Joining the Stingray Swim Team!
As a competitive summer league swim team, Orinda Park Pool strives to teach excellent technical skills to our swimmers in all aspects of the sport: strokes, turns, starts, and finishes. We encourage and motivate our athletes to challenge themselves in the pool, improving speed as swimmers, and building character as teammates. We provide a supportive, family-friendly environment where our athletes can experience the personal reward of dedication and forge lasting friendships.
The Stingrays are a three season swim team that starts in Spring and ends in Fall, and most competitive meets and social gatherings take place over the Summer. We're a tight-knit community with a long history of good competition, healthy exercise, and lots of FUN. Following is an overview OPP Swim Team resources and notes to get you started.
Is Your Swimmer Ready?
Unsure if your swimmer is ready for swim team? We do not hold "tryouts" but we do have some general guidelines. Swimmers new to the team may need to do an evaluation with our Head Coach before being assigned to a practice group.
- Mini-stingers (generally ages 4-6) should be able to move unassisted in the pool for 10 yards and put their head fully underwater
- To join the 6 & under swim team, all swimmers should be able to swim freestyle 25 yards without any assistance.
- For 7/8s, all swimmers should be able to swim both freestyle and backstroke unassisted for 25 yards.
- 9/10s swim 50 yards for their events. They should be able to swim freestyle and backstroke and at least have a rudimentary understanding of the other 2 strokes (butterfly and breaststroke).
- New swimmers 11 and older should have some prior swim team experience.
If you are not sure if your child is ready for swim team but may be interested and enthusiastic, we offer several programs designed to help children transition to swim team. You are encouraged to take advantage of our lessons available to general members in order to get ready for swim team. Children aged 6 and under can participate in the Ministinger program, designed to specifically prepare children 6 and under for swim team. We are also developing a Learn-to-Swim program for kids who do not meet the swim team or Mini-Stinger basic requirements.
Registration
Registration for the swim team and Ministingers is conducted on our OPP TeamUnify website. For pricing and other information, visit the registration info page. If you are joining the team for the first time feel free to contact the Club Manager at [email protected]. We also host an orientation meeting for new families near the beginning of the season.
The Club Manager will continue to be available throughout the season with information and support. Finally, you are welcome to email the Directors at [email protected] with general questions and the coaches ([email protected]) with swimming–related questions.
OPP Stingrays TeamUnify Website
You're already here! Familiarize yourself with this website. Everything you could possibly want to know is here...but spend some time reading it. You will learn definitions of "A" and "B" meets, directions to other pools, job descriptions, etc.
Swim Team Calendar
Once the calendar has been finalized, you can download a printable PDF from the webpage. It says "click here for a printable PDF" under the calendar tab. You will want to use this when signing up for obligations. You can also subscribe to the calendar to import into google or iCal.
Swim Team Volunteer Obligations
Job sign-up for the 2024 season starts in June! Each swim team family contributes a certain amount of volunteer obligations each season. See Parent Obligations for more details. Jobs are first come, first served and fill up quickly! Once open, job sign-up is accessible by signing in to your Team Unify account and clicking into a meet or social event listing. You can hire (and pay) a sub to work meet obligations for you. Social events may not be subbed out. We maintain a sub list, but you can find your own sub (like a babysitter or neighbor) who is age 16 or over for all jobs but shuttle drivers. Drivers must be 21+. Questions? Email [email protected].
Team Swimsuit
We ask that all members of our team wear the team suit to meets. Kids can wear any suit to practice. The info about swimsuits and gear is online. You can order directly online and the suit will be available for pick up at Time Trials, our first meet. Parkas, sweatshirts, hats and other team spirit items will be available to order online in April, but our gear volunteers will be selling a limited amount of gear at Time Trials. If you missed the opportunity to purchase team gear for your kids (or yourself!) please check out the tables set up at the meet that day.
Signing in to swim meets and events
When you log in to your account, you can go to the swim meet event and sign in if you are available. This does not guarantee your swimmer will be selected to swim the meet, it just means that they are available to swim. There is a deadline to sign in to swim meets and they are easy to miss. It's best to just sign in to all at one time so you don't forget. If you sign in to a meet and suddenly cannot attend due to sickness, etc. just please inform the coach by sending them an email.
Swim meet descriptions are on the website but if this is your first year on swimteam assume your swimmer will be a "B" swimmer. They will be eligible to swim in all the "AB" meets, "B" meets and possibly the "A+3" meets. This may help you when you are selecting which meets to work. The Invitationals are fun and inclusive of all the teams in our league. There are descriptions of these meets on the website.
OPP @______ is an away meet and __________@OPP is a home meet
Time Trials is the first meet of the season!
It is just our team at our pool. The kids are encouraged to swim all strokes to get a base time but it's fine to swim only one or two strokes.
Social Events (2024 social events TBD)
Social Events are a big part of swim team. Each age group has at least one social event just for them (such as the 8 & under bowling). All social events costs are included in your registration fee. The Stingray Ball is THE event of summer. All kids attend ... there is dinner, dancing to a DJ, etc. Super fun and not to be missed!
OMPA Championship Meet
This is the big all-league championship meet the first weekend in August that we are working towards all summer long! It starts on Friday evening and continues all day Saturday and all day Sunday. It's fun...and big! The week before includes lots of fun events like car decorating, a movie day, skit night, etc. The OMPA meet is held at the SODA