Start of the Season Notes and Calendaring

Erica Wheatley
Hello and happy first day of school to many of our swimmers! And to our homeschool and Washington County etc friends, we hope things are going well. :)
 
Our swim season begins with a staggered start with our first group in the water tomorrow! See all group start dates and orientations below. There is also a link with instructions for those using the Hope Homeschool Scholarship to pay.  Our lanes are quite full and everyone should have received their registration link and are signed up.  If you are a returning participant, please email me if you have not received your registration invitation and link!
 
Looking forward to seeing everyone soon,
Coach Erica and the rest of the Pelican Coaching Staff
 
START DATES & ORIENTATIONS
  • All swim families are required to come to parent/guardian orientations that are scheduled on the first day of each practice group:

    • Junior/Senior - August 20, 2025 (Orientation Aug. 25, 6:30 pm)

    • Bronze/Silver- September 3, 2025, 6:30 pm

    • Homeschool- September 3, 2025, 2:00 pm

    • Gold - September 4, 2025, 6:30 pm

    • Copper - September 8, 2025, 4:30 pm

  • Please take the time before this orientation to click on ALL the pages of the team website to become familiar with the policies and workings of swim. Then come ready with questions to the meeting!
  • Reminder - all swimmers (except Copper*) please be on deck with caps, goggles and gear 15 minutes prior to your practice start time! This is an essential part of our program where we stretch, connect, and introduce the day's workout. 
    • *Copper swimmers - wait with your families on the upper deck until just about 5 minutes before your practice start time when your coach calls you down. 
  • Participants 12 and under need to be walked to the pool deck. After drop off, only swimmers and coaches are allowed on the lower pool deck. All families and friends may observe from the bleachers on the upper deck, wait in the lobby, run to the grocery store, or purchase a membership to workout while your swimmer does! 
EVALUATIONS / MEET & GREET
  • We would like to see all new swimmers in the water so we can appropriately place them in their practice groups. Evaluations are held at the Shepherd University Wellness Center; see flyer attached for dates and times. If you can not make either of these dates, please reach out to me.
  • Even if you have already been approved and registered, but are new to EPSC, please come join us on these dates to check out the facility and meet some of the coaches. Does wonders for first day of practice jitters!
EQUIPMENT & GEAR
  • Try to gather as much of your equipment as you can before the first day of practice. 
  • Lists are on the team website under EQUIPMENT & CARE
  • Good goggles and a suit are most important - we do have some gear at the pool your swimmer can borrow until they get their own. I will also have a few of my favorites for sale at practice. 
  • Team Suit - we will (hopefully!) be getting branded team competition suits this year, so hold off on that. But you can go ahead and get a different suit for practice - jammers/briefs for the boys and a cross-back style for girls
COMMUNICATION
  • After evaluations next week and we have everyone registered who needs to be, we will move communication to TeamUnify.  I will then clean up our TeamUnify platform and remove past participants who are not registered for the 25-26 Season. 
  • You can go into your Team Unify account now and add additional email addresses for other family members or caretakers who you want to receive team communications, including the swimmer themselves!
  • Please monitor your emails regularly for swim team news and updates!
  • Coach Tim ([email protected]) and I ([email protected]) are always available via email, please reach out to us with any questions or if you need to talk about your swimmers' needs.
HOPE SCHOLARSHIP
  • If you are using the Homeschool Hope Scholarship Funds to support your swimming, please register with the "Hope Scholar Hold Fee" option.
  • Payments using the Hope Scholarship will be broken into three installments due September, February, and June.  They are available now through your EMA portal.
  • You can see instructions and fee breakdowns here.
VOLUNTEER COMMITTEES
  • Thank you all for being willing to help with our volunteer committees! That is how we keep our team organized and fun for the swimmers.
  • In the next few weeks I will be sending out more information and starting to connect committee members to get started on some tasks!
  • If you have any ideas or want to get moving on something before you hear from me, PLEASE reach out to me! We are open to merchandise suggestions, early season team bonding activities, and so forth.
CALENDERING
  • Dates for swim meets and other team activities are up on the team website under the 2025-2026 Season Tab - Season Dates. We will continue to add activities and practice updates here as they come along. They will also be added soon to the Meets & Events Tab where they will show up each as seperate events and you will be able to see them on your OnDeck app.