Weekly Announcements for Week of 11/29-12/5

Dear SBSC families, 
Practice Schedule Here is the practice schedule for this week. Riley HS Group 1 Monday and Wednesday 6:00-7:15 G1 Elite-no additional practice this week Group 2 Monday and Wednesday 5:30-7:30 New Prairie HS (only for NPUSC students) Group 1 Monday and Wednesday 7:00-8:15 CST Group 2 Monday and Wednesday 7:00-8:30 CST Practice Notes: No practice on Tuesday or Thursday at either site due to a high school meets. No practice on Friday due to the Elkhart Invite. We are using the Train Heroic App during the RHS Group 2 and the G1 Elite practices. If your swimmer has a smart phone we would like them to bring it to practice. If they do, please have them download the app and create an account. The access code for our Group 2 swimmers is G22020. Swimmers should come to practice in dryland clothes over their suits. They should also be wearing quality workout shoes as well. Flip flops or Crocs are not acceptable options. Swimmers are encouraged to bring a yoga mat if they have one. Swimmers attending New Prairie practices will continue to 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 Elkhart Invite December 4-6 Elkhart Aquatic Center The last chance to commit to this meet is today Sunday 11-29. If you would like to see your swimmer's event list you can log into your account (on our website or using the OnDeck app) and go to the same spot you'd normally commit to the meet. Here are the pertinent times for this weekends meet. Friday Session 1: distance events Doors open at 3:45-our athletes should be at the facility when doors open Warm-ups 4:00-5:00 Meet starts 5:05 Saturday and Sunday Sessions for 11-12 year olds Doors open at 7:45-our athletes should be at the facility when doors open Warm-ups 8:00-9:00 Meet starts 9:05 <i>Saturday and Sunday Sessions for 13 & over + 8 & under Doors open 11:30-our athletes should be at the facility when doors open Warm-ups 11:45-12:45 Meet starts 12:50 Saturday and Sunday Sessions for 9-10 year olds Doors open at 3:00-our athletes should be at the facility when doors open Warm-up 3:15-3:45 Meet starts 3:50 I will be on deck for the majority of the sessions. If you are running late or will be unable to make it to the meet please text me as soon as you can, 574-276-6057. STAR's Powerup Invitational Here are our results from the Power Up Invite. Here is a link to our new all time top-10. This link is a tentative draft of our Divisional/State qualifiers, please check for accuracy. Daily Self Checks Thank you to all of the athletes and parents who have using the on-line Google form. If it is at all possible please fill out the form as opposed to bringing in a printed copy or having your swimmers fill one out when they arrive. If you do fill out the Google form for your athlete please inform them you did. Wifi is at best very weak and mostly non-existent by the door so it is difficult for us to check on-line if the form has been completed. But the use of the Google form allows us to quickly get the swimmers inside without too much congestion by the doors. So, if you have the ability to fill out the Google form please do so and inform your swimmer it is completed. Lifeguarding We are still in need for a guard for tomorrow's practice, Monday November 30. We also have 9 spots still available in December. We only have a handful of athletes that have met their minimum requirement. If need be, athletes will be assigned to guard practices. Since we are not required to have lifeguards at NP Group 3 athletes may volunteer to help as assistants during the Group 2 or Group 1 practices. Please talk to Coach Ashley about times since the number of athletes in the pool/on the deck will be limited. If a NP athlete took our lifeguarding course they will need to volunteer time as a lifeguard at Riley. 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

