Welcome Back

Happy New Swim Year! And if you are new to NOVA, Welcome! We are so excited that you have chosen NOVA and are looking forward to spending the upcoming year with you and your family and helping your swimmer(s) realize their goals!

Our senior program started practicing August 28^th, but the rest of us will get rolling September 5^th.  The first week can be chaotic so let us help by sharing some key pieces of information.

Early Season Reminders:

• The practice schedule is posted on the NOVA website HERE.

As noted at the top of the schedule, G = NOVA Aquatic Center Gayton and R = NOVA Aquatic Center Regency. Be sure you know where and when your swimmer will be practicing there have been a few changes to locations and times.

• Make it a priority to sign up for the SMS system through your account on the NOVA website. We will use it to send important real-time messages to the entire team. (i.e., practice reminders, meet warm up changes, closures, snowstorms, etc.)

• Parent meetings by group are being scheduled for the next two weekends.

They will help you learn more about NOVA and your child’s group. Be on the look out for an email from your child’s coach with all the details (when/where/need for chair).  The meeting schedule will also be posted to the main team page of the NOVA website. The coaching staff will share information, review the meet schedule, answer questions and discuss goals & expectations for each group – so be sure to make time to attend!

• Any swimming equipment needs from suits, to kick boards, to NOVA gear, can be met by the Virginia Swim Shop with convenient locations to the right of the main door at each facility. The ladies are eager to help you get your swimmer set up for success, so be sure to drop in and support one of NOVA’s key fund-raisers!

• Our coaching line up for 2023-2024 again brings an incredible level of experience and skill to all areas of our program. The entire staff are excited for the upcoming season and here to serve you!
   

We will be introducing a few other names in the future as we fill some additional key roles that are currently in recruitment. 

• While University of Richmond Strength Coach Jay Demayo will continue to work with our senior program swimmers this year, we will be introducing a new dryland program, SWIMSTRONG  for our age group swimmers this year.  Coach Mike Julian will be coordinating the logistics and working with your swimmer’s coaches on the delivery of the program. Be on the lookout for additional information regarding this exciting addition to NOVA’s training regimen.

Fund-raising Responsibilities and Donation Opportunities

As a non-profit organization, NOVA relies on fund-raising to supplement dues and fees and help to keep costs down for our families.

Annual fund-raising obligations are based on each swimmer’s group level:

• First year families: $100/swimmer
• Novice Groups: $125/swimmer
• All other groups: $225/swimmer
• Capped at $450/year/family

We offer numerous ways to fulfill your responsibility over the course of the year (shown below) which are described in detail on the website under the parents’ tab HERE

• Peanut Sales Oct. 7- Oct 21
• Shop with Scrip(year round)
• United Way(any time)
• Annual Swim-A-Thon(April)
• Corporate Matching Gifts(any time)

We also do seasonal fund-raisers.  You may have already received an email about our Virginia Diner Fund-raiser. If these options don’t meet your needs, you’re welcome to write a check to cover this family responsibility any time during the year.

Additionally, if you own a business or make decisions for your company, consider advertising your product or service with NOVA! For more information about advertising, contact Julie Farney at [email protected]

Finally, before donating elsewhere, check with the staff to see if NOVA has a need.  For example, re-doing your kitchen? Have a decent refrigerator? Consider taking the tax write-off and helping NOVA! Drew Hirth, our facilities and operations manager is the best resource to contact at [email protected] if you think you might be able to help.

Volunteering Responsibilities and Opportunities

It takes a lot of people to make all the things happen at NOVA throughout the season and especially during swim meets. As a result, NOVA expects all families to offer up some of their time during the year as a part of joining the program. Here are the basic expectations:

• First year families: 12 hours
• Returning, novice only families: 16 hours
• Returning families: 24 hours

Volunteering for can take many forms.

The most obvious is swim meets. NOVA hosts several meets over the course of the year, and you can volunteer at any meet. Your swimmer does not have to be competing at a meet for you to volunteer.  Emails sharing swim meet job opportunities available for on-line sign up will be sent approximately one week before each meet.

Interested in something else? Many other opportunities exist including committees, travel meet chaperones, fund-raising events, special projects, parties and more. Separate outreach emails will be sent when these opportunities arise. 

Perhaps the most important volunteer role you can take on is that of an official. WE NEED OFFICIALS IN ORDER TO HOST MEETS!!! Additionally, as the largest team in the state, we are expected to provide a significant number of officials each year for all meets we attend. Serving as an official offers many rewards that you won’t get from other volunteer opportunities (including a front row seat to the action, behind the scenes insight into how the meets work, potential paid travel/tax write-offs).  Be on the look out for separate communications about upcoming opportunities to be trained as an official and take the leap! I promise you won’t regret it!

~Coach David