07.09.25

To Do:

• Missing your three volunteer jobs for the season? We have spots open for City Meet which we are obligated to fill. Avoid the “slacker fine” and sign up today.
• RSVP for end of season banquet asap. We are ordering pizza and need to ensure we have enough!
• Do you have the Remind app? If no, join our group with code @e7eh68. We will be posting info about relays and any weather announcements for City Meet.
  • Relays can flex and change depending upon how the kids are swimming or availability. Please DO NOT LEAVE until you check the relay updates, which will be sent via Remind.
• We need a few more members to step up and join the board for our next treasurer and member at large (to train for Fundraising Coordinator). More details here  volunteer & board positions - Google Docs 2025.pdf

Calendar:

• Thursday - after practice - City Meet Prep
  • Nail painting, jewelry making, shirt dying, poster making - come join us for all the fun. We will meet in the grassy area behind the pool and would LOVE for the big Sharks to help the little Sharks create their swag for City Meet.
  • Please BYO a white shirt for the tie-dye station
  • We will have City Meet shirts available to distribute and tie-dye as well. Shirts not picked up will be available at City Meet.
  • Please bring a plastic grocery bag to take your tie-dye shirt home
  • Thanks to everyone who purchased all of the materials for the event, including the Benford, Bolton, Collins, Connor, Saunders, Sorrow, Warren, and Williams families

• Friday & Saturday, July 11 & 12 - City Meet - LOTS more info below (please read!)
  • Team Crash Site
  • Hurrah! Our pavilion has picnic tables, electricity, and bathrooms! Whoo hoo! Please enter the park from Gilbert Street and folks should be on hand to show you where to park. You may bring your own tents, tables, fans, and chairs as well.
  • Warmups
  • Friday - 10 & under at 7:55, 11 & over at 12:10, finals 5:10
  • Saturday - 10 & under at 7:30, 11 & over at 11:10, finals 4:10
  • If you qualify for finals, you must swim or let Coach Katie know ahead of time you will not be there. A $25 fine will be given for each swimmer who misses a final event.
• Sunday, July 13- end of season celebration at the pool, 6-9pm.
  • BYO chairs, drinks, and shade
  • Pizza provided by the Team (thanks to our amazing sponsors!)
  • Volunteers are bringing side dishes and desserts. Feel free to supplement the meal as desired. No beverages are provided so please bring your own.
  • Have your swimmer write a THANK YOU note for his/her coach. BTW, did you know this is Coach Katie’s TENTH anniversary as our coach?!?
  • Be ready for the team awards, swim team picture, belly flop contest, and an evening of camaraderie!

Hunker down for a bit of a read…..

The Chattanooga Area Swim League City Meet is a two-day championship event for the teams in all three CASL divisions (in other words, all the summer swimmers in our area). The meet is divided into 2 preliminary sessions and two finals.Each swimmer may swim up to 5 individual events and 2 relays in total. The top 16 in each event for 8 and up will return Friday and Saturday evening for finals.

Reminder (again): When committing to swim this meet, be prepared to return for finals on Friday & Saturday evenings, beginning at about 5 pm. It is so important that qualified swimmers attend finals to earn points for the team! You MUST let Coach Katie know if you cannot come to finals. The team will be fined $25 for no-show finals athletes. The final events determine the points a team and individual receives. There is an awards ceremony for high-point swimmers and teams following Saturday night finals.

Info From StH:

