Gator Gazette

Week of June 2-8

It was amazing to see so many of our Gators back in the water this week!! The Coaches reported there were more Gators than ever interested in joining our program! Welcome to our new families, and welcome back, Gators. See below for all the Gator info for the week ahead, including:

• Our weekly and seasonal calendar : Please note there is a REVISED season calendar!!
• Registration Information for Returning and New Swimmers
• TIME TRIALS INFORMATION and sign-ups
• Updates on Gator Gear and Team Suits
• Gator Insulated Tumbler Sale - LAST CALL!
• FUN FRIDAYS Info and Sign-Ups
• Search for next season's Slideshow Committee Volunteer
• Registration Information for Swim Lessons
• Info on Applying to be a Swim Lessons Instructor - Meeting this Tuesday at 7 pm
• Registration Information for Masters Swim Program
• An opportunity to join an Adult Swim League

If you haven't registered your Gators and Mini Gators yet, please do so ASAP! See info below!

Congratulations to our Seniors graduating this coming week!!

Go Gators!

Please note the meet themes on the revised Calendar have been changed.

Please note the Wednesday Night "B" meet will now be on TUESDAY, JULY 2 at Franklin Knolls!!!

MONDAY, JUNE 3: REGISTRATION DEADLINE: We ask that ALL new and returning Gator families please register and pay registration fees no later than midnight on Monday, June 5. CLICK HERE TO REGISTER. We will close registration at midnight, which will enable us to seed Time Trials. If anyone has an issue, please contact our Registration Coordinator, Aiyana Pucci THANK YOU.

We are excited that our Mini-Gators will be back with our very successful 4-day per week pre-team program! Assessments will take place the week of May 30, and practices will start Monday, June 17.

Mini-Gators fees are $100/swimmer, and includes 1 special Fun Friday practice and 1 Mini Gator Meet.

Our Mini Gators program is for budding competitive swimmers who can currently swim across 1 length of the pool , and who are ready to learn to dive, swim freestyle, and begin to learn breaststroke and backstroke. Group or individual swim lessons are STRONGLY encouraged in tandem with the Minis Program, to allow young swimmers more time to improve.

The Meet starts at 8 am, and will conclude around 11:00 am.

Note: There are no concessions at Time Trials.

Time Trials is a great learning experience for our new and nervous swimmers. It's just our team, so its an extremely supportive community atmosphere. You MUST declare your swimmer as available or unavailable to participate in the meet by Tuesday, June 4 at MIDNIGHT! CLICK HERE or the button below to declare your swimmer.

We know Team Unify looks different this year. We’ve created tutorialsl (thanks, Allison!) showing the step-by-step process to register for the meet and sign up for jobs. While you’re there, we ask that you look ahead and declare your swimmers’ availability for as many meets as you know of.

1. How to Sign Up for Time Trials OR a B Meet

2. How to Sign Up for a Volunteer Job

3. How to Sign Up for an A Meet

As always, these How-to’s can be found under PARENT INFO on our TeamUnifymainpage

We still need timers, officials and runners for Saturday's time trials. Please don't make us track down volunteers Friday and Saturday. If you haven't timed before, it's easy and no training is required. To Sign up for a volunteer job, CLICK HERE or the button below.

Our fabulous Fun Fridays start this week with our Buddy Group Meet and Greet this Friday 6/7. Our Gators will spend some time getting to know their fellow Gators of all ages with some quick, fun games. It will begin at 7pm and end by 7:30pm so our swimmers can get their rest for time trials the next morning. Buddy groups will be sent out later this week and will also be posted on Friday. Any parents willing to stay and help Gators find their buddy groups would be greatly appreciated! Please see the SignupGenius below.

6/7 Buddy Group Meet and Greet 7pm ANY AGE GROUP PARENTS : VOLUNTEER SIGNUP HERE!

For the rest of the season’s Fun Fridays, we will have the parents of each age group help host a Fun Friday. Parent volunteers will shop for and help on the day of your age group’s Fun Friday. I will be at each Fun Friday to lead but need your help to pull it off. We aim to make this a bonding experience for parents within the age groups! Additional information is in each SignUpGenius, linked below.

6/14 Pep Rally 7pm: 9-10 parents

6/21 French Toast Breakfast: 13-14 parents

6/28 Tie Dye Activity: 8&U parents

7/5 Ice Cream Social: 11-12 parents

7/12 Gator Olympics: 15-18 parents

Happy to answer any questions about Gator Fun Fridays- please email Jennifer at jameyer85@gmail.com

We will be having another “exclusive” Franklin Knolls Suit Event at Capital Swim Monday June 3 from 5-7. Be there or be square!

If you can't make it, feel free to head over to Capital Sport and Swim for Team Suits. Their knowledgeable staff will help with sizing, and have all the selections for our Team Suits on file. Now is the perfect time to prep!

Thank you to all who have purchased tumblers! Your fundraising support means so much to the team. Please CLICK HERE to order. Sale closes Monday, June 3.

COMING SOON!! WATCH FOR THE EMAIL!!

Registration is Open and Underway. Thank you to all those who have registered and PAID for the Gators. If you are a returning Gator, please register and pay no later than Friday, June 1. If you are a new Gator, please register by Monday, June 3.

We are working to confirm everyone's registration and mark accounts as paid. As soon as your registration is approved, you will be able to register for Time Trials. If you are having issues with your status, please contact Aiyana Pucci to clarify.

