Hello Shark Families!
Sharks Parent Informational Meeting on Wednesday, April 12th @ 6:30pm in the Rusch Park “Patio Room”. This is behind the bleachers and bbq’s.
COACHES: Our Sharks are being led thru the water by Victor, Travis, Lexi and Gaby. Our practices are back-to-back, and our coaches need to give their full attention to the swimmers in the water. If you have any questions regarding your swimmers’ practice, please email them to [email protected]. Also, there is almost always a board member or veteran parent on deck and we are always happy to help.
PRACTICE: We have three practice times, depending on your swimmers age group. Please see the Sharks website (sharkcom) for the practice schedule. There is a faded red zone around the pool, we ask that all spectators keep clear of the red zone, so as not to distract from the coaching. The bathrooms & drinking fountains on deck are open for use. If you are absent from a practice, you do not need to notify anyone. If you plan to be gone for a few days, your swimmers coach would appreciate the heads up, so they don’t worry. Missing a practice does not make your swimmer ineligible for meets. Please do NOT park in the fire lane in the front parking lot. Feel free to do a quick drop off or pick up if your swimmer is waiting, but it needs to be kept clear for emergencies.
MEETS: All swimmers are automatically signed up for all dual meets and champs.
This is very important-The coaches need to know who WILL NOT attend a meet; in other words, “decline” a meet.
Check out the demo...
The deadline to decline is the Sunday before the meet. The coaches spend a lot of time choosing which events the swimmers will enter as well as creating the relay teams. This process starts on Monday, so it is very helpful and appreciated if they know who is not going to attend before they enter the swimmer in events and relays. Swimmers will compete in three events and have an opportunity to be in up to two relays.
The Meet Sheet will be emailed the night before the meet, on Fridays. It will have the location, meet schedule and various other tidbits of information from the other team for away meets. It will also have instructions on who to contact if you are going to be late. Nevertheless, please arrive on time- 6:45am!!
Check-in for all meets is at 6:45am. All swimmers must check in at the main check-in table. Please read the weekly Sharks Bytes email that is sent out every Sunday evening as it will have some “heads up” information about the upcoming swim meet.
Team Age Group Tents- After swimmer’s check-in for the meet, swimmers 12 and under must then check-in with their Team Parent at their age group tent. After warm-ups, all swimmers must meet at their age group tent so that they can receive their heat and lane assignments; these assignments will be Sharpie’d on their right arm as well as their first name initial and last name.
The team tents are managed by Team Parents so that the kids can stay organized and prepared for the events that they will swim. Also, this is a place kids can be supervised while their parents are volunteering. If swimmers need to leave the team tent for any reason, they must notify the team parent. If the swimmer leaves the team tent for the bathroom or their family’s tent, or for any reason, it is the parents responsibility to ensure the swimmer is at the ready bench, on time. Please note that 6 and under swimmers will use the restroom in groups with one of their team parents.
What to bring- sunscreen, pop up, chairs, blanket, two towels, layers of clothing, plenty of water, snacks or money for snack bar, things to keep swimmers entertained between events like coloring stuff-no crayons they melt, games, deck of cards, books, small handheld toys…don’t forget the swimsuit! Please keep in mind that you may be away from your “campsite” for periods of time, so take care of all valuables.
Champs/MOC: All swimmers who have attended at least two dual meets go to champs and swim every event in the prelims; the top 10 swimmers of each event advance to finals. Champs this year will be held at the West Sacramento Aquatics Complex on July 15th and 16th. Please note- 6 and under swimmers only swim on Saturday. This is a two-day event that includes all five teams in our conference. The events are split between the two days with prelims in the morning and early afternoon, and finals in the late afternoon. The Sacramento Valley Meet of Champs (MOC) is for top swimmers in the Sacramento region. Swimmers with qualifying times and all swimmers who make finals at Champs are eligible to attend MOC, but not required. MOC will be held at American River College, on July 29th and 30th. More information on both events will come later in the season.
VOLUNTEERING- Each family is required to volunteer 5 shifts throughout the season, and 2 at Champs, or 1 at Champs if you only have a 6U. Job descriptions can be found on our team website. If you only have a 6U swimmer, you will want to do set up or shift 1, as the 6U’s only swim during shift 1. Another option for volunteering, is being a team parent. This will have you in the team age group tents, supervising the swimmers who choose to stay in the team tents, and ensuring swimmers get to the ready bench on time, with their cap and goggles. This job guarantees you a shady spot under the pop up, you’ll be with your swimmer, and get to know the other swimmers, you also get a snazzy shirt. We have an amazing Head Team Parent, Lisa Childers, she’ll be there to help in any way. To view and sign up for volunteer positions, login to your Sharks account, go to the meet and select “job signup”. You will see a list of meet jobs, select the one you want and then select “signup”. A confirmation box appears, you do not need to type your name again, just tap the “signup” box and you will see your name on the job list. You can only volunteer for 1 shift per meet. All the meet jobs are simple enough to learn for any parent who is new to swim. It does not need to be you, it could be an aunt/uncle, grandparent, older sibling, even the mail person if you’re close enough to invite them :) If you have any questions, or would like to sign up to be a team parent, reach out to Annie Perkins thru email, phone or text (916) 500-1308 [email protected]
HOSPITALITY: During swim meets, we provide refreshments and snacks to our volunteers. All these items are donated by our swim families. The week of a swim meet, we will have an online sign-up sheet for families to pick an item to bring to the meet. This is not mandatory but the more donated items we have, the more we can offer to you, our volunteers. Donated items are to be brought with you the morning of the swim meet and dropped off in the hospitality room, right next to our snack bar, located in the area behind the bleachers.
FUNDRAISING: We do an annual Shark-a-Thon fundraiser, it’s a swim a thon! This huge event brings in thousands of dollars for our team to help support the cost of running the program. Some costs are; league fees, insurance, equipment, awards and so much more. This event will be held May 16th, during your swimmers practice. Prizes are awarded for most laps swam and for the tiered level of monies raised. More information on this exciting event will come soon!
We are doing weekly food-raisers; every Wednesday is your night off from cooking and gives a little back to your favorite recreational swim team! The full schedule is posted on the website. We’d love your participation whenever possible; every dollar counts.
TEAM SUITS/PHOTOS: The online store for team suits is open April 10th and closes April 13th at midnight. We will be on deck April 10th with sample suits to try on to assist with measurments. If you are not available for the team suit fitting and still want to order a suit, reach out to Annie and she can assist you with sizing. Team suits are not required but swimmers must be a FINA approved competition suit.
Team photos will be Friday June 9th, a sign-up sheet for time reservation will be sent out later. The $10 picture fee gives every swimmer a memory mate of individual photo & team photo, as well as an individual 4x6 magnet and four wallets.
TEAM STORE: Our online team clothing store is currently open and closes April 17th at midnight. All orders will be dispersed on May 11th, just in time for our first meet, Time Trials! Click here to support your team and place your orders online.
SHARKS GEAR: We will have Sharks Gear for purchase during practice and at meets. Our gear consists of silicone caps $14, latex caps $7, Speedo Vanquisher Goggles adult & junior sizes $21, goggle bungees $3, and Sharks logo decal stickers $3 or 2/$5. Swim caps are not required but highly recommended; the Coaches prefer swimmers at Meets to be in a Team Cap or a royal blue cap. Cash, check and card are accepted. You can even text/call ahead to ensure what you need will be ready, Annie (916) 500-1308.
SHARKS BOARD MEETINGS: Your Sharks Board has meetings every two weeks during the season and monthly during the off season. Meetings are on Thursday’s at 6:30pm, typically in Rusch Room 1. We welcome anyone to attended, especially those who are interested in being a board member or even just wanting to get their feet wet this season in an unofficial position. If you have experience with non-profit organizations, we need you…your children need you. Our board meeting schedule is on the website, we’re always around to answer any questions you may have, and you can email questions to [email protected]
We really look forward to working with you!
Our team website www.sunrisesharks.com has all the detailed information you will need. Please check it regularly for updates, our calendar is always being updated. You will receive many emails from ‘Sunrise Sharks via Team Unify’; we send weekly Shark Bytes and a “Meet Sheet” the Friday before every meet. . If you are not receiving our emails, check your spam/junk folder, or reach out to us so we can try to assist. We also have a Facebook group you can join: (FB Link)
We look forward to sharktastic season with our returning and new families!
