Feedback from last year indicated that new families wanted more information about meets.  This email is designed to help in that area.  Also feel free to ask questions of the board members at practices.  Look for a nametag on a lanyard to identify board members.  First, make sure you bookmark the team website. Trust me, you’ll need to access it regularly.
                             http://fourseasons.swim-team.us


   *** Everyone must read these sections to RSVP for Time Trials on 6/11

0.    Time Trials
1.    Password protected information
2.    ***Deadlines for meet sign-up
3.    ***RSVP for meets (action required by Weds 6/8)
4.    ***Volunteer at  meets (action required by Weds 6/8)
5.    Volunteering made easier
6.    When are the meets? (note change from last year)
7.    Meet exception
8.    Swimming in meets
9.    Relay Do’s and Don’ts
10.   Meet Directions

0. Time Trials

The time trial is a chance for the coaches to get initial times for your swimmers in order to help get them seeded properly in a meet. It also gives the team and parents a chance to work out the kinks and run through a small meet before the official meets start. 

IMPORTANT: you must RSVP for a meet in order for your swimmer to be included in the events.

1. PASSWORD PROTECTED INFORMATION

Some information on the site, such as the roster, results and volunteer information, can only be accessed with the team password.  Login using one of the email addresses you gave us when you registered and enter the team password. The password will be sent in a separate email with a subject of 'go team' and the message text will be the password.

2. DEADLINES FOR MEET SIGN-UP

You are not expected to make all the meets during the season, but we encourage you to participate as much as possible.  We ask that you RSVP, yes or no, for each meet.  This will help us schedule the swimmers and ensure your child gets to participate if you are in town. Your child will ONLY swim in the meet if you have said YES in the online RSVP for a meet.  
 
   MEET                  RSVP DEADLINE (changed as of 6/12)
   Wednesday      Saturday night before
   Saturday           Tuesday night before

3. RSVP FOR MEETS

Option #1 –
... From the HOME page, select SWIM MEETS
...Click on the RSVP button for a particular meet
...If your name does not display, put in the email address you gave us when you registered.
...Put in the relevant information.
...Add COMMENTS to communicate special circumstances regarding swimmers or volunteering.
...Click on SAVE
...Look for the message at the top that says ‘Your RSVP was saved successfully’
...Click on the back arrow in your browser (probably twice) to go back to the list of meets.

Option 2 – you can also access the meets from the CALENDAR.  Click on each meet title for meet details and the RSVP option.

4. VOLUNTEER AT  MEETS

Volunteers make the season successful. This year you are responsible for signing up yourself for volunteer positions, by meet. It’s easy and fast.  You can start signing up now.  This year we’ll have a volunteer coordinator at meets to help make the volunteering run smoothly.  As a rule, we ask at least one adult to volunteer for a meet if you have a swimmer signed up for the meet.  We recommend you volunteer at the same time that you RSVP to save time and confusion.

Option #1 –
...From the HOME page, select SWIM MEETS
...Click on the V button for a particular meet
...Find the position you prefer to volunteer for
...Click on the corresponding VOLUNTEER HERE and your name should appear
...You can change the name to the specific volunteer if it shows two names
...Click SAVE and then CLOSE

Option #2 - you can also access the meets from the CALENDAR.  Click on each meet title for meet details and the VOLUNTEER option.

5. VOLUNTEERING MADE EASIER

Meets only happen because we have volunteers to run them.  If more people pitch in, then individuals don’t have to work the entire meet.  This year we are trying to make it easier on the volunteers, where possible.

• We are giving families more control by letting them sign up online for the volunteer positions they prefer. Assignments can’t be guaranteed, but sign up early to get the assignments you prefer.
• We are asking individuals to sign up for first half or second half sessions for many volunteer jobs.  We may find we don’t have enough families actually participating in the meet and therefore not enough volunteers to allow for these shorter sessions, but we’ll do our best.  We may have to ask people to work more than what they signed up for if we don’t have the volunteers we need to run the meet.
• If we don’t have enough volunteers to work 2 different sessions, we’ll try and rotate or give breaks. 
• Our goal is to train all parents to be a timer, so everyone understands the job and feels confident about taking that assignment. It’s a brief training (probably 15 minutes) you’ll take while your swimmers are swimming at practice during the first couple of weeks.  We encourage both parents in a family to participate in this training.
• We’ll have a volunteer coordinator to check-in volunteers, answer questions, and help support the change in shifts. It will be important to check-in and check-out with the volunteer coordinator so she  can ensure all needed spots are filled, and record the number of hours families are volunteering.
• We’ll have some spray bottle fans to help cool off the volunteers in the sun.
• We’ll put canopies over the timer area if families can loan us their own tents at meets.
• We encourage new families to meet others through volunteering.

We understand that families will have restrictions and we are happy to work with you to find ways for you to volunteer but still address your personal family restrictions.  In exchange we ask everyone to embrace what we are trying to do for our swimmers and keep a positive attitude.    Four Seasons has a reputation for stepping up in our league when volunteers are needed.  That’s a great family-friendly reputation we want to keep, so please help us do that this season.

6. WHEN ARE THE MEETS?

                          Setup Jobs                 Warm-up                    Meet Start
Wednesday     &nb