Greetings Redfish Families! It's almost here! This Saturday marks the first of our tri-meets this season. This Saturday we are at Twin Creeks Country Club battling it out with their Twisters and the F.A.S.T. Frogs. PLEASE READ THIS LONG EMAIL!

WEATHER POLICY: Yes - it stinks this week. But the AWESOME news is that Twin Creeks has a heated pool! :) Our weather policy is as follows: "We will have practice if there is a light rain. If it is thundering or lightening, practice will be canceled." We do our best to give as much advance notice as possible on cancelations, but make errors along the way. If you have not joined the "Redfish Swim Team Parents Group" on Facebook, you are missing out on great, timely info!

Please know that low air temps do not cancel practice, but may change the format to dry land IF the water temp dips below 74 degrees. Again, we'll call it as early as we can via email, Facebook and the website under News.

Saturday is forecasting 82/61, so we'll have a chilly start! Swim parkas, robes, blankets, slippers, boots, hats, etc... will be very helpful as your child exits the water from warm-up in the early morning. And then they may want warm, dry items one more time after their early relays.

VOLUNTEER ROLES & EVENTS FOR SATURDAY:

YOU MUST SIGN YOUR CHILD UP TO SWIM IN THIS SATURDAY'S MEET BY MIDNIGHT TONIGHT! DO NOT MISS THIS DEADLINE! If your child is not swimming on Saturday, we need you to indicate that! You must also sign up for your volunteer role at that location.

In your inbox, there is an email from our Co-Meet Director Lori Reuter detailing how to go about this. One change: the initial tab to click on is Meets & Events (not Schedule). We are also having some intermittent glitches in terms of signing in - doing it twice seems to be the fix if you get an error.

If you do not know what event(s) to sign your child up for, please email Coach Erin for personal feedback ASAP at [email protected]. Please know that she is going to get SLAMMED, so be patient. She'll get to your inquiry.

DISQUALIFICATION: This Saturday, there will be stroke judges on deck. If your child does not swim an event legally, they will be "DQed." They will still get a heat ribbon if they hit the wall first. Tips: A) Your child cannot touch the floor of the pool at any time. B) Your child can stop and hold the wall or lane line, but cannot push off or pull along. C) Breast and fly MUST be ended with a 2 hand touch. D) Your child has to REMAIN ON THEIR BACK THE ENTIRE EVENT for 25 backstroke. The timers will protect their hands and heads with kickboards at the end. E) If your child loses their goggles when they enter the water - tell them to ignore it and JUST KEEP SWIMMING!

MEET BOOK AND HEAT SHEETS: As of tonight at midnight, our team's part in this process will be done and we will be at the mercy of Twin Creeks in terms of meet book completion and heat sheets. YOU MAY NOT SEE THESE HIT YOUR INBOX UNTIL FRIDAY. Don't panic - they will come. Be patient - breathe - not all team's Meet Director teams are as good our ours. :) Extra patience is a huge benefit this week!

FRIDAY: Your Avery Ranch Redfish Swim Team Committee will be painting cars in the parking lot during practice this Friday. This is one of the most fun parts of being a Redfish for your child, so don't miss out! TO GET YOUR CAR PAINTED, PLEASE LEAVE AN 8.5x11 SHEET OF PAPER WITH YOUR CHILD(RENS)S NAMES UNDER YOUR WINDSHIELD WIPER WHEN YOU LEAVE THE VEHICLE. Otherwise, your car will not be painted. On deck during all practices, Committee leadership will be present for Q&A, to help you learn to read the heat sheets, to highlight important parts of the meet book and even mark your child for the meet if they do not have sunscreen applied (otherwise, it will wash off).

TEAM SPIRIT: **We cheer for each other's kids. We cheer for random Redfish! WE YELL LOUD!** ** Some parents run along the edge of the pool screaming; some stand at the end of the lane line bellowing reminders of a 2 hand touch; some might sit quietly in their chairs. WE ACCEPT & SUPPORT OUR TEAM PARENTS NO MATTER WHAT THEIR CHEERING STYLE!** **Some kids swim like a fish; some barely make it to the end of the pool; some quit halfway and start to cry in the middle of their swim; some will freeze, begin bawling or get mad and won't even make it into the water. WE LOVE ALL OF OUR SWIMMERS NO MATTER HOW THEY DO! <This includes your own kids, parents!> WE TOTALLY CHEER FOR OTHER TEAMS' KIDS IF THEY NEED IT! >** **Some volunteers are overbearing; some volunteers are incompetent; some volunteers are rude and curt; some volunteers are super friendly and awesome; WE SET THE EXAMPLE WHEN IT COMES TO POSITIVE PARENT BEHAVIOR ON DECK!**

Each and every week - usually daily - I get emails from members of the Avery Ranch community wanting to join the Redfish. Frankly, it's overwhelming at times and challenging to manage. Please know that you and your family are part of something special - something magical - and something that other people WANT. Let's continue the momentum as we cruise into a long Saturday - Let's go have some fun! SMILES EVERYONE SMILES!

GooOOO REDFISH! SWIM FAST!