2019 Parent Meeting Recap + Late Breaking News/Dates
Hi all,
Thank you to everyone that was able to make the parent meeting yesterday afternoon. For those that were not able to, here is a recap plus some late-breaking info/dates…..but man o man did y’all miss out on some dynamic presentations of some crazy useful information yesterday.
That said, please read through the much more boring version below - we covered A Seal-Ton of information…..
SEAL STORE IS RE-OPENED (AGAIN) and Merchandise Pick-up
After the inspiring speech from Coach about our Spirit (it brought tears), many asked for the store to be re-opened today. It is open until Thursday and then it is off to the presses/production. Link here…..Seal Store.
Merchandise Pickup for those that didn’t have gear shipped to your home will be on Sunday, April 28th from 2-4p.6416 Magenta Lane.
VOLUNTEERING:
It takes us all doing our share to make the team and Swim Meets function. Each family will be responsible for a minimum of 40 volunteering points to remain in good standing with the team. There will be plenty of opportunities this year to earn that minimum, but remember a family must meet the minimum points to stay on the team even if only attending the minimum requirement of 2 swim meets. Job descriptions on all volunteering roles and associated points earned can be found here.
Sign ups for Volunteering will be opened on Saturday, April 20th at Noon. To ensure that everyone gets an opportunity to get their minimum 40 points we are asking families to sign up for NO MORE THAN 50 points during the first week. Thereafter we will assess where we are in filling positions and families will be allowed to sign up for more – we really do appreciate the families that do more than the minimum!
When sign ups open, click here to be directed to the sign-up page. Please consider volunteering to at Champs – just make sure you have volunteered in that same role during a regular season meet please.
Stroke & Turn Judges – Please consider this important role. Training/Certification is required. Training will be at our pool on May 1 at 6:45-7:45p. It is a great way to be on deck near the action during meets and at Champs!
New This Year - there are also opportunities this year for your Teen Seal to help earn your family Seal Volunteer points towards your team requirement. The jobs and age requirements for each will be outlined in the announcement, but include Hospitality, Clean Up, Floater, and Lead Roles for the Charity Car Wash and Champs Car Decorating Party. There are also opportunities for Tweens to earn Community Service Volunteer hours (good for school club requirements) at the charity car wash and Champs Car Decorating party.
On Tuesday, April 16that 6:30pm, our Meet Director Kim Horek will be holding a meeting at the Circle C Community Center for Current Head Parents involved with running the meets. If you are interested in holding a head parent position in future seasons, feel free to join us at the meeting to learn more about these positions.
COMMUNICATION:
Please reference the website for information first and foremost Facebook and Remind Text Alerts (text @seals2019 to 81010) are also great ways of getting information instantaneously…think early Saturday morning weather delays. Please sign up for both as soon as possible. If you signed up for Remind in 2018 you will need to re-signup, as it’s a new roster.
We also have a Facebook group for this season for photos only to share amongst the team (Circle C Seals Photos). All information on communication can be foundhere.
FYI - Sadly, emojis are not supported by the Remind app across all phone/providers this year so ……☹….
CALENDAR UPDATES:
The team calendar is updated with all important dates for the upcoming season, including meet dates and locations. Please take note of all the upcoming dates.
PRACTICE GROUPS:
Following the first week of Quick Starts, the coaches will be forming practice groups. The groups will be based on age and ability. Your swimmer will be placed in the group that best suits them. You can expect an email with the group information no later than Wednesday, April 24th. The goal of the practice placement is to ensure that your swimmer is in the group that is most appropriate for his/her skill level and age group.
Write your child’s name on their back the first week of practice. This will help the coaches learn names.
Swimmers are required to attend at least ONE PRACTICE a week and TWO SWIM MEETS to stay part of the team. Improving and winning will require more than the minimum😊.
“Swimmer of the Week” will be awarded weekly in each practice session. This will be given to the swimmer that shows sportsmanship, teamwork, improvement in the water and/or hard work!
POOL ENTRY, EQUIPMENT, & SAFETY:
Please enter for all Practices through the front office of the pool. Only coaches are allowed to enter through the side gate – please respect this guidance and DO NOT tailgate or ask others to open the side gate.
Orange Seal tags will be available at the front office to the swim center during Quick Starts and the first week of practice. This will allow your swimmer to enter through the front swim office without having to scan their pool card. Please attach this to your swimmer’s bag. Please only take 1 per swimmer.
Please send your swimmers to practice with fins, kickboard, goggles, swim cap (especially the girls) and a towel. It is important for you to LABEL EVERYTHING. Please no swim/sun shirts or board shorts (boys). These items interfere with the swimmer’s ability to move freely and properly in the water. Prepare for the cooler days when your swimmer exits the pool with a towel and warm clothes.
