Dear New England Zone Team athletes and parents,
 
Congratulations on qualifying for the New England Zone Team.  I hope that
you are preparing yourselves for an excellent meet and a terrific end to
your long course season.  Please review this e-mail and the attachments
in detail in order to educate yourselves on the team travel plans and
expectations.
 
1.  We will NOT be having a team meeting or a team practice prior to
leaving on the bus on Tuesday morning.  I apologize that I could not find
the time in my own schedule to make this event happen this year.  Since
we will not be able to meet as a team, the e-mail communications will
serve as your primary source of meet information.  If you have any
questions or concerns at all, please do not hesitate to contact me on my
cell phone at (802) 238-9168. 
 
2.  The bus will arrive at the Auburn Mall at 7:30 a.m. on Tuesday,
August 8th, 2006.  Directions to the Auburn Mall are attached.  The bus
will depart promptly at 8:00 a.m.  Please be prepared and arrive early to
load the bus.  The 11-12 athletes along with their chaperones (to be
determined later in the week) and their coaches (Dave Bott and Greg
Gillette) will ride the 47 passenger bus.  This bus will have room for 10
and Under children and their parents who have paid to ride the bus. 
These families are responsible for securing their own hotel reservations,
for meals and for their transportation to and from the pool.  10 and
Under families may ride to and from the pool on the 11-12 bus, as long as
they meet the bus at the departure times at the Holiday Inn and at the UB
Pool.  The 13 and older athletes along with their chaperones (to be
determined later this week) and their coaches (Sherry Wingfield and Jack
Fabian) will ride the 50 passenger bus.  There is room on this bus as
well for Zones families who would like to pay to ride the bus.  Again,
these families are responsible for their own hotel accommodations,
meals and travel in Buffalo.  They are welcome to ride with the team to
and from the pool and the hotel, provided they meet at the team
designated times and locations.  Please contact me IMMEDIATELY if you
would like to ride on the bus with the team.
 
3.  The trip itinerary is attached.  Please note that athletes will be
responsible for their meal costs on the bus rides to and from Buffalo. 
We will stop for lunch on the way to Buffalo and dinner on the way back
from Buffalo.  Please also note that the Saturday travel plans
incorporate two options, one for swimmers who will not competing in and
individual or relay event in finals and one for swimmers who will be
competing in an individual or relay event in finals.  Non-finals
competitors will return to the Auburn Mall on the early bus, leaving
Buffalo at around 2:00 p.m.  Finals competitors will return to the Auburn
Mall on the late bus, leaving Buffalo at around 8:00 p.m.
 
4.  A packing list is provided.  Please use caution when packing your
favorite electronic items.  Expensive cell phones, IPods and digital
cameras are not necessary items for the trip.  Athletes who have
difficulty using their  cell phones and cameras appropriately will be
asked to leave their items with the chaperones until the bus returns to
Massachusetts.
 
5.  PLEASE READ AND REVIEW the Team Code of Conduct with your athletes. 
Please be aware that ANY violation of the team code of conduct can result
in a child being sent home at the expense of the parents.  The focus on
the Zone Trip is to swim one's best, show New England pride and team
spirit and enjoy the experience of swimming with other top level swimmers
from our area.  Swimmers are expected to obey the code of conduct from
the moment the buses leave the Auburn Mall until they are picked up by
their parents at the end of the trip.  We will read the code of conduct
in its entirety on the bus on the way to Buffalo, however, we expect that
each swimmer will be very familiar with each and every point before the
trip.
 
6.  For all 10 and Under swimmers and their parents, Sherry Wingfield has
written up some guidelines and suggestions for your trip.  These are
attached.
 
7.  Once the entries are finalized tomorrow, I will e-mail a copy of the
team entries. 
 
8.  Chaperones, please familiarize yourself with the team code of
conduct.  It will be your job to enforce the code of conduct.  In
addition, the 11-12 chaperones will be partnered with each other and you
will be responsible for organizing and preparing afternoon snacks.  We
can discuss this more on the bus.  You will receive your chaperone
responsibilities later this week.
 
9.  If you have any questions or concerns, please contact me on my cell
phone at (802) 238-9168.
 
Sincerely,
Laura Matuszak