☰ ⋮
Sign in

    7&8 Party, TSA Clinic, Pasta Pump Up, Long Meet Policy

    June 5th

    6/5/2023 

    Greetings Cary Park Sea Dragon (CPSD) Families!

    Great job to all the swimmers, volunteers, and coaches at Saturday’s Time Trials. Sea Dragons had fun and swam fast!

    The 7&8 year old Sea Dragons will have their age group party this Thursday, June 8th. 7&8 Age Party Sign-up Deadline is Wednesday, June 7th by midnight. RSVPing is a 2-step process 1) RSVP on the Sign-Up Calendar (click here) and 2) Make separate payment. Payment for attendees ($15/swimmer for food and craft) can be made here. Siblings and parents can also enjoy food ($5/person) with payment made here.

    Are you interested in learning how to become a Stroke and Turn Judge, Starter, or Meet Administrator? Please join us this Saturday morning, June 10th at the Cary Park Clubhouse for the TSA Mega Clinic. The session is free and walk-in (no registration). Please Click Here for details.

    It is time to get psyched up for our first home meet against the University Club Psychos on Tuesday, June 13th. The Sign-up Deadline is this Saturday, June 10th at midnight; please RSVP if your swimmer will be attending or not attending, indicate relay participation status, and preferred events (if any).

    Join us at the Pasta Pump-Up Party on Monday, June 12th 5:30pm-7:30pm at the Cary Park Clubhouse. This is a Pot Luck event. All attendees, please select a food item or supply to bring on the Signup Calendar here. Swimmers will carb load and get pumped up for the first dual meet!

    Lastly, please make sure your family's home address is accurate in your Swimtopia account. Volunteers place yard signs for Sea Dragon Swimmers of the Week and need accurate addresses. Thanks!

    IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENTS:

    Upcoming Dates and Deadlines:

    • 7&8 Party Sign-up Deadline: Wednesday, June 7th @ midnight
    • 7&8 Party:Thursday, June 8th, 6:45-8:00 pm
    • TSA Mega ClinicSaturday, June 10th times vary
    • June 13th Meet Sign-Up Deadline: Saturday, June 10th @ midnight

    CPSD Long Meet Policy:

    • The CPSD BOD has approved and may implement the Long Meet Policy for 2023 Cary Park Home Meets, if needed.
    • Last season, the limited size of the Cary Park pool (6 lanes) and the large team size of Cary Park Sea Dragon (CPSD) team and its competitor teams (>500 swimmers combined) resulted in home swim meets lasting 5+ hours last season.
    • This year, the CPSD team is a smaller size and strategies have been proactively put into place to make home meets run as efficiently as possible. Therefore, the policy’s real-time action plan (outlined in the last bullet) is intended to be a last-resort option.
    • The policy was developed in consideration with TSA rules, opposing team input, operational input from the Tech Team, head coach feedback, and consideration for swimmer equity and parent volunteer participation.
    • The policy addresses home meet length duration, preplanned strategies, and an as-needed, real-time meet course of action. The full policy and action plan can be accessed here.
    • What can parents do to help improve meet efficiency?
      • When signing up for a meet, please indicate if your swimmer will participate in relays. The freestyle relays are at the very end of the meet, so swimmers that select to participate in the free relay are expected to stay to the meet’s end. Please be respectful to relay teammates! If a swimmer leaves early, three teammates are no longer able to swim the event.
      • Also, when signing up for a meet, if you do not want your swimmer to stay late, please leave a note in the textbox to the coach indicating which events the swimmer will commit to swimming. For example, “Swimmer will swim medley relay, free, and back. Will not stay for breaststroke, butterfly, or free relay.” Click here for TSA event order.
      • Note, TSA limits swimmers to 3 individual events and 2 relays per meet. This year, Cary Park and Away Teams have agreed to commit to these TSA event limits at our home meets.
    • Policy Action Plan (only if needed): During the meet, at 9:30pm, if breaststroke heats are not completed, Plan B will be implemented:
      • Complete main heats* (Heat 1) for breaststroke, butterfly and freestyle relays to ensure point scoring heats are completed for each event and to prevent the meet from having to resume the following night.
      • Following completion of the main heats for all age groups, return to where heats left off (ex. Heat 2 and up) in breaststroke and butterfly giving swimmers and non-volunteers the option to leave or stay.
      • Volunteers will be required to stay until the end of the meet.

    *Main heat is the scored Heat 1 of each event.

