Good Afternoon, Team Seals!

We hope that you and your swimmers are excited for the official start of the season!! The Timing Meet is a chance for swimmers to get times for different strokes before the official season begins. Why does that matter, Joel? I'm glad you asked. That matters because accurate times enable accurate seeding for heats once the real meets begin.

The Timing Meet is also a practice-run for new (and old) Seals families to experience a home meet from beginning to end (before it's 95 degrees outside). Why do we need practice, Joel? Wellllllll ... because 'practice makes perfect' as every coach my entire life told me. This is our opportunity to work out the kinks, get back into rhythm, and ensure we're ready to host other teams in the not too distant future!

We appreciate your patience as we execute some new ideas, work with new parents, and make new swimmers feel welcome. Please be especially kind to our new Head Parent, Andrea, and our new Meet Director, yours truly.

Direct any and all complaints to Chuck Shorter.

TIMING MEET LOGISTICS

OUR TIMING MEET will be this SUNDAY, May 4, (first call to the Ready Bench at 8:50A.)

Event sign-ups are open and will close Wednesday at 6PM! You can access the sign-up here: Click here to declare your swimmer

OUR THEME for Sunday morning's meet is WESTERN! We encourage both kinds of dress: country & western!! And as always, wear ORANGE.

Again, this meet is our "dress rehearsal." Head volunteers will get together after the Timing Meet to make the necessary adjustments to ensure that our first Home Meet, on Saturday, May 10, runs smoothly.

IMPORTANT NOTES:

• There is NO parking on Escarpment. Cars will be towed if parked in the biking lane. Please park on LaCrosse, east of Escarpment. The CDC and Kiker parking lots are open to Seals families and our guests. Also recommend: carpooling; drop-off and pick-up; biking (you're on your own for bike storage - NOT in the swimmer tents); wagons; Uber; horseback (in keeping with the theme, but no horses in swimmer tents, either) … ALSO, please do not park in the spots reserved for mail pickup!
  (See below for your chance to win elite, ultra-primo parking for all home meets)
• No chairs for spectators in the pool deck area. We will have accommodations for fans with disabilities.
• For safety reasons, ONLY coaches, swimmers and meet volunteers are allowed on the pool deck. And absolutely no photos or videos from directly behind the starting blocks.
• The DIVE CAFE will be OPEN. Our partners, the Cushings, will be serving breakfast tacos and other goodies. As a reminder, the Seals get a percentage of all sales at The Dive during meets!
• Kona Ice will also be at the Timing Meet and all home meets.
• Travelin' Tom's Coffee is a new addition this year, onsite with their truck, ready to make all your caffeine-deprived dreams come true. See their offerings here.
• Finally, please put your kids’ names on all of their stuff (towels, caps, shirts, shoes, bags, water bottles, appendages, pets, toys, etc.) to make sure everything goes home with the right family.

MEET ENTRY DETAILS

• Results from the Timing Meet will be used to ‘seed the heats’ for our first official meet
• In keeping with the league standard and because we have 300+ swimmers this season, we are limiting sign-up to three (3) individual events. We will not swim Individual Medleys or relays.
• If your swimmer is not yet comfortable or not yet legal in a stroke, please do not enter them in the event. There is no rush for newer/younger swimmers to participate in any event, especially those in which they are not comfortable. There are many opportunities for them to get a time throughout the season. Set your children up for success ... the Timing Meet is not the time to push their limits.

MEET TIMELINE

7:30A: Set-up Volunteers/Gate Keepers arrive

8:00A: Age Group Parents check in

8:15A: Swimmers and all other Volunteers arrive and check in

8:30A: All Volunteer group meetings

8:35A: Warm-ups start

8:50A: First call to Ready Bench

8:55A: National anthem

9:00A: Meet begins

11:45A: Meet ends/clean-up begins

VOLUNTEER REMINDERS

Any volunteer changes/additions should be made before the job sign up closes on Wednesday at 4PM. If you have any last minute changes, please contact our Volunteer Coordinators, Bethany Pendleton and Alison Pendleton, via email at [email protected].

*NEW* for 2025: Volunteer sign ups are limited to 15 points per FAMILY per MEET. PLEASE ABIDE BY THE 15-POINT LIMIT. I know that you will. "Yeah, well ... The Dude abides."

If you were unable to volunteer at the Timing Meet, please do not fret! There are enough jobs for each family to earn 35 points throughout the season. THIS IS NOT MUSICAL CHAIRS!

Coincidentally, Richard Spencer, our new Starter, is a professional Musical Chairs athlete (though he's very modest about this accomplishment and doesn't like to discuss it publicly). Feel free to ask him for tips (not while he's starting heats).

EXTRA-SPECIAL REQUEST: Let's show our appreciation for Coach Ivy, who dedicates her evenings to make our children better swimmers!

This season, Coach Ivy has requested meal gift cards to her favorite dinner spots. To contribute, please send donations to our Hospitality Head Parent, Sarah Tomlinson, via:

• VENMO: @sarah-tomlinson-19 (last 4 digits: 3540) Please note "Seals" in your payment description!
• CASH: Meet her near the ice/water coolers during the Timing Meet on May 4th.

But Joel, won't Coach Ivy know we are doing this and ruin any surprise? I assure you, Coach Ivy stopped reading this email after ensuring I correctly communicated the theme for the meet. It's Western, or Country, whichever you prefer.

SPEAKING OF PARKING ...

Get your raffle tickets for your chance to win a premier, ultra-exclusive, primo parking spot for all three Home Meets this season.

• $5 for 1 ticket
• $20 for 5 tickets
  • Cash or Venmo accepted
• Purchase:
  • AT PRACTICE: Tuesday (4/29) or Wednesday (4/30)
  • Sunday at the Timing Meet

The winning ticket will be drawn following the last heat of the Boys/Mens 13-18 50yd Freestyle event. You must be present at the time of drawing to win!

But Joel, won't I be long gone by then with my 5 YO swimmer having completed his/her freestyle event? All Freestyle events are back-to-back, and nearly all Seals swimmers participate in Freestyle. At last year's timing meet, the first freestyle heat concluded at 9:58 AM while the Boys/Mens 13-18 50yd Freestyle concluded at 10:34 AM. By the time your swimmer returns to the tent, collects all belongings, reunites with you, and checks out with the tent parent, we'll be ready to draw our winner.

I assure you, the few minutes our winner may wait at Sunday's event is far outweighed by the length of time it will take to haul all your stuff to a car parked at Kiker come next Saturday.

SEALS SPIRIT

First of many, many, many reminders to wear ORANGE – it's your dress rehearsal, too. Take some risks with that outfit!!

Finally, our team store is OPEN. Nothing says, “Happy Mothers’ Day!” (coming soon - 5/11) like orange stuff with a seal on it – https://stores.inksoft.com/circlec/shop/home

Thanks & Go Seals!

Joel Stubblefield, Meet Director

[email protected] | 704-451-9705

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2025 SEALS SCHEDULE

[HOME] SUNDAY, MAY 4 - TIMING MEET @ 9A (First Event)

[HOME] SATURDAY, MAY 10 - BELTERRA @ 8A (First Event)

[AWAY] SATURDAY, MAY 17 - SHADY HOLLOW @ 8A (First Event)

[HOME] SATURDAY, MAY 31 - TSD @ 8A (First Event)

[HOME] SATURDAY, JUNE 7 - SAAB @ 8A (First Event)

[AWAY] SATURDAY, JUNE 14 - WESTERN OAKS @ 8A (First Event)

[AWAY] SATURDAY, JUNE 21 - CHAMPS