Hi Everyone, we are in the LAST WEEK of the summer swim season!  We have a busy week ahead of us so I am going to try to cover everything in this email, so please be patient and stay with me:

1. On July 24 from 5-7pm, we will have our pre-finals pasta party in the HOA clubhouse.  Everyone is invited, whether they plan on swimming in finals or not.  We will carb-load for finals (the parents need it just as much as the kids), decorate cars, and make posters for our team and friends.  We ask that everyone bring a dish to share.  You can sign up to bring something on the calendar of events page, but I am going to try to link it here: https://arrst.swimtopia.com/manage/generic_events/...

2. Finals is on July 25.  It will take place at the Rouse Center.  It is held in three sessions: 

Session 1: Kids 10 and under, Session 2: ALL KIDS, Session 3: Kids 11 and up.  So your kid will swim in two sessions.  As an example, my son, Owen, will swim in Session 2 AND Session 3 because he is 11 years old.  Our team will be assigned a section of the bleachers.  We will put up our posters here so you can find our section.

Session 1 warm-ups will start around 3:25 pm.  We are asking everyone who is swimming in Session 1 to be at the pool by 3:15 pm, but this is subject to change.  Session 1 will start at 4 pm, and we expect it to end at 5:30 pm.  We will then take a break from 5:30-6 pm so that the Session 2 AND Session 3 swimmers can warm up.

Swimmers 11 and over should arrive by 5:15 pm.  

Session 2 will run from 6:05 pm-7:35 pm.  Session 2 includes ALL relays and the 100 Freestyle and 100 IM.  After Session 2 is over, the 10-and-under swimmers are done and can leave.

Session 3 does not have a warm-up; all swimmers must warm up before Session 2.  Session 3 will run from 7:45-9:50 pm.

Please log in and sign up for a volunteer shift.  Please try to sign up for a shift during which your kid is swimming so that a 6-year-old parent doesn't have to work Session 3...unless they want to.  If you are certified and we have been assigned your position, please pick that one first, if you can.

3. End of the Season Party: July 26 from 7-10 pm.  I know it is late, but we want exclusive use of the pool.  Free swim will take place from 7-7:45 pm; please bring your pool pass to get into the pool.  Awards and participation medals will start around 7:45-8 pm.  Announcements will take place during this time as well.  After awards and announcements, we will do our annual friends relays and the family relay.  As a reminder, your family must include 3 people who live in the same house.  You are allowed to have one other team member who is not in your family.  We ask families with last names starting A-L bring a side dish or appetizer to share, and last names M-Z bring a dessert to share.

4. Our board elections will take place on July 26th.  We need a board to run the team.  Please consider running for a board position.  If you are interested, please text or call me and we can talk 540-424-1150.  If you plan on running (and almost everyone runs unopposed), please let me know by July 24th.

Andrea