LAST CHANCE MEET

I will get info about a Last Chance meet for any swimmers who need one more shot at making their State cut. If it is held at Tennessee High, it will be either on Tuesday or Wednesday (best guess). If we need to do one ourselves, it will be at FHP on Tuesday.

VACCINATIONS

While I want everyone to get vaccinated for COVID, please be smart about the timing of your shots. Most people do experience pain at the injection site. Some other, usually mild reactions to the vaccine may also occur. If you have the opportunity, without increased health risks to you or your family,  to schedule your vaccination (or second shot) after the State Meet that would be preferred.

TEAM BANQUET

The Team Banquet will be held in the evening on Tuesday, May 11, in the high school. More info will be forthcoming, but mark that date on your calendar!

Here is the link to our Team Pictures. 

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/18in2cY24QA3skT-O1EfEjHFEPck4Mnnr?usp=sharing1

They were taken through the school, so you are free to download and print any/all that you need!

SWIM SUIT AND EQUIPMENT ORDERS

Due to budgetary constraints, swimmers and divers need to purchase their own suits and goggles. We have team caps and shirts that we will provide.

Swim Suits

Usually we have Swim and Tri Swim Shop from Knoxville come in and provide an opportunity to try on and order suits. However, due to the pandemic they are not providing that service this year. They have sent me a set of suits in various sizes that an athlete may try on to see which size to order. Orders are then made individually online via the respective SHHS or LBMS portal. We get a bit of a discount from them.

If you order by January 14 they will provide free shipping on your order.

High school swimmers and ALL divers may come in early on Monday or Tuesday, January 11-12, to try on suits before they get wet.

Middle school swimmers will have time allotted during the 6:30-7:00 PM dryland period to try on suits on January 11-12.

There are all kinds of suits, in many materials and for various prices. 
If you are looking for a good, long-lasting suit, the Endurance fabric suit by Speedo is very good.  It's a bit heavier than other suits, but can be used for both practice and meets and lasts a long time.  A lycra suit is usually the least expensive, but tends to wear out the fastest. More technically superior suits such as the Speedo Fastskin and LZR suits are all made of special fabrics designed to minimize drag through the water.  Swimmers competing at meets below the State level probably will not see a significant improvement using these high-end suits.

Equipment

There is training equipment available at the poolfor each swimmer to use, but some people prefer their own. For safety, we do sanitize our community equipment after each use.

Swimmers who want to invest in additional personal training equipment will be able to get a discount from our supplier.  Items needed are: pull buoy, paddles, fins, snorkel (not the freestyle snorkel – the general Speedo snorkel), noseplug, kickboard, and an equipment bag to store everything in. These can be purchased individually or in a bundle.  If you are a novice, I would suggest using our team equipment to see what you like/need before purchasing your own.

Do I need to go through Swim and Tri Swim Shop? We do have a good relationship with Swim and Tri Swim Shop out of Knoxville, but there are other suppliers both locally and on line. It is your money and I fault no one for shopping for a better deal. The suits that Swim and Tri is selling on the portal will have the SHHS or LBMS logo on it. If you just want to go with a generic suit, I suggest getting a black one.

How to Order from Swim and Tri Swim Shop

Click on the link to the respective portal for your school. It's online ordering.

SHHS Order Portal

LBMS Order Portal

Questions?  See Coach Chris

HILLTOPPER/LBMS SWIMMING & DIVING

HOME MEET PROTOCOLS

First of all – We are VERY fortunate to be able to have our high school and middle school swimming and diving program active and viable. There are many teams in the State that have not been able to get back into the water  yet. Some may not be able to have a program this year due to pool restrictions in their area. We need everyone to do their part to keep our program up and running.

While we love having our enthusiastic parents, friends and fans at our meets, in order to keep everyone safe, we will be modifying our meet protocols and procedures until further notice. I realize that there are individual and political beliefs regarding the coronavirus pandemic and the protocols put in place. I respect each person’s right to have their opinions. However, the bottom line is that we will have protocols in place that everyone needs to follow. If you choose to attend one of our meets, you must also choose to abide by the rules that have been put in place.

General set-up: We will be using the auxiliary gym in Freedom Hall for our spectators. In some of our dual meets, we may also need to have athletes waiting in the gym between their events. Timers, computer operators, announcers, officials, and coaches will have access to the pool deck at appropriate times during the meet. The meet will be live-streamed on a large screen in the gym.

Entrances: Athletes and coaches will enter Freedom Hall via the pool access doors. They will have their temperatures checked and recorded and let us know if they are experiencing any COVID symptoms.

Parents, friends, fans and meet workers will enter via the door to the auxiliary gym. They, too, will have their temperatures checked and provide COVID symptom information. (Obviously, if anyone has a fever over 100.4 or is experiencing COVID symptoms, just stay home!)

Seating: The gym bleachers will be pulled out and people are welcome to use them. Personal chairs may also be brought into the gym. It is imperative that everyone remain at least 6 feet away from someone who is not a member of their immediate family.

Depending on the number of athletes at the meet, some may be able to remain in the pool area. Others will stay in the gym while they are not competing. When in the pool area, they will need to stay socially distanced by spreading their chairs around the pool deck.

Masks:  Everyone will wear a mask. Athletes may remove their masks prior to getting into the pool.

Worker protocols:

In order to facilitate getting parents into the pool area to watch some of the meet live, we will try to arrange “shifts” during the meet.

