Swim Team News ~ Week of July 29
WEEK OF JULY 29, 2024
Dear Swim Team Families,
This newsletter is jam packed with important information. Keep reading until the end. Action items are highlighted in green.
Happy Spirit Week! Wow, the front of MVP looks absolutely amazing! Kudos to our Spirit Week Chairs Angel Johnson and Sian Newman for planning a fun week of festivities leading up to OMPA. If you haven’t marked your calendars yet for all of the fun, the Spirit Week schedule is below. We hope to see you tonight (5:00-8:00pm) at MVP for our Spirit Week Kickoff Party. Cannonballs, hotdogs, and cakes, oh my! Glow for the Gold, Marlins!
OMPA spirit orders are in. If you placed an order for adult OMPA shirts or car flags, you may pick them up at the pool this afternoon. If you're unable to make it, please email Belle Hammond. Swimmer OMPA shirts will be distributed tonight at our Spirit Week kickoff party (5-8pm).
Did you know that it’s also taper week? Swimmers should be resting and hydrating this week leading up to OMPA. This especially means no trampolines! See Coach Trevor’s tips on taper week attached.
And it’s OMPA week! Competition begins this Friday August 2 and continues through Sunday August 4. The final final version of our OMPA meet entries is attached. Thank you for your patience as coaches worked through changes to land on a final roster.
Who’s excited for MVP’s OMPA after party and celebration?! The celebration will commence at MVP immediately following the OMPA awards ceremony at Soda Aquatic Center. This year Hella Mas will cater dinner and Mister Softee will be on hand with sweet treats. Dinner is available for purchase and must be ordered in advance. The deadline to place an online order is Friday.
Team potluck breakfast at OMPA on Saturday and Sunday NEEDS YOU! Please sign up to contribute. Everyone’s collective participation ensures that all swimmers eat a healthy breakfast without you having to worry about cooking for your own kid in time for a very early morning arrival at OMPA.
We’d like to thank Fabina Filips and Leslie Miller for an incredible Mini Marlin celebration last Friday. Our Minis swam in their first “race”, received a Mini medal, participated in a photo op with their beloved coaches, and indulged in yummy treats. Congratulations to our Mini Marlins! And importantly, thank you to our Junior Coaches for supporting our Minis this season.
Parents - have you contributed yet to the Coaches’ Bonus Fund? Let’s shower our coaches with the appreciation they deserve! Please donate generously to the Coaches’ Bonus Fund. The suggested contribution is $100 per swimmer. Don’t worry, we will send a lot of reminders about this. Thank you for considering.
Save the new date for Swim Team Awards Night @ MVP - Friday September 6. More information is coming soon.
Fall swim season - Let’s keep the good times going! Don’t despair, we aren’t going anywhere! Details and registration information will be announced soon. Stay tuned.
SPIRIT WEEK PRACTICE TIMES ~ MONDAY JULY 29, TUESDAY, JULY 30, WEDNESDAY JULY 31
PRACTICES RUN MONDAY, TUESDAY, WEDNESDAY (July 29-31)
AFTERNOON MAKEUP PRACTICES RUN MONDAY AND TUESDAY ONLY (JULY 29 AND 30), 4:15-5:00PM.
All Team Warm Ups at Soda Aquatic Center at Campolindo High School on Thursday August 1 (10:50-11:30am). No practices on Friday August 2.
MVP SWIM TEAM’S SPIRIT WEEK ~ WEEK OF JULY 29
MVP families, let’s get excited about Spirit Week! The week leading up to OMPA is full of fun activities for swimmers and parents, so mark your calendars.
Monday, July 29 (9:00am-1:00pm during practice)
Get Your MVP Spirit On!
Show your Marlin Pride and join us in the MVP parking lot to decorate your family’s car after your swim practice. We will be writing spirit slogans on our cars, like “Go MVP”, “Swim Fast”, and “Eat My Bubbles”. If you can not make the morning decorating session, come decorate your car later in the day.
Then join us for an evening of fun and tradition with Cannonballs, hot dogs, and the cherished Marlin Cake Contest.
Monday, July 29 (5:00-8:00pm)
Top Dog will be on hand to provide us all with a tasty dinner, THANK YOU to Angel Johnson with California 24 Real Estate agents for sponsoring the first 100 hot dogs for us! Come and grab one from 5:00pm-6:30pm. Sides will be available for purchase. Top Dog accepts cash, credit, and Apple Pay.
Then show us your best Marlin splash at the Cannonball Contest at 6:30pm. This is for swimmers and parents!
Finally, back by popular demand, the infamous Marlin Cake Contest! Flex your creative muscles! Bake and decorate a cake to enter into the cake contest and win a prize in one of two categories: Best MVP Team Spirit and Most Creative Glow for the Gold themed cake. We will enjoy your creations for dessert!
If you bake a cake, please bring a knife and a serving utensil. Parents of bakers, we will need your assistance in cutting your child’s cake. Thank you.
