Oh Hey There,

Welcome back to another week of Army Navy swimming. We had a great week with our first dual meet in the books and picture day. We have a full week ahead of us with meets on both Tuesday and Thursday for the first time this season before heading into the holiday weekend, but not before the Fun Friday everyone has been waiting for. Please take the time to read through this email and bookmark it to come back to later in the week. I try to keep all information in one email so as not to pepper you all throughout the week.

We do have one 'A' meet this week and one 'B' meet. This seems like as good a time as any to go over the differences between the two. First, let me say that as you have questions throughout the season, please take a chance to peruse the FAQ page on the Swimtopia website. There is an extensive amount of information there on different types of meets, how to sign up, and everything else you might be thinking but are too afraid to ask. There is a deeper dive into the differences between 'A' and 'B' meets there as well. 

The first, and most important, piece of information to get across is that all swimmers can participate at both meets. We are one team and do not fully split into two teams as it may seem. At 'A' meets we are swimming against another team in our division and the goal is to win the meet. The coaches will put together the most competitive lineup available. 'A' meets will have unlimited heats of freestyle events, so all swimmers who would like to attend will swim at least freestyle. We will add as many exhibition heats as we can to allow for more swims without taking the meet deep into the night.

'B' meets are a chance for many of the swimmers on our very deep team to swim a larger slate of events than they might be entered in at 'A' meets. For these meets we allow parents and swimmers to pick events when registering for the meet. We ask that you not enter events that your swimmers has placed top 3 in at any meet during the season. All efforts will be made to accommodate all event choices, but there may be times that some events will need to be cut in order to fit the meet in the allotted amount of time. 

Practice Schedule

We are still on our normal practice schedule and will practice every day this week. 10&U swimmers 9-10:30AM and 11&O swimmers 10:30AM-12:00PM. Our Friday practice will be from 9-11 before the Fun Friday activity on site at The St. James.

'B' Meet vs. Bethesda -- Tuesday, June 28th

We have our first 'B' meet of the season on Tuesday evening at Bethesda CC. As with all swim meets, home and away, there will be no towel service offered by the club. So please make sure your swimmer has their own packed. Bethesda usually puts on a pretty good show as the host, so, if it's possible, plan to stick around for a little dancing and fun after the meet. Here's the rundown:

Entries -- All entries must be in by 8:00PM this evening. No entries will be added after that point. A reminder that you are able to choose events for your swimmer for 'B' meets. However, those events may change based on time/heat constraints of the meet or if the swimmer has placed in the top 3 in that specific event during another meet.

Schedule -- The meet will start at 6:30PM. All swimmers need to arrive by 5:45PM in order to be ready for warm-ups at 5:55PM. 

Food, Beverage, and Party -- Beverage service will be available throughout the meet both on the veranda and at the tiki bar on the deck level. Bethesda will be offering a buffet starting at 7:30PM ($25 for kids, $35 for adults). The meet will be followed by a DJ dance party in the ballroom along with the buffet. As I stated above, Bethesda knows how to party, so plan to stick around for a little bit.

Theme -- The seniors have let me know that the theme for Tuesday's meet will be SUPERHEROES. So dress up as your favorite superhero, or the one you made up all on your own. Make sure to pick a superpower that will help you in your race though, after all, this is still a swim meet.

Volunteers -- Thank you very much to those of you who have signed up to help out on Tuesday night. I see a lot of the same names on there week after week and I really appreciate what you do for the team. We are still very short on volunteers for the Bethesda meet. If your swimmer is participating please do plan to help out at some point on deck. You can sign up by logging into Swimtopia and clicking the jobs tab next to the meet on the events schedule for this meet. The meet will not start and will not run without the necessary volunteers. 

Shirts and Caps

Team shirts and customized cap orders can be picked up at the front desk of the Arlington Clubhouse. A t-shirt is included in the cost of registration for all swimmers, so if you have not yet gotten your shirt please stop by the Arlington clubhouse between 9:00AM-6:00PM and ask for swim team shirts. All sizes are still available.

'A' Meet vs. Congressional -- Thursday, June 30th

On Thursday we head off to Congo to take on the Seals. We will be looking to procure our first win in A Division in this young season and get a run started to carry us through Champs. 

Entries -- Please have your availability for this meet marked in Swimtopia by 9PM Tuesday evening. The coaches will be working on this lineup directly after the meet Tuesday night. Changes will not be made on Wednesday or Thursday.

Schedule -- The meet will begin at 6:30PM and our warm ups will begin at 5:50PM. Please make sure to be there on time and ready to go. 

Food Service -- Congressional will have a buffet on the great lawn (their words, not mine) starting at 8PM ($20/adult and $12/child 12&U). The snack bar will be open prior to and during the meet as well.

Parking -- Congressional just finished hosing the Women's PGA Championship and some of the staging materials will still be in the parking lot come Thursday so parking may be a bit tight. If possible, consider carpooling so that there is enough room for everyone.

Theme -- We are bringing country to Congressional on Thursday with a Country Western theme. So giddy up and grab your best pair of boots, a cowboy hat, and dress up as a cowboy/cowgirl of the old west or just like you're on your way to the way to your favorite country concert either works for us. We will be looking to ride off into the DC sunset with a win. Yeehaw!

Fun Friday

Swim practice Friday will still be from 9-11AM for all ages. Following practice we will stay at The St. James where we have rented out the small water park they have attached to the pool facility. We will have the space from 11:00AM-1:00PM. So come join us for some fun on the slides. 

Looking (way) Ahead

We will not have practice on the 4th and there is no meet on Tuesday the 5th. Next Thursday, July 7th is the Divisional Relay meet. I will need all availability to be marked by this Sunday, July 3rd so that we can begin to work on that lineup. There is no need to wait until then though, feel free to go in right now and make your availability known.

That's it for this week. Join us again next week for more adventures of the nomadic tribe of merry summer wanderers that is the Army Navy CC Swim Team.

From the Deck,

Coach Ian