Hi Porpoises!

This message contains updates for the week of May 24th!

Key Dates This Week: 
* Tuesday, May 26th - First practices
* Friday, May 29th 11:59pm - Deadline to participate in the June 2nd Mock Meet

Volunteer Roles:
Volunteer roles are now open for the entire season. Please sign up in SwimTopia:
https://parkvillage.swimtopia.com/volunteer-roles-and-sign-up

Volunteer sign-up for the Mock Meet closes Friday, May 29th at 11:59pm.

Urgent Volunteer Help Needed – Timing Coordinator:
We are still looking for 1–2 volunteers to help as Timing Coordinators for the Mock Meet and home meets this season. I promise this sounds more intimidating than it actually is!

This is a computer-based role (computer provided) that works closely with the Meet Admin during home meets. Responsibilities include:
• Making sure all timers are electronically “ready” before each race begins
• Recording race numbers on a heat sheet so we can quickly find electronic files if there's an issue
• Loading times into the correct event after each race
• Flagging me down if something looks wrong

I can teach 95% of this role in about 15 minutes, and I’ll be available throughout the meet to help with anything unusual. If you’ve ever done Meet Admin before, the software will feel very familiar. Prior experience as Meet Admin is not required.

Accurate timing is at the heart of every swim meet. If we cannot fill this role, we will have to abandon the automated timing system and return to stopwatches, which will significantly slow down home meets and likely eliminate some exhibition heats. This season we have a hard stop of 9pm to finish our meets.

Please reach out if you are willing to help or have questions!

Water Safety:
Any new swimmer — or any returning swimmer who has never participated in a meet — must be evaluated for water safety before participating in the Mock Meet. Please make every effort to attend at least one practice this week. If your swimmer is new to the team but swims year-round, please email Coach Evan with the name of their club/group and he will waive this requirement.

Practices:
Our first practices begin Tuesday, May 26th!

Please attend the practice group that matches your swimmer’s age as of 6/1/26. Swimmers remain in that age group for the entire season, even if they have a summer birthday.

Practice schedule:
https://parkvillage.swimtopia.com/practices

We recommend arriving 5–10 minutes early so swimmers are ready to begin on time.

Suggested items for practice:
• Goggles
• Swim cap (optional, but long hair should be tied back securely, team cap will be distributed at the mock meet)
• Sunscreen
• Towel
• Water bottle (very important - swimming is intense exercise!)

Please remember:
• Pool rules require all children age 10 & under to have a supervising adult on deck. No drop-offs, please. Our coaches cannot supervise children before/after practices.
• If there is no lifeguard in the chair, only swimmers actively participating in the current practice group may be in the water. This includes lifeguard breaks and the final 15 minutes of the 9/10 practice.

There is no minimum number of practices you're required to attend each week. Some swimmers will be at every practice, and others only on certain days. Either is fine - we won't kick anyone off the team for low attendance. We recommend at least 3 practices a week to see continuous improvement. If you'll be on vacation for more than a few days, it's helpful to let Coach Evan know.

Weather Policy:
If weather impacts practice, coaches will post first on Facebook and then send a SwimTopia message. (Facebook is generally faster for quick updates.)

We do our best not to cancel practices, but we will not practice during thunder/lightning or heavy rain. We will generally continue in light rain if visibility is safe.

If weather causes a Tuesday meet cancellation, TSA requires the meet to be made up on Wednesday.

For the fastest updates, we strongly recommend:
• Downloading the SwimTopia app and enabling notifications
• Joining our Facebook group:
https://www.facebook.com/share/g/1JWp9ezpfv/

Mock Meet – Tuesday, June 2:
Our Mock Meet will be held Tuesday, June 2nd.

Please have swimmers on deck between 4:30–4:45pm. The team photo will begin promptly at 5:00pm, and warmups will begin immediately after.

Shirt and cap distribution will also begin at 4:30pm. Families will receive one bag containing all shirts and caps ordered during registration.

We know traditional schools are still testing, and we will do our best to finish by approximately 8:00pm (earlier for 6 & Under swimmers). A more detailed timeline will be sent closer to the meet. If we can get all volunteers in position, we will start this meet at approximately 5:45pm.

Meet Declarations:
Reminder: Swimmers must be declared for every meet — even if they are NOT attending.

Please:
• Mark swimmers as “Attending” if they will participate
• Mark swimmers as “Not Attending” if they will miss the meet
• Do not leave swimmers “Undeclared”

Declaration instructions:
https://parkvillage.swimtopia.com/signup-instructions

Mock Meet declarations close Friday, May 29th at 11:59pm.

We use Mock Meet times to seed our first dual meet on June 9th, so attendance is strongly encouraged. The mock meet also helps coaches evaluate swimmers and create appropriate practice plans for the season.

Please note:
We will be intentionally strict on DQs for all heats during the Mock Meet. This is purely instructional and helps coaches identify skills to work on during practices. Most 10 & under swimmers will be DQ'ed for breaststroke and butterfly, so don't be alarmed - this is very normal at the beginning of the season. The coaches will work very hard to get everyone swimming legally on all strokes as fast as possible.

Important Meet Attendance Policy:
Once declarations close, coaches spend the weekend building lineups and coordinating relays and lane assignments.

If your swimmer gets sick or something comes up, please notify Coach Evan or me as soon as possible so adjustments can be made. It's much, much easier to rearrange things if you let us know before noon on Tuesday.

Swimmers who have not checked in by 5:30pm on meet night will be scratched from the meet - once scratched swimmers cannot be put back in. If you are running late, you MUST email Coach Evan or me before 5:30pm with your estimated arrival time so we can determine whether relay or lane changes are needed.

Please do not no-show to meets you’ve committed to. Repeated no-shows may result in restrictions from future meets.

I think that’s everything for now! We’re excited to kick off another great summer season and can’t wait to see everyone back on deck this week!

Go Porpoises!

Kara Belknap
Park Village Porpoises Swim Team