Hammerhead families, please read the following letter from our League President, Tim Brockway.  It contains important information for CHAMPS.  I've also attached the letter and map for reference.  Thank you! 

Hello swim fans!!! I sincerely hope that everyone is enjoying their summer and having a successful season. It seems that Mother Nature has had it out for us during practice times, but at least the weather during meets has cooperated. I am hearing lots of reports of PR’s and excited kids – this is why we do this. I hope that any issues along the way have been easily resolved; however, if there are things that need to be addressed at the league level, please reach out to me via email so that I can add them to the end of the season agenda.

CHAMPS, our end of season league wide competition, is coming up quickly!!! For those of you who are unaware, the league has stepped away from using The Cecil Aquatic Center for CHAMPS. A lot of time and effort has been put into finding a new location and working out all of the details. The Bolles School in Jacksonville has agreed to let us use their pool and facilities. The CHAMPS event for 2023 will be held in split sessions. The first session will be held on the evening of Friday July 14^th and the second session on the morning of Saturday July 15^th. In the event of bad weather, there will be a make-up session reserved for Sunday morning July 16^th. We are very excited to swim at Bolles and are confident that it is going to be a successful and fun event.

The session for Friday evening will have swimmers 11 year old and up age group compete. Swimmers need to check in with their coaches at 3:45 pm and warm up starts at 4 pm. Official meet start time is 5 pm. The Saturday morning session will have the 10 year old and under swimmers compete. Swimmers should check in with their coaches at 6:45 am and warm up starts at 7 am. Official meet start time is 8 am. There will be a volunteer check in station set up at the back entrance to the pool. It is important for all parent volunteers to check in with the coordinator as soon as you arrive so that your assignments can be verified.

As with anything that is new and different, there will be GROWING PAINS! The flow, set up, and layout that we are used to at Cecil will feel different at Bolles. With that in mind, the league leadership ask that you please be patient, open-minded, and flexible as we attempt to accommodate all of the changes. CHAMPS will look and feel different from the past, but if we all remember the point is to give our swimmers the best opportunity to have a great meet and showcase the growth that they have achieved after a season of hard work, then the changes will be for the better.

So here is a snapshot of changes to expect:

• There will be a map of the Bolles facility to follow in a few days. We are still working with Bolles to establish what areas of the property that we can utilize.
• Tent City is now Tailgate City. The rental fees and other issues related to the use of large tents has forced the league to re-think how to keep teams and spectators together. Each team will be designated an AREA on the Bolles property to use as an assembly for personal tents/chairs/coolers/etc. It will be more of a NEIGHBORHOOD environment than an enclosed space. The map will show each team’s area. Bolles has been VERY accommodating with the use of space. They ask that no tent stakes are used and suggest the use of sandbag weights to keep the tents in place in case of windy conditions. Using bungy chords to raft tents together was also suggested.
• Parking will be on the grass practice area located at the front of the school property, the entrance is located before you reach the main gate of the school and will be marked. There is plenty of space available in that area and it will be marshalled for parking assistance. The league request that everyone except CHAMPS meet officials NOT park in the schools paved lots. School security will be present to assist with enforcing this.
• Unlike Cecil, most of the area being used for this event is on asphalt or pavement. July sun means HOT feet without proper footwear. Please encourage your swimmers to wear flops or other footwear while they are moving around the facility. We will manage the footwear once they are on the pool deck and preparing to swim.
• Food Trucks will be available outside of the pool area and some tables and seating will be provided.
• There is access to multiple restrooms throughout the facility (see the map). The poolside restrooms are for swimmers and officials only.
• Spectator traffic will be monitored, enforced and managed by meet officials. There are good viewing locations at both ends of the competition pool. VERY IMPORTANT – if you are viewing from the starting block side of the pool then there is NO photography allowed! This is a standard in all levels of swim so compliance is mandated and will be addressed if it is not followed. PLEASE, for the benefit of everyone who wants to see their swimmer compete, do not set up camp in the viewing areas. There is an extremely large covered bleacher area next to the warm up pool that can be used as a transition area. The courtesy rule is if your swimmer is not in the upcoming 3 heats…then please don’t be in the viewing area. We want everyone to have equal opportunity to watch their swimmer get a new PR!
• On the topic of courtesy…Bolles has been tremendous to work with and has gone above and beyond to help us get the CHAMPS event set up with their facility. It is only right that we show their pool deck, grounds, facility and staff the utmost respect. Please police your areas so that we can leave it better than we found it.

PLEASE let your coaches know if you plan to attend the CHAMPS competition as soon as possible. This will be a big help to those who are planning the meet. The address for The Bolles School is 7400 San Jose Blvd, Jacksonville, FL 32217.

CHAMPS is going to be GREAT!!! It is a chance for your swimmers to shine and to gauge themselves against the whole league. While we recognize that it is summer and other plans are being made, we would encourage everyone who possibly can to attend. Thank you all in advance for your patience and flexibility as we move into new territory for this season and hopefully the future.

Sincerely,

Tim Brockway / President St Johns Summer Swim League

-Your HLH Board