Hello Dolphin Families!

Registration for the 2023 CCSL Competitive season has ended! The coaches and I are absolutely blown away by the response this summer has already had. Your children can stand proud as part of a community 223 swimmers strong! I cannot wait for the growth this season will bring for our team!

For the few weeks between the close of registration and the start of practice, you may find yourself thinking “… now what?” 

You’ve bought the cap, the suit, your children are pumped… what lies ahead? Please read through this e-mail in its entirety – it holds many important details regarding the season and a few more boxes to check before we all hit the ground running!

DECLARING YOUR CHILDREN FOR MEETS

The most important thing one can do to gear up for the season is take a hard look at your summer calendar and begin declaring your children for the meets they will be able to attend! This helps coaches get a jump on building lineups based on who will be available for each meet. If you do not declare your child as “attending” or “not attending” each meet and leave them “undeclared” it will be assumed that your child will not be participating in the meet.

To declare your children:
Visit the DHGC Swimtopia site- dhgcdolphins.swimtopia.com
Click on the “Signup Calendar” under the “Meets & Events” tab
Click on the box next to the meet you would like to declare attendance (or declare lack of attendance) for that says “Meet Entry: Open”
You should see the name of your child under the heading “Your family swim meet status” – under the name of your child, you will see their status. If their status is “Not yet signed- up for this meet.” – they have not been declared one way or another.
To change or update their status- click the gray “Edit” button under their name.
Change the status in the resulting drop down box to either “Attending this meet” or “Not attending this meet” and click “Save”

Meet Entry will close the Tuesday prior to each meet to allow the coaches to build their lineup. For any changes after the deadline, please e-mail Robyn Whittemore and Head Coach Justin Yuan.

DHGC DOLPHINS VS. PDC SEAHORSES UPDATE

The meet vs. PDC on June 5^th will be held at DHGC due to renovations occurring at PDC. While this eliminates travel, PDC will still be ‘hosting’ the meet, and the meet will run as an “away” meet accordingly.

The theme for the following Awards Night has been updated to reflect the change of venue. Hop into your ‘ruby red bathing suit’ for a Wizard of Oz “There’s No Place Like Home” themed evening!

VOLUNTEERING

A Note On Volunteer Points:

Because of the overwhelming response we have had to our 2023 season, we have also been overwhelmed by the number of volunteers who have stepped up to the plate! So many of you have taken on commitments beyond what we have asked, and on my end, that shows the immense amount of support the parents in our community have for all of our swimmers. However, because there have been so many of you who have taken on additional points beyond what is required (3 points!), there are families who are not able to volunteer and earn their points as well. If you are registered for more than 3 points, I ask that you please remove yourself from any roles that push you over that limit so that others may have a chance to contribute to our season.

Parents, you are ALWAYS welcome to stay in the bullpen with your child and help without registering for a bullpen shift! Please deregister from any bullpen shifts that push you over the required number of points so other parents have the opportunity to earn their points volunteering with their child as well!

Your ability to add or make changes to your shifts will close on APRIL 29^TH 2023! Any changes made after this date will need to be made by either our volunteer coordinators or Robyn.

We have added two more bullpen parents per shift for 6U and 8U bullpens, and additional shifts for timers at Time Trials. If you are still struggling to find points this season, please reach out to Robyn, Kelly Brock, and Leah Humphries so we can add you to a “on-call” waitlist for last minute slots.

Volunteer Contact:

Volunteers for the next meet will be contacted the Tuesday prior to the meet they volunteered for by Robyn as a reminder of their shift. Two days prior to the meet, Leah Humphries and Kelly Brock, our volunteer chairs, will reach out with specific instructions regarding meeting places, shift expectations, and who volunteers should seek out in regards to questions.

If you need to make changes to your shifts after the close date, please e-mail Robyn, Leah Humphries, or Kelly Brock.

Volunteer Education Opportunities:

Our Bullpen Chairs are thrilled to offer a series of educational “Bullpen Bootcamp” sessions for our newer parents, or parents who would like a refresher! These will be held during swim practice at the following dates and locations:
April 22^nd – Lullwater Lounge
May 3^rd – Director’s Room
May 4^th – Director’s Room

RSVP is not necessary. Come learn during your child’s practice! Please contact Elena Parent or Luci David with any questions.

Over the course of this season, we will be building a Volunteer reference guide to live on our Swimtopia website. When this is live, we will send out another blast! Please let us know if you have any questions that you would like answered in this forum.

TEAM T-SHIRT

The time has come to get numbers and sizes for our team t-shirt! This shirt is a gift to each swimmer to commemorate the season! We ask that you wear your team t-shirt on our picture day (more information following)!

Please fill out THIS FORM: https://forms.gle/XXs6XTdxeCRbRjx38 so that we can ensure we order the correct size for your child!

Dolphin Uniform Questions:

The standard “Dolphin Uniform” includes the uniform swimsuit, the swim cap for the correct year (“Senior Cap” if senior, “Record Breaker” cap if a record breaker!), and goggles. If a uniform suit could not be purchased in time, a plain, black, Speedo brand competition swimsuit is also considered to be in uniform. Please visit this page: https://dhgcdolphins.swimtopia.com/team-store to learn more about the Dolphin Uniform!

If you missed out on caps, merch, or swag, please don’t hesitate to reach out to Robyn Whittemore and Ken Lovic.

SHARE YOUR PICTURES OF THE SEASON

Ever wonder how you should share your photos, videos, and memories of the season to be included in the end of year slideshow, social media, Swimtopia, and in the Herald? Please upload the images you would like featured to the correct folder within THIS GOOGLE DRIVE: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/17LGxtqQ-HR54aPFSkl48SfQGyVD_R19L?usp=sharing for ease of reference!

If you would like us to share your story on Instagram, please make sure your profile is on “public” and tag Druid Hills Golf Club in your story, @druidhillsgc! To share a post, please make sure your profile is on “public,” tag @druidhillsgc, and use the hashtag #DHGCDolphinDiaries2023 in your post!

PICTURE DAY

Our annual team photo will be taken before our last home meet on Monday June 19^th. Swimmers will be asked to wear their uniform suit and the season t-shirt. Ahead of this meet, we will send out a communication detailing the time and location we will be meeting for the team picture!

AWARDS NIGHTS

A Dolphin tradition, ‘Awards Nights’ follow the day after each meet and offer the team a chance to be recognized for their performance the previous night! Swimmers will get to recognize three of their teammates from each age and gender group who displayed qualities worthy of the Spirit Award, Swimmer of the Meet, and Most Improved.

During the event, swimmers will be treated to a themed goodie, be able to pick up their ribbons from the night before, and visit the prize table!

Awards Nights occur between the two practices at approximately 6:00pm immediately following the 6U/8U practice. Swimmers are encouraged to dress to theme! All themes are listed on the signup calendar – RSVP not required.

Thank you for the time spent reading through the information! Please do not hesitate to reach out with any questions or to connect with our fearless parent committee!

I look forward to seeing our thriving team on deck shortly!

GO DOLPHINS!

Robyn Whittemore