Sharks Parents,

**Please read through this entire email, as this contains lots of important information and is different from those of dual meets this season.**

This is the Big Test of our season's work!! Our swimmers have worked hard for the last two and a half months, and they will use it all this Saturday as we swim against our entire division!  All swimmers that have an official individual event time this season, and have swam in TWO dual meets, are eligible to compete at the Divisional meet. And our team needs all of our swimmers there!!!  Let’s bring home the BIG “W” and the trophy this weekend!!!

We ask all families to plan on arriving no later than 6:45 am. This gives some time to park, set up your tents, chairs, blankets, check in your swimmers and for your volunteer shift. Have a buddy in mind that you can ask to check in your swimmers if you are on your way but not there by that time!!!

Where: 23803 Birnam Wood Blvd, Spring, TX 77373

Setup Map attached. The front parking lot is reserved for officials and coaches. Carpooling is encouraged since parking will be on the neighborhood streets.

****Swimmer RSVP closes tomorrow (Tuesday) for Divisionals. Email Coach Erick at [email protected] if you need to change your RSVP.****

Saturday Morning Timeline:

7:00am - Swimmer check-in deadline - All Swimmers Must Be Checked In By 7:00 am!! Your swimmer could be scratched if they are not checked in at this time!!!

7:00-7:20am - Sharks warmups, lanes 4-5

7:00am - Coaches/Team Rep meeting

7:20am – Officials meeting

7:30am - Volunteers must check in by - 7:30 am

8:00am - Scribes and timers meeting *REQUIRED*

8:25am - National Anthem

Meet starts immediately following the National Anthem

Swimmer Check In - Swimmers must be checked in by 7:00 am at the latest! After 7:00 am swimmers may be scratched! Look for our Junior Coaches in our check-in area for your swimmer’s event slips. If your swimmer must leave the event for any reason, please let the coaches know before you leave.

Coach Erick will be the contact for any relay changes! He will do his best to inform everyone that has been added to a relay team or have had their team scratched. If you see him or your coaches after 8:20 am or so, they can tell you of any changes you need to know about. Be aware though that changes may be made until the event is called to the ready bench, so keep an eye out if he's walking around our setup area!

Volunteers and Volunteering-**Job sign-ups should be opening up later this evening or tomorrow at the latest.** Nora will send an email once they are live.

All volunteers will need to check in with our Volunteer Coordinator, Nora Gutierrez, after checking in your swimmers. She will be near swimmer check in. Please check in no matter what shift you are working when you check in your swimmer! Volunteering for Divisionals is separated into 3 shifts instead of the usual 2. If you are working second or third shift, please pay attention to the announcements about starting the next shift of volunteers.

Shift 1 = events 1 - 30
Shift 2 = events 31 - 56
Shift 3 = events 57 - 86

Please make sure you are on time for your shifts. This is a big meet and being on time helps keep the meet running smoothly.

Parking - Only those with an official parking pass may park in the attached parking lots. All guests will park on surface/residential streets. The first parking lot does not have a turnaround, so please do not block that while unloading. We encourage you to carpool to this event.

Family Tents- The area for our team will be through the gate on the right, just past concessions. Our set-up area will be in the grassy area immediately LEFT of the baby pool, up against the fence. Please be courteous as we will have many teams packed in here!

Families are encouraged to bring their own tents and chairs! Sharing spaces with other families is a good idea due to limited space. We are expecting to finish the meet around 3:00 pm or so but it may run later or end earlier. This will make for a very long day in the sun without shade.

Concessions- There will be concessions available for breakfast, snack and lunch items. CASH is accepted, a minimum of $5 is required for card transactions. With six teams in attendance, it is highly recommended that you bring at least water/Gatorade and some of your own snack items as well. There will also be a couple options for frozen treats. Our team will have the Sharkys Sno-Cone truck in attendance. Reminder: selling concessions as a guest team is strictly prohibited.

Heat Sheets & Shout Outs - These will be available for swim families to purchase for $4 thanks to Bridgestone. They are offering a unique way to celebrate your swimmer! For $10 you can buy a shoutout for a swimmer (or anyone) and it will be printed in the Heat Sheets like a magazine ad. These requests need to be submitted to Bridgestone no later than Wednesday evening and need to be “print-ready.” The purchase will also include your copy of the heat sheets you can pick up on Saturday. See attached flier for details.

General rules- Swimmers and parents are not allowed to question, interfere, or talk to meet officials. Officials will be wearing white shirts and blue shorts/pants and will have NWAL name tags. This includes scorers and computer entry officials. Violation of these rules can cost your team points and can cause your swimmer to be disqualified from their last or next event. Speak to your coaches first about swim questions or disqualifications. Any problem during the meet needs to be brought to the attention of either your coaches or a board member or Kat Henderson, our Team Rep. The easiest way to communicate with her during meets is via text, so save her name and number now: 832-353-9157

Nobody is allowed in the pool unless they are competing in the event that is in progress. This includes the baby pool near the set-up area. Doing so will delay the meet and can cause swimmers to be disqualified.

Please help us police the kids and make sure they are staying out of trouble and not doing anything we would not want them doing at our pool.

Please be mindful of wet vs. dry bathrooms.

As a reminder, there are to be no alcoholic beverages at an NWAL sanctioned event. Smoking or vaping is also prohibited on the event grounds, so please do that AT YOUR OWN VEHICLE. Also, the areas in and around the starting blocks is off limits to everyone except swimmers that are swimming an event, and volunteers that are timing, scribing, or assisting with ready bench.

We would also like to remind all families that horseplay, fighting, rough housing, name calling, bullying, harassment or any kind of poor sportsmanship will not be tolerated anywhere at the meet but especially at the ready bench area at the pool before and after your swimmers’ events are swam. This includes anything directed towards our own teammates, our competitors or meet officials by swimmers or spectators. Any incidents will result in lost team points, swimmer disqualifications, even up to ejection from the meet or the team entirely. All teams are on a “final warning” status. We cannot have poor conduct at an event this size.

Please remember, we are guests at their pool. Please pick up after yourselves and follow their rules. We would expect the same respect from them. Please respect their facility and equipment.

The most important rule of all for our swimmers, do your best and have fun!

Please continue to monitor your email this week for updates and/or changes.

See you all Saturday! Go Sharks!!

Sharks Board