As a reminder, the 2022 BBD Fall Festival meet is open for entry within your Parent Portal for ALL swimmers. Coaches expect 100% participation. Entry deadline is Thursday, October 13 at 8:00pm.

An updated meet file has been provided now, so 13-14 and 15 and over 100IM is now also an event that can be selected in session 4, as stated in the meet packet. If you would like to add this event, do not forget to select it in your Parent Portal and click SAVE before logging out.

Lastly, please remember that a parent is required to volunteer for each session that their swimmer attends at the meet. Make sure to sign up in the Parent Portal. There are still numerous positions open that are needed to be filled in order to run such a meet – no experience is needed at any volunteer position (except for officials!)

Thank you,
BBD Parent Board

Dear Parents and Swimmers,
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The first weeks of practice have been very productive and all of our groups are shaping up nicely.
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Please remember to check the website regularly for any changes in the schedule and remember to escort your swimmers into and from the building. Just dropping them off is not safe. We have already had a few swimmers dropped off at canceled practices and we have waited for parents who were late retrieving their swimmers. (Coaches will not leave until everyone is safely picked up from a workout.)
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Remember that we participate in both YMCA and USA Swimming competitions. For YMCA invitationals there are no time standards that a swimmer has to achieve before entering after the Cluster Meet when we go into state- and zone-wide competitions. USA Swimming frequently does have time standards to enter and we cannot accept entries until a swimmer has achieved those times. If and when there are exceptions we will advise you.

Remember, the group parents and coaches are ready to field your questions. Their email addresses are available on our website under “About BBD”.

We are looking forward to our first meets that are coming up in a few weeks.

Best,
Kevin

Parent Social – Save the Date
Please save the date for a Parent Social at Birmingham Country Club on Friday, October 14th at 6:00. This is always a fun evening, and an opportunity to mingle with other BBD parents and some of our coaches. More information will be provided closer to the date.

USA Swimming SWIMS 3.0 Registration
Please refer to the email sent on September 21st regarding the registration process for USA Swimming SWIMS 3.0. This is required of all BBD swimmers. We apologize for any difficulties you are having with this system. We encourage all parents to watch the video links provided prior to attempting the registration, and direct any issues to the Michigan Swimming email address provided.

There is a step in the USA Swimming registration that seems to be creating an issue for our parents.

Before registering your swimmer, you need to first create a parent account with USA Swimming. Instructions on how to do this are provided if you follow the link provided and click on the “Log In” button on the first screen. Note: If you are a BBD coach or board member, you should already have an existing USA swimming account, and do not need to create a parent account.

Here is the link again!
https://omr.usaswimming.org/omr/welcome/31174AF096C19A

Once you create the parent account, then you need to use the registration link again to register your athletes. It will ask you if this is for them or for someone else. You will choose someone else.

We apologize that this process can be confusing, and for an issues you are experiencing.

BBD Fall Festival – October 22nd and 23rd @ Lake Orion High School
Entries for the BBD Fall Festival and volunteer registration will be opening soon. Please stay tuned for emails! This is the first YMCA meet of the season, and is hosted by our team. We expect our swimmers to participate, and for parents to volunteer. Practice will not be held on the days of this meet.

Thank you!

BBD Coaches and Parent Board

As we get closer to the start of our regular season, we have few important reminders and updates. We are excited to get the season started, and welcome both new and returning swimmers back to the pool!

Phase 2 Registration Reminder

We still have some families who have yet to complete Phase 2 of registration. It is very important that you complete this ASAP! This is a further step beyond being a member of the YMCA, as you must pay your BBD Team and Age Group Fees. The initial payment made to BBD Boosters in Phase 1 was a smaller Activity Fee.

All families who have completed Phase 2 should have received a confirmation email/receipt following their purchase from the “YMCA of Metropolitan Detroit” Please check your junk folders if you feel you did not receive a confirmation and believe you completed the process. If you have any concerns or questions about Phase 2 of registration, please email kstubbe@ymcadetroit.org or call the YMCA at (248) 644-9036. Please do not send an email to bbdquestions@gmail.com, as the BBD Boosters parent board members do NOT have access to the YMCA registration system.

If you have not completed Phase 2, here is the link one more time.

