2026 Spring Start of Season Information

Greetings 2026 Tidalwaves Swim Families!

As the majority of our registration is now complete, it is time for an overview of how our swimmers and families Splash into the 2026 season. Another email will be sent the weekend before February 23rd with more details about Splash Week. 

What follows is primarily written for 'team level' swimmers and their families as we get ready for the start of the season, February 23rd.  For those of you who also have tadpoles, most of this does not apply to them and tadpole-specific information will generally be communicated separately. 

​Who Are our 2026 Coaches?  As always, we bring to our swimmers the most dedicated, passionate, enthusiastic, swimming-loving, kid-loving group of coaches that exist in Marin County!  

Coach Marie McSweeney is back to continue living out her mission as the best youth sports coach ever and to lead our team for her 35th 'ish' season. Accompanying and learning from Marie's top-notch coaching performance will be our steady and strong veteran assistant coaches, Coach Trevor and Coach Laura, known for their swim enthusiasm, warmth, and commitment to our swimmers! And this season we are excited to announce a NEW (veteran) assistant coach, Margaret DeSomma!  Coach Margaret is a long-time swim coach who has worked with young swimmers, high school swimmers, and adults in both the Bay Area and abroad. She has helped build teams at Marin Academy and San Rafael High School.  She is an ASCA level 3 certified coach and a competitive masters swimmer, still training multiple times a week.  She is known for her calm, encouraging style on deck and her belief that every swimmer can improve with patience, effort, and good technique. Welcome Coach Margaret, we are thrilled to have you!

Rounding out this stellar crew are student coaches--Gabby Grow, Jude Fuchs, Rebecca Duran and Alex Atherton! Gabby has been coaching with us a few years now and has swum with us since she was a little. Jude will continue to help out as his busy schedule allows and new to the coaching crew this year are Rebecca and Alex! All are exceptionally loyal and dedicated swimmers and will continue to be tremendous role models for our younger swimmers.  We are fortunate to have these inspirational kids on our coaching staff this season!  All of our junior coaches this year will also be swimming for us after their high school season!

And checking kids in (at Redwood) this season will be record breaking, affable and hard working swimmer, George Majit!  George will start after Splash Weeks and will quickly show off his skills welcoming kids to practice and reminding parents gently but firmly they are not allowed on the deck.  We're thrilled to have his assistance this year and know he will do an excellent job!

Volunteer Sign-Ups Open Friday, February 13th at 10:00 am.   

Oh yes, it takes all hands on deck to run a swim league for our kids!  Each of the 10 Marin Swim League teams uses a system like ours to manage and run our meets and events.  New to the team?  This may be the second most impressive part of our organization--the first being the amazing skills your kids will learn by being a part of our TEAM.  But our volunteer system?  Nothing short of inspirational, fun, and amazingly well organized!  We are putting the finishing touches on our jobs for the season as we speak but click here for a list of all jobs and their descriptions.  And, here is everything you need to know about signing up for your jobs.  

This is a great time to point out a few volunteer leadership opportunities that we know we have the talent to fill from within our community, we just haven't had the chance to meet you yet. Great ways to get involved with or help the team in a new way and ensure your specialized skills are used where they benefit the kids and community the most!

• Snack Bar Co-Leads - Tamar Dover has been a phenomenal Snack Bar Lead these past few years, but as with all things 'kids and community' it is time to pass the torch(es) to younger families who are eager to get involved in a fun and important way for the team!  Not to fear though, Tamar leaves no one in the lurch.  She's spent the early part of our board's planning season streamlining snack bar operations for the next leads and will provide knowledge transfer.  This is a shared role that provides flexibility and fun especially if you enjoy working with food operations!  Detailed job description is available on the website. Ideally, your family is anxious to join the leadership ranks of our community and carry on the tradition of the best snack bar in the league!
• 8 & Up Line Up Co-Leads - We need two parent volunteers to lead the volunteers that line up the littles for their races at the meets.  Reliable volunteer management, an understanding of how swim meets run, and an enjoyment of helping the littles learn where to stand before their races.  We're even splitting this job into 2 co-leads to provide the flexibility to choose which meets to cover.  Jessica Harrison (of past presidential fame) did a ton of work to turn this into a turn-key job and I only ask for reliability and calm from the two that take this on.
• Trophies Lead - If you need/want to be available during the meets and are looking for a job that is mostly administrative, detail and organizationally oriented and is mainly performed on June 28th at the Awards Banquet, this may be a good fit for you!  Work closely with Coach Marie to shop for and order trophies, and Liz to get roster information and point reports and then receive trophies and organize for swimmer pick up at Awards Banquet.  Must be available in May to order, and then most administrative work will be done in late June.  Best fit will be a returning family.

