🐟 HCY Stingrays Scoop

As we head into the final two months of the season, we wanted to share a few important updates and key dates. The Little Stingrays season concludes with the Summit Meet on March 1 and will begin their break immediately following the meet, while J1 and older swimmers will wrap up the season at the River Crossing Finale Meet on March 28.

Our Team Banquet will be held on Friday evening, March 27, at Hawk Pointe Golf Club (yes — a Friday night this year!). Following the conclusion of the season, the team will be on break from March 29 through April 12, with Spring practices beginning April 13. Practice times will remain the same through the end of the school year.

Swimmers who the coaching staff is recommending for group changes will be contacted by their group coach within the next week.

Stingrays in the SNOW! ☃️❄️

We hope everyone stayed warm and cozy during last weekend’s snowstorm! Check out these awesome photos of our swimmers getting creative in our Snowman/Snow Creature Contest.

Welcome Christie!!! 🐝💙

We are thrilled to welcome Christie to the Stingrays coaching staff! Christie is our Hunterdon Region Aquatic Director and brings an incredible depth of experience, with 16 years in aquatics within our YMCA community and involvement in Y Aquatics programs dating back to 1998.

While Christie did not swim competitively herself, many of you already know her impact firsthand. She has been a driving force in developing young swimmers and has spent years introducing our Little Stingrays to the fundamentals of swim team readiness. Her passion for teaching, nurturing confidence, and building strong foundations has helped countless swimmers take their first steps into competitive aquatics.

Christie is excited to join the coaching staff and to work closely with Lou to create a strong bridge between our aquatic lessons programs and the Stingrays swim team—helping young swimmers grow their skills, build confidence, and develop a lifelong love of swimming.

She will be working with the Little Stingrays and Junior 1 practice groups on Wednesday nights, and we couldn’t be more excited about this collaboration. This is a fantastic step forward in supporting swimmers as they transition from lessons to team—and in strengthening our entire aquatics pathway.

Welcome to the deck, Christie! 🎉🏊‍♀️

🏆 NJ YMCA 8 & Under Championships
Location: Ocean County YMCA, Toms River, NJ (1088 West Whitty Rd)
Please arrive 20 minutes prior to warm-up

Sunday, February 1, 2026

• Session 1 – 8 & Under Girls: Warm-up 8:00a | Start 9:10a | Finish ~12:45p
• Session 2 – 8 & Under Boys: Warm-up 1:20p | Start 2:10p | Finish ~4:40p

Summit Deep Freeze – Summit YMCA

Saturday

• Session 2 (500 Free): Warm-up 7:45a | Start 8:15a | Finish ~10:00a
• Session 3 (11–13): Warm-up 10:10a | Start 11:30a | Finish ~2:40p
• Session 4 (14 & Over): Warm-up 2:50p | Start 4:10p | Finish ~7:30p

Sunday

• Session 5 (1000 Free / 400 IM): Warm-up 7:45a | Start 8:15a | Finish ~10:00a
• Session 6 (11–13): Warm-up 10:15a | Start 11:35a | Finish ~2:50p
• Session 7 (14 & Over): Warm-up 3:00p | Start 4:20p

Session 7 notes: Senior Celebration 4:40p | Meet Start 7:20p

Spring/Summer Tryouts:

We have set the following dates for tryouts for the Spring/Summer team. More information to come!  If you know anyone interested in swimming with our team please share our tryouts dates/info. If you know any potential athletes who are interested right now, please have them reach out to Coach Lou or Coach Ruby ***Existing Stingray swimmers do not need to re-tryout.  They all have a spot on the team***

• March 17th  and 18th @ 6:15pm at Deer Path YMCA
• March 24th and 25th @ 6:15 at Deer Path YMCA

📱 Stay Connected with GroupMe

Join your swimmer’s GroupMe chat to stay updated. We recommend both parents and older swimmers join:

• Seniors: Join Here
• Pre Seniors: Join Here
• Junior 2: Join Here
• Junior 1: Join Here
• Little Stingrays: Join Here
   

🏅  Meet/Event Schedule

🚨 Important Practice Updates 🚨

January

• Saturday, January 31: All practices will be held at Deer Path (a portion of practice will be impacted by the Deep Freeze Meet).

February

• Friday, February 6: Normal practices for all groups.
• Saturday, February 7:  J1/J2: Canceled - Senior/Pre-Senior: Practice at Deer Path, 7:00–9:00 AM\

💡 Tip: Please mark your calendars now—these changes impact multiple groups, especially during meet weekends.

See you on the pool deck,
Coach Lou & Coach Ruby