Dear Neely Mallard Parents and Swimmers,

We are so excited to be able to host a swim season this year. As the restrictions for COVID continue to change we will adapt and appreciate your patience, flexibility, and support. There will likely be some continued changes as we figure out what does and doesn’t work for our team. Our hope is to answer as many of the lingering questions as possible in this letter. You will also find a calendar attached with all the important dates as we know them. If you have any friends that would like to join the swim team it’s not too late, just send them to www.neelymallards.swimtopia.com to register.

Q: When will the meets be?

A: The Mallards will be hosting the large team virtual meet on Thursday nights(with the exception of the last meet on Tuesday 6/22) and continuing with Fun Fridays. As a swim team committee we understand everyone is at different comfort levels with COVID protocols. For frame of reference we currently have 90 swimmers registered across about 40 families. We plan to keep the pool deck capacity at 150 and utilize all of the wonderful space we have to spread out. If you would prefer not to participate in the larger virtual meet please let us know and we can arrange for your child to have their races timed during practice. If you are traveling please let us know in the RSVP process so we can time your child’s races prior.

The HOA is allowing a larger amount of people on the pool deck than last year. While it isn’t enough to move to in person meets for both teams, the good news is we can have all our Neely Mallards together for a large virtual meet. We will be doing our best to space out age groups and utilize the basketball court as we may get close to the HOA capacity. What does this mean as a parent? It means we will need you to RSVP not only for your swimmer but for yourselves so we can plan and space swimmers to the best of our ability. It means that we need you to be flexible if asked to temporarily leave the pool deck and go to another spot like the basketball court or one of the tennis seating areas.

The Mock Meet will be on Thursday May 20^th. Regular meet dates are on 5/27, 6/3, 6/10, 6/17, and 6/22. All meets will be Thursday evenings with the exception of the last meet occurring on a Tuesday.

Q: Will masks be required?

A: Masks are encouraged in bathrooms and at your discretion outside. Coaches and parent volunteers will are not be required to have on masks outdoors. The one exception to this is concession stand duty which will require a mask and gloves. If you’d like to wear a mask feel free to do so. Due to the nature of swim team close coach contact will happen the most often for children 6 and under learning to swim. Swim team is meant to be a friendly neighborhood activity. As parent volunteers, we just do not have the ability to police mask wearing and keep track of who is vaccinated or not, has health conditions, etc. If you would like your child to wear one out of the water, it will be your responsibility as a parent to enforce your household rules.

Q: Who are our coaches?

A: We are excited to finally welcome Henry Prado as the Head Coach! He was selected for the 2020 season but due to season cancellation not many have been able to meet him. Henry has a wide variety of experience from teaching lessons to children to coaching for the Norcross Jr. Blue Devils swim team.

Our Assistant coaches will be Emma Mock and Alex Whitesides. Our Junior coaches will be Ella Mock, Catherine Sacca, Caroline Stewart, and Emelia Youngman. Our Coaches in Training are Teresa Sacca, Josie Youngman, and MJ Arendale. Come meet them on Monday May 3^rd during your afterschool practice time!

Q: Will the first week of practice happen with the pool work being done?

A: The HOA has informed us the pool repairs will not be completed as planned and are currently aiming for a timeline of May 10. Monday’s practice will be spent meeting the coaches, Tuesday -Thursday will be dry land activities. Next week, please send your swimmer with socks, closed toe athletic shoes, and a towel so they are prepared for a land or water workout. On Monday May 3^rd and for dry land practices, please have your swimmer meet at the basketball court during their practice time. We will provide information as we have it on the pool project work.

Q: Kids Number One Question- Will there be a Concession Stand?

A: Yes! We will have a concession stand with prepackaged items. Chips, candy and other prepackaged food will be available as well as bottled water, sports and soft drinks. The parent volunteers at the concession stand will be required to wear a mask and gloves. At this time grill use is not allowed and so please feel free to bring dinner items with you to the meets.

Q: What other distancing strategies may be in place?

A: One new strategy that can help to minimize swimmer contact is video. To help swimmers understand how to make changes, the coaches have requested the ability to video the swimmer for a stroke, show them how to improve or correct, video the improvement, and allow the swimmer to view so they can see the difference. Immediately after the video will be deleted from the device. If you are not comfortable with this strategy for your child please notify the Henry Prado, our head coach.

Q: Will we have Ducklings?

A: The Swim Team Board just made the decision to allow the Ducklings program to resume for the 2021 season! This is a program for children ages 3 and up to work on their swimming to build up to swimming a full lap of the pool unassisted. Please see the www.NeelyMallards.swimtopia.com for more information and to register your Duckling.

Q: What about Fun Fridays, Bruster’s, Team Dinners, and the Banquet?

A: We will have Fun Fridays with donuts distributed by gloved and masked parents and/or coaches. The kids will be able to swim and we will have our tie dye tradition continue!

Several families have ventured to Bruster’s Ice Cream after meets in years prior. This has never been an official swim team activity. If you want to celebrate at Bruster’s after for ice cream please feel free to do so.

Team dinners are not currently planned due to the amount of indoor gathering and restaurant COVID restrictions.

In place of the Banquet expect the to celebrate the season on our last donut day which is expected to be on Wednesday June 23^rd.

Q: Can my child still swim on the side while a sibling practices?

A: We will have one lane reserved for timing of individuals who can’t make the following week’s meet. Children will not be allowed to swim in the area next to the lane, but will be able to utilize the opposite side. The coaches will NOT be in charge of monitoring extra children swimming on the side. It will be the parent’s responsibility to supervise the child. If it becomes too crowded, there are behavior issues, or the coaches need use of that area for spacing purposes children will not be allowed on either side area. We ask that all parents please respect and follow any coach requests.

Q: What happens if a child or coach tests positive for the Coronavirus?

A: The parent should immediately report this to the coach or to the Swim Team Board. Those who were in close contact for 15 minutes or more will be notified. The CDC reports a very small percentage of cases come from outdoor contact. Several neighborhoods completed a successful virtual season in this format last summer without having any cases.

Q: Will you be taking my child’s temperature?

A: We will not be taking temperatures. If your child does not feel well or exhibits any symptoms that are associated with Coronavirus please do not send them to practice or meets.

Q: Why virtual meets, and what will virtual meets look like?

A: While schools and clubs have successfully hosted a mixture of in person and virtual meets we have elected to do virtual meets this year. The reason for this is in the planning process the HOA was planning on limiting the number of people allowed in the pool area. It will not be feasible to host an additional team and space out our team. Virtual meets we anticipate will move faster. The largest way a virtual meet will be different is simply that it will only be our team.