Good morning Piranhas families!

Another scorcher of a meet yesterday morning against the Stone Ridge Sharks. Piranhas won the meet 572-392 and we had a new ODSL record set!

• Caroline Kilty, Maria Grishaeva, Kayley Hudson and Sadie Auch in the 15-18 Womens 200M Medley Relay

Congratulations to these girls and all of our swimmers on some great swim performances. You can find the full meet results under the Meets & Events tab.

Meet versus Brambleton Bettas on June 26

For all swim team members, our next evening meet will be held at the Brambleton Community Association Pool this Wednesday, June 26.

• You must declare your swimmer's events by tonight, Sunday, June 23. Minis swimmers should not declare for the meet.
• The theme for the meet will be Pirates and Princesses
• Each swimmer may declare for up to 3 individual events for the meet. Please reach out to Coach Sabine if you have questions about what events to sign up for.
• Swimmers must be legal in the events they sign up for. Coaches may remove swimmers from events like breaststroke, butterfly or individual medley if the swimmer has not demonstrated that he or she can swim the event legally. If you have questions about whether or not your swimmer is legal to swim in an event, please reach out to Coach Sabine.
• Relays are group races that occur at the end of meets if time allows. They are a lot of fun both for the participants and the spectators. A couple of important reminders around relay races.
  • Relay teams are selected by the coaches.
  • There is no sign up to swim in a relay team. If you know that your swimmer cannot participate in a relay at the end of the meet, please select Not available for any relays when declaring for the meet. This will let the coaching staff know to not include your swimmer on any relay teams for that meet. Remember that Wednesday meets can run late. If you aren't planning on staying to the end, please opt out of relays.
  • If your swimmer is selected for a relay, please make sure he/she stays to participate in the race. It is very difficult to adjust relay rosters at the last minute, and one swimmer dropping often results in the entire relay team having to scratch from the event.
  • If unexpected circumstances arise and he/she cannot swim in the relay, please let Coach Sabine or a board member know as soon as possible so that we can try to make adjustments.

Please note: Swimmers selected for a relay team who fail to appear for the race without notice twice in a row will be excluded from future relay options. 

Questions on how to sign up your swimmer or volunteer for a meet? Check out this help article for detailed instructions or reach out to a board member with any additional questions

Other notes on meets

A few other reminders to families for meets:

• Please have your swimmers check in as soon as they arrive to the meet. This helps our clerks of course know who is present when lining up the swimmers for events.
• It is critical the swimmers check in on time. There is a lot of work involved to set lanes assignments and finalize heats between the time swimmer's check in and the time the meet starts. If swimmers check in late they may not be able to swim in the meet. If you have issues getting to check-in on time, please call or text Tracie Buckley at (703) 665-9901.
• Volunteers should also check in as soon as they arrive to the meet. You need to check in to ensure you get credit for your volunteer hours.
• Please make sure you honor your volunteer commitments. If unexpected circumstances arise, let a board member know as soon as possible so that we can find a substitute.
• If your swimmer cannot swim in one or more events that he/she initially signed up for, please let a board member or coach know as soon as possible. We understand that unexpected changes in plans can happen, but it's imperative that our clerks know when swimmers are absent so that we can adjust our event lineups.
• If your swimmer is not swimming they are not allowed in the pool. No exceptions.
• DO NOT photograph or record your swimmer from behind the blocks. This is a safety rule for our swimmers. You are welcome to take pictures from the spectator areas on the sides of the pool but not from the pool ends where swimmers enter and exit the pool.
• Finally, a word about courtesy when it comes to our pool and our neighbors' pools. There is a principle in Boy Scouts called Leave No Trace that states that you should leave an environment exactly as you found it. It is imperative that our swimmers follow this same principle at swim meets. Please ensure that you clean up any food wrappers or other trash off the pool deck before you leave. It is important that we treat our pool facilities and other communities' facilities with respect as it reflects on our team, our parents and our community. Parents, please make sure your swimmers are cleaning up after themselves and are respectful of the pools we compete in.

Meet versus Dulles Farm Devil Rays on Saturday, June 29

Next Saturday's meet will be at home against Dulles Farm. You must declare for your swimmer's events by Wednesday, June 26. This is our meet night, so don't forget! Late entries can't be accepted.

11-12 Ice Skating Social on Monday, June 24

11 and 12 year old swimmers are invited to cool off and ice skate with the coaches and other 11-12 swimmers at the Ashburn Ice House on Monday, June 24 from 12:30 - 1:30. Cost will be $10 per swimmer.

Stroke Clinics

This week we will offer stroke clinics for swimmers who want to get some extra help with their stroke development and technique. The sessions run from 12:15 - 12:45 pm at Southern Walk pool and cost $10 per swimmer, cash only. These clinics are very popular so be sure to sign up fast, and please only sign up if your swimmer is able to attend so that everyone gets an opportunity to participate.

You can sign up for this week's stroke clinics at this Signup Genius page.

Mini Meet and Piranha Pals on Friday, June 28

We are very excited to host our first Mini's Swim Meet! We encourage all the mini's to swim the events they are comfortable. The goal of the meet is to establish a time with the goal of improving their time in the Mini meet #2.

The meet will run during Piranhas Pals starting at 8:15 am. The calendar event for the minis meet will be posted soon. The deadline for signups is Wednesday, June 26.

Friday's practice will also be our second Piranha Pals event. Swimmers should bring markers to decorate posters and help cheer on the minis!

Practices

Practices continue in the mornings at Southern Walk pool from Monday through Friday. This Friday will be an exception due to the mini meet and Piranha Pals (see above). Please note that we have just one Minis session this year.

Practice Reminders

• Do not go up to your swimmer or a coach during practice
• Bring all your equipment to practice. This includes goggles, fins and a cap or at least a hair tie for long hair
• Do not record/video practices - you can record/video your swimmer in a meet but not at practice
• During practices and swim meets, swimmers (and their siblings) are NOT allowed in the shallow end of the pool or in the baby pool. This is a safety issue as there are no lifeguards on duty during our practices

Weather alerts

Our new website allows us to send alert notifications directly to team members via the SwimTopia mobile app. In the event of thunderstorms, if we need to cancel practices we will send out mobile alerts as well as emails. Please download the mobile app to ensure you get these notifications. Make sure notifications are enabled for the app!