Herndon Swim League Parents Letter 2008

Summer 2008

Dear Herndon Swim League Parents and Friends,

Welcome to another swimming season. We are beginning our second quarter-century, having celebrated the 25th season for the Herndon Swim League last year. The league was founded in 1983 with only six teams; we have now grown to nine teams. We are also celebrating the 16th year of the All-League Meets. One new event this year is a relay meet where our league’s swimmers will swim against swimmers from the Reston Swim League. This meet will be held on July 10 at the Kingston Chase pool.

This year we will continue to use the revised format for our season-ending meets, the All-League Meets. There will still be an All-Star Meet and a Championship Meet, but they will be swum simultaneously. There will still be two sets of awards. Holding the All-League Meets at the end of the season requires a tremendous amount of planning, preparation, and workers. We are taking on this task again this year. The Championship and All-Star portions of the Meets will be held on Saturday, July 26, again at Four Seasons, beginning at 7:30 AM. The team representatives have been hard at work for the last several months preparing for these meets. Parking will be at Four Seasons, but will be limited so please plan to carpool. We are requiring that at least one parent of each swimmer work at these meets to allow them to be run smoothly. Remember, the more people that are involved, the less work that is required by each volunteer.

One important aspect of administering meets of the stature of the All-League Meets is funding. Of course, anyone that would like to donate to this worthy cause is welcome to do so. $25.00 will sponsor one event. One of the best places to look for support is the business world. If in your personal or business dealings, you know of someone who would be willing to support our League, please pursue this with him or her. In many cases, people are former competitive swimmers, or their children currently are, and they understand the importance of a healthy summer swimming program. We also accept donations of prizes for our raffle.

We have a very aggressive Scholarship Program, issuing up to six $500 scholarships each year, I believe more than any other local youth swim league offers. We will once again be honoring graduating seniors who are going on to college with these scholarships. This year eight scholarships will be available, as two were not awarded last year. The scholarships will be awarded on July 26 at the All-League Meets. We will also accept donations or memorial contributions for this worthy purpose. If you have a graduating senior, please have him or her apply! The deadline to apply is July 7.

Papa John's has once again agreed to donate pizzas at various meets during the season and at the All-League Meets. Money raised from sale of these pizzas will be put into the scholarship fund. Please support this merchant who is so willing to help our league, as well as all the other merchants you see listed in the All-League Meets program. We have an extensive list of sponsors and donators who help the league. Please thank these businesses and merchants when you visit their stores.

We are participating in the promotion with Glory Days again this summer. They will donate 10% of your bill back to the league, all you have to do is ask for a copy of your receipt during the months of June and July and then turn them in to your team rep. This offer is good on Mondays through Thursdays from 4PM to 11PM and on Sundays from 11AM to 11:30PM. Please note this offer is not available on Fridays or Saturdays. You can ask friends, family, etc. to also save and turn in their receipts, so please collect as many Glory Days receipts as you can.

The league has a website where you can find a wealth of information about the league. We now have our own website, which is located www.herndonswimleague.com. Please check this website out for the latest information. Recommendations for improvements are always welcomed. Thanks go to Deke Smith for providing this wonderful service.

In order to accomplish the league's goals, we need the help of each and every parent. The only way we can conduct meets for our swimmers is through the use of parent volunteers to manage, staff and administer every meet. The League conducts clinics each spring to provide instruction in all the major jobs performed at a swim meet. Things we will be trying to stress again this year are continued use of the Code of Conduct, and good, fair officiating. Our swimmers have worked hard to perfect their strokes, we, as officials also need to take our jobs seriously. These clinics are scheduled for Wed., May 28 at 7:00 PM and Mon., June 9 at 7:00 PM at the Herndon Community Center.

Welcome back to summer swimming for this upcoming season, and thanks in advance for all the assistance, which will be required to make this season another successful one. We need everyone pitching in to help -- after all, this League is for our children. Let's all help make this season the best season so far!

Sincerely, 

Bill Liedtke

Bill Liedtke

Commissioner

hslcommissionerbill@yahoo.com

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