SHST Weekly Report - April 25, 2022
Way to go Sea Lion Community!
HIGHLIGHTS & NEWS
Practice Meet 4/23/2022 - by Melinda Filice
It was a clear and cool morning on Saturday, the first (practice) meet of the 2022 season. The temperature quickly warmed as the swimmers and families filled the Sleepy Hollow Swim Club grounds. Guests were greeted by a yummy spread of breakfast treats, fruit smoothies, and coffee, served by helpful volunteers. There was an exciting buzz in the air. As a parent to a first-year swimmer, I attributed my own buzz to the nerves of seeing everything on display – volunteers zipping around, loud team cheers, and a giant digital scoreboard. But after speaking to other veteran parents, I realized their buzz was a long-anticipated return to the swim meets they so love to attend.
After a beautiful rendition of the national anthem by Kelly Kurtzig, and a few technical difficulties with the timers, the meet was underway. I was astonished by the speed at which the swimmers switched heats, but it made for a fascinating display of coordination and effort. The day was made even better by watching veteran parents help new parents, older swimmers pep-talking younger swimmers, and the crowd cheering for every last athlete. A happy day indeed, and an awesome start to the 2022 swim season!
Practice meet results are attached, but remember these are only used for seeding for our first dual meet. They do not count toward best times or earn ribbons.
SHST vs Tidal Waves Saturday, April 30th at 8:30 AM!
- Group 1 Swimmers swim Free Style and Backstroke only. All other swimmers can sign up for max 3 events only if they master the stroke. If you have any questions if your swimmer is ready for a stroke, please email Coach Mark.
- If your child is not swimming, please DECLINE so our coaches don't have to track you down. Thank you!
- Please remember to select the strokes your child would like to swim and then press SAVE.
Volunteer Sign-ups
Please note some new roles to sign up for such as Marshal, Hand Marking helper, and more Clean up help. Most volunteer jobs will get a reminder and a job description send out later this week. Remember, if you can not fulfill your job, it's your responsiblity to find a qualified replacement and let the volunteer coordinator know 48 hours prior to the meet.
3 Cheers for our Bark Buddies and Cookie Delivery Helpers
Thanks to our teenagers who helped welcome all of our new swimmers!
Fund-a-need
A HUGE Thank You to the families who already made a donation to this years Fund-A-Need for a new sound system for our meets. We are half way there but we would love more donations... whatever you are able to contribute is incredibly appreciated. Our sound system is a critical component to our meets so the swimmers and parents can hear the starters, announcers and know which events are going on and when. Our current sound system is at least 10 years old and we are ready for a new one! You can donate any amount to our team paypal HERE (please type in “fund-a-need.”) Or you can write a check payable to Sleepy Hollow Sea Lions and mail to Sleepy Hollow Sea Lions 2 Van Tassel Ct., San Anselmo CA 94960.
National Anthem
Now that we have all seen Kelly Kurtzig's amazing performance of the National Anthem at our Practice Meet, are there any young Sea Lions inspired and would like to do this honor for our team? We have two spots left! Please contact Anne-Marie Kostecki
Friday, April 29: 11+ Burrito Night
Burrito night for our 11+ swimmers will be Friday, April 29 and will take place directly after group 4 practice. Parents, please pick up at 7:15pm. 11+ swimmers grab a burrito, chat about weekend plans, high five the coaches, and head out to start their weekend...sometimes shoveling food in their mouths as they walk out the gate :). We only serve burritos after Group 4 swims but this event is for all 11+ swimmers. So if your 11+ swimmer is not in Group 4, it's up to you if you want to bring your swimmer back to the pool. Please keep in mind, this event is very quick and it is only for the swimmers (no parents). It lasts about 10 minutes from about 7:05- 7:15ish.
Wednesday, May 11 @ 4 pm: Team Picture Day
One, Two, Three, CHEESE! It's picture day on May 11! The whole team will gather for a team photo. Afterwards the kids can socialize and eat ice cream sandwiches. Before and after the team photo there is an opportunity to get individual or buddy photo's taken. This will start at 2.30 pm till it's time to line up for the team photo and resume after. It's first come first serve and the line is usually shorter before the team photo! Ordering forms will be distributed later. Please make sure your swimmers are at the pool at 4 pm on Wednesday May 11 in their SHST bathings suits, and pick up no later than 5pm. There will be no practice this day.
11 & Up Casino Night! Friday, May 13
Ante up! It's time for our older kids to have a little gambling fun! Please come out for a great night of casino games with your teammates. Food and drink will be provided. Event runs from 7:15-8:45p. Hope to see you there! Evite to follow next week!
Lost Item
A small, silver swiss army knife was lost at the Practice meet, likely on the lawn between the snack bar and the pool. If someone found it, could you please let Matt know (415) 794-1840.
Swimmers of the Week
Congrats to last week's Swimmers of the Week!