Weekly Announcements for Week of 11/22-11/28

Dear SBSC families, 
Practice Schedule Here is the practice schedule for this week. Riley HS Group 1 Monday 6:00-7:15 and Friday 10:00-11:15 AM G1 Elite Wednesday 9:30-11:30 AM Group 2 Monday 5:30-7:30, Wednesday and Friday 9:30-11:30 AM New Prairie HS (only for NPUSC students) Group 1 Monday and Wednesday 11:00 AM-12:15 PM CST Group 2 Monday and Wednesday 11:00 AM-12:30 PM CST Practice Notes: No practice on Tuesday at either site due to a high school meets. No practice on Thursday due to Thanksgiving. We are using the Train Heroic App during the RHS Group 2 and the G1 Elite practices. If your swimmer has a smart phone we would like them to bring it to practice. If they do, please have them download the app and create an account. The access code for our Group 2 swimmers is G22020. Swimmers should come to practice in dryland clothes over their suits. They should also be wearing quality workout shoes as well. Flip flops or Crocs are not acceptable options. Swimmers are encouraged to bring a yoga mat if they have one. Swimmers attending New Prairie practices will continue to 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 Spirit Wear Order Form As of this morning I have spirit wear orders from the following families: Gray Long Morrison Ramirez Stancati Thibodeau Whitmer All orders need to be returned to me no later than this Tuesday November 24. The order form Page 1 is attached here and Page 2 here. Page 2 is the form you will need to return to the club. If you are a NP family please return to one of the coaches and they will get it to me. RHS families, there is a manila envelope taped to the front of my desk and athletes can drop off the forms as they arrive to practice. STAR's Powerup Inviational-Elkhart Aquatic Center- A great fast first day for our swimmers. You can follow the the results on your Meet Mobile app or watch the livestream on the Elkhart Aquatic Center's YouTube page by clicking here. Upcoming Meets We are adding two meets to our schedule. The first one is the December Elkhart Invitational being held the 4th-6th. This meet is being hosted by Elkhart United and will be at the Elkhart Aquatic Center. We also are planning on attending the CPSC Winter Invitational being held at Crown Point High School on the weekend of January 8th-10th. I will have these posted to our website later this week. Daily Self Checks Thank you to all of the athletes and parents who have using the on-line Google form. If it is at all possible please fill out the form as opposed to bringing in a printed copy or having your swimmers fill one out when they arrive. If you do fill out the Google form for your athlete please inform them you did. Wifi is at best very weak and mostly non-existent by the door so it is difficult for us to check on-line if the form has been completed. But the use of the Google form allows us to quickly get the swimmers inside without too much congestion by the doors. So, if you have the ability to fill out the Google form please do so and inform your swimmer it is completed. Lifeguarding Remember all Group 3 athletes are required to volunteer 4 hours of their time during each season they are members of the club. If they are lifeguards they will be expected to guard practices. If they are not they will be expected to help assist coaches during Group 1 or Group 2 practices. This requirement is to be completed by the end of the winter season in March. If they received their lifeguarding certificate from the club they have an additional 10 hours of lifeguarding to complete by the end of the summer season of 2021. We still have one spot left in November on Monday the 30th. There are 12 spots still open for December as well. Since we are not required to have lifeguards at NP Group 3 athletes may volunteer to help as assistants during the Group 2 or Group 1 practices. Please talk to Coach Ashley about times since the number of athletes in the pool/on the deck will be limited. If a NP athlete took our lifeguarding course they will need to volunteer time as a lifeguard at Riley. 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