​Contact our volunteer lead, Lisa Butcher if interested ([email protected]) in more information on any of the above. 

​What do Swimmers Need for their First Practices?  Any bathing suit that will stay on (racing suits preferred, but not required), goggles, swim caps for long hair (or at least remember to tie it back), and FINS.  The type of fins is important!  The required types are included on this flyer.  Wondering if with a team of over 400 swimmers annually, there might be some stuff out there that can be handed down?  You wondered correctly!  Like it or not, the kids do seem to grow each year and then we swim parents stare at their old fins and say, "what do I do with these now?"  We've got the answer!  Bring them to the first day of Splash Week practices, we'll have a box or table out that people can use to look for their swimmer's new size!   I do know that we are fresh out of the small green/blue fins.  If you have some of those at home, we'd love them!  While there is no guarantee we will have all sizes, we do seem to collect a pretty good inventory that we are happy to share.  Also, you can still try to arrange swaps via the Facebook group, and I think many people still advertise on Nextdoor as well.

Having and bringing the fins to every practice from the start of the season is a great way to ensure a good swim experience for your swimmer! 

Here are answers to frequent questions about team suits:

Team Suit Frequently Asked Questions We normally don’t bring up the team suits until after Splash Week.  Why?  Well, as you will soon discover, there is a lot of information to process at the beginning of the season and we do try to parcel it out so that no one becomes too overwhelmed.  However, here are the answers to the most frequently asked questions about team suits…we’ll do this Jeopardy style… Not needed for practice.  In fact, these are racing suits, and they last much longer if they are only worn for competition.  Tadpoles don't compete, so no need for a team suit (although it is certainly ok if they do). You can wait to purchase until after you are sure your swimmer will stick with the program.  The order window goes thru March 15th. Sizing should be tight. The folks at T&B Sports can provide guidance here.  If unsure, please come to Splash Week the days they will be there (3/3 and 3/4). Your child does not need a team suit, but take it from someone who tried to skip buying one the first year, it does go a long way toward helping your swimmer feel like s/he is part of the team, and you'll probably regret trying to go without.   Using Nextdoor or the Facebook group, we are told gently used suits can be purchased at a discount…or free. You don't have to order all items at once.

We know this can be confusing...

For regular-season practices, our coaches divide the swimmers into 2 groups per age group (blue or gold).  To determine the appropriate group for each swimmer, we hold 2 weeks of assessments that we call Splash Weeks, beginning February 23rd.  Splash Weeks have a separate schedule as well as board members on hand to answer questions and point kids in the right direction, hot chocolate for all swimmers and team gear available for purchase (2 days each week).  These weeks alternate assessments for NEW and RETURNING swimmers to determine best practice groups.  Regular practices will begin on March 9th based on these practice groups.   Click here to find both the Splash Week schedules and the regular practice schedules.   Please note that tadpoles are not placed in blue and gold practice groups and do not come to Splash Week.

• A swimmer is considered NEW for Splash Week Assessments if s/he has never swum in a Tidalwaves swim meet.  
• Marie will sometimes adjust this definition, so never fear reaching out to Marie ([email protected]) if you believe your child is better suited to the returning group for the 2 weeks of Splash.  The advantage of assessing all new swimmers together is that they are a smaller group and the coaches get a better chance to get to know the swimmer.
• For our 8 & Unders this year--Everyone should be aware that the College of Marin pool project is in progress.  We have been told we can plan to begin our program there as of April 1st.  Until that time, for our team level 8 & Under swimmers (and some Tadpole + level swimmers), we have 5 days a week of practice at Redwood, starting most evenings at 5:15pm.  (I say 'most' because there will be approximately 6 Redwood High School home meets that will impact our program start time...these will hit us early in the season and will be announced ahead of time.

Can't make it to all assigned days of Splash?  Just do the best you can. Coaches, too, will do the best they can to place swimmers in the right group.  Group placement can change over time.  Coach Marie will reach out if she believes a group change is appropriate.

​Swim meets don't start until April 25th, with our time trials meet.  All swim meet dates are on the gowaves.com website under EVENTS.  This gives all swimmers time to 'get up to speed' so to speak, and all parents a chance to get into the 'swim of things' before we start putting on our shows!  We do know some timing information for our events is missing.  We are working on this!

