Greetings Pool Shark families,

Welcome to our 2023 Pool Shark season! We are so excited to kick off our upcoming season, and have some important information and updates below for you to know going into our first week of practices. 

• Website - Please use our website as a reference for any questions you may have throughout the season. It includes our calendar for all practices/meets and events, various information about meets, pool locations, volunteer requirements, contact information, and much more. It is your ¨go-to¨ for all things Pool Sharks!   https://poolsharks.swimtopia.com/ You may also want to download the Swimtopia App. It is free, and an easy way to help get your swimmer(s) signed up for meets (if they choose to compete) and sign up for volunteer shifts. 
• Practice schedule this week - You will have 2 practice options per day at the indoor pool to choose from. Our first practice option time is from 4-5pm, and the 2nd time is from 5:10-6:10pm. These will be our practice options this Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. There will be no practice on Friday, June 2nd due to graduation. Thank you to those of you who filled out the practice survey. If you need to change what practice you are coming to, you do not need to let us know. You are free to come, or not come, to whatever practice works for you. We were using the survey to get an estimate on numbers for each practice for staffing purposes. We appreciate your input and look forward to seeing you whenever practice works for you! 
• Expectations before and after practice - In an effort to cut down on foot traffic on the pool deck, we are asking our swimmers and families to enter and exit the locker rooms using the high school hallway instead of the main pool entrance doors. Also, our swim coaches, and most of our pool staff do not get out of school until 3:25 everyday. Therefore the pool will not be open until 3:45 for the 4pm session. If you or your swimmers arrive before 3:45, they will have to wait outside of the pool doors until staff arrive to open the facility. We also ask that swimmers clear the locker room and pool area 15 minutes after their sessions. 
• Please talk to your swimmer about changing quickly, and appropriate behavior in the locker rooms. Last year we had issues with swimmers leaving messes, destroying property, and messing around in the showers/locker room area. If this happens again, we will not be allowed to use the locker rooms.
• Once your swimmer is changed, have them report to the bench area on deck and sit quietly until the coaches come out for attendance. There is no running on deck or horseplay allowed on deck. No one is allowed to enter the pool without permission from a coach. Coaches will direct your swimmer where to go.
• Practice evaluations - This week our coaches will be evaluating swimmers and placing them in practice groups by ability. These groups are fluid, and will be re-evaluated throughout the summer. I have attached the groups and their descriptions below for your reference. Please see either one of our Co-Head Coaches Riley Talmage or Ashley Pape with any questions.
• Our coaches are all experienced swimmers. Some of them are experienced coaches from last season and some of them are coaching for the first time. We expect our swimmers to behave and be respectful to all coaches and lifeguards on deck at all times. If there are behavior issues, your swimmer will be spoken to by a coach, and could possibly be asked to sit out if the behavior continues. If the behavior cannot be resolved between the coach and the swimmer, a parent will be notified and asked to stay for practices until the behavior can be resolved.
• Parents are not allowed on deck during practice. (Your swimmers usually listen better when you are not on deck, and can give their coaches their undivided attention) You are welcome to observe practice from the mezzanine, and can meet your swimmers in the hallway after practice is finished. There are unisex locker areas if you have a young swimmer of the opposite gender that needs help getting dressed before/after practice. Please ask our pool staff for access to these locker areas. 
• Parent meeting - We will be having a parent meeting Monday, June 5th at 6:30pm at Grand Ave Elementary School. We highly recommend at least 1 parent to attend, especially if you are new to Pool Sharks. Swimmers are welcome to come along to meet and hang out/play with the coaches on the playground while the parents meet in the theatre in the school.
• Suit and apparel orders are IN! - If you ordered team suits, caps, or apparel, your orders are IN and will be available for pick up at the end of each practice this week. Please see myself or Jessica Handschke in the pool entrance way this week for pick up.

Thanks for making it to the end of a long email. We hope you are able to enjoy the beautiful holiday weekend, and are looking forward to seeing you at the pool very soon! 

The Sauk Prairie Pool Sharks Board