Greetings, Wahoos!

The countdown to summer swim is ON! I hope you’re as excited as my family is! I’m sad to inform you that Coach Parker, Coach Franny, and Coach Allison will not be returning this season. After many wonderful years, we wish them all the best in their bright futures!

We have hired John Isaac as our new Head Coach. He is very excited to take the helm! He is very passionate about instructing proper technique and injury prevention. His philosophy mirrors ours: Summer swim is an inclusive team sport that welcomes everyone while teaching valuable life skills. We will also be welcoming back assistant coaches Kelley Grace and Olivia. Joining them will be Breck and Leah.

We had our largest team ever last year with 190 swimmers! We had really strong finishes at SMI and City Meet. It’s so exciting for the kids to be part of a huge team! That said, volunteers are in demand more than ever before. Did you know it takes more than 70 volunteers to run EACH AND EVERY dual meet? Your board of volunteers works year-round to prepare for the season. We are a small board and we need your support to continue to offer as many fun team experiences as we have in the past with a much larger team.

Board members for the 2023 season:

Bethany Hicks, President

Jill Richards, Secretary

Elisa Hickman, Treasurer

Carrie Cleland, Meet Director

Past President, Audrey Brown

Sarah Chesney, Graphic Artist

We are adding a Parent Advisory Council this year. Summer swim teams are unique in youth sports because of the vast age range of athletes that are served. In our case that’s ages 4-18! We want to make sure each age group has a chance to contribute ideas, make suggestions, and vote on certain issues. Estimated time contribution is 10 hours for the season. Council members will receive $100 off their registration.

Here are the positions:

• 8 and under: Audrey Faso
• 9-10: Carrie Wallace
• 11-12: OPEN
• 13-14: OPEN

We also want to give our older swimmers an opportunity for buy-in this year as well. We are seeking one male and one female swimmer age 15+ to serve as Student Representatives. Responsibilities include participating in some Board meetings, communicating information to their peers, creating social media content, and event planning/execution. Volunteer hours are offered. (No fee reduction.) Interested parties should send a brief email to Bethany Hicks @ [email protected] expressing his/her interest.

Please also contact me if you have a swimmer 13+ that would like to work in our feeder development program. Last year this operated M-F from 11-11:30. This is a paid position.

As always, we need parents to become Stroke & Turn Certified or to recertify. I will be sending the training info out when it becomes available. PLEASE consider attending. You do NOT need to be a swimming expert to attend this training – you’ll be an expert when you leave! We cannot run meets without a certain number of these positions. You will have a great view of the meet and sometimes even a chair!

Scheduling:

Our meet schedule is determined by GKAISA at our meet scheduling meeting on March 21. I do NOT know when meets are until after this date. We TYPICALLY do not have a meet July 4^th week, but that is not guaranteed. The 2^nd Annual Battle of the Bluff is tentatively scheduled for Saturday, June 24^th at CWH! Smoky Mountain Invitational is July 8-9. City Meet is July 20-22 this year. The Team Banquet will be July 23. This is on the website.

Registration will open soon. There are some fee and payment issues we still need to work out as Swimtopia has made some significant changes in their fees and payment platform. I will send an email/alert and post on socials when it is opened. IT IS VERY POSSIBLE WE WILL ONLY BE ACCEPTING CHECKS/VENMO THIS YEAR. If this idea makes you crazy and you think you can help, contact me!

Save the Dates:

• Sunday, April 16^th @ 3pm: Meet and Greet Event: This is a time to meet our new head coach, ask questions, or get help with registration (we know it’s complicated!). A Pool representative will also be on site to handle Pool Memberships and Swim Team Only Fees. Swim and Tri will be there to assist with suit sizing and offer a 20% team discount. Beware: they will not size you for a suit if you do not intend to purchase from them. While this seems severe, they are a locally-owned business with a brick and mortar storefront trying to stay afloat in an ecommerce world.
• We will also do another event in early May – TBD.
• THE POOL OPENS on May 24^th!
• First Day of Practice is May 30^th – more info to come on how we will run the first week of practice in order to keep it running smoothly and safely.

Fees:

2023 Swim Team fees are on the website: https://cwhwahoos.swimtopia.com/. Your team fees continue to include all meet entry fees, a t-shirt, and a cap. WE NEED COROPORATE SPONSORS! Our costs have nearly doubled over the past 2 years and we do not want to raise our fees to recoup this. We need to supplement with sponsorships or other revenue streams. If you own a business or know an interested business, please get in touch. Jill Richards will be sending out specific sponsorship info soon.

We get lots of questions every year about Swim Team Only Fees. These fees are collected and assessed by Crestwood Hills Pool & Rec Center (a private sport’s club for members only) and apply to swimmers who DO NOT join Crestwood Hills Pool and Rec Center. Our Swim Team is a separate entity from the Pool. Neighboring pools charge these fees as well. This year, the Pool Board has created a Student Swimmer Membership which is unique in our area and a wonderful option for our 12+ swimmers who are in good standing. See the website for more details.

Suit: 

Speedo Edge Splice in Navy/Red. There are briefs and jammers for males and 2 cuts females. "One back" offers more coverage and fits smaller girls better as compared to the "Crossback" option. We selected this suit for availability and because Speedo promises it is a 3-year suit. This means we can use it for at least 3 seasons. We understand it's hard to justify an additional expense sometimes. Previous season suits and solid navy suits are also acceptable (see below). 

Closet Clean Out:

If you have suits or spirit wear that your family no longer needs, please bring them washed on April 16 or the May date. We will have a swap table! If you have specialty swim items you may bring them priced to sell (fast skins, bags, fins, etc).

Please contact me with any questions. I’ll be in touch soon with a (hopefully) much shorter email!

Bethany Hicks

[email protected] / 865.789.0854