Competitive Team News
Competitive Team News
January 2021
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Sincerest Thanks
Sincerest Thanks
The entire Ensworth Aquatics coaching staff sends a very sincere THANK YOU for your generosity and thoughtfulness this past holiday season. There is never an expectation from the coaches that parents provide gifts of any kind, but we are always deeply appreciative as candies, baked goods, Meal baskets, and overly generous financial gifts are given by our wonderful families.
Every coach on this staff works with the feeling that the greatest gift of all is the team: the swimmers, the parents, and the other coaches. All of us are so fortunate to have an opportunity to cherish that gift every day at practice. Your thoughtfulness during the holidays is above and beyond what any coach would expect. Thank you, and let's hope that the biggest gift we receive in 2021 is a chance to be together once again.
Frostbite Invite
Frostbite Invite
Parents have until Monday, February 11, to register for the Frostbite Invite. This meet will be smaller than the Holiday Classic we hosted in December. There are a few outside teams coming, but we expect each session to have fewer swimmers than we hosted last month.
As always, please feel free to select events for your athletes or leave event selection blank for the coaches to choose. Also, if you do select events, remember that your child's coach may alter that selection based on their feeling about what your child should swim. Please encourage your child to talk to their coach if she / he has a question about event selection. One of the greatest things we can do for the swimmers is teach them self-reliance. Part of that is learning to communicate personally with their coach.
Once again, spectators will not be permitted in the building during next weekend's meet, though the event will be live-streamed. Athletes will need to sit in the spectators' seats in order for us to maintain adequate social distancing.
Championship Meet Season
Championship Meet Season
The weeks after Christmas Break mark the beginning of the Championship Meet Season. While this year is certainly going to be different in some way as it relates to our Championship meets, our swimmers, coaches, and parents should still look to the weeks ahead as vital preparation for peak performance come late February.
We have been told that Southeastern Swimming board members were meeting this week to discuss options for upcoming championship meets in February. The Region Meet is scheduled to be hosted by Excel the weekend of February 13-14 with SES Championships the following weekend hosted by HSA in Huntsville.
There is no word yet on what Southeastern Swimming will decide to do, but it is very possible that the Region and SES Championship Meets will be "virtual meets" where times for qualifiers are collated together from all across our LSC. We will let you know as soon as possible what they have decided and how it will impact our team.
Remember, the SES Championship meet is for qualifiers only. Qualifying standards can be found here. Athletes who achieve qualifying standards for SES Championships can participate in the Region meet, but cannot swim events in which they've achieved an SES time standard.
Become a Trained Official
Become a Trained Official
The call for new volunteer officials is a feature of almost every single newsletter. We do not put it in there to simply bolster the content. We need officials! There is a dedicated cadre of volunteer officials on our team that keeps us in a position to be able to host swim meets. But their ranks must always be bolstered to keep the workload from overwhelming them.
While Covid will eventually end and spectators will return for meets, being on deck and involved in the running of a meet is an important and meaningful role.
It is also worth reminding families that unlike most every team out there, our team does not have a volunteer hours requirement. Most teams do, and parents who fail to meet the required number of hours are billed, often to the tune of $25 per unmet hour or more.
While timers, hospitality workers, and marshals are important jobs, being an official is one of the few skilled roles that allow us to actually run meets per USA Swimming's sanction requirements.
So click the black button on the right. We need you!
Parking Lot Safety
Parking Lot Safety
Please continue to be aware of our protocols for safely exiting the parking lot.
All Stingray and Dolphin parents are encouraged to come inside to the upstairs balcony during the last 10 minutes of practice, which will allow parents to see their children exiting the pool.
Stingrays now exit through the Meet Management office into the main lobby. Parents, who are on the balcony level, are able to meet their children in that area and escort them to the car. All other children are brought downstairs to the main natatorium entrance, where parents have to physically meet their children and escort them to the car. Stingrays will always be coming downstairs between 6:25 and 6:30 p.m. Please plan accordingly. The Stingrays will not be allowed to navigate the parking area on their own. Please park in parking spaces and not along the curb.
Dolphins will continue to use the exit stairwell. Parents who observe the end of practice will be able to meet their children by going down that same stairwell as their child exits the pool deck area. We ask that all Dolphin parents park in the new parking area behind the pool. This way Dolphins need only walk across the grassy area to meet their parents and not through the parking lot.
Stay Connected
Stay Connected
GroupMe
GroupMe
If you have not already joined your swimmers' GroupMe, please consider downloading the app and joining. Parents, coaches, and staff use GroupMe to communicate last-minute updates, traffic issues, practice changes, lost and found, carpooling, and much more. Each practice group has its own group text, and we believe if you ask any returning team members, they will confirm that GroupMe is an invaluable communication tool as it enables them to ask specific questions and plan activities particular to their practice group. Use this link to download the GroupMe app.
Use the buttons in the right column to connect with your swimmer's practice group and parent representative.
Parent Represenatives
Parent Represenatives
Below we have listed the Parent Representatives for each training group. Thank you to the wonderful moms for volunteering for this position.
Stingrays: Lindsay Sanford and Jessica Dye
Dolphins: Moe Kolton and Jessica Horne
Sharks: Fran Spurrier and Marcy Rehse
Junior: Susan Emrhein
Marlins: Stefanie Massey
Senior 1 & Senior: Claire McCall and Margaret Mason
Team Unify & OnDeck
Team Unify & OnDeck
We are confident that everyone on our team has visited www.ensworthaquatics.com, which is also frequently refered to as Team Unify. Beyond registration, TeamUnify serves as the information portol for our entire team, beginning with swim school and through our masters program. Through TeamUnify, parents and athletes will commit to competitions, enter events, sign up to volunteer, access newsletters, review practice schedules, and so much more. Be sure to sign into the website to view all content... once you are therem bookmark it!
OnDeck is TeamUnify's supporting app that allows our staff to communicate through our website directly to team members' mobile devices. OnDeck also presents our website content to users with improved mobile device usability. What this means is you can enter into swim meets and signup to volunteer more easily on your mobile devices.
Use the buttons in the left column to access these resources.
Social Media
Social Media
Ensworth Aquatics is on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. Use the icons on the right to connect with Ensworth Aquatics on social media.
Archived Newsletters
Archived Newsletters
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