Hi everyone, we had a really nice week of practice on our way into the meet-heavy portion of our season.

Time Trials (Tuesday 530)

Designed mostly for swimmers who are new to swim meets, new to certain events, and anyone who wants to get in some low-stress races, please declare your swimmers' availabilities by 6PM TONIGHT. You can do so by navigating from the green meet signup button next to time trials on the schedule, and using the resulting drop-down boxes for each of your children. Note: You can do this for EVERY meet on the schedule now and if something changes later, you can always edit. This will save you from me hassling you, as well as potentially missing any deadlines.

For those declared available for the meet, expect a more detailed email tomorrow.

PJs and Pancakes

As part of time trials, we will be having our favorite pancake-master (Mr. Meeks) making pancakes at the playground. Even if you're not swimming, consider stopping by to cheer on the other kids in your PJs and have some breakfast for dinner.

Buddy List

The Buddy List is now out and posted in the display case at the pool, as well as attached in this email. We asked only those willing to be buddies to opt-in this year, so hopefully this leads to some active mentorships and relationships among the swimmers. A good big buddy is one who encourages the little buddy by cheering for them and just easing any of the anxiety around meets.

Saturday Clinic (6/6 8am-930) -- IMs/Flip Turns

We had really good feedback from our Breast/Fly clinic and will now be having another paid clinic this coming Saturday, focused on IMs and Flip Turns. To purchase a spot, do so HERE. This clinic will be limited to 50 participants.

This clinic is geared primarily towards 9-10 year old swimmers who are interested in swimming longer events this summer. We’ll split into groups and cover freestyle flip turns as well as the transitions between strokes in the IM with general stroke guidance as well. Also open to 7-8s and 11-12s also interested.

Merch is (mostly) IN

At time trials, Nikki Bonifas will have a table set up to distribute our free caps and team shirts for every swimmer. Also available to pick up will be any merchandise orders, except for hats and custom caps, which take a little longer. If you cannot make it to time trials, we will also have merchandise available to pickup on Wednesday at both morning and afternoon practices.

At time trials, we will also be selling a small quantity of the new merchandise at regular price and vintage merchandise at a discount.

Practices this week

We will have our normal schedule this week, with a small caveat. AM practices are all normal, even on our Time Trials day. PM practices are normal except for no practice on Tuesday afternoon due to Time Trials. Enfinity will also be hosting a free clinic during practice on Monday 6/8, no registration required, open to all.

Swimmers of the Week

Emmy Cooke

Coach Jenn says: Emmy has a great attitude, she is always willing to try new things in practice, even if they’re hard, and is usually asking if she can do “one more!”

Claire Smith

Coach Claire says: She has been working very hard and she’s a great listener.

Ella Heinecke

Coach Reese says: She set a good example for other swimmers and her technique has really improved.

Ruby Horton

Coach Nollie says: She’s been listening to directions and asking questions when she needs help.

Caroline Rompel

Coach Will says: She took critique on her flip turn during practice and worked hard to improve technique during the butterfly/breaststroke clinic.

Congrats to all of our swimmers on working hard this week! I will never not be impressed by these kids.

Reminders

If you have last minute changes after our availability declaration deadline (life happens!) please text Coach Jenn at 336-340-7410. Please follow us on Instagram at @newsherwoodstingrays . There is currently detailed information on how to declare on there, including photos.

Thank you all for your cooperation! Go Stingrays!

Jeremy and Brooke

Hi Stingray families! Thank you for a wonderful first week and for your patience as we adjust things on the fly.

Saturday Clinic postponed

Due to the forecasted awful weather this weekend, we are postponing this Saturday’s breast/fly clinic until next Saturday, May 30th. If we need to change your registrations, please respond and we can work that out.

Weather alerts/cancellations

It looks like we have a chance for thunderstorms late this afternoon. As a reminder, we follow all pool-mandated guidelines for weather. This means that if it thunders, we are out of the water for 30 minutes. If there is lightning within 8 miles, we clear the pool deck completely. If it is raining hard enough to not be able to see the pool bottom, we stop swimming. However, if it is light rain in warm weather, practice will be on.

We will try to make weather-related decisions as soon as is reasonably possible and communicate them to you ASAP via both email and text (if you have alerts on). So please look out for those messages if we have iffy weather. Also, if you personally don’t feel comfortable with your child to swim in a particular condition, that is your prerogative as a parent and we respect that decision. I appreciate everyone’s cooperation in keeping us safe.