Group 1: Gabriela Dyakovski and Hake Housden
Group 2: Charlie Baker and Evelyn Davis
Group 3: Collette Holt (previous week), Axel Wahlstrom and Nate Porter
Group 4: Elsa Kastner and Lauren Reagan
IMPORTANT DATES FOR ALL SWIMMERS
Friday, April 29: 11+ Burrito night from 7:05-7:15pm
Saturday, April 30: Dual Meet vs Tidal Waves (home) - Sign up by Tuesday!
Saturday, May 7: Dual Meet @ Scotts Valley (Away)
Wednesday, May 11: Team Photo Day (more info to follow)
Friday, May 13: 11 & Up Casino Night (more info to follow)
Save the Date: June 25th is Champs Meet and June 26th is the Champs/Awards Dinner!
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT....
Spirit Wear
Get into the team spirit and treat your self and the family to some new gear from our 2022 Sleepy Hollow Team Spirit Wear line! The Spirit Wear will be sold at our home meets until we sell out so don't miss out!
Volunteer Positions Needed
Love to create videos? We need a volunteer to create our end of season team video using the photo's taken by our photographers through out the season. If you like a better understanding of what we look for, log in to your account and look under photos.
Please contact Anne-Marie Kostecki if you are interested in either role. Thank you!
Don't Forget to Help Feed Our Coaches
Thank you to all who signed up to bring dinner/breakfast to the pool for our wonderful coaches. All slots are filled for the rest of this season!
Swim Practice Times, Rules, and Guidelines
HERE you can find our Spring and Summer practice groups and times. Stay up to date on our strict Covid 2022 Protocols and Team Policies.
Parking and Driver Safety
Please SLOW DOWN! Be aware of increased pedestrian traffic around the Clubhouse and drive carefully. Use your common sense while walking on and crossing Butterfield Road. Help teach our Sea Lions to be responsible pedestrians. The Sheriff’s Office will be making extra patrols the coming weeks to watch for speeders, illegal parking and unsafe drivers. When dropping off your swimmer and/or parking for practice:
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Do not park in front of the Clubhouse, this is strictly for drop off.
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Park perpendicular (not parallel) in the gravel spaces to maximize space for other people.
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Please don’t ever park in the fire lanes/no parking zones across from the Clubhouse or in the handicapped parking spot/no parking zone in front of the Clubhouse - not even to wait for your swimmer after practice/if you remain in the car.
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Please do not let your child "jump quickly out of the car" in the middle of the road. This is not safe! Please take the extra minute and use the drop off circle.
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Use the walkway on Butterfield from Katrina Ct. to the clubhouse.
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Remind your swimmer(s) not to walk behind parked cars.
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Do not block gates, driveways or mailboxes. Please be respectful of our neighbors!
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And again, please slow down, and watch out for Sea Lions and parents crossing Butterfield and riding and walking in the bike lanes. Our swimmers all thank you!
Bikes
Bikes are NOT allowed inside the gated pool area. Please use the bike racks outside of the main black gate and do not block the Fire Zone/No Parking area. Don’t forget to bring bike locks! SHST and SHHA are not responsible for lost or stolen bikes.
No Dogs
Please remember that the Sleepy Hollow Homes Association forbids dogs at the Clubhouse and pool area. Swim team families MAY NOT BRING DOGS to practices or meets. Dogs may not be tied up or left outside the gates and fence in front of the Clubhouse, even if you are just running in to drop off your swimmer. Please help us abide by this SHHA rule and leave your dog at home. Thank you!
Raising the Bar Initiative
Sleepy Hollow Swim Team is proud to partner with Raising the Bar, Keep Youth Events Substance Free, a county wide initiative dedicated to keeping youth events substance free. Sleepy Hollow Swim Team is encouraging an alcohol and substance free environment for all sporting events, team celebrations, and other activities that are youth focused, in person or virtual. This is an opportunity for you as parents to continue being positive role models for your kids and their class/teammates, both in person and at home, by showing them that we can all--adults and youths alike--have a good time without drinking or using substances when participating in youth events as a family. Please visit Raising the Bar and reach out to us for more information. Thank you for your support. We are looking forward seeing you Friday and if you haven’t responded yet, here is the link.
Donations
If you didn’t get a chance to donate during the registration process, please help us maintain and build upon our incredible community. Donations to our team help us do this while expenses continue to rise. Please donate to the Sea Lions – thank you!
The SHST board feels strongly that we do not want our registration fee to prohibit or deter families from joining our team. We want to maintain and build upon our incredible community; donations to our team help us do this while expenses continue to rise. Donations to our team also help us fund the many FUN events that we host during the season where kids build camaraderie and get to know each other outside of the pool. As we are a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, your donation will be tax deductible to the extent permitted by law. You can donate any amount to our team HERE and if you would like to sponsor a specific event, you can donate HERE.
A huge thank you to Zamira Solari, Realtor Compass for sponsoring all of our Fun Fridays!
Another massive thank you to Sushi69 for sponsoring one of the 11+ Pizza Nights!
Thank you for these very generous donations!
