Volunteer signups for relay meet now open

Relay meet scheduling is up

You should have received an email from Signup Genius about our signup schedule for the Mary Chatterton relay meet on Satuday April 11th. Please dig around your spam folder if it didn't appear.

Here's a direct link to the event:

http://www.signupgenius.com/go/20f0b49aeab2aa3f94-20152/26424140

This is our first use of online scheduling, so Gina and I thank you in advance for your patience as we sort out the details. We'll be getting the remaining meets for the season up as soon as we can.


If you requested a specific position at signup night, we'll fill your name in on that job. Otherwise, please re-signup for a job on that weekend. We know that schedules change, and don't want to tie your commitments to your calendar from back in January.

Families with upcoming First Communions

You will very likely miss one or both of the last meets in April. Hopefully you have enjoyed track and your athlete wants to return next season. Missing the Qualifying Meet on the 25th means that your meet season ends (and you get your weekends back.)

Make sure you're figuring in First Communion retreats and ceremonies when you are scheduling your shifts. They're far more important than a track meet, honest.

Track news for the week of March 29

Meet #3 recap

At the risk of sounding like a broken record, I hope everyone enjoyed our meet at YVH, and the chance to run against some different teams. Another nice day, and we were done quickly.

There are only two events left before the start of championships. Athletes need to have participated in at least two of the practice meets to be eligible for Qualifying on April 25th. If you've only made it to one of the CYO meets so far, please be present on April 18th for the final practice meet.

Lost and Found

It runneth over! The full list is online:

http://ctktrack.org/lost.html

I picked up about five or six more things yesterday that I need to document, too. Please email me to claim something, and I'll bring it to practice.

Meet #1 and #2 results online

Every athlete should have a page on Athletic.net now. Find and click their name on the team's "Season Records" page:

http://www.athletic.net/TrackAndField/AthleteRecords.aspx?SchoolID=28336

If you notice a missing result, please let me know and I'll try to locate it in the league's master list:

http://ctktrack.org/dvcl/results.shtml

Athletes get mismatched in the results if their sticker number is hard to read. If you're working an event, please make sure to print neatly on the sheets.

Some of our athletes from the first meet magically floated into other parishes because of sticker number typos. I can update them and deal with any missed ribbons if you alert me to the problem. I found a few from meet #1 and am getting the corrections ready to print.

Practice this week: Tuesday March 31 only

We'll practice at Pleasant Hill Middle school again this Tuesday, 5:00-6:30pm.

On Thursday, however, we get the day off. Easter break starts Thursday, April 2, and all CYO activities halt for the weekend.

No matter how your family celebrates spring, please enjoy your long weekend break from track, and save the black jellybeans for me.

Meets after Easter

Our post-Easter schedule is now up on the team site:

http://ctktrack.org/schedule.html

Short version: we're at DVC on Saturdays. That's good news. DVC is a beautiful facility, and right across the street from College Park. The relay meet, practice meet #4, and our Qualifying meet will be held there on Saturdays starting April 11.

Because it's DVC, we can also set up a bit sooner and run while it's a bit cooler outside. I've noted the times on the team schedule for your planning.

However, since we are at DVC, we do not have Ygnacio Valley students available for hire at our remaining meets. They will certainly be helping out at the meets held at YVH.

Thanks for your patience this season waiting for the schedules to come out. I know it's disruptive.

Volunteer shifts moving to Signup Genius

Now that we have the final season schedule, we're putting all future meets into Signup Genius to manage our super-complex shift signups.

http://signupgenius.com

The relay meet will be our first event to go online, with the remainder to follow just as soon as Gina and I can get them in place. Watch for email when we have the schedule set up and ready for registration.

Reminder to meet your minimum volunteer shifts

Your family has just three meets left to complete your volunteer requirements. Families that go above-and-beyond are automatically entered into our end-of-season raffle at the picnic for Fabulous Prizes. Families that fall short lose their volunteer deposit and their athlete's eligibility to go past the Qualifying meet. I'd rather be the good guy giving raffle prizes than the bad guy cashing checks.

Families of athletes who make it past the Qualifying meet should anticipate helping at the Saturday meets on May 2 and May 9. It's the price of success!

Save the date: Team Picnic May 31

One final thing to note: our end-of-season team picnic awards get-together is scheduled for Sunday May 31 at Pleasant Hill Park. I was able to secure our usual shady shelter (but alas, not for Saturday.)

http://ctktrack.org/picnic_site.png

This is a super-casual potluck affair. We all eat too much, recognize outstanding athletes, say farewell to the eighth graders, reward the super-helpful families, and dig through the final Lost and Found pile in all its glory.

Picnic will run about 11:30-3:30ish, with awards starting when everyone is nice and sleepy from lunch. Don't miss it!