Another stroke and turn clinic

Want to be a new stroke and turn judge but couldn’t fit the last clinic into your schedule? The GFSL just posted another opportunity for interested new judges to attend on Wednesday June 3 from 7-830 pm at Forsyth country club. We can always use more judges! To register, click HERE.

Thank you

On a personal note, I want to thank everyone for the concern, well wishes, and offers to help after I broke my arm on Tuesday. Anyone who knows me knows how hard it will be for me to not be as physically involved, but I intend to lean on this community for which I am SO GRATEFUL.

Thanks again for all of your cooperation in making this crazy thing work and Go Stingrays!

Jeremy

Hi Stingray families, thanks for showing up to the kickoff party last night; it was great seeing everyone again or for the first time. Practices are finally here this coming week and the weather is looking really great for the kids to get off to a good start. A few notes for our first week of practice, Monday through Thursday:

Practice Schedule

For this week only, we have solely PM practices. They are scheduled as follows:

PUP CAMP - 430-530

6 and under & LIttle Rays - 530-600

7-8s, 600-645

9-10s - 645-730

11 and up- 645-745.

After Memorial Day, we will begin our regular AM/PM practice schedule.

Bring Shoes!

As we ease into the season and ease into swimming fitness, as well as helping out with crowding with only evening practices, we will be doing a lot of dry land activities in the grass lot next to the pool. Please have your swimmers bring footwear! Additionally, please use the parking lot attached to the pool until it fills up to allow a little more space in the grassy parking area.

Breaststroke/Butterfly Clinic on Saturday 5/23

A reminder for if you would like your swimmer to get more directed technique training, we are offering a paid clinic for $10 this Saturday from 8am-930. If interested, please purchase a spot HERE.

Theme Meets!

Save the dates and prepare now for the theme meets which our social chairs have coordinated.

6/9 HOME vs Aqua demons - Hawaiian
6/16 @ Brookberry - WEAR RED
6/23 HOME vs Crazy Ducks - NEON/glow
6/25 @ Waterford - Superheros
6/30 HOME vs Peacehaven - REDWHITEBLUE/America
7/7 @ Sherwood Sharks - Pirates and Mermaids

Thanks again to everyone and we are very excited to get started. Let's have fun. Go Stingrays!

Jeremy and Brooke

Hey everyone, I hope the end of year stuff isn't overwhelming you! 2 quick items/reminders:

Swim Team Kickoff Party and potluck

A reminder that our swim team kickoff party is this Saturday from 4-7 at the pool. All pup campers and full season swimmers and families are invited. Current forecast is a high of 85 and sunny!

Please sign up to bring food for the potluck at the green button next to the event HERE. See you soon!

Saturday 5/23 Breaststroke and Butterfly Clinic

New for this season, so we'll see how it goes! On several Saturdays throughout the season, we will be hosting a paid clinic for a maximum of 50 swimmers to focus on certain strokes or general meet prep. Our first is Saturday 5/23 and the cost is $10/swimmer.

This clinic is geared primarily towards 7-8 year old swimmers who will be swimming breast and fly for the first time. We’ll split into groups and focus closely on the components of each stroke (~45min on each). Also open to 9-10s who need additional guidance on these strokes. To purchase a slot, please click HERE.

Thanks and we hope to see you at the kickoff party on Saturday. Go Stingrays!

Jeremy and Brooke

Hi veteran and new Stingray families! Registration is going well and we have a few of the younger groups nearly filled up. But if you know any teens who are on the fence, we have plenty of room and would love to have them!

New Merchandise!

We have newly-designed hoodies, hats, sweatpants(!), shirts and tanks in our merchandise store HERE. They look great! These will all be ordered, printed, and delivered to our wonderful apparel chair as a batch, thus we have a deadline of MAY 12th so that we can distribute all of your ordered merchandise to you before the first meet. Note: the personalized caps can often take a little longer. Reminder: each full-season swimmer receives a non-personalized cap and a t-shirt as part of the registration. Does not apply to Pup camp-only registrants.

Team Suits

We will have the same team suits as we have had in the past. As a reminder, the suits are NOT required, but certainly encouraged for team unity at the meets. You can order the suits HERE and they will be delivered to your house.

Have a great end of the school year and we'll see you all in about a month!

Thanks and Go Stingrays!

