Westleigh Barracudas Swim Team

Swim Team Overview

 

The Westleigh Barracudas is a wholly inclusive swim team and there are no try-outs: we have beginner swimmers all the way up to highly competitive swimmers who are among the best in the county; the skill level varies greatly even within an age group.

For a quick summary of the most important points about the swim team, please see the 2025 Swim Team Meeting Presentation; for more detailed information, please read on!

 

Summer Swim Season

The Barracuda swim team is part of the  Montgomery County Swim League . There are 91 teams in the league, classified into 15 divisions (A-O) ; the Barracudas classified into D ivision F  in 2025 .  The  season starts around Memorial Day when the  Westleigh Recreation Club pool opens, and goes through approximately the last week of July. All members of the swim team must also be members of the club. Main team practices start on the Tuesday after Memorial Day (2 weeks before the end of the MCPS school term), and pre-team practices start a week after that. Regular meets begin on the first Saturday after school ends and go through the third week of July, and special meets end around the last week of July.
 
While school is still in session, practices take place only in the afternoon and are not mandatory. When the summer break starts, there are practices in the morning and in the afternoons, but we ask that swimmers attend only 1 of those sessions - please attend morning sessions if possible, and leave afternoon sessions to the swimmers that are in summer camp and/or cannot attend the morning practices. For more details on practices, please see the Practice Schedule page, or see a printable full season calendar  here .
 
The word of the swim season is FUN! Barracudas make a point of working hard while having fun and supporting each other!

 

Meets

Summer swim events are divided into 5 age categories: 8 & under, 9-10, 11-12, 13-14, and 15-18. The events are run in order of youngest to oldest age group, alternating by gender with girls going first in each age group. Each event can have 1 or more heats, depending on the number of swimmers and lanes. Swimmers may swim up to 3 individual events and 2 relays. The order of events is:

  • medley relay: backstroke, breaststroke, butterfly, freestyle (events 1 – 10)
  • short freestyle (events 11 – 20)
  • individual medley (IM): butterfly, backstroke, breaststroke, freestyle (events 21 – 30)
  • breaststroke (events 31 – 40)
  • long freestyle (events 41 – 50)
  • backstroke (events 51 – 60)
  • butterfly (events 61 – 70)
  • freestyle relay (events 71 – 80)

A Meets are held Saturday mornings and are swum against the other 5 teams in the Division, 1 team each Saturday. They are swum by the fastest swimmers in each age group, with the times being reset every week during the B meets. The points gained during A meets count towards final division standings. Families need to opt OUT a swimmer of A meets to indicate they won't be available - if the swimmer does not opt out, it is assumed that they are available to swim in that meet.

B Meets are held Wednesday evenings and are swum against pools in the vicinity. All swimmers are eligible to swim any event in B meets, except the specific event(s) swum in that week's A meet. These meets are when swimmers post times to become eligible for the following week's A meet and demonstrate skills learned in practice. Families need to sign UP a swimmer for B meets to choose which event(s) they will swim - if a swimmer is not signed up, it is assumed that they will not be swimming that meet.

Summer "swim weeks" are organized differently than habitual usage, and are considered to begin on Thursdays (the day after a B meet) and end on Wednesdays (the day of a B meet). At least one A and one B meet is held within a "swim week" (thus, the first meet of the season is considered the Week 1A meet, for example).

Time Trials is a practice "meet" that is held before the start of the official swim season in which only the Barracudas swim and when the swimmers register their seed time for each event for the season. This is also when the families have a chance to practice working a meet. Families need to sign UP a swimmer for Time Trials.

The Mini Meet is a meet for all 8 year old and under swimmers in pre-team and the main team, swum against other invited teams and held towards the end of the season. It's a chance for swimmers to experience what a "real" swim meet is like or to challenge themselves with swimming events they normally don't in regular meets. Our 11 year old and older swimmers also participate by working jobs that the adults normally do at meets. There is a different theme each year and it's the cutest meet of the season!  Families need to  sign UP  a swimmer for the Mini Meet.
 
The Divisionals Meet is the final meet of the MCSL summer season and is swum against all the other 5 teams in the division. It determines the final place of each of the 6 teams in the division and helps determine the teams' division standing in next year's season. It is swum by the swimmers with the top 3 times in each event of each team.  Families need to  opt OUT  a swimmer of the Divisionals meet.

Meet sign up and opt out can be done at any time on the Meets & Events page and is ongoing throughout the season - please indicate your swimmer(s) availability for all meets as soon as you can. Instructions on how to sign up or opt out are under the Resources tab.

Other meets that take place during the season are the Coaches' Long Course Invitational and the All-Stars - these are meets swum by the fastest summer swimmers in the entire MCSL.

 
Pre-Team
pre-team

Pre-teamers are generally younger swimmers who are beginning to learn how to swim. But don't be fooled by the name - the pre-team is just as much part of the Barracuda Swim Team as the main team! Pre-team families participate in all team socials and attend meets to cheer on their teammates. There are also a few events during the season that are specially for the pre-team, including the pre-team Follies and the Mini Meet. Don't be surprised if your swimmer is moved to the main team before you expected it - as soon as they can swim one length of the pool unaided they are ready for B meets! For a quick summary of the most important points about the pre-team, please see these pre-team informational slides.

 
Family Involvement
 
The swim team is formed entirely by the swim families who do it for the love of coming together as a community and as friends. Swim families run all the meets and even the Swim Team Committee is made up of swim family volunteers. Many volunteers are needed to run a meet, so at least one representative of each swim family is required to sign up for a job to run a meet in which their swimmer is participating. But don't fret - there is a job to fit every need and personality! Please go to our Volunteers page to see a quick rundown of jobs.
 
 
Socials
 
Friday Socials take place every Friday evening in the clubhouse right after afternoon practice. This is when swim families come together to have dinner and socialize, and afterwards the swimmers gather with the coaches to make a craft that fits the theme of that week and to get revved up for the next week of meets. Families sign up to help set up the clubhouse or to bring food - this is done in the Meets & Events page.
 
At the end of the swim season, all swimmers and families come together in a big celebratory banquet to commemorate the hard work of swimmers and families. We eat, dance, play, and give out trophies and awards. But mostly we give each other a shoulder to cry on as we mourn the end of yet another wonderful season!
 
 
GO 'CUDAS!!!