Good afternoon!

Thank you to everyone who attended our Parent Night last night! It made the coaches and board so happy to welcome you to the Cumberland pool for the 2026 summer swim season.

We'd like to highlight some key points + FAQ as we head into the next 6 weeks together:

1. Our coaches are dedicated to help your child, but the more your child attends practices, the more they will grow this season! Please let us know if there's anything we can do to help your child enjoy more practices this season.

2. We have 7 dual meets. Half will be at home, half will be away. We need each family to complete 6 volunteer *slots* for the season. Be sure to check in with our volunteer coordinators, Mike Abraham + Nicole Redmon at every meet you are volunteering at.  They plan to reach out halfway through the season to let you know if you have not met this requirement. Failure to do so could result in a $175 charge at the end of the season. 

3. Swim is a team sport that looks different from many other team sports. Races are done as individuals or in relays; however, coaches strategically put children in heats that optimize our chances for points. Points are tallied during a meet to determine who won. Even if your swimmer is not swimming for points, they will have the opportunity to swim in exhibition heats and compete at dual meets.

4. Our first meet is Monday, June 8th at Red Bank. RSVP as coming or not coming before every dual meet. We do not assume you are not coming to a meet because you did not RSVP. If you do not RSVP, Mike Abraham will reach out to confirm plans as needed. The heat sheets are locked in and unchangeable by noon the day of a dual meet. Please honor your decision to attend a meet barring unforeseen emergencies.

5. In addition to helping swimmers understand how to compete in a meet well, we will going over volunteer positions + selecting lead volunteers for each volunteer position this season at our mandatory Mock Meet on Thursday, June 4th from 7-8 pm. Our entire season schedule is attached to this email. Please note: we have themed home meets! We love having you all participate in dressing up for our theme, but forbid the use of glitter or face paint to avoid staining or damaging the pool deck.

6. If your child has not yet completed a swim test and is either 10 and under OR a *new* swimmer to our team, this is a requirement this year. We ask that you connect with Coach Elizabeth at Tuesday's practice for evaluation. If your child does not pass the swim test, Coach Julie is offering a swim opportunity to our team after morning practices on Tuesday and Friday at 9:30. Please text her directly for more information at 423-313-3419 for more information.

7. We need your help! If you have an idea (thank you to Jared Pickens for spearheading trucker hat orders this season!) or you'd like to help our team in a bigger way, please let a board member know. This season, we hope to offer a Board Interest Night at one of our Tuesday evening practice times in anticipation of several board members phasing out in the next 1-2 years. 

8. Last, but not least, the goal of the season is to be a cohesive, fun, and competitive White Division team of the Chattanooga Area Swim League (CASL) of which we are 1 of 14 teams (please see Coach Elizabeth's speech attached). At the end of the season, all CASL teams are invited to compete against one another over two full days, Friday, July 10th and Saturday, July 11th at City Meet. We hope all swimmers can join, and want to do whatever we can to help your child show up and compete in up to 4 events + relays (as needed). More information to come. 

9. T-shirts are not in just yet, but you will know as soon as they are! All swimmers will receive a t-shirt and swim cap at no additional charge as ordered during registration. Appropriate dress for meets is any swim trunk for boys and any no-tie-back, one-piece swimsuit for girl swimmers. Any plain swim cap or Cumberland swim cap can be worn for meets (any other writing or graphic is not permissible and will result in a DQ). We have a team swimsuit selected here, but it is not required. If you would like to size your child, Front Runner Athletics offers that locally. 

10. Coach Julie will determine whether or not we are having a practice if the weather is dicey. We are unable to swim in heavy rain and thunderstorms; however, sometimes this isn't apparent until we are very close to practice time. Decisions will be made by 6:30 am for morning practices and 6 pm for evening practices with email + GroupMe updates to spread the word quickly and effectively. For dual meets, we do all we can to not reschedule or cancel meets. Please show up even if it is raining outside. We will do our best to delay or call the meet with our opposing team's pool rep in a timely and considerate manner, but please be patient with us in the process.

Our season officially starts this coming Tuesday morning at 8:30 am and Tuesday evening at 7 pm for the whole team! We hope to see you there! GO Currents!!!