Jeremy and Brooke

FINALS 2026: SAVE THE DATE

Hi Stingray families, we just received the date for the 2026 GFSL Finals. It is Sunday July 12th, 2026 at the GAC.Save the Date! We would love to have as many people available as possible, so please consider planning around that date.

2025 SEASON SURVEY

Our new coach made a wonderful survey to help improve your swim team experience. Please CLICK HERE to take this short survey. I'd love all the feedback we can possibly get, good or bad. We always want to improve.

NEW COACH

Speaking of our wonderful new coach . . . it's JENN FELTIS! We are as thankful to William for this past season as we are excited for Jenn this coming season. We are thrilled that she agreed to be our 2026 Head Coach. Meet the Coach:

Hi Stingray Families,

I’m thrilled to be coaching the New Sherwood Stingrays this summer! I’m so excited for the season ahead — though I’ll admit, it’s a little daunting too. I know I’ll be leaning on our amazing assistant coaches and the incredible support of our parents to make this a great summer for all our swimmers.

A little about me — many of you already know me and my kids, but for those who don’t: this will be my older son Kane’s 5th summer with the team (hard to believe he’s already 9!), and my younger son Jagges is back for his second year after joining as a 4-year-old last summer.

I grew up swimming in Greensboro as an ORCA at Oak Ridge Swim Club, competing in summer league from ages 11 to 18. I swam for Northwest High School and spent a couple of years swimming year-round for GYC. Swimming was a huge part of my childhood — it taught me confidence, perseverance, and teamwork — and even inspired me to take on triathlons as an adult.

Summer swim team has always held a special place in my heart — it’s where I made lifelong friends, where I first coached, and even where I met my husband!

This season, my goal is to help every swimmer feel supported and proud of their progress — from our newest swimmers finding their rhythm, to our 7-year-olds learning new strokes, to our 9- and 11-year-olds tackling new challenges with the IM and longer distances. I can’t wait to see their growth, their smiles, and their confidence shine through.

I’ll still be working full time while coaching, so I’ll greatly appreciate everyone’s teamwork and understanding along the way. I’m always open to feedback, ideas, and support — it truly takes a village, and I’m so thankful to be part of this one.

Here’s to a fun, splash-filled, and memorable Stingray summer!

Jenn

Thanks and have a great Fall! Go Stingrays!

Jeremy and Brooke

Hey all, it was great seeing such a wonderful turnout for our post-season party. And really amazing to see the amount of donations and cards for the Bright Beginnings Project. If you forgot your donations but would still like to contribute, please bring them to the Robinhood YMCA.

For those who couldn't make it, here is a recap of our awards:

1. Most Improved Swimmers (Medals)
   1. 6U – Chandler Fadley (31%) & Molly Forrest(25%)
   2. 7-8 – Miles Fadley(12%) & Charlotte Corsaro(6%)
   3. 9-10 – Rosalie Hoeing (6%) & Hudson Wolfe(6%)
   4. 11-12 – Stella Argenta(5%) & Grant Wolfe(7%)
   5. 13-14 – Josie Hoeing(7%) & Max Buchanan(5%)
   6. 15 & up – Reese Powell(7%) & Will Strathman(6%)
2. Individual High Point Winners (Trophies for 10u, Towels for 11 +)
   1. 6u Boys – Sullivan Rose
   2. 6u Girls – Olivia Mitchell
   3. 7-8 Boys—Kane Feltis
   4. 7-8 Girls –Rylee Jackson
   5. 9-10 Boys –Lucas Sayers
   6. 9-10 Girls –Sophie Andersen
   7. 11-12 Boys –Jayce Cassidy
   8. 11-12 Girls – Molly Cavanaugh
   9. 13-14 Boys –Griffin Powell
   10. 13-14 Girls – Rylan Kirley
   11. 15 + Boys –William Powell
   12. 15 + Girls –Reese Powell
3. Swaggies
   1. Always Early - Jayce Cassidy
   2. Best Goggles - Emmy Cooke
   3. Family IM - Nollie, Josie, Haddie, and Rosalie Hoeing
   4. Mr. Worldwide (Going Viral in Jean Shorts) - Sam Lawson
   5. Eager Beaver(Excited to jump in!) - Andy Simmons
   6. Diving Dudes(always asking to go off the board at practice) - Cash Kirley and Brooks Walser
   7. Lane Rope Superstar - Katy Meeks
   8. Silliest 6u- Sammy Krings
   9. Friendliest Stingray - Mavis Wells
4. Coaches Awards
   1. William – Tommy Suter & Lake Hall
   2. Claire – Ava Kate McGrady & James Forrest
   3. Reese - Caroline Strathman & William Brown
   4. Graham – Jagges Feltis & Poppy May
   5. Nollie – Samuel Forrest & Everly Rose
   6. Will – Emerson Wolfe & Cliff Ferguson
   7. Paige - Samantha Davis & Luke Eyadiel
5. Volunteer Swaggies
   1. Best Travel Planner – The Rose Family
   2. Most Dedicated Stingrays - The Bonifas family
6. Wendy Bartlett Golden Clipboard Award (Volunteer of the Year) – David McGrady
7. Paul Bridges Golden Speedo Award – William Powell

