Welcome to the Berkeley Barracudas

This is a great opportunity to meet some of the fellow members of the Berkeley Swim Club and a perfect way to improve your swimming skills.

The league that the Berkeley Swim Club participates in is the Town and Country Swim League which starts on June 27th and concludes on Saturday August 1st with the All-Team Meet.

Saturday meets start at 9:45 AM
Evening meets start at 6:00 PM

Children are usually advised to get to the meet approximately one hour before scheduled to start. The coach will advise exactly what time he wants them there. The extra time before the meet is used to warm up and allow the children and parents to check the roster and write down what events they are swimming in.

The new coach of the swim team is Al Ledgin and he can be reached at phone 217-521-9595 or al8576@aol.com.

The swim team coordinators are: Elisa Probst Ann Piovano
464-8613 647-3061
eprobst5@verizon.net ann.piovano@verizon.net

The team swim suit and fins for the swim team can be purchased at:
Metro Swim Shop (http://www.metroswimshop.com/) store hours: M-F 10-6 Sat 9-5 closed Sunday
1221 Valley Road, Stirling (just a few feet away from Shoprite)
For swim suit orders we automatically receive the team discount, however for goggles and fins we will get discount once 12 orders for each are received.

When purchasing the bathing suit and fins be sure to specify Berkeley Swim Club, this will insure correct suit is ordered and team discount is given. If you already have short practice fins, you do not need to repurchase.

The full time practice schedule below will start once the Berkeley Heights Schools are done (June 24 is the last day). Prior to that, there will be practice schedules after school and/or on weekends. We will notify you as soon as that is determined.

Swim team practices Monday – Friday
8: 45 AM – 10:15 AM Children 13 and older or any 10 and older swimmer who qualifies by ability
10:15 AM – 11:30 AM Children 10 and under or any 11-12 who are not ready for the older group

On the Friday night before each meet there is a pasta or pizza party at the pool. There will be a sign up sheet, for donations such as fresh fruit, cookies, drinks etc. needed on the swim team board, which is located outside the office. All families are encouraged to come to the pasta party and participate by signing up to bring a pasta dish, salad or dessert. There will be a variety of things to sign up for. A volunteer (TBD) runs the pasta parties and you can any her any question pertaining to that.

There is a booster fee for each family:
$50 for 1 child, $75 for 2 children and $85 for 3 or more. The booster fee helps support the purchase of various supplies for the swim team and helps offset the fee for joining the Town and Country league. Each swimmer is also given a team t-shirt that they wear to all meets.

Each family is asked to please donate a case of water or Gatorade to the swim team. This water will be sold at the swim meets. Please bring your donation to the back of the Ladies Locker room prior to the first meet with you name marked on the case.

Berkeley Barracuda apparel will be offered for sale. Some of the things offered are sweatshirts, t-shirts & gym bags. There are quite a variety of items available with the logo. We will let you know who will be coordinating these sales.

Your participation is necessary to make the team function. We need parent volunteers in many areas. If you’d like to help out, please let Ann or Elisa know.

In order for the meet to take place we need each family to volunteer for one job at a total of 3 meets. Signups are included on the parent volunteer form.

If you cannot work during your assigned time it will be your responsibility to find another parent to cover that meet.
We also need more volunteers to learn how to Score a meet, please let us know if you are interested in learning how to Score.

If your child cannot make a swim meet, you must notify Coach Al in writing at least 4 days prior to the meet via e-mail.

You will see your child’s swimming skills develop tremendously by participating in this team. The friendships that they make will create happy memories that last a lifetime.

Thanks & we look forward to a fun season for your children and Berkeley Swim Club!!

Ann & Elisa