Good morning swim families. It looks like Spring has decided to finally arrive and stick around for a bit. We are in the deep stages of preparations with the season fast approaching and want to share some of changes for this year.

Please read the below carefully as it outlines the changes in eligibility and include the new registration phases.

Eligibility:

Our prior team size of 40 swimmers allowed for the “learn to swim approach” that many of our older seasoned families remember. For the 2022 season, we saw a remarkable increase to 73 registered swimmers, with half falling at 7 years old and below. This growth and shift, presented many challenges with keeping the correct number of swimmers in lanes/groups, as well as all swimmers safe and within their ability but also challenged to reach their full potential.

Through the off-season, there have been discussions with most of the surrounding neighborhood swim teams to determine how they manage larger size teams safely. The primary difference of all the teams was the requirement to swim a front crawl 25 meters unassisted, otherwise the child is directed to swim lessons until they meet that requirement.

Starting with 2024 season, the standard to join the Village Green swim team will require the ability to swim 25 meters unassisted front crawl. To support that change, for the 2023 season, all swimmers must be:

• 100% comfortable in the water (zero coaxing required)
• able to breathe during strokes without holding nose (nose clips prevent proper technique and are also strongly discouraged)
• able to front crawl unassisted for 15 meters (approximately 1/2 the width of the pool, correct technique not required)

• Swim assessment for all 7 and under swimmers and ALL NEW swimmers with dates to be provided in coming weeks.

This is a change from our prior years and may cause some frustration. I myself have a 4 year old that has been in lessons all winter, but does not appear he will not meet the eligibility requirements at the start of the season. Safety must be the top priority on the team.

We are reviewing options offering small group lessons directly with coaches for those that do not meet eligibility requirements. There are also many local resources that offer lessons that we can provide contact information for.

Multi-phase registration

Over the last few years Village Green has transitioned to a younger family neighborhood, with more being welcomed each year. With that being said, we want to ensure that we are providing priority registration to resident families that live here, as well as returning families as realize capacity is now a concern.

With the 2023 session, a multi-phased registration will be implemented and follow the below registration dates. At each phase, all prior phases will remain open.

For those interested in details of practice groups, practice times as well as meet schedule, please see: https://villagegreenpatriots.swimtopia.com/practice-group-details

There were also some needed updates to practice rules that can be found: https://villagegreenpatriots.swimtopia.com/practice-rules

This is a lot of information to digest, so please reach out to VGswimteamnn@gmail with any questions we can assist you with. We will also be setting up open house times and are asking one parent from each family attend.

Janelle Maciejewski

President