Be on the lookout for an email from me this fall when our league finals date has been finalized.  Thanks for a great season, Stingrays!

Jeremy and Brooke

Hi Stingray families, believe it or not, this is our last week of the 2025 swim team season. A couple quick things before my long spiel:

Practices

This week, our full team practices will consist of Monday evening and Monday through Wednesday mornings. Wednesday morning only will be a full-team Fun Wednesday. Beginning Wednesday evening through Friday morning, practices will be only for those attending Finals. We will send out a list of Finals swimmers as soon as we have that locked in on Wednesday. Be on the lookout!

To Do before we go any further (if you haven't done already, for which I thank you)

1- Declare your availability for Tuesday's meet at Peacehaven.

2 - Declare your availability for Finals at the GAC on Sunday, July 13th.

Now that you have done those things, read on!

Today! Ice Cream Social and Service Event

- 3:00-4:30 at the pool. (WEATHER PENDING; we will make the call at noon.)Please consider contributing and attending!

Tuesday - Swim meet AT Peacehaven

This meet with our neighborhood-adjacent friends at Peacehaven is always a fun one that we look forward to every season. We will be having pizza and watching a movie with them at their pool directly following the meet. Their theme on Tuesday is "Dynamic Duos" and we are invited to also participate. Have fun with this one! Entries are due by 6PM TONIGHT. We also still have a lot of volunteer openings in the Stingray Zone as well as a couple timer spots.

I will send out more meet-specific details to those participating as I receive them, including how we are handling pizza orders, etc.

Finals - Sunday, July 13th at the GAC

I can't stress this enough - PLEASE DECLARE YOUR AVAILABILITY (yes or no!) ASAP. Once we have our lineups finalized, we will send out the finals roster. We will also be asking for volunteers for that day, including 2 team parents and probably 4 parents to help run kids from clerk of course to the blocks and another 4 to stand on the blocks, as well as a couple timers. Volunteering is the ONLY way to be on deck during the meet.

If you have any questions at all regarding this event, please respond to this email or text Jeremy at 336-416-2496. If you have any changes, please text Coach William at 336-978-7224.

I will send out an info-packed email to all participating families as soon as we have our roster finalized. Be on the lookout!

Postseason Potluck and Awards Ceremony - Tuesday July 15th

Please plan to attend and bring a dish (sign up at the green job signup button next to the event on the schedule). We will have the pool to ourselves that evening, so it figures to be a fun time to just hang out, if nothing else. We will also present a bunch of awards and recognize as many swimmers as possible.

Swimmers of the Week

Sam Lawson

Coach William says: "His performance in practice was incredible as he swam the 1000(!) IM while wearing jorts!" (Note: you can catch this on our insta @newsherwoodstingrays )

Sawyer LeBaron

Coach Claire says: "He has improved a lot this year, always tries his hardest in practice and is always in a good mood!"

Luke Eyadiel

Coach Graham says: "He always listens to what he's supposed to be doing and always tries to get better during practice."

Everly Rose

Coach Reese says: "She is always super enthusiastic and works hard! She wants to help the team."

Jagges Feltis

Coach Nollie says: "He is a strong swimmer even when he isn't sure of himself and always comes to practice with a positive attitude!"

James Forrest

Coach Will says: "James has been injured all season, came back last meet, swam hard and well with very little practice!"

Thanks again for a great season thus far, Stingray family. Let's finish out strong this week!

Thanks and Go Stingrays!

