OK, I promise there were paragraph breaks in that last email before I sent it. :-/ Let's try it again...

TGIF! (That's my edit for this second version.)

Thank you for all your enthusiastic support during the first two weeks of practice! Now, the fun really begins because NEXT WEEK IS A MEET WEEK!

You must declare your swimmers by Sunday at 5 p.m. for events at Thursday's meet! Declaring swimmers as early as possible makes our coaches' lives easier by allowing them to create heat sheets earlier rather than scrambling to finish them just before their deadline. 

If you do not declare your swimmer by Sunday's deadline, coaches may place your child in one or more individual events that they know your child can swim, or they may omit them from the heat sheet, in which case your child will not be permitted to swim at the meet. A helpful primer on declaring swimmers can be found here.

If you aren't sure what event(s) your child should swim at the first meet, 25 Freestyle for 10 and under and 50 Freestyle for 11 and up are the perfect starting points. You can include a message in the notes section saying you aren't sure what else your child should swim, and the coaches can add them to additional events if they think your child is ready. Swimmers can swim up to three events per meet (not including relays), but it's totally fine if they only swim one or two events to start.

Please sign up to volunteer! The visiting team is required to provide volunteers for numerous positions at an away meet, including timer and official positions. Please help us to meet our obligation by signing up to volunteer. Like the process for declaring swimmers, you can find a walkthrough for registering to volunteer here. Also, if you attended an officials' training session but have not taken the relevant officials' test(s) please do so ASAP. Likewise, we need as many parents as possible to read the instructional materials for timer positions found here and then take the brief timer certification tests. Timing is among the easiest yet most essential volunteer roles we need to fill to run a meet, so we would greatly appreciate help from as many of you as possible in obtaining timer certifications.

Meet arrival times vary by meet and are set by the home team. Generally, parents will not need to arrive at a meet any earlier than 4 p.m., but the specific arrival time depends on the warmup time we are allotted by the home team. We do not learn the specific arrival time until the week of the meet. We will communicate the arrival time promptly once we receive it each week.

Your child can design our Iron Shark shirt! We are again accepting design submissions from swimmers this season for our Iron Shark shirt. This shirt is given to all swimmers who legally complete every individual event during the regular season. All submissions must be received by June 1. Starting with Monday's practice, swimmers can place submissions in a clearly marked pouch that we will place on one of the tables near the breezeway where the restrooms are located.

Your child can also design this year's C&C shirt! SAIL is accepting design ideas from swimmers for this year's Championships & Classics shirt. Please email all design ideas (shirt color and artwork) to [email protected] by June 3. 

We need your child's size information for Divisionals Gifts! Swimmers who compete in at least three dual meets qualify for Divisionals and will receive a Divisionals gift even if they do not compete in Divisionals. Pajama pants will be our gift this year. Please complete this form by June 2 to claim your child's gift. Please note that we will not order extras. If you have questions about Divisionals gifts, please text Sharly Miller at 805-680-6882. 

Order custom-designed PCHM team earrings! Emily Raines, a local jewelry designer, designed PCHM Shark earrings specifically for those who want to show their support for our team. You can order yours here. Use the code SHIPFREE at checkout, and they will be shipped for free to Natalie Sulau, who will distribute them when they are delivered. 

Thank you for your support and for your time and attention to these pressing issues. Have a good weekend, and we look forward to diving into meet prep on Monday!

Fins Up,

The PCHM Swim Team Board