Good evening Poolshark families -

We are 19 days away from the start of 2026 Poolshark season (Mon May 4th). This email is mostly about equipment & key dates so families can start setting up their calendars and making sure swim bags are packed and ready for Day 1.

Thank you to our Poolshark community for their generosity and sponsorship that help make this season possible (click on the Poolshark to see our sponsors)!

Practice times & general info is available via our team website HERE. If and when you have questions, please check our team website first, before reaching out.

KEY DATES (specific times are on our team website)

*Required Parent/Swimmer Info Meeting - Sunday April 19th, 7:30 - 8 pm VIRTUAL ZOOM - required parent meeting (swimmers are welcome to join).  We will record and send out the link for parents that are not able to attend live.  

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/3920148407?pwd=Qnp6ck53YzZzWXVaVUJwdzBCZHU5UT09#success

Meeting ID: 392 014 8407  Passcode: 281771

MEETS/CELEBRATIONS:

*Mon May 4th - first day of season (all swimmers - Poolsharks & Starfish)

*Tues May 19 - Time Trials (Starfish can participate)

*Mon May 25 Memorial Day 'Crack' of Dawn practice 8-10 am (all swimmers in town)

*Tuesday May 26 - Dual Meet 1 home vs Leafmore - Spirit Night ATL (Starfish can participate)

*Tues June 2 - Dual Meet 2 away vs Echo Ridge (no Starfish)

*Tues June 9 - Dual Meet 3 away @ Winding Vista (no Starfish)

*Tues June 16 - Dual Meet 4 home vs Twin Lakes (Starfish can participate)

*Mon June 22 - Dual Meet 5 home vs Lake Claire & SENIOR NIGHT (Starfish can participate)

*Wed June 24th morning session - ASA Divisionals @ Georgia Tech (separate $~45 entry fee per swimmer)

*Thursday June 25th during practice times - last day of season & end of year celebration @ Venetian

*Sunday mid Aug (evening) - swim team party at Venetian (Poolsharks and their families) celebrating back to school

Equipment INFO-

Team Suit - LINK to our merchandise site via Reddiset. May 7th is the deadline to order a team suit. Poolshark team suits update each year. Team suit is not required, about 75% of the team does wear the team suit - either Speedo Bolted for girls/boys or custom Speedo Endurance w/ V logo for girls. Boys can wear speedo brief style or jammers style. The most important aspect regarding the suit is that your child is comfortable in their suit.

Fins are required for 100% of our Poolsharks as we will be working on underwater dolphin kick all season long for all ages.(Starfish do not require fins). Popular fins options for our swimmers are HERE on the reddiset website ($30). If you are interested in a more technical/fancy fin, veteran swimmers often like the smaller fins such as these Speedo DMC Elite fins HERE ($48-$75, there are other brands like TYR that also work well). We will have a couple dozen-ish hand me down fins on deck the first few days of the season for kids to pick up and then keep for the whole season. First come first serve, and fins do wear and tear with use.

Kickboards - the best swimmers are the best kickers and we always kick (often a part of our warmup). we have lots of hand me down boards in the shed - these don't really wear out and there are plenty of kickboards for our swimmers to borrow & neatly return each day. If you prefer to purchase - here are a few options. Junior speedo kickboard (ages 8 and younger), Arena kickboard (ages 9+). It is hard to go wrong with a kickboard...so any style is usually fine.

Make sure you have 2 pairs of goggles that fit - please check BEFORE your child arrives to practice - the mirrored version is extra helpful for the sunny days when we are doing backstroke. Our favorite version for little kids are the TYR Swimples (here) and for older kids the Speedo Vanquisher (HERE).

Swim cap if hair is longer than eyes, the team Venetian cap is the only cap allowed for meets, but non V caps are welcome and fine for practice. Cap is $10 and will be available for purchase at the pool before our first meet. If you ordered & prepaid for a V cap, we will have these available for pickup on the first few days of practice.

Remind Text Communication: please take a moment to join our Remind text thread for last minute & helpful reminders. We will use this text system throughout the season. If you are on the Remind from 2025, you should not have to rejoin.

Last Name (of swimmer) A - L: HERE

Last Name (of swimmer) M - Z: HERE

I'll send more info next week (training groups, expectations, etc).

Have Fun, Race Hard, Do Your Best & Go Poolsharks!

- Coach Beth