Hello Glider Families,

We are excited to share that if Virginia moves to Phase 2 by June 15 and pools are able to open, then we will have a swim season! Things will be a bit different, but we have worked with the league and pool board to create a viable plan to swim this season. Registration is open now, but we will not be requiring payment for the team until we have confirmation that we are moving to Phase 2. Things are constantly evolving, and we are doing our best to address the changes as quickly as we can. My apologies for the lengthy email, but it’s a lot of information to share.

If pools are able to open, we have worked on devising ways to follow state guidelines on remaining socially distant, maintaining appropriate practice sizes, and cleaning procedures to keep our swimmers as safe as we can. In addition, meets and practices will be a bit different this season as we try to stay within the guidelines. Here are some of the major changes:

Practices:

1.Practices will begin as soon as we move to Phase 2 and will be mornings only, likely Monday through Friday. Exact practice times are TBD, based on how many swimmers sign up, but our plan is to have 3 sessions between 8 and 10:30am, with limited swimmers and maintaining social distance in and out of the pool as necessary. In between each practice session, coaches will be sanitizing the areas with high touchpoints.

2.Due to likely limited group sizes, we will have to severely limit the number of non-swimmers/parents in the pool area, so that we can maximize the number of swimmers. More details to come as we finalize the practice sizes.

3.We will have separate entrances and exits set up so that we can better manage the flow of traffic into the practices.

4.Coaches will not be in the water except for emergency purposes.

5.An additional coach will be tasked with helping maintain social distancing in and out of the pool.

Meets:

1. Meets will be virtual this year, meaning that we will not have in-person meets. Glen Allen will swim at our pool, and our competition will swim at their pool. Results will be combined via the computer.

2. We will have 5 meets, starting with the week of June 22^nd and continuing into July.

3. Meets may occur on Monday nights, but we are still working with the pool to finalize our schedule. While all events will not have to occur at the same time/date, but rather completed by a certain time each week, we would still like to swim as many as possible during the same session to minimize impacts to volunteers.

4. Our volunteer requirements are obviously less this year, but it is still critical that all families help out to make these meets more effective.

5. Details on meet schedules will come as we work on the numbers.

6. Volunteers needed every time we officially time a swimmer:

a. 1 timer per lane (down from 3 in previous years) to help with social distancing. – No training necessary (easy job)

b. 2 strokes and turn judges – previously trained or can be trained via Zoom

c. 1 head referee - needs to complete a Zoom training to discuss virtual meet specific issues

d. 1 starter – easy training – can be done online

e. 1 computer operator (does not have to be on deck) – easy training, mostly data validation and entry

f. 1 Head Table person

Training is needed for some of these positions, but training requirements have been relaxed for this year. If needed, training will be via Zoom.

New swimmers:

1. Because of the difficulty in having coaches in the water, swimmers will need to be comfortable in the water on their own and swim an entire length by themselves. Coaches will be nearby for safety, but cannot guide the swimmer in the water.

2. Unfortunately we will not be having a mini-mite program for new swimmers, and lessons are not currently planned.

3. We will hopefully have evaluations for new swimmers as soon as we are able to be in the pool. Potentially even the few days prior to Phase 2 opening (limited to a few swimmer evaluations only)

4. Swimmers need to be comfortable on their own, as parents may not be able to be in the pool area for practices.

As mentioned, registration is open on the website: http://gagliders.swimtopia.com. Because of the changes, we are reducing fees. Fees for this year, to pay for coaches, league fees and miscellaneous expenses will be:

1 swimmer: $90
2 swimmers: $160
3 swimmers: $220
4+ swimmers: $250

Please sign-up as soon as possible so that we can start planning practice times once we get the go-ahead to open. Again, fees won’t be assessed until we get approval to move to Phase 2.

Any questions can be sent to [email protected].

Thanks,

Mark, Kristi and Coach Kelly