• Drive around to the back of the park to Gilbert Drive to park close to the StH area (see graphic). Parents/swimmers will walk back and forth to the pool. There is no room to camp out on the pool deck, so bring your walking shoes. Our crash area does have a pavilion.
• There is a creek in the area. Please advise your swimmers to stay out, as there are always reports of poisonous snake sightings.
• Swim caps must be a StH cap (shark swimming forward), any of a solid color, or an Emily’s Power for a Cure cap.
• Swimsuits must be the StH team suit or a generic practice suit. Practice or team suits for other teams are NOT allowed and can result in a disqualification. Several swimmers are still bending this rule, and we don’t want to lose points at City Meet!
• We do not recommend "tech suits" be worn for City Meet but the final decision is up to you.
• As you’ve done all season, swimmers 10 and Under still need to have their EHL written out and their first initial, last name on their right shoulder blade.
• Swimmers should check in with coaches after every event. Not only for tips but also for some City Meet TREATS from the Chum Bucket.
• Bring your floppy hat, camp chairs, bug spray, icy water, snacks, towels, team cap & suit, goggles, extra goggles, sharpie marker, sunscreen, and dry clothes for the ride home.
• As you might imagine, sitting outside in mid-July, in a Georgia field IS HOT. Battery-powered fans, misters, cooling towels, and coolers of ice are recommended. We are so lucky to have easy access to electricity, so bring your extension cords and fans.
• More tips for staying cool:
  • Put a drop of peppermint oil on a wet rag stored in the ice. Place it on the back of your neck for a quick cooling.
  • Place ice in front of your fan to cool the air.
  • Ice in a portable baby pool to flail around in.
  • “Ice, ice, baby.”
• There are concessions available and restaurants in the area, but bringing your food is always a good idea. Foods with high water content are perfect for this day: strawberries, cucumber, watermelon, peaches, oranges, frozen grapes, peppermint-infused water, pickle juice, and frozen electrolyte drinks.
• And, oh yeah, it will rain. Even with only a 4% chance, it has been known to dump on Ft O with thunderstorms, sending families scrambling to their cars. Just be prepared….
• The biggest tip of them all - stay flexible: the weather is hot and weird, the kids are over the top, the start and end times are approximate, DQs will happen, it is slam-packed and hard to see on deck… all the things. Just remember why we do this, stay flexible, and have fun!
• Updated relay swimmers will be posted via the Remind app during the meet. If you’ve not yet, please join @e7eh68. Relays can flex and change depending upon how the kids are swimming or availability. Please DO NOT LEAVE until you check the relay updates.
• Bring your swag and get ready for a SHARK PAR-TAY! Wear all the red, white, and grey on Friday, and rock your tie-dye on Saturday.  Plus, all SHARK all the time. Remember to tag your social posts #sharkslife and #chattsswimleague

CASL City Meet Traditions:

• City Meet is named after a long-time CASL official and board member, Bill Caulkins. Read more about his 40-year commitment to our sport here and here.
• Friday before finals: Senior Recognition for all CASL graduates
• Saturday after morning session: Coaches Relay - Come cheer our coaches as they battle it out in the pool! Typically Saturday between morning & afternoon sessions.
• Saturday before finals: The Jennifer Fugate Scholarship Award recognizes a high school swimmer’s or diver’s commitment to the sport. This award is not always for the best or fastest swimmer or diver in the city, but for the one who is always out there doing their best. Fugate was an outstanding swimmer for Ringgold who died unexpectedly in 1986. A scholarship in her honor was established a year later by her parents and is still going strong more than 30 years later. Each CASL team will nominate one senior swimmer for this recognition to be presented on Saturday evening. Congratulations to our StH nominee Joseph Myers!
• Check out the Sharks who have City Meet Records. It’s a great year to update that list with a few new times!

Info From CASL:

• Events will be swum in preliminaries and finals except the 6 and under 25-yard Freestyle, 6 and under 25-yard Backstroke, 8 & under 100 IM, 8 & under 50-yard Freestyle, 9 & 10 50 Freestyle, and ALL 100 Freestyles.
• The top-8 finishers from the preliminaries will qualify for the Championship Finals. The 9-16 place finishers from the preliminaries will qualify for the Consolation Finals. The next 2 places, who will be listed as Alternates, will move into the Consolation heat should there be any scratches. A swimmer who swims in the Consolation Finals can place no higher than 9th. The Championship (A final) heat will swim first followed by the consolation (B final) heat.
• Relays – The top-8 relay finishers from the preliminaries will compete in the Championship Finals. Only 2 relays per team may qualify for finals in any age group/gender.
• Swimmers in a preliminary relay that is disqualified are not permitted to swim that relay event during the Finals session. Once a relay is disqualified, all swimmers participating in the relay are disqualified from the event.
• A swimmer may enter 5 individual events and 3 relays.
• Preliminary Heat Sheets will be for sell. Heat Sheets will also be posted online. Posting will be on the CASL website (https://casl.swimtopia.com) and McCallie GPS aquatics (www.mccgpsaquatics.com).
• Any swimmer who does not scratch and fails to report to the blocks of a Final Event will cause their team to be fined $25 per instance. All team fines must be paid by the August CASL Board Meeting with the check made payable to The Chattanooga Area Swim League.
• In the evening/finals sessions, ALL swimmers in every age group (including alternates) should report to the Clerk of Course when the event is called so they can be paraded.
• Food and refreshments will be available.
• Every, every point counts so be on time, work hard, and have fun:

GO SHARKS!