Jeremy and Brooke

Hi Stingray families, we're starting to get down near the end of the season, so thank you for a fun one so far this year. Practices will be normal this week, except for Friday, where we will NOT have practice because of the 4th of July. Also coming this week:

Hi again, Stingray families! I hope you all had fun at the intrasquad meet and enjoyed some pancakes. City Meet was also a lovely day with some really great swimming from our squad. Here's a quick City Meet recap and look ahead to this coming HOT week.

Hi Stingray family! Happy Father's day to all our Stingray dads who celebrate. You've earned it!

Hey all, it looks like we should have another good weather week. Practices will be normal. Just a couple things:

City Meet Entries are due by tomorrow. City Meet info is HERE.

Brookberry Meet Entries are due by TONIGHT AT 6PM. Please declare whether your swimmers are available or unavailable. We also still have volunteer openings. Please consider volunteering. Remember that we are having pre-meet popsicles before Tuesday's meet. Also, please have your swimmers wear their team t-shirt. We will take a team photo prior to the meet. The meet theme is NEON.

Looking ahead: Our intrasquad meet will be on Tuesday June 17th in conjunction with our Pajamas and Pancakes event. We will start posting paper signups in the display case beginning this wednesday for anyone who would like to compete. We will be having some fun events, including a t-shirt relay, parent races, coach races, etc.

Swimmers of the Week

Savanna Willis

Coach William says: "She had a great meet against FCC and had an awesome 50 breaststroke!"

Hudson Wolfe

Coach Claire says: "Hudson has been working really hard and his butterfly has gotten a lot better!

Riner Blackburn

Coach Reese says: "Riner was struggling with butterfly arms, got some coaching help and they looked much better and he swam a great 25."

Ian Parent

Coach Paige says: "Ian has gotten very good at breaststroke and does very well taking coaching criticism."

Andy Simmons

Coach Will says: "Andy is always really excited to practice and had great energy and attitude at the FCC meet."

Great job, Stingrays!

Thanks again for all the support. We love our swim family.

Go Stingrays!

Jeremy and Brooke

Below is a note from our wonderful social chairs, Stephanie Forrest and Emily Smith:

Just a quick update on the remaining social events for the season! June 10th we will have our Pre-Meet Popsicles! Join us on the playground at 4:15 p.m. prior to our last home meet of the season! This is a great time for all swimmers to get excited for the meet and to hang out with their older/younger swim buddies and friends. June 17th is our Pancakes and Pajama Party! After our intrasquad/relay meet we will have freshly cooked pancakes with toppings! Pack your pajamas to change into after swimming. There is a new signup available.

July 6th is our Ice Cream Social and Service Project. We will collect new and gently used backpacks and school supplies to donate to the Robinhood YMCA for their Bright Beginnings Program. The Y will give these to kids in need before school starts. Swimmers will write encouraging notes to put in the backpacks. Following that, we will have an ice cream sundae bar! Please start collecting backpacks, crayons, markers, highlighters, loose-leaf paper, composition notebooks, and single-subject wide-ruled notebooks.

The donations are in lieu of the greenway cleanup (since there is rarely any trash there). However, if you are ever on the greenway connector and see garbage, please pick it up! We have adopted this portion of the greenway and like to keep it clean!

July 8th is pizza and a movie following the Peace Haven meet!

Post meet dinner locations:
June 10th - Stoked (they are staying open late just for the stingrays!!
June 24th - Cava on Stratford
July 1st - Mossy's in Clemmons
July 8th - Pizza at Peace Haven

GO STINGRAYS! 

If you had pictures from the last meet against CW, we would love to see and share them. Do so in THIS GOOGLE DRIVE. Additionally, I have attached a photo of items left over at CW from Thursday. Please let me know if any of these items are yours and i can arrange to have them delivered back to us. The CW reps were very impressed with our families and our organization and were extremely thankful for the way we cleaned up even in that chaos. Thank you all so much!

Another quick note about the CW meet: We have received word from the league that the meet does count for the minimum 2 meets required for league finals eligibility, but the times from the meet do not count for official seeding in league meets.

TUESDAY: HOME meet against Forsyth Country Club Crazy Ducks

We host the Crazy Ducks on Tuesday. If you have not yet declared either available or unavailable for that meet, please do so at the green meet entry button next to the meet on the schedule ASAP. Entries are due by 6PM tonight. Also, please consider volunteering. We have a huge team and need all the help we can get!