Cake winners will be announced at 7:30pm. Cake eating to follow.
We will also distribute OMPA spirit shirts to every swimmer, so don’t miss out!
Tuesday, July 30 (after your swim practice)
Breakfast of Champions
Pancakes are back by popular demand! After your practice, fuel your body with delicious pancakes at MVP! Fruit also provided.
Wednesday, July 31 (4:30-8:30pm)
Glow for the Gold Family Night
Join us for a fun evening of potluck dinner, ice cream, MVP tattoos, and senior recognition. Dress to impress in your MVP team colors, with a splash of gold too!
Get in the OMPA groove with a custom airbrushed MVP logo tattoo! Why wait in line at OMPA when you can get a tattoo at MVP?! Tattoos will be available starting at 4.30pm through 7:30pm. Prices will range from $8-$10. Feel free to get a tattoo, go home, and then return for a fun-filled evening. Come early to avoid the line.
Potluck Dinner: 6:00-7:30pm
Families A-L bring salads/sides (and your own drinks)
Families M-Z bring main dishes (and your own drinks)
Moraga’s Loard's Ice Cream will be on hand for sweet treats after the potluck dinner.
Finally, let’s appreciate and recognize our graduating seniors with a Marlin-style sendoff.
Senior Recognition: 7:45pm
Thursday, August 1 (beginning at 9am)
MVP Pep Rally & Caravan
Join us for a light breakfast of croissants, danishes, and juice at 9:00am. Then at 9:50am the MVP Pep Rally and OMPA Orientation will be led by Coaches Trevor, Ashley, and Jake at MVP.
Following the rally, parents drive their swimmers caravan-style over to the Soda Aquatic Center at Campolindo High School. Swimmers will have the opportunity to do a few laps in the “big” pool prior to OMPA. Practice will start promptly at 10:50am and end at 11:30am.
Caravan - Parade Style!
Decorate your cars for the occasion! When we leave MVP we'll drive down Ivy Drive, all the way to the end and left onto Moraga Way (at the light by Miramonte). Please no honking once near Campo.
Friday, August 2, Saturday August 3, Sunday August 4
Orinda-Moraga Pool Association Championship (OMPA)
The 67th Annual OMPA Championship meet will be held August 2 - August 4 at the Soda Aquatic Center in Moraga. The OMPA Championship Swim Meet is one of the largest recreational swim meets in the country, with over 4,800 entries and over 1,700 swimmers competing from 9 member teams.
Parents - dress in your favorite MVP or OMPA spirit wear and join us in the stands as we cheer on our fellow Marlins. There is no such thing as “over-doing” it when it comes to OMPA spirit wear!
Sunday August 4 (immediately following OMPA Finals)
OMPA Celebration Dinner
To keep with MVP tradition, we would like to invite all of our swim team families to our annual post OMPA dinner and celebration! Dinner will be held at MVP immediately following the conclusion of OMPA on Sunday August 4. Bring your own picnic blankets, chairs, and drinks for a fun gathering with fellow swim team families to celebrate the end of OMPA and the conclusion of our summer season.
Dinner this year will be served by Hella Mas but must be ordered online beforehand. The deadline to order is Friday August 2. Please purchase your meal here.
OMPA Celebration Dinner Menu*:
Chicken Burrito
Veggie Burrito
Chicken Salad bowl
Veggie Salad bowl
Kids Burrito
Kids Quesadilla
*All meals include chips and salsa
Mister Softee’s soft ice cream truck will also be on hand with sweet treats. No payment needed! The truck will be there for the duration of the event.
For any questions, please contact Katie Fagundes.
OVERVIEW OF OMPA CHAMPIONSHIP SWIM MEET
The OMPA Championship Swim Meet is conducted over 2+ days and requires over 2,500 hours of parent volunteer time. Through the joint efforts of the OMPA member clubs, this Championship Swim Meet is considered one of the largest, best‐run recreational swim meets in the country.
The Friday evening swim meet is limited to two events, Individual Medley (IM) and 100 free (15‐18s only for 100 free). The swim session starts at 5pm and the heats are “timed finals” meaning that the swimmers only swim once and are ranked and scored according to their times.
The Saturday and Sunday swim sessions include both preliminary trials and finals, with the Freestyle and Breaststroke events on Saturday and Backstroke and Butterfly on Sunday. The preliminary trials start at 9:00am each day and last for approximately five hours on Saturday and four hours on Sunday. The top 20 swimmers from the preliminary trials in each event swim again in the afternoon in two consecutive heats – the consolation heat (for the 11th‐20th ranked swimmers) followed by the finals heat (1st through 10th.) The finals session typically starts one hour after the completion of the preliminary trials. After the individual event finals
conclude there is a short break to allow swimmers to rest and then the Free Relays (Saturday) and the Medley Relays (Sunday) provide an exciting finish to each day.
