How does a falcon fly so fast? Streamline!

     The falcon can reach speeds of 200mph plus when diving for prey thanks to its powerful chest muscles, broad wingspan, and, you guessed it, perfectly streamlined body! What does this mean for you? Surely you have heard coach Marie or Laurel constantly repeating the word "streamline". Just as the falcon can use streamlining to attain speed, so can you. From the moment you enter the water to the push off each wall, you have the opportunity to improve your speed and achieve a best time by simply stretching your body into a tight, streamlined position. Poor form causes more drag (resistance) on the body. This creates the need for you to exert more effort to cover the same distance. Streamlining helps to propel you through the water faster, extending the distance and speed of your break out start and minimizing time lost on walls. So again I ask, "What does this mean for you?" Be the Bird!

Becoming a Parent Volunteer

     Becoming a parent volunteer is easy and strongly recommended to help make running the team smooth and trouble free. There are several ways to volunteer, and you can do any one or more:

• Time - Timing is very easy and has its advantages. You get a front row view of the swimming and diving action along with the opportunity to wish your athlete luck before he/she competes. We need one timer per lane to capture and record a watch time and activate the touch pad should the timing system fail or a swimmer miss the pad. It's literally as easy as pushing a button. Before the start, you circle either boy or girl, and the event being swum. For example, if the next event is the girl's 200 free, you simply circle "girls" and "200 free". At the sound of the start, you start your watch. When the swimmer finishes, you stop your watch and the touch pad. The next step is to record the time on your timing slip which will be collected by the runner. Ideally, we would have a back up timer start an extra watch in case any timer misses the start. Unfortunately, we lack the number of volunteers needed to fill all the jobs.
• Runner -  The runner's job is to collect the time slips from each lane and take them to the timing table. This is done after each event.
• Concession stand - Volunteering for the concession stand has advantages similar to timing. The biggest is you aren't in the pool area in the stifling heat. Second, like timing, when your diver/swimmer is up to compete, you can step onto the pool deck to watch them. Of course, this requires a minimum of two concession volunteers so while one is watching their athlete, the other is watching our concessions.
• Concession stand manager - Acting as the concession stand manager does not mean you have to work the stand every meet. Your job would be maintaining the concession sign-up sheets and calling each person the night before to remind them of what they signed up to bring.
• 50/50 - Another very easy job. There are a few ways in which you can sell 50/50. You can wait until the meet has started and walk through the stands or you can set up early and catch spectators as they fill the stands, then do a round after everyone has been seated. It's also nice to do a round on the pool deck so deck volunteers have the opportunity to buy. 
• Senior Night Committee - The senior night committee would plan the activities for senior night, including but not limited to: arranging for and ordering balloons, gifts (if planned), pizza (if planned), lining up the seniors for the parade, introducing the seniors and reading their bios, arranging for photography, designing the programs, etc. Our president and secretary have a senior this year, so volunteers are desperately needed.
• Banquet Committee -  Some of the duties of the banquet committee are organizing and securing a venue, alerting parents to what covered dishes to bring, designing the program, set up, organizing the gifts, etc.
• Donations - Donations consist of food and/or drinks and 5.00 cash for pizza money. 

     If you wish to sign up for one or more of the volunteer positions, please see our team secretary, Denise Urie.