Theme: HAWAIIAN . Post-meet dinner at La Carreta on Peacehaven.

Practices

Morning practices will be at the normal times all week, Monday through Friday. As a reminder, 6us and Little Rays from 945-1015, 7-10s from 900-945, 11 and ups from 1000-1100. As always, morning practices are VERY MUCH PREFERRED since we have all lanes and both cutouts for diving and little rays.

Afternoon practices will also be at their normal times on Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday. 500-530 for 6us, 530-615 for 7-8, 615-700 for 9-10s, 615-715 for 11 and ups.

NOTES FROM THE HOA

1. Everyone should have received the email access for the gates. Some key fobs and cards are still in transit. If you have not received your access yet, please email [email protected]

2. The gates for morning practice are never to be propped open.

3. Parents are not to be on deck for morning practice, but can hang out in the playground area after dropping their kids and items off on the deck. The reasoning we received: "The kids are having swim practice, not the parents."

If you have any questions or concerns about these notes, please email the HOA's pool board chair at [email protected]

City meet

Just a gentle reminder that city meet entries will have a hard close on June 9th. We love this meet, so if you can attend and compete, please complete entries and orders soon. Remember, you will select your own individual events, up to 4.

Swimmers of the Week

Chandler Fadley

Coach William says: "In his first meet ever, he swam the 25 free and also tried the 25 back even though he was a little unsure about it."

Lucas Sayers

Coach Claire says: "He has been working very hard in practice and had a very fast 25 free in the Clemmons West meet on Thursday."

Foster Henderson

Coach Graham says: "I've seen that he has been working on his breaststroke a lot at practice and it looked very good at the meet!"

Gibson Minta

Coach Nollie says: "Gibson always comes to practices very excited to swim and isn't afraid to ask questions!"

Tommy Suter

Coach Hawken says: "He has had a great attitude at practice and has been willing to do anything the coaches ask him to."

Great job, Stingrays! Remember to get those FCC entries in, have a great day, and hopefully we'll see you at the pool! It should be a nice one.

Thanks and Go Stingrays!

Jeremy and Brooke

Clemmons West Meet (AWAY)

The current forecast calls for a high of 62 degrees with rain on Tuesday. Even with CW's heated pool, that air temp is not reasonable for a swim meet. If that is still the forecast tomorrow morning, we will likely postpone the meet until Thursday. As of now, plan on swimming Tuesday, but really expect to swim on Thursday.

PLEASE DECLARE YOUR SWIMMERS' AVAILABILITY, whether available or unavailable. You can do this up until 6PM today for Tuesday. If we postpone, you can still change until 6PM Tuesday for Thursday. Reminder: you can declare availability for the whole season now and the availabilities can always be changed up until the deadline. Meet entries and jobs signups are available at the GREEN button next to the event on the event schedule. After 6PM today (or Tuesday), any changes will need to be made by texting Jeremy at 336-416-2496. For league meets, we do not have the same flexibility for late minute additions as we did for time trials, so any later adds are far from guaranteed.

Our theme for the CW Meet is WEAR RED. The post-meet dinner will be at Dairi-O in Clemmons.

PRACTICE SCHEDULE

Weather is going to really mess with us this week, so please keep an eye out for changes via email and text. Reminder: Morning practices are always preferred, as we have the pool to ourselves. In the afternoon, we only have 4 lanes and neither the deep end or the shallow cut-out. As of now, this is the practice schedule for this week:

Mornings

Tuesday through Friday (Fun Friday)

7-10 year olds from 9-945, 6 and unders and Little Rays are from 945-1015, and 11 and ups from 10am-11am. On Thursday, we will be hosting a TYDE clinic that will focus on starts, turns, and breaststroke. Please consider attending.

Evenings

Just Wednesday and Thursday. If the meet moves to Thursday, we obviously will not have practice that evening.

6 and unders from 5-530, 7-8s from 530-615, 9-10s from 615-700, 11 and ups from 615-715.

Caps and Merch

The personalized caps and extra silicone caps have arrived. The current plan is to pass them out at the meet on Tuesday, but we will likely have another day this week to pass them out at practice, along with any team shirts and ordered merch that has not yet been distributed.

Swimmers of the Week

Sullivan Rose

Coach William says: "Sully had an amazing 25 backstroke at Time Trials and is a great listener!"

Thea Landwehr

Coach Claire says: "Thea has been working really hard and always wants to get better!"

