State of the Storm

Storm Families,

Champions Classic, our first hosted meet, went well. Thank you to all the volunteers for their help!

Week of 10/31 reminders:

• Please be mindful of picking up swimmers on time, especially during the last practice of the evening. Staff still has had to wait up to 30 minutes for parents to pick up kids from practices that end as late as 9:00 pm.

Important Practice Changes:

• Sunday, Oct 30th: All Lightning groups, boys and girls, will practice together from 4:15 - 5:45 pm so they can participate in the trunk or treat activity after practice.
• Monday, Oct 31st: All 12&Under and Junior group practices will be canceled to allow the swimmers to enjoy Halloween with their friends and families. Please be safe!!
• Monday, Oct 31st: All SR groups will practice as normal except for SR3, which will combine with SR1&2 at BY from 4:00-6:00 to allow them an early night off to enjoy Halloween with their friends and family.

Happy Halloween!!

Coach Mary

• November 12: Splash November Meet (Splash 1/2)
  
• November 12-13: Fall Shootout (Senior 2/3)
• November 12-13: JW Thanksgiving Meet (Senior 1, Junior 1)
• November 13: First Frost (Waves S/N, Thunder 1/2/3/N)
• November 18-20: HCY Autumn Challenge (Thunder 1/2/3/N, Lightning 1/2/3/N, Junior 2/3, Senior 4)

To all of our swimmers, good luck and swim fast!

More Information: please visit the Events Page of our website.

Questions: please contact your practice group lead coach.

Please note some dates have been updated since the last newsletter.

MEET REGISTRATIONS

• October 30th: Fall Shootout registration deadline for Senior 2/3
  
• November 9th: MAY Ice Cube registration deadline (12/U groups TBD)
  
• November 19th: OCY Winter Classic registration deadline (Senior & Junior groups, as communicated by practice group lead coaches)
• November 19th: EEX Holiday Classic registration deadline (groups TBD)
• December 10th: GSCY New Year's Splash registration deadline (groups TBD)
• December 10th: HCY Stingray Splash registration deadline (groups TBD)
• December 17th: Madison MLK Invitational registration deadline (groups TBD)

HOTEL BLOCK BOOKING

• November 6th: deadline to book a hotel room at discounted rates for Winter Jr. Nationals
• November 16th: deadline to book a hotel room at discounted rates for OCY Winter Classic

Dates and deadlines may be subject to change. Please refer to communications from your practice group lead coach for the latest information.

If you placed an order with California Beach Hut earlier this season for team suits or apparel and you indicated Bridgewater YMCA as the pickup location in your order form, please keep in mind that your order is available for pickup today at BY from 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm.

Questions: please contact Agnes Doucette at agnesdoucette5@gmail.com.

California Beach Hut is hosting a Speedo Tech Suit Sizing event on Saturday, October 29th from 1pm to 4pm at their retail store at 21 Broadway, Denville, NJ 07834. Representatives from Speedo will be present to provide assistance and answer any questions. All in stock tech suits will be 25% off on Saturday only!

Questions: please contact California Beach Hut at (973) 625-9155.

Our team apparel provider, California Beach Hut, is offering a great heavy-duty towel - personalized with a name of your choice! This is a great option for holiday gifts. If you haven't already ordered one, you may want to consider it as there will be no holiday sale. You can order the towels online through: https://californiabeachhut.com/swim-teams/greater-somerset-county-ymca-gscy/.

If you are a swimmer or parent who missed the DEI training, you can now view the training videos by clicking below or visiting our Diversity, Equity & Inclusion page on our website at https://www.teamunify.com/team/njgscy/page/about/diversity-equity--inclusion.

From time to time, we will be featuring Frequently Asked Questions as part of our newsletter. If you are a new or returning family and have general questions about our program, meets, or anything else that might benefit other parents, please send your questions to gscystormconnect@gmail.com and we might feature your question for future newsletters!

WHAT ARE SOME ITEMS MY ATHLETE SHOULD HAVE ON MEET DAY?

Each meet is slightly different, and you should always reference any specific communication from your practice group lead coach, but in general, here are items you want to have with you on meet day:

• Extra swim suit, goggles & cap
• Swim parka, sweatshirt or something to keep you warm in between heats
• Sweat pants or towel pants
• Socks or something to keep your feet warm
• Healthy snack(s)
• Extra towel
• Reusable water bottle
• Sharpie marker (for writing heats and lanes)