Hello Hammerheads! We hope that you enjoyed last week's "false Spring" and that it got you in the mood to think about summer and all things Hammerheads!

Yesterday was the NVSL seeding meeting and surprise surprise, we are remaining in Division 15! We will get to swim against many familiar teams including Parklawn, Ilda, Hollin Hills, Lake Braddock, and Parliament.

The word of the year for the NVSL is "flexibility". While we will definitely be able to have dual meets, the format of the meets is still a little up in the air pending new info from the Governor and the subsequent development of guidelines from the NVSL. All we can say now is that safety is first and foremost in our minds and that there will be changes made this year to the meet structure and atmosphere. You can expect Covid protocols such as masks and distancing to be fully enforced. We also believe that there will be spectator limits and possibly even volunteer requirement changes for positions like timers where distancing is difficult. We will update you as we hear more, but please know that we are SO EXCITED to be able to have a swim season this year and will work hard to make it safe and fun for all. Things may look different, but Hammerhead spirit will still be going strong!

That said, we have a few early to-do items that we need your help with!

1. If you already know that you WILL NOT BE RETURNING this summer, please let us know. Also, if you feel comfortable letting us know whether this is a Covid related 1 year absence or a more permanent one, we would appreciate it.

2. We have a volunteer position vacancy that we need to fill ASAP and that is DATA COORDINATOR! WooHoo! Thank you to John Przybysz for his years of service to the team in this position. Here's the good news: John will be available to help you and transfer over his duties. In a year where we may not be allowed many spectators, you will have a seat right next to the action at all home meets! Plus, the NVSL is offering multiple online training sessions for this position in April and May so you can learn the ins and outs from your couch! We really need to have someone step up for this position soon since we were supposed to already have identified someone by Sunday's meeting- oops! Please let me know if you have questions that we can answer for you about this position.

3. We need a new LAPTOP for the team. Preferably something 5 yrs old or less. If you can fill this need, please let us know. Our software can run on apple or windows but not through Chrome.

4. If you already know that you would like to step up your swim team volunteer game this year by jumping into one of our season long positions, please let us know now! We are looking for volunteers for the following: Concessions coordinator & team rep in training. Please note that concessions will probably look pretty different this year! We expect to sell only restaurant prepared foods (e.g. Anita's burritos) and pre-packaged foods (e.g. candy, chips) and we need someone willing to run with this. Also, we would love to identify one or more people looking to be a team rep in the future. If you are interested, we will do some training this summer in preparation for an increased role next year. Also, we are all about job sharing! buddy up with a friend and tackle a position together! Work is always more fun with friends :-)

5. WE NEED OFFICIALS!!! Again, in a year with fewer spectating opportunities, you will get to stand poolside! If you have been hesitant about becoming an official in the past, this year is your year! All trainings are being offered ONLINE! So you don't even have to leave your couch to become a stroke and turn judge. We would love to see multiple people "take the plunge" in becoming an official.

6. ALL RETURNING OFFICIALS WILL NEED TO TAKE THE TRAININGS SINCE IT HAS BEEN 2 YRS. Again, this will all be online.

7. SENIORS- We will send out NVSL scholarship info once we receive it. We would LOVE to see a Hammerhead win one of five $1,500 scholarships this year!

8. FUNDRAISING- We're gonna keep it real with y'all- we are concerned about how Covid will impact raising funds for our team. We typically rely on concessions to generate the bulk of our revenue and we aren't sure how this year will compare since we know we will have to make some changes. THEREFORE, we need to get creative. Sara is already working on setting up a spirit night at Ben and Jerry's where we will receive a percentage of the proceeds- stay tuned for details! We are also looking for businesses in our community to sponsor the team. We have multiple sponsorship levels starting at just $100 so please let us know if you have a lead on any sponsors, we'd be happy to talk with them! If you have any other ideas for fundraising, or if fundraising is a talent of yours and you'd like to take the reigns, please let us know!

That's all for now folks! We will have plenty more info for you over these next couple of months leading into the season, so please stay tuned and as always let us know if you have any questions. Thanks!