Machine Aquatics Team Update 10.18.2023
This is the weekly communication for Machine Aquatics. Please take a moment to review all of the information. The Team Update will include practice and schedule changes, meet announcements, upcoming events and sport specific articles.
Machine Aquatics Team Update 10.18.2023
Meet Entries Deadlines & Meet Fee Reports
Please read and review
Parents, we have recently had too many emails regarding missing meet entry deadlines & meet entry fees being charged to your accounts and asking for a review when the information has been provided numerous times in several locations.
We know that learning to enter meets at the start of the season can be challenging, and we always strive to help as we have over the last 5-6 weeks with meets. As we move into November meets, we will need to enforce the meet entry deadlines STRICTLY. Meet Directors establish deadlines to ensure proper meet operations and rules are adhered to. Each time a team adds a swimmer, this process starts over again. We can not ask Becky for Machine and groups hosting Machine to do this each meet. We hope you can understand. We send many reminders and provide as much lead time as possible to register. At Machine, we run over ten meets per year, and as a meet host, late entries are a significant challenge and frustration for the meet director. We always want to care for the swimmers, but entry deadlines are firm.
To help parents better understand upcoming meet charges, we will include the “Meet Entry Fee Summary Report” in our emails for event review, in the weekly update meet information listed below and posted on the meet page in Team Unify. Please note that all fees for the meets are listed on the information page when you sign up. The posted meet announcement also details all fees for participating in the meet. Lastly, a summary of charges is always available to you in your Team Unify account.
At this time, please understand that given the mass volume of emails received, email inquiries into meet fee charges will receive an automatic reply about where to access your account information to review your meet fees yourself. If you find an error, please send a specific email detailing it, and we will check it. Again, as a reminder, once entries are submitted to meet hosts, YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE FEES REGARDLESS IF YOUR CHILD PARTICIPATES. This is not a “Machine” policy; this is a meet operation national standard.
Detailed information regarding these policies and procedures is at the bottom of this update.
We hope providing additional ways to access this information will help you understand meet charges and meet procedures better. Please help us by taking a few moments to review them when sent.
Your assistance with these items is greatly appreciated. I know we are all busy, but taking a few moments to review and ensure everything is done correctly and on time lets your child swim in the meets they wish to attend.
All the best,
Paris Jacobs
Machine
Meet Information for this Weekend
Fall Gator Mini Meet - VA SWIMMERS ONLY
October 21-22, 2023
Long Branch Aquatic Center - 333 Long Bridge Drive Arlington, VA 22202
Open to 9 and Under VA swimmers ONLY
Per Swimmer Surcharge: $3.00 Individual event fee: $5.50
Click here for Entry Fee Report - by Athlete
Congratulations to
COLTON HORNER and KENNEDY MASTEN
Our PVS Outstanding Athletes!
Colton Horner and Kennedy Masten have been named PVS Outstanding Athletes for the 2022-23 season. This annual award is presented to those athletes in each age group who were selected by the coaches as outstanding athletes. Beginning with the 2008-2009 season, the awards are based on performance at a single age.
The award is based solely on the swimming achievements of the athletes from September 1 to August 31.
Athletes are nominated from which the coaches make their selections. Way to go, Colton and Kennedy!!
Upcoming Meet Information
Click here for the 2023-24 Competition Schedule (PDF).
Click here for the Machine Google Calendar.
*IF YOUR SWIMMER IS MISSING TIMES IN TEAM UNIFY, PLEASE EMAIL [email protected]. Summer swim times do not count for year-round swimming.
NOVA Senior Invite - Parent Travel Meet
October 27-29, 2023
NOVA Aquatics Center - Regency, 100 NOVA Way, Richmond, VA 23238
Individual events: $5.50 Swimmer surcharge: $2.50 per person
Qualifying Time Standards apply - PVS SC Junior Champs cut. Coach Approval Required
NOVA SENIOR INVITE ENTRIES ARE CLOSED.
Meet Entry Report
Rock Hopper Mini Meet - MD SWIMMERS ONLY
October 29, 2023
Fairland Aquatic Center - 13820 Old Gunpowder Road Laurel, MD 20707
Per Swimmer Surcharge: $5.00 Individual event fee: $6.00
Open to 10&U MD swimmers ONLY
ROCK HOPPER ENTRIES ARE CLOSED.
HOKI Thanksgiving Invite - 13&O Swimmers - Parent Travel Meet
November 3-5, 2023
Christiansburg Aquatic Center - 595 N Franklin St, Christiansburg, VA 24073
Per Swimmer Surcharge: $2.50 Individual Event Fee: $9.00
Open to 13&O Swimmers ONLY
Click HERE for the HOKI Invite Meet Announcement
HOKI INVITE ENTRIES ARE CLOSED. - Email [email protected] to join the waitlist
PVS November Open
November 10-12, 2023
Individual event fee: $5.00 Per Swimmer Surcharge: $5.00
MD Sites for November Open are at:
Fairland Aquatic Center - 13820 Old Gunpowder Road Laurel, MD 20707
Click HERE to enter Nov Open (FAIRLAND) - Maryland Swimmers
VA Sites for November Open are at:
Providence Rec Center - 7525 Marc Dr. Falls Church, VA 22046
Click HERE to enter Nov Open (PROVIDENCE REC CENTER) - Virginia Swimmers
NOVEMBER OPEN ENTRY DEADLINE: DUE TOMORROW!!!!!
