News Splash November 20

Andrew Hasek

Good evening CAJ Parents,

 

Table of Contents

  • Coach Andrew’s Corner 
    • Save the date: CAJ Summer Takeoff Meet
    • Pool and Practice Update
    • Upcoming Practice Cancellations
    • Sep/Oct 2023 Team Awards
    • Team Store is open
  • Important Reminders
  • Upcoming Meets
  • New Aquajet Reminders
  • USA Swim Registration Link
  • Swimmer Account Reminder
  • Membership Cancellation Policy
  • Old Business
  • Weekly Joke

Coach Andrew’s Corner

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

The In Motion pool is closer to be open again, but will still be down for a few more days. According to the latest update I got from In Motion, they expect the pool to open again this coming Thursday (11/23). Since the pool will most likely be closed tomorrow and Wednesday (11/21 and 11/22) we are going to host another dryland practice tomorrow and a team hike on Wednesday. The dryland practice times are: white group at 3:30-4:15, minijet and navy group at 4:15-5:00, and the pre-senior/senior groups at 5:00-6:00. The hike will be an out and back hike, totaling around 7 miles. Since it is an out and back it will give familes the opportunity to turn around early if they do not wish to do the full 7 miles. The plan is to meet up and start hiking around noon to give us all time to get our necessary Thanksgiving prep done.The tentative route is to start at the Horseshoe Lake/Chico Community Observatory parking lot (parking Area C in Upper Bidwell), walk on lower trail for a little less than a mile, then cut down to Yahitrail, take Yahi trail to Bear Hole, then take the fenced road farther upto a bench/view that I enjoy before turning around and working ourway back to the starting point. Both the dryland practice on 11/21 and the hike on 11/22 will count as bonus days for Polar Bear.

Upcoming Practice Cancellations: Practices will be canceled Thursday 11/23 through 11/25, with regular practices resuming on Monday 11/27. Enjoy your time off Aquajets!

Our Team Dinner was last Wednesday. We had a lot of fun, thank you to everyone that was there and made it such an enjoyable evening! At the Team Dinner we announced awards for the groups for the combined months of September and October. Our minijet silver group award recipients were: Kennedy Bowen for most improved, Zac Nunez had the best race for his 50y Back at Spook-tacular, and Keaton Homesley had the best sportsmanship in the group. Our minijet blue group award recipients were: Victoria Coates for most improved and Walter Perry for best sportsmanship. Our white group award recipients were: Sofia Perez for most improved, Cameron Barry had the best race for his 50y Back at the Bill Fisher Clasic, and Aubrey Milardovich for best sportsmanship. Our navy group award recipients were: Markus Alves for most improved, Brynlie Homesley had the best race for her 500y Free at Spook-Tacular, and Austin Ott had the best sportsmanship. Our pre-senior group award recipients were: Kevin Fang was the most improved, Maia Green had the best race for her 50y Fly at the Bill Fisher Classic, and Dax Etten had the best sportsmanship. The swimmer of the month honorable mentions were: Dominic Lloyd and Markus Alves. Our Aquajet that earned the Swimmer of the Month award was Jessica Sandhagen from our navy group. Congratulations to all of our Aquajets that earned an award, come see Coach Andrew for your award certificate or your swimmer of the month cap.

Our Team Store is open again! It is finally feeling like fall with some chilly weather. As nice as it is to get a break from the heat that means your swimmers are probably feeling colder at and after practice. You can help them feel more comfortable and sport some Aquajet pride all at the same time by checking out the Team Store for some warm CAJ gear. Here is the link: https://elsmoreswim.com/collections/chico-aqua-jets

IMPORTANT Reminders

  • Make sure your swimmer is USA Swimming registered (the link can be found in the “USA Swim Registration” section of the news splash)
  • Make sure your swimmer is bringing a water bottle to every practice
  • Polar Bear Season Starts Nov.1 and ends Feb. 29
  • Dryland Practice on Tuesday 11/21
  • Team Hike on Wednesday 11/22 (Horseshoe lake at noon)
  • No Practice Thu 11/23 – Sat 11/25 (regular practices resume on Mon 11/27)
  • December Goal Meeting on Monday Dec. 11 at In Motion
  • No Practice Mon 12/25 – Mon 1/1 (regular practices resume on Tue 1/2)
  • Send custom CAJ water bottle to interest to Coach Andrew by Friday 11/17
  • Check out the Team Store for winter gear https://elsmoreswim.com/collections/chico-aqua-jets

UPCOMING TEAM MEETS

  • SYS Winter Champs in Redding [SCY, AGO] 12/16/23
  • 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

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    

USA SWIM REGISTRATION

This link will show you all you need to register your swimmer until the end of 2024.

https://omr.usaswimming.org/omr/welcome/2945A4A75BFD45

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.

Membership Cancellation Policy: 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 must 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! 

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
    • 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
      • do not park in the handicap spaces (if you are not approved to do so).
  • Polar Bear Season is under way! Our annual Polar Bear season is starting on November 1 and will conclude on February 29. To encourage your swimmer(s) to keep attending practices once the weather gets colder we will award all swimmers that make it into the Polar Bear Club this year with a long sleeve shirt. Swimmers make the Polar Bear Club by attending a certain percentage of the practices offered for their group, with Saturday practices and swim meets counting as extra credit days. The necessary attendance percentage for each group are as follows: Minijets/White group is 65%, the Navy group is 70%, the Pre-Senior group is 75%, and the Senior group is 80%.
  • We are have 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. 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.
  • 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. Please 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 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! (https://elsmoreswim.com/collections/chico-aqua-jets)
  • 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.

Joke of the week

  • What is a lazy hiker’s favorite mountain? 
    • (Ask Coach Andrew for the answer)

Your Next Race Has Already Started,

Coach Andrew