Maggie El-Beshti

Coach Paige says: "Maggie went from not being able to swim strokes, to being able to dive, do all 4 strokes, and do 50s. She always has a great attitude and is always ready to swim!"

Olivia Mitchell

Coach Reese says: "Olivia progressed from Little Rays to the 6 and under group. She is super enthusiastic and worked hard to get her qualifying 25."

Andrew Wolfe

Coach Will says: "Andrew is always ready to swim, enthusiastic, and tries really hard. He is always excited for practice!"

Thanks again everyone and keep an eye out for weather-related changes this week.

Go Stingrays!

Jeremy and Brooke

Hi everyone, this is going to be a long one! Practices are scheduled to start this week and of course the weather stinks!

Thus, we are CANCELLING practice and pup camp for Monday May 12. It's just going to stay too cold with the possibility of afternoon storms. Weather for Tuesday looks warmer, but still bad, so please stay on the lookout for changes on that front as well. I'm hoping the storms calm down for that afternoon and will try to make the call by 2pm on Tuesday.

As of now, the schedule this week is this: Pup Camp from 4-445 on Tuesday and Wednesday. Normal full team practices from Tuesday through FRIDAY (5-530 for 6 and unders, 530-615 for 7-8s, 615-715 for 9 and ups. On Saturday, we will have our preseason kickoff party and potluck from 4-8. Please signup on swimtopia to bring items under the Meets & Events tab ---> Signup Calendar ----> green job signup button to the right.

Also, all of our schedule events are open for jobs signups and for swimmer entries for every meet. If you know your schedule, go ahead and RSVP either yes or no for each event so I don't have to hassle you about it later. It can always be changed. To do so, it is also under Meets & Events ----> Signup Calendar ---> green Meet Entry button. Our Time trials are next Tuesday, May 20 at 530. This is intended for swimmers 12 and under. They are not required, but they will be a nice practice for the meets, as well as getting a feel for how they run. It may be the first time the 11s will swim a 50 or the first time a 7 year old tries the breaststroke or butterfly. It also helps us seed the swimmers so that they are in the appropriate heat and lane.

One quick reminder: to be eligible to participate in our league finals, each swimmer must be entered into 2 separate league meets (not intrasquad, time trials, or city meet).

Little Rays

Our current plan is that the Little Rays (for those yellow lighted at Pup camp or are new but didn't attend pup camp) will practice at the same time as the 6us until morning practices begin on May 27. Once morning practices begin, Little Rays will only practice in the mornings at the same time as 6us. There will be no Little Rays practices in the afternoon. We do want to be flexible, so we can work with families on how to make this program work best, but the above is the current plan based on safety and lane availability in the afternoons.

Officials

For existing prior year officials, please take the online test to re-certify.

For anyone interested in becoming a stroke and turn official, there are still 2 remaining dates for you to attend, May 13 and May 28. PLEASE consider attending and becoming certified for this season. It is rewarding to learn more about the sport and is very helpful to the team in case you may be needed. To do so, sign up HERE.

That's all for now, but please contact us for any needed clarifications or if you have any other questions. Be on the lookout for any changes from either us or the Pup Camp Chair, Mary Ellen Kistler.
Thanks and Go Stingrays!
Jeremy and Brooke

Hey all, if you are an existing stroke and turn official, you should have received a link last week to take the test and re-qualify for 2025.

For anyone interested in newly becoming an official, the dates, times, and locations of the 3 training clinics have been released. They are as follows:

Thursday, May 8th, 7:00 pm - Brookberry Farms Historic Barn

Tuesday, May 13th, 7:00 pm - Forsyth Country Club

Wednesday, May 28th, 7:00 pm - Brookberry Farms Historic Barn

To sign up for a session, please register here:

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0E49ACA92BAAFCC...

PLEASE consider becoming qualified to be an official. We can always use you and it's a great way to become more informed and involved in the sport.

Hey everyone, our team is filling up and it's looking like a fun, successful summer on the way.

Merchandise Orders

In preparation for this season, we are making a bulk order for some of our merch. You can choose from the options HERE . The due date for all of these orders is MAY 5. Our goal is to have them all in by our time trials on May 20, giving us a week to distribute before our first meet AT Clemmons West. One note on the personalized caps: They can take 3-5 weeks. Hopefully we have them in 3, but just fyi that there's a possibility they won't be ready before the first meet.

