🏊 Stingray Weekly Update | June 22–28
Hello Stingray Families,
What an exciting start to the season! Thank you to everyone who participated in Time Trials, volunteered, officiated, timed, marshaled, organized, and cheered on our swimmers. We are officially entering our first full week of competition season!
This email contains a lot of important information. Please take a few minutes to read through it carefully and review the action items below.
🚨 ACTION ITEMS THIS WEEK
☐ Attend Monday's Developmental Meet
☐ Remember your Swim Pal Exchange
☐ Pick up your team shirt if you have not already
☐ Declare availability for Saturday's 6/27 A Meet by Wednesday at NOON
☐ Wear your team shirt for Picture Day on Thursday
☐ Remember there are NO practices on Thursday 6/25 due to Picture Day
☐ Sign up for Progressive Dinner 6/ 25 (Rising 7th Grade & Older)
☐ Join us for Pep Rally Friday 6/26 - Minions!! at 6:45 PM
☐ Watch for A Meet selections from coaches Wednesday evening
📣 Parents of 13&O Swimmers
We need your help!
Swimtopia sends communications to parent email addresses only. As our older swimmers become more independent, we are noticing a communication gap where some important information may not be reaching them.
We kindly ask parents of our 13&O swimmers to:
✅ Forward team emails to your swimmer, OR
✅ Review key team communications with them.
This is especially important for:
• Practice schedule updates
• Meet selections and event assignments
• Pep rallies and social events
• Progressive Dinner information
• Volunteer opportunities
• Team expectations and announcements
Our goal is to help our older athletes take ownership of their swim season while ensuring they stay informed and connected to the team.
Thank you for helping keep our Stingrays in the loop!
📅 WEEK AT A GLANCE
Monday, June 22 – First Developmental Meet (Home vs South Run)
📍 Hunt Valley Swim Club
Swimmer Timeline
🏊 5:20 PM – Swimmers arrive
🏊 5:30 PM – Hunt Valley warm-ups
🏊 5:55 PM – Visiting team warm-ups
🏊 6:30 PM – Meet begins
🏊 Approximately 9:00 PM – Meet concludes
Volunteer Timeline
🦺 5:20 PM – Marshals arrive
🦺 5:30 PM – Marshals in place
⏱️ 5:45 PM – Officials arrive
⏱️ 5:50 PM – Officials briefing
⏱️ 6:00 PM – Timers briefing
🍧 Kona Ice will be available.
⚠️ The pool closes to general membership at 4:45 PM.
🌦️ Weather Reminder
Current forecasts show a chance of rain on Monday evening.
☔ Parents: Please bring umbrellas, rain jackets, and weather-appropriate gear.
🏊 Swimmers: Bring an extra towel and a change of dry clothes for after the meet.
💙 Developmental meets are an important opportunity for swimmers to gain experience, improve their times, and have fun competing with teammates.
Unless there is lightning or another safety concern, we fully intend to swim and provide our athletes the opportunity they have worked hard for all season.
Some of our most memorable Stingray meets have happened in the rain! ☔🏊
Tuesday, June 23
🏊 Morning practices continue.
Please review your swimmer's practice schedule and arrive a few minutes early to help practices start on time.
Wednesday, June 24
🚨 A Meet Declaration Deadline
Parents must declare swimmer availability by NOON.
Declaring availability does NOT guarantee selection. However, swimmers who are not declared may not be considered for Saturday's meet.
Coaches consider:
📧 Official A Meet selections and event assignments will be sent by the coaches Wednesday evening.
💡 If your family already knows your summer schedule, you can declare future meet availability in advance.
Thursday, June 25
📸 Team Picture Day
⚠️ There will be NO swim or dive practices on Picture Day.
👕 All swimmers and divers should wear their FREE Hunt Valley Team Shirt.
If you have not picked up your team shirt, please stop by the pavilion and locate your family's bag before Picture Day.
Picture Day is one of our favorite team traditions and helps us capture memories from the season. We encourage all swimmers and divers to attend, even if they cannot stay for the entire event.
Photos Being Offered
📸 Team Photo
📸 Individual or Sibling Swimmer Photos
Families who would like sibling photos should plan accordingly and ensure all swimmers are present.
Makeup Day
📅 Makeup Day: July 10
Individual swimmers who miss Picture Day will have an opportunity for makeup photos on July 10.
📸 Individual or Sibling photos may also be taken during the makeup session.
💡 This makeup opportunity is available this season because our Lil Rays program starts later and we hired our photographer for their team photo and taking advantage of the hired time on deck. In most seasons, we are unable to offer a dedicated makeup day, so we encourage families to attend Picture Day on June 25 whenever possible.