Coaches and swimmers will meet over on the picnic tables by the volleyball court everyday prior to getting in the water. Please have your swimmer wear flip-flops/shoes over to the tree and have them leave their equipment by the gate or on the deck.
If your child has any medical condition that should require the coaches to have prior knowledge, please email Coach Colleen directly so she can communicate this with the other coaches. Any necessary medical equipment (epi-pens, inhalers, etc.) should be sent to practice in your child's swim bag where it can be easily accessed.
Once your child is engaged in practice, please do not interfere with the coaches' ability to communicate with your kids. If there is anything you need to discuss with the coaches, you MUST do so outside of practice time.
All siblings that may be swimming in the open swim area must be within arms length of a caretaker, even if they can swim on their own - this is a rule of the pool/lifeguards.
Community Outreach Engagement
The Seals’-hosted CPR class for the Circle C Community was a great success.
Next up - a reminder to mark your calendars for Sunday, May 19th (2-5p) for the Seals’ Sponsored Charity Car Wash benefiting Colin’s Hope at the Community Center.
While getting your car washed by Seals in return for a donation to Colin’s Hope, step inside the air-conditioned Community Center and learn what you can do to prevent Childhood drowning.
While you are inside, purchase a Double Dave’s Pizza for dinner at a discount and help out the Seals too……
Teen Volunteers needed to lead the event and we need all the 11+ Tweens/Teens to help with the car wash and event! Sign-up at the Volunteer Sign-up page on Sat, April 20th.
SWIM MEET 101
A recap of the class outlining how Swim Meet run, what to bring, etc held yesterday after the Parent Meeting can be found here.
Two Key Changes we wanted to highlight vs last year:
- We will be running our home meets by age group scoring – so no more young’uns swimming against high schoolers.IE…. 11/12 will race each other – no 18 yrs olds in the heat. Winning Heats is fun. Knowing you placed in your age group while you are in the pool is fun too. Moving to 10 lanes last year enabled the change.
- Parking at Meets – As a courtesy to our neighbors and for the sake of safety, please don’t park on any side-streets around the pool (Dedham lane, etc). Please park instead at XPLOR day care on La Crosse. Or park along Escarpment or Lacrosse.
COACHES’ ‘ON-DECK’ FUND and COACH COLLEEN’S MEAL PLANNING
Look for an email this week from our Hospitality Team on how you can contribute to keeping our Coaches fueled for the season by funding a Cir C Café account for our coaches to use while ‘On Deck’ and also a sign up list for helping out Coach Colleen and family with a couple of meals delivered each week during the season as she is also ‘On Deck’ every afternoon/evening of the season.
CHAMPS DISCOUNTED HOTEL RATES
The Championship Meet (‘Champs’) is for everyone that wants to attend and will be held at Texas A&M – all are encouraged to attend. We certainly can't win without a HUGE showing.
This year we negotiated a 35% discounted rate for the Seals
Team of $114/night
($179 list price) for a double queen room at the Hyatt Place in
College Station (1100
University Drive) – breakfast included! Book by June 7th – they will
honor the rate until out of rooms…..last year they ran out so book early! Book by phone by calling (979) 846-9800 and
use the Group Code G-SEAL or
mention the Group name ‘Circle C Swim Parents’ to book. To book online use this link: http://collegestation.place.
SPONSORSHIPS:
The Seals team is a non-profit organization. We rely tremendously on Sponsors to help support covering team operation and expenses. We are blessed to have an awesome collection of sponsors this year. Please do support them and tell them why you are there / they are appreciated:
Diamond Sponsors: Circle C Café
Platinum Sponsors: Central Texas Orthodontics, Chipotle, Double Dave's Pizzaworks, Hill & Wilkinson General Contractors, Orange Theory, and The Goddard School
Gold Sponsors: Athlete Performance Solutions, Austin Oaks, and North Forest Office Space
Silver Sponsors: Austin Mail Express, Barre3, Barton Creek Lending Group, Epic Fun, and Wellthy Soul
Bronze Sponsors: Chad Mahagan: Moreland Properties, Kona Ice, Nail Bar, Pedal Hard Training, Restore Cryotherapy, Signature Care Emergency Center, Southwest Smiles, Swim Freak, and TCBY
Thanks for reading the entire way! We appreciate your time and as always, let us know if you have any questions!
Colleen Cox – Head Coach
Kim Horek – In-Season Meet Director
and Jeff Grosso – Head Parent
