Weekly Announcements for Week of 10/11-10/17

Dear SBSC families, 
Practice Schedule Here is the practice schedule for this week. Riley HS Group 1 Monday and Wednesday 6:00-7:00 Group 2 Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday 6:00-7:30 Group 3 Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday 4:30-6:00 New Prairie HS (only for NPUSC students) Group 1 Monday and Tuesday 6:00-7:00 CST Group 2 Monday 4:30-6:00 CST, Tuesday 6:00-7:15 CST, Wednesday 4:30-6:00 CST, and Thursday 6:00-7:15 CST Group 3 Monday and Wednesday 4:30-6:00 CST Practice Notes: Group 1 at Riley will be on Monday and Wednesday for the next 2 weeks. We will have limited space in the diving well due to the Adams HS divers practicing the same time we normally would. Once high school season starts on the 26th they will have different practice times. There may be an issue for NP practice on Thursday. Coach Ashley was told there was a possibility we may not have access to the locker rooms. NPHS is hosting volleyball sectionals and they may need the pool locker room space for some of the teams. As soon as we know for sure we will pass that information along. Group 1 practices at New Prairie, as in years past, will vary each week due to coach availability. But the schedule will follow similar format. Swimmers attending New Prairie practices will enter the building through door N17. Everyone entering the building will be required to wear a mask. Parents will not be allowed on deck. Each athlete will need to fill out the attached form and hand deliver to the coach when entering the high school. All swimmers should come dressed ready to practice. There may be limited use of the locker rooms after practice. If you have any questions regarding procedures for NPHS practices please email Coach Ashley at awojtysiak@npusc.k12.in.us Due to limits imposed by NPUSC for safety reasons no more then 24 swimmers will be allowed in the pool at any one time. This means we have to put limits on our roster groups. Group 1 is at capacity and all spots are filled, 1 more spot is available in Group 2, and all the spots in Group 3 are taken. If you would like to be added to the waiting list please send an email to me and Coach Ashley. Covid Precautions I was informed Friday evening one of our Group 3 athletes, who practices at Riley, was instructed to quarantine by their school. This athlete has not tested positive but was within 6 feet and longer than 15 minutes of someone who did test positive on October 6th. Our athlete did attend practice Monday-Thursday last week. Due to our social distancing practices and a previous conversation with Dr. Fox I believe our athletes are safe. I felt it was necessary to inform our members so you can make the best choice for your family about sending your athletes back to practice. Team Caps All athletes, if they have not already, will receive their new caps for this season at practice this week. They will be required to wear them at the meet this Saturday. If they are lost or damaged they will be given another and your accounts will be charged $5. CON Dual Meet Saturday 10-17 The safety protocols for the meet can be found by clicking here. Parents please go over the protocols with your swimmers. The deadline to commit to this meet is this Wednesday, October 14. If you know you won't be attending please decline the attendance on the website or by using your OnDeck app. I will be sending email invites on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday to those who have yet to commit or decline. The cost of the meet will be $7 and athletes could swim up to 3 individual events and 2 relays. Here are the pertinent times for this Saturday's meet 13 and over Arrive at Concord in swimsuits by 8:45 Enter the building 8:50 Warm-ups 9:00-9:40 Meet Starts 9:50 Conclusion of session 11:00 12 and under Arrive at Concord in swimsuits no earlier then 11:00 Enter the building 11:10--if all 13 and over athletes have left the pool deck Warm-ups 11:15-12:00 Meet Starts 12:10 Conclusion of session 1:30 I will have the entries completed no later the Thursday afternoon. I will also be the coach on deck the entire meet so if you are running late on Saturday or will be unable to make it please text me as soon as you can. Remember there is no use of the locker rooms but restrooms will be available. As of now 1 parent per swimmer will be allowed to attend the meet. Lifeguard Volunteering at Riley Group 3 swimmers who need their volunteer hours are able to sign-up for some remaining spots in October. Changes For This Season These will be some changes will be implementing for the upcoming season. Masks: All swimmers, coaches, and lifeguards will be required to wear a mask when not in the water. Family Technology Fee: This fee was originally used to eliminate the need for credit card financing charges. Over time this has cost club a considerable amount of money. If you would like to avoid those finance charges you can always prepay with cash or check. Lifeguarding: We will be using a system we used a few years ago with the Riley High School team. Group 3 practices will be using our swimmers to guard practice. Each certified athlete will take a 20-25 minute turn in the chair and hopefully only once or twice a week. Volunteering Requirements: Each of our Group 3 athletes will be required to volunteer 4 hours each season. This is included in the Terms and Conditions document you digitally sign during registration. Those with lifeguarding will be expected to lifeguard. Those without will be expected to help the coaches during practice. Once a swimmer has fulfilled their volunteer requirement they can earn credit to the families swim club account to help pay for training and/or meet entry fees. Team Caps: At any given practice this summer we only had a few of our swimmers wearing any of our club gear. This includes caps, T-shirts, and backpacks. If we had a visitor come to practice there would have been zero chance of the visitor identifying our team correctly. We saw gear from multiple high school teams, college teams, and former club teams. I feel for us to become more of a team we need to look more like a team. Staring this fall the only caps that will be allowed during our practices will be SBSC caps. These can be our regular meet caps, Divisional caps or State Team caps. We will be getting some silicone caps for those who prefer that type. We do have some silicone caps with our old logo but a very limited supply. USA Swimming Guidelines-MAAPPUSA USA Swimming issued a directive with regards to electronic communication and social media contact between coaches and athletes. Most of what is being implemented is common sense and falls in line with our club's policies. One new requirement we will need to adhere to is how your minor child communicates with me. For several years I have asked swimmers in Group 2 and Group 3 to text/email me if they would be missing practice. Moving forward, swimmers will be instructed to include a parent on all communication with me.
 If you are the parent of a Group 2 or Group 3 swimmer, and have never sent me a text before, please text me so I have your contact info in my phone. This way if I need to contact your swimmer about missing practice I can be sure to include you. My cell phone number is 574-276-6057.
 I encourage all parents and swimmers to read the full policy. We are required to keep this policy on our website, here is the link. As always, if you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me. -- John VanDriessche Head Coach South Bend Swim Club South Bend Riley High School (574)276-6057 www.southbendswimclub.com #SBSCForLife