Thank you for your interest in the Piranhas Swim Team! We are looking forward to seeing Piranhas in the water this summer swimming fast, reaching for their personal best, and having fun!

The first step you need to take is to sign up for a swim team assessment at Swim Assessment Sign-Up. Below we provide information regarding our upcoming assessments for new swimmers.

What do I need to do to sign up my swimmers? New families and swimmers need to first sign-up for a swim team assessment. Swim Team registration for the 2022 session is not yet open for new swimmers. You are not permitted to register until after your swimmer has attended a swim team assessment and has been invited to join the team or our Junior Piranha developmental team program.

Please sign up your swimmer for an assessment using this link: Swim Assessment Sign-Up. Please indicate your swimmer’s name, age, and your swimmer’s proficiency in the four strokes (free, back, breast and/or fly). If you have more than one swimmer trying out, please sign up your swimmers separately.

When are the swim team assessments? We will be holding swim team assessments on March 6 and 13 between 1:30 and 2:30 at Chinquapin (3210 King Street, Alexandria, VA 22302). The assessments are not at Parklawn Pool - the pool is not open. The swim assessments will occur in one lane that we have reserved and it will be in the deep water where your swimmer will not be able to touch the bottom. Slots will be filed on a first-come first-serve basis. Your swimmer must attend either date; we are not scheduling individual assessments.

So what does my swimmer need to be able to do to make the competitive swim team? During our swim team practices, we do not have coaches in the lane with the swimmers and we practice in the middle of the pool (not the shallow end). Swimmers must be able to swim independently across the pool without holding on to the lane lines and be able to swim laps for a 45-60 minute practice. Your swimmer must be comfortable swimming freestyle and backstroke with some level of proficiency and stroke technique (e.g., breathing, kick, arm and body position), endurance, and swim 25M of each stroke. In addition, your swimmer must be comfortable swimming in deep water where they can’t touch the bottom. We do not have a minimum age requirement because some swimmers are ready for the team at 6 years old but others are not yet ready until they are older.

If your swimmer is not able to swim a 25M in free and back, they will be evaluated for our Junior Piranha Developmental Team or Mini-Piranhas Swim Lesson Program.

If my swimmer was in the 2021 Mini-Piranhas Swim Lesson Program, are they ready for swim team? It depends on what level they completed and whether they kept working on their swimming skills this winter. Only swimmers who were in Level 4 may be ready for our competitive swim team, if they continued to swim and take lessons this winter. We do not expect Mini-Piranhas who were in levels 3 or 2 to be ready for our competitive swim team - they most likely should continue in lessons this summer. We are happy to evaluate them for our lesson or developmental team program.

What will happen the day of the assessment? Our volunteers wearing Parklawn Piranha gear will check-in and meet you at the circle in front of Chinquapin. Please do not enter Chinquapin without checking with our volunteers; we will not know that you have arrived and you will miss important information about how the assessments will occur. A volunteer will walk you into the building and down to the pool deck. If you are running late, please text 612-508-3898 and 612-508-3067. Your swimmer should arrive with his/her mask on, in their swimsuit and with flip flops on and a small drawstring or similar bag for their goggles, cap and towel. If your swimmer needs help putting on a swim cap, please cap your swimmer before you arrive.

Our coaches and team reps will meet your swimmer on the pool deck, and will help them through the process.

May I watch my swimmer swim at the assessment? You should be able to observe from the upper deck or from the bleacher area. You need to wear a mask.

What should I do to prepare my swimmer for the assessment? If your swimmer has not been in the water since the summer, consider spending as much time as possible swimming between now and the assessment. Young swimmers experience significant drop-off in their ability and comfort level if they have not been swimming over the winter and may now feel shy, scared or nervous about swimming in deep water. You should consider bringing your swimmer to Chinquapin before their assessment date so that she/he is familiar with the pool.

When will I hear whether my swimmer has made the team? The coaches and team reps will evaluate and discuss each swimmer after we complete the assessments. We will notify you by March 15 whether your swimmer is invited to join the team, our Junior Piranha program, or join our Mini-Piranhas swim lesson program. We are paying for the lane rentals and can’t take the expensive hour that we have to confer with the coaches and parents after each swim, so please be patient.

We have limited capacity to add new swimmers to our competitive swim team. Our Junior Piranhas program can take up to approximately 15-20 kids.

I saw kids wearing Piranha gear at the pool last summer. Where can I buy a hoodie and other cool gear for my family?

You can check out our team gear at our Team Store. The store closes on April 1st, and orders will be distributed when they arrive. You will receive an email when you can stop by Parklawn Pool to pick up the gear.

If my swimmer makes the competitive swim team, when will practices occur and when are the meets? Our competitive swim team practices Monday through Friday. Before school is out, the team practices in the evening. Our 8Us arrive by 6:15 PM and practice from 6:30 to 7:30 PM. Our swim team morning practices start the week of June 13, and our 8Us arrive at 7:30, and practice from 7:45 to 9 AM. No practices are in the evening starting June 20.

All swimmers on the competitive swim team can swim in our Monday night B-meets; coaches determine which strokes/events they are eligible to swim. Coaches select who swims in our NVSL competitive meets (A-Meets) that occur on Saturday morning.

What is the Junior Piranha Developmental Team Program? This program is for swimmers who are not yet ready to practice and swim laps in the lane lines. We wanted to create a program that would allow swimmers to participate and be on the swim team even though they are not 100% ready for a swim team practice. This is a bridge between our lesson program and our competitive swim team. We started this program last year. All of the swimmers who participated last summer and continued in our 2022 winter swim program are expected to be our 2022 competitive swim team.

Our Junior Piranhas can participate in pep rallies and all of the usual team activities. They receive a team t-shirt and a trophy at the end of the season.

These swimmers practice in the shallow end. The practice schedule for our Junior Piranhas is different from the competitive swim team. Junior Piranhas will practice for 30 minutes (Monday through Friday) starting at 7:30 PM while school is in session. Starting the week of June 13, we did not offer evening practice and the Junior Piranhas will practice for 1 hour between 7:45 and 11 AM. We try to schedule our Junior Piranhas practice at the same time as their older siblings.

Our Junior Piranhas may swim freestyle in our Monday Night B-Meets upon coaches’ approval. We want our swimmers to be successful and their first meet experience to be a positive one. Our Junior Piranhas would benefit from more practice time before they compete in a meet.

We as team reps do not see any reason to talk to your swimmer about a developmental team, and we would caution you against it. They are a Parklawn Piranha. We don’t want there to be any distinction among the swimmers and we could see some swimmers practicing in the shallow end for a variety of reasons, including those who normally swim laps.

What is the Mini-Piranha Swim Lesson Program? Our swim lesson program has four levels starting with water safety and introduction to the water and ending with learning swimming technique and strokes. The lesson program starts in mid-June and runs through mid-August. More information about our swim lesson program is available at: Swim Lesson Program.

Questions? If you have any questions about swim team, please do not hesitate to reach out to us at [email protected].

Sipho and Nicole Molife

Parklawn Piranhas Swim Team Reps