Hi Blue Crabs!

Thank you to everyone who came out for our second annual Bingo night! We had a great time together and the weather couldn’t have been better. A big thank you to Linda Amato, Megan Brown, and Katie Thomas for coordinating the event, and a special shout out to Aaron Thomas for stepping in as our caller for the night! Thank you all so much!

After a beautiful weekend, it looks like we have another great week of weather! The Blue Crabs schedule is pretty light this week as we inch closer to the end of the school year and the start of Mini Crabs next week on June 8. We also have our time trials this Saturday. Here are some things you need to know from details on time trials to a big announcement about our pep rally next week.

TIME TRIALS (for Blue Crabs swimmers only)

Time Trials are a meet-like event that gives our team and swimmers a chance to get ready for the upcoming season. At Time Trials each swimmer participating gets an opportunity to establish their times in each event before heading into the season. Our Time Trials will begin with swimmer check-in at 8:15 and the first event starting at 9:00. We hope to be all wrapped up by 11:00.

To run an effective Time Trials we need both swimmers and volunteers.

Swimmer Entry: Whether you are able to attend time trials or not (or any other meet this season), every Blue Crab family must declare your swimmer(s) as either “attending” or “not attending.” Only those swimmers marked as “attending” by Wednesday at 1 PM will be eligible to swim on Saturday. To declare your swimmer follow these simple instructions:

• Start by going to the Swim Meet & Event Sign-Up page and then click on the green "Meet Entry" button located next to the event labeled "Time Trials."
• Next click the "Edit" button at the bottom of the page.
• For each swimmer, select an option from the dropdown list next to his/her name: "Attending" or "Not Attending."
• You should select the shortest freestyle event for your swimmer (25 freestyle or 50 freestyle), as well as any other events you are reasonably confident your swimmer(s) can complete (up to 4 events). If you're not sure if they can swim breaststroke, butterfly, or 100-meter freestyle, then do not enter them in those events. Please note that coaches have final say in what events a swimmer will or will not swim.
• Click the "Save" button at the bottom of the page.

Volunteer Sign-Up: Job signup is now open for Time Trials and all of our events throughout June. Job signup takes place on our website on the same Meets & Events page where you enter your swimmers. Simply click on the green "Job Sign-Up" button and then you can sign up for a job.

***If you need help with swimmer entry or job sign-up, you can check out this page for additional details and instructions.

PEP RALLY

Get ready to kick off the season with an evening of fun at our Blue Crabs Pep Rally on June 12th from 5pm-7pm in the courtyard area at Stone Barn Pool! We will have several activities for swimmers and families to enjoy, including poster making, a special craft, handprinting our annual Blue Crabs team banner, an awesome Photo Booth and more!

Come hungry! We'll have delicious food available for purchase from Jimmy's Seafood, along with additional food trucks and a sweet treat for all swimmers to help everyone cool off and celebrate.

Bring your team spirit, your appetite, and your excitement for a great season ahead. We can't wait to see all our Blue Crabs families there for an evening of fun with our awesome swim team family!

A CULTURE OF SERVICE

One of the core values of the Blue Crabs is service. We want our swimmers to learn more than strokes, starts, and finishes. We want them to see the joy that comes from pitching in, stepping up when there's a need, and using their time and abilities to help others. Just as importantly, we want them to see that modeled by the adults around them.

Many organizations focus on volunteer requirements, obligations, or deposits. While we do have volunteer opportunities that help our team operate smoothly, our goal is something bigger: to build a community where families enjoy being part of something bigger than themselves.

The truth is that a summer swim team is one of the most community-driven activities around. We are a volunteer-run organization, with commitments, jobs, and hobbies that all fall outside of this swim team. It takes an army of timers, officials, concessions workers, setup crews, event organizers, and dozens of other volunteers make it possible for our swimmers to have a great experience. Every act of service—whether it's a formal volunteer role or simply noticing a need and helping out—makes our team stronger.

To encourage participation, we use a volunteer point system. Blue Crab families are asked to earn at least 3 volunteer points during the season, while Mini Crab families are asked to earn at least 1 point. Volunteer points also earn raffle tickets for prizes at our end-of-season celebration.

More importantly, every point represents something far greater: a family investing in our swimmers, our community, and one another. Volunteer opportunities for the entire month of June will open on May 26th at 6am on a first-come, first-served basis. Don’t wait to sign yourself up!

Thank you for helping us continue to build a culture of service at the Blue Crabs.

TEAM T-SHIRTS & TEAM PHOTO

As part of registration, every swimmer receives a team t-shirt! These will be handed out for our team picture on Tuesday, June 23 at Stone Barn. The team picture will take place at 7pm with an option for individual/sibling pictures starting at 5:15pm on a first-come, first-served basis.

THE CRAB SHACK

Thank you so much to everyone who has donated so far to the Crab Shack! Y’all are amazing! The Crab Daddies still have their Amazon Wish List out there if you are still interested in donating. Please use this link to support the Crab Shack!

🦀 THE WEEK AHEAD 🦀

This week there will only be practices for our Blue Crabs swimmers on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. Mini Crabs will start the week of June 8.

• Tuesday through Thursday, 6/2-6/4

Blue Crabs Practicetakes place starting at 5:00 PM with swimmers age 9 & 10 practicing until 5:50 PM; 8 & under will practice from 6:00-6:50 PM; and swimmers 11 and older will have practice from 7:00-7:50 PM.

*** Please don’t forget that the VOU is requiring that EVERYONE entering the pool deck must use their pool pass and enter through the main pool entrance, checking in with the gate guard. The gate guard should be there 15 minutes before the start of the first practice. Please don’t forget your pool pass for every practice!***

• Saturday, 6/6

Time Trials: Swimmers should check in between 8:15 and 8:30 for warm-ups. Volunteers should check-in at the Blue Crab Gate at 8:30. Our Time Trials will begin at 9:00 AM. And don't forget to wish Coach Alyssa a happy birthday!

LOOKING AHEAD

• Saturday, June 6 – Time Trials at 9:00 AM
• Monday, June 8 – First day of Mini Crabs Practice
• Friday, June 12 – Pep Rally at Stone Barn!
• Saturday, June 13 - Home Meet vs. Windsor Knolls Wahoos (Meet Theme: Country vs. Country Club)
• Tuesday, June 23 - Team Picture

We will see you this week!

Go Blue Crabs!