Dear Herndon Swim League Parents and Friends,

Welcome to another year of swimming! This season will mark the 36th year of swimming for the league and the 26th year for the All-League Meets. The league was founded in 1983 with only six teams; we have now grown to nine teams. 

This year we will continue to use the revised format for our season-ending meets, the All-League Meets. As in the past ten years, 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 21, again at Four Seasons, beginning at 7:25 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. In order to make the number of swimmers in the Championship and the All-Star portions of this meet more equal, the changes made in qualification times adopted a few years ago will be in use again this year. 

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. The league has attained IRS 501(c)3 status as a charitable organization which will make it easier to solicit donations. We now have a Donations Form on our website, as well as a form to solicit advertising for the All-League Meets program. 

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 or for the Silent Auction. 

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. The scholarships will be awarded on July 21 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 June 25 to the Team Representative who will submit the application by July 1. 

We are continuing an additional fundraising effort this year, primarily to raise additional scholarship funds. The Eighth Annual Silent Auction will be held between June 28 and July 12 online. We hope to have more prizes than we had last year. Anyone can bid on these items, so you can invite family or friends to participate. We are also accepting donations of prizes for the auction. If you have a business or can provide a service or item, or know someone else who would like to participate as a donor please advise your team representatives. Each year we have been able to raise the number of scholarships awarded as a result of a successful auction, we hope to be able to do the same this year. 

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. In addition, Papa John’s has donated funds to support a portion of our Scholarship Program. 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 donors who help the league. Please thank these businesses and merchants when you visit their stores. 

We are participating in the Dining for Dollars promotion with Glory Days again this summer from May 1 through July 31. 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 May, June and July and then turn them in to your team rep. 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. 

We will be continuing this year with our restaurant fundraisers, which were started three years ago. These help raise additional funds to help support the league. They will be scheduled at local restaurants during the season, please plan to attend as many of these with your friends and family as you can. 

The league has a new website where you can find a wealth of information about the league. Please note the new website is located at hsl.swimtopia.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, primarily for referees and stroke and turn judges, are scheduled for Wed., June 6 at 7:00 PM and Mon., June 11 at 7:00 PM at the Herndon Community Center. 

This year the League will continue to use social networking sites which are a great way to keep updated on what’s going on in the League. We have a Facebook page and a Twitter account. On Facebook, search “Herndon Swim League” to find us, there is also a link on the league website home page. On Twitter, search for “Herndon Swim League” or go to twitter.com/HerndonSwimLeag (please note you have to drop the u and the e) and there is also a link on the Facebook page. Like us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, and encourage your children who have the sites to do the same! 

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 another great season!

Sincerely, 

Bill Liedtke

Bill Liedtke
Commissioner
hslcommissionerbill@yahoo.com

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For Parents new to swimming please also check out  - US Swimming Parents Page