Hi everyone,

Important note, before I get started: For anyone who hasn’t signed up for swim team yet from last year, while there is no deadline, I urge you to sign up by May 1 or 2. At that point, we will start seriously sending out notifications about the upcoming season and if you’re not signed up, you might miss them!

This week, I need to deal with some scheduling and administrative issues. First, we had some confusion on when the swimsuit fitting is. It will be at LPRC on May 22nd, 5:30-7PM, which is the Wednesday before we open for the season. You will be able to get fitted for and purchase a team-logo racing swimsuit. Note: competitive swimmers who will be in meets will need one of these suits or a plain black racing suit; Little Lazers are welcome to buy these suits but can wear any suit they’re comfortable in so they don’t have to. The suits you will buy from our vendor, Sportfair in Arlington, are very nice, but if you’re looking for a less expensive option, we can direct you to online ordering options. (The only drawback is that the suit won’t have a team logo.) Unless you know for sure what kind of suit to order, if you’re ordering online, please talk to Kate or Catherine before ordering so we make sure you get the right kind. If you need help with sizing, you can come to the fitting and then order online; also Catherine is quite good at guessing at sizes, but a try-on is always better. Finally, if you can’t come to the try on but still want a team suit, you can always go to Sportfair in Arlington and tell them you’re from LPRC, and they’ll allow you to try on and buy a suit.

Second, while traditionally practice for the big kid team and Transitionals begins the Tuesday after Memorial Day, with regret we think we’ll have to put this off until the Wednesday after Memorial Day, or May 29th. Our older child is graduating from Bishop Ireton, where Catherine also works during the offseason, and all of us will have to be at a graduation event on Tuesday. Given the chaos of first practice and the difficulty of having everyone during afternoon practice, we don’t feel comfortable having practice on Tuesday for safety reasons.

Third, morning practices always begin the day after the last day of school for FCPS, and the schedule is a little quirky this year. Usually, the last day is on a Friday; this year, it’s on a Wednesday, June 12th. We will still have afternoon practice on June 12th for everyone, and then we will split into morning and afternoon sessions from June 13th on. We have tentatively scheduled a racing clinic with Bob York on the 13th so everyone (afternoon folks also) is welcome to come to that if you can. Finally, remember that if you need afternoon practice after June 12th, in addition to clicking the box on the registration, you should email me so I can schedule you. Finally, finally, if you haven’t signed up yet for swim team, it would be great if you could; we are about to begin interviews for coaches and we need to know how many to hire. 

(Register here.)

Thanks!