Reminder: Meet #3 tomorrow 3/28 at Ygnacio Valley High

Hello everyone:

Our last meet before Easter break is upon us: we're back at Ygnacio Valley High again this week for meet #3.

• Setup: 8:30am (quietly)
• First shift: 9:00am
• Meet starts: 9:30am

Only the setup crew is allowed on the field before 9:00am, due to neighborhood rules. Please wait patiently in your vehicles or on the basketball courts next to the school for the gates to open at 9:00am.

Due to technical shenanigans, we just got the full volunteer list posted now:

http://ctktrack.org/2015_meet3.pdf

Sorry about the delays. Things will be smoother for the next meet!

If you're a first shift volunteer, you can save yourself some stress by locating Gina during that pre-9:00 wait time and get signed in. We have some gaps on the schedule, too, and we always appreciate families who can step in and help out.

Looks like a warm day tomorrow, please make sure you and your athletes are protected from the weather, and have lots of water. See you on the track!

Track news for the week of March 22

Meet #2 recap

I hope everyone enjoyed the hospitality at Ygnacio Valley this week -- and the shorter drive. I appreciate all the help from our volunteers, and YVH appreciates your support of their students. If you hired a helper for your family, your fees will be deposited this week and credit should be given to you for the shifts.

It may be hard to believe, but Saturday's meet marked the halfway point of our season. We have two more practice meets left with a special relay meet in the middle. That takes us to the end of April, and the start of the championships in the form of the Qualifying meet.

Meet #3, Saturday March 28, Ygnacio Valley High

But first, we have another practice meet to look forward to. We're back again at YVH this week, though running with different teams. The league tries to rotate all the teams around during the season so the athletes get a chance to meet and compete with the various parishes in Section 1.

On Saturday, we're co-hosting with St. Mary's, and running with St. Francis and Queen of All Saints.

Meet times at YVH are the same:

• Setup at 8:30, done quietly
• First shift starts 9:00 when the gates open
  
• First event at 9:30
  

At meet #3, the boys will run their 50m/100m on the "away" side of the track.

Hiring a YVH student for meet #3

Please alert Gina and me if you wish to hire a YVH student to help your family earn credit during the next meet. You may hire a student to cover your shift(s) at the low, low rate of $25 per shift.

Pay me at practice by handing me an envelope with your name on it and the meet (meet #3) to reserve a student. Checks made out to CTK CYO Track

You must get this to me by Thursday at the latest: we have to get our numbers to YVH so they can find a helper to give up their Saturday for you. Emailing Friday night is too late.

Practice Tuesday and Thursday as usual

PH Middle on Tuesday, College Park on Thursday, 5:00-6:30 both days.

Make sure your athletes are coming to practice well-fed and watered. As we get into warm spring weather and longer runs, we want to keep all the athletes safe and healthy.

Results and awards

Results from meet #1 are online again at Athletic.net after some technical hiccups. Ribbons from that meet are in the sorter's hands, and I anticipate them showing up at practice this week.

Results from the most recent meet will be out soon, with ribbons to follow after that for place and any personal bests set.

Please keep in mind that all the marks are hand-timed and hand-measured by you, our fabulous volunteers. The quality of the results lies literally in your hands. No pressure!

There are some rough spots as we all learn the mechanics of timely button-pushing, tape-reading, and popsicle-stick-dispensing. The key goal is fun for the athletes, not a drawer full of ribbons. Keep perspective, and enjoy the meets.

Uniforms, "spikes" and surplus

A few people still need to pick up paid-for uniforms and/or sweatshirts. I've emailed those that remain, and I'll have them at Tuesday practice for you to claim.

We have extras for sale, too. Maybe a spare for your athlete, or a sweatshirt, or even something for yourself? A few parents have already purchased our spiffy new uniform shirts, which is a testament to Coach Trish's excellent designs and your fine fashion sense.

• Shirts are $15 each, and need to be kept to your parish assignment to minimize confusion
• Sweatshirts are $35 each and are parish-neutral

Supplies are limited to stock on-hand: I have more CTK shirts, some St. Catherine's, and a few St. Stephen's shirts.

I also have a few pairs of loaner "spikes" (track shoes) in a bin that athletes are free to borrow and return at the end of the season. Donations of gently-used and outgrown track shoes are welcome, too.

I carry extras of the metal spikes, and the tool used to remove them or tighten them down.

Looking ahead

• Practice Tuesday at PH Middle: uniform pickups/sales
• Practice Thursday at College Park: last day to reserve a YVH student for meet #3
• Meet #3 on Saturday March 28, YVH
• No practice Thursday, April 2
• No meet April 4-5: Happy Easter!

