Equipment, Apparel, and PARKAS!

Hello Hurricanes Families,

A short time from now we're going to be the best looking team in Colorado! Now that we are back home at Wulf we can turn (some of) our attention to making that happen. There is a lot going on as we start outfitting our team from scratch. Please read below.

Thanks and go Hurricanes!

Coach Brian

First, a super exciting announcement about Parkas!

We're extremely lucky to have a generous donor who is willing to cover half of the cost of a new parka for every swimmer on our team!

Our new parkas are totally unique. They keep our athletes warm and dry, they remind us of some of the higher values we are working for, and they will give our team a presence like no other when we wear them in numbers. They are available in your choice of green or blue. Please consider getting sized for a parka this week as we size suits (see below). With such a huge discount, we hope to outfit most of our team in new parkas to kick off our rebranding in a big way! You will not see them on the team store today, but they will be available for our bulk order next week (also see below).

T-shirts and Caps

We're providing one free green t-shirt and one free cap to every swimmer on the team. If you haven't already picked up a t-shirt and cap, please do so at practice this week starting Tuesday.

We now also have blue t-shirts available for purchase for $12.00, and additional caps available for $10.00. If you would like to purchase additional caps and shirts, you can pick them up at practice starting Tuesday to be billed to your account.

While most of our apparel will be sourced through Agonswim, t-shirts will be sourced locally through Evergreen Imprints. If you are interested in premium t-shirts other than the basic shirts we'll be handing out on deck, stay tuned for a web store with various options for different fits, fabrics, and styles of t-shirt. The sight is still under construction and will be available soon.

Training Equipment

Our recommended (eventually required) training equipment is available by training group from the MI Sports webstore here. For now, we are not asking families to replace their current gear. However, we would like to move towards consistency in our groups by ensuring athletes are training with the same gear in the future. For now we ask that you buy the recommended gear for replacements. This is the gear we will eventually require.

A note on goggles: Swimmers may wear any goggles they prefer.  However, there are a lot of terrible goggles on the market. We see them turn up often in practice, usually to the distraction of the athlete wearing them. The ones we recommend at the team store are by no means the only good ones available, but they are suitable for competition and training, durable, and fit fairly universally. If you don't know what you are looking for, this is a good place to start.

Agonswim Suits and Apparel

We have designed an entire line of Hurricanes branded suits and gear available here. Agonswim offers a huge variety of suit fabrics and styles. In the long run, this is great, as most swimmers will find a suit that they really love. In the short run, the selection is a bit overwhelming. For this reason, we have refrained from promoting the team store until every swimmer has the opportunity to see and try on the suits they are considering. We will have a sizing kit available on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday of this week. We ask every swimmer to plan on spending some time before or after practice to determine what they would like to order.

For one week between 10/17 and 10/23, individual orders placed online at the team store will ship in bulk at a greatly reduced shipping cost. Also during that week, parkas will be available at the reduced (donor matched) price of around  $65-$75 depending on options. Please remember to place your suit and parka orders during the week of 10/17-10/23! 

After 10/23 the store will remain open year round for individually shipped orders.

Moving forward we will plan to offer similar bulk shipping windows a few times per year. The donor matched parkas will be available one time only.

A note on tech suits from Agonswim: These are not the highest end suits on the market, but they are offered at a fraction of the cost (25%-30% of the other major brands) . The fabric is identical (from the same source) as the other major brands. The cut is also similar. The only major inferiority is stitched seams instead of welded seems. In my opinion this is not a major factor. Tech suit preferences are very personal, so each athlete may have their own opinion. However, given the exhorbitant cost of traditional tech suits, I recommend that our older swimmers give these a try at some point. 

Volunteers Needed

Finally, we're still looking for some parent volunteers to help with suit sizing this week. The coaches will plan to work with the swimmers on the fly to get sized, but this will be a big distraction during practice. If any parents are available to help work with swimmers sizing suits on Tuesday, Wednesday, and/or Thursday, please let me know. Thanks!