Dolphins Prep for Summer's First Meets

Schools aren’t even out but after Pasta Potluck and a little lightning and thunder at Time Trials it already feels like summer. This week, the Dolphins barrel ahead into swim season.

This week’s calendar at a glance: 

• NOW—Indicate availability for Saturday A Meet (deadline Monday at 11 pm) 
• Monday—Home B Meet w/MVP (warm-up 5:00 pm) 
• Tuesday-Wednesday—Afternoon practice schedule 
• Tuesday—New signups open: 6/16 Home B Meet w/Hollin Meadows for swimmers and volunteers; 6/14 A Meet @Dunn Loring volunteers 
• Thursday—@Dunn Loring A Meet swimmers notified 
• Thursday-Friday—Morning/two practice daily schedule 
• Saturday—A Meet @Dunn Loring, Dolphins meet in WRA parking lot @7:15 am

In This Message: 

1. Time Trials recap 
2. Monday Home B Meet w/Mount Vernon Park Gators 
3. A Meet @Dunn Loring, Saturday (6/14) 
4. More Signups Open Tuesday (6/10) for HM B Meet; Dunn Loring A Meet volunteers 
5. New practice schedule begins Thursday (6/12) 
6. Friday Pep Rally – Spirit wear! 
7. Welcome Melissa Bluey as Shadow Team Rep! 
8. Look ahead (for Little Dolphins & more)

1) Time Trials recap 

What a way to start the summer! We had 155 Dolphin swimmers participating. A big thank you to parents who filled volunteer roles—and a special thank you to those volunteers who stepped up mid-meet to help us out. 

• The team’s first swim ladder from Time Trials is an important benchmark for our swimmers. All summer long they’ll be competing against their own first times to see how much time they can drop from them before the season ends. Coach Dylan tracks both how much time individual swimmers drop as well as the team as a whole. 
• This swim ladder, and new ones that follow after each meet, are also key to how the Dolphins select swimmers for A Meets. We sent information on this in our June 1 newsletter. 
• If you missed Time Trials, that’s okay. Please come to Monday’s B Meet or the next one possible for your swimmer. Your swimmer’s journey to drop time begins at their first meet of the season and accelerates by achieving their first legal swim time in each new stroke. 
• View photos from 2025 Time Trials and the Friday Pasta Potluck in the Waynewood Dolphins’ SmugMug photo gallery. Our team will be adding more photos throughout the season.

2) Monday Home B Meet w/Mount Vernon Park Gators 

The Dolphins swim Monday (6/9) with the Mount Vernon Park (MVP) Gators. 

• Arrive @WRA by 4:50 pm for a 5:00 pm warm-up. The first meet event (boys 8 & under freestyle) starts at 6 p.m. 
• Please don’t park in the WRA parking lot on Monday. By tradition, NVSL pools leave lots for visiting teams and home pool families should walk or utilize street parking. 
• 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. We still have open roles for this meet so please help us out by signing up. 
• Swim schedule: The meet will follow the standard order of freestyle, backstroke, breaststroke, and butterfly. There are on IMs at this meet.
• Food forecast: We’ll have Chick-fil-A, pizza, and an assortment of snacks. 
• No practice on Monday due to the meet.

3) A Meet @Dunn Loring, Saturday (6/14) 

The Dolphins’ first Northern Virginia Swimming League (NVSL) meet of the 2025 Division 7 season takes place this Saturday, June 14. The Dolphins will compete with the Dunn Loring Dolphins (no relation). 

• Waynewood swimmers available for this meet may indicate status NOW – the meet closes to entries at 11 pm on Monday, June 9. 
• Dunn Loring’s’ address: 8326 Cottage Street, Vienna, VA 22180 
• The Dolphins will meet in the WRA parking lot to caravan at 7:15 am The first event is at 9:00 am. 
• Volunteer sign ups for this meet open Tuesday at 7 pm. 
  • Reminder: the Parent Handbook notes that parents of regular A Meet swimmers should contribute more than their minimum shift requirements. If you know you have a swimmer in the A Meet, please try to volunteer. 
• 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. 
• Last week’s newsletter (6/1) included a guide to B and A Meets new families may wish to review. 
• We’ll share more meet details later in the week. 

