Hello, Vikings Families!

          We are less than a week out from the start of the season, so I wanted to reach out with some important information and expectations. I know it is a lot of info, but please read this email in full and refer back to it as needed. Head Coach Jack and the rest of the coaching staff are so excited to see your swimmers on deck and get the season started!

Practice is scheduled to begin on Wednesday, May 27th, but be on the lookout for weather related updates if the cold holds out.

Village West Pool Membership: As a reminder, NVSL rules state that all families must be full members of the pool in order to participate on the swim team. Purchase your Village West pool membership here if you haven’t yet!

Important Things to Know:

• All 8 and Under swimmers MUST have an adult (or responsible older teen caregiver) on the pool grounds with them at all times. 8U swimmers may not be dropped off for practice.
• Swimmers aged 9+ may be at practice without an adult, but if behavior problems arise, an adult will be required to be on pool grounds.
• Please stay off of the pool deck during practice - a Coach will come find you if necessary.
• We expect all swimmers to be kind, encouraging, and to behave safely in and around the water at all times. We expect all swimmers to demonstrate good sportsmanship, good listening skills, and strive to be a good teammate at all times.
• Significant, disruptive behavioral problems will be addressed with a parent by Head Coach Jack and Team Rep Brandi. A three strike policy for significant behavioral issues can result in your swimmer being removed from the team.
• Head Coach Jack will be happy to chat with you or answer questions after practice, and you can always find me (Team Rep Brandi) around to chat as well.
• Dry-land practices will occasionally be held if the water is too cold to swim.

Sign up for RainedOut Notifications:

Please sign up for RainedOut notifications to receive immediate notifications of pool closures and event delays/cancellations by text and/or email. You can receive general pool notifications and/or swim team notifications for Big and Little Vikings. (The list gets cleared out every year, so sign up again even if you did so last year.)

To sign up, go to the Village West RainedOut site by clicking HERE (or you can visit www.rainedout.com and search for Village West) to sign up for texts or emails or both. Alternatively, to sign up for just text messages, text the following to 84483:

• For general pool notifications, text VILLAGEWEST
• For regular (Big Vikings) swim team notifications, text BIGVIKINGS
• For Little Vikings swim team notifications, text LITTLEVIKINGS

General Timeline:

• The first day of evening weekday practices is Wednesday, May 27th (weather permitting). Please note that there is no school that day, but practice is still in the evening.
• After school practices:
  • 13 and up: 415PM - 515PM
  • 8 and under: 515PM - 615PM
  • 9-12: 615PM - 715PM
• Morning practices begin on June 18th and go through July 24th.
  • 13 and up: 730AM - 830AM
  • 9-12: 830AM - 930AM
  • 8 and under: 930AM - 1030AM
• Tuesday and Thursday evening practices begin June 23rd and go through July 23rd. All ages practice from 7PM - 8PM.
• Specialized clinics for all 8U+ Vikings will be held on select Wednesday nights from 8PM - 9PM.
  • June 24th - Fairfax Foxes club swim team will lead a clinic (no affiliation necessary!)
  • July 1st - Amy Meli (Mom of Head Coach Jack! and experienced Masters swimmer)
  • July 15th - Micah Walters and Steve Mason (Vikings dads and former high school / college swimmers)

Time Trials - June 13th, 830AM until done:

• Time Trials is run like a regular swim meet, and provides an opportunity for your swimmer to get times used in seeding the first “A” meet of the season.
• Not yet legal in every stroke? That's ok! Just try your best - this also allows our Coaches to make important notes on swimmers’ stroke development, so they know what needs to be worked on.
• Not able to make it to Time Trials? No worries. You can get official times at the first “B” meet, and our Coaches can also take times during practice.

Viking Olympics, Team Picture, Pancake Breakfast - June 18th, 745AM-12PM:

• Please arrive by 745AM wearing your 2026 team tshirt for the 2026 full team picture! Individual or sibling pictures can be taken by the photographer for purchase after the team picture.
• After the team picture, it’s time for pancake breakfast! All swimmers can enjoy pancakes ahead of the main event…
• The Viking Olympics! All Vikings, big and little, will be split into teams and compete in fun, team games led by one of their Coaches. Please remember to put sunscreen on your swimmer as this is often a notoriously sunny morning!

Volunteer Needs:

• It takes DOZENS of adult volunteers to run a swim meet. Your help is needed! We understand that your volunteer capabilities differ depending on your stage of life, travel and work commitments, etc. But in order to make this season happen, everyone needs to help out in some way at some point. Feel free to ask me about the various volunteer positions and we can find a good fit for you!
• At the meets: your help is very much needed at both A and B meets. If your child is swimming, please try to have at least one adult volunteer in some way. There are many ways to help out:
  • Working a concessions shift, being a runner, working the data table, being a timer, becoming trained to be an official, etc.
• Outside of swim meets, there are also plenty of ways to help out from the comfort of your own home or on your own time:
  • Putting name labels on ribbons, asking our Event leads how to help with the next big event, fulfilling a Costco run, work a bagel cafe shift, etc.
• Be on the lookout for another email soon with specific volunteer needs. In the meantime, please be thinking about how you can help out!

Puputella Fundraiser - June 10th:

Support the Village West Vikings with Pupatella!

Wednesday, June 10 | All Day | 8434 Old Keene Mill Road, West Springfield

Looking for an easy dinner in June, when it feels like all sorts of activities are happening at once?! Dine or or get take out from Pupatella Neapolitan Pizza on Wednesday, June 10 and the Village West Vikings swim team will receive 20% of the proceeds! Just mention the fundraiser to your server if you dine in OR use the code "GIVEBACK" before checkout in the "Promo" field if you order online. Click here to place your online order and just bring your take out meal to the pool!

Final Thoughts:

          If you are a new Vikings family, welcome! We are so glad to have you join us and hope you continue to be part of the Vikings family for years to come. Joining the Vikings when we moved here three years ago was truly what allowed my family to become part of the community, and I hope it can do the same thing for yours.

          For our veteran Vikings families, welcome back! Bear with me as I learn the Team Rep ropes this summer.

Looking forward to seeing you all on deck soon (hopefully in warm weather),
Brandi