Waynewood Dolphins Weekly Newsletter 

(6/30/24) 

The Dolphins secured their first win of the 2024 NVSL Division 7 season, the team is preparing for the final Home B Meet Monday, Independence Day celebrations are just around the corner, and Coach Dylan is cooking up a special pep rally for Friday.

This week’s calendar at a glance: 

• Monday—Indicate availability for Saturday A Meet (deadline is Monday at 11 p.m.) 
• Monday—Home B Meet with Hayfield Farm (warm-up 5:00 p.m.; no afternoon practices) 
• Tuesday—New volunteer signups open 
• Tuesday—Teen (movie) night on a special day 
• Thursday—Fourth of July: no practices, Dolphins in WRA parade 
• Friday— Pep rally @6 p.m. 
• Saturday—A Meet @Rolling Hills, Dolphins meet in WRA parking lot @7:15 a.m. 

In This Message: 

1. A Meet vs. Sleepy Hollow B&R highlights (swimmers & volunteers) 
2. Home B Meet vs. Hayfield Farm (Monday @6 p.m.) 
3. Upcoming A Meet @Rolling Hills, Saturday (7/6) 
4. More signups opening and volunteering overview 
5. Dolphins Fourth of July 
6. Teen (movie) night, Tuesday (7/2) 
7. (NEW) Pep rally, Friday (7/5) @6 p.m. 
8. Relay Carnival T-shirts 
9. Look ahead

1) A Meet vs. Sleepy Hollow B&R highlights (swimmers & volunteers) 

The Dolphins turned in their best team performance Saturday, securing the team’s first NVSL Division 7 win of the season. The Dolphins outpaced the Sleepy Hollow B&R Seals, a solid team that took second place at Division 7 Relay Carnival, 228-192 on Saturday. Highlights from the Dolphins’ big win. 

• Outstanding meet contribution: Twelve swimmers in two age group squads stepped up to score 57 of the 198 points the Dolphins won in individual events Saturday and both also won key relay races.

• Waynewood’s 11-12 boys won 32 of 36 possible points in individual events propelling the Dolphins’ lead throughout meet events. James Gallagher, Luke Bluey, William Herbert, Alex Leth, Connor Simonelli, Wyatt Thom, and Rex Hiler all scored for the Dolphins. The 11-12 boys 100m medley relay team of Leth, Gallagher, Holden Schneider, and Bluey also won their relay race 1:14.40 to 1:28.34 giving the Dolphins an additional 5 points.

• The 13-14 girls squad swam fast and won 25 of 36 possible points in individual events. Maya Dahlberg, Bella Connally, Sasha Hill, Lydia Schourek, and Lucinda Keenan all scored points for Waynewood. The 13-14 girls 100m medley relay team of Dahlberg, Hill, Keenan, and Schourek also won their relay race 1:06.87 to 1:08.08.
• Contributions from across the team: It took more than just two squads to secure the Dolphins’ win Saturday. The Dolphins’ 198 points in individual events came from 47 different Waynewood swimmers across all 10 gender/age groups (and 30 points came from six relay wins).
• Race of the meet: The 8 & under boys 100m freestyle relay team of Chris Herbert, Luca Leckrone, Emmett Popowich, and Samuel Angle pulled out a squeaker 1:27.84 to 1:28.08. This race stayed close throughout as swimmers dueled one another in what looked like a toss-up—spectators had to look to the timer boards for confirmation of the final outcome.
• Stop me if you’ve heard this one before: Waynewood swimmer and coach Joshua Wolf beat his own team record Saturday in the 15-18 boys 50m freestyle. This is the third time this season he has set or tied the record. His latest swim put the bar on the fastest 50m freestyle any Dolphin has ever swam at 24.34 seconds. And this may still not be Joshua’s final word on the record in his last season as a Dolphins swimmer.
• Other winning Dolphins relay squads:
  • Boys 13-14 100m medley relay (1:01.20 vs. 1:02.83)
  • Boys 15-18 200m medley relay (1:52.44 vs. 2:12.88)
  • Boys mixed age 200m freestyle relay (1:59.95 vs. 2:14.03)
• Shout out to WW parent volunteers at today’s meet: A senior NVSL official came to Waynewood’s meet today with Sleepy Hollow B&R for an observation that occurs every five years of our meet operations (officials, timers, clerks, tables, announcer and setup). Led by our experienced and able volunteer leads, Waynewood impressed the observing NVSL official earning high praise and an A+ on our meet operations. Great job and thank you to everyone who helped out !

2) Home B Meet vs. Hayfield Farm (Monday @6 p.m.) 

The Dolphins swim Monday (7/1) at WRA vs. the Hayfield Farm Seahawks. 

• Arrive by 4:50 p.m. for a 5:00 p.m. warm-up. The first meet event starts at 6 p.m. 
• No afternoon practices on Monday due to the meet – this also means no 5:30 p.m. Little Dolphins practice (but Little Dolphins are welcome to join the noon practice if able). 
• Parking courtesy: Please look for street parking (or walk) and leave the WRA parking lot for our guests – this is a reciprocity courtesy that ultimately helps Waynewood families when we’re on the road. 
• Volunteers: please remember that timers, clerks, and table workers are requested to wear a white top and navy (or dark) shorts/pants/skirt while on duty (with no team logos). 
• Swim schedule: The meet will proceed in the following order: IM, freestyle, backstroke, breaststroke, and finally butterfly. 
• Food forecast: We’ll have BBQ sandwiches and pizza so come hungry and order early before it sells out.

3) A Meet @Rolling Hills, Saturday (7/6) 

The Dolphins’ fourth Northern Virginia Swimming League (NVSL) dual-meet of the 2024 Division 7 season takes place this Saturday, July 6. The Dolphins will compete with the Rolling Hills Seahawks (yes, that’s two Seahawks teams this week). 

