News Splash August 30

Andrew Hasek

Good afternoon CAJ Parents,

 

Coach Andrew’s Corner

Save the date: CAJ Summer Takeoff Meet is Friday 6/14/24 - Sunday 6/16/24

Yes, there is practice today (Wednesday 8/30). If the air quality is ever bad enough that we will need to cancel practices, then we will send out the cancellation messages around 2:00pm of the day that practices are being cancelled. This means that if it is smokey out make sure to check your email, team snap, and our social media for any cancellation messages. Today the AQI (air quality index) is low enough that we will still have practices.

No practice on Monday September 4 for Labor Day. Enjoy the long weekend Aquajets!

On Saturday September 30, there will be a zoom Officials training for those that are interested in becoming officials. Officials are the volunteers on deck at swim meets that watch and make sure all the swimmers are doing legal strokes. Each team that attends a swim meet has an officials requirement based off of the number of their swimmers in attendance. If a team does not bring enough officials, then that team’s swimmers do not get placed and will not receive awards. Our team only has a few trained officials so it can be difficult for us to have the required number of officials at swim meets. Officials get free food and water while working at swim meets, and our team will pay for the officials training. If you are interested in becoming an official or want more information on what the training process is like, then please let me know so I can get that information to you. The more officials we have, the less each person will have to work.

There has been a change to our meet schedule. The upcoming Vacaville meet has been cancelled. Since the Vacaville meet has been cancelled, we will now be attending the RAD Sprint and Relay meet in Redding on Saturday 9/23. The RAD Sprint and Relay meet is a fun and unique meet. Swimmers do three short individual events, and they also do three relays. There are multiple relays being offered at this meet that do not get offered at other meets, such as the kickboard relay where swimmers kick and accumulate kickboards throughout the course of the relay. The RAD meet is open on ome.swimconnection.com until Thursday 9/14 at 11:59pm or until it fills up. If you are interested in joining us at this meet, sign up as soon as you can. Email me with any questions you might have.

Old Business

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.

We are going to start having goal-setting meetings with the White, Navy, Pre-Senior, and Senior groups once a month. These meetings will take place at the start of each of their respective practices and will normally occur on the first Monday of each month. Since the first Monday of September is Labor Day and we will have no practices then, the September goal meetings will take place a week later on Monday September 11. At these meetings we will talk about how to set good goals and what some potential goals could look like for the swimmers. Parents are encouraged to attend and listen so they may learn about swimming goals and what their swimmer is interested in accomplishing in the sport.

Starting on Tuesday September 12, all groups except for the minijets will start doing benchmark sets every Tuesday. We will cycle through three different sets to stay in line with our three-week micro cycle of training. We will keep track of how each swimmer performs on these sets and have the results on the pool deck. By gathering the results of these sets, we will be able to assess how each swimmer is progressing. Parents/guardians are more than welcome to attend to cheer their swimmer(s) on as they work hard to improve. Practice times do not change for these benchmark sets, the benchmark sets will just be the main set of that group’s practice for the day.

We use 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.

Our Team Snap schedule has been updated for the 2023-2024 swim season. The majority of our planned meets as well as some planned practice cancellations have been posted. A couple meets I want to highlight and for you all to start planning for is our CAJ Summer Takeoff meet June 14, 2024-June 16, 2024, and the NVAL championship July 26, 2024-July 28, 2024. We will be hosting the CAJ Summer Takeoff and will need all hands-on deck to make the meet run smoothly. The NVAL championship is our final meet of the summer and a lot of fun.

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

  • RAD Sprint and Relay Meet in Redding [SCY, AGO] 9/23/23 https://ome.swimconnection.com/meets/3256
  • CAJ Summer Takeoff in Durham [SCY, AGO] 6/14/24-6/16/24
  • North Valley Aquatic League Championship (NVALs) in Redding [SCY, Invitational] 7/26/24-7/28/24

IMPORTANT Reminders

  • Make sure your swimmer is USA Swimming registered
  • Make sure your swimmer is bringing a water bottle to every practice
  • No practice on Mon Sep. 4 for Labor Day
  • September goal meetings on Monday Sep. 11
  • October goal meetings on Monday Oct. 2
  • No practice Wed Oct. 11, go cheer on the Fish Bowl at the PV pool

NEW AQUAJETS: 

Please Familiarize yourself with our  CAJ 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