Easter is approaching fast, and CYO takes the weekend off. There are no activities starting the Thursday before Easter and through that weekend. Spring break for area schools starts that week, so I know we'll not see many of you for a few days.

Signup changes afoot

My family joined up with CYO way back in the dark ages, when registration was done on clay tablets and we started races by banging two rocks together. Mercifully, times have changed.

What has not changed is the way we handle volunteer signups: those big pieces of paper and spreadsheets and lots and lots and lots of emails. (Little known fact: ancient spreadsheets have been found buried under the pyramids.) Even CYO can break free of tradition now and again, though.

We're looking to move to "Signup Genius" to handle our volunteer shift management for the post-Easter meets.

Here's the web site, if you're not familiar with it:

http://signupgenius.com

We're in the setup process now, but are not ready yet. I'll send an email when we have our meets in and are ready for signups. I hope to be organized in time for the relay meet, and set up for the remainder of the season.

Meet #2 Reminder: Saturday at Ygnacio Valley High

Hi all -- just a reminder that our second practice meet of the season is this Saturday morning at Ygnacio Valley High in Concord.

Times and Check-In

Neighborhood noise rules allow us to open the track gate at 9:00am. If you arrive early and are not on the assigned setup crew, please wait patiently on the basketball courts or in your car until 9:00am. (There's coffee right around the corner in the shopping plaza.)

• Setup crew only: 8:30am on the field
• First shift: 9:00am once gates open
• First event: 9:30am

Gina is going to be our team sign-in person again this week. She should be on the blacktop if you want to get checked in before the meet opens. Once the stampede begins, look for her around the finish line tents at the start of the meet and during the shift changes.

Athletes should report to coaches on arrival to get their stickers. Our spiffy new shirts seem to resist the sticker glue, but try to keep them attached as best you can. That's how the results are recorded and tracked, so a dangling or missing sticker means trouble for the volunteers!

Meet Events

Same as meet #1, print this handy card to remind you. This week, girls will run their 50m and 100m down the "away" side of the track, provided we have volunteers to cover it.

Splitting up this event helps the meet wrap up faster. If you're not working a job, feel free to come around to the opposite stands near the end of the boys' 400m and cheer the girls on. It's lonely back there!

Meet Rules

A refresher for everyone:

Signed-in volunteers and athletes ONLY on the field and at events

Only checked-in volunteers and coaches/officials with their badges are allowed "in" the meet. Everyone else is officially considered In The Way and will be asked kindly-yet-firmly to sit down in the stands.

If your athlete flakes out and misses their event, then it's a Life Lesson, and we'll encourage them to run another one instead. They should be getting the hang of it by now, and the coaches are there to remind them. They have to practice independence, too, since they aren't allowed escorts in the championship meets.

Families who have trouble remembering this rule will find their athletes disqualified from the meet and stricken from the meet results. Don't risk it! Please, stay in the stands.

No food or drink on the track or turf, only water

I depend on my morning iced coffee, but I can't enjoy it on the field. Alas!

A few of our coaches noticed adults eating on the field at Granada last week. Please set a good example for the kids, and keep the facility clean by eating in the stands or outside the track fences.

This is a rule at every facility we run at: food and drinks ruin the very expensive turf and track surfaces.

Track news for the week of March 15

Meet #1 recap

Our first official CYO meet of 2015 is in the bag! Here's what happens next:

• Results from the meet are keyed in by the league and will be sent to coordinators
• After we've corrected any obvious errors, they get published online
• I'll clean them up and post to our team page on Athletic.net  

Gina will be compiling the sign-in sheets to bestow credit upon your families. You're not penalized if you were unable to attend, but you are still responsible for meeting your family requirements this season. Thanks to all the families who braved sun and humidity (and no-shows!) to work. Your participation was greatly appreciated.

The first meet always has a few rough edges. (The hunt for the PA microphone comes to mind...) Volunteers and athletes get better as the season progresses, and by the Qualifying meet we're all champions of efficiency. This is a practice meet. We get more chances to practice.

Remember to keep perspective! This is all about the athletes having fun, and they had plenty of that. I checked.

Ribbons and other paraphernalia

The league manages our meet results. The top three finishers in each race heat and field event should receive a ribbon at a future practice. Placement at practice meets is determined by grade and gender: if we combined heats at the meet, the results are sorted out afterward.

Our team tracks personal bests, and hands out special gold ribbons. Returning athletes who broke their own records from previous seasons will get a ribbon at practice. First-time athletes now have set a mark for themselves to try and beat in the future.

Finally, we have a special "7-up Club" for athletes who set a mark in seven or more different individual events during one season. Relays don't count towards this total. There's a fancy embroidered patch that we'll start giving out after the third meet.

