What an amazing first week of practice it's been! The swimmers have been working hard and are getting stronger every day, while learning and refining strokes. Great job, Tiger Sharks!

In this message:

Team Swimsuit Purchase Day
Time Trials - What are they? Volunteers needed!
Picture Day
Policies and Procedures
Volunteer Job Descriptions
Stroke Clinics and Stroke Judges - What are they? Volunteers needed!
Age Group Tent Parents Needed!
Canopy Crew Needed!
Tiger Sharks 30th Anniversary Boots & BBQ Gala
Text Alert Sign Up

Team Swimsuit Purchase Day - May 17th - Texas Swim Shop will be at the pool next Thursday. Suits for boys are $41.25 and are $60 for girls. Texas Swim Shop will accept cash, check or credit card for the suits. If you can't make it to practice that day please go to the shop at 10425 B. South Post Oak Rd, Houston 77035 prior to picture day on the 19th.

Swimsuits for practice: Swimmers may wear any suit for practice time. We do ask that girls wear a one piece suit for practice. Team suits will be available for purchase on May 17th during practice time. Caps and goggles are completely optional.

Time Trials - May 17th - What are they? Volunteers needed!

Time Trials will be held on two days: May 17th and May 23rd during regular practice times. Please make every effort to attend both days. Time Trials are when we ask every swimmer to show off what they've been working on. The kids will start each timed lap just like it's a meet with a coach saying "Swimmers, take your mark!" followed by an air horn blast. We will have the kids swim each stroke and parent volunteers (that's YOU!) time them using stopwatches. We use the times to track improvement for your swimmer over the course of the season. We need lots of parents to stay at each practice for both time trial days. If you can bend your pointer finger, you're qualified! Sign up to help on 5/17 here.  Sign up to help on 5/23 here.

Picture Day - May 19th 9:00 AM

We will be taking our team pictures on May 19th. Please have your swimmers arrive in their new team suit promptly at 9:00 so we can take the group picture. Many parents choose to order photo packages (the buttons are very popular and are great for hanging ribbons from at meets!). The order form can be found here.

Policies and Procedures:

• Parents of swimmers ages 12 and under: You are asked to stay for the duration of your swimmer's practice time. We ask that parents remain off the pool deck during practice as our coaches must give their undivided attention to swimmers in the water.
• Parents of 13/14 and Open swimmers who drop off - please be at the pool a few minutes before 7:40 PM to pick up your swimmers. Coaches are tired after a long day of practice and are ready to go home. Thank you!
• If siblings are waiting during practice time, they must be under direct supervison of a parent. If they are on the playground, they must be supervised.
• Only swimmers may be in the water during their own practice time. Due to our insurance coverage and pool company rules, we are not allowed to have even a toe in the baby pool when a lifeguard isn't present. This includes swimmers waiting on the top step of the pool before practice time - this was allowed in the past but due to insurance liability is not possible this summer since there is no lifeguard present. Need to cool off? Swimmers are welcome to hop in the outdoor shower to rinse off.

Volunteer Job Descriptions

Sign ups are open NOW for volunteer positions at all meets this season. Act fast to secure the perfect job for you! Click the big blue Volunteering button below for how to sign up for jobs. Click here for a list of job descriptions. Not sure where you fit in? Ask a board member or experienced team parent. We'll all be glad to help you find your perfect job! All parents are needed to volunteer at every meet - there are lots of jobs that must be filled.

Stroke Judges - What are they? Volunteers needed!

Stroke Judges are parents who have attended a clinic designed to certify meet officials such as starters, meet directors, and stroke judges. The Stroke Clinics are free and open to anyone who is interested in learning what makes a stroke "legal" in the eyes of the judges. We encourage anyone with a swimming background or interest in learning how to be a stroke judge to attend.

The first time you attend a stroke clinic you must take the "Long" clinic. It's a detailed orientation and lasts about an hour and a half. Every year after that you become eligible to re-certify by taking the "Short" clinic, which is 30 minutes long. If you miss a year of certification you are required to retake the "Long" clinic. We promise to guide and mentor anyone who is interested in learning to be a stroke judge before we hand you a disqualification flag and put you to work! 

Click here for the stroke clinic schedule.

Age Group Tent Parents Needed!

Do you think you'd like to sit in the shade with your swimmer during a meet? If so, sign up to be an age group tent parent! Two to three are needed for each age group depending on group size. The Tent Parent works the entire meet and is needed at both home and away meets. They keep swimmers together with their group, make sure the swimmers are in ready bench order before the start of the event and mark swimmers at the start of each meet. Don't know what any of that means? We'll train you! Only tent parents may sit under the age group tent with swimmers and all tent parents must submit to a background check. Sign up to be a tent parent through the Season Schedule links for each meet you can attend.

Canopy Crew Needed!

The team is happy to provide canopy coverage for our swimmers at both home and away meets. Do you have a truck? A strong back? Please consider signing up for Canopy Crew for each meet! For away meets, the crew will meet to load canopies onto trucks and transport them to and from the meet. For home meets, we need all the help we can get setting up the canopies and tents around the pool area.

Tiger Sharks 30th Anniversary Boots & BBQ Gala 6/15  7:00 - 11:30pm

Kick off your heels, put on your cowboy boots and come join us as we celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Lake Olympia Tiger Sharks! This adult-only event is sure to be a boot-scootin' good time, with dinner catered by our own Tiger Shark family and platinum sponsor Old Hickory Inn, a DJ to help us dance the night away and a raffle to raise funds for the team. Tickets are just $25 per person and include dinner and drinks! RSVP by clicking the event link in the season calendar here.

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See you at the pool!

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