Weekly Announcements for Week of 11/8-11/14

Dear SBSC families, 
Practice Schedule Here is the practice schedule for this week. Riley HS Group 1 Tuesday and Thursday 6:00-7:15 Group 2 Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday 5:30-7:30 Group 3 No scheduled practice until February New Prairie HS (only for NPUSC students) Group 1 Monday and Wednesday 7:00-8:15 Group 2 Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday 7:00-8:30 Group 3 No scheduled practice until February Practice Notes: No practice on Thursday at New Prairie due to a high school meet. We will be using the Train Heroic App during the RHS Group 2 practices. If your swimmer has a smart phone we would like them to bring it to practice. If they do, please have them download the app and create an account. The access code for our Group 2 swimmers is G22020. Swimmers should come to practice in dryland clothes over their suits. They should also be wearing quality workout shoes as well. Flip flops or Crocs are not acceptable options. Swimmers are encouraged to bring a yoga mat if they have one. Swimmers attending New Prairie practices will continue to 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 Elkhart Invite November Remember, this is a one session meet. Here are the pertinent times Warm-ups 9:00-9:50 - our swimmers should be on deck by 8:45 in their suits and ready to swim Meet Starts 10:00 The time-line for the meet is 2.5 hours Swimmers should bring their own masks and filled water bottles. Also, I had a question earlier about entries. Once the entries are completed you can log in to your account, on your computer or OnDeck app, and you will be able to find your swimmer's entries there. Lifeguard I did not record the Group 3 swimmer who guarded practice on Thursday October 29th. If your athlete was our lifeguard that evening please email me so they can receive credit. Daily Self Checks Thank you to all of the athletes and parents who have using the on-line Google form. If it is at all possible please fill out the form as opposed to bringing in a printed copy or having your swimmers fill one out when they arrive. If you do fill out the Google form for your athlete please inform them you did. Wifi is at best very weak and mostly non-existent by the door so it is difficult for us to check on-line if the form has been completed. But the use of the Google form allows us to quickly get the swimmers inside without too much congestion by the doors. So, if you have the ability to fill out the Google form please do so and inform your swimmer it is completed. 12 and Under Tech Suit Ban This rule has been in place since earlier this fall but I have not shared too much information about it. If you click here you will be taken the USA Swimming website. This page will have the specific rule, examples of allowed/prohibited material, and the type of seems you should be on the lookout for. There also links to specific suits and suit brands that are allowable. Spirit Wear Order Form The order form Page 1 is attached here and Page 2 here. Page 2 is the form you will need to return to the club. The due date listed is incorrect. All orders need to be returned to me no later then Tuesday November 24. If you are a NP family please return to one of the coaches and they will get it to me. RHS families, there is a manila envelope taped to the front of my desk and athletes can drop off the forms as they arrive to practice. For our new families this is different then the T-shirt your swimmer will receive. That price was included in the spirit wear you paid for when registering. We are getting closer to the design but it is taking some time. Practice Incentives I believe we have accomplished our goal of looking more like a team at practice by wearing only club caps. I also believe being part of team means having a little fun and allowing athletes a chance to express themselves. So moving forward practices on Friday will be considered "Fun Cap Friday". Athletes will be able to wear any cap they'd like to practice on those days. I plan to start having a competition for this as well through one of our social media sites. We'll take pics of all the fun caps worn on Friday and post a poll. The winner will get some club gear or other swimming related prize. We will also be starting a monthly drawing to win club gear. When an athlete arrives to practice they will be allowed to fill out a small ticket to place in tumbler to be drawn at the end of the month. There will be one drawing but it will include both practice sites. The first prize up for grabs will be a new TYR team backpack. It will be embroidered with the club logo and the athletes name. Lifeguarding For November There are still a few spots left open for November. Remember all Group 3 athletes are required to volunteer 4 hours of their time during each season they are members of the club. If they are lifeguards they will be expected to guard practices. If they are not they will be expected to help assist coaches during Group 1 or Group 2 practices. This requirement is to be completed by the end of the winter season in March. If they received their lifeguarding certificate from the club they have an additional 10 hours of lifeguarding to complete by the end of the summer season of 2021. As of this morning we have 5 spots still available for November. For those few families who have gone over their required volunteer time the credit will be applied to your account by the end of this month. Since we are not required to have lifeguards at NP Group 3 athletes may volunteer to help as assistants during the Group 2 or Group 1 practices. Please talk to Coach Ashley about times since the number of athletes in the pool/on the deck will be limited. If a NP athlete took our lifeguarding course they will need to volunteer time as a lifeguard at Riley. 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

