Rock Lobster News & Survey
Rock Lobsters,
We are so excited to dive into the 2024 summer swim season 108 swimmers strong. There's so much to look forward to and we know this year's group will continue the Rock Lobster's storied summer swim tradition.
Overall, this season has already seen some drastic changes from the top down. First and foremost, the rules and regulations of the North Central West Virginia Swim League have been updated and the Championship Meet will be run by the league, and not the Buckhannon Swim Team. It will no longer be a preliminary/final format. Each event for Champs will be a timed final and top six times from all heats will place. The league also voted to include all events swum at Champs during regular season meets....so bring your comfy chairs and expect meet times to be a little longer (especially during long course meets).
Additionally, last week, Club Mountaineer decided to cancel its summer season. This has thrown everyone's schedules into flux as they will no longer be attending meets.
There's been a lot of chaos so far, but Lobsters have thick skin. We've got a little pivoting to do, and we want to make sure it is in the best interest of our club. Six of our ten meets are tri-meets. We know that's a lot, and it could affect the number of individual events your child could swim. Swimmers will have to have a verified meet time to swim at Champs (new rule), so in order to make sure your child(ren) can qualify, we want to look ahead. We are linking a survey to assess whether or not your swimmer(s) will compete at Champs, and the events they would be interested in swimming. We will make sure that they are able to get a verified qualifying time and that the coaches make sure they are put in these events throughout the season. We want everyone to have a fair shake at qualification given the schedule we were given.
We were set to host Club Mountaineer on June 13. Given its departure, we have an open date. We have consulted with the league, and they are agreeable for us to have a team scrimmage with a stroke judge present so we can allow our swimmers to swim all events (short course and long course) to obtain verified times. We hope this will be a fun evening of comradery and fast times. This scrimmage will be run as a 'mock meet' and also require parent volunteers (timers, etc.).
Speaking of fast times...a generous donor gifted a Dolphin timing system to the team. It will sure make meets run more smoothly, but there will be a learning curve. Please be patient as we navigate this new system.
As a reminder, our team is completely run by parent volunteers. We need all hands on deck this season to make sure it runs smoothly for our kids. We are asking for each family to volunteer time for our home meets (at least two shifts per family). The jobs will be posted on Swimtopia, and you can sign up accordingly. Also, our team will be given a number of volunteers the league will require us to provide for Champs. That number will be dependent on how many swimmers we send. We will keep you posted on those requirements.
We will also be handing out Ducks for Buck tickets soon. It's the only fundraiser we do, so we ask that you participate. All money goes to the Rock Lobsters, an organized 501(c)(3), not the Fairmont Field Club.
Thank you all for your commitment to our team! We appreciate each of you! Let's go Rock Lobsters!
Survey Below....
