Hello Maplewood Marlins!!

Welcome to the 2023 swim season! We are so excited to have your family on our team this summer. There is a lot of information in this kick-off email and I appreciate you reading to the end.

PRACTICE SCHEDULE

https://maplewoodmarlins.swimtopia.com/practice-schedule

Daily afternoon practices begin Wednesday, May 10th and morning practices begin Thursday, June 1st. If you will miss a significant amount of practice, be sure to let the coaching staff know. You can always email them at [email protected].

In addition to our amazing coaching staff we have the privilege of having an excellent mentor on our board, Cameron Barghi, who will be the coaches liaison this season. He has extensive swimming experience, as both a swimmer & a coach. We will also use lane helpers for the first part of the season. Lane helpers are in the pool and assist swimmers during practice. If you know any high schoolers interested in gaining volunteer hours & coach experience as a lane helper, please ask them to contact me at [email protected].

TEAM SUITS

While the team suit is not required, it sure is great to see the kids at meets with the same suit on. Texas Swim Shop has our suits in stock now! You can go to the store to get fitted (she’s so good, she can look at your kid and size them), or you can wait until she comes to practice on Wednesday, May 17th.

COMMUNICATION

In addition to email, a few important communication tools we will use this season include:

• the Maplewood Marlins website at our easy to remember domain www.maplewoodmarlins.org. Please bookmark this for quick access.
• the Maplewood Marlins Facebook page. Please like and follow our page for updates as well as pictures and celebrations from the season.
• the SwimTopia app will be used to:
  • follow along using a new “live meet” feature where you can see heat sheets and upcoming swimmer/event alerts for your family.
  • send out updates or cancellations due to weather and other reminders that we need to get out to the team. Please enable push notifications so you can receive information in a timely manner.

If you can’t find your answer in any of the above places, please feel free to contact me at [email protected] with any questions you may have.

SWIM MEETS

https://maplewoodmarlins.swimtopia.com/meet-101

WE ARE STILL WAITING FOR THE OFFICIAL SCHEDULE FROM THE LEAGUE. Hang tight! We do know that we will have 1 virtual meet (our team only) and 4 dual meets.

Virtual meet - Week of May 22, during practice times - more details to come.

Tuesday, May 30 (we have requested a HOME meet for this one), Monday, June 5, Monday, June 12 & Monday, June 19. All meets start at 5pm. I will send the official schedule once I get it from the league.

Following the regular season meets, we will participate in the postseason events. We will have the Meet of Champions (June 26) followed by the All Stars Meet (June 30). More information to follow on the postseason schedule.

STROKE JUDGES

Stroke Judges are a very important part of the swim team. So important that we cannot hold a meet without them! Stroke Judges watch the races from the side of the pool (best seat at the meet!) and note if the swimmers make an illegal stroke. Stroke judges will be trained and are required to attend a free stroke judge clinic/training sponsored by the league. We will host a stroke judge clinic/training at Maplewood on Saturday, 05/20 but there will be other clinics around the league if that doesn’t work. If you can help us out as a stroke judge, please contact Shauna Wilson at [email protected]. Fun perks included!!

MEET DECLARATION & VOLUNTEER SIGN-UP

These items are coming soon! The SHRSL league is setting up our meet schedule/events in the software. We will let you know when these items are available for you to complete. As a reminder, if you have 1 swimmer, you must complete 3 volunteer shifts. If you have 2+ swimmers, you must complete 5 volunteer shifts. Volunteers are essential to running an efficient & enjoyable meet. The more efficient our meet, the earlier the meet ends!

KICK OFF PARTY!!

We will be hosting a kick off party on the evening of Friday, May 19 at 6pm. 6 & unders and 7/8s WILL practice that day. We are working on the details of the party and will send them out as soon as we have everything confirmed.

OTHER UPCOMING DATES

• Meet Team cutoff is Friday, May 19th. This is the date that 6 and under swimmers must be able to swim 1 length of the pool unassisted and all other swimmers must be legal in at least 2 strokes. (If you are concerned this might apply to your swimmer, I suggest not purchasing the team suit until after this date...unless you want it regardless)
• The Parent Meeting/Team Photos will take place on Sunday, May 21 at 11:00 a.m. Lots of information shared & questions answered at the meeting. Merchandise orders will be available for pick-up at this time too. More information about photos will be posted soon.
• The Coaches’ Breakfast is Friday, June 16. This is a time when the older swimmers (11 and up) get to swim, eat breakfast, and hang out with the coaches. It is a longstanding right of passage on the Maplewood swim team and something the swimmers look forward to.
• The End of Year Party will be Wednesday, June 28. The pool will close to members that evening and the swim team will have open swim, awards, dinner and some fun. Please mark your calendars and look for more information.

The 2023 Board has been hard at work planning our season. Thank you for your patience as we get back in the groove. We will be around at practices and are available to discuss any questions or concerns you may have.

There will be more information coming soon, so stay tuned!

Go Marlins!

~Mindy Campbell~
2023 Board President