As you pay for registration, concessions, merch, etc. on Venmo or Zelle, please use text (not emojis) as much as possible. It helps to streamline our bookkeeping.

Any members who make purchases on behalf of the Gators can submit for reimbursement by submitting this FORM. You can also click on the green button above!

Thank you in advance for streamlining our reimbursement requests

We are excited to host the annual Teen Beach Trip once again to Cape Henlopen State Park. 26 teens are already registered!!

We will leave directly from the A Meet on June 29, and return midday Monday, July 1 (around 1pm). A summary of our trip is below.

DATES: June 29-July 1, 2024

LOCATION: Cape Henlopen State Park , Youth Camp II *Air-conditioned*

COST: $95.00 per swimmer. Includes lodging and food. Swimmers will bring money to cover cost of food on return trip Monday morning.

ELIGIBILITY: All swimmers in the 13/14 and 15&up age groups. Please encourage your teen to attend. I know they may drag their feet, but its always a fun weekend!

DESCRIPTION: This trip to Cape Henlopen State Park in Lewes, DE is a wonderful tradition where our teens spend a weekend team building and getting to know one another. We will have programming for team building and fun, including games, beach relays, skits and more. The team will provide all meals. All teens are welcome and encouraged to participate.

Want to sign up your teen? Please:

1) fill out one google form per swimmer,

2) one permission form (attached)

3) pay via check, Zelle or Venmo. Please indicate on the form if you are able to, or interested in, chaperoning.

Return the permission form via email to plbacon@hotmail.com , or print and return to the pool (in Swim Team envelope at the front desk).

***All forms are due back by Saturday, June 15, 2024.***

As with all things swim - it takes a village to make this happen! Can you help?

CHAPERONES/DRIVERS: Please indicate if you can be a chaperone and/or driver for this trip. We will assign cars and chaperones by June 26. Please email Priscilla at plbacon@hotmail.com if you have questions about chpaeroning.

SHOPPERS: Please email Priscilla at plbacon@hotmail.com if you can shop in advance for this trip. We will provide you with a Costco/Grocery store list in advance and groceries can be dropped off the morning of the trip.

It's nearly the end of an era. As Kim Rooney looks to wind down her time with the Gators, we are looking for someone to take over the Slideshow Committee for Summer 2025. This volunteer could shadow Kim a bit this summer to see how things are done. Responsibilities include coordinating a few photographers for the season, managing the team dropbox account for photos, and overseeing a committee of HS students (Gators) who work to put together the team slideshow for the banquet. This is always a fan favorite, and always a fun and wonderful group of teens to work with! Please reach out to Kim if you are interested in shadowing her this year and taking over in 2025! Please text Kim at 301-237-3466.

It takes a village to run a swim team. There are all sorts of volunteer positions that comprise the nearly 600 shifts needed to make summer swimming a reality, not to mention the countless hours spent by those running larger positions on the team! The Gators requires each family to volunteer. As part of your registration, you will now sign an agreement stating you agree to volunteer 4 shifts per family for the summer. We have weighted certain jobs more heavily for those filling major positions.

We will send out more detailed information on jobs and sign-ups later this month. If you have questions or don't know how you could help, please let us know and we are glad to help you find a niche.

If you have questions regarding open Volunteer positions or ways you'd like to help out, please contact our 2024 Volunteer Coordinator, Jenny Blasdell at jenblas@gmail.com

Registration is now open for swim lessons! Once again this year, the Gators are offering swim lessons to members and the broader community as a fundraiser for the swim team. All information - including session descriptions, timing, and the registration link can be found here. The deadline for registering for Session 1 is Wednesday, June 12th at noon.

Members who want to be Junior Swim Instructors (rising 7th graders or older) or Senior Swim Instructors (rising 10th graders or older with experience) are welcome to an information session on Tuesday June 4th at 7:00pm in the covered area behind the Snack Shack. Our lesson leads will be there to go over the job description, show how to access the application form, and answer questions. The deadline for applying is Friday, June 7th. If your child is interested but not able to make the information session, please have them review the information packets and access the application forms using the links below.

• Junior Instructors
• - Information packet
• - Application link

• Senior Instructors
• Information packet
• Application link

Registration for Masters is open! This year, practices will be held from June 18-July 16th on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 6:15-7:15am. This 5-week program will provide practices for all different skill levels, whether you swam last week or last decade! More information about the program and the registration link can be found here. Early Bird pricing for those who register by June 8th!

This year, in addition to morning swim practices, we will also be including an additional “drylands” for those interested on Wednesdays starting June 19. Workout Wednesdays will include many different types of workouts such as strength training, pilates, and yoga. More details to come, please look out for flyers around the pool.

Questions about swim lessons, swim instructor applications, masters, and Workout Wednesdays can be directed to Erin and Kelsey at fkpswimlessons@gmail.com

We are forming an adult team to participate in Montgomery County’s “Grown Up Swimming League.” It’s a fun, laid back, family friendly swim league. Meets take place on Sunday mornings starting June 9th. Power through a 25 meter race, or challenge yourself to a 50, and have fun! The calendar is not finalized, but meets will likely be Sunday mornings, with meet warm ups at 8:30am and races from 9-11! There are 4 meets, plus divisionals. The cost for the league is $75.00, no entry fees for meets. You can find more information about the meets and the league HERE!

If you are interested in joining the team (or have a suggestion about our team name!) contact Kim O’Brien 315-382-2344 or Kstepienpt@gmail.com