Happy Father’s Day to all our Piranha dads and grandpas! And THANK YOU to everyone for making the first A meet of the 2026 season such a fun event!

We’re so proud of all our swimmers and excited for an incredible season ahead––and we couldn’t do it without all your support. Despite a challenging meet, our athletes swam hard, dropped time, and had a BLAST! We’re especially proud of the stellar sportsmanship of our team and all our first-time A meet swimmers who dove in.

🏁 WEEKLY RECAP

Piranhas of the Week

• 🏊 Felicity Sasala (Swim – Girl)
• 🏊 Bobby Ferssizidis (Swim – Boy)
• 🤸 Sia Ferssizidis (Dive)

Most Spirited: Everly DiMartino & Dolan Ahearn

McLean Meet Recap

Pinecrest fell to the McLean Marlins 243–176, but our team swam hard, cheered loud, and had tons of fun.

Piranhas of the Meet

• Joey Dunlavy: Came in first in all of his events, and got a PR in fly.
• Kayla Essen: Swam up in breast and earned a point for the team.

Piranha Packs & Red vs. Blue Teams

Our Piranha Packs kicked things off at last week’s pep rally by working together to decorate signs. We LOVED seeing all our veteran Piranhas welcoming our newest team members and building bonds across the age groups. Check out the roster to find your Red/Blue Team and Piranha Pack assignments.

We've got a packed week ahead, so please take a few minutes to read through the full email (we know, it's a lot … but we don’t want you to miss out on any fun!). Here’s a quick snapshot of the week (more details below):

🔜 LOOKING AHEAD

🌺 Keep the Tropical Vibes Going!

Our tropical theme kicked off at Friday’s luau pep rally, and we’re keeping the island energy going all week long! We encourage all swimmers, divers, and parents to show their spirit by wearing tropical gear to Monday’s B Meet and Tuesday’s Dive Meet. Let’s turn the deck into a sea of sunshine and aloha vibes!

Monday

• First Developmental B Meet @ HOME vs Herndon
  • Additional details were emailed over the weekend by our B reps. Send any questions to [email protected].
  • We still have a few volunteer slots that need to be filled! Contact Volunteer Coordinators Paul and Abbie Shlesinger with any questions at [email protected].
  • Sportsmanship reminder: Stay in the water until all swimmers finish, shake hands, and exit quickly.

Tuesday

• First-ever Pirana-thon––and don’t forget to sign up for donut donation.
• First Dive Meet @ Highland Park! Meet starts at 6:00pm. Divers should arrive by 5:00pm for warm-ups. Additional details will be communicated by our dive rep.

Wednesday

• Regular practice schedule (stop and catch your breath while you can!)

Thursday

• Special Event for 9–12 Age Group (see details and signup link below)

Friday

• Pep Rally – Pirate Night

Saturday

• Our next NVSL A meet is coming up this Saturday, June 27! We’re back on our home turf to take on Orange Hunt.
• Please let us know ASAP if your swimmer is available so we can begin planning! You never know when the team will call on your swimmer for a particular stroke, so please let us know if you are available.
• Don’t forget to sign up for volunteer slots, too!
• We encourage all swimmers and families to come out and cheer—even if you're not competing. Swimmers are welcome to sit with the team, and parents are encouraged to join the spectator section to help us bring the energy and support the full squad.

⚠️ IMPORTANT NOTES ⚠️

• Due to repeated unsafe behavior on the playground during morning practice (climbing on the roof and fences, etc.), we remind you that adult supervision is required for playground usage. The behavior we repeatedly warned children about during practice is both a safety and liability issue for the pool and team. Safety is our top priority for our families. Please help us keep the kids safe and the coaches focused on those in the water and on the boards.
• Remember that practice is not childcare. Please do not leave children under 12 at the pool unsupervised before or after their scheduled practice time. An adult must be supervising any children at the pool.
• If you would like your child’s middle name to be omitted from Swimtopia, please let us know (either during practice or via email) and we can manually update rosters to list middle initials instead of full middle names.
• Download the SwimTopia Mobile App to receive messages, weather alerts, meet results, and more. Enable notifications to be in the know if any summer storms cause weather delays or cancellations!

🏊 Piranha-Thon Is THIS WEEK! 🏊

Our inaugural Piranha-Thon will take place during Fun Day this Tuesday, June 23, for swimmers and Wednesday, June 24, for divers.

Swimmers will see how many laps they can complete while divers will rack up as many flips as possible to raise funds for new lane lines, dive mats, and storage equipment. We'll also have special incentives for our swimmers and divers to earn, and we’ll track fundraising totals by Piranha Pack for a little friendly competition!

