CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR SWIMMERS OF THE WEEK: Our swimmers of the week are: Owen Beddingfield and Miles Hawkins. Owen shows up to practice with a smile on his face and is always ready to jump in the water! Miles swam in the timed trials and completed all of his events. Miles is very new to the swim team and he is working so hard to prepare for our swim meets.

Swimmers of the week receive a gift card in recognition for their hard work.

COACH'S CORNER:

• Coach Audrey: Hello families! Last week we worked on technique with breaststroke, butterfly, and stroke count/flip turns with backstroke. We also helped swimmers with finishing on their back in backstroke to help minimize disqualifications for our upcoming meet. We will have our first official swim meet this Tuesday. All of the swimmers have been working hard and I am excited to see the results! Please reach out to me with any questions or concerns at [email protected].
• Coach Sophia: Hello parents! This past week has been very productive and I have seen a lot of improvement from each swimmer! Most practices this past week were centered on breaststroke because there were a lot of disqualifications at time trials. Next week I plan on continuing our work on breaststroke and doing additional work on backstroke. This upcoming week will be our first swim meet. Being at a different pool can be scary for younger swimmers and I just want to remind everyone that it is important to encourage your swimmers at the block and try to congratulate them at the end of their races. A parent’s support can go a long way for our young swimmers. If you know your child might be a little more nervous, try to stay close by just in case they decide not to swim. 
• Additionally, we had our first swamp pup practices this past week. Coach Clay will be continuing to lead practices and I will join in towards the end. I feel that things are going pretty smoothly and we plan on fixing any remaining issues this upcoming week. I just want to remind all swamp pup parents to make sure that your kid comes up to me at the end of practice so I can get their name for attendance. Feel free to reach out with any questions or concerns at [email protected]. 
• Several coaches are available for private lessons throughout the summer. If you are interested in extra lessons, you can reach out to the coaches directly to inquire about availability, session length, pricing, etc. Coach Audrey ([email protected] 585-943-3322) Coach Sophia ([email protected] 919-454-3354), and Coach Avery ([email protected] 919-280-8003) have indicated they are available for private lessons. 

FIRST MEET! Our first meet is this Tuesday June 11!

We are the away team and will travel to the Reserve. Address is: 101 Edgemore Ave., Cary 27519.

The Meet Theme is: Hawaiian. Wear your Hawaiian outfits (parents and kids) though kids will need to take these items off for their events. 

• Arrive at 5:00pm to get settled, swimmers numbered and meet volunteers sign in (even if you are 2nd shift).
• Swimmers should wear their team suit if they have them (or a black or red suit to match the team), swim cap (which will be available at the meet), and goggles.
• Reserve Food: Chicken Strip or sandwich meals, pizza, hot dogs, chips, candy, soda, water, Gatorade, Frozen yogurt, etc.
• Reserve Parking: There is very limited parking, and they encourage car pooling. Once the parking lot is full you may park along the street. Please park on the sidewalk side of the street. There will be "no parking" signs indicating where not to park. Please do not park within 50 feet of any stop sign.
• Heat Sheets will be on display on a board at the meet (coaches and several volunteers will also have these to do their jobs, like kid pushers, clerk of course, etc), showing the lane and heat that each swimmer will be in. We will start with Medley Relays at the first Meet, which we did not practice at Time Trials. Please be sure your swimmer is attentive to when they are swimming and parents might need to help 6U, 7-8 and even some 9-10s get where they need to be these first few weeks. 
• If your swimmer’s status has changed (especially if they planned to swim and no longer can), please let us know ASAP. Coach Audrey ([email protected]) and Coach Sophia ([email protected]) need to adjust the heat sheets and having as much time as possible to do that is very helpful. You can copy the board ([email protected]) so that we can try to get heat sheets updated before they are printed. We understand kids can get sick at any point and sometimes meets can be overwhelming, so please communicate with a coach and a kid pusher if you need to leave, or your swimmer can no longer participate in event(s) planned. 

MEET VOLUNTEERS: We ask that if you have a swimmer competing, at least one parent plans to volunteer at each swim meet. We want all families to do their part to help. There are a few jobs still open for this Tuesday's meet- if you have a swimmer competing, please sign up for a volunteer position. Contact Katie Richards ([email protected]) if you need to change your volunteer position or have any questions. 

MARK SWIMMER AVAILABILITY: It is important for all swimmers to declare their attendance (select meet entry for each meet online) for meets. This should always be done at least one week prior to a meet so the coaches can properly plan the heat sheets and minimize changes. Please mark your swimmer for next week's meet (6/18) by this Tuesday (6/11). Sign ups will close Friday 6/14.

MORNING PRACTICES: (9-10a daily) begin Monday June 17, marking the beginning of traditional calendar schools summer break! 

SOCIAL COMMITTEE NEWS: The social committee has summer fun planned for our swimmers throughout the season. We kicked off with Icees on Friday 6/7. Upcoming social events include the following (see attached flyers for 6/17 as well!):

TEAM SHIRTS & SWIM CAPS: Each swimmer receives a team shirt included in their registration and they are currently being printed. We’ve heard your feedback and you’ll be happy to hear that we have upgraded our 2024 team shirts to the lightweight performance material this year! We’re hoping to receive them sometime this week and distribute them before our first home meet. Each swimmer also should have received a Swampfoxx swim cap (either latex or silicone). Caps were distributed at Time Trials. If you didn’t get one, check in with Katie Herndon, she will have some extras at the meet for swimmers that didn’t make it to time trials. Additional caps are available for purchase as well. Extra 2024 team shirts will also be available for sale starting next week after our swimmers have received theirs.

OTHER TEAM MERCH FOR SALE: Custom Swampfoxx Swag is available through our Team Store on SwimOutlet. We have items with last year’s logo and this year’s logo available. If you don’t see a customized item you want, please reach out to Katie Herndon, she’d be happy to add any item that’s available for customization on SwimOutlet. Please note that items purchased through this site will be shipped directly to you and may take 1-2 weeks to receive due to the extra time needed for customization.

Please let us know what questions you may have or use other parents as a resource, either in person at the practice or via our FB parents forum!

Your Oxxford Hunt Swim Team Board