skills compared to where they are now!

Important Meet information:

If you have not reviewed the safety email that went out yesterday, please do so before the meet as we have made some changes.

Please have your children come to practice in the morning to get their arms marked up for the meet. This helps the bullpen out so much to be done ahead of time.

Parking is always tight, please remember to give yourself plenty of time and to only park on one side of the street once the parking lot is full. No parking along the driveway so we can leave enough room for emergency vehicles if needed (hopefully not). Please do not park in the VIP parking, Starter or AWAY team parking spots, they will be marked with cones.

When setting up your chairs please remember we will have roped off sections for a swimmer’s walkway, starter walkway, away team bullpen. Please do not block these areas.

Schedule for 6/6: Home meet against Hammond Hills

4:30 PM arrival for swimmers & 1st shift volunteers
4:55 PM Barracuda’s warm-up
5:30 PM meet start
6:30 PM arrival for 2nd shift volunteers

Things to know for the meet:

Swimmers should be dressed out in their team swimsuit, team cap and goggles. Upon 4:30 PM arrival for a swim meet, a swimmer’s four basic responsibilities are as follows:

1. Report to their respective bullpen preparation area and let the bullpen volunteer know that they have arrived. Our team will congregate in our baby pool area.

2. Ensure they are marked up by the bullpen volunteer with first name, last name initial, age group, and the events they are swimming (the only exception is 13&Up who will mark themselves)

3. Report on-time to warm-up, begins at 4:55 PM.

4. Once the meet starts, report to the bullpen waiting area at least 5 heats before they are to swim and line up according to heat and lane number (volunteers will be there to assist).

Volunteers

Upon arrival for a swim meet, a volunteer’s three basic responsibilities are as follows:

Let the Volunteer Chairpersons (Sandy Burt and Rachel Baron) know they have arrived and obtain a name tag (Sandy and Rachel will be at the check-in desk at the entrance to the pool)
Report any volunteer job concerns or questions to the Volunteer Chairperson
Report on-time to designated location for their volunteer job

Side note: Timers, Judges and Coaches will have a brief meeting with the ASA official assigned to our meet around 5:15 PM. Listen for the call to do so.

Spectators

Shall be gracious (and have fun!) as they cheer on all our Barracudas in a respectful manner.
Shall not engage in loud, intimidating, disrespectful or negative behavior toward officials, athletes, other spectators, support personnel or pool staff.

Tips for a Successful Meet

Wear your Barracudas attire! Team shirts are in and we have some adult merchandise that you can purchase at practice Tuesday morning if interested.
Do not put sunscreen on the right/back shoulder blade and left/inside forearm of your swimmer. We write on those areas for each swimmer and the ink will not transfer if you have sunscreen there.
Bring fold-up chairs, activities and sunscreen. Basically, anything that will make your experience more enjoyable and quiet activities (like cards) which will make your swimmer less restless in between events. Reminder NO PHONES in BULLPEN FOR KIDS.
Clean up, throw away trash. Please, be a good neighbor and don't leave our host team and volunteers to clean up after you.
Swimmers need to stay in their designated bullpen preparation area until they have completed all their events. In order to keep the meet running smoothly, if your child comes to you after their event, please quickly congratulate them and send them back to the bullpen area. Ownership is on parent and athlete to ensure the swimmer is lined up on deck and ready for their event. Bullpen volunteers will help in the process however they have a lot of swimmers to keep track of and need the extra help.

There is a possibility of rain tomorrow night. Just a reminder that we run meets just like the pool- in event of thunder we break for 30 minutes, clear the pool deck and reassess. Your safety is our top priority. We'll send you weather alerts as needed, but please proceed to the meet unless you hear otherwise from us. If the meet were to be postponed due to weather, our makeup date with Hammond Hills is Wednesday, 6/14th.

Swimmer of the Week:

Congratulations to our Swimmers of the Week Last Week – Liam Hyland (9-10 boys) and Riley Unell (9-10 girls)! Liam and Riley were recognized by the coaching staff based on their team spirit, work ethic, practice and meet performances, and all-around great attitude. Your Mountaire Park Barracudas Swim Team is very proud of you! Check them out on our website and FB page.

Here's what you can look forward to for week 6:

Monday, June 12th – Friday, June 16th: Morning Practice
Tuesday, June 13th: HOME meet against Hammond Hills
Wednesday, June 14^th: Morning practice times- ribbons, donuts and games at each practice
Thursday, June 15th: Swim Clinic

4:00 PM - 5:00 PM
Focus is on backstroke and freestyle
All ages welcome, no need to RSVP, just show up at the pool
Two lanes will be reserved for swim team, the rest of the pool is open to the public

Up on Deck for Next Week:

Wednesday, June 21st: A very special day for the Barracudas - our annual philanthropy event with Swim Across America and Food Drive for Solidarity Sandy Springs. You don't want to miss this!

9:00 AM-10:45 AM at Mountaire Park pool
Please join us for our 5th annual philanthropy initiative in partnership with Swim Across America, raising money to fund lifesaving cancer research.
Our swim event will be a mix of in-water and out-of-water games.
A $5.00 donation and a can of pineapple or fruit per swimmer that attends this special event will be taken at the door.
We’re looking for a few members of our swim team family to donate baked goods for a bake sale during the event, if you’re interested in supporting please sign up here.

Look out for an email later this week about Ga Tech championships and registration. This year it is on June 28th at 9:30 AM.
Also we will be sending an Invite out for our End Year Banquet on June 29th 5-8pm.

Owen Philips gets our Spirit Award for this week for his body art and battle cry for tomorrow's meet! Let's Go Barracudas!!