ISCA Fall Championship Invite - 12&U Swimmers Parent Travel Meet
November 17-19, 2023
Hampton Virginia Aquaplex - 1908 Coliseum Dr. ǀ Hampton, VA 23666
Meet Entry Fees are $100-$130/swimmer
Open to 12&U Swimmers ONLY
Click HERE for the ISCA Fall Championship Invite Meet Announcement
Click HERE for Hotel information
ISCA FALL CHAMPIONSHIP ENTRY DEADLINE: NOVEMBER 1
Odd Ball Challenge - 10&U MD SWIMMERS ONLY
November 18-19, 2023
Fairland Aquatic Center - 13820 Old Gunpowder Rd, Laurel, MD 20708
Individual event fee: $ 8.00
Open to 10&U MD Swimmers ONLY
Click HERE for the Odd Ball Challenge Meet Announcement
Click HERE to enter the Odd Ball Challenge
ODD BALL CHALLENGE ENTRY DEADLINE: OCTOBER 31
Pilgrim Mini Meet - 10&U VA SWIMMERS ONLY
November 19, 2023
Dulles South Recreation Center - 24950 Riding Center Drive, South Riding, VA 20152
Per Swimmer Surcharge: $5.00 Individual event fee: $7.50
Open to 10&U VA Swimmers ONLY
Click HERE for the Pilgrim Mini Meet Announcement
Click HERE to enter the Pilgrim Mini Meet
PILGRIM MINI MEET ENTRY DEADLINE: OCTOBER 31
TYR Tech Suit Fittings at Machine
We are going to have our TYR Representative onsite at Machine Performance Center for two dates this fall as we prepare for the upcoming Championship meets. Swimmers will be fitted for suit. Suits will be available for purchase with our team discount applied.
Date: October 28 and November 19
Time: TBA
Location: Machine Performance Center, 204D Mill St., Vienna, VA 22180
2023 Safe Sport Club Recognition Training
The USA Swimming Safe Sport Club Recognition program allows a USA Swimming member club to demonstrate its commitment to creating a healthy and positive environment free from abuse for all its members through the development and implementation of club governance measures, Safe Sport policies and reporting mechanisms, Safe Sport best practices and training to athletes and parents.
For Parents:
For Athletes:
For Coaches:
Please note, October training times were adjusted to accommodate our Western Zone members.
Bullying Prevention Month Trainings
October is Bullying Prevention Month. The Safe Sport team will provide these additional training sessions to talk about resources and tips focused on bullying - what it is, how to spot it and how to intervene to stop it.
Both training sessions will cover the same information.
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October 21, 3 p.m. ET | REGISTER
MACHINE T-Shirt Contest!!
Calling all SWIMMERS & PARENTS!
Have a great idea for a team shirt or parent shirt? We want to see it! Send us a drawing or digital design and enter to win seeing your design on the back of a Machine shirt!
Send all submissions to Paris Jacobs at [email protected] by the end of this week! We will announce the winners the following week.
Looking to Swim in College?
SAVE THE DATE for College Swimming Meeting
Wednesday, November 1st, 2023 @ 6:30 PM
Machine is pleased to announce that Joel Schoenfeld, Managing Director of Sport Development at USA Swimming will be our speaker this year on College Swimming. Prior to Joel’s tenure of leading the Sport Development Team at USAS, he was the Executive Director of the College Swimming and Diving Coaches Association of America, in addition to a long history of coaching in the club and collegiate world. We will share additional details in the weeks to come, but make sure to mark your calendar for this great event.
This event is open to all current Freshman - Senior students within Machine.
Parent Article of the Week
As we move through the season, we will share articles about swimming, nutrition, athlete development and other subjects that we think are interesting and will be helpful. Getting the most from swimming requires full participation by all of the parties involved, including swimmers, parents and coaches.
Here is our latest article for the season, The Hungry Swimmer: Apple Cinnamon Rolls with Maple Cream Cheese Icing.
Meet Entry Deadlines and Fees
We have noticed many of our families have questions about the meet entry fees. We are receiving a lot of messages with questions when these charges are posted to accounts.
Deadlines:
New meet sign ups are sent out in several ways to you. We include all meets and the links to register in this weekly Team Update. The information about a specific meet is sent to you directly and often is included in the emails you are receiving from your coaches. Please make sure you are taking the time to review the information coming from us regarding meets. Once an entry deadline has passed, we are not able to make changes to the chosen events or add new swimmers.
We understand that everyone is busy and each of us has a reason why we were not able to submit prior to the deadline. However, the meet entry review process and verifying entries takes time. Every change, especially with a team as large as ours, slows this process.
Entry Fees and Your Team Unify Account:
Meet entry fees are listed in the meet announcement. Meet fees cover the cost of the facility rental for the host teams. For most meets, these will include an athlete participation fee AND a fee for each individual event. As an example, if the athlete fee is $10 per athlete and events are $7 each, an athlete swimming in three events would have a charge of $31 placed on their account.
One of the new features in Team Unify is the email notification of any new charges added to your account. The email provides detail for all new charges. In the case of a meet entry fee, the name of the meet is listed with the cost associated for the meet. All of the charges on your account are visible through your Team Unify portal under the “Billing Summary” tab. There is also a link for “Historical Billing Information” with a link for all monthly invoices for your account.
