Intro to the Competitive Program

1. HOW DO I REGISTER?

  • BOLTS REGISTRATION IS AVAILABLE ON THE MAIN PAGE OF THE BOLTS WEBSITE.

     2.WHAT IS MY CHILDS TRAINING SCHEDULE?  

  • ALL INFORMATION REGARDING YOUR ATHLETES TRAINING SCHEDULE IS AVAILABLE ON THE THUNDERBOLTS WEBSITE UNDER THE COMPETITIVE PROGRAMS TAB.

3. WHERE DOES MY ATHLETE TRAIN ON SATURDAY MORNINGS?

  • SATURDAY SCHEDULES CAN BE FOUND ON THE BOLTS CALENDAR ON THE THUNDERBOLTS WEBSITE. THIS INFORMATION IS UPDATED REGULARLY. ANY CHANGES TO THE SCHEDULE WILL BE EMAILED.

4. HOW DO THE THUNDERBOLTS COMMUNICATE WITH THE FAMILIES?

  • E-MAIL 
    • THE THUNDERBOLTS SWIM CLUB’S (THE CLUB) PREFERRED METHOD OF COMMUNICATION IS EMAIL, SO PLEASE CHECK YOUR EMAIL REGULARLY! THE MEMBERSHIP CAN EXPECT TO RECEIVE EMAILS DIRECTLY FROM COACHES AND MEMBER OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS. IF EMAIL ISN’T AN OPTION, PLEASE CONTACT A BOARD MEMBER OR HEAD COACH FOR ALTERNATIVE ARRANGEMENTS.
       
  • WEBSITE 
    • THE CLUB’S WEBSITE IS UPDATED ON A REGULAR BASIS AND CONTAINS INFORMATION REGARDING PRACTICE INFORMATION (BOLTS CALENDAR), SWIM MEET PACKAGES, AND GENERAL INFORMATION. OUR WEBSITE ADDRESS IS www.thunderbolts.ca. 
  • BOLTS E-NEWS 
    • THE BOLTS e-NEWS IS A NEWSLETTER-TYPE PUBLICATION INTENDED TO PROVIDE MEMBER WITH UP TO DATE INFORMATION IN AREAS SUCH AS BILLING, UPCOMING SWIM MEETS, FUNDRAISING, VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES AS WELL AS A ‘SPRINKLE’ OF GENERAL INTEREST AREAS – ALL IN ONE LOCATION! IN ADDITION TO BEING SENT IN AN E-MAIL FORMAT, THE BOLTS e-NEWS CAN BE FOUND ON THE WEBSITE UNDER “BOLTS NEWS” TAB.
       
  • REGULAR INFORMATION UPDATES OCCUR THROUGHOUT THE SEASON. PLEASE CHECK http://www.thunderbolts.ca AND WATCH FOR OUR BI-WEEKLY E-NEWS TO KEEP UP TO DATE. 

5. HOW DO I KNOW WHAT I OWE?

  • FEE STRUCTURES CAN BE FOUND ON THE THUNDERBOLTS WEBSITE. YOU MUST BE LOGGED IN TO VIEW THEM. CURRENT ACCOUNTS ARE MAINTAINED BY OUR CLUB BOOKKEEPER. ALL FINANCIAL INQUIRIES SHOULD BE DIRECTED TO CHRISTINE AT [email protected]

6. WHAT IS THE FEE STRUCTURE?

6. HOW DO I PAY?

7. WHAT IS MY ATHLETES MEET SCHEDULE? 

  • ALL MEETS ARE LISTED ON THE BOLTS WEBSITE UNDER THE EVENTS TAB ON THE MAIN PAGE. EACH EVENT PAGE CONTAINS ALL AVAILABLE INFORMATION; DATES, LOCATION, MEET PACKAGES, ELIGIBLE GROUPS, INDIVIDUAL ELIGIBILITY, TIME STANDARDS, TEAM HOTEL, TRAVEL EXPECTATIONS AND MEET ENTRIES. THIS INFORMATION IS UPDATED AS IT BECOMES AVAILABLE.

8. HOW DO I GET THUNDERBOLTS EQUIPMENT?

  • REGULAR EQUIPMENT NIGHTS ARE SCHEDULED AND COMMUNICATED THROUGH E-MAIL.  PLEASE SEE THE GROUP EQUIPMENT NEEDS ON OUR WEBSITE - EQUIPMENT SECTION. 