WHOLE TEAM WARM UPS ~ THURSDAY AUGUST 1
Thursday August 1
Arrival Time: 10:20am
Start Time: 10:50am - 11:30am
MVP Pep Rally & Caravan
Join us for a light breakfast of croissants, danishes, and juice at MVP at 9:00am. Then at 9:50am the MVP Pep Rally and OMPA Orientation will be led by Coaches Trevor, Ashley, and Jake at MVP. Following the rally, parents drive their swimmers caravan-style over to the Soda Aquatic Center at Campolindo High School for Whole Team Warm Ups. Swimmers will have the opportunity to do a few laps in the “big” pool prior to OMPA. Whole Team Warm Ups will start promptly at 10:50am and end at 11:30am.
Programs will be sold at the Soda Center and will be available during Whole Team Warm Ups Thursday August 1 and during OMPA, August 2-4. The program is only available for purchase, we will not email it in advance of the meet. Programs cost $20. Cash payment for the programs is accepted.
MVP TEAM DESIGNATED AREAS AT OMPA
The MVP tent will be located on the baseball field at Campolindo High School (same as last year). You may start setting up at 3pm on Friday. Please do not come earlier as our decoration crew will be hard at work. We also have a designated spectator area in the stands at Soda Aquatic Center. We are in the team bleachers on the far side of the pool, second from right. You will see an MVP banner and decorations. We’re in between Meadow and Moraga Ranch this year, so BRING THE MARLIN SPIRIT.
OMPA WEEKEND SCHEDULE ~ FRIDAY AUGUST 2 THROUGH SUNDAY AUGUST 4
Friday August 2
Arrival Time: 3:55pm
Warm Up Time: 4:25 - 4:45pm
Start Time: 5:00pm
Events: 100 Yard Free ~ Timed Final (ages 15+); Individual Medley ~ Timed Final (ages 7+)
Saturday August 3
Arrival Time: 7:35am
Warm Up Time: 8:05am - 8:25am
Start Time: 9:00am
Events: Freestyle; Breaststroke; Free Relay ~ Timed Final (A-Relays only to be chosen by the coaching staff)
Sunday August 4
Arrival Time: 6:55am
Warm Up Time: 7:25 - 7:45am
Start Time: 9:00am
Events: Backstroke; Butterfly; Medley Relay ~ Timed Final (A-Relays only to be chosen by the coaching staff)
The OMPA Championship is run in a Trials/Finals format. If you earn a Top 20 time in the morning session you will qualify for the Finals session in the afternoon. Please DO NOT MISS THE FINALS! Ask a coach if you need help figuring out if you qualified for finals or not. Also, see attached OMPA Relay Policy from Coach Trevor.
OMPA VOLUNTEER SHIFTS
Please find the list of OMPA shifts for each family attached as well as basic job descriptions. If you have any questions regarding your job/shift please reach out to Kristen Brunson. Volunteer check in times are listed on the attachment and with a few exceptions for early parking lot shifts you will check in at the MVP tent with Kristen Brunson for your shift.
It is absolutely critical to show up for your volunteer shift on time. If you are a no show, MVP is fined, and you are fined $350 by MVP. Nobody wants that!
TEAM POTLUCK BREAKFAST SIGN UPS
The team potluck breakfast on Saturday and Sunday is a wonderful MVP tradition, energizing swimmers and parents alike for the day ahead. Please sign up to contribute on either Saturday morning, Sunday morning, or both! Phoebe Harris Millman is coordinating our team potluck breakfast over the weekend so please reach out to Phoebe with any questions.
MVP COACHES’ BONUS FUND 2024 ~ LET’S THANK OUR COACHES!
MVP coaches work extremely hard all season to provide our swimmers with the best possible experience in the Orinda Moraga Pool Association (OMPA). They are supportive, enthusiastic, and are some of your child's biggest cheerleaders both during practice and at swim meets. Did you know that the majority of our junior coaches started swimming at MVP as Mini Marlins? The success we have experienced this season is due in large part to the dedication and commitment of our incredible coaching staff.
We have a tradition at MVP of collecting contributions to the Coaches’ Bonus Fund. Did you know that our first and second year junior coaches do not earn an hourly wage? They commit to working these first two years purely as volunteers while juggling their own personal academic, family, and other personal commitments. Let's show our coaches how much we appreciate and value them.
The suggested contribution is $100 per swimmer. Donations can be paid through TeamUnify until September 1.
We appreciate you considering this donation. Let’s remember that there would be no Mini Marlins program or swim team without our fabulous coaches. Thank you.
UPCOMING KEY DATES*
*Complete 2024 calendar can be found on www.mvpswimteam.com
Swim Team Out of School Season (aka Summer Season) - June 3 to August 1
Spirit Week! - July 29 to August 1
OMPA - August 2 to August 4
OMPA After Party @ MVP - August 4
Awards Night @ MVP - September 6 (note new date)
Go Marlins!
Jenn Curran & Hadley Mickel
MVP Swim Team Co-Presidents
