Swim Team Summer Week #5
Hello Swim Team Families,
Can you believe it? We have already arrived at the last week of the swim season!
tldr: Your to-do’s:
- RSVPfor Tuesday’s final dual meet.
- RSVP for Thurs B -Champs, DUE EOD TUESDAY NO EXCEPTIONS
- Volunteer to HELP at B-Champs. Teen helpers are also welcome!
- Register for Swim Team SleepoverThursday night.
For those who want more information, lock in bc this is going to be a long email …
Tues Jul 23 is our final dual meet at Lakeridge. Please RSVP for your swimmer ASAP and no later than Sunday EOD. This should be a fun meet, there’s a lot of West Seattle families who swim for Lakeridge.
Thurs Jul 25 We will end the regular season with a bang as the swim team takes over the Arb for 20 hours straight(!) as we embark on the epic summer swim marathon party of B-Champs/Pool Party/Team Sleepover/Breakfast of Champions/Final Friday Fun Practice.
B-CHAMPS SOUTHERN DIVISION QUALIFIER (Th 7/24)
This is our final open meet of the season, where swimmers from all the southern clubs gather to race and try to get a prelims-qualifying time. It’s a fun and chill meet that goes quickly since it’s only individual events, there’s no relays.
Even if you are not swimming, we hope you’ll come and help out -> volunteer. Hosting a multi-club meet is a big all-hands-on-deck undertaking, and Seniors and responsible 14’s can volunteer- timing, concessions, staging- there’s lots to do! Do you know any middle or high schoolers looking – this is a great opportunity to get up to 5 service hours.
This year’s theme for B-Champs is: Bands and Bands! Making and exchanging friendship bracelets has become a B-Champs tradition, so get crafty! We will be rocking out to our favorite swim meet jams, and everyone is encouraged to show up dressed like a rockstar, and load up their wrists with friendship bracelets. (Get it? bands… and bands? Hahaha…) We hope to see you there, either as a swimmer or as a cheering teammate/helper.
B-Champs is open to any swimmer who has not yet achieved a prelims-qualifying time in an individual event. This is a meet where it’s really important that you clearly opt in or opt out (you can fill this out multiple times, we’ll use the one with the latest timestamp). If you opt in and then make prelims, don’t worry about it, we will know. But if you think you want to swim, you need to opt in. This is a complicated meet with many clubs and heats, and we will not be able to accomodate last minute email additions.
B-Champs warm up is at 2:30 (<- NOTE THIS EARLY START TIME, gates open at 2 pm) and the meet starts at 4 pm. There is more B-Champs info HERE.
SWIM TEAM POOL PARTY & SLEEPOVER!! (Th 7/24)
Right after B-Champs concludes sometime between 6 and 7 pm, swimmers will set up tents around the pool deck, enjoy some swimming time and dinner (we’ll do something like hot dogs or pizza, not sure yet) and then crawl into their sleeping bags for a very quiet and restful night of sleep with no goofing off or nonsense whatsoever. In the morning on Friday the well-rested swimmers will roll out of bed and right into our final fun Friday practice and ‘Breakfast of Champions” (pancakes).
If your swimmer is going to attend the sleepover, you MUST sign them up to attend, we NEED to have a registration with emergency contact information for everyone staying the night. –> Register for Sleepover. We also MUST have enough chaperones for the night to be safe and sane for everyone. Please consider signing up to stay the night and help.
Sleepover Rules:
- Do not set up tents until after B-Champs ends and other teams have cleared out. Parents, please help your kids set up their tents and make sure their sleeping arrangements are established before leaving for the night.
- All participants younger than 11 MUST have a designated adult chaperone stay overnight at the pool. Families, this is up to you to coordinate, exchange phone numbers, etc. For participants 11+ responsible adult chaperones (including me) will be onsite overseeing them.
- All overnight participants must be registered and parents will be required to provide at least one phone number (ringer ON) prior to leaving the premises.
- Tents will be set up in the grassy areas and deck, and will be organized by age groups. Younger kids will be in tents on the grass by the tennis courts, Seniors will be in the southeast corner of the pool by the flagpole. (Seniors/Teens may elect to sleep on deck chairs and/or under open canopies)
- Quiet hours will begin at 10:00pm. At 10:30 pm, gates will be closed and no one will be allowed to enter/exit the club until the following morning without adult permission.
- Participants should bring a sleeping bag, camp pad, tent, or whatever they need for sleeping arrangements, toothbrush and whatever they need for swim practice on Friday.
All team members (including Starter Swim) are welcome to participate in this sleep over/under however works best for your child- maybe you want to join for the party and evening swimming but depart and sleep in your own bed? That’s great! Anyone not staying over please plan to depart by 10 pm. It would help us for food count if you Register for Sleepover and then put in the notes that you’re not actually sleeping over.
Swimmers can also just participate in fun and pancakes Friday morning. (Come on over early if you want, people will be here, early bird adult lap swim will be running, pancakes will be flipping. Practices start at 7 am. )
LAST PRACTICE & BREAKFAST OF CHAMPIONS (Fri 7/25)
Friday will be our final practice of the regular season . We’ll generally follow our usual age group schedule, though everything will be very relaxed. We’ll have fun and games, plus our “Breakfast of Champions” pancake breakfast!
Looking ahead,
FRIDAY AUGUST 9, after a little break for the postseason, is our Team Party and Awards Night! Mark your calendars for 5 pm. (Starter Swim families are also included in this event! ) There will be dinner, awards, swimming, and some colorful chaos!
RSVP for Awards Night & Swim Party
Contribute Photos for 2025 Slideshow (or you can email them to me here)
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POSTSEASON (7/29- 8/6)
Coming up is the post-season finals. To qualify to swim in the finals, swimmers must achieve a time for an event that is faster than the prelims-qualifying time, or they must be named as a swimmer or alternate in a qualifying relay going to Prelims. Relay spots are decided by our coaching team.
To swim in the postseason, swimmers must commit to participating in ALL post season meets. See schedule down below in email signature, and talk with the coaches if you have questions. If you know you’ll likely be swimming post season, you may need to plan ahead to miss work in the afternoons– see below for warm up times. Returning families, I also need you to volunteer at least one postseason meet.
Families with swimmers who have posted times eligible to swim postseason will receive a separate email with logistics information and the post season practice schedule later this week after the Lakeridge meet.
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Let us know if you have any questions- reply all to include coaches.
A-R-B-O-R GO ARBOR!
Kirsty
ARBOR HEIGHTS SWIM REP
Useful Links
Share Photos for 2025 Slideshow
meet results (league website)
Previous swim team emails are posted here
.ics link to subscribe to swim team calendar
Selling/gifting/seeking swim gear | Responses
Upcoming Events
Jul 22 Away Meet @ Lakeridge | RSVP by Sun Jul 20 | Warm up @5:15p
Jul 24 B-Champs @ Arbor Heights | RSVP by Tues Jul 22 | volunteer | Warmup 2:30-2:50
Jul 24 B-Champs Team Sleepover | Register for Sleepover
Jul 25 Last day of practice! Pancake Breakfast
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Post Season Prelims:
Jul 28 Girls @OV (warmup 2:25-2:50) volunteer
Jul 29 Boys @GS (warmup 2:25-2:50) volunteer
Post Season Finals:
Jul 31 Southern Division @NP volunteer
Aug 5 All City @View Ridge volunteer
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Aug 8 End of Season Party & Awards Night 5 pm RSVP for Awards Night & Swim Party
