This week's contents:

• Notes about this Week's Meet
• Coach's Corner
• Lots of things to RSVP for (including the party!)
• Volunteer Shift Updates & Opportunities

This Week's Meet

This week's meet is our final home meet, and we are hosting the largest team in the league - Westwood.  Their team is very competitive, so it's a great time to swim fast!  The meet will likely be our longest home meet of the season, so please plan accordingly.   We'll get the heat sheet up as soon as we can - probably Thursday morning - and you'll be able to plan from there; we expect to finish around noon or a bit after.

Coach's Corner (with Coach Rachel)

Hi Barracuda Families!

Our second week of summer practices are going great and the coaches are really excited to see the kids making so much progress. We're really in the "sweet spot" of the season. School's out and the morning practices have a lot of energy.

The 8&under groups are working on breaststroke this week: connecting the arms to the breath as well as integrating a different kind of kick then they're used to. This is a challenging stroke to learn, but the kids are making great strides toward a solid, legal breaststroke. 9&up groups worked on the refinement of their breaststroke, as well as learning new drills for both backstroke and freestyle. If your child talked about having to place a plastic cup of water on their forehead while they swam backstroke they weren't pulling your leg! It's a great drill designed to teach a steady head position during the stroke. The kids had fun and learned a lot.

As our season begins to wind down, please remember that if your swimmer wants to compete in a stroke they haven't yet competed in this season, they have TWO more meets left to do so including this weekend. Our final regular meet (the medal meet) only allows swimmers to compete in strokes they have already legally completed in a race. The coaches are encouraging the swimmers to reach out of their comfort zones and try a stroke they haven't before, and parental reinforcement of this would so helpful!

Finally - a highlight of the season is our team party on Wednesday, June 28th. Please RSVP on the Barracuda website - we'd love to see you there!

--The Coaches

Lots of things to RSVP for:

If you look at our schedule page, you'll see lots of things you can/should RSVP for:

1. This week's final home meet, if you haven't already.  (Deadline 5pm Wednesday.)
2. Next week's meet (at Lake Hills - end of Cuernavaca; deadline 5pm that Wednesday - no exceptions with away meets)
3. The following week's Friday night "Medal Meet" (deadline probably that Tuesday night 5pm.)
4. The All-Star Meet on Monday, June 26th. (likely similar deadline to Medal Meet above except for late qualifiers)
5. Our end of season swim party (deadline of Sunday, June 25 so we order enough Chick-Fil-A!)

Every family should RSVP for all five of the above.   Every swimmer who has at least one non-disqualified time in a swim meet this year (other than the intrasquad practice meet) can participate in the "medal meet" which means it's the same size as a normal meet, just with medals instead of ribbons.   For the all-star meet, only those who have either qualified individually by beating the published time for their age/gender/stroke OR those who are selected for the single 4-person relay team for each age/gender event (generally whoever is on the fastest "A" relay team for us at each meet) will be able to participate.   If you already know you will not be able to participate in the all-star meet, please RSVP now as "not attending" so we won't bother you about filling a relay spot ten days over the next two weeks.   It is a Monday 4:30pm start near 38th & Mopac, so some families may have work conflicts.   The relay teams for the All-Star Meet will be decided BEFORE the Medal Meet, so that we have time to ensure solid participation and avoid a 3-person relay scratch.   Swimmers may still qualify individually at the medal meet, but we won't change all-star relays based on the medal meet results.   If you're not sure if your swimmer is eligible, the website will only let you select qualified events.

Volunteer Shifts Update

With our last home meet this weekend, the number of volunteer shifts available is limited.   We have opened up volunteer shifts at the end of season party, so you can sign up here.   If you are still short on shifts - remember, we want each family to do about 4.5 shifts to spread things out evenly and get everything covered - and you can't find anything to do, let me know and I'm sure I can find something.   Click on the "My Account" to see how many shifts you have covered.  If you still need something to do, give someone a break at this weekend's (longer) meet. :)