Congrats to everyone who made our roster for this season. I’m looking forward to a fun and fast season ahead. Heads up: this is the first of several key updates you’ll see over the next few days.

Bottom Line Up Front Summary:

• Team Meeting: Tomorrow (11/21) in the Media Center during Advisory
• We are kicking off a fundraising campaign with Schoolfundr to fund our operations this season and beyond.
• Homework for each Team Member (with help from their Parents): Please come prepared with 10–15 email addresses saved in the note’s app on your phone. These email addresses should be of adults in your circle who may be interested in supporting Wootton Swim & Dive.

In the past, our end-of-season banquet was held at Lakewood Country Club, a great venue for celebrating our season. However, rising costs led to fewer team members and families attending. Last year, we switched to the school cafeteria, but many parents and team members have expressed a strong desire to return to Lakewood.

This season, we will move the banquet back to Lakewood, with a tentative date already set (details to come). To make it affordable for all athletes and families, we will increase our fundraising efforts with a goal of subsidizing the cost of attendance.

Our goal is to ensure the end-of-season celebration is an event the entire Wootton S&D community can enjoy together.

As a team, we are mostly self-funded and receive minimal financial support from the school. This has led to us operating on a shoestring budget. Along with funding the banquet, we aim to raise money for additional needs:

• Swim Caps (We provide every new swimmer with a team cap upon joining)
• Meet Supplies and Hardware
• Senior Gifts
• A New Team Banner (our old one has gone missing)
• Spirit Supplies for our Meets and Team Dinners
• End of Season Awards

I have planned several fundraisers for this season, starting with the first one, which we will launch at our team meeting tomorrow. We will be using Schoolfundr, a fundraising platform that has been highly successful for many Wootton teams. Please review the attached informational flyer for more details about Schoolfundr.

To make this fundraiser a success, we need each team member to come prepared with 10–15 email addresses of adults in your circle who may be interested in supporting Wootton Swim & Dive. This list can include family members, neighbors, family friends, future Wootton S&D families (such as friends from your summer teams), and others in the Wootton community.
Please come prepared for tomorrow’s meeting. We need everyone’s engagement to make our fundraiser—and our season—a success.

Thank you,

Patrick