Hello Shark Parents,

Thank you all that attended the parent meeting this evening. For those who were not able to attend here is a recap of what we discussed.

Coordinators Volunteer Roles:

Alicia Luechtefeld – Swim Team Coordinator

Stephanie Greene – Treasurer

Kate Rose – Home Meet Set Up Coordinator

Allison Fielden – Concession Coordinator

Brandy Pavelka – Volunteer Coordinator

Sue Culberson – Coaches Coordinator

Coaching:

We have a great group of coaches this season. All our coaches have coached in the past. This year instead of a head coach we have several coaches doing more set roles. Annabelle Young is our lead administration coach. She will be setting up meet entries as well as other things. Charlie Kopkas is the lead coach for 11 and up. Emma Jendzurski is the lead coach for 5-10 year olds. Aastha Agarwal is the lead coach for junior sharks and social media content creator. Our other coaches are Mady Kay McCormick, Caroline Telford, and Lars Kohm.

Please do not interrupt the practice to talk to your child or one of the coaches. We have orange cones set up in front of the pool lanes, if possible please stay behind those cones while your child is practicing. If you have any issues or concerns with coaching, please come see, email, or text me, or contact Sue Culberson.

Volunteering:

The Somerset Sharks Swim Team is all volunteer based. Without volunteers we cannot have a team or swim meets. The team policy is that a parent must volunteer AT LEAST TWO SHIFTS PER SWIMMER. So, if you have two swimmers on the team, you must volunteer at least four shifts this season. Volunteer sign-ups will be done via the team website: https://somersetsharks.swimtopia.com/ Click on Swim Meets and then sign into your account to sign up for jobs or the SwimTopia app https://www.swimtopia.com/tour/swimtopia-mobile-app/ We ask that if you have older swimmers that will be swimming in both halves of the meet, please volunteer for the second shift. This allows parents of the younger swimmers to volunteer during the first half, and then leave when they are done swimming. If your child is a Junior Shark (3-4 years old), you DO NOT have to volunteer. If you have one child that is older than five and one that is a Junior Shark, you will only need to volunteer two times.

I have attached the Meet Volunteer Descriptions. The practice meet is a great way to volunteer and learn the roles since it is a meet with just our team.

USA Swim Number:

If your child has swam year-round and has a USA Swim number for this season (beginning August 2025), we need to input that number in their swimmer profile for Cobb County Swim Team Compliance. If your child has a number, you can update the information in your swimmer’s profile. If you are not sure how to do this this, you can bring it to me during practice or email it to me so I can update the profile. I need this information by the morning of May 15^th before the county closes rosters.

Meets:

Most of our meets this year on are Tuesday evenings except for our Practice Meet and first official meet of the season.

All swimmers MUST RSVP YES OR NO via the team website or the SwimTopia app for every meet. This lets the coaches know which swimmers will be available each week. This is critical for the meet line-up. If you do not RSVP for a meet, the coaches will assume you will not be there and your swimmer will not be in the line-up. I will be sending out reminders before each meet. If you do not want to stay for those late relays (ages 7 and up), please make a note in SwimTopia as well. If you are going to be in town for the Practice Meet, I highly recommend you sign up because this will give you an opportunity to see how a meet is run.

Deep End:

Starting tomorrow (Tuesday, May 12) we will be closing the deep end during practices for the remainder of the season. Without a lifeguard watching the deep end during practice times, this helps ensure the safety of all swimmers and families at the pool. I will be purchasing some waterproof games for my kids to enjoy and share. But if you have waterproof games and would like to share with others that would greatly help entertain the kids while they wait for their practice to start.

Swimsuit/Equipment:

Somerset Sharks does have an optional swimsuit, but this deadline has now passed. If you did not purchase the optional suit that is okay. Any solid navy suit or navy jammers will work. Your child will also need googles. We also recommend a swim cap. This will help your child do strokes properly.

Remind/Facebook Page:

The best way to stay up to date on weather updates or communications is to subscribe to Remind. Send a text to 81010 and text: @936c678

While I will send emails about all the information if practices or meets are postponed or canceled due to weather, I will be posting on Remind and the Facebook page first. Remind will act as a text so you will get that immediately.

I will also send updated via the Somerset Sharks Facebook Page. Here is the link to the page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1427191040875937/

Somerset Sharks also has an Instagram page where Aastha will be creating social media content. You can follow that here: https://www.instagram.com/somerset.sharks?igsh=MXE4c28wZXl5d3B5ZA%3D%3D

Sponsors:

We have a great set of sponsors this season. We will have a display on the pool deck soon listing our 2026 sponsors. Last year’s sponsorship money purchased a digital event and heat board. Unfortunately, the display will not be ready until July. So, we will begin using it for the 2027 swim season.

Ribbons/Medals:

If your child did not pick up their ribbons at the end of the season last year, those ribbons will be available until Friday. I will be leaving the ribbon boxes out during practice. After that I will be recycling them for this season. I also have last year’s medals with me during practice. If you did not pick those up, please come by and get those.

I realize my emails are long, but I try to make sure they have as much information as possible. I will try to have headings/bold words so you can find the information quickly.

If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to email me or ask a question at practice.

Thank you,

Alicia Luechtefeld

Swim Team Coordinator

(304) 593-2138

[email protected]