News Splash January 12

Andrew Hasek

Good Evening Aquajets,

 

Table of Contents

  • Coach Andrew’s Corner 
    • Save the date: CAJ Summer Takeoff Meet
    • SNS Senior Championship Meet
    • Senior and Pre-Senior meeting has been moved to a later date
    • Team Dinner Wed 1/24
    • Team Practice Fri 1/26
    • Monday 1/15 Practice
    • Returning Seniors make sure to reactivate your accounts
    • Time to renew your USA Swim memberships
    • Team Store is open
  • Important Reminders
  • Upcoming Meets
  • New Aquajet Reminders
  • USA Swim Registration Link
  • Swimmer Account Reminder
  • Membership Cancellation Policy
  • Old Business

Coach Andrew’s Corner

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

The SNS Senior Championship Meet is also open for signups! This meet is a time qualifier meet for 13&over swimmers only. The qualifying times are listed on the meet sheet which can be found with this link: Meet Sheet. If your swimmer has qualifying times for this meet, then I recommend they sign up and race. There will be a lot of fast swimmers here to race against, take the opportunity while you can.

We are moving the Pre-Senior and Senior meeting to Wednesday 1/17 5:00pm at In Motion. The meeting is being moved since it is supposed to rain tomorrow. At the meeting we will mainly talk about the plan for the next few months. After the meeting we will hop in the water for the rest of the practice time. Even if your swimmer does not want to swim on Wednesday, encourage them to still come to the meeting and leave after the meeting concludes. This meeting will give the swimmers an opportunity to take part in planning their training for the next few months. 

Our January Team Dinner will be on Wednesday 1/24 at 6:00pm at the Round Table off of Pillsbury Rd. Theses team dinners are always a lot of fun. We will hand out awards, talk about upcoming events, and get to know everyone a little bit better. There will even be a bake sale and some CAJ merchandise available to purchase. Senior and Pre-Senior practices will be canceled on this day to accommodate for the dinner. Come support and spend time with your team!

We will have a full team practice on Friday 1/26 at InMotion from 4:00pm to 5:00pm. We are going to spend this hour-long practice doing cheers, relays, and games. This will give our swimmers the opportunity to get to know more of their teammates and not just those that are in the same group as them. Our full team practice we did in December was a lot of fun, and I think this one will be too. I will offer a bonus practice for the Senior and Pre-Senior groups afterwards (5:00-7:00) for any Seniors or Pre-Seniors that want to get a workout in after the team practice has concluded.

Monday 1/15 will be count as a bonus day for Polar Bear Club. Practices will be offered at regular times on Monday 1/15 despite the holiday, but these practices will count as a bonus practice for our Polar Bear Club. This means it will help a swimmer’s practice attendance percentage if they are present, but it will not lower their practice attendance percentage if they are absent.

It is time to renew USA Swim Registrations. If you haven’t already done so, it is time to renew your USA Swimming membership. To remain eligible for 2024 competitions, you must renew your membership by December 31. Please utilize the links below to help renew your membership before the end of 2023. Your new membership will be valid until December 31, 2024.To renew your USA Swim registration follow these steps:

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
  • Practice on Monday 1/15 will count as a bonus day for Polar Bear Club
  • Pre-Senior and Senior group meeting Wed 1/17 5:00pm at InMotion
  • Team Dinner at Round Table (off of Pillsbury Rd) on Wed 1/24 at 6:00pm (no senior or pre-senior practice)
  • Full Team Practice at InMotion on Fri 1/27 4:00pm-5:00pm
  • Parent Meeting at the PV Rec Center on Wed 1/31 7:00pm-8:00pm
  • Check out the Team Store for winter gear https://elsmoreswim.com/collections/chico-aqua-jets

UPCOMING TEAM MEETS

  • WAC Indoor Meet in Sacramento [SCY, AGO] (signups are closed) 1/20/24-1/21/24 https://ome.swimconnection.com/meets/3296
  • SNS Senior Championship meet in Roseville [SCY, 13&over qualifier] 2/2/24-2/4/24 https://ome.swimconnection.com/meets/3295
  • WAC Last Chance Meet in Rocklin [SCY, AGO] 2/24/24-2/25/24
  • 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 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.

 

Let’s go Aquajets!

Coach Andrew