Register for the swim team at:
https://cottontailcobias.swimtopia.com

Dual Meet #1

Rules for our “B” Meets with the Springfield/Burke Developmental League are linked below.

General Swim Team Information and Practice Schedules:

Swim Team at Cottontail (The Cobias) 

The Cottontail swim team is open to the children (age 18 and younger) of all member families at Cottontail Swim and Racquet Club.  We have had children as young as 2 years old join the program.  Our team is all about fun, enjoying the summer, and learning to love the sport of swimming!! 

Swim Team Socials: 
In addition to swim practices and meets, we sponsor/host many social activities for the kids during the year, both at Cottontail and at various recreational venues in northern Virginia.  Activities may include: bagel and pancake breakfasts after practices, mini-golf at Burke Lake Park, team trip to Splashdown Waterpark, Cobia Pasta Kickoff Pot Luck, laser tag at Shadowland, the ever-popular Midnight Swim Team Party, pep rallies, July 4th parade, the annual Swim Team Banquet and Slideshow and more!  While we are a competitive swim team and enjoy winning our meets whenever possible, it is our team social activities that are the highlight of the summer for most of our swimmers.  Friendships formed at Cottontail stay with our swimmers through their high school years and beyond!

Season: 
The swim team season begins as soon as the pool opens, with our annual new swimmer evaluation day.  All swimmers who are new to the team and who can swim at least one length of the pool (25 m) are invited and encouraged to come to this evaluation.  Our coaching staff will place swimmers into the appropriate practice group (see descriptions of the practice groups below) at this time.  If a swimmer is not yet able to swim an entire length of the pool, then he/she should plan to practice with the Mini/Junior Cobia group and should attend the Mini/Junior evaluation day later in June at 8:45 a.m. instead.  

Fees: 
In order to join the swim team, you must first be a member of Cottontail Swim and Racquet Club, then simply fill out the registration form and return it with your fees (either by mail, at the swim team orientation meeting, or at the front desk at Cottontail).  Registration fees for the 2019 season are as follows:

Bonded Members:  1st swimmer=$100; 2nd swimmer add $75; additional swimmers, add $50/swimmer

Associate Members:    1st swimmer=$120; 2nd swimmer add $85; additional swimmers, add $50/swimmer 

Volunteer Fee: $150 per family (separate check) Families with ONLY Mini/Junior Cobias are exempt from volunteer fee.

Swim Team Practice Groups: 

Age Group Practices:  
This group consists of swimmers who are able to swim multiple laps of the pool using both freestyle and backstroke.  The Age Group swimmers will begin daily (Mon-Fri) practices in late May according to the following schedule:

High School Swimmers:                   3:30 p.m. - 4:30 p.m.

Middle School Swimmers:               4:30 p.m. - 5:15 p.m.

Elementary School Swimmers:       5:15 p.m. - 6:00 p.m.

These after-school practices are scheduled according to the school dismissal times of the majority of our swimmers.  Swimmers who wish to practice with a different group than their grade level (e.g. 8th graders who attend a secondary school and can arrive in time for the High School practice) may do so with the approval of the Head Coach.  The Elementary School practice is a very large group, so we encourage any 5th and 6th grade students who can consistently arrive at the pool by 4:30 p.m. to practice with the Middle School group.

Once the school year ends, our practices shift to the morning according to the following schedule (please note swimmers MUST practice with their assigned age group based on their actual age as of June 1, 2019):

8 & under swimmers:            7:30 a.m. - 8:15 a.m.

9 - 12 year old swimmers:    8:15 a.m. - 9:00 a.m.

13 & up swimmers:              9:30 a.m. - 10:30 a.m.

Evening Practices: Beginning the Tuesday after school ends, we will hold an evening practice session every Tues/Thurs from 6:00 pm to 7:00 pm (except as noted on the team calendar).   These practices are for swimmers assigned to the Age Group practice sessions, but who cannot attend their morning practices during that week for any reason.  Swimmers assigned to the Mini/Junior practice sessions cannot attend the evening practices.  No swimmer is allowed to attend both a morning and evening practice on the same day.

Mini/Junior Cobia Practices: 
Practice time:  8:50 am - 9:30 a.m., Mon - Fri; Late June-July
Mini/Junior Meet at 10:00 a.m. on last day of practice in July

The Mini (ages 8 & under) and Junior (ages 9-12) Cobia practice groups are for beginning swimmers who cannot yet swim multiple laps of the pool during a practice session and who are still working on learning basic stroke techniques.  

These practices are structured much more like group swimming lessons, with multiple instructors in the water with the swimmers in order to teach and assist them.   This format of instruction requires us to utilize all of the shallow end of the pool in addition to the regular swim lanes, so we cannot begin these practice sessions until the school year ends and our team is able to use the pool during the mornings when it is closed to the general membership.

Within the Mini practice group, the swimmers are divided into levels 1, 2, 3, and 4 according to their ability, with Mini 1 being brand-new swimmers and Mini 4 being those who are nearly ready to begin Age Group practices.  Within the Junior group, there are two divisions, beginner and intermediate.  Our goal is have all of our Mini 3 & 4 swimmers (and our intermediate Juniors) participate in a developmental meet by the end of the season.  All of our Mini and Junior Cobias are invited to swim in the Mini/Junior Meet at the end of July.  

All registered members of the swim team are included in and invited to all swim team activities, regardless of which practice group they are assigned to!! 

If your swimmer is going to practice with Mini/Junior Cobia group, you should still register them at the beginning of the season in order to be included in team e-mailings, announcements, and activities.  If you wait until Mini/Junior practices begin, you will be missing out on many of our most popular social activities for the swimmers.    

Swim Team contacts:

Shannon Sierra, Swim Team Representative
Cristina Wallace, Assistant Swim Team Representative                      

cottontailcobias@gmail.com