Dear Seahorse Families,

It’s hard to believe our first meet of the season is less than a week away! We are looking forward to seeing all of you for Time Trials this Sunday, May 17th. Time Trials is your swimmer’s opportunity to establish base times for the 2026 season, and the best way to start achieving pops (“popping your time” = beating your personal best time in a stroke), so it is really important to attend!

For many swimmers and families, it's also the first opportunity to experience a swim meet. THANK YOU in advance for reading this email thoroughly and carefully so that you know what to expect.

Declare for Time Trials now!

Please make sure you declare your swimmer for Time Trials by Wednesday night at 11PM. Due to the size and length of this meet, there will not be any late additions. If you prefer your swimmer NOT to swim specific events, please put that info in the notes when you declare. We are happy to honor those requests in advance.

100 Yard IM (7&up)

The IM (Individual Medley) for NEW swimmers is optional. Please add notes when you declare if you do NOT want your swimmer to swim this event.

15&18 Freestyle

We have two freestyle events for the 15-18 age group: 50 Yard Freestyle (Events #1 and #2), and 100 Yard Freestyle (Events #34 and #35). When you declare for your 15-18, please indicate in the notes whether they’d like to swim the 50, 100 or both! If no notes are entered, the swimmer will be entered in BOTH events.

Meet Program

You will be receiving a meet program via email from our Desk Team by this upcoming Saturday. In that email, instructions will be provided regarding how to read the meet sheet, and how to mark your swimmer(s) with their heat and lane assignment.

Meet Timeline

Order of stroke events: 50 yard Freestyle for 15-18s; Individual Medley (IM - 7-8s and up); Freestyle; Breaststroke; Backstroke; Butterfly. All strokes begin with 6&unders, followed by 7-8s, and so on through 15-18s (exception for 50 yard Freestyle for 15-18s and no 6&U IM).

7:45 AM - Pool is open for 15-18 age group early warm-up, in case they would like to have more than 10 minutes of warm-up time.

8:00 AM - Warm-ups officially begin with the 15-18 swimmers first. All swimmers should be ready to get in the water when their age group is called.

9:00 AM - Meet begins

2:00 or 3:00 PM - Estimated end time.

Parking

We are NOT allowed to park in the church parking lot across the street on Sunday, as they will be holding their weekly services. Please plan to park in the surrounding neighborhoods if the LT parking lot is full.

Name Tags

With 21 new families, there will be many new faces on the pool deck this year! Let’s introduce ourselves to one another— name tags will be available at the Parent Jobs Check-In table.

LTST Yard Signs

We have yard signs for families who are new to LTST. If you are new to LTST, please stop by one of the fundraising tables to pick up your yard sign to show your Seahorse Pride!

Fundraising, Apparel, & Socials

Our Fundraising Coordinators Hannah and Scott Krepsky have been hard at work organizing some fun experiences you won’t want to miss! Time Trials is our most important fundraising event of the year, so come check out some of the cool stuff offered!

There will also be a table with new merchandise-- thank you Marisa Lynn & Meghan Curtis!

Time Trials Parent Jobs

If you’re working Time Trials this season, you will be receiving a confirmation email from our Parent Job Coordinators. Please refer to their email for specific instructions.

Some friendly reminders:

1. You MUST email the Parent Job Coordinators at least 24 hours in advance if you are hiring a sub.
2. You MUST check in at your “check in time” and be working for your ENTIRE shift time, or you may be subject to a late or no-show fine.
3. Certain jobs do NOT allow subs! Be sure to read the sub guidelines and fine policies!

Snack Shack

Our fabulous Snack Shack folks (Dana Nelson & Jenny McCarthy Redman) are firing up the morning with donuts, fresh-off-the-griddle pancakes, and Amylu breakfast sausages! They're butterfly-kicking that energy right into lunch with the return of our Kinder's seasoned Seahorse Smash Burgers and more! The Snack Shack accepts cash, Venmo, and credit cards.

Technique References

The following YouTube videos were produced by USA Swimming, the governing body for the sport of swimming in the United States. They are a great resource for learning more about the technical requirements for each stroke. Originally intended as training videos for Stroke & Turn Officials, these videos are also helpful and interesting for parents who want to learn more about the specific details that officials are looking for during races. If you are new to the sport, or want a refresher course on the rules, check out these videos for Freestyle, Breaststroke, Backstroke and Butterfly.

Private Swim Lessons

Just a reminder that registration for Private Lessons will open on Monday (May 18th) at 8pm for swim team members, and May 25th for non-swim team members. Signups will remain open until all slots are filled.

The recommended age for Private lessons is 5 and older (age 5 by June 15, 2025), and age 9 for Coach Andrew lessons. Please note that these are not “learn to swim” lessons, but rather instruction aimed at technique and to help swimmers improve for a competitive swim environment. Areas of focus may include diving, turns, and specific arm and leg work. Please see more information on the Private Lessons page of our website.

Thanks for reading, and looking forward to seeing you Sunday!

Heather, Amy & Erin