4) More signups open Tuesday (6/10) 

Sign up for several new events will open Tuesday at 7 pm: 

Sign up for strokes: 

• Home B Meet w/Hollin Meadows, Monday (6/16) 
  • Look for upcoming information on the website about strokes and stoke order. 
  • Deadline to register is Sunday (6/15) at noon. 
  • This meet will be at 6 pm on Monday, June 16 – our warm-up will again be at 5 pm 
  • The 10 & under breast/fly permission list will remain in place all season even as coaches look to add swimmers each week. 
• For volunteering: 
  • A Meet @Dunn Loring, Saturday (6/14) 
  • Home B Meet w/Hollin Meadows, Monday (6/16) 

5) New practice schedule begins Thursday (6/12) 

On June 12, the Dolphins will move to our two practice-per-day schedule. It is not mandatory for swimmers to attend both (or technically any) sessions. 

Many younger swimmers may actually have a more fun and rewarding swim experience if attending just one session – but some could benefit from the heavier workload of two practices. Ask coaches for guidance if you are uncertain. The standard practice schedule starting Thursday: 

Morning Practice 

• Ages 9-10—8:00-9:15 am 
• Ages 13 & up—9:00-10:15 am 
• Ages 11-12—10:00-11:15 am 
• Ages 8 & under—11:00 am-12:00 pm 

Afternoon Practice 

• Ages 10 & under—4:00-4:45 pm 
• Ages 11 & up—4:45-5:30 pm 

6) Friday Pep Rally – Spirit wear! 

Coach Dylan asks that everyone bring a plain BLUE or WHITE T-shirt to the pep rally at 6:00 pm on Friday at WRA to decorate with Dolphin Spirit. The results are always really cool. 

• Paint and other needed supplies will be provided. 
• Hint: T-shirts that are all or mostly cotton tend to work best. The Variety Store, WalMart, and Amazon are all good places to look for plain T-shirts.

7) Welcome Melissa Bluey as Shadow Team Rep! 

You may have already seen her in the team polo on deck at Time Trials or talked to her at Pasta Potluck. Longtime Dolphin booster Melissa Bluey is serving this summer as Shadow Team Rep, working alongside the current Team Reps, in preparation for assuming responsibilities next year from Team Rep Genna Dahlberg (who will complete her volunteer term this summer). Melissa and her husband Rob have three swimmers on the Waynewood Swim, including one who coaches and one Little Dolphin. Her swimmers have also participated in the Dolphins’ winter swim program. 

Per tradition, Waynewood is led by two volunteer co-Team Reps who typically serve two or three summer terms leading parent volunteers and working with Coach Dylan to assemble a coach staff for our swim programs. Serving a summer as shadow Team Rep affords Melissa the opportunity to see operations up close before taking the reins – it’s the ideal transition for the Dolphins. The team is deeply grateful to add Melissa’s deep experience and dedication to our team leadership. When you see her on deck, please thank her for stepping forward. 

The Dolphins are constantly on the lookout for parents who may be willing to step up into future openings for team leadership or official roles, which also fully meet the Dolphins’ annual volunteer obligation. Please email Team Reps if you’re interested in serving in a future role. 

8) Look ahead 

We’re excited to put the summer swim season in gear this week with the longer practice times for the competitive team. In next week’s Sunday newsletter we’ll have information about: 

• The Little Dolphins program starting with the swim test on Tuesday 6/17 
• Fort Hunt Sportsmen Relays @Little Hunting Park on Wednesday 6/18 
• Our first Teen Night of the season on Thursday 6/19 
• The Dolphins team and individual photo sessions on Friday 6/20 
• The A Meet @South Run (6/21) and the first away B Meet with Highland Park (6/23)

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