Good evening everyone and welcome back to the Lopatcong Swim Team!

Attached is a PDF of our training groups for June 14. This is subject to change, and there are ALWAYS changes. First day of practice and the evaluation day is on June 14th, at Eddyside Pool in Easton.

1. All Groups: Monday - Friday
2. Group A: 8:30 - 9:55 am
3. Group B: 10:05 - 11:05 am
4. Group C: 11:15 - 11:45 am
5. Group E: 11:00 - until done (approximately 3-5 minutes per swimmer)

We have three goals this season related to how our team responds to the COVID pandemic. These goals dictate how the team will operate.

Lopatcong Swim Team Goals:

1. Be Safe, Diligent, Resilient
2. Transition to pre-pandemic activities
3. Maintain flexibility in responding to CDC & PA COVID guidelines

According to current Pennsylvania and CDC guidelines, vaccinated individuals may return to pre-pandemic activities, whereas unvaccinated individuals should continue with masking and social distancing. This is largely on an individual family basis for compliance when choosing to be involved in activities. Further, as a recreational sports team, we may only run minimally restrictive swim practices if we organize a vaccinated training cohort which remains separate from our unvaccinated cohorts.

As a result of CDC guidelines and with our team goals in mind, Group "A" is our designated vaccinated cohort for 13/above aged swimmers. The Lopatcong Swim Team expects each swimmer in this group to be vaccinated prior to the start of their participation. We will not be verifying vaccination cards, but instead relying upon family compliance to ensure their swimmer's safety on this matter.

With this in mind, there are only three possibilities for Group A swimmers:

1. Swimmer is 13/Above and is vaccinated, they’re good to go.
2. Swimmer is 13/Above and chooses not to be vaccinated. This swimmer’s family accepts the risks of COVID exposure knowing that vaccinated individuals may spread the disease to unvaccinated individuals. This is the primary reason all families are required to sign the COVID waiver. Again though, it is the expectation that all families who choose to participate in Group A, will choose to be vaccinated.
3. Swimmer is 13/Above and has not had the opportunity to be vaccinated yet, but will wait to participate until after their vaccination date.

Since Pennsylvania is not requiring official state vaccination cards which can be verified, nor is Pennsylvania dictating specific procedures for youth camps beyond referring to the CDC, which itself states are guidelines only and not mandates, it seems illogical that a swimmer can go to an indoor restaurant, no one asks for a vaccination card, doesn’t wear a mask, and doesn’t socially distance, but when that same swimmer goes to an outdoor, chlorinated pool, with three feet social distancing, in a group designated for vaccinated individuals, the swim team would be held to a higher standard than most other organizations in the state. Therefore, if you choose to participate in Group A while unvaccinated, the risk is solely yours.

Please contact Coach Drake if you have any questions or concerns about the above.

Groups "B" and "C" are unvaccinated or mixed vaccinated groups; therefore, COVID mitigation procedures will be strictly enforced.

• All Training Groups: Health Screening & Check-in required.
• Training Group A: Less COVID restrictions; vaccinated cohort; ages 13/above only. We will maintain cohort separation from other training groups, swimmers will only be kept at three feet distance from each other (about one arm's length), masks will not be required, and there is no maximum per swimmer lane requirement.
• Training Groups B & C: COVID mitigation enforced; B = ages 8-14; C = 10/Under. Masks required on deck for athletes and coaches when closer than 6 feet. Designated areas for each athlete to store their belongings, with foot traffic flow in one direction. In the pool, a minimum of 6 feet will be required and no masks while swimming (2-5 swimmers only per lane maximum to maintain distance requirements), and exhaling into the water while resting will be instituted. We will maintain cohort separation between training groups.
• Eval Group E on June 14th: COVID mitigation enforced (masks & social distancing until directed into the water).

See you on deck!

Coach Drake