Weekly Announcements for Week of 11/1-11/7

Dear SBSC families, 
Practice Schedule Here is the practice schedule for this week. Riley HS Group 1 Wednesday and Thursday 6:00-7:15 Group 2 Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday 5:30-7:30 Group 3 Monday Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday 4:30-6:00 New Prairie HS (only for NPUSC students) Group 1 Monday and Tuesday 6:30-7:30 CST Group 2 & 3 Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday 5:00-6:30 CST Practice Notes: RHS Group 1 practices will add and additional 15 minutes to practice for the month of November. Once the high school season starts the following week we will add the additional time to Group 1 at NP as well. No practice on Tuesday at Riley due to it being an election polling place. I am not sure exactly why we've been told we couldn't practice because we've practiced on election day (mornings and afternoons) every year I have been at Riley. As I mentioned last week, we are adding 30 minutes to the RHS Group 2 practices for dryland. We will be using the Train Heroic App. If your swimmer has a smart phone we would like them to bring it to practice. If they do, please have them download the app and create an account. The access code for our Group 2 swimmers is G22020. Swimmers should come to practice in dryland clothes over their suits. They should also be wearing quality workout shoes as well. Flip flops or Crocs are not acceptable options. Swimmers are encouraged to bring a yoga mat if they have one. Swimmers attending New Prairie practices will continue to 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 Elkhart Invite November 7 & 8 Beacon Health and Fitness Center I have sent multiple emails to the Elkhart coaching staff and have not received a reply. My last communication with them was on the 24th and was told the deadline to commit to this meet would be tonight Sunday, November 1. At this point I am at a loss of what to tell you. There is not any information on the Indiana swimming website or their club website that I could find. I'd say we may be at less then a 50/50 chance the meet will not be conducted. If you have not committed to the meet but plan on swimming if the meet is conducted please commit your swimmer by this evening. If we are lucky enough to compete I will pass along any information as soon as I receive it. Plymouth Shark Fest If you received an email about this meet please disregard. The meet was marked as "admin only" on my website dashboard and I didn't realize it would send an email when in that mode. Unfortunately, this meet was canceled last week so we will be looking for a different opportunity to compete. Go Fund Me I forgot to mention in a previous email about our expenses for our fundraiser for September. Through the Go Fund Me page we raised $2465. After the fees back to Go Fund Me our payout was $2386.90. Our payment to Arlington Pool was $1269.76 and we bought 4 solar covers for the pool for $377.61 for a total of $1647.37. That left us with a balance of $739.53. 100% of the remaining money will be used on swimmer incentives including the team backpack being offered for the drawing this month. Spirit Wear Order Form The order form Page 1 is attached here and Page 2 here. Page 2 is the form you will need to return to the club. The due date listed is incorrect. All orders need to be returned to me no later then Tuesday November 24. If you are a NP family please return to one of the coaches and they will get it to me. RHS families, there is a manila envelope taped to the front of my desk and athletes can drop off the forms as they arrive to practice. For our new families this is different then the T-shirt your swimmer will receive. That price was included in the spirit wear you paid for when registering. We are getting closer to the design but it is taking some time. Practice Incentives I believe we have accomplished our goal of looking more like a team at practice by wearing only club caps. I also believe being part of team means having a little fun and allowing athletes a chance to express themselves. So moving forward practices on Friday will be considered "Fun Cap Friday". Athletes will be able to wear any cap they'd like to practice on those days. I plan to start having a competition for this as well through one of our social media sites. We'll take pics of all the fun caps worn on Friday and post a poll. The winner will get some club gear or other swimming related prize. We will also be starting a monthly drawing to win club gear. When an athlete arrives to practice they will be allowed to fill out a small ticket to place in tumbler to be drawn at the end of the month. There will be one drawing but it will include both practice sites. The first prize up for grabs will be a new TYR team backpack. It will be embroidered with the club logo and the athletes name. Changes Coming to New Prairie Practices Because of our limitations of space and numbers allowed we are unable to offer the dryland as a group at NPHS. But, the workouts are designed to be done with little or no equipment and can be done by athletes at home at anytime. Also because of the limits on the number of swimmers allowed in the pool at NPHS the boys and girls high school teams will need to have split practices. This unfortunately means our club practices will be pushed later into the evening. So our window of practices will be from 7:00-8:30 each evening there is not a high school meet. I realize there may be some families who feel finishing practice at 8:30 will be too late for their swimmers. We do have space at Riley for additional swimmers. But unlike previous seasons parents would need to contact me to confirm there is space on any particular day. Lifeguarding For November The lifeguard sign-up for November is now available. Please remember all Group 3 athletes are required to volunteer 4 hours of their time during each season they are members of the club. If they are lifeguards they will be expected to guard practices. If they are not they will be expected to help assist coaches during Group 1 or Group 2 practices. This requirement is to be completed by the end of the winter season in March. If they received their lifeguarding certificate from the club they have an additional 10 hours of lifeguarding to complete by the end of the summer season of 2021. As of this morning we have 5 spots still available for November. For those few families who have gone over their required volunteer time the credit will be applied to your account by the end of this month. Since we are not required to have lifeguards at NP Group 3 athletes may volunteer to help as assistants during the Group 2 or Group 1 practices. Please talk to Coach Ashley about times since the number of athletes in the pool/on the deck will be limited. If a NP athlete took our lifeguarding course they will need to volunteer time as a lifeguard at Riley. 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