Hello and Welcome to 2021 Windermere Dolphins Swim Team!

A crazy school year is almost over – we’re excited to get some summer fun going! :)

We are so happy to have you and your family be part of the swim team this year! We hope you and your kid(s) will really enjoy the experience and have a fun summer at the pool. We have 105 swimmers this year and it’s going to be a great season!

Note that the software we use to run the meets has evolved, and we will need your help getting your swimmer information updated to run the meets. There will be a separate action-oriented email with instructions coming soon! The rest of this email has LOTS of information organized as indicated below.

Items included in this email:

• Website information
• Swim practices
• COVID considerations
• Swim meet sign up information and deadlines
• Committee and Shift Assignment information
• Coaches and Team Manager
• Inclement weather information
• Team shirts
• Sponsors
• Other

Website Information

By now you have all had a chance to login to the website (where you registered for the team), but as a reminder, the site is: https://windermeredolphins.swimtopia.com/ This will be a primary place to go for information throughout the season.

Swim Practices

Swim practice will take place every weekday morning beginning on Wednesday, June 2nd.

Swimmers should wear a swimsuit, shorts, and tennis shoes to practice (sometimes they warm-up with games outside the pool) and sunscreen. Swimmers should also bring goggles, a towel, and a water bottle.

This is a list of the practice times for the age groups. Your child’s age group is determined by their age on June 1st, 2021.

Monday - Thursday

8:15 - 9:00 = 7 & 8 yrs

9:00 - 9:45 = 9 & 10 yrs

9:45 -10:45 =11 yrs & up

9:45-10:30 = 6 yrs & under

Fun Fridays (starting June 11^th)

9:00 - 10:00 am

Relays, Games, Diving Board and Snacks

COVID Considerations

We are looking forward to participation in an outdoor sport at a time when vaccination rates are climbing, however we want to be considerate of those on our team or attending our meets who cannot be or are not yet vaccinated. Each pool within the league will be establishing their own guidelines based on the parameters of their pool and governing body. We ask that you have patience and flexibility during the season with each team’s guidance. Our common goal is to hold successful, fun events and enjoy our fellow community during the season!

For meets hosted at Windermere, we strongly encourage that any adult who is not yet vaccinated wear a mask within the fence surrounding the pool. We will not be requiring the swimmers to wear masks, but we respect that each parent may make their own decisions about their child’s vulnerability and exposure risk. We also expect that the deck may be over-crowded during the meets, so please bring chairs and other items for comfort to set up outside the fence. If we prevent families from sitting inside the fence throughout the meet, we will make sure there is room to come watch and cheer on your swimmers during their events!

Swim Meet Sign Up Information and Deadlines

If you haven’t had a chance, please be sure to check the schedule tab for the dates for our upcoming swim meets. You will also need to sign up your swimmers for each meet on this page.  Instructions are located on the FAQs page (https://windermeredolphins.swimtopia.com/faqs).

Our coaching staff will be setting the lineup for meets, and they will need to know who will be attending each meet before setting the lineup. If you are unsure as the meet approaches, err on the side of signing up because, while not ideal, it is easier to remove a swimmer than to add one. Pro tip: if you expect that you’ll be attending all the meets, make life easy and just go ahead and sign up you kids now, and then you don’t have to worry about the deadlines later! You can easily go back later and change it before the deadline if your schedule changes.

Here are the Sign up Deadlines for the meets (which are also listed on the website):

SIGN UP DEADLINE = June 2nd for June 4th Mock Meet (8-10:45 am)

SIGN UP DEADLINE = June 4th for June 8th Windermere at Gray Eagle

SIGN UP DEADLINE = June 7th for June 10th Windermere at Plum Creek

SIGN UP DEADLINE = June 11th for June 15th River Glen at Windermere

SIGN UP DEADLINE = June 14th for June 17th Avalon at Windermere

SIGN UP DEADLINE = June 18th for June 22nd Summer Break at Windermere

SIGN UP DEADLINE = June 21st for June 24th Windermere at Summer Break

SIGN UP DEADLINE TBD for June 29th Invitational at HSE (~8:00 am start time)

Committee and Shift Assignment Information

Attached is a roster of the Windermere Swim Team for 2021 and a list of your Committee and Shift assignments. For your committees, a board member will be reaching out to your committee team with instructions before the season begins.

We realize things come up and plans change, however, these are the assigned shifts that you chose. If you are unable to work your shift, it is YOUR RESPONSIBILITY to contact and switch with another family or to find a replacement for your shift. If needed, we do have a list of local teens and young adults who may be available to hire for $30+ per meet.

Coaches and Team Manager

We are pleased to welcome Emily Ratliff back to our coaching staff, but taking on the position of head coach! We are also welcoming back Olivia Kiley as an assistant coach. We have three new assistant coaches this year: Lauren Bergman, Grace Newton, and Sydney Doogs. Finally, Ashley Saple will be our lifeguard. The coaching staff will be interacting with all the kids as they are responsible for running practices, teaching the swim strokes, setting meet line-ups, and encouraging the swimmers during the meets. As this is a recreation league, there will be a balance of friendly competition during the meets and safe swim fun all season!

Our team manager this year is Natalie Sturgeon, who was also with us for the 2019 season. The team manager is the resource for parent questions, administrative tasks, and overall team coordination. Natalie will serve as a consistent point of contact throughout our season for you. If you have any questions or concerns, please let Natalie know and she will find the answers for you!

You can find more information about our staff on the website at: https://windermeredolphins.swimtopia.com/coaches

Inclement Weather Information

In the event of inclement weather, we may cancel practice or meets. We will post this information on Swimtopia. You will also receive an email to your email addresses on file.

Team Shirts

Team shirts have been ordered for all registered swimmers and will be passed out the first full week of practice. Please put your swimmers name on their shirt ASAPsince they all have the same design. We will be wearing these for meets and the invitational.

Sponsors

Please visit and thank our generous sponsors Windermere Dairy Queen, Guthrie Financial Group, Jim Wilson with RE/MAX Realty, Metronet, Peterson’s, Heinzmann Law Office, and CR Hero’s. Without the generosity of our sponsors, we would not be able to do all the fun things we have planned for the year nor would be able to upkeep all the equipment needed to run the team smoothly! We so appreciate their contributions and hope that you will consider giving them your business in the future!

Other

For pool fun all summer long, the Windermere pool is an awesome pool and lots of Swim Team families can be found there on any given day throughout the summer. If you would like to join the pool, visit http://www.windermerefishers.com/index.php?id=pool for more information.

Lastly, we want to emphasize that this is a volunteer organization and we need the help of parents like you to keep it fun and exciting for our kids for years to come. Your volunteer commitments during the meets are extremely important and we cannot do it without you! As the board, we volunteer our time because we love supporting the team and the community, and seeing all the fun and smiles from the kids during the season is very rewarding! If you are ever interested in becoming more involved, reach out to any of the board members for more information.

See you at the pool on June 2nd!

Kelly, Dan, Dave, Tina, Lisa, Angie, and Jeff

Kelly Blue (317) 508-3596 [email protected]

Dan Zone (814) 397-0121 [email protected]

Dave Tocco (773) 426-6331 [email protected]

Tina Guthrie (317) 430-1159 [email protected]

Angie Kiley (317) 502-3958 [email protected]

Lisa Powers (317) 594-9234 [email protected]

Treasurer: Jeff Heinzmann (317) 696-6031 [email protected]