FROM NWAL BOARD:

To all of our NWAL Families and Partners,

First of all, we hope that each and every one of you are faring well during this difficult time. We hope everyone is healthy and remains that way each and every day.

The NWAL Board (consisting of the 7 league officers and each of the 16 division representatives) met via an online meeting on Thursday night to discuss the impact of the virus and the recommendations of the CDC and local, state and federal government. The situation and their recommendations are changing on an almost daily basis which has made it extremely difficult to make any firm decisions or set any definite timelines. I began the meeting by reviewing the facts as we knew them as of Thursday prior to the meeting then allowed each board member to have the opportunity to speak and convey the thoughts and preferences of the teams in their respective divisions. We then had a motion, a 2nd, then a full vote of the board on the following proposal which passed unanimously.

At this time, we will delay the start of the season until May 11th. The CDC has issued a recommendation of no groups larger than 50 persons for 8 weeks. By date this would expire on May 10th. Practices would be allowed to start on May 11th, with 2 weeks of practice prior to the 1st dual meet on May 23rd. We would not have a practice meet on the schedule this season. That first meet would be according to the meet you already have scheduled on that day. The schedule would follow what is already in place through the balance of the season, including invitationals (provided they are still being held).

However, should the CDC or governments extend the recommendation past May 10th or other factors prevent NWAL from starting the season as outlined above, NWAL would then cancel the 2020 summer league season.

What this means:

No in person registrations or any other team gatherings at this time.

No practices until May 11th at the earliest.

Team boards and planning committees may continue to meet although it is highly recommended that meetings are online. (Note: some online meeting sites are offering free or reduced pricing for non-profit organizations during this time.)

On-Line registrations may continue. It will be up to each team to decide how to handle the registration process in regards to payment and possible refunds.

This is where we are at as of today. It was echoed time and again from the division reps and officers that the feedback they received from their team board members and parents that they talked to that everyone wanted to get back to normal. It would be great if NWAL could be a big part of that process after the difficulties we are all currently facing. Encourage your teams to visit and utilize the businesses that have supported your teams as it is time for us to pay them back for their support.

I would like to thank the league officers, division reps, team reps and all the parents that lent their voices, opinions and recommendations, directly and indirectly, to these decisions that were made by our board.Team Reps, take the time to thank your division reps as they did an outstanding job of conveying your communications to the meeting and helping us to make these decisions.Parents, take the time to thank your team reps for conveying your communications to the division reps. We are all part of this league and will hopefully be part of the “get back to normal” process that will take place once this crisis has passed.

NWAL will continue to monitor the situation and is prepared to call emergency board meetings should it change for better or worse in the next few weeks. We will communicate any changes via email and the website. Please make sure that your Swimtopia site is updated with your current roles so we can make sure to reach the correct personnel for your teams. In the coming weeks you can expect additional information regarding any modifications needed for a compressed season, such as:

• -Best practices for summer league swimming with respect to COVID-19
• -Methods to gather onofficial times without a time trials meet
• -Officials training
• -Invitationals
• -The Division Final meet

Thank you, and stay safe and well!

Olen Walton

President – Northwest Aquatic League

The Marlins' board is continuing to monitor the situation as well and will do our best to keep our families informed.  If you face a special circumstance and are in need of assistance please reach out so that we can try to assist.

Todd Zettlemoyer

President- MBW Marlins