⚠️ Team photos can only be taken on Picture Day and cannot be recreated during the makeup session.
Additional details regarding photo schedules and ordering information will be distributed separately.
🌟 Progressive Dinner (Rising 7th Grade & Older)
🕕 Thursday, June 25 | 6:00–11:00 PM
One of our favorite Hunt Valley traditions is back! Swimmers and divers entering 7th grade and older are invited to join us for an evening of dinner, friends, photos, and a private night swim. More opportunities for volunteer hours too!
👉 Sign Up Here: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0448AEA92CA6FDC43-62710834-progressive
Participants should:
Event Schedule
📸 6:15–6:30 PM – Team Photos
🥗 6:30 PM – Depart for Appetizer House
🍽️ Dinner with teammates and friends
🌙 Return to the pool 8:45 PM for a private night swim until 11:00 PM
⚠️ Registration is required so we can plan food, transportation groups, and wristbands. Please sign up as soon as possible.
Friday, June 26
🎉 Pep Rally – 6:45 PM - THEME: MINIONS
Join us as we celebrate our Stingrays before Saturday's meet!
🏆 Swimmer Recognitions
📣 Cheers and Team Spirit
🩵 Fun with Friends
🎉 Stingray Energy
If your family received an award notification, please help us keep the surprise a secret.
Saturday, June 27 – NVSL A Meet (Home)
Selected swimmers will receive official communication from the coaches on Wednesday evening.
Please carefully review:
✔ Arrival times
✔ Event assignments
✔ Relay assignments
✔ Volunteer responsibilities
Additional meet information will be distributed later this week.
🏊 Swim Pals Reminder
Swim Pal assignments are available in your family folders.
If your swimmer cannot attend Monday's meet:
🎁 Please coordinate directly with your Swim Pal OR
🎁 Drop your goodie bag at the pavilion.
We will happily make sure it gets delivered.
📂 Family Folders
Please check your family folder regularly.
Family folders are used throughout the season for:
📬 Team communications
🏅 Meet ribbons
🏆 Awards and recognition
Please only remove items from your own family's folder and kindly ask, to put the folder back. 10 Under parents, we ask you to accompany your swimmer to their folder for proper handling of communication.
📸 Meet Photos
A huge thank you to our Platinum Team Sponsor, Steve Broderick Photography, for generously donating his time and talent to capture Stingray memories throughout the season!
Photos from meets and team events can be viewed here:
📷 https://stevebroderickphotography.pixieset.com/
🔒 To help protect the privacy of our athletes and families, the gallery is password protected.
Access Code: 7100
We encourage families to browse, download, and enjoy these memories throughout the season. Be sure to thank Steve when you see him on deck!
❤️ Sportsmanship Matters
As competition season begins, let's continue building the positive culture that makes Hunt Valley special.
Please remind swimmers to:
❤️ Cheer for teammates
❤️ Encourage competitors
❤️ Shake hands after the race, in water or right after
❤️ Show respect to officials and volunteers
❤️ Focus on personal improvement
Remember: the goal is not to beat another swimmer's time.
The goal is to improve your own time, work hard, support your teammates, and have fun.
🏊 Happy Father's Day!
-- Why do swimmers make great detectives?
------- Because they always dive into the details! 😎💦
Happy Father's Day to all of our Stingray Dads, Grandfathers, and Father Figures. Thank you for everything you do both on deck and at home! 🩵
🛡️ Safe Sport Reminder
📸 We love seeing families capture Stingray memories!
As a Safe Sport best practice, please do not take photos or videos from behind swimmers at the starting end of the pool during 25-meter events.
Please use designated spectator areas and avoid blocking officials, timers, coaches, or volunteers.
Thank you for helping us keep our athletes safe and supported. 🩵🏊
🥚Congratulations! 🎉 If you've made it this far, you have officially completed this week's Stingray Parent Endurance Event.
Your reward is knowing:
✅ When the meet starts
✅ When Picture Day is
✅ When declarations are due
✅ That there are no practices Thursday
✅ That Kona Ice is coming Monday
✅ And that your swimmer will absolutely remind you of something from this email five minutes before you need to leave the house.
As a bonus, stop by the Rep Table and tell one of the Swim Reps the secret phrase:
"The Stingray reads the fine print."
We may not have a prize... but we will definitely be impressed. 😄
Thank you for taking the time to read our updates. It truly helps our volunteers, coaches, and reps keep the season running smoothly for everyone.
Thank you for everything you do to support our swimmers, coaches, officials, volunteers, and team families. The energy around the pool has been incredible, and we are excited for a fantastic week ahead.
Go Stingrays! 🩵🏊
Hunt Valley Swim Team Parent Reps
Amy Herbert, Mike Cabusao, and Olivia Slater