9. HOW DO SIGN UP FOR UPCOMING MEETS? 

  • FIRST, CHECK TO SEE IF THE LISTED MEET IS AVAILABLE TO YOUR ATHLETES GROUP. IF THIS MEET HAS BEEN DESIGNATED TO YOUR GROUP THEN SIGN INTO THE WEBSITE AND CLICK ON THE MEET AND FOLLOW THE STEPS TO COMPLETE SIGN-UP. 

10. HOW IS MY CHILD DOING? 

  • IF YOU ARE LOOKING FOR UPDATES ON YOUR CHILDS PROGRESS PLEASE FEEL FREE TO TOUCH BASE WITH THEIR COACH. COACHES ARE OFTEN AVAILABLE BEFORE OR AFTER WORKOUTS. YOU CAN ALSO SET-UP MEETINGS WITH YOUR ATHLETES COACH BY CONTACTING [email protected]. COACHES ARE NOT AVAILABLE TO DISCUSS INDIVIDUAL ATHLETES DURING WORKOUTS. 

11. WHAT OTHER COMMITMENTS ARE INVOLVED IN BECOMING A COMPETITIVE FAMILY?

  • FAMILY PARTICIPATION REQUIREMENTS
    • THE CLUB IS THUNDER BAY’S ONLY NOT-FOR PROFIT COMPETITIVE SWIM CLUB. IN ORDER FOR THE CLUB TO CONTINUE TO WORK TOWARDS ITS VISION AND MISSION, ALL MEMBER FAMILIES ARE EXPECTED TO PARTICIPATE IN THE OPERATION OF THE CLUB.
  • THERE ARE MANY EVENTS AND PARTICIPATION OPPORTUNITIES WITHIN THE CLUB THAT REQUIRE THE SUPPORT OF ITS MEMBERS. FOR EXAMPLE, THE CLUB HOSTS ITS ANNUAL SWIM MEET EVERY MAY, AND IN ORDER FOR THIS MEET TO BE A SUCCESS, THE CLUB REQUIRES THE EFFORTS OF MANY VOLUNTEERS.
  • OTHER VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES INCLUDE THE FOLLOWING:
    • BOARD OF DIRECTORS
    • BINGOS
    • SWIM MEETS: ALL PROSPECTS AND INTRO PARENTS ARE REQUIRED TO COMPLETE THE INTRO TO SWIMMING OFFICIATING COURSE
    • SOCIAL EVENTS: CHRISTMAS PARTY, END OF YEAR BBQ
    • OPPORTUNITIES WILL BE AVAILABLE THROUGHOUT THE YEAR, SO IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN CONTRIBUTING, PLEASE CONTACT A BOARD MEMBER OR EMAIL [email protected] 

12. ARE THERE ANY FUNDRAISING COMMITMENTS?

  • FALL FUNDRAISER 
    • ALL THUNDERBOLTS FAMILIES ARE ASKED TO PARTICIPATE IN THE DESIGNATED FUNDRAISER. THIS IS ONE OF TWO MANDATORY FUNDRAISERS THAT TAKES PLACE THROUGHOUT THE SWIM SEASON.
  • SPRING FUNDRAISERS
    • SWIM-A-THON:
      • THE CLUB RUNS AN ANNUAL SWIM-A-THON IN THE SPRING IN CONJUNCTION WITH SWIM CANADA. PLEDGES ARE COLLECTED THROUGH THE WEBSITE, AND ACCESS TO THE WEBSITE WILL BE PROVIDED IN ADVANCE OF THE EVENT. A PERCENTAGE OF THE PROCEEDS EARNED GO DIRECTLY TO THE THUNDERBOLTS SWIM CLUB, SWIM ONTARIO AND SWIM CANADA. FURTHER INFORMATION WILL BE PROVIDED PRIOR TO THE EVENT. A TAX-DEDUCTIBLE RECEIPT WILL BE PROVIDED TO THOSE WHO PLEDGE IN ACCORDANCE WITH SWIM CANADA GUIDELINES.
      • PLEASE NOTE THAT MULTI-SWIMMER HOUSEHOLD, ONLY THE HIGHEST AMOUNT IS REQUIRED TO BE FUND RAISED; HOWEVER; ALL COMPETITIVE CHILDREN IN A FAMILY WILL BE EXPECTED TO PARTICIPATE.
  • COMPETITIVE FAMILIES WHO DO NOT RAISE THE MINIMUM LEVEL ASSOCIATED WITH THE SWIMMER’S GROUP WILL BE INVOICED FOR THE DIFFERENCE TO THEIR ACCOUNT.
  • VOLUNTARY PARTICIPATION
    • VOLUNTARY FUNDRAISERS HAPPEN THROUGHOUT THE SWIM SEASON. EXAMPLES OF PAST FUNDRAISERS INCLUDE QUIZ NIGHT, MALTESE MEAT ORDERS, BELLUZ FOOD BOXES. IF YOU HAVE ANY FUNDRAISING IDEAS, PLEASE CONTACT [email protected] 
  • BINGOS
    • THE THUNDERBOLTS SWIM CONTINUES TO PARTICIPATE IN THUNDER BAY COMMUNITY BINGOS AS A FUNDRAISER FOR THE CLUB. LAST YEAR, THE CLUB EARNING OVER $15 000 IN REVENUES FROM BINGOS. FUNDS GENERATED ARE USED TO COVER THE COSTS OF POOL FEES, TEAM TRAVEL AND TEAM EQUIPMENT.
    • EACH COMPETITIVE FAMILY WILL BE ASSIGNED 2 BINGOS TO WORK THROUGHOUT THE SWIM SEASON (SEPTEMBER 1ST TO AUGUST 31ST), SO PLEASE WATCH FOR EMAILS REGARDING YOUR FAMILY’S BINGO ASSIGNMENTS.
    • TRAINING WILL BE PROVIDED FOR ALL MEMBER WHO ARE NEW TO BINGOS. FAILURE TO MEET YOUR  BINGO COMMITMENTS WILL NOT AFFECT YOUR SWIMMER’S ABILITY TO PRACTICE WITH THE TEAM. IT COULD, HOWEVER, IMPACT YOUR STATUS AS A “MEMBER IN GOOD STANDING”, AND POTENTIALLY AFFECT WHETHER YOUR SWIMMER(S) CAN ATTEND SWIM COMPETITIONS WITH THE TEAM.
    • ANY AND ALL QUESTIONS REGARDING FUNDRAISING SHOULD BE SENT TO [email protected] ATTENTION FUNDRAISING COORDINATOR

