Hi Poolsharks -

Welcome to Week 8. The weather again is all over the place and we will plan and hope for the best. If we are stormed out and there is a makeup meet (TBD), it would be the following day on Wednesday this week.

Thank you parents for all of your time, energy & support throughout the season - our team is as strong as parents commitment and support. I am thankful for each parent & family that makes our team possible.

#1) Meet #4 Tuesday June 20th - we will be away vs Twin Lakes. 5:30 start time. Their head coach is Cat Stansbury - she has been coaching Twin Lakes for ~ 30 years and is a legend! Heat Sheets & Handwriters will be posted on our team website sometime between Mon evening/Tuesday late morning. Swim meet timeline at bottom of email.

Twin Lakes Meet Timeline:

4:00 coaches arrive

4:15 all swimmers arrive at the pool in this window and ages 5-14 go to sit with their age group bullpens

4:30 team meeting

4:45 timer meeting

4:45 - 4:55 warmups for our 6U/8U kids

4:55 - 5:05 warmups for our 9-10 & 11-12

5:05 - 5:15 warmups for our 13-18 kids

5:20 all 6U & 8U kids get ready for relays

5:30 pm Meet Begins - order of events

9:30 pm Meet Ends

#2) Volunteers for Lake Claire Meet - we need 50 more volunteers please - LINK to sign up.

#3) Looking ahead to Meet #5 on Monday June 26th - we will finish out our regular season at HOME vs Lake Claire @ 5:30 and it will be 80’s Spirit Night - swimmers, parents, coaches are all welcome and encouraged to show their 80’s fashion and spirit.

#4) Swim Lessons - LINK

#5) ASA Divisionals - this is our Championship meet, Wednesday morning, June 29th @ Georgia Tech. Lots of info down below in Detail. Deadline: this Wednesday June 21. No late submissions on entries or payment please as the league is very very strict about these deadlines. Cost per swimmer for each family: $25 (lots of info at bottom of email about this meet)

#6) End of Season celebration - we will have our end of season celebration on Thursday June 29th, during the morning practice time. Details are TBD but will include some relays and penny dive and that sort of fun stuff. We will also recognize 6 Poolsharks of the Year at the celebration. More info at bottom of email.

#7) Swim team pictures - LINK to order. Deadline to order is Friday June 23rd.

#8) Looking ahead to Week 9 (last week of season) (Mon June 26 - Thurs June 29)

Monday: Dual Meet HOME vs Lake Claire Wahoos - Spirit theme 80’s night

Tuesday: regular times but we will have donut/awards and last swim practice day

Wednesday: Divisionals @ Georgia Tech - we typically have about ⅓ of our team compete at our Championship meet to represent the Poolsharks. I will send a separate email to Divisional families after the warmup times & heat sheets have been released this late Friday night. There is NO Poolshark practice this day as all coaches will be at Divisionals.

Thursday: LAST DAY of Season - semi-regular AM practice times - we will have our End of Season Celebration including games, fun relays & recognize 6 Poolsharks of the Year.

#9) - Detailed/More Info about our End of Season Celebration:

End of Season Celebration Timeline (not set in stone but this is the general idea):

START: 9 am END: 11 am

10:00 Mixed Age Group Freestyle Relays (each team must have 3 girls, 3 boys and one swimmer from each of the 6 age groups 6U, 7-8, 9-10, 11-12, 13-14, 15-18.)

10:30 Poolshark of the Year & Divisional Awards

10:45 clean up

#10 - Detailed/More Info about Divisionals:

Divisionals Information (info LINK from Atlanta Swim Association)

The meet takes place at Georgia Tech Aquatic Center, one of the fastest and best pools in the country.

Deadline to Declare & Pay $25 entry fee: this Wednesday June 21st

Who: all Poolsharks are welcome to swim at Divisionals - if you are not sure about your swimmer, please let me know and I can help you make an informed decision based on age, experience, environment, etc.

When: Wednesday June 28th in the AM - warmups typically are sometime between 7 - 9 am (these times will be assigned next week) and the meet starts at 9:30 am, with an end time of 1 pm.

Why: The meet gives kids a chance to swim in a Championship Meet and it is very well organized and well run. The pool hosts national and international meets each year and is very fast and fancy. It is a lot of fun and gives kids a chance to compete with 100’s of kids from around metro Atlanta and give their best while representing the Poolsharks.

Cost: Families will pay $25 per swimmer towards the $45 entry fee (Venetian will pay for the remaining $20).

You can send $ to Beth via Venmo. @Beth-Lewis-7. Please put in note ‘Divisional fee for Johnny Miller’ or via PayPal at [email protected]

Parking: parking passes for the lot right next to the pool are ~ $12 and sometimes sell out so you may want to purchase early. LINK

Events: parents please specify which 2 individual races your child would like to swim, when you declare on our site. Relays will be created for as many multiples of 4 that we have. We will try to get every swimmer on at least one relay but cannot guarantee as it is based on entries in multiples of 4.

*The referees are VERY strict at Georgia Tech and will DQ any swimmer not fully legal. They are ruthless and will DQ a 6 year old if they even hint at turning on their tummy on the last stroke of backstroke.

Late entries/change:Not Happening. This is the biggest meet in the entire country - yes - there are about 5,000 kids that compete in the meet over 7 sessions (we are in Session #1) and so the league director does not want late entries or any changes. If a family really needs to make a change, the director will do it but it typically costs $75 or so per race.

Volunteers: we are required to provide a handful of parent volunteers for this meet - it may be timing, drink hospitality, runners, awards, etc. The stands can get pretty crowded at this meet so many of our parents do like to volunteer in some fashion at this meet and get a front row view of the action.

Have Fun, Race Hard, Do Your Best, Go Poolsharks!

-Beth