Good Morning Everyone!

Glad to see the sun and little bit of warmth today. For everyone dealing with busted pipes and other effects from the weather this past week, I hope your repairs are quick and complete.

A reminder that the registration for the JV Stars 2021 swim season will open on March 1. We still have some more yard signs to pass out. Please let us know if you want a sign advertising registration placed in your yard. For those who have requested a sign, we will reach out to you this week in another email.

We have received several questions about what this season will look like. Here are the COVID-19 protocols that NWAL has recommended. The season will be different this year.  Please note, some of these protocols may change between now and the beginning of the season.  

The goal this season is to get the kids back in the pool swimming! We are a swim team and we want our kids swimming.

CDC GUIDELINES

“The CDC is not aware of any scientific reports of the virus that causes COVID-19 spreading to people through the water in pools, hot tubs, water playgrounds, or other treated aquatic venues.”

The CDC recommends the following for attending sporting events such as swimming: (a) wearing PPE (face masks); (b) social distancing (keep 6 feet apart); and (c) enhanced hygiene/sanitation.

NWAL’s recommendations are directly based upon the above proactive measures which are in turn customized to apply to the summer league swimming environment, as well as deemed sufficiently practical to be adopted by NWAL teams.

COVID-19 DISLCAIMER

As part of each family’s registration, there will be a disclaimer of all liability, in addition to the typical disclaimers, by the entire family against the JV Stars, NWAL, the City of Jersey Village and associated officers, agents and members of each from any damages, injuries and illnesses that result from the contraction of COVID-19.

SCREENING

Prior to coming to the pool for any NWAL activity, everyone (swimmers, parents, guardians, volunteers, coaches) should self-screen by answering the following questions. If you answer Yes to any question, stay home.

• Do I feel sick in any way, dizzy, have a cough, have shortness of breath or difficulty breathing?
• Do I have a fever, sore throat, chills, headache, loss of taste or smell or diarrhea?
• Have I been in close contact with anyone known to have tested positive for COVID-19?

SWIM PRACTICES

• PPE
  • Masks to be worn by all coaches and volunteers during practices
  • Masks to be worn by all swimmers when not in the water or conducting dryland exercises
• Practice Group Size
  • There will only be 4 swimmers per lane during practices.
  • JV Stars have a 6 lane pool, which means that only 24 swimmers will be in the swim lanes at a time. How the team will handle age groups with more than 24 swimmers will be determined. We will either have alternating practice dates or will have swimmers alternating from swimming drills to dryland drills.
• Separation of Practice Groups
  • There will be 10 minutes between the end of one practice and the start of the next practice to allow previous swim practice group to exit the pool facility completely before the next group enters.
  • Swimmers must arrive on time for their practice time. If they are late, they will not be permitted to enter the pool area. Swimmers must also exit the pool area immediately at the conclusion of their swim practice.
  • During practices, only one adult will be permitted in the pool area for each family that has a swimmer attending the practice. No additional children will be allowed on the pool deck. The adult must wear a face mask while in the pool area, no exceptions, and social distance. There will be no chairs set out on the pool deck during practices. Adults should bring their own chair if they want to sit during practice. Adults must exit the pool area immediately at the conclusion of the swim practice.
• Restrooms
  • Only one person will be permitted to use the bathroom at a time.
  • NO ONE WILL BE PERMITTED TO USE THE BATHROOMS FOR THE PURPOSES OF CHANGING CLOTHES. Swimmers should arrive dressed to swim. We strongly encourage that swimmers use their home bathroom before coming to practice. We only want the bathrooms used for emergencies.
• Other Items
  • Swimmers will be permitted to bring their own water bottles from home. Those water bottles must be labeled with the swimmer’s name. No sharing of water bottles. Use of water faucets on site will not be permitted.
  • No food allowed in the pool area during swim practices.

SWIM MEETS

• Age Group Split-Alternate Weekends
  • This season, each swimmer will participate in up to 3 swim meets. NWAL has implemented the Age Group Split-Alternate Weekends modifications for the schedule this season.
  • The Age Group Split will be swimmers 10 years old and younger and 11 years old and older.
  • Accommodates considerably slower heat intervals (approximately 1 minute) while keeping swim meets length to approximately the same as prior years.
  • How this works, on one weekend, the 10 years old and younger swimmers will compete at either the JV pool or its opponent’s pool. The following week, the 11 years old and older swimmers will compete at the opposite pool.
• JV Stars schedule:
  • May 15, 2021 – 10 years old and younger swimmers will host the Cy-Mill at the JV Pool.
  • May 22, 2021 – 11 years old and older swimmers will visit the Cy-Mill’s pool.
  • May 29, 2021 – 10 years old and younger swimmers will host Towne Lake at the JV Pool.
  • June 5, 2021 – 11 years old and older swimmers will visit Towne Lake’s pool.
  • June 12, 2021 – 10 years old and younger swimmers will visit Copperfield’s pool.
  • June 19, 2021 – 11 years old and older swimmers will host Copperfield at the JV Pool.
• Ready Bench Modifications
  • Traditional benches will not be used. Instead rubber dots will be placed on the deck in a linear fashion to indicate where swimmers need to line up for their heats.
  • Only 1 heat at the swim blocks at a time.
• Swim meets generally
  • All swimmers and adults (including volunteers) within the pool area must wear a mask and social distance. Swimmers will remove their masks to swim their heat.
  • For meets at JV Pool, the large gate closest to Post Elementary School is ENTRANCE ONLY. The pool’s main entrance near the bathrooms and lifeguard office will be EXIT ONLY
  • Parents are only permitted in the pool area when their child is in the ready bench line and swimming. Capacity at the JV pool will either be 100 or 150 people at a time. The number of parents per swimmer permitted in the pool area at a given time will depend on the capacity set by the City of Jersey Village and the HOAs of the pools we will be visiting.
• Reduced volunteers:
  • Only 2 timers per lane. One timer will handle two stopwatches while the second timer will handle one stopwatch and scribe the times.
  • Number of swim deck officials will be reduced to 1 head ref, 1 deck ref, 1 starter, and 4 stroke and turn officials.
  • There will still be ready bench volunteers and computer volunteers but they will be reduced as well.
• Sanitizing
  • Sanitizing liquids and wipes will be located throughout the pool deck for swimmers and volunteers.
  • Encourage all families to bring their own sanitizing liquids and wipes as well.
  • Encourage all families to bring their own Sharpie marker. Team will not provide Sharpie markers for checking in or writing heats on swimmer’s arms.
• Face Masks
  • Swimmers will remove their masks immediately before their heat. We recommend each swimmer have a plastic bag with their name on it so that they can place their mask in the bag during their heat to prevent the mask from getting wet. Immediately upon finishing the heat and exiting the pool, the swimmer must place the mask back on.
  • For 10-years old and younger swimmers, same protocol as above will apply except that we recommend a parent accompany their child to the swim block. That parent will be responsible for transporting their swimmer’s mask to the other end of the pool.
• Restrooms
  • Will be open during swim meets. Only one person at a time permitted in the bathrooms in the pool area. Periodic restroom sanitation visits of the bathroom in the pool area will occur throughout meet.
  • NO CHANGING CLOTHES IN THE BATHROOMS. Swimmers should arrive dressed to swim.
• Concessions
  • To be determined. NWAL’s recommendation is that only pre-packaged food be sold and all sales be by credit card.