Going Offline:  This will be my last communication for a while.  I’m leaving town on family camping trip.  I don’t know if I will have cell coverage to answer calls, listen to voicemails, or respond to emails.  I’ll know when I get there.  If I do have coverage I’m going to toss my phone as far as I can into the lake.  I’ll be back in town on Monday afternoon and will respond then. 

Swim Meet:  Huntley Hills @ Huntcliff (9072 River Run, Sandy Springs, GA 30350) 5:30 pm start, 4:45 pm Check-In Time.  Event/Heat/Lane Race assignments will be handed out at Tuesday morning practice.

Backstroke Clinic Tonight:  Coach Ryan will be back for a backstroke clinic tonight in place of Blue practice.  Blue team will not have dry land training but should report a little before 6:00pm so clinic can start right on time.  We’re working on the make-up dates for the Breast stroke and freestyle clinics.  Again, red team members are invited to attend.  If numbers allow it, and they have for all the other clinics, they’ll be able to participate in the drills. 

New Training Schedule:  If you’re subscribed to the team Google calendar you see the new training times now that school is out.

Juniors: 8-8:30 am

White: 8-15-9:00 am

Red: 8:45-9:00 am

Blue: 9:30 – 11:00 am

Monday & Wednesday Evenings (All Senior Team) 7:00 – 8:00 pm

Swim Portal Tidbits: We’re learning a few things about the portal I’d like to pass along.  First, for each email in your profile, you’ll be able to login using the “family” password.  In other words there is not a unique password to email relationship, all emails use the same password.  This also means that regardless of which email is used to login, the primary family contact will be the default.  You can change in your profile which person is primary and secondary if you like.  Please note that when a secondary contact email logs in and goes to volunteer, it will enter whoever the family’s primary contact as the volunteer.  You can manually change that, however, to read who you want it to say.  So if Mom logs in and volunteers for a spot and Dad’s name shows up, just delete Dad’s name and type in Mom’s name.  I realize that may be a problem for some split families and if that’s the case for you we can discuss some options.

Truck Driver:  I’ve added a new volunteer position for away meets for those with trucks or vans.  We have purchased some new sun shade canopies and need someone with a truck to bring them to away meets (Session 1) and then return them to the clubhouse (Session 2) either that evening or the next morning. 

RSVP and Volunteering:  There are many swimmers that still have not RSVP for the Tuesday swim meet.  There are also a handful of volunteer positions that still need to be filled, including the new Truck Driver position.  If you’ve missed the instructions on all of this, check the News section of the Hammerhead Parent Portal.  Look for the article titled “Hammerhead Swim Portal Now Live!”

Nanny Emails:  Some of you have passed along nanny and other child caregiver emails that you wanted me to include in my messages.  It is very likely that those did not get included in your portal profile, and, therefore, they are not getting emails as this is now our primary communication tool.  Please check your portal profiles and add emails for those that you want to receive swim team emails.

Portal Calendar:  Some of you have tried to follow the instructions for the Portal calendar synch.  Our main calendar is the team’s Google Calendar and at least for this season is the one that is maintained.  I highly recommend that if you want the swim team calendar on your devices to use the Google Calendar one.  Instructions are on the Parent Resources page on the club’s website.

Junior Meet:  We are planning on having our first Junior Hammerhead meet at the club Wednesday, May 28 at 6pm.  It is going to be quite informal.  While we’ll time the swimmers to track their progress to see if they’re ready for promotion, we’ll invite anyone who wants to swim.  This includes siblings, mom, dad, even the pizza delivery guy if he happens to show up on Wednesday night at 6 pm.  Everyone will swim a 25 free and do a 25 free relay.

Kids for Kids Meet:  Information about the Kids for Kids Atlanta Championship Swim Meet benefiting Children's Healthcare of Atlanta has been posted on Atlanta Swimming.  This year is their 22nd meet and we hope to have our team join in the fun, while helping a very worthy cause.  For full meet information go to http://atlantaswimming.com/KFKHome.asp .