One quick addendum: We are only filling the orders for the free t-shirts at registration for each swimmer. This was intended as an opt-in for the swimmers who may have a million shirts already. I am aware that there was some confusion during registration where some adults may have ordered sizes for themselves. This is my(Jeremy's!) fault and I apologize for the confusion. But once again, we are only fulfilling those free t-shirts intended for the actual swimmers. I'm sorry and will fix this for next season.

Pup Camp

Our Pup Camp will be taking place on May 12 and 13, with our first full team practices following pup camp on those evenings and continuing on a normal schedule thereafter. Let's hope it's warm! If you have any questions concerning pup camp, please contact the Queen of Pup Camp, Mary Ellen Kistler. Additionally, if you have any 12 and over swimmers who would like to be pup camp junior assistants, please fill out THIS Doodle form.

Coaches

We officially have our coaches for this season. Take a look at our Swimtopia coaches page for more detail, but we are excited to have William Powell as HC, Claire Isaac as a senior assistant, and Reese Powell, Nollie Hoeing, Paige Hostert, Graham Presutti, and Will Strathman as junior assistants, as well as adding Isabella Calhoun and Hawken Tate as volunteer coaches. Sean Bonifas has graciously volunteered to help "coach the coaches" as well. We have a great squad!

They will hopefully all be available to give swim lessons this season. The HOA board is mulling a change that may eliminate that possibility by forcing unusual extra steps in order to give lessons. This also would apply to the lifeguards. I believe this would all but eliminate lessons at our pool. Please make your voice heard to the HOA if this is something that concerns you. Thank you.

Team Social Dates to Know

Our fun, creative social team has put together a list of fun things to pair with our meets, as follows:

Preseason peprally/potluck May 17th -- 4-8 PM

Spirit dates

• WEAR RED - May 27th at Aqua Demons
• HAWAIIAN – June 3rd vs Crazy Ducks
• NEON – June 10th vs Brook berry

Pizza and movie post meet @ peace haven – July 8th.

Pre meet popsicles

• June 10th at 4:20

Ice cream social/community service project

• July 6th at 3 pm

Postseason/Awards Banquet - Tuesday, July 15th, likely from 4-8

We may also be adding a pancake breakfast and intrasquad meet at some point. Be on the lookout!

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Thank you all for your help and support as we are in this super-busy time of the year for our community and please let me know if you have any concerns or anything that we can help you with.

Go Stingrays!
Jeremy and Brooke

New to this season, we are introducing Little 'Rays, a program that would allow swimmers to ease into swim meets more gradually.  Little 'Rays is for any swimmer who receives a yellow in pup camp or any young swimmers new to the team who do not attend Pup Camp.

Swimmers will practice regularly with the 6u group, but will not be eligible to swim in meets until their readiness is agreed upon with both parents and our swim team coaches.  We hope this will prevent us pushing those swimmers who are on the border before they are ready to compete in meets.

2024 Stroke and Turn Clinic Dates Posted

Please consider being stroke and turn judge-certified this season! It is a great way to learn more about the sport, be involved, and you get the best view on the pool deck. Becoming certified is easy! Just REGISTER HERE and attend one of the following clinics:

5/16(Thu), 7PM @ Bermuda Run - Referee and Starter meeting. ONLY FOR THOSE WITH 2 YEARS OF EXPERIENCE AS A STROKE AND TURN JUDGE.

5/21(Tue), 7PM @ Forsyth Country Club -- There is a coaches meeting prior to this S&T meeting, so please do not arrive too early.

5/28(Tue), 7PM @ Brookberry Farms Barn

6/1(Sat), 9AM @ Greenbrier Farms Clubhouse

6/10(Mon), 7PM @ Peacehaven Pool

Reminder: You must attend a session in the year that you will be a judge. So if you went to a clinic last year, you still MUST attend one this year to be eligible to judge this season. 

PHOTO ALBUM LINKS

*Enjoy our photos - please feel free to add your own to share!

5/15-5/18/23 Pup Camp

5/20/23 Kickoff Party

6/3/23 Time Trials

6/6/23 NS @ CW

6/10/23 Intrasquad Meet

6/13 PH @ NS

6/15 NS @ OV

6/20 SL @ NS

6/23 City Meet

6/27 NS @ BBF

7/5 SW @ NS

7/10 League Finals

GFSL Finals Photos

7/11 End of Season Party