Click Here for Phase 2 of Registration

A YMCA membership is ALSO required in order to register for BBD Swim Team 2022-2023. If your membership is not currently active, the registration link provided will sell a Youth Membership of $30/month automatically. If you wish to activate a family membership, please sign up here prior to registration. WAITLISTED SWIMMERS SHOULD NOT COMPLETE PHASE 2 UNTIL THEY HAVE BEEN NOTIFIED THERE IS A SPACE FOR THEM AS IT WILL CAUSE SIGNIFICANT ADMINISTRATIVE ISSUES. THANK YOU FOR YOUR COOPERATION!

Communication

We are in the process of updating our website with the latest season information. Please be sure to read our emails in their entirety, as this is the primary tool we will use to communicate with parents. Once the season begins, we ask that you check the website regularly. There is a wealth of information here that can be used to answer many FAQS. Our volunteer parent board members put a great deal of time and effort into our regular team communication and website updates, so we kindly ask that you refer to these before sending an email with a question. If you need to speak with a coach, their email addresses are listed on our website under the “About BBD” tab. We appreciate your support and cooperation!

2022-23 Meet Schedule (Tentative):

A tentative meet schedule for the season has been updated on the website under the “Meets” tab. Some information is still TBD, and additional USS meets for experienced swimmers may be added. Our first YMCA meet of the season will be the BBD Fall Festival at Lake Orion High School, October 22nd-23rd. Further information including event entry will be provided closer to the date. Since this meet is being hosted by our team, we do expect our swimmers to participate, and for parents to volunteer. As a reminder, all swimmers on our team must complete three YMCA meets during the regular season. Participation in both days of the BBD Fall Festival will count as TWO meets.

Practice Schedule

Our practices for the 2022-23 season will begin the week of September 19th. The practice schedule for the season can be found in the “Practice Info” section of this site.

Best regards,

BBD Boosters Parent Board and Coaches

BBD 2022-23 SEASON REGISTRATION – PHASE 2

Early next week we will be sending an email to the parents of all registered swimmers with instructions to complete the Final phase of registration. Non-waitlisted families will have approximately 2 weeks to complete this phase, which will include paying your BBD Team and Age Group Fees (payment plan or pay in full) and activating or reactivating your YMCA membership. We are currently waiting for direction from USA Swimming/Michigan Swimming regarding a new registration process, and so there may be an additional step of registering your swimmer with USA Swimming. Previously, this step was handled behind-the-scenes by the BBD Board, but there is a new USA swimming policy going into place. This new policy is the reason that we have delayed the second step of registration.

If you have any questions regarding registration or BBD in general please consult our website, Many FAQs can be answered under the "Registration: Tabs and “About BBD” tabs. There is a Parent Handbook under “About BBD” with a wealth of information. Practice and Meet Schedules will be updated as more information becomes available. We plan for practices to begin the week of September 19th. Look for more information soon on parent meetings for both new and returning swimmers.

PLEASE NOTE THAT WE HAVE A LONG WAIT LIST FOR ALMOST ALL BBD AGE GROUPS. IF YOUR CHILD IS CURRENTLY REGISTERED WITH OUR TEAM, BUT NO LONGER PLANS TO SWIM, PLEASE NOTIFY IMMEDIATELY SO WE CAN GIVE YOUR SPOT TO THE NEXT SWIMMER ON THE WAITLIST.

JUMP START CLINICS

As in the previous years, BBD is offering “Jump Start Clinics” to experienced RETURNING swimmers ages 11 and Up. These are intended to provide a bridge between summer swimming and the beginning of the regular BBD season for those swimmers who do not want a longer break. We will open the Jump Start Clinic registration on Thursday, August 11th at noon. These practices will begin next Monday, August 15th and last thru September 15th. We are providing a 5-week and 4-week option to accommodate those who will be in school the week of August 15th. Links to register will be emailed this Thursday (8/11) at noon.

5 Week Option – $150.00

- August 15-19 (M-F) from 9:00 to 11:00 AM at Bloomfield Open Hunt

- August 22- September 15 (M-F) from 6:00 to 8:00 PM at Cranbrook Natatorium

(No practice 8/30, 9/2, 9/9, 9/13)

4 Week Option – $105.00

- August 22- September 15 (M-F) from 6:00 to 8:00 PM at Cranbrook Natatorium

(No practice 8/30, 9/2, 9/9, 9/13)

Please reach out if you have any questions that can’t be answered on the website, and look for more regular communication from us in the coming weeks!

BBD Coaches and Parent Board