Incase you missed Parent Meeting...

Parent Meeting Follow up…

A bit heavy, but it's definitely good recall of what was said incase you missed anything important. Remember. Proceeding forward to nationals it is the cheerleaders and parents responsibility to stay updated. I make it accessible, you utilize it. :) 

Commitment forms:

Girls are receiving commitment forms for Nationals, if we qualify. These will be due NO LATER than Wednesday, November 13 @ 8:15pm. Failure to return a form OR contact me VIA EMAIL with your status on the upcoming competitions will be considered as not planning to attend. There is a great deal of stress that comes with a team traveling and competing in Florida and the best way to get around this stress is to plan accordingly. Communication is huge and the more I know the better decisions I can make. 

Balance Due Date: Dec 1st

All season we have been talking about nationals and how it is a very fast turn around. We officially are in for the regional competition on Friday, November 29, 2013. If we place and qualify for nationals the full balance will be due Sunday, December 1st. We are currently looking at the balance being roughly $1,200dollars. The reason for this quick turn over is we travel the following Saturday, December 7th.

Insurance Cards & Original Birth Certificates :

Girls will need to provide us with active insurance cards. Photocopies of both sides will be needed in order to travel. ORIGINAL birth certificates will also need to be provided. Pop Warner is VERY strict when it comes to paper work. 

Missed School:

As I take school very seriously, we will be having scheduled study sessions. Girls will be expected to bring their homework or a book to read. Pop Warner does have a study hall that we will be using at some point on our trip. The study hall does have computer access incase needed for homework research(Strictly for school use only). We will also be providing a letter to send to school to request excused absence. 

DATES for Nationals:

The dates I have in mind will be Saturday, December 7th to Thursday, December 12th. I am hard set on December 7th and I am still tentative about the return date. This is flexible with Wednesday or Thursday. I am meeting on Thursday of this week to find out more about how we need to go about booking flights for the team. Also, as I receive commitment statuses, I will determine how long for the trip. For families that are planning to attend, I am considering having Wednesday morning/afternoon as a flexible day for the girls to be released to the parents. Wednesday night will be the Celebration party for Pop Warner so they would need to attend all as a team. 

Fundraisers:

We are pushing out fundraisers whenever we come across something worth while. Sell those pizza cards.Remember! If you take the card, you are responsible for paying for it. DO NOT LOSE them. 

Steak Potato Night: We are considering having a steak and baked potato night. This would serve as a fundraiser. We would sell preorder tickets, as well as having tickets for sell the night of. Details are still being worked out. Depending on participation and interest, this will hopefully be a team wide fundraiser. 

Sponsorships are an excellent way to obtain funds. We will be drafting a sponsorship letter, but in the meantime feel free to google sponsorship letters so you can customize yours. Sponsorships include going into businesses and asking if they can "sponsor" either the participant or the team. Sometimes companies will give a couple hundred bucks at a time! It's a tax write off! We get to catch them near the end of the year, it's the perfect catch! Please Don't rely on us to hand you everything. Highly encourage creative and proactive attitudes!

Tip for successful fundraising: If something isn't working to fundraise, find another way to obtain the money. We can't count on hope. Hope is nothing without work and brainstorming how to accomplish that goal! ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE! 

Talk with coach Jackie for more details if interested in fundraising!

Rooming Situation

In order to book a room with the team, you MUST be a chaperone(please see chaperone section if interested). Due to the mass amount of team travelers, the hotels reserve the rooms for participant. Based on my experience through all different types of teams, Pop Warner operates with the girl’s best interest in mind.

I do suggest that parents get together and arrange to join rooms. It’s a great way to save money and stay informed. Even if you are not sharing a room, I suggest trying to have parents book hotel rooms in the same location as other parents. From my understanding, parents are not able to stay at the same hotel facility as the girls. I want to make it clear that this is not a family vacation until I release them at the end of the trip. The girls are pretty much under lock down under my watch during our stay. This is to ensure safety issues.This has to do with head counts and knowing where all the girls are at at all times. 

Chaperones:

The more support the better. I have very firm expectations for my chaperones. I am looking to fill each room with at least 3 girls and 1 adult. This would include your child in your room. Requirements for chaperones:

-Must be able to communicate effectively with head coach in regards to whereabouts

-Ability to get girls where they need to be when they need to be

-Accountability

-Capable of being responsible for the girls in their room

-Will not consume alcohol or drugs while on trip

-Ability to follow all Pop Warner rules

I am sure there is much more information that will need to be given out as time passes. Feel free to contact me if you have any questions or need further explanation.

As I mentioned at the circle up, please understand that this is complete volunteer work for me and my staff. I  take this position very seriously as I understand that many of these girls this may be one of the biggest trips that they go on. It is my goal to get the girls there safely and that they have a great team experience. Some people dream of nationals all their lives and it would be amazing to get the spend this trip with this team. They’ve worked really hard! I appreciate everyone’s cooperation in making this trip a success.