Everything you need to know about Covid 19, Time Trials 2021 (and more!)

First, let’s chat Covid 19 related protocol. Everyone’s favorite subject! The NVSL just voted this week on a mask rule in favor of adhering closely to the CDC guidelines. Therefore, all unvaccinated adults and swimmers over the age of two are encouraged to wear a mask at all times, on deck and off deck (eg. in the team area). We (the coaches and team reps) will not be enforcing this. It is up to the parents to enforce this guideline with their children. Social distancing is also encouraged for unvaccinated people as well.

On our website you can find links to a one page document and a pool map with info about our Covid protocols . https://herndonswims.swimtopia.com/2021-covid-info-and-pool-map

If you are a returning family, you will notice that some things have changed! Covid-19 has influenced some shifts in our meet layout and flow. Time Trials will be a great test for us to see how things work. We will remain flexible and open to additional change as necessary throughout the season.

Here are some of the bigger changes you might notice:

We are going to start the season with only two timers per lane instead of three.

The Home team area will be in front of the yellow pool house near the fire pit.

The away team area will include the fenced in basketball court, covered picnic area and grass area beyond the pool.

Clerk of Course will be nice and spread out with lots of distance for the swimmers.

There will be baskets for masks (“maskets” coined by Luke Marvin) hanging on the fence behind the starting end of the pool. All unvaccinated swimmers, and vaccinated swimmers who want to, will wear their mask, bring their Ziploc bag and place their mask in their bag and into the masket right before they swim. Once they swim, they can grab it and put their mask on before heading back to the team area.

Spectators at our regular meets will be encouraged to cheer from outside of the fence. You can come into the baby pool area to watch your children’s races. FOR TIME TRIALS ONLY- parents can watch the meet from the fenced in basketball court, covered picnic area and grass area beyond the pool. (this will be the away team area at home meets)

Concessions will be in the covered area out front of the pool. We will have a square this year and encourage payment electronically, or if not, exact change is appreciated!

Warm-ups will be split up so that there aren’t too many swimmers per lane.

We encourage all swimmers to only use the bathroom for actual bathroom use, not for showering, changing, etc.

Just like for practices, there will be a QR code check-in for meets. It is linked on the website and also on the signs up at the pool.

Phew! If you have any questions about the new layout or timeline, please let me know. We are doing our best to pivot as things continue to change, so I ask that you please bear with us. We want meets to be safe AND fun!

OK! Now for some Time Trials info!

Saturday's Time Trials at Our Pool -- We are set for an awesome turnout for Saturday’s season opening meet and here's hoping that everyone is excited to truly kickoff the 2019 season!

We still need at least 3 people to help with pool setup on Friday night, 2 team area parents and 4 timers, so if you have not signed up for a job, please do!

For Saturday, we ask that every swimmer arrive at the pool, no later than 7:20am. The coaches will run warmups from 7:30-7:50am and we will start the meet promptly at 8:00am.

The forecast looks good for Saturday! This is a good opportunity to touch on the NVSL Weather Guidelines in order to get everyone on the same page. All weather related delays or cancellations will be promptly communicated to you via alerts and/or e-mail, so check your SwimTopia app or inbox, before making any assumptions on the status of a practice or meet. Reminder- If you haven’t already, download the swimtopia app and allow notifications so that you will receive alerts!

Swimmers, please don't forget to bring: sunscreen, two towels, goggles, cap, mask and Ziploc bag with your name on it, and wear your suit. You may also want to bring a blanket, camp chairs and canopy too. And maybe some bug spray- anyone seen any bugs lately? 😉 We encourage you to NOT bring electronic devices to the meet, this is a chance to show your team spirit and hang with your team! Not to mention, water and electronics don’t mix! You are allowed to bring a book to read or game to play with friends. Unfortunately, the delay with Speedo means that we don’t have our team suits yet, just wear what you have been wearing to practice!

Meet Sheet-The meet sheet will be uploaded to the Time Trials listing on the calendar section of our website. The sheet has times on it, as this is an internal meet ONLY. Once we get into our dual meets, the league requires us to remove times from the meet sheets.

And last- if you have any swim gear (suits, goggles, spirit wear) that is too small for your swimmer, please bring it to share!

As always, let us know if you have questions and Go Hammerheads!

Jill, Tara and Shannon