Track news for the week of March 3

Here we go, everyone! The season is starting up...

• Mini-meet this Saturday, March 9

This coming Saturday is our mini meet held at College Park High. Setup crew and volunteer signups person should plan to be on the field at 11:00am, and the first shift should be signed in and ready to go by 11:30. We're going to try for a noon start. Always check Twitter or the web site if the weather looks gloomy.

The mini-meet is a good time to experience the workings of a track meet before our regular season begins. It's also a chance for the athletes to try out some of the skills they've learned at practices.

Like last year, I've extended an invitation to the St. Perpetua/St. Monica/Santa Maria team from the Lamorinda area to come run with us. Please be welcoming and accommodating to their parents and athletes.

We'll conduct this meet like a regular-season one, with the following tweaks:

- The 50m and 100m races will all be on the home side, not split up
- We will probably not run the 4x400 and sprint medley relays at the end
- Since this is not a league meet, we don't have ribbons, but we are still recording all results

•  Volunteer jobs

I've assigned volunteer jobs based on the sheets from the signup nights, and on emails since signups. This is posted on the web site:

http://ctktrack.org/2013_mini_meet.pdf

I tried to mix in new families with more experienced ones as much as possible. Remember to keep perspective, bring your sense of humor and your patience, and keep in mind that we're doing all of this work for the athletes' enjoyment.

If you need a refresher on the jobs, there's a write up on the team site:

http://ctktrack.org/meet_jobs.shtml

There are many gaps in Saturday's schedule. I've asked St. Perpetua's parents to try and help out where they can, and we always have tremendous gratitude for those families that can work extra shifts. Trust me: the meet goes faster when you're working a job.

We have many openings in the second shift at the mini meet, and for meets during the rest of the season. Even if you don't sign up in advance, you may come to the volunteer sign-in person before a shift and see if there are openings. There's usually plenty to go around.

If you haven't signed up to work at other meets, please check the team schedule and let me know which Saturdays you are available. We have more openings in the latter part of the season.

• Meet locations

We have the locations for our first three league meets:

March 16 - Ygnacio Valley High
March 23 - Diablo Valley College
April 6 -  Ygnacio Valley High

We don't yet know the locations for meets after April 6. I'll let you know as soon as I find out.

Ygancio meets start at 9:30am, the DVC meet starts at 9:00am. The schedule page has all the details:

http://ctktrack.org/schedule.shtml

• Rent-a-student at YVHS is back

Returning families are surely pleased to see those Ygnacio Valley High meets, because the "rent-a-student" program is back again in 2013. For $25 per shift, you may hire an eager high school athlete to work in your place at a YVH meet.

To hire a student, do the following at least one week in advance of the meet:

1. Tell me the date and shift(s) you want to have a student work in your place
2. Get me $25 per shift in cash or in a check made out to CTK CYO Track 

Please hand me the payments at practice in an envelope with:

• Your name on it
• The date of the meet and the shift(s) you are hiring

I gather all the fees and write a single check to YVH from the team. You must pay through our team in order to receive volunteer credit. Please don't wait until the day of the meet to do this -- we need to give a count in advance to YVH.

• Uniforms

As I type this, there are several large boxes of shirts and sweatshirts in the middle of my living room. They're destined for our super-sorter, who will soon appear at practice with a van full of clothing to hand out. If you still owe money for a shirt, I have emailed you already. You can pay me at practice, or to one of the sorters when you pick them up. Make sure we know who you are so you can get credit and get your athlete's shirt.

Once the shirts and sweatshirts have been worn, they are yours to keep. Please put your name in the sweatshirts. Lost and found is big enough without orphaned team sweatshirts.

We can try to swap up or down a shirt size if you mis-judged or if your athlete grew (or shrunk?), but your selection is limited to whatever surplus we have on hand. We can only accept new, unworn shirts in exchange.

I ordered a few extra sweatshirts in youth and adult sizes, if you or your athlete is feeling the pangs of peer pressure. They are $30, and again, they'll be from our surplus inventory. You'll be glad you have them for those cool mornings at the track.

• Practices this week

We use as much sunshine as we can get: practices go from 5:00 until 6:05pm this Tuesday and Thursday.

Please remember to meet in the middle section of the stands, out of the way of the high school team.

• Full refund period is over

If your athlete is still unsure about track, be aware that withdrawing from the team will only net you a 50% refund of the enrollment fees until March 16. Uniforms and sweatshirts are non-refundable after they are handed out.

After March 16, there are no refunds. I will still need to know if you are leaving the team, though.

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I think that's more than enough for this week -- see you at the track!