Thank you Hurricane families for coming out to the 2023 season Kickoff Party yesterday. It was thrilling to see new faces, familiar faces and of course happy faces from our children having fun in the water! The excitement of the season is definitely in the air.

Here’s another long email coming!

Today is the first day of swim PRACTICE!

Here's a recap of what was covered in the parent meeting.

• PRACTICE SCHEDULE - Practice with your designated age group. If you have a scheduling concern and/or question about how your swimmer's ability "fits" into his/her practice time, reach out to the coaches, however as mentioned please do not try to speak with them during practice time. This creates a safety concern as we have kids coming out of the pool and another group coming into the pool and we want to make sure the kids are being monitored at all times. Give the coaches a week or so to respond to your question/comment. Practice schedule is here: Practices - Hunters Creek Hurricanes (swimtopia.com)
• STROKE & TURN JUDGES – Our team needs stroke and turn judges! You WILL have the best seat on deck so please consider taking on this position. The league offers an online class May 17^th from 6:30-8:30 pm or May 23 from 6:30-8:30 pm. You only need to attend one class. If you are interested, please let us know. You can also email Steve Mandacina at [email protected] for more information and/or registration. Another option would be to complete the training via strokeandturn.com and email us your completion certificate. There is a charge for the class but the swim club will reimburse you the expense if you send us your completion certificate and receipt.
• SCORE/MEET ENTRY PERSON – As mentioned in yesterday’s parent meeting, we are need a score & meet entry person to train with our Susie Zhang this season to take over next. This will be Susie’s last year as a parent committee member with her children graduating. If you are interested, please let us know. As Shelly mentioned this is an inside, air-conditioned position. J
• SPEAKING OF VOLUNTEERS……. volunteers are essential to the success of our swim team. Our team/league/meets are run 100% by volunteers. Our dedicated parent committee takes care of a lot of the logistical, behind-the-scenes and organization kinds of tasks, but on meet days and the end-of-season party – YOU ARE UP! We need timers, runners, concessions stand workers & as mentioned stroke & turn judges to keep the meets running smoothly, efficiently, and fairly. You were asked to sign up for three volunteer “shifts” (per family) when you registered for the team – you also agreed to pay $125 if you’re not able to fulfill volunteer obligation. We have two parent committee members that serve as “Volunteer Coordinators” – Kaidan Nguyen & Kentrel (Ken) Poole – you’ll want to check in with them when you show up for duty each meet. They’ll keep track of your “shifts”. If the season comes and goes and you haven’t completed your three shifts, we’ll be sending you a $125 invoice.
• WHAT'S THE MOCK MEET - this "meet" on May 15 serves as time trials where the coaches gather times to determine seeding and relay teams for the first meet. It will be set up and run similar to a "real" meet - it's a great opportunity for rookie swimmers to get an idea of what a meet is like. This meet also allows the coaches an opportunity to make a final decision about whether each of the swimmers is ready for competitive season (or perhaps needs one more season of lessons). If your swimmer can't make the mock meet, reach out to the coaches - they'll want to get times on your swimmer at a different practice time. In addition, we need YOUR help running this mock meet so please consider giving us a hand in making this mock meet successful (unfortunately, this won’t count towards your “3 shift” commitment).
• HOW DO WE KNOW IF PRACTICE IS CANCELED DUE TO WEATHER? Check the "Here's What's New" column in the top right of the home page (desktop version only; not visible in the mobile version) and/or check your email. We will attempt to make a final call about whether or not to cancel practice 1 hour before practices start. Once a decision is made, a team-wide email will be sent.
• LET US KNOW IF YOU CANNOT MAKE A MEET – We know it’s summer time, vacation plans have been made, camps have been booked and life just happens! We WILL ASSUME your child will be at the meets unless you give us notice. If you know now that your child will not make a meet go to the meet schedule page here Swim Meets and Events - Hunters Creek Hurricanes (swimtopia.com) Click on the green "meet entry" box for any meet that you won't be attending. Follow the prompts to declare your swimmer's absence. Again, if you don't declare anything, we will assume your swimmer will be at the meet and will enter him/her in events/relays. If something happens that morning (ear infection, family emergency) that your child will not make a meet, please email us at [email protected] asap.
• TEAM SUIT: This year's team suit is the Dolfin Galactic Green V-back and Dolfin Galactic Green Jammer - you can pick yours up (and try it on first) from SwimFreak on Thousand Oaks. When you walk in, tell them you're a Hunters Creek Hurricane and they'll set you up. Alternately, you can order online using our link: Hunters Creek Hurricanes - SwimFreak LLC Suit and SwimFreak details are here: Team Gear - Hunters Creek Hurricanes (swimtopia.com)
• TEAM SHIRT & SWIM CAPS: You had an opportunity to order a team tee or swim cap when you registered. If you want to order anymore – you can do so by May 5^th at Team Gear - Hunters Creek Hurricanes (swimtopia.com) T shirts and swim caps will be distributed before the first meet.
• TEAM YARD SIGNS: This year we will be selling Hurricane Yard Signs to show off your cool child and what awesome things they are doing. The cost of the yard sign is $30 and can be found here: Team Gear - Hunters Creek Hurricanes (swimtopia.com)
• HELP OUT OUR COACH – For the younger kids who may hesitate to get into the water at first or stay in the water during practice, we are asking for parents help during the 1^st week or two until the child feels comfortable so that the coaches can focus on instruction.
• DID YOU PAY THE $100 Non-Member fee, but NOW WANT TO JOIN THE HCSRC for year-round swim-at-your-own risk pool access as well as other club benefits? Response to any of my emails and make sure you become a member – we’ll deduct your $100 Non-Member fee from your total membership dues. Information about your community club, HCSRC, is here: Home - Hunters Creek Swim & Racquet Club (clubexpress.com). Membership is fun for the family and your dues support the community at large, as well. Membership is open to residents and non-residents of Hunters Creek.

I know this is a lot of information and I apologize for the long emails, we just want to make sure you are up-to-date with everything that is going on!!!! As always, please let us know if you have questions! Looking forward to a fun, fantastic season!!!

GO HURRICANES!

Monica