Dear Edinburgh Swim Team Parents,

Thank you for being a part of the Edinburgh Marlins Swim Team. We are off to a great start this year with a convincing victory. More important than the victory is they way our TEAM performed; organized, on-time, focused and with a smile.

If you attended MMM you saw the same thing I saw, a great TEAM dynamic. We have the best kids and the best coaches!!!

In the few times I have addressed the team, you've heard me say that we are not a "win at all costs" team. Our priority is the welfare, development, and enjoyment of the swimmers and I believe this year we continue to carry that tradition.

With the above mentioned, I want to address the issue of "no-shows" and last minute cancellations. As you well know, we always work very hard to inform all swim team parents about the importance of their participation, and this is repeated in the registration process, and at the parent meetings. This year, due to the size of the team, it is more critical than ever to ensure we have enough volunteers and that we know ahead of time if there is going to be an absence.

For our first meet, we had approximately 40 swimmers absent, and half were unexcused and last minute absences. Our written policy (each family signed the volunteer form) is that no-shows are subject to having their swimmers suspended from the next meet and we will be enforcing this policy this season. Those of you who, for whatever reason, did not show may be upset about this, but we are doing it as a result of the upset it causes the team. As a parent, you have no doubt noticed how exciting the relays are, and by far these are the most popular events with the children. Already in our first meet we had to deal with tears from some of the children whose relay team was missing that one swimmer than never bothered to let us know they would not be coming. It is so unfair that 3 swimmers would have to suffer for a parent's (not their own) lack of consideration for the team.

We know that there are circumstances beyond our control that may cause us to be late or absent, but with that in mind we ask you to plan ahead. Use the web site as a resource. This should be your first step. Telling the coaches or another parent is a nice courtesy, but we want written documentation first. A word to the coaches or swim team committee is much appreciated, but not in lieu of the written notice.

I want to thank you again for being part of our team and look forward to seeing EVERYONE at our next meet.

Regards,

Camilo DenBrok