Officials: Placed in their normal positions around the pool deck. No officials at the starting end of the pool, however.

Timers: There will be a chair behind each block and against the wall for the timers. The Head Timer will also have a chair back by the wall. Timers will stay against the wall until the race has begun. Only after the swimmer has entered the water will the timer move to the edge of the pool to record final times and hit the button. They will then move back against the wall. (Note: During relays, stay against the back wall until the final relay swimmer has entered the pool and the #3 swimmer has exited and moved away from the lane.)

Loft workers (computer and time console operator, announcer): Social distanced upstairs.

Diving Judges: Will be at least 6 feet apart.

Diving workers: Will be located in the loft, staying socially distanced while performing their tasks.

Athletes and coaches: Around the pool area and/or in the gym.  Masks will be worn except when competing and/or warming up and loosening down.

Event protocol:  

Swimmers

Swimmers will be called by event and heat to the “bullpen” which will be the chairs located between the bathrooms. Masks shall be worn. They will wait there until called to the blocks by the announcer. (In situations where swimmers must wait in the gym, they will be allowed to enter the pool area for warming up 2 events prior to their swims)

When called to the blocks, the swimmer will proceed to the block, remove mask, etc, and prepare to race.

After the race, swimmers will stay in the pool until instructed to exit by the announcer or referee. They will immediately go to the coaches’ area for their debriefing. Cooling down after events will be allowed.

Relay differences: We do not want a bunch of people behind the blocks during relays. When swimmers are called to the blocks, the first 2 swimmers on the relay may be behind the blocks. The other relay members may be along the side of the pool. When swimmer # 1 exits the pool, swimmer #3 moves behind the blocks and swimmer # 1 goes to the side of the pool, etc. Swimmer #4 will stay in the pool until instructed to get out by the referee.

Divers

Divers will socially distance themselves behind the diving board during the event.

Let’s make each opportunity we have to compete a safe, exciting event for everyone concerned!

The team relies on fundraising activities to supplement the budget allocated by the school. This year, the school's ability to provide funds for sports and other extracurricular activities is another casualty of the pandemic. While SHHS is being as generous as it can, all teams have been asked to be frugal and to look for alternative sources of funding.

We once again have a sponsorship opportunity available for individuals and businesses. There are tiered levels of giving. For more information and to access the Sponsorship Form, click HERE.

Thank you for your support of Hilltopper Swimming and Diving!

There are times when I do not have access to a computer to update the website, or I need to get a more immediate message out to the team. I use the Remind app  to do this.
The upside is that you do not have to actually download the app!  The coaches have downloaded it - All you have to do is tell the app by which method (email and/or text) you would like to receive messages.

Please note that the coaches will only use the app to send out messages.  While the app does support conversations between the coach and recipients, we will not use this feature.  If you need to ask contact the coaches, use text, email, or phone. Swimmers and divers are also welcome to sign up so that they get messages sent directly to them.  If a child is under 13 years old, a parent will be notified and will have to sign up also.  That age threshold security is a requirement of the app designer.

How it works:
"Classes" are set up by the user (coaches).  People can then join the classes via text or email (or both) and then will receive any notices posted on your phone or in your inbox.  Please note that we will still be posting pertinent information on the website. We will not be duplicating everything!

The "class" for my notices to the Science Hill Swimming and Diving Team is SHHS Swim & Dive
To add yourself and receive messages via text:  Text @shhsswd to 81010
To add yourself and receive messages via email:  Email  shhsswd@mail.remind.com

The "class" for my notices to the Liberty Bell Swimming and Diving Team is LBMS Swim & Dive
To add yourself and receive messages via text:  Text @lbmsswd to 81010
To add yourself and receive messages via email:  Email  lbmsswd@mail.remind.com

This article was written by an independent journalist not affiliated with Science Hill High School and the views expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of Science Hill High School.

This article was written by an independent journalist not affiliated with Science Hill High School and the views expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of Science Hill High School.

This article was written by an independent journalist not affiliated with Science Hill High School and the views expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of Science Hill High School.

This article was written by an independent journalist not affiliated with Science Hill High School and the views expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of Science Hill High School.

This article was written by an independent journalist not affiliated with Science Hill High School and the views expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of Science Hill High School.

This article was written by an independent journalist not affiliated with Science Hill High School and the views expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of Science Hill High School.

This article was written by an independent journalist not affiliated with Science Hill High School and the views expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of Science Hill High School.

This article was written by an independent journalist not affiliated with Science Hill High School and the views expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of Science Hill High School.

This article was written by an independent journalist not affiliated with Science Hill High School and the views expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of Science Hill High School.

This article was written by an independent journalist not affiliated with Science Hill High School and the views expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of Science Hill High School.

This article was written by an independent journalist not affiliated with Science Hill High School and the views expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of Science Hill High School.

This article was written by an independent journalist not affiliated with Science Hill High School and the views expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of Science Hill High School.

This article was written by an independent journalist not affiliated with Science Hill High School and the views expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of Science Hill High School.

This article was written by an independent journalist not affiliated with Science Hill High School and the views expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of Science Hill High School.

This article was written by an independent journalist not affiliated with Science Hill High School and the views expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of Science Hill High School.

This article was written by an independent journalist not affiliated with Science Hill High School and the views expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of Science Hill High School.

This article was written by an independent journalist not affiliated with Science Hill High School and the views expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of Science Hill High School.