13. WHAT IS THE POLICY ON ATHLETE SUPERVISION?

  • BEFORE, DURING, AND AFTER TRAINING SESSIONS
    • THUNDERBOLT SWIMMERS ARE UNDER THE SUPERVISION OF THE COACHING STAFF FROM THE START OF EACH TRAINING SESSION THROUGH TO DISMISSAL. PRIOR TO TRAINING SESSION AND AFTER DISMISSAL, HOWEVER, THUNDERBOLTS SWIMMERS ARE UNDER THE SUPERVISION OF THE PARENT/GUARDIAN.
  • CANADA GAMES COMPLEX POLICIES
    • AS USERS OF THIS FACILITY, THUNDERBOLT FAMILIES NEED TO BE AWARE THAT THE CANADA GAMES COMPLEX HAS A USER POLICY FOR ITS FACILITY. THE FOLLOWING KEY POINTS SHOULD BE KEPT IN MIND AND ADHERED TO WHEN IN THE FACILITY;
      • EVERYONE ENTERING THE CANADA GAMES COMPLEX MUST REPORT TO THE FRONT DESK
      • POOL USAGE: AGE RESTRICTIONS AND RULES ARE IN EFFECT. PLEASE SEE THE USER POLICY FOR FULL DETAILS.
      • CHILDREN 8 TO 12 OF AGE MUST BE ACCOMPANIED BY PARTICIPATING INDIVIDUAL 19 YEARS OF AGE OR OLDER (SOME RESTRICTIONS APPLY)
      • CHILDREN MUST BE 13 OF AGE TO USE FITNESS AREAS UNSUPERVISED – PROOF OF AGE WILL BE REQUIRED.
      • THE COMPLEX IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR LOST OR STOLEN ITEMS – DAY LOCKERS AND LOCKS ARE AVAILABLE AT THE FRONT DESK. LOCKS LEFT ON OVERNIGHT WILL BE REMOVED
      • SHOWERS, LOCKERS AND THE USE OF SAUNA AND WHIRLPOOL ARE AVAILABLE IN TWO MEN’S AND TWO WOMEN’S CHANGE ROOMS. ALSO ON POOL DECK IN THE SPECIAL POPULATION CHANGE FACILITIES TO ACCOMMODATE WITH CHILDREN OF THE OPPOSITE SEX AND PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES.
  • THE CANADA GAMES COMPLEX AIMS TO PROVIDE A SAFE FAMILY ENVIRONMENT AND REQUEST THAT PATRONS REPORT ANY UNDESIRABLE BEHAVIOR IMMEDIATELY. FOR MORE INFORMATION PLEASE REFER TO THE CANADA GAMES COMPLEX USER POLICY. http://www.thunderbay.ca/Living/recreation_and_parks/Facilities/Canada_Games_Complex/User_Policy.htm.