Highlights

• Makeup meet at home on Wednesday; sign up today
• Divisionals on Saturday; sign up by Wednesday
• Stroke clinics
• 9-12 Social event on Monday
• End-of-season party on Saturday
• Practice scheduled Monday - Thursday this week; Piranha Pals on Friday

Good morning Piranha families,

We had another great meet yesterday against Lansdowne. The Piranhas won 579-378, and we had two new team records.

• An amazing first 6 and under boys 100 IM performance from Hudson Dawley
• A new 100 medley relay record for the 11-12 boys from Tristan Ku, Atharva Tiwari, Logan Lin, Christian Amstutz

Congratulations to the boys and to all our swimmers! The full meet results are available under the Meets & Events tab.

Meet versus Brambleton Bettas on July 16

For all swim team members, our next meet will be a makeup home meet against Brambleton this Wednesday, July 16.

• You must declare your swimmer's events by today, Sunday, July 13. Declarations for the original meet have carried over, so please review and make changes as needed. Please use the website to make any declaration updates, not the Swimtopia app. Minis swimmers should not declare for the meet.
• The theme for the meet will be Neon Nights.
• Robek's will be here in addition to our regular evening meet concessions! Please see the attached menu for details.
• 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.

All Star Qualifiers

ODSL time standards for the All Star meet have been posted under the Meet Sheets & Results page on the website.

We have 40 swimmers who have qualified for the All Star meet this year! Congratulations on an amazing season! There are still two more opportunities to qualify, so keep on working on those times down the stretch.

Divisionals on July 19

For all swim team members, next Saturday, July 19 will be Divisionals hosted by Brambleton.

• You must declare your swimmer's events by Wednesday, July 16. Minis swimmers should not declare for the meet.
• Swimmers may only compete in the End of Season (EOS) meets if the swimmer has swum in at least two League sanctioned meets during the current season.
• A swimmer without an official League time (NT) in an event cannot swim in that event in an EOS Meet.
• Swimmers who make 1 All-Star qualifying time are eligible to swim at Divisionals, but not in the event they qualified for.
• Swimmers who have 2 or more All-Star qualifying times are not eligible to swim at the Divisional meet.
• 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.
• No relays will be held at the Divisional or All Star meet.

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.

9-12 Social Event - Monday, July 14

We hope our swimmers ages 9-12 can join us for the social on the 14th!

Who: 9-12 swimmers and coaches

What: All you can play laser tag for 4 hours ($20pp)

When: Monday, July 14th at 2pm

Where: Ultrazone Laser Tag - Loudoun 23520 Overland Dr. Sterling

Below is the waiver that needs to be completed before the kids can play.

https://ultrazoneashburn.pcsparty.com/sign/

Please contact Anne Dahl with any questions!

End of Season Party

Let's celebrate our swimmers and a great season! Music, awards, a photo booth, games, pool fun, and food!

Saturday, July 19th: 5-9pm, Southern Walk Pool

Award Ceremony 6:50pm

Races/Relays begin around 7:15pm

**Due to pool capacity, attendance is limited to swimmer(s) and immediate family only.**

Food & Drinks

Chick-Fil-A Nuggets and Rubino's Pizza will be provided! Help us make it an even more delicious team feast and contribute yummy food and drinks: Food & Drinks Sign Up Genius

Volunteer Hours

If you still need volunteer hours (or just want to help because it's fun!), we'd love to have you: Volunteer Hours Sign Up Genius

Fun & Games

Parents vs Coaches Freestyle Relay and Chariot Race! Please sign up by Thursday July 17th to give us time to create the Heat Sheet! Relay and Race Sign-Up

• Parents vs Coaches Freestyle Relay: Join a Parents team and show your kiddos your swimming skills! Coaches will swim IM and parents will swim freestyle...so there's a chance! Relay and Races
• Chariot Race: Embrace the glitter, the splendor, and the pageantry of chariot races! Parents/coaches/adults can test their strength and endurance to pull kids across 2 lengths of the pool on a large raft of their choosing! This is a BYOR (bring your own raft) event. Relay and Race Sign-Up

Tennis Ball Toss Fundraiser: be sure to bring your cash for a chance to play and win some money! $10 for 12 balls or $1 per ball.

See you at the party, Piranhas! Contact Becca Koontz and Kristin Burns with any questions!

HOA Notes Please note that per HOA safety rules, glass containers, alcohol, and tents/shade structures with sides or walls are not allowed at the party. Pop-up shades without sides or walls are fine. Pool floats are permitted.

Piranha Pals on Friday, July 18

Friday will be our last Piranha Pals event of the season! All swimmers should arrive to Southern Walk pool at 8:15 for paper plate awards and pancakes.

Practices

This week will have morning practices Monday through Thursday at Southern Walk pool. On Friday we will have our Piranha Pals (see information above). 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.