Happy Weekend, Hammerheads!

Thank you so much to everyone who came out to the first bathing suit fitting on Wednesday. It was so good to see each of you! In addition, thank you so much for your patience as you waited for this email! Below, there are instructions on how to & where to order team bathing suits, personalized swim caps, fins, & additional Hammond Hllls merchandise. Please make sure to read over all the details to avoid any accidental misorders! :)

2020 Team Bathing Suit & Personalized Swim Cap Orders:

This year, all bathing suit and personalized cap orders will be placed online through our bathing suit store. Some special notes are below to avoid any confusion!

• These team suits are the SAME as last year! If your swimmer(s) suit fits from last season & is still in good shape, please feel free to use it again this season! If you are in need of a replacement suit, we still recommend trying on your suit from last year to gauge your sizing for this season.
• We highly recommend coming to a bathing suit fitting before ordering online! What worked last year might be completely different than what fits best this year so we always encourage everyone to come to a try on just in case!
• If your child plans to wear their team suit to most practices (and outside practice times), the suit will stretch out over the course of the swim season. If you want to make sure the suit stays fitted for racing throughout the season, we recommend buying a second "cheap" one piece suit from swimoutlet.com that you can rotate through into the mix. In result, their new suit will hold up longer!
• These suits should be tight - any loose material will catch water & create drag when practicing or racing in the pool. This suit is different from other suits you buy for leisure. It is designed to keep water out so that swimmers can experience the buoyancy they need to swim fast & learn correct technique. Loose suits can slow & weigh swimmers - making it harder to learn & correct technique. This being said, the smallest size they make is 22! Our littlest friends suits will be looser but still work better than most leisure trunks or one/two piece bathing suits for kids during the swim team season. Lastly, although suits should be tight, we do not recommend ordering them so tight that the kids dread putting it on - shouldn't hurt! Rather, it should just be tighter than one of their typical pool suits.
  
• IN THE PICTURE, THE COLOR OF THE SUIT IS WRONG ON THE ONLINE STORE - do not fret! :) Unfortunately, there is no way for us to fix it but please be assured our suits are BLUE and will be the same blue as last year upon arrival.
  
• Bathing suits are scheduled to arrive the first week of practice! They are handed out upon arrival. To receive FREE SHIPPING through the team shipment, you must enter "hammondhills" into the coupon code box by the deadline of April 5th. If you do not enter the coupon code, it will charge you to ship to your home! If you do not order your suit by April 5th, there is a high possibility that you will not receive your suit until much later in the season.
• PLEASE IGNORE THE FINS & BAGS inside this bathing suit store link! Unfortunately, this is another thing we would love to change but is controlled by the bathing suit company. It won't hurt you if you order it - we just recommend going to our Hammond Hills Merchandise store & the fins link instead! Feel free to order the goggles or personalized silicon caps.
• Last but not least, please make sure to double check your suit sizes & cart load before checking out! Summer league swim suit companies order in mass shipments based on logged purchases so it's much more difficult to exchange items than through a typical store. We would love to order through a retailer but they don't supply enough inventory to meet our needs & those of the general public/all summer league teams.

Instructions on how to order:

1. Click the following link to be connected to our online bathing suit shop: http://store.swimshop1.com/hammond-hills-swim-team-c487.aspx

2. Once inside shop, you will have a list of items to choose from. You only need to click the bathing suit links, personalized silicon cap, and/or goggles. Everything else in the store you can ignore!

3. Bathing suits will have one option for color (blue). Click the sizing drop down menu to select the correct size of the suit. Also, please double check to make sure you are ordering the correct girls suit OR boys suit. We had a couple of mixups last summer!

4. Next, click the "Add To Cart" button. The bathing suit & price should immediately appear on the left hand side of the screen underneath the "Check Out" button.

5. If you wish to add more products, you either hit the back button or the blue "Hammonds Hills" Link near the top of screen. If adding a personalized cap, please make sure to write in the last name, full name, or nickname into the corresponding box before adding it to the cart.

7. When everything is ready to go, hit the check out button! Don't forget to put in "hammondhills" for the coupon code. 

8. Follow steps to set up an account if you do not already have one.Next, follow the website's directions to complete payment. Please keep an eye out for a confirmation email that your order has been processed! (Would hate to hear anyone's order didn't go through in time!)

DEADLINE FOR BATHING SUIT STORE: APRIL 5TH, 2020

MANDATORY FINS:

Just a reminder that fins are mandatory all age groups (even Junior Sharks!) Swimmers will be required to have their fins on the first day of practice this season.. You cannot pick the color fin you want (rather the color change depending on the size of the fins). Please note that the fins should be directly shipped to your house and not the pool.

Because kids grow so fast, do not feel like you need to order them right this second! That being said, if they are in between sizes, we recommend ordering up! Many times, kids will wear socks with their fins if they are a tad too big. The socks prevent the fins from popping off. We will not have fins at the bathing suit fittings this year for try ons. Please see the link to the sizing chart! Fins fit true to size.

Why do we require flns for the season? When learning swim technique, flns give swimmers power that helps propel them on top of the water to practice the strokes correctly. Often, swimmers can develop bad habits when they do not have the stamina to maintain the correct body position in the water over longer periods of time. Fins give swim students the opportunity to build good habits into their "literal" muscle memory. In addition, our littlest friends are able to grow confidence throughout the season with end goal of swimming across the length of the pool unassisted and/or swim multiple laps in a row. IT'S SO EXCITING TO WATCH EVERYONE TO GROW WITH THIS TOOL!

Link to fins: https://www.swimoutlet.com/p/sporti-floating-swim-fins-color-23059/

Link to sizing chart for fins: https://www.swimoutlet.com/size-charts/sporti/sport-unisex-swim-fin-sizechart_s2357/

DEADLINE FOR FINS: All swimmers need them by the first day of practice. SwimOutlet is showing standard 2-6 day shipping. However, we recommend ordering fins by Sunday, April 19th in case there are any hiccups during the ordering process! 

HAMMOND HILLS MERCHANDISE STORE

Special thanks to our neighborhood pal & pool member, Emily Faucette, for setting up our awesome online merchandise store! From tanks & hoodies to swim guards & debatably the softest towels in the world, the 2020 HH Merchandise looks amazing! Sized for our littlest friends to our oldest fans, these products are for anyone to enjoy. Take a look at the special notes below & then head to the link to check it out!

• Swimmer T-Shirts are included in online registration; the merchandise store is only for any additional merchandise you wish to purchase. Example: T-shirts or tank tops for Mom & Dad; Towel for little sister who HAS to be like big kids - if you catch my drift!
• When ordering personalized towels, be sure to click the box that says, "Your Name Here" to personalize your order!

DEADLINES:

• Full Sublimation items take approximately 3 weeks
• All other items take approximately 1-2 weeks
• All items will be delivered to the Hammond Hills Swimming Pool at the beginning of the season (Monday, May 11th)

Link to Merchandise Store: https://hammondhillsswim.spiritsale.com/products/index.html

SPONSORSHIP CHAIR

Do you want to be duty free for ALL meets this year?! Are you the kind of person who likes coordinating small events, promoting local businesses on multiple platforms, and/or connecting to the community at large?! We are currently looking for a sponsorship chair for the upcoming 2020 season. If you are interested in taking on this position, please reach out to Coach Laney or Mary Dodd Walker as soon as you can! We appreciate you more than you know!

That's all for now, folks! Don't hesitate to reach out if you have any questions. As always, we're to help you with anything. Hope you enjoy the beautiful forecast for tomorrow! BRING ON THE SUNSHINE!

Sincerely,

Coach Laney