Good afternoon Piranha families,

Happy Father's Day to all of our swim dads! The Piranhas had an awesome first meet yesterday, with a decisive 624-339 win over Dulles Farm! We had two record-breaking performances as well:

• Max Gibney, Sanjay Singh Kumar, Michael Amstutz and Taylor Ku set the team record in the 8 and under 100M Free Relay

• Logan Lin set the team and ODSL record in the boys 11-12 50M Freestyle

Congratulations to all of our swimmers on awesome performances! You can find the full results under the Meets & Events tab.

Meet versus Stone Ridge Sharks on June 18

For all swim team members, our next meet will be an away meet at Stone Ridge this Wednesday, June 18.

• You must declare your swimmer's events by today, Sunday, June 15. Minis swimmers should not declare for the meet.
• The theme for the meet will be PJ Day
• Each swimmer may declare for up to 3 individual events for the meet. Please reach out to Coach Rylie 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 Rylie.
• 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 Rylie 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 going forward:

• 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.
• 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 Willowsford South Waves on June 21

Next Saturday's meet will be at home against Willowsford South. You must declare for your swimmer's events by Wednesday, June 18. This is our meet night, so don't forget! Late entries can't be accepted.

The theme for Saturday will be color wars; each age group will show their spirit by wearing special colors.

• 6 and under: Red
• 7-8 Orange
• 9-10: Yellow
• 11-12: Green
• 13-14: Blue
• 15-18: Purple

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 am 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.

Donut Thursday on Thursday, June 19

We know that waking up and getting to practice on a Thursday morning after a late Wednesday night meet can be tough, but what if there were donuts involved? Swimmers who come to practice on Thursday morning will get a donut afterwards.

Need some volunteer hours? We have some opportunities for volunteer points on Thursday morning: handing out donuts and handing out ribbons. Check the "spirit and swimmer recognition support" event on the calendar to sign up.

Piranha Pals on Friday, June 20

Friday will be our first Piranha Pals event! All swimmers should arrive to Southern Walk pool at 8:15 for fun activities. We will tie dying and decorating t-shirts, so please send your swimmer with a white t-shirt inside a zip-loc bag with their name on it.

Practices

This week kicks off morning practices Monday through Thursday at Southern Walk pool. Friday, June 20 will be Piranha Pals (see information above). Minis practice will also start this week. Note there is only 1 minis group (previous communication listed 2 sessions). Please see the times below:

Practice Reminders

• Please sit on the north end of the pool, towards the pool house, and away from the lanes and coaches (as best as possible as the community pool has less space)
• 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 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.