Hello Sailors and Parents,
We had our pre-season meeting on Tuesday night - thank you to all who came! Here is a recap for everyone:
{You can find all the forms and most of the information at whatcomsailing.com}
ABOUT
The high school sailing team is a recognized club sport at each school and we treat it the same as any school sport. Therefore, the expectations are the same regarding attendance at practices and races as any sport. Everyone is expected to work together as team, including helping your peers, traveling together, staying together, and competing together. All three high schools practice and compete together in most regattas.
EMAIL
Most all our communication is done via email, so please help us out by responding to emails quickly and make sure we have your current email address (students and parents).
FORMS
All sailors must fill out the forms and submit fees outlined in the sailor packet attached. All forms must be filled out and turned in before our first practice. Team fees are $235; make check out to Whatcom Community Sailing. **You do not need to pay if you paid in the fall**
As a club sport, each sailor is required to comply with the schools' athletic eligibility requirements. Sailors can pick up a packet from their schools athletic department. This includes a Physical Form, Eligibility Packet, Concussion Form and ASB Card. These items get turned into your school AD secretary. If you have not already scheduled a physical, do so ASAP so you can practice on Tuesday. Go in to your athletic director secretary this week to verify that you have met all the school requirements.
PRACTICES
Our first practice is Tuesday, March 3rd. We will practice Tues/Thurs 3:15 - 6:30 through May 14th. We will be conducting a swim test of ALL sailors at the first practice. Please bring a wetsuit, towel and warm clothes. PARENTS - Please help us by scheduling dentist and doctors appointments around our regular practices. Practices are held at Lakewood. If you need a carpool, please contact us and we will put you in touch with another sailor from your school.
We require all sailors to have a Type III Coastguard approved life jacket, a whistle attached to your life jacket and a wetsuit. There will be days where we will require a wetsuit or you won't be able to sail. We strongly encourage proper gear, such as gloves, booties and no cotton. On our gear page on the website, we suggest places to buy gear and what kind of gear to get. (westcoastsailing.com offers high school students 15% off gear and free shipping.) Please ask us or your fellow sailors what gear we recommend if you have any questions.
8TH GRADERS
Please arrive at practice as soon as possible after school gets out. 8th graders can participate in all regattas on the schedule with the exception of district championships or national events if we qualify.
REGATTAS
Please see the website for a schedule of all regattas. www.whatcomsailing.com
REGATTA SIGN-UP - Please fill out this regatta sign up form so we know which events you absolutely cannot make. We expect you to attend all required regattas, so if you can not make a regatta please come talk to us so we can discuss why.
MONDAY/WED WORKOUTS
Monday and Wednesday we will meet at Sehome at 2:45 to workout. These workouts are not mandatory like practices. Mondays will generally be running workouts, and Wednesdays will be in the weight room. Workouts are slightly weather dependent, so if it is a miserable Monday, we will resort to the weight room. Respond to either Shea or Liam if you will be attending the workouts so we don't leave without you!
First workout is Monday MARCH 2nd, we will be the weight room. Respond to Shea at 360-441-1272. Or Liam at 360-201-4626
TEXT MESSAGING NOTIFICATIONS
New this year we will be trying a text message notification system for all the sailors. The new messaging service we are trying is called Remind. To sign up send a text message
TO: 81010
Message: @sailboats
If you are a high schooler, we would like you to be on an additional list so please send another message
TO:81010
Message: @bhssailing (if you go to BELLINGHAM)
or @shssailing (if you go to SEHOME)
or @sqhssail (if you go to SQUALICUM)
TEAM JACKETS
Jacket orders are going to be due on TUESDAY MARCH 10th. Shea will have sample sizes to try on at practice, as well as order forms. These will run at about $105 dollars, all inclusive (jackets and embroidery of logo and name). Theses are not mandatory, but highly suggested as it make our team look more professional.
PARENTS
We are excited to have your sailor on the team, and will be kept very busy organizing practices & regattas, and teaching them how to become awesome racers! So, we will need your help! Regatta travel is usually based on parent drivers. We try to reimburse for gas, and food in usually free for parents or very cheap. Please take a look at the regatta schedule and make note on which regattas you would be able to drive.
If you have any questions, please feel free to email or visit the website for information. I am excited to be starting another season of sailing!
See you on the water!