Practice:  Tuesday at PH Middle, Thursday at College Park

We're on our dual-locations for the rest of the season. Tuesday at Pleasant Hill Middle School, Thursdays at College Park. Practices are 5:00-6:30pm thanks to extra daylight.

Check Twitter (@ctktrack) or the front page of the team site for weather updates by 4:00pm on practice days.

Meet #2: Saturday March 21, Ygnacio Valley High in Concord

• Setup: 8:30am (quietly)
• First shift/athlete check-in: 9:00am
• Meet begins: 9:30am

Our next meet is at Ygnacio Valley High. Those of you who made it to the War Path will find it very familiar.

Because of neighborhood rules, we can't allow any athletes on the track before 9:00am, though I'll permit setup crew kids only if you have no other care arrangements and they can be quiet. No footraces in the bleachers or shouting.

Once the gates open at 9:00, we'll try to get everyone assembled. We may be able to do volunteer check-in outside the gate before 9. I'll send an update if we can arrange it.

Students-for-hire at YVH

You may hire a high school student to work for you at Saturday's meet. Hooray!

Here's the process:

1. Let both me and Gina know of your intent-to-hire. Gina will mark it on the schedule, and I will get a count for YVH. Gina's contact details are on the "Volunteers" page
2. Hand me an envelope at practice with your name on it and $25 per shift inside. Checks should be made out to the team: "CTK CYO Track"
3. The team pays the total amount to YVH and I deposit your payments after the meet

We must know in advance. You cannot show up Saturday morning and expect a student to be available. Thursday is your last day to notify us both and get payment to me.

Families already scheduled to work have first priority, and all hires are subject to YVH student availability. Don't delay!

Looking ahead

• Tuesday & Thursday practices 5:00-6:30pm
• Saturday March 21: meet #2 at YVH
• Saturday March 28: meet #3 at YVH
• Thursday April 2: start of Easter weekend

We have a meet scheduled at the end of next week on the 28th, and then Easter is upon us. There are no CYO activities starting the Thursday before Easter and continuing through that weekend.

If you're around during spring break week, we'll have a special meet the weekend after, but that's another newsletter. Keep your eye on the schedule page and I'll let you know what the league has in store for us in the weeks to come:

http://ctktrack.org/schedule.html

Meet #1 Sunday March 15, Granada High, Livermore

Hello families, just a recap for tomorrow:

Times: earlier is better

• Setup starts: 11:00am
• First shift starts: 11:30am
• Meet starts: 12:00pm

If you are working the first shift, expect a line at sign in. Arriving earlier at a track meet is always better than arriving late.

Volunteers must check in with their parish to get a sticker and credit.

Gina Marks is the CTK/SC/SS check-in person this week, and is planning to do sign-ins by the snack shack: it's a cinder-block building on your right as you come through the main gate into the stadium.

The volunteer assignments are fixed, so if you're not in place when your shift begins, then we will need to find someone else to work it and earn credit instead.

Athletes

Check in with coaches at arrival to get a numbered sticker. This high-tech mailing label needs to be worn in a visible place all day to register for events and have times and distances correctly matched up.

If an athlete is dressed in layers -- recommended! -- then put the sticker on their uniform, or whatever they plan to run in.

Remember to bring water -- just water -- in a bottle labeled with your name on it. Keep your stuff together, and take it home at the end of the day!

Events

Athletes choose the events at the meet, with guidance from coaches. Sign-ins are done at the field event, and race sign-ins are on the field. There will be big signs set up for each grade on the field. Look for volunteers bearing clipboards.

This week, the boys will run their 50m and 100m races on the "away" side of the track, opposite the finish-line side. When that race is called, boys will need to report across the field to the special "middle shift" clerks.

Girls will run their 50m/100m simultaneously down the "home" side, and check in at the usual place. (Next week we'll switch.)

The order of events is on this printable card and below:

1600m
4x100m relay 
400m
50m – grades 2-5 only 
100m
800m
200m
Sprint medley relay 
4x400m relay

Field events all open at once:
Long jump
Softball throw
High jump – grades 5-8 only
Shot put – grades 5-8 only

Uniforms

You don't have yours yet? Don't panic: Eva Coward is planning to distribute at least the team shirts at the meet. Sweatshirts depend on available space in Eva's vehicle and may not be there on Sunday.

Granada High

Granada High is on Wall St. in Livermore, off Stanley Blvd.

Google maps: https://goo.gl/maps/garsT

Livermore has weather all its own. Wind is usually our biggest challenge, so plan accordingly for dressing yourself and athletes.

If you are packing a pop-up tent or umbrella, set up in the top row of the stands so you don't block other's views or the announcer booth. There are some grassy areas outside the track, too. Remember the tie-downs: you'll likely need them.