Team Swimsuit Try-On and Purchase Day!

Friday, May 10th from 4:30pm to 6:30pm
Silverlake Pool

Come by Big Horn BBQ and get your team t-shirt, swim cap and goodies from our sponsors!

We welcome our Coaching Staff for the 2024 season!

Dear Pearland Pirates Family!

​Please remember to Register by this Saturday to ensure that we are able to get your shirt ordered!

Welcome to the kickoff of the 23rd year of Pirates swimming! There is a lot of important information in this so please read carefully! The 2024 Season is coming up soon! We have a lot of important dates coming up so please read this email in its entirety!

​Please register by April 20th so we can make sure we have a team shirt and bag for you! This will be our 23rd year swimming and we don’t want you to miss out!

​We are so excited and happy to announce our coaching staff for this 2024 season!

• Head Coach – Michele Gatlin. Coach Michele is the Assistant Aquatics Coach at Dawson High School and also teaches French. She is excited to bring fun and energy to our summer team at the practices and meets! She is also excited about our Fun Friday practices! Coach Michele and her husband have twins that play collegiate water polo and lacrosse and have just finished their freshman year in college. Welcome Coach Michele!

​o Assistant Head Coach – Laura Rozelle. Coach Laura is returning this year, and we are so happy to have her back! Coach Laura just finished her freshman year at SFA and is looking forward to working with all of our new and returning swimmers! Coach Laura is excited to be back on deck!

o Assistant Coach – Lucy Ewart. Coach Lucy is a graduating senior at Dawson High School where she was a 4-year Varsity Swim and Water Polo player. She swam competitively for RICE Aquatics for many years! Coach Lucy is excited to help all the swimmers improve their swim technique and drop time! She has been a Pirates Jr coach for the last 3 years and swam for Pirates since she was little. Coach Lucy plans to attend Univ of Georgia in the fall!

o Assistant Coach – Maddie Newell – Coach Maddie is also a graduating senior at Dawson High School has also been a 4-year Varsity Swim and Water Polo player. Coach Maddie swam competitively for PEAK since she was young as well as a Pirates summer league swimmer. Maddie has been Jr Coaching for the Pirates for the last 3 years. Maddie is very excited to help the swimmers feel confident in the water and gain a love of swimming! Maddie will be attending Texas A&M in the fall!

​Here are the current nominees for Board Positions. Please let the board know if you would like to nominate someone for one of the open positions. We are still in need or 2 to 3 board members to ensure we have a smooth season as well as continue to have successful seasons in the future! Please email the board at pearland.swim.board@gmail.com if you would like to volunteer for one of the open board positions. We would love to have you join us!

Board members:

• President – Jason Sharp

• VP Ways and Means – Lauren Witte

• Treasurer – Ron Hatter (interim)

• Secretary – Candace McCormick

• At Large #1 – Kori Spruce

• At Large #2 – Taryn Melgoza

• At Large #3 – Josh Hamer

• At Large #4 – Rebecca Del Puerto

• VP Operations – OPEN

• Treasurer – OPEN

Non-elected positions:

• Head official – Troy Orsi

• Clerk – Sarah McDowell

2024 Registration

• Registration opens for all new and returning swimmers is OPEN!

• Must register by April 20th to guarantee a Pirates shirt at packet pickup

• Registration will be via the online registration process @ www.pearlandpirates.com (click on Registration and follow the prompts)

• Signup for pool & practice times will be on Monday, April 22nd! (ie – not a part of the registration process and will also be done through www.pearlandpirates.com)

• Please note that we are a swim TEAM and not lessons. Swimmers must be able to swim freestyle and backstroke independently (25 yards of each for 8 and under swimmers and 50 yards of each for ages 9 and up).

2024 Fee Summary

• New and returning swimmers – $185

• USA swimmer – $160

• Junior coach – No cost but ALL junior coaches MUST register!

• High School swimmer (completed 9th grade) – $80

• FAMILY MAX OF $375 – If your total is more than $375, please pay the total and the difference will be refunded to you.

