Weekly Message - October 4, 2020

Monty Hopkins

Hello MAST Families,

Storm Policy - Last week a thunderstorm rolled in and the decision was taken to clear the pool.  Being new to the team and the facility I was unsure regarding the Milford School System policies and the structure of the pool.  There is a lot of information on safety of indoor pools to be found online and as it turns out it is safe to continue swimming in the Milford Pool as it meets the requirements for being bonded and grounded.  This information was confirmed by Jeff Johnson - see below. 

In the future we will not end practice if there is a typical storm in area but will ask everyone to seek shelter if there are direct lightning strikes in the area and, of course, in the event of a weather emergency such as a tornado.  If you, as a parent, are not comfortable with this policy please let your coach and your swimmer know that you wish your child to be permitted to exit practice if a thunderstorm is active inside a five mile radius.  

From Jeff Johnson - Director of Business and Operations.  Milford Exempted Village School District.

Pool Safety during storms:

  • The pool is bonded and grounded. 
  • I don’t know of any issues or policies that prevent the pool from being used in a storm.

Practice Group Updates:

  • Black 2 & 3 – Please begin bringing resistance bands to practice starting next Monday, October 12
  • Red 1-2 will remain combined on Friday but will be subject to capacity restrictions    
  • Note practice time for Black 1, Red 1 and Red 2 now ends at 8:00 pm
  • Note Correction - Red 2 Begins at 4:15 pm and Ends at 6:00 pm

Important items that have not been finalized:

  • Suit Fitting - A date, or dates, will be announced soon.  Coordinating with Swimville, staffing (thanks to the parents who have volunteered to help) and permission from the school has been a little slow in getting resolved.
  • Swim Meet - We are working on plans for an intrasquad meet.  More news to come.
  • Invitational Swim Meets are not yet approved - this is mostly a state of Ohio Health Department situation. 

It is hoped that we can get back to a somewhat normal swimming season soon, but for those impacted by Covid and the associated challenges we at MAST hope for the best outcome for you and your families.

Perfect Practice Attendance - Congratulations to the following swimmers who had perfect practice attendance for the month of September:

Red 1 - Leighana Harmon, Patrick Leitz, Ella Miele, Addie New, Emma Nickum, Cora Otten, Brayden Powers and Allie Wahl

Red 2 - Jacob Eminger, Lyra Gammel, Ellyanne Gammel, Kinley Osburne and Taylor Wethington

Black 1 - Dylan Chapman

Black 3 - Cate Alston, Morgan Clark, Molly Craycraft, Sophia Otten and Abbey Sauers

It's worth noting that with school starting there are some conflicts that will arise.  Swimming is a pretty straightforward sport:  Show up, work hard and be persistent.  There was also a very large number of MAST swimmers who may have only missed one or two practices so the habit of being consistent is strong with this team.

Have a safe evening, see you at the pool.

 

Monty