Hi Barracuda Families,

Happy Father's Day to all of our incredible Barracuda dads! We hope you have a relaxing and fun-filled day—you've earned it!

What a week! While our first A Meet didn't end in a win, it was still a fantastic morning filled with team spirit, sportsmanship, and fast swimming. We saw an incredible number of time drops across nearly every age group, which is a testament to the hard work our swimmers have put in over the first few weeks of the season. Thank you to all of our swimmers, volunteers, officials, and families who helped make the meet such a success.

Where to Find Meet Results

A Meet Results (Official NVSL Meets)

Individual swimmer times and team scores for A Meets can be found on the NVSL website at www.mynvsl.com. This is the official website of the Northern Virginia Swim League. Under the "Schedule & Results" menu, select Hollin Meadows in Division 9 to view meet results, swimmer rankings, team standings, and more.

B Meet Results (Developmental Meets)

B Meet results are not posted on the NVSL website. Instead, printed copies are posted on the swim team bulletin board located next to the women's bathhouse at the pool. Results remain posted until the next meet.

Week of June 21–27 Highlights

Practice Schedule

Monday–Thursday

• 8 & Unders: 8:30–9:15 AM
• Ages 9–12: 9:15–10:15 AM
• Ages 13 & Up: 10:15–11:15 AM

Friday

• Pep Rally & Light Practice (All Ages): 9:00–11:00 AM

Make-Up Practices

• Tuesday: 6:30–7:15 PM

Please note: There will be no Thursday make-up practice this week due to the coaches' Kings Dominion trip with our 15–18 swimmers.

Monday, June 22 – B Meet: Waynewood @ Hollin Meadows

Theme: Glow Big or Go Home! ✨

Break out your brightest neon gear, glow sticks, glow necklaces, and anything else that lights up the pool deck. Let's make our first home B Meet of the season a bright one!

Meet Timeline

• 4:00 PM – Pool Setup
• 4:50 PM – HM Swimmers Arrive
• 5:00–5:20 PM – Hollin Meadows Warm-Ups
• 5:25–5:45 PM – Waynewood Warm-Ups
• 5:30 PM – Officials Meeting
• 5:40 PM – Timers Meeting
• 5:50 PM – 8 & Unders Report to Clerk of Course
• 5:55 PM – Announcements & National Anthem
• 6:00 PM – Meet Begins

Volunteers Still Needed

We are still looking for a few volunteers to help run Monday's meet. If your swimmer is participating, please consider signing up to help. Volunteer sign-ups are available on the team website.

Welcome Mini Barracudas! 🐠🦈

We are excited to kick off our inaugural Mini Barracuda Program this week!

This program is designed to help our youngest swimmers build confidence in the water, develop fundamental swimming skills, and most importantly, have fun. Whether your child is just getting comfortable putting their face in the water or is working toward joining the swim team, our coaches are looking forward to helping them grow throughout the season.

As a reminder, swimmers have been assigned to a specific group based on their current skill level. Please make sure your child attends the practice time associated with their assigned group so that our coaches can provide the most appropriate instruction and maintain safe swimmer-to-coach ratios.

Season Details

Season Dates: June 22 – July 17, 2026

Practice Schedule: Monday–Friday

Practice Times

• 🐟 Minnows (Commuter Parents): 8:00–8:30 AM
• 🦈 Barracudas: 8:45–9:15 AM
• 🐟 Minnows (Non-Commuter Parents): 9:30–10:00 AM
• 🐠 Guppies: 10:15–10:45 AM

Group Descriptions

🐠 Guppies – Introduction to Water Skills

For swimmers who are new to the water.

Skills include:

• Bobbing and submerging the face
• Supported front and back floating
• Supported rolling (front-to-back and back-to-front)
• Supported flutter kick and freestyle arms
• Safe water entry and jumping into the pool

🐟 Minnows – Fundamental Aquatic Skills

For swimmers who can float independently and comfortably put their face underwater.

Skills include:

• Independent front and back floating
• Independent rolling (front-to-back and back-to-front)
• Freestyle arms and kicks
• Backstroke arms and kicks
• Retrieving objects underwater
• Jumping into water over their head and finding the wall

🦈 Barracudas – Stroke Development

For swimmers progressing toward pre-team and competitive swim readiness.

Skills include:

• Freestyle with side breathing
• Backstroke
• Introduction to breaststroke and dolphin kicks
• Retrieving objects in deeper water
• Treading water
• Jumping into deep water and introductory dives

Parent Reminders

Parents are welcome and encouraged to remain on the pool deck during practice. However, we ask that you stay a reasonable distance away from the lesson area whenever possible. We have found that swimmers are more engaged, independent, and focused when they are interacting directly with their coaches and instructors during practice.

What to Bring

Please have your swimmer arrive ready to swim with:

• Swimsuit
• Goggles
• Towel
• Water Bottle

We are looking forward to a fun and successful first season of Mini Barracudas and can't wait to watch these young swimmers build skills, confidence, and a love for swimming!

