News Splash February 21

Andrew Hasek

Good afternoon Aquajets,

 

Table of Contents

  • Coach Andrew’s Corner 
    • Save the date: CAJ Summer Takeoff Meet
    • Full Team Practice Fri 2/23
    • Team Dinner and Bowling night Fri 2/23
    • New merchandise
    • VACA SCY Season Finale is open for signups (close 3/28)
    • Spring Splash Meet is open for signups (close 4/4)
    • March Move-Ups
    • Swim-a-thon gear
    • CAJ Water Bottles and Car Magnets
  • 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

We will have our next Team Practice this Friday 2/23 from 4:00pm to 5:00pm at In Motion. All of our groups will swim together for relays and birthday swims. The swimmers get to know more of their teammates other than just their group mates, and their families get to meet other families and ask questions they have about our team and the sport. Come join in on the fun, I hope to see you there!

After the Team Practice, we are going to go to Bowlero for a Team Dinner/Bowling Night 5:30pm-7:00pm. We are going to have our monthly Team Dinner at Bowlero this month. I will make some quick announcements, hand out the group awards, and then we can spend the rest of the evening having fun with our teammates. We are also going to have water bottles and car magnets available for purchase (bottles: $35, magnets: $5).

There is new merchandise available at our online store (Link). There is a lot of good options on there to choose from in order show off your Aquajet spirit. There’s gear for cold weather. There’s gear for warm weather. There’s even pajama pants to help you dream about swimming! Take a few minutes to sit down with your swimmer(s) and see if there is anything on the store either of you are interested in.

The VACA SCY Season Finale is open for signups until Thursday March 28 at 11:59pm. The meet takes place Friday 4/5/24 through Sunday 4/7/24. I want every Senior that is not attending Far Westerns to go to this meet. We are going to use it as our Spring Taper meet. It is imperative that Seniors race so we can see the effects of their winter training and then can better assess their progress throughout the summer. This meet would be a good meet for swimmers from other groups as well for many of the same reasons as the Seniors, even if the other groups are not tapering down for this meet. Here is the link to the online meet entries: OME Link

The Spring Splash Meet is open for signups until Thursday April 4 at 11:59pm. This will be our first long course meet of the year. Racing in a long course pool is a unique opportunity that only happens during a small part of the year. I would take advantage of each long course meet we are attending. A lot of our Aquajets are strong enough swimmers to do some racing in a long course pool, if you are unsure if your swimmer is ready, please reach out to me so we can discuss it. Here is the link to the online meet entry: OME Link

We have some swimmers that are ready to move up into the next group starting in March. I have sent out an email to the families with the considered swimmers. Please check to see if you got that email and respond as soon as you can. If you think your swimmer is ready to move up but have not received an email you may reach out to me with any questions.

We have started handing out Swim-a-thon gear! We have some of the gear and have started handing it out at practice. The rest of the gear should arrive on Friday, and we will work to get each swimmer the prizes they earned. If your swimmer earned a swim-a-thon prize have them check with a coach starting Friday to ensure that your swimmer’s prize reaches them.

We have CAJ water bottles and car magnets available for purchase. Water bottles are $35 and car magnets are $5. If you would like to purchase a water bottle or car magnet, let me know so I can get it to you. They will also be available for purchase at our Team Dinner/Bowling Night this Friday 2/23 5:30pm-7:00pm.

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
  • Full Team Practice at In Motion on Fri 2/23 4:00pm-5:00pm
  • Team Dinner & Bowling Night on Fri 2/23 5:30pm-7:00pm at Bowlero (2397 Esplanade, Chico)
  • Check out the Team Store for winter gear: Team Store Link

UPCOMING TEAM MEETS

  • WAC Last Chance Meet in Rocklin [SCY, AGO] 2/24/24-2/25/24 OME Link
  • SNS Short Course Age Group Championships in Roseville [SCY, 14 & Under, Qualifier] 3/8/24-3/10/24
  • VACA SCY Season Finale in Vacaville [SCY, AGO] 4/5/24-4/7/24 OME Link
  • Far Westerns in Pleasanton [SCY, Qualifier] 4/4/25-4/7/24
  • Spring Splash in Folsom [LCM, AGO] 4/12/24-4/14/24 OME Link
  • Kalsbeek Family Classic in Redding [SCY, AGO] 5/18/24
  • 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).
  • Our January Team Dinner was on Wednesday 1/24. At our team dinners we hand out three awards for each group (Most Improved Swimmer, Best Race, and Best Sportsmanship) and one Swimmer of the Month award. Our award winners for the Minijet Silver group were Keaton Homesley as the Most Improved Swimmer, Zac Nunez had the Best Race for his 50y Fly at the SYS winter championships, and Jacob Heckman had the Best Sportsmanship. Our award winners for the Minijet Blue group were Walter Perry as the Most Improved Swimmer and Victoria Coates had the Best Sportsmanship. Our award winners for the were Eliza Macdonald as the Most Improved Swimmer, Basin West had the Best Race for his 50y Fly at the SYS winter championships, and Finn Tuttle had the Best Sportsmanship. Our award winners for the Navy group were Brynlie Homesley as the Most Improved Swimmer, Alexis Nunez had the Best Race for her first 500 Free at the DPCC Thanksgiving Thousand, and Alexis Nunez also had the Best Sportsmanship. Our award winners for the Pre-Senior group were Dominic Lloyd as the Most Improved Swimmer, Sarah Plummer had the Best Race for her 200y Breaststroke at the SYS winter championships, and Cece Bourne had the Best Sportsmanship. Our award winners for the Senior group were Celio Clavey-Perras as the Most Improved Swimmer, Nataley Bartell had the Best Race for her 200y IM at the SYS winter championships, and Mason Winzenz had the Best Sportsmanship. We had five swimmers that got honorable mentions for the Swimmer of the Month aware, they were Walter Perry (minijet-blue group), Eliza Macdonald (white group), Brynlie Homesley (Navy group), Sarah Plummer (Pre-Senior group), and Nataley Bartell (Senior group). The Aquajet that one Swimmer of the Month was Basin West from the White group. Congratulations to all our Aquajets that won an award. I am looking forward to our next Team Dinner.
  • 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%.
  • 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

 

  • 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