Supporters can make a flat donation or pledge an amount per lap/flip using our 👉 Piranha-Thon Supporter Form

Every pledge, big or small, helps make a difference for our athletes. Start spreading the word and recruiting your family, friends, neighbors, and co-workers to support your favorite Piranha. Let's make our first-ever Piranha-Thon a FIN-tastic success!

🎉 9-12 GROUP SPECIAL EVENT

This Thursday, June 25, we’re trying something new in place of field day for our 9-12 swimmers and divers. We’re venturing out to Activate in Sterling for teambuilding and adventure. We’ll meet there at 2pm for one hour of non-stop fun! Cost is $25 plus tax, per participant. Please sign up here so we have an accurate head count, and be sure to sign the group waiver before the event! Please send a water bottle with your child for this––we hear they will be VERY active!

🏊 EXTRA PRACTICE OPPORTUNITIES

• Daily Swim Clinics: While Coach Ken is away this week, Coach Kevin and Coach Ashlyn will be leading our optional daily clinics focused on improving stroke and technique. Just $5 cash per day 11:00am-11:30am. 👉 Sign up here
• Camp Practices Start This Week!: Early morning swim practices (Monday, Wednesday, and Friday 7:00am-8:00am) are a great option for busy summer camp schedules. Please note that swimmers registered for camp practices will not be permitted to attend regular practice sessions during that same week (you must commit to early morning practice for the entire week). Pee-Wees are not eligible. 👉 Sign up here
• Private Lessons: All Pinecrest coaches are available for 30-minute private lessons for swimmers of all ages and abilities! Call, text, or email the coach of your choice to discuss availability and lesson details.

🏴☠️ PEP RALLY – PIRATES & MERMAIDS | Friday 6pm-8pm

Ahoy, Piranhas! Join us for a swashbuckling Pirate Pep Rally filled with adventure, games, food, and plenty of fun ahead of our next meet. All Piranhas are invited––swim team, dive team, and Pee-Wees! Break out your pirate hats, eye patches, mermaid tails, and best pirate gear as we turn Pinecrest into the loudest crew on the high seas. Arrr you ready?

RSVP for the pep rally and sign up for the potluck, or you’ll be swabbing the pool deck! Don’t miss your chance to grab a bite of delicious Korean fried chicken donated by team sponsor Chi Mc Sterling.

👕 TEAM GEAR

• We still have a few unclaimed team T-shirts, swim caps, and water bottles (for new team members) ready for pickup. Find us under the canopy closest to the gate entrance at practices this week.
• We’ll be selling Pinecrest yard signs, swim caps, vintage T-shirts, car magnets, and more at Saturday’s home meet! Buy them at the concessions stand or ask a Team Rep at morning practice.
• You can still purchase team suits through Metro Swim Shop for delivery or pickup.
• Order Pinecrest spiritwear from our SwimOutlet store. Choose from a variety of options supporting Pinecrest swim, dive, tennis, and pickleball!

📸 SWIM & DIVE PHOTO ALBUM

Our team photographer Zach Gibson has been capturing all the action and fun in our 2026 Pinecrest Swim & Dive Photo Album! Check out the latest shots, upload your photos to share, and check back throughout the season to view all the latest pics.

Follow us on Instagram @pinecrestpiranhas

🏓🎾 NEWS FROM THE POOL—Pickleball, Tennis & Games Camp!

If you’re hunting for more activities to keep your kids busy, Pinecrest pool will be hosting a summer camp focused on fundamental skill development, strategy, match play, and overall fitness. Participants will be grouped by age and ability level to ensure an optimal learning environment and sessions will remain active to keep younger campers engaged. This is an outside camp not affiliated with the Swim & Dive team that may be appealing to our members.

Program Details:

Dates: July 6 - August 1

Days: Monday - Friday

Time: 12:00pm - 3:00pm

Pricing:

• Pinecrest Members: $100 per week
• Non-Members: $150 per week 

Daily Structure:

• Pickleball (approx. 50 minutes): Drills, instruction, and supervised play.
• Tennis (approx. 50 minutes): Led by a high school or college-age instructor, with fun games and activities.
• Potpourri Games (approx. 50 minutes): Including Spikeball, Frisbee baseball, dodgeball, kickball, Red Rover, Red Light/Green Light, and TV tag.

Thanks for hanging in there—we know it’s a long message, but we appreciate you reading and staying up to date. It's shaping up to be an amazing season, and it’s all thanks to your support and spirit!

Go Piranhas! 🐟