Good Evening Team,

I hope everyone is coming down off of a wonderful 4th of July. It was great to see so many of you at the club on Tuesday. It always brings me, specifically, such joy to see the swim team take over the pool and festivities on Independence Day, so thank you for that. We have another full week upcoming, but before we get there let us take a minute to recap the week. As for our internal team stats there is not change at the top with the 12&U Boys, 18&U Boys, and 18&U Girls still leading the way. We finished in 2nd place for the 4th year running at Divisional Relays on Thursday with 223 points, close behind 1st place Washington Golf (254) and well clear of 3rd place Kenwood (177). Our 12&U Girls led the way winning both the free and medley relays, while the 18&U Girls and 14&U Girls both won the free relays to go along with our Girls winning the Crescendo Relay. Of special note here, the 18&U Girls free relay of Kate Douglas, Scarlet Gray, CC Jacobs, and Haley Lehman not only won the event, but in the process they set the CCSDA record for the event with a time of 1:52.53. Congrats girls!

Before we get into this week let me go over the entry deadlines we have for this week:

--7/11 Chevy Chase B Meet deadline was last night. No new entries will go in.

--7/13 Washington Golf B Meet deadline will be Tuesday night at 8:30PM

--7/18 A Division Championships deadline will be Thursday night at 8:30PM

Now on to a big week. We are entering the final stretch of the regular season with Thursday's Washington Golf meet being the last of our dual meets. Next week starts 'Championship SeasonTM' in earnest with A Division Championships (Divisionals) on Tuesday followed the next week by CCSDA Champs. Now is the time to put the pedal down and finish the season strong. As always, please make sure to read through the entire email so you know what's the what for each and every day. 

'B' Meet vs. Chevy Chase -- Tuesday, July 11th

Warm Up: 5:15PM -- Meet Start: 6:10PM -- Meet Theme: Superhero

Tuesday evening we welcome Chevy Chase to our humble abode for a B meet. This meet along with next week's SuperNoVa will be the last opportunity for our non-champs swimmers to get their racing in. We will have a buffet for the meet starting at 7PM. Check the Chevy Chase Buffet Link for the menu and to register early. 

The theme for Tuesday night will be Superheroes. So put on your cape, squeeze into some spandex, and get ready to show off your super powers in the water. 

Wednesday Afternoon Practice

You may have seen that the Olympic Pool is closing at 4PM on Wednesday for an event. Fear not! We will still have swim team practice from 4-5PM in the Olympic Pool. The decks will be closed during practice so that the staff can set up. We ask that parents wait up on the sun deck for their swimmers during practice. Your swimmers will be sent up top to the sun deck immediately after practice. Thank you for your help in getting the club ready for this event.

The Arlington Derby: 'A' Meet vs. Washington Golf -- Thursday, July 13th

Warm Up: 5:15PM -- Meet Start: 6:10PM -- Theme: Business Time

The time is here. Washington Golf comes into our house for the Arlington Derby on Thursday. We have been the top two teams in the league for the past 5 years. Washington Golf has not lost a dual meet in over 7 years. Two years ago our meet came down to a mere 8 points. So it is time to get rested, get hype, and be ready to race on Thursday. We all have a lot of friends over at Washington Golf, and I have no doubt that this will be the most fun meet of the season as there is nothing more fun than competing in close meets. Let's bring the fire and have fun doing it. It is going to take full effort and focus to take down a team like Washington Golf, but we have the team to do it. 

The theme for Thursday is Business Time. Put your goggles and some caps in your briefcase, cinch up that tie, dress to impress, and arrive ready to DO WORK. There is nothing better than dressing the part and that's what Thursday is all about: it's time to get down to business in your best business attire and accoutrement. 

Washington Golf Buffet Link 

In addition to fast racing we have started a tradition of participating in a food drive for the Arlington Food Assistance Center (AFAC) during our Arlington Derby over the last few years. Please see the flyer attached for what items they are looking for and bring your donation to the meet where we will have collection areas to drop off food items. If you have any questions please contact [email protected].

Fun Friday -- Aquathon and Olympic Gold Medal Visit!

Friday we will hold our annual (I think we can all agree that last year does not count) Aquathon event. This year we will be raising money for the USA Swimming Foundation in a continued effort to decrease the number of child drownings in the US each year. Swimmers can ask for pledges from family and friends with the goal of swimming as many laps as they can raising money with each lap swum. I always encourage our swimmers to tie their pledges and donations to the number of laps swum to encourage them to do as many as they can. This event is for swimmers of all ages and abilities. Here is the schedule for the day:

8:30-10AM: Aquathon in the Olympic Pool for all swim team members. Swim your laps, carouse with friends, and raise money for a good cause. USA Swimming will have some swag for the top earners and distances. Here is a link to the Army Navy Swim Team Donation Page for the USA Swimming Foundation

At the end of the swimming we will welcome 2021 Olympic Gold Medalist Andrew Wilson to the decks of Army Navy. Andrew, with his medal in tow, will speak to the swimmers present and take questions and pictures with all those who would like to. Andrew is a breaststroker and former Kenwood swimmer who is the first DIII college swimmer to ever make an Olympic Team. 

After our time with Andrew we will have tables and materials set up to make hype posters for next week's Divisionals Meet and the following week's Champs meet. While making posters swimmers will have ice cream and cookies to reward the team spirit. 

A packed week ahead and I cannot wait to get back on deck with you all tomorrow. 

From the Deck,

Coach Ian