Good Evening Denizens of the Deep End,

We have officially reached Champs SZN™! This is where Army Navy shines. We build the whole season toward this and it is time to get down to business. With Divisionals, SuperNoVa, and Champs on the horizon there is a lot to get to that is a little different than normal. It is important to note here that Champs SZN™ is not just for a certain subset of swimmers. We have something for everyone, so please make sure to read through everything carefully so you know what is coming up.

Let’s get to it…

Practice Schedule

There is one small change to the practice schedule this week. Since we have SuperNoVa on Wednesday there will be no afternoon practice on Wednesday afternoon. To ensure that all our swimmers can get ready for Champs we will have a Thursday afternoon practice from 4-5PM.

So, no practice Wednesday afternoon, but there is practice on Thursday afternoon. The rest of the practice schedule will remain just as it has for the entire season so far.

A Division Championship Meet (Divisionals)

Tue, 7/21 @ Congressional – Warm Up @ 5:00PM – Start @ 6:00PM – Theme: Toga

Divisionals is a meet between the five A Division teams (Army Navy, Congressional, Edgemoor, Kenwood, and Washington Golf). The event order is the same as a regular dual meet. Each team may enter 2 scoring swimmers in each event and one exhibition swimmer for a total of 3 swimmers per event. The top 6 swimmers in each event score points.

The entry lineup for the meet is attached and you can also see your swimmers events in Swimtopia.

Even though only a small percentage of our team will be competing in the water, all swimmers are welcome and encouraged to join the team on deck at the meet. We always have the largest cheering section no matter where the meet is and that is a big reason why we are back to back champs! So throw on a toga and come cheer on the team. While we have taken the big crown the past two seasons winning the CCDSA Championships, we have not won the Divisional Meet in a very, very long time. What better time than now!

SuperNoVa B Meet Championship

Wed, 7/22 @ Army Navy – Warm Up: 5PM – Meet Start: 6:10PM – Theme: Christmas in July

On Wednesday we welcome Washington Golf and Belle Haven for the annual SuperNoVa meet. This meet has taken on many different forms, but it has become our de facto B Meet Championship over the last handful of years. This means that swimmers who are competing at Divisionals do not swim at SuperNoVa (those entered only in exhibition events at Divisionals may swim).

While we do allow parents to input events for this meet in Swimtopia, there are a limited number of extra heats for non-freestyle events. So what your swimmer is signed up for may change. Entries for SuperNoVa will close at noon on Monday.

This is always a fun meet with the Wet T-Shirt Relays and Kickboard Relays taking the place of the Medley and Free Relays, respectively. The theme is Christmas in July, so pull those ugly Christmas sweaters out of storage and get ready to swim like it’s Christmas morning. We will also have a dance party and buffet at the conclusion of the meet. The buffet will be Mexican. So make sure to stick around for the fun.

Champs Lineups

The lineups for Champs will be sent out on Thursday evening. Along with it will come all the information you will need for the meet and everything around it. In the meantime I want to give everyone the general idea so you can prepare one way or the other.

First, please make sure to have marked your swimmer as ‘Available’ or ‘Not Available’ in Swimtopia by Tuesday at 5PM. It is imperative that we know everyone’s availability in order to put together the best possible lineup.

Next, just because your swimmer did not compete at Divisionals that does not necessarily mean they will not compete at Champs. Champs allows two entries per event, but each swimmer is only allowed to enter two individual events (as opposed to 3 at normal dual meets and Divisionals). This opens up the possibility of a swimmer being selected for the Champs team who may not have swum at Divisionals.

Along that note, we do also designate alternates for the Champs meet. Those swimmers do not end up swimming in the meet the vast majority of the time, but they are considered part of the Champs Team.

The Champs meet takes place Monday and Tuesday, July 27th and 28th at Washington Golf. Monday is the prelims sessions (10&U in the morning, 11&O in the afternoon) and then Tuesday is the finals sessions (the top 16 in each event come back for finals). There is a parade on Tuesday morning at 10AM that all swim team members are encouraged to participate in.

Like I said, there will be quite a bit more to come on Thursday and Friday, but that should whet your appetite for now.

Fun Friday

We have a lot to get to on Friday as we make up for lost fun due to the air quality this past Friday. After our practice from 8:45-10AM there will be multiple Fun Friday activities. We will have a table setup for bracelet-making with beads and charms and everything your little wrists can handle. Don’t worry, there will be plenty of navy blue and gold to work with.

We will also be making posters for Champs. These will walk with us in the Champs parade and hype up our swimmers in the team area throughout Champs. All poster-making materials will be provided. Bring your ideas and creativity.

But wait, that’s not all! As I mentioned last week, we have also been asked to put together some good luck videos for our Team USA swimmers heading off to the Pan-Pacific Championships. So any swimmer that wants to send a message, in either video or card form, will have an opportunity to do that as well.

Looking Ahead

I have already mentioned Champs, and there will be more to come on that, but there are a few other things coming up that it’s important you know about.

The Champs Splash Party will take place on Tuesday, July 28th at the conclusion of the Champs meet. So when you are finished cheering over at Washington Golf come hang out at the Olympic Pool from 5-9PM. The pool will be open (bring an inner tube – no rafts), music will be playing, food will be served, and we will present our 15-18s with their gag gifts. All those who wish to join us will need to sign up beforehand. You can do that here – Register for Champs Splash Party

At the end of next week we will culminate our season with the annual Swim Team Banquet on Friday, July 31st in the ballroom of the clubhouse. This is a wonderful event celebrating our team and their accomplishments. Again, attendance at the banquet will require prior registration. So make sure to get your name on the list – Register for the Swim Team Banquet. Make sure to get signed up earlier versus later. This event does have a capacity limit for dinner.

So, plenty more to come, but on to the week at hand!

From the deck,

Coach Ian