March Newsletter!!!
Contained in this Newsletter:
- Swimsuit Fittings
- Swimsuit Requirements
- Deadlines!!!
- Required Equipment
- Kickoff Celebration
- Potential Champs Change
- Remind App
- Practice Thinning
- FOB Numbers
- Stroke & Turn Training
- Senior Event
- Upcoming Dates
- Contact Information
The 2019, Season 7, Avery Ranch Redfish Swim Team is now officially set! Welcome to all of our new families. We are excited to have you join the Redfish family.
Swimsuit fittings TOMORROW
Swim Freak (the retailer that supplies our swimsuits) will be set up at the Waters Edge pool (9600 Billingham Rd) TOMORROW, Tuesday 3/26, from 6:00-8:00 for families to try on and order suits. If you are unable to attend, there will be a second fitting on Wednesday, April 3rd, from 6:00-8:00. Location for the second fitting to be determined pending renovations at the MAC.
You can also be fitted and order at the Swim Freak store anytime between now and April 3rd. They are located down south at: 4032 S. Lamar Blvd., Ste. 500 Austin, Texas 78704
Swimsuit Requirements
- All swimmers ages 10 and under need to wear a traditional team suit at meets. For girls this includes only the red, white, and black fish scale (zebra) suits. For boys this includes the fish scale jammers and any jammers used during previous years except the plain black Senior jammers. Boys 10 and under do not have a briefs option.
- Ages 11 and up may wear any version of the Senior suits or the traditional (fish scale) jammers. The girls' Senior Suit options are pictured below. **Please note there may be a short delivery delay for the "One Back Solid - Endurance Lite" due to a slight redesign by Speedo.
DEADLINES!!!
- Team towel (optional) - Wednesday, March 27
- Personalized team cap (optional) - Saturday, April 20
- Team suit (required) - April 3
The team towel and personalized caps are optional, though at least a plain team cap IS required. We do not offer team towels every year, so this may be the last opportunity to purchase a team towel for a number of seasons. We will have a limited quantity of non-personalized towels available after the order deadline, while supplies last.
Caps and towels can be purchased on the website from the Team Store.
Team suits must be purchased through our vendor, Swim Freak.
Required equipment
- Team Suit & Team Cap: Meets only.
- Red Practice Cap: These are free to swimmers and will be handed out at the Kickoff Celebration.
- Fins (aka flippers): These are available from Swim Freak or can also be purchased at D&J Sport near Main Event. Practice only.
- Goggles: For all practices and meets.
***Optional Personalized Team Caps*** Personalized caps help cut down on lost caps and are great for identifying your favorite swimmers in all those post meet photos!
Kickoff Celebration!!!
- April 27th
- 4-6pm
- MAC pool
Come join the Redfish Family as we kick off our 7th season. The Leadership Team will be grilling hotdogs for everyone; please consider bringing a side to share. We'll have games and activities set out for the entire family to enjoy. All of our Volunteer Leads will be on hand to answer any questions about volunteering. You'll also be able to pick up merchandise orders placed during registration. See everyone there!
Potential Champs Change
There is a possibility that the Champs meet date will need to slide one day to Sunday, June 30th. We will announce the official date once we have word from the league. We know this will negatively impact some families, and we are saddened by the inconvenience this may cause.
Remind App
Remind is a service that allows us to send practice/meet updates and cancellation/dryland notifications directly to your phone via text. This a new Remind group from last year, so you will need to join, even if you were in the group last year.
If you would like to sign up to receive text notifications from the Redfish, please follow these instructions: Text the message @2019Redf to the number 81010. *Standard text messaging rates apply.
Participation in Remind is entirely optional. We will continue to update the website and Facebook page with practice and meet notifications.
Practice Thinning
The 7/8, 9/10, and 11/12 groups are all quite large this year. In order to provide the best swim experience for everyone, we will be thinning these practice times by adding one lane of 7/8 swimmers to the 6 & Under practice, one lane of 9/10 swimmers to the 11/12 practice, and one or two lanes of 11/12 to the 13 & Up practice.
- Moving practice times is completely voluntary.
- Slots will be approved on a first come first served basis.
- All groups will swim the same workout as their home age group, but along side the different age group.
- 9/10s swimming in the 11/12 practice will end 15 minutes before the rest of the 11/12 practice, as the regular 9/10 practice is 45 minutes while 11/12 practice is an hour.
- The 7/8s swimming with 6 & Unders will have a 5 minute shorter practice time than their home age group.
- 11/12 and 13 & Up have the same practice length.
- If you have a 7/8, 9/10, or 11/12 swimmer that you would like to participate in this practice time switch, please email your request to Coach Kate at [email protected].
FOB Numbers
If you did not enter your pool FOB number when you registered, please email your number to Diana at [email protected]. This is so you can be granted access to the MAC pool for Monday practices when the pool is otherwise closed to residents. You don't want to be the parent stuck banging on the gate every Monday! ;)
Stroke & Turn Training
Stroke and Turn volunteers, as well as members of the Floaters Team, must attend the League Stroke & Turn training at least every other year. Some of you are new the S&T, and many of you were trained two years ago. Please make plans to attend one of the trainings when the dates and times are announced.
Parents' Facebook Group
If you are new to the team, please consider joining the Redfish Swim Team Parent's Facebook group. This is a great way to get to know more people on the team and one of the fastest ways to get information, although all official team communication is sent out via email and/or posted on the website. If you have a friend already in the group, they can add you. If you are unsure whether you know anyone already in the group, please email Philip Carmichael at [email protected] to be added. Because so much information and pictures are shared about our children this a secret group and not publicly accessible.
Please note that non-returning families will be removed from the group by the first day of practice to ensure privacy and continuity for all current year families.
Senior Event: Rock Climbing!
- Who: All 11 and up swimmers
- Date: Saturday, March 30
- When: 2:00-4:00pm
- Where: Main Event
- Note: Parents must sign a waiver for all children planning to climb.
This is an optional social event for our older swimmers.
Upcoming Dates
March 25-29: New Family registration
March 26: Swimsuit fitting @ Waters Edge; 6:00-8:00pm
March 27: Team towel order deadline
March 30: Senior event @ Main Event; 2:00-4:00pm
April 3: Last day to order team suits. Also, swimsuit fitting location TBD; 6:00-8:00
April 20: Personalized team cap order deadline
April 27: Kickoff celebration!
April 29: FIRST DAY OF PRACTICE!!! (See website or attached calendar for times.)
Contact Information
Chairperson: Diana Tripp -- [email protected]
Vice President: Philip Carmichael -- [email protected]m
Concessions: Kristen Etheridge -- [email protected]
Logistics: DirectorJames Nowell -- [email protected]
Meet Director: Eric Gardner -- [email protected]
Secretary: Jon Kinder -- [email protected]
Spirit Events: Susan Menchaca -- [email protected]
Spirit Merchandise: Renee Keough -- [email protected]
Treasurer: Chris Bugbee -- [email protected]
GooOOO Redfish! Swim FAST!!!