This message is being sent to all previous Park Village Swim Team swimmers!

The Park Village Swim Team Committee is gearing up for the 2025 Swim Team season! This email contains information about 2025 registration and details about the 2025 season. If you have moved out of the area and/or are no longer interested in participating in swim team, please reply to this email and I will unsubscribe you from further notifications. I will only send a few emails to the previous swimmer distribution list. Once registration closes, I will only email registered participants for 2025.

Registration:

Registration is now open! Park Village homeowners and residents, including renters, should use the registration link on the website. The swim team operates as a non-profit with thin margins. We’ve done our best to keep registration fees as low as possible, but you will notice a slight increase from last year. Registration fees cover TSA dues (including the SwimTopia platform), coaching salaries, awards, ribbons, social events, shirts, caps, etc. Regular registration will run through May 10th. May 10th is also the deadline to receive the 2025 team shirt and cap. Late registration begins May 11th (shirt & cap not guaranteed in late registration), extra fees apply. We encourage our returning swimmers to register as early as possible - early registrations help us get things going so we can hit the ground running as soon as the pool opens!

New Swimmer Safety Policy for 2025:
The first two weeks of practice are considered a probationary period to assess all children for water safety. If there is a concern about your swimmer's ability to participate in practices safely, you will be notified by the head coach no later than June 6th. If the coach determines that your child is not ready for swim team this year, you're encouraged to pursue lessons and come back next year. A refund of registration fees will be initiated no later than June 10th, less $35 to cover expenses. Your swimmer may keep their swim team shirt, if applicable. All decisions made by the coaching staff are final.

Coaches:

Coach Evan will return for his 3rd season as Park Village Head Coach. Assistant Coaches this year will be the same as last year - Coach Chloe, Coach Helena, and Coach Malie will all be back!

Schedule:
Since the team had a 5-1 record last season, we have been promoted to Division 10 in TSA’s Southern League. Note that all away meets this year are held in Cary/Morrisville!

Here is the tentative schedule for the 2025 season:
Date TBD, mid-May - Swim Team Kick Off
Tuesday, May 27th - First Practices
Tuesday, June 3rd - Intrasquad Mock Meet
Saturday, June 7th - Last Day to Request a Refund
Tuesday, June 10th - Home Meet vs Bentwinds
Tuesday, June 17th - Away Meet at Carpenter Village
Tuesday, June 24th - Home Meet vs. Brighton Forest
Tuesday, July 1st - Away Meet at Glenridge
Tuesday, July 8th - Home Meet vs. Eagle Ridge
Tuesday, July 15th - Away Meet at Kitts Creek
Date TBD, mid-July - End of Season Party

Optional Meets (extra fees apply, not included in registration):
Saturday, July 12th - Cary City Meet (at Cary Swim Club)
Sunday, July 20th - TSA Championships (at Triangle Aquatic Center)

We expect the practice schedule to be similar to last season, but minor changes could occur depending on pool hours, HOA approval, etc. The practice schedule will be finalized in May.

Team Suits:

Team suits will be the same as previous years - any previous team suit may be worn. Have a suit to donate to the team? Contact [email protected]. We plan to organize a suit exchange in May. New team suits can be purchased from Kiefer Aquatics (High House & Maynard, check hours before going).

Sponsors Needed:

If you own a small business or know of a local business that would be interested in sponsoring the team this year, please reach out to [email protected]. Sponsorships start at $250 and help the team with operating expenses.

Volunteering Requirements:

The swim team is run entirely by volunteers (except for our paid coaches). We simply cannot hold swim meets without the help of our parent volunteers. After careful review, we have decided to keep the volunteering requirements the same as past seasons - all families must complete four volunteering jobs throughout the season, regardless of meet participation. Only one of those credits may be earned at the Mock Meet. If you choose not to volunteer at all this season, the volunteer fee will increase to $280.

New for 2025: Fees will be prorated ($70 per credit) if something comes up and your family cannot complete all four credits. This policy is intended to alleviate stress on families in case something comes up (illness or other unexpected emergency).

If the team is smaller than last year, there may be times when we need to ask for more help, especially at home meets. Several meet jobs are considered critical - we will be forced to forfeit if we cannot fill the critical roles. The critical meet roles include stroke & turn judge, timers, clerk of course, starter, meet administrator, and order of finish judge. Please don’t ignore our pleas for help!

• Cary City Meet Coordinator(s): The Cary City Meet will be held Saturday, July 12th (rain date July 13th) at Cary Swim Club. Responsibilities include deciding the theme for the event (Coach Evan already has ideas!), sourcing decorating materials (the team will provide funds), helping decorate the Park Village tent, serving as the point person at the tent during the meet, communicating volunteering requirements, and attending a pre-meet meeting (likely Sunday, July 6th). The meet has two sessions - the 10 & under session is typically held in the morning (roughly 6:30am-1pm) and the 11+ session is held in the afternoon (roughly noon-7:30pm). Ideally, we’d have one rep for 10 & under swimmers and one rep for 11+ swimmers. Email [email protected] for more details. (must be available on the primary date July 12th and rain date July 13th)
  
• Awards: If anyone is interested in helping with the awards for this season, let us know. The coaches/board will communicate who will receive what awards. Responsibilities include communicating with local awards companies, picking up awards (in Cary), printing awards certificates (at a printing shop), and organizing the awards for the coaches to distribute at the end-of-season party. Email [email protected] for more details. Most work for this position will need to happen in July. Some work can be done in advance. (requires driving to roughly 3 places in Cary to pick up awards and embroidered items, must be available the week of July 14th)
  
  
• Social: If anyone has a knack for party planning, the board could use help planning the swim team kickoff and the end-of-season party! (And other team-building events throughout the season.)
  
• Critical Meet Positions: A handful of critical positions require training or special skills. If you are interested in either of the following jobs this season, please email [email protected].
  • Stroke & Turn Judge: Verifies that all main event athletes swim each stroke to TSA standards. Records disqualifications on TSA-provided forms. Training/certification required - training is provided at clinics throughout the area in May/June, clinic dates TBD. (Home & Away meets.
  • Starter: Starts each event and heat. Position remains stationary at the starting end of the pool. Training is available but not required. (Home meets only.)

• We live in a diverse community filled with people with different talents. Have other skills that you’d like to put to use this season? Email [email protected] with your idea.

We hope to see you and your swimmers back on the pool deck this summer!  As always, please reach out if you have any questions!

We are looking forward to another great season! GO PORPOISES!

Kara Belknap
PV Swim Committee