.2024 Pools – For the 2024 season, we will be having practices at both Silverlake and Silvercreek pools. May practices will be after school and begin on WEDNESDAY May 14th. Summer practices will be early mornings and begin on MAY 29. Practice schedule will be similar to last year but not confirmed yet. Please check website for last years practice schedule as a guide.

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Miscellaneous

• Tryouts are required if you are a new swimmer to the Pirates (unless you are a current USA swimmer). 8 years and under swimmer will need to swim 25 yards freestyle and 25 yards backstroke safely. Ages 9 and up will be required to swim 50 yards of each. Tryouts will be at the Pearland Natatorium on SUNDAY, APRIL 21 from 3 PM- 5 PM. Please register so you will get on the list to sign up for a 15 min tryout window!

• All our new swimmers will receive a Sign Up Genius email to register for a timeslot. Emails to be sent this week!

• Packet pickup and meet your coaching staff will be at Big Horn BBQ (Pearland) on THURSDAY, MAY 16, 2024, from 5 PM- 7 PM-The flier will be sent out soon! You must show the flier during the event to ensure that Pearland Pirates receive %15 of sales. Your swimmer will be able to pick up their swim cap, team t-shirt and any goodies from our sponsors!

• The meet dates will all be held on Saturdays starting June 1st through July 1st. The schedule is now available on the Pirates website!

• The CCSL Reserve and Champ meet will be July 6th and 7th. location still TBD by the CCSL board

• Afternoon practices will begin Tuesday, May 14th and morning practices will begin on Wednesday, May 29th! Practices are Tuesday – Friday each week (pools are closed Monday for cleaning)

• Please note, we will NOT have practice on Thursday, May 16th due to packet pickup

o No practice on Friday, May 24th due to Pearland and Dawson High School graduation

o No practice on Tuesday, May 28th as the pools will be closed for cleaning from Memorial Day holiday

Volunteer Information

• Please be aware that we will NOT be offering a volunteer buy out this season. All families will be required to volunteer in some capacity at every meet that your swimmer participates in. We will have plenty of opportunities for volunteering including shorter shifts, floating positions and more! Watch for more information coming soon!

• If you are unable to volunteer during meets, there are pre-season and support positions available to you. Please reach out to the board for options.

• We are still in need of volunteers to step up and become a committee head. Please remember this fulfills your volunteer responsibilities for the year! As with all volunteer positions you will never be asked to miss your child’s events. The board and fellow volunteers will always step in so you can step away and cheer on your swimmer.

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The following committees are in need of volunteers:

• Roster Coordinator: This position will be responsible for submitting the completed roster to the CCSL with any changes prior to the start of the season and on Mondays during the meet portion of the season.

• Sponsorship Coordinator: Responsibilities include coordinating a committee of volunteers to obtain sponsors, gather sponsor information and logos, and coordination of credits for members that participate in the sponsorship/tuition program.

• Marketing/PR: We are looking for a person to head up this new committee! We want to spread the word about Pirates, our mission, the fun things we do and accomplishments our swimmers make. This will include helping with the Facebook, Instagram and Twitter account. Possible coordination of yard signs, car decals etc. May also create flyers to be distributed at nearby elementary schools prior to registration start.

• Ready area coordinator: You will be in charge of coordination of volunteers to staff the ready area during home meets. This will not mean that you work the ready area the whole time. Just make sure your volunteer slots are full and everyone arrives on time.

• RASH chair: Really Awesome Swim Helpers (RASH) is our junior coaching program. It was designed to get 6th to 8th grader ready and excited about making the transition to junior coaching. Responsibilities include coordination and signups, getting tank tops made for the kids, and coordination of signing volunteer forms for their hours for NJHS.

• Computer chair: Are you great with computers and networking? We need a point person to help out before meets will updating and maintaining equipment and during meets if the clerk needs assistance.

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Finally, stay tuned to your email, our website (www.pearlandprates.com), and our social media sites (FB and IG) for all of the latest information leading up to the season.

Please email pirates.swim.board@gmail.com with any questions!

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Aargh!!

Pearland Pirates Board

pearland.swim.board@gmail.com

New Parent Meeting – Tuesday, May 7th at 7pm