What you need to know about this week at the pool…

Weather:

We will always do our best to try to hold practice.  If there is thunder, the kids will remain under the covered area for 30 min after the last thunder.   

Group Placement:

This week is the final week for our coaches to evaluate the younger swimmers for their ability to be on the team.  All swimmers must be able to swim independently for 12 1/2 yards (or half of the pool length). * This is for your child's safety and is not negotiable.* If your child is unable to make it across the pool, we will refund your registration.  If you choose to drop from the swim team, this is your last week for a partial refund.

Swimmingly:

ACTION REQUIRED: Each swimmer needs to be registered for Swimmingly. If you haven’t already registered your child(ren) with swimmingly, please do so before Wednesday, June 2^nd. Here are the directions…

We were just notified that every family must register their swimmer(s) on the swimmingly app. We use the swimmingly app to run all of the meets. In the past, teams were able to transfer their rosters to the swimmingly app to create line ups and run the meets, however, due to their child protection policy, we are now required to have every parent acknowledge the signup of their own children. Only the swimmers registered in the Swimmingly App roster will be entered in the meets. We don't have the ability to add swimmers on our end. Please make sure this gets done by Wednesday, June 2nd to ensure that your child is entered in the June 7th swim meet.

Parent Instructions:

1. Sign-up for your Swimmingly Clubhouse account at

https://clubhouse.swimmingly.app/app/landingPage

2. Go to the Westhaven Swim Team sign up page at

Westhaven Team Code: 26a447d4-3afc-11eb-83f7-c2b3e1fb23ce

3. Choose the swim season you want to sign your children up for!
4. Select your children. If you have any children that are new to the team or that you don't see listed, you can click the 'Add Swimmer' button to add them.

5. Click submit!
6. The membership fee was included in your swim team fee.

Covid Waiver: 

ACTION REQUIRED  Please sign and turn in a Covid Waiver form by this Wednesday, June 2nd.  Waiver is attached as a document.

Let’s Talk about Swim Caps:

Why do I have to wear a cap? Anyone with long hair (hair past their ears) should always wear a cap during swim team practice. The swimmers are learning good stroke technique during their practices and a large part of good technique is proper head position. When long hair drags, it changes their head position in the water. Caps cut down on the drag (and also protect your hair from the chemicals in the pool.)

What’s the best way to take care of my cap? Latex caps need to be dried after each practice. It’s helpful to sprinkle some baby powder inside the cap so the cap doesn’t stick together. This will cut back on how much the cap pulls your swimmers hair when putting it on and help make sure your cap lasts for the season.

What’s the difference between a latex cap and a silicone cap? Each swimmer who joined the team received a latex team cap. We also have a small supply of silicone team caps for purchase. Silicone caps are thicker and tend to pull hair less. They also tend to last longer. Some swimmers like them better, some think they are too tight. Silicone caps can be purchased from the apparel store for $12. Additional latex caps can be purchased from the apparel store for $6.

Mock Meet:

This Friday we will have a short mock meet during each practice. This will allow the swimmers to hear what the starting system sounds like and practice some racing.

If you are interested and able to stay during your child’s practice time, we would love to have parents learn the meet system. Please come with your phone (iphone or android) fully charged and the swimmingly app downloaded. We will also explain how to read a heat sheet and prepare your swimmer the day of a meet.

**If you are new to swim team, this will be a great time to learn how to be involved, so please try to stay for your child's practice time.**

Apparel:

If you have not picked up your swimmer(s) towel, t-shirt and cap, they will be available for pick up at the pool this week. Please make sure you label everything with your child’s name. 

If you would like to purchase additional merchandise, please bring a check or you can pay through PayPal.