• Waynewood swimmers available for this meet will need to indicate status by 11 p.m. on Monday, July 1. 
• We can’t yet open the meet for swimmers to indicate availability just yet but look for it tonight or tomorrow morning. 
• Rolling Hills’ address: 8301 Carrleigh Pkwy, Springfield 22152. 
• The Dolphins will meet in the WRA parking lot to caravan at 7:15 a.m. The first event is at 9:00 a.m. 
• Volunteer sign ups for this meet open Tuesday at 7 p.m. 
• There will be an optional team lunch immediately after the meet – details to come. 
• Swimmers indicating availability will be notified of team selections no later than Thursday evening via email. 
• We’ll share more meet details later in the week. 

4) More signups opening and volunteering overview 

We’re heading into the home stretch of the season and wanted to take an opportunity to give an overview of volunteering this season when there is still time for families who have work to do to pitch in. 

• Volunteering is a requirement: ALL FAMILIES agreed to perform volunteer shifts when they registered earlier this year. If we’ve missed a volunteer shift you performed (check your Swimtopia account) please let Team Reps know. 
• Unclear?: If you’re unclear about what you are supposed to perform, please read the team’s volunteer policy (p.6) in the Parent Handbook. If you’re still unclear or have a situation, please email Team Reps ASAP – we can find ways to help everyone contribute. 
• Overall: Our volunteering effort has been strong as signups have generally filled quickly this year and parents have stepped up for the specific requests we’ve made in this newsletter. 
• Where improvement is needed: Please email us or the team volunteer coordinator back when we reach out asking for help. Do this even if you realize you got the message late or have to decline a request – it’s important to us that we know we made contact and have the best way to reach you if we need help. 
• REMINDER: We are a volunteer organization and cannot operate without volunteers. 

That said … 

Several opportunities to help: 

• WRA July 4 celebration (please sign up NOW/ASAP): WRA needs help putting on the post-parade Independence Day celebration on the WRA grounds. We’ve partnered with WRA again and all families who sign up for one of the listed roles posted here will earn one (1) Dolphins volunteer shift credit. Please help out! 
• IM Invitational (coming soon): Waynewood is hosting the IM Invitational meet, featuring over a dozen local teams, on Monday, July 15. This is an important fundraising opportunity benefiting swimmers and we’re going to need help, even from families who do not have a swimmer in the meet. We plan to offer DOUBLE volunteer shift credit for sign-up roles at this meet. Please plan to help if you can. 
• Additional opportunities: After Monday, our home B Meets are finished except for Dolphin Duel on Thursday, July 18. The one other event where we’ll have significant volunteer sign-up opportunities is our end-of-season banquet on Saturday, July 20. We also have a few additional away meets. The Little Dolphin mini-meet traditionally does not offer many volunteer roles. 

Meet signups opening Tuesday: 

We’ll look to open several sign-ups Tuesday at 7 p.m. to finish our B Meet schedule.

Strokes (once we know what our hosts plan to swim): 

• Away B Meet @Mansion House, Monday (7/8) 

Volunteering: 

• Away A Meet @Rolling Hills, Saturday (7/6) 
• Away B Meet @Mansion House, Monday (7/8)

5) Dolphins Fourth of July

Celebrate the Independence Day holiday as part of a Waynewood tradition. Dolphins swimmers are invited to march in the Waynewood Independence Day Parade. 

• Meet at Waynewood Elementary School at 9:30 a.m. for a 10 a.m. parade start. Wear your team T-shirt and accessorize yourself with plenty of Independence Day bling. 

Reminder: There will be NO MORNING or AFTERNOON PRACTICE or teen night on Thursday, July 4.

6) Teen (movie) night, Tuesday (7/2) 

Because Teen night, normally on a Thursday (July 4), won’t happen this week we hear the teens are looking to go watch the movie Inside Out 2 Tuesday evening. Our inside source tells us the teens plan to meet in the WRA parking lot at 6:30 p.m. to catch a 7:10 p.m. show. Consult your teen for more details. Please note it is only for registered Waynewood team members who have already completed 7th grade – no requests for exceptions please. 

7) (New) Pep rally, Friday (7/5) @6 p.m. 

Coach Dylan has served up a brand new pep rally with some classic characteristics older Dolphins may remember. We’ve dubbed it: "The Hungry Dolphin Pep Rally." Friday's pep rally will include practice monster t-shirts, an age group by age group cupcake eating contest, and the "Great Apple Race." Swimmers should come in swimsuits and clothing that can get frosting on it. 

8) Relay Carnival T-shirts

Final reminder: Canterbury Woods has informed Division 7 teams that they’re considering a second order of Relay Carnival T-shirts for families that passed on the first opportunity. But they need to meet a minimum quantity for the order. If you’re interested in ordering a shirt, please email our Team Reps by TODAY so that they may let the Canterbury Woods Team Reps know what level of interest our families have in another order. In the previous order, the cost of shirts was $20. 

• Note: We don’t know if this order will happen or not. But if it does, we’re sure it will be the last opportunity for these shirts. We’ll circle back families who reach out of CW decides against making an order and will share the order link in a future team news update if they do. 

9) Look ahead 

In next week’s Sunday newsletter we’ll have information about: 

• Final details for the last B Meet on 7/8 
• IM Invitational @Waynewood on 7/15 
• A future pep rally, Dolphins end-of-year banquet, an overview of final meets including Little Dolphins mini-meet, Dolphin Duel, Division 7 Individual Championships 

The full Dolphins season schedule is available on the website. 

Questions? 

Don’t hesitate to contact our Team Reps, James & Genna, at [email protected] 

Go Dolphins! 

Waynewood Dolphins Communications