What is Communication Like from the Team?  Oh, the many ways to answer this question!  You can expect weekly e-mails (on Mondays) from the team beginning with Splash Week, letting you know of upcoming events, schedule changes, meets, etc.  As team presidents, my husband Jon Kawamura and I, thankfully do not Tweet, and I try to stick to facts in my weekly e-mails.  That said, the e-mails can be long, and sometimes include spelling and/or grammatical errors, but generally try to get everyone going in the right direction.  Keep your sense of humor and I'll promise to keep mine! The website is chalked full of information that you can find on your own that will answer many FAQs.  Here's the answer to the most popular question:  YES, the kids practice in the rain!  We only cancel practice if there is lightning, or sometimes 'bomb cyclones'.    

What is The Facebook Group Used For?

The Facebook Group has proven itself to be helpful to those looking to swap or find used gear like fins, parkas, or bags. Also good for finding carpools (especially once practice groups are settled). It can also help with swapping volunteer spots...of course, not at the last minute.  It works well but works better when more people join.  Here is the info needed to join the group:

Be sure to Like the Tidalwaves Facebook Page now for team updates, general info and photo and video highlights throughout the season. To join our Facebook Group follow the link to the Group and click "Join Group" and an admin will approve requests from team members. 

​What is the Etiquette on the Team and around the Pool?  This is a great question that we appreciate you asking.  Our number one priority at Tidalwaves and within the broader Marin Swim League is to help make swimming a safe, inclusive, and fun activity for all of the kids who participate.  To this end, like the 9 other teams we compete with and against, we have developed a Code of Conduct for our team.  Please take the time to review this code and understand that our role is to support our kids, coaches, and volunteers to make this a great experience for everyone. 

In addition to the Code of Conduct, our team has developed a Parent Resources section of our website that includes a slew of  Articles for Swim Parents published by The American Swimming Coaches Association intended specifically to help parents understand how best to support their child, their child's coaches, and their child's team, as they navigate their swimming, or more generally their youth athletic experience.  All are HIGHLY recommended for Tidalwaves' parents!

One final note on pool etiquette is that parents (and nannies, grandparents, pets, etc.) are not allowed on the pool deck at Redwood during practice.  It is our sincere apology that when the pool was designed it was not designed to accommodate spectators as well as young kids coming in and out of practice.  However, we have the pool we have and we all respect the fact that to keep the kids safe and to ensure that every child gets the most out of his or her practice experience, we only have room for swimmers and coaches on the deck during practice.  This is a Tidalwaves' Board policy.

Spectators are welcome at the COM pool, however, younger siblings need to be watched at all times and remain in or behind the bleacher seating area along with their adults.  Thank you for understanding, coaches cannot coach if parents are distracting swimmers.  Additionally, please remember that COM is in session while we are having our practices.  Kindly keep noise to a minimum and contained within the pool area.

​Dogs are not allowed at either pool, no matter how cute or well-behaved.  These rules are those of both Redwood High School and College of Marin Community College and as renters of their facilities, we are obliged to comply. 

​We Have Friends Still Interested in Joining.  Is it too late?  It is not too late!  In fact, we have room for MANY more kids and families and appreciate all efforts to bring your friends into the community! Direct your friends to gowaves.com and click on the REGISTER link on the home page (upper left corner). The College of Marin pool project, which caused us to cancel our Fall tadpole program, has had an impact on our numbers this season.  This will be a rebuilding year for a team that has grown acustom to our 'Strength in Numbers' team culture.  It's ok, we can do anything, including build, but please help anyone interested to understand they are welcome!  13 and 14 year old swimmers are especially welcome!  A great sport for athletes transitioning out of other sports looking for a welcoming supportive team or athletes interested in cross training, or just wanting to build on their life skill.  Swimmers ages 8 & Under must be able to complete 25 yards of the pool with side breathing proficiency, older kids pick things up quickly and our coaches will work with them!

​Questions?  I'm happy to answer any questions that you may have that are not covered in an e-mail, or on the website.  Remember, I'm an actual person, not "Siri" or "Google" so while I try to answer quickly, finding the answer on the website (or even trying AI) can be a quicker way to get your answer.   If you have specific questions/concerns about your child, it is best to communicate directly with Coach Marie at [email protected].

And is the NEW Parent Info Night Really a Don't Miss Event? Heck Yeah!  If you are NEW to the Tidalwaves Spring Marin Swim League season, we recommend that you attend our NEW Parent Info Night on March 4th.  A phenomenal overview to the season chalked full of best practices and survival tips as well as a great chance to meet people and hear why we consider the Tidalwaves experience the best youth sports experience in Marin.  We hope to see you there!

On behalf of the Tidalwaves Board and all the veteran Tidalwaves families, we are looking forward to seeing you at the pool for a great season!  GOOO WAVES! 

Not Getting the e-mails? If you have friends that tell you they aren't getting these emails, please help them out by telling them to get in touch with me, Liz Foley at [email protected].  I can research it for them and figure out what the problem is.