In this newsletter:

• Swimsuit and Cap Reminders:
• Swimtopia & Team Communications
• SwimTest Rescheduled
• Welcome Back Party Details
• Volunteer Roll updates (from Anne)
• 2023 Swim Practice Dates & Policies
• 2023 Team Meets & Events: Save the Dates!
• SVKW Sponsor Shout-Outs

Welcome to the Killer Whale 2023 Swim Team!

We are glad you’ve decided to swim with us this year and are counting down to our first practice. This is going to be a newsy email but just keep swimming through it for all the info you need to know about our team. Please don't hesitate to reach out if you have any questions. We look forward to another fabulous adventure this summer!

Go Killer Whales!

Sincerely,

Your SVKW Board

Swimsuit and Caps:

Don’t forget to head over to All American Swim to order your team swimsuit so you’re ready to make waves at our first Red/White Meet on June 6th. Our SV Swim Caps are back in stock and can be purchased at our Spirit Wear table at the Welcome Back Party and various meets throughout the year.

Swimsuit guidelines and purchasing information can be found on our website here, just remember that TSA League rules do NOT allow year-round logos on swimsuits and caps. 

Team Communications and SwimTopia Pro:

SwimTopia allows us to send out two kinds of communications to the team: alerts and emails. You’ll want to make sure you are getting both to stay on-top of team events, meet info, and weather alerts before practices and meets.

Team Emails: Team emails are sent to the email you used to register. Please make sure to use a current email and make sure team emails are not going to your spam. You can always check our news feed for the latest message if you can’t find the email (under the About tab).

SwimTopia App: Take a moment to download the SwimTopia app and turn on the full notification options so you don’t miss weather alerts, last-minute changes to meets, and other time-sensitive info sent out to the team.

A note on Swimtopia Pro (it’s optional): The app may ask if you want to upgrade to a Pro account for a fee. This is not required. The free version allows everything you need to interact with our team info, declare your swimmers, view all of our swim team alerts, or check swimmer time results after a meet. 

Rescheduled Swim Test: 

May 20th, 10:00am - 10:30am at SV Pool. Sign up by emailing: [email protected].

Welcome Back Swim Party
May 20, 10:30am - 12:30pm at the SV Pool

2023 SVKW Spirit wear will be available for purchase at this event. 

Mark your calendars, grab your swimsuits, snacks, and sunscreen, and come join us for a fantastic celebration of the start of a new year of SVKW!

What’s happening at this event? I’m glad you asked because our Social & Spirit Coordinators, Melissa and Sarah, have been busy and they are super excited to tell you all about our team goals and fun events for this swim season! This year we are going to work on building the foundation of our Killer Whale Pod culture of teamwork and collaboration. Fun fact: Last year, 75% of our team was new to the SVKW and this year we have 60 new swimmers joining us. We received great feedback last year on what did/did not work well for families and in response we have added a few new leadership roles that will help support the coaches, swimmers, and parents.

We have also reimagined our Big Whale/Little Whale program. In the wild, Killer Whales swim in pods as a well-organized team that works together to teach calves how to swim and survive. We envision our Big Whales as leaders of our SVKW pod who will mentor our younger SVKWs as they, in turn, learn to swim. Want to learn more? Meet our newest group of Big Whales at the party! If you signed up, we will be in contact soon with details. 

We’ll be sharing ALL these details with you at this event, as well as practicing team cheers. Know a good cheer? Come prepared to teach it to us so we’re ready to represent our swimmers at the upcoming meets. See you there!

Volunteer Update from Anne:

Thank you all for a smooth registration process! While we may have some families register in the coming weeks, we do find ourselves with 40 open shifts for the season & two non-meet positions (Fundraising & Cary City Meet Coordinator). We are going to leave things until May 31st to see how it all settles, but will be moving substitutes into vacant positions prior to the start of the season.

1) Timers NEEDED, we will train! We need timers for all meets, first and second half. In the past, we have had enough Volunteers carry over to fill our full summer needs. This year, the timing shifts remain our only vacancies. It is time to train some new families. The good news is 4 teams we are swimming against have the Dolphin timing system. With this system, all stopwatches start with the start system signal. Timers will stop the watch when the swimmer touches the wall. If you are able to be a Timer for the season please check our list here. I will move you from your current jobs and fill the shifts you selected during registration. We will train you and partner you with an experienced Timer.

Hint: Second half is a shorter shift, usually in the shade, but does require you to stay until the final 15-18 relays. If your child is in the 9-10 group or older, the last relays are usually finished as those kids are finished getting dried off and their stuff gathered. The relays go quick once the 11-12 kids start.

2) More shifts = more fun at Meets! If you like to stay busy during meets and want to pick up additional shifts, I’d appreciate you greatly! Please review the open spots here and email me with the shifts you are willing to add to your commitment.

3) Fundraising and Cary City Meet Coordinator are still vacant positions, click here for more information or email to learn more.

2023 Swim Practice Schedule:

Practice schedule link.  Regularly check the SVKW website for any changes made to this schedule: https://shepherdsvineyard.swimtopia.com/practice-schedule

Evening Practices start May 22, 5:00pm - 9:00pm

Morning Practices start June 12

Click here for Practice Policies Please note that when the SV pool is closed, only swimmers practicing with their age group should be in the pool or on the lower deck near the pool.  Please make a point to collect your swimmer promptly after their age group practice is over. Families with siblings can wait under the pool house or on the upper deck area. 

Bathrooms: SV Pool graciously allows us to use the bathrooms during the first week of practice when the pool is still closed.  Please make sure your swimmers are not leaving a mess of water, TP, or soap during practices. 

Team Meets and Events

Mark your calendars for these meets and team events! Please check the calendar on our website regularly as we will try our best to keep that calendar up-to-date when any changes are made during the season. https://shepherdsvineyard.swimtopia.com

• 5/20 (Rescheduled) Young/novice swimmer test at SV Pool 10am
• 5/20 Welcome Back Party, 10:30 - 11:30am
• 5/22 First day of evening practice!!
• 6/5 Pump it Up! - Pasta night
• 6/6 Red/White Meet and Team Picture Day
• 6/12 Morning Practice Starts
• 6/13 Lochmere (away meet)
• 6/17 Butterfly Clinic (7/up) from RSA
• 6/20 Abbington (home meet)
• 6/22 Ice cream social
• 6/27 Silverton (home meet)
• 7/5 Cary Swim Club (away meet) ** Wed night due to Tues holiday
• 7/8 Biathlon
• 7/11 Medfield (home meet) - Senior Night
• 7/15 Cary City Meet - at Cary Swim Club
• 7/18 Walden Creek (away meet)
• 7/25 End-of-Season Awards Night at Hope Church 6-8 pm
• 7/30 End-of-Season Swim Team Pool Party Celebration

Give a big thank you to our SVKW Sponsors for this year (https://shepherdsvineyard.swimtopia.com/sponsors): 

• Mathnasium, Apex
• Rice Roofing and Remodeling
• Twelve Stones Building Co. 
• Apex Pilates 
• Bovenizer and Baker Orthodontics
• Game On Escapes & More

If you have read this far, you've earned the title of Super Fan.  We look forward to another fabulous adventure this summer!

Go Killer Whales!

Sincerely,

Your SVKW Board