Greetings, Bullfrog Nation!

We had an amazing turnout and so much positive energy at our meeting on Sunday! It was great to see so many old friends and welcome new ones to the team. Thank you for coming!! And special thanks to team Curva for such a fun atmosphere! I hope we answered some questions, but we know there will be more. You may find some answers in this email so please read it all, as you have time, and maybe keep it as a reference. We have lots to cover!

If you missed the meeting – I’ll try to get a summary uploaded next week. I did cover some important safety protocols that we all need to follow to ensure a fun and safe season.

If you still need a team suit, the link for ordering is on the web site. Order soon to ensure delivery by 5/25.

Team pictures – are confirmed with PhotoVentures for Tue 5/25. More details later but individual pics start at 4pm followed by a team pic at 4:50pm. Then it’s time to warm-up and start our first (virtual) meet at 5:30pm!!

We have a critical volunteer position to fill asap – Concessions Manager– please see details below under Volunteers Needed section.

Season info sheet - I have updated the 1-page info sheet that some of you may have seen at the meeting. It is available on the home page and is a great 1-sheet reference to keep handy.

Text alert reminders – this can be found in several places on the web site and the info sheet but there may have been an incorrect version floating around so the correct info is: text @dbwsw to 81010.

Meet Schedule is finalized and updated on web site - we know who we are swimming and where.

First home meet – signups are available online. Some web site components have changed this year so I want to see how this signup goes before duplicating the template to other meets. If you see duplicate meets listed (a problem we’re working to fix) just signup for the first one. Please contact Amanda with any signup issues on the web site or, reference the info sheet.

Shout out to Lora Roberts – our new Team Suit Mom! See Lora at practice starting 5/10 if you need a team swim cap and didn’t get one at the meeting. The team provides 1 per swimmer each season and additional caps are available for $5.

Volunteers Needed:

Concessions Manager – Concessions are the main (and currently, only) fundraiser for our swim team. If well-managed, and with some luck, we can make $400-500 per meet. The amazing Marjan filled in last year (in addition to her other management roles on the team) and is available this week for a knowledge transfer. The position can be filled by 2 parents who split the responsibilities of planning and implementing the concessions menu and operation for (2) home meets. Good news – you’re done by June 8! Ideally the planning will be done by 5/25 so the implementation runs smoothly for our home meets on June 1 and 8. Please contact Amanda for more details if you think you can help.

Start Block Repair - A team of BF residents have graciously offered to repair/refurbish our (5) wooden start blocks. We would love to have a few bullfrogs work with them. If you're handy with tools and can help, please contact Amanda.

Deerfield East II Contact – We would love for a parent from DEII to volunteer in this role. Easy job and very few hours. Just need someone to be the official contact point on our team for any issues relating to DEII pool. Much work has been done already towards being able to hold practice there.

Other Team Management Positions – We’ll document and communicate these at a later date. These are the management functions that make swim team possible. We still need all our parents to actually work at the meets, and we don’t anticipate any problems there – we bullfrogs are a dedicated bunch! As for team management, we have a small nucleus of moms who love this team and have been able to keep things going through some challenging years. Some of us will soon age out and need to train our next generation of swim team super moms (or dads!). Don’t worry – most of us will still be around for a bit more! We just need to start working on the transition. We also need to look at some long-term planning and fundraising for equipment upgrades/additions – new start/dive blocks at BF and a lane line storage rack for DEII. More details on those later.

Ok, that was a lot, and that’s all for now. Look forward to seeing everyone May 10!!

DBW Management