News Splash May 17

Andrew Hasek

Good afternoon CAJ Parents,

 

Coach Andrew’s Corner

 

Practice this Friday (5/19) is canceled due to a coaching shortage on that day.

 

For those that are going to NVALs (7/28-7/30) we have group block set up at the Gaia Hotel and Spa in Anderson. If you want to get a room in this block you may call to set up a reservation at 530-365-7077 (be sure to mention you are with the Chico Aquajets), or you may reserve your room online by using the following link: https://www.choicehotels.com/reservations/groups/EV61L5. The block closes 30 days prior to the start of our event, so get your reservation now before it closes.

The Kalsbeek Classic was last Saturday and our Aquajets did fantastic! Lots of fast racing and good competition. Our Aquajets achieved 23 best times! I am very impressed with how they performed. Let’s keep the momentum going throughout the rest of the season.

Our Team Dinner was last week on Wednesday (5/11) which means we handed more monthly awards. The Aquajets that earned one of these awards are as follows. The Most Improved Swimmers for April 2023 are Ben Shaeffer (minijet silver group), Rishi Singh (minijet blue group), Basin West (white group), Damian Camacho (navy group), Maia Green (pre-senior group), and Celio Clavey-Perras (senior group). The swimmers that had the best race for their group in April 2023 are Brynlie Homesley for her 200y Fr (navy group), Siena Jones for her 50y Bk (pre-senior group), and Mason Winzenz for his 500y Fr (senior group). The swimmers that earned the Best Sportsmanship award of April 2023 for their group are Olivia Tran (minijet silver group), Noah Craig (minijet blue group), Michelle Fumasi (white group), Gino Lawrence (navy group), Addy Crane (pre-senior group), and Holden Campos (senior group). The Swimmer of the Month for April 2023 honorable mentions are Michelle Fumasi, Brynlie Homesley, and Holden Campos. The Swimmer of the Month award for April 2023 was earned by Iban Ullate. Congratulations to all of our award winners, keep up the good work Aquajets.

Our next team dinner will be a BBQ on June 8th in the back of the Elks Lodge, starting at 6:00pm. We will talk about the plan for the rest of the summer so make sure you are there so you do not miss out on any important information.

Old Business

Beard and Hair Challenge Best Time Total (as of 5/17): 23 best times total

For the safety of our swimmers please make sure to pick up your swimmer(s) on time after their practice ends.

In order to keep our swimmers safe and to ensure a positive relationship with In Motion Fitness I am asking our Aquajet families to adhere to the following. When swimmers are on deck, they need to follow the pool rules; this includes walking on deck, no horseplay, and no foul language. Aquajets are only to use the lap pool, the outside showers, and the outside bathrooms during their practice time as well as 30 minutes prior to and after their scheduled practice. Aquajets that are 14 years old or younger need to be supervised at all times, if you are unable to supervise your swimmer while waiting for the start of their practice then your swimmer will need to sit at the tables located on the deep side of the lap pool so the coaches can watch them. If you are going to watch the practices, please do so at the tables located on the deep side of the lap pool, which In Motion has reserved for us during our practice times, this helps keep the entire outside pool area organized and helps us work with In Motion better. When picking swimmers up make sure to follow the rules of the road in the parking lot; stop at stop signs, follow the speed limit of 5mph, and do not park in the handicap spaces if you are not approved to do so.

I am pleased to announce Coach Andrew’s Beard and Hair Challenge for our Summer Season. Starting the weekend of the Kalsbeek Classic (5/13) and ending with the NVAL Championship meet (7/28-7/30) I am going to keep track of the number of best times achieved by our Aquajets. If we can get 70 best times by NVALs I will dye my beard blue for the meet. If we can get an additional 80 best times (for 150 best times total) then I will cut my hair off. This will be a fun challenge for our team, and I am excited to see if I will get to keep my hair or not.

It is time to start planning for our summer season if you have not started doing so already. This is our busiest time of the year, and where we want to see the most participation from the team. Check TeamSnap and our team calendar regularly so you can start planning on attending as many meets this Summer as possible. It is especially important to try and keep the weekend of July 28-July 30 available because that is the weekend of our championship meet which takes place in Redding.

The RAD June Trials and Finals meet is also open for signups and will stay open until filled or until Thursday 6/15 at 11:59pm. This is another (LCM) meet so I do not recommend our Aquajets that are newer to swimming attend. However, keep an eye open because I anticipate there being another meet this same weekend that will be excellent for our newer swimmer to go to. Once I have more information about the second meet for this weekend (6/23-6/25) I will be sure to share it.

The Summer Sanders meet in Roseville is open for registration, signups close Thursday June 1. This is a competitive meet with fast qualifying times. If your swimmer has any of these qualifying times, then they should sign up to swim at this meet. Only the most advanced swimmers in our Senior group will have qualifying times.

If you are looking for ribbons from our past few meets, they are organized in our file box by last name. Feel free to look for your ribbons or ask a coach for help.

We have started using an app called TeamSnap in order to improve the ability of our team to communicate with each other, and to make it easier for our members to see upcoming events. I highly recommend you download the app and turn notifications on, so you do not miss any information. If you have not received an invite to our team’s profile on TeamSnap, send me an email and I will work to get an invite to you.

Be sure to check out our Chico Aquajets Facebook and Instagram pages for fun posts and information about the team!

Check out our team store on our website for some CAJ gear!

If your swimmer is not USA swimming registered yet, please do so as soon as you can. There is a link to do so in the “USA SWIM REGISTRATION” section of this news splash.

USA SWIM REGISTRATION

This link will show you all you need to register your swimmer until the end of 2023.

https://omr.usaswimming.org/omr/welcome/43F7068EBC3C44

 

UPCOMING MEETS

 

IMPORTANT Reminders

  • Make sure your swimmer is USA Swimming registered
  • Make sure your swimmer is bringing a water bottle to every practice
  • Team BBQ is June 8th at 6:00pm at the back patio of the Elks Lodge
     

NEW AQUAJETS: 

Please Familiarize yourself with our    Team Handbook located on the CAJ website under Join the Team.  

We ask that parents avoid being on deck during practice as it can be distracting to the coaches and the swimmers.  

NEW SWIMMERS: SIGN    CAJ WAIVER  AND HAND IT TO YOUR COACH    

SWIMMER ACCOUNT REMINDER:  All swimmer fees are due on the 1st day of each month and are considered late if not received by the 10th. A $10 late fee will be assessed for late payments. Notice of intent to discontinue swimming must be provided to the Chico AquaJets in writing by the 15th of the month before the date of inactivity to cancel monthly fees. Written notice should be provided through the "Contact Us'' button on the CAJ website. Verbal notice to coaches is not sufficient. Any written notice occurring after the 15th of the month before deciding to discontinue will be charged the following month. Any hanging balances left will be billed and payment will be required before any re-registration. 

  • BE ADVISED: if you discontinue your membership, the $65 registration fee will be reassessed upon re-registration. 
  • CAJ WEBSITE: All members must double-check your Team Unify member account to ensure that your e-mail is correct and verified. We also need you to verify your SMS number, and make sure you use dashes. This will ensure you receive ALL of our communications. 
  • REMINDER FROM IN MOTION: If families discontinue their In Motion gym membership it is the responsibility of the parent/guardian to notify In Motion that the swimmer is remaining an Aquajet swimmer. We’d also appreciate notification to the team through the “contact us” button so that our bookkeeper and membership coordinators are aware of your IMF membership status. This will assist in smooth entry to the club as well as accurate billing information for CAJ. Thanks! 

Coach Andrew