    How to Sign-Up for Swim Meets in Swimtopia:

    • Log in with your password to the team website.
    • Under the Meets & Events tab, select "Signup Calendar" to sign up for volunteer jobs.
    • Click the green MEET ENTRY tab, and then click the green EDIT tab under your athletes' names.
    • For each of your athletes, select an option from the drop-down list next to their names.
      • Attending
      • Not Attending
    • Indicate swimmer’s relay participation status, select an option from the drop-down list for each swimmer:
      • Available for all relays
      • Arriving late, not available for early relays (medley relay)
      • Leaving early, not available for late relays (free relay)
      • Not available for any relays
    • Provide comments to coach regarding swimmer’s event preferences in the textbox.
    • Click Save to record your choices.
    • Pro-tip: All dual meet sign-ups are open. If you know your athletes will or will not attend meets this season, it is easier to indicate if they are attending/not attending now to avoid missing deadlines. Selections can be changed up until the deadline.

    7&8 Age Group Party:

    • What: Enjoy pizza, ice cream sundaes, and a fun craft
    • Who: 7&8 Age Group Swimmers
    • When: 6:45 - 8:00 pm
    • Where: Cary Park Pool
    • Sign-up Deadline: Wednesday, June 7th @ midnight
    • Step 1 Sign-up: Follow the sign-up instructions for Meets above (Signup Calendar here)
    • Step 2 Payment:
      • $15 per age group swimmer which includes food and craft (payment available here)
      • $5 per sibling or parent for food only (payment available here)

    Team Pasta Pump-Up Party:

    • What: Fun gathering before our first meet!
    • Who: All Sea Dragon Swimmers and Families
    • When: 5:30-7:30 pm
    • Where: Cary Park Clubhouse
    • Potluck Sign-up: All attendees, please select an item to bring on the Signup Calendar here

    2023 TSA Volunteer Training Clinics:

    • TSA Mega Clinics and Stroke and Turn Clinics provide volunteer training for the following specialized meet positions: Stroke and Turn Judges, Starters, Meet Administrators, and Coaches.
    • TSA is offering free Clinics for the 2023 season. No registration is required; please attend and sign in at the clinic to receive credit for certification.
    • All Stroke & Turn Judges, Starters, and Meet Administrators must attend one clinic.
    • Stroke & Turn judges need to be recertified each year.
    • A TSA Clinic will be held at Cary Park Clubhouse on the morning of Saturday, June 10th. For all TSA Clinic dates, times, and locations: Click Here
    • Please notify the VP of Volunteers ([email protected]) if you attend and are trained for one of these positions.

    Team Photos for Banquet Slide Show:

    • Show your team spirit and share your team photos!
    • Please upload your Sea Dragon photos onto the following Age Group Google Photo Drives.
    • Team photos are used in the End of Season Banquet Slide Show.
    • Please Click Here for Links to Age Group Google Photo Drives (member login required).

    SEA DRAGONS OF THE WEEK:

    • Each week, coaches highlight two swimmers from each age group for their work ethic, team spirit, personal improvement, and/or overall sportsmanship.
    • Congratulations to our first Sea Dragon Swimmers of the Week!
    • Minis: Elizabeth Ruggiero, Emmett East
    • 6&U: June Kalberkamp, Mako Patel
    • 7&8: Josie White, Rishaan Gupta
    • 9&10: Elise Bolac, Rishi Chaudhuri
    • 11&12: Emerson Belyew, Jordan Schacher
    • 13&14: Kate Kranz, Nikita Buchatskii
    • 15&up: Haeley Hobbs, Ryan Hahn

    REPEAT INFORMATION:

    • How to Review Your Selected Volunteer Jobs and Points Earned:
      • Log in with your password to the team website.
      • In the top right corner, hover over “Welcome Name” and select My Account from the drop-down.
      • Under My Account, you can view family members, contact info, and volunteer jobs signed up for, and points earned.
    • Team Photos and Medals: Order Deadline is Friday, June 16th:
      • To purchase a team photo or end-of-season team medal, please visit the Team Store to order by Friday, June 16th.
      • Reminder, every swimmer will receive a free yearly pin at the banquet. The pin can be added to a year’s prior medal OR swimmers can purchase a new medal each year and add each year’s pin to a new medal. Cary Park medals are engraved with the swimmer's name.
    • Team Caps - Silicone team caps may be purchased at swim meets. Silicone team caps are $15 each.
    • Sea Dragons Team Swimsuits - Swimsuit options, fitting, and ordering information are posted on the Swimtopia team website. Click Here.
    • Practice Schedule/Information -
    • Swimtopia Mobile App Push Notification for Weather and Meet Alerts -
      • Download the Swimtopia Mobile App and Allow Push Notifications:
    • Thank You CPSD Sponsors:
    Add Snippet