Good afternoon Lightning families!

Thank you to all who were able to make it to our parent meeting last night. We know that finding any time for a meeting during Maycember is difficult, so we appreciate you! It was so nice to see some new faces as well as some returning families. We are so excited for our season to start!

Don’t forget! Tomorrow night, Zaxby’s, in the Publix at Matt Town Center shopping center, is hosting a spirit night for our swim team from 4-8 pm. Please mention you are with the Lake Forest swim team, and our team will receive a portion of the proceeds from that night!

Also, we are having a swimsuit fitting on Thursday (5/8) evening from 6-7 pm in the lower level of the clubhouse. Please make sure to attend if you are unsure of the size of your suit. Another option that families have had success with is to order multiple sizes and return the sizes that don’t work. Swim Outlet has fast shipping, but we want to make sure you have your swimsuits by our team picture day.

We wanted to send out the members of our Swim Team Parent Board. If you have any questions, any board member is happy to answer them for you. A board member will be in attendance at each practice!

• Heather Otwell – Director
• Stephanie McCurley – Co-Treasurer
• Tracy Foxx - Co-Treasurer
• Christy Moynan – Volunteer Coordinator
• Ashley Cerny - Secretary
• Jennifer Ng - Member at Large, Fundraising Coordinator

Here is a list of all our coaches with the age group they will be working with. Reach out to your child’s specific coach if you have an issue/question. Also, some senior coaches will offer private lessons for $30 for a 30 minute session. I will let you know who those coaches are soon!

• Tyler Martin – Head Coach
• Trey Jackson – Assistant Coach
• Mia Davis – Coach of 11 & ups
• Carter Bennett - Coach of 11 & ups
• Sophia Landis – 6 & under swimmers
• Fay McCurley - 6 & under swimmers
• Gabby Ramey – 9 & 10 swimmers
• Adelyn Thomas - 9 & 10 swimmers
• Sam Hutcheson - 7 & 8 swimmers
• Jackson Sawyer - 7 & 8 swimmers
• Sophia Wingate - Junior Coach
• Thatcher Wiegand - Junior Coach
• Dylan Brooks - Junior Coach
• Emily Frederickson - Junior Coach
• Georgia Galt - Junior Coach
• Paislee Otwell - Junior Coach
• Austin Carey - Junior Coach
• Maggie McCurley - Junior Coach
  

Next, we wanted to congratulate our raffle winners from our parent meeting.

• Winner of a reserved parking spot in the pool lot: Pam Edler
• Winner of the volunteer pass: Kris Watkins

Please sign up for our Remind app notifications. You can text 81010. Send this message: @33d4h88

This is how we will send important updates/reminders and will notify you of any weather related updates. Remember, we will practice in the rain and cold, but once we hear thunder, practice will be canceled. We will notify you through the REMIND app.

Here is our meeting recap:

1.Our first practice of the season is Monday, May 12 at 4:30 for our 6 and under swimmers. Please see the attached practice schedule for your age group specific times. If you are unsure whether your swimmer needs to be a spark or 6 and under, please come to practice Monday, and our coaches will evaluate your swimmer. Also, please have your swimmer arrive 10 minutes prior to his or her age group practice time to stretch on the island. For example, if your swimmer is practicing at the 6 and under practice time, please have them arrive at 4:20 for dry land stretching.

A few more practice reminders: 1.Sparks do not start practice until Tuesday, May 27 at 8AM. I forgot to mention this at the parent meeting, but Sparks will swim at the beginning of each meet in an exhibition race. 2. No parents are allowed on deck on the dive blocks side of the pool. You may sit/stand on the opposite side, near the pool house or anywhere around the zero entry area of the pool. 3. If you have an issue/concern about your swimmer or practice, please wait to speak with your child’s coach until the practice has concluded. It is a safety concern if our coaches are not actively watching the water, and safety is our #1 priority. If you have an immediate concern, please talk with a board member. 4. Please remember afternoon practices are always a little crazy because we have to cram all our practices into an hour and a half. Please be patient with us and the coaches during this time. Parking will be an issue during afternoon practices. We ask that you be respectful of our neighbors while you are parking and not park in front of driveways or fire hydrants. Once morning practices start, the parking should improve.

2. All swimmers must be declared as “attending” or “not attending” by Tuesday at 8 am before that week's meet for all meets on Thursday. For our last Tuesday meet, you must declare your swimmer by Sunday at 8 am. We will send out a video with instructions on how to do this soon. If you are a returning family and remember how to declare your swimmers, you can go ahead and do this now. If you do not declare your swimmer, we will assume they aren’t swimming that week, and they will not be placed in our lineup. Sparks swimmers do not have to declare their swimmer.

3.The ASA Championship (County Meet) will be held at Georgia Tech pool on Friday, June 27 at 9 AM. We are encouraging all families to participate if possible. This was such a fun experience last year! If you plan to participate in this meet, you MUST let me know by Friday, June 6, after our 2nd meet. If you already know you want to participate, please go ahead and email me, and I will place you on our team list. I will contact you once we get closer with more information. If you have any questions at all, please don’t hesitate to reach out! To participate in this meet, the cost is $50/swimmer.

4. At our home meets, the concession stand will accept cash or paypal. We are no longer accepting venmo. We will have burgers, hot dogs, pizza, BBQ sandwiches, chips, candy, and drinks.

5.Volunteering – Volunteer signups will go live Sunday May 18 at 9 AM. Remember, each family must sign up for 5 volunteer slots, with 2 of those being bullpen slots. If you have any questions about volunteering, please first check our website with all the volunteer job descriptions, by clicking THIS LINK! If you still have questions, you can reach out to Christy Moynan (our volunteer coordinator) at practices or email our swim team email account. Sparks families do not have to volunteer.

6.Picture day is Thursday May 15. (We realize this may be a conflict for some families, but we have to go with the best possible date for our photographer.) Please arrive promptly at 5:15 in your royal blue swimsuit or jammer AND your team t-shirt to line up for the group picture. The group picture will be taken promptly at 5:30. Individual pictures will be taken after the group picture concludes. We will have no practice on this day.

7. If you missed ordering from our spirit wear store, Lanier Goods is leaving our link open for you to order. I will go to Lanier Goods one more time to pick up orders, and then after that, you will have to select shipping or pick up in store. Click HERE to order!

I think that’s everything! As always, please let us know if you have any questions! We look forward to another fun swim season!

Sincerely,

Heather Otwell

Director

P.S. Please see attachment for important dates.