News and Announcements

Weekly News Jan 28 | Feb 4 FUNDRAISING NEWS: Did you know? Click the link above to enter Amazon and a portion of your purchases will support Blue Streak Aquatic! YOU'VE BEEN WAITING ALL YEAR AND IT'S FINALLY HERE! SWIM -A-LONG 2010! The annual Berkeley Swim-A-Long will be held the week of January 18 th for Age Group swimmers and on January 6 th for the Junior and Senior Teams. The Swim-A-Long brochure is attached and can also be downloaded from the Parents' page of the BAC website. In addition, the full schedule of amended Age Group practice can be accessed through the Athlete's page at www.berkeleyaquatic.org . Every swimmer participating in Swim-A-Long will receive the commemorative BAC Swim-A-Long Bag Tag showing the 2009-2010 time standards appropriate for his/her age group and team level. In addition, as in past years, swimmers will receive an after swim snack. Volunteers are needed to help with snack distribution and session sign-in, please contact Monique van Nispen ( Evannispen@aol.com ); and specify which session you would like to volunteer for. Each session pays ¼ point. Swim-A-Long sponsorship monies receive 100% credit toward your BAC Fundraising Obligation for 2009-2010; please make your checks payable to Blue Streak Aquatic and deposit them in the Fundraising mailbox at BAC by February 15 th . Thank you for supporting Swim-A-Long! [Click Here] to download the forms and letter! (ZIP file) 2010 BAC Ad Sales We are once again taking ad orders to be placed in our 2010 Major Berkeley Meet programs (Cera Ve Invitational in January, Short Course JO Meet in March, and the Memorial Day Meet in May.)   100% of your ad sales will be counted towards your family's Fundraising commitment fee and it's a great way to show your support for the Berkeley swimmers.  [Get the details] New Fundraising Project -- Good for You and Good for Blue! Future Training Facility Unveiled [See Jim Wood's entire presentation!] [Get all the details!] We are instituting new Fund Raising Project that will benefit all. We have enrolled in the Shop with Scrip program that enables us to purchase a variety of Gift Cards from many different vendors. You will receive an allotted percentage toward you fund raising commitment based on the vendor chosen. [Learn More] Parking at BAC during Meets During swim meets held at BAC, parents may ONLY park at Mt. Carmel or in the BAC side of the Berkeley Parking lot.   You may not park on the street, in the Liberty Mutual parking lot, etc..  This is our agreement with the town.  You may not choose to park in one of these spots. If someone is parked in one of these other spots, we will stop the meet until the offender has moved the car.   To get to Mt. Carmel, take a right out of the BAC parking lot.  Take the first left onto Lincoln.  Take the first left onto River Road.  The building on your right is Mt. Carmel.  Go past the building and turn right into the driveway and go up the hill.  Park in the field, beyond the building. DO NOT park in front of the building and DO NOT park in the back next to the building.  We suggest you follow this route to walk back to BAC to avoid the uneven and narrow path that borders Springfield Avenue. Parking Procedures: 1.  Drive to BAC and drop off your swimmers and any other passengers. 2.  IF there are parking spaces at BAC, you will be allowed to park there unless it is a dual meet.  If it is a dual meet, the visiting team will be allowed to park and BAC until the spaces are filled and we (BAC) will all park at Mt. Carmel .   3.  All adult non swimmers must get a parking pass from a parking attendant.  Passengers who are dropped off will get a drop off pass in the BAC lot.   People parking in the BAC lot will get a BAC lot pass from the parking attendant in the BAC lot.  People parking at Mt. Carmel MUST get a pass from the parking attendant at Mt. Carmel.  You will not be allowed in the meet without a parking pass.  If you don't have a parking pass, we will assume you did not park in one of the prescribed lots and you will be sent to move your car and get a pass. Turn in your parking pass at admissions when you pay your admissions fee and collect your program.   Changes at Drew University Starting September 2009, Drew BAC athletes and parents must enter the facility via the main forum doors. The location of the doors is to the left of the horseshoe (drop-off/pickup area). It is accessible by foot by walking up a grade from the parking lot. Athletes may exit the facility through the doors near the horseshoe, BUT not enter or reenter through those doors Expectations for Parents at Swim Meets As we enter the long course season we thought it was time to remind old parents and inform new parents about some expectations for PARENTS at swim meets. 1. Parents are not allowed on deck at meets. At the BAC pool, this means that parents must stay on the bleacher side of the pool. They should not be on the far side of the pool, in the marshaling area or behind the blocks (unless timing, running or officiating or going to the bathroom) At other meets, such as at Rutgers, this means remaining in the stands. Do not come down on to the pool deck. If you are on the pool deck, the meet safety marshals will ask you to leave and will probably take your name and team and report you to your swimmer's coach. The host team is required by NJ Swimming to keep parents off the deck. When we are the host team, one of the most unpleasant parts of our job is removing parents from deck. Having to remove a BAC parent is the worst of all. There is no good reason for a parent to be on deck unless a child is badly injured or ill.

The following are NOT valid reasons to be on deck: To give your child food or a water bottle To find your child's heat and lane To look at results To remind your child to kick hard or end strong or whatever other COACHING you think he/she needs To locate your child so he/she won't miss his/her race To locate your child so you can leave Swimming is great for teaching your child, even your young child, personal responsibility. The older kids will help the younger children find their lanes and heats. The coaches will coach the swimmers in practice. Your child will sometime miss a race and the world won't end but it will probably be the last race he/she will miss. Arrange with your child ahead of time for the child to meet you in the stands AFTER the meet so you don't have to go find him/her. 2. DO NOT bring any pets to any meet. This includes “purse dogs,” birds, cats, snakes, hamsters, etc.. 3. DO NOT argue with, engage in a discussion with or even approach officials or timers to complain about a call or time or situation involving your child. If proper procedures have not been followed, the coach will address it with the appropriate official. Arguing with an official is a valid reason for removing the parent from the meet. 4. Don't Coach Your Child After each race, the swimmers will warm down (if there is a warm down pool), speak to their coach for splits and a debrief and THEN come to see you. Be encouraging and upbeat with your swimmers. Don't coach—say, “Great job!” Or, “What did your coach say?” Or, “How did you feel about the race?” It can be very confusing for children when their parents are giving one piece of advice and the coach another. Let the coaches coach!

Thought for the Day

It is time for us all to stand and cheer for the doer, the achiever -- the one who recognizes the challenges and does something about it.~ Vince Lombardi (1913-1970, American football coach)

Blue Streak Aquatic, Inc., the parents' support organization of Berkeley Aquatic Club, is a non-profit 501 (c)(3) organization that supports the Berkeley Aquatic Club's competitive swim teams. The club is run by a volunteer Board of Directors elected from the membership. For more information, visit our Parent's Handbook

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P.O. Box 142
Stirling, NJ 07980

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