Good afternoon,

I appreciate all of the parents that were able to attend last night's meeting. It was more brief than the past, but I wanted to have a face-to-face conversation about the new policies we have in place. 

For those of you that were unable to make it, you may refer to the handbook for these recent additions. We primarily discussed the new attendance policy and sign-in/sign-out procedure which are as follows:

ATTENDANCE POLICY

To ensure participation and the fairness of group placement/team membership, an individual’s attendance report will be evaluated every three weeks with respect to each competitive group’s practice schedule. Athletes are expected to maintain at least a 75% average attendance per period. Refer to the following for allocated missed practices per competitive group:

Blue may miss no more than 3 out 9 practices per three weeks.

Orange may miss no more than 4 out of 12 practices per three weeks.

Junior and Senior may miss no more than 5 out of 15 practices per three weeks.

If an athlete misses more than the allocated number of practices, a three strike system will be implemented.

Strike 1 - verbal warning to athlete and parent/guardian

Strike 2 - e-mail recognition to parent/guardian of athlete’s recurring absences

Strike 3 - dismissal from season

Absences may be excused on a case by case basis depending on the situation. Parents are responsible for keeping the coaching staff informed regarding any scheduled absences. Registration fees will be forfeited should an athlete be dismissed from a season.

FACILITY ENTRY:

Per the aquatics center rules, athletes under the age of 14 must be directly accompanied by a parent/guardian if arriving at the facility outside of their designated group’s practice schedule. The front desk sign-in procedures must be completed prior to entering the pool (member sign-in, non-member waiver, purchasing of day pass/guest pass).

This means that if your athlete is under the age of 14, a parent/guardian will need to accompany your athlete into the facility, remain with your athlete until supervision transfers to the coach, then sign said athlete in/out at pick-up before leaving the facility.

SIGN IN & SIGN OUT PROCEDURE:

Upon drop-off for practice, athletes need to be signed into the aquatics center. If your athlete is under the age of 14, an approved member from your drop-off/pick-up list (completed during registration) will need to accompany them. Athletes 14+ are able to sign themselves into the facility. The same procedure applies for pick-up.

If your athlete attends the Orange Beach Elementary School and a member of the coaching/aquatics center staff walks them over to the facility, the coach or employee will sign your athlete in/out. If your athlete is in the Expect Excellence after school program, the EE counselors will sign your athlete in/out.

Should you need to add an additional person to the approved pick-up list, that is perfectly acceptable, but permission needs to be submitted in written form (e-mail Coach Dakota). 

I have also received a lot of questions regarding swimsuits. Please refer to our team portal from our merchandiser, Swim & Tri, to order any equipment or additional apparel. 

Swim Team Store Link: https://www.SwimAndTri.com/TeamView_OrangeBeachSwimTeamAL.aspx

To access the portal from the web page without using the link above:

1. Load: www.SwimAndTri.com

2. Click on "Team Portal" at the top of the Categories section on the left side

3. Enter the following portal code: OBSTmakos

Blue Group - OBST cap, goggles, training suit, OBST meet suit, short blade fins, mesh bag, water bottle

Orange Group - OBST cap, goggles, training suit, OBST meet suit, short blade fins, training snorkel, fingertip paddles, mesh bag, water bottle

Junior Group - OBST cap, goggles, training suit, OBST meet suit, tech suit (optional), short blade fins, training snorkel, fingertip and/or hand paddles, ankle band, mesh bag, water bottle

Senior Group - OBST cap, goggles, training suit, OBST meet suit, tech suit (optional), short blade fins, training snorkel, fingertip and/or hand paddles, ankle band, mesh bag, water bottle

If you have any further questions, please don't hesitate to reach out. 

Best,

Coach Dakota