Manta Rays News 10.31.25

Jocelyn Paxton

Happy Halloween Manta Rays!

Phew! First week of practice was great and we’re so excited for this season-here’s your weekly email blast!

Practice Reminder:

Please have your swimmer at practice a few minutes before our scheduled start times.  Things that need to be done before practice like using the restroom, getting caps, goggles and headsets on, retrieving equipment bag, take time and often means swimmers are late to start dry warm-up with the team or miss it entirely. Our time at practice is limited so please try to have your swimmers at the pool and allow enough time for pre-practice preparations!!

YMCA Membership

Just a quick reminder that all Manta Rays must have a current YMCA membership.  If your swimmer has a membership that is expiring soon or is inactive, please contact our YMCA’s Member Services staff (available in person or over the phone 563.263.9996 // Monday-Friday 8 am-6 pm & Saturdays 9 am-12 pm).

Raffle Ticket Fundraiser:

Raffle tickets are in! Charity will be at practice on 11/3 between 5:45-6:45 pm for this first initial pick up.  An adult will need to sign for the ticket packets at time of pick up so please be sure someone from your family remembers to pick up your ticket packets! 

Alternate pick up dates are being scheduled and will be posted in Heja as soon as we have details finalized!

Swim Meets

Our first home swim meet is rapidly approaching and the sign up deadline is November 3rd (that’s only 3 days away)!!

On or BEFORE the sign-up deadline each parent will need to “commit” your swimmer to attend the meet OR decline your child’s participation.  You can find out how to do that by reading these articles:

If you have committed your swimmer(s) to attend the meet, someone in your family or on your family’s behalf, will be required to work a job before, during or after the meet.

Working at a YMCA swim meet does qualify for NHS and Silver Cord hours for MHS students if you know someone looking for volunteer opportunities.  Please be sure to communicate with the job assignment coordinators if you will have an MHS student volunteer covering your spot! You will be responsible for communicating meet details with MHS Student volunteers and covering their spot should they no longer be available to help.

Job Assignments:

  • Job assignments will be posted on the team website (Hosted Meets tab) a few days before the meet.  The swimmer’s name will be listed unless the job has specific requirements/certifications (officials, lifeguard, job leads, etc.)
  • There is no guarantee we will be able to accommodate your first preference every meet-we will do our best!
  • We will do our best to only schedule each swimmer for one half of the meet, but this depends on sign up and the size of the meet.  If you have multiple swimmers, you may be scheduled for multiple jobs.  
  • If you have conflicts (ex: only available first half of meet), restrictions (ex. will have younger sibling in tow), or limitations (ex: can’t lift heavy things-no set up please!), YOU are responsible for communicating those with the job assignment coordinator BEFORE the meet deadline ([email protected])
  • Any restrictions for your swimmer should be communicated with the coaches BEFORE the meet deadline as well!

Coaches will select events for your swimmers!  If your swimmer has requests, you may make note of that in your sign up.  We will not put your swimmers in any events they are not ready for!  If you are unsure if your swimmer is ready to swim in competition, please reach out to the coaches in Heja (we also recommend committing to the meet even if you are unsure, rather than miss the deadline).  We cannot accept late sign ups, so please don't miss the deadlines!

Team Photos:

Mississippi Pearl Photography will be onsite at MHS on Monday, November 10th  and Tuesday, November 11th to take individual athlete photos for our annual team picture!

Pictures will be starting around 5:30 pm on the pool deck for White and Purple Junior practice groups so they can go to practice as soon as they’ve had their photos taken.

Purple Senior, Gold Junior, and Gold Senior will have their photos taken immediately after we’ve taken all the White/Purple Junior that are present that day! This could begin as early as 6 pm. Siblings can have photos taken together or back-to-back times regardless of practice group.

It will not be required for parents to purchase photos taken this day, but we are asking that ALL Manta Rays have their photo taken so we can include them in the team photos and social media posts that occur as the season progresses.

We ask that swimmers wear either a solid black competition style suit or their 2025-2026 black team t-shirt for a unified team look.  Team shirts will be distributed on site on picture day unless they arrive earlier than expected.

 

Have a safe and fun weekend! Happy Halloween!

Go Manta Rays!