Ft. Hunt Sportsmen Relays – Wednesday, June 24

Address:
Stratford Landing Pool
2300 Brinitzer Way
Alexandria, VA 22308

The Sportsmen Relays lineup is attached.

This is one of the most unique and fun meets of the summer. The meet brings together 12 local swim teams for an evening of relay-only events.

Unlike A Meets and B Meets:

• The meet is not scored.
• Swimmers are selected by the coaches for fun and participation, not based on times.
• Relay teams feature swimmers of different ages and combinations of boys and girls.
• Swimmers can earn ribbons and medals.
• Swimmers get the opportunity to race alongside and against many of their friends from neighboring Ft. Hunt area pools.

Arrival & Warm-Ups

• Arrival: 5:15 PM
• Team Area: Area 9
• Warm-Ups: 5:40–5:58 PM (Lanes 1 & 2)

If your swimmer is listed on the lineup and is unable to attend, please notify us immediately. Relay events depend on every swimmer being present, and one missing swimmer can impact an entire relay team.

Volunteers Needed

If your swimmer is participating in Sportsmen Relays, we ask that your family volunteer to help support the meet.

We currently need:

• 1 Relay Take-Off Judge
• 1 Timer

If you can fill one of these positions, please email Lauren as soon as possible.

Saturday, June 27 – A Meet: Lakevale Estates @ Hollin Meadows

This is expected to be one of our closest meets of the season, so every swimmer and every point will matter.

Theme: Superheroes 🦸♀️🦸♂️

Time to save the day! Dress as your favorite superhero or create your own Barracuda alter ego. Capes encouraged!

The preliminary meet sheet will be sent on Wednesday, and the final meet sheet will be distributed on Friday following the meet exchange.

Swimmers Still Undeclared

The following swimmers are currently undeclared for the June 27 A Meet. Please update your swimmer's availability as soon as possible. Thank you for helping our coaches with lineup planning.

Undeclared Swimmers

Belding, Hunter
Cigna, Basil
Colbert, Ellie
Cortina, Kai
Fulginiti, Evelyn
Lobo, Fiona
Lopez, Elena
Madigan, Violet
Mather, Isabelle
Price, Bodhi
Price, Hawthorne
Prizio, Paloma
Prizio, Rocco
Vanderslice, Julia
Vanderslice, Lana
Weaver, Scarlett
Wootton, Michael
Zettlemoyer, Alexander
Zettlemoyer, Kreger
Zickefoose, Maxwell

Download the SwimTopia App 📱

If you haven't already, we highly recommend downloading the SwimTopia Mobile App. It's the easiest way to stay connected throughout the season and manage all of your swim team activities in one place.

With the SwimTopia app, you can:

• Declare for meets and update availability on the go
• Select events for B Meets and Time Trials
• View heat sheets, lane assignments, and meet entries
• Follow live meet results
• Access your swimmer's times throughout the season
• Receive weather alerts, meet reminders, and schedule updates

We strongly encourage all families to download the app as it is one of the quickest ways to stay informed throughout the season.

Need to Add a Second Parent Email?

If you'd like a second parent or guardian to receive team emails and notifications, please note that this update must be made by the team administrators in SwimTopia.

To add an additional email address, please email Lauren and Michelle with:

• Swimmer's name
• Parent's name
• Email address to be added

We'll update your account so both parents receive team communications, meet reminders, volunteer information, and important updates throughout the season.

Help Us Preserve Barracuda Memories 📸

As many of you know, Lori Allen has been our longtime team photographer, capturing countless Barracuda memories over the years. While Lori no longer has swimmers on the team, she has generously agreed to help us one final season.

We would love to identify someone interested in shadowing Lori this year and taking over the role next season. No professional photography experience is necessary—just an interest in photography and preserving team memories.

In the meantime, we're also looking for help collecting photos.

If you take pictures at practices, meets, social events, or team activities, please text them to Michelle at 630-347-0414.

The more photos we collect, the better our end-of-season slideshow and team memories will be.

Team Bowling – Wednesday, July 1 🎳

Trade your goggles for bowling shoes and join the Barracudas for an afternoon of strikes, slices, and smiles!

We'll have bowling, pizza, fries, drinks, and arcade credits for everyone. It's the perfect opportunity to spend time with teammates and coaches and enjoy some fun outside the pool.

Lucky Strike Arlington
320 South 23rd Street
Arlington, VA

Wednesday, July 1
5:00–6:30 PM

Cost: $30 per Person

Includes:

• 1.5 Hours of Bowling
• Shoe Rental
• Pizza, Fries, and Soda
• $10 Arcade Card

We have another exciting week ahead with our first home B Meet, Ft. Hunt Sportsmen Relays, the launch of our Mini Barracuda Program, and another competitive A Meet.

Thank you for everything you do to support our swimmers, coaches, and team.

Go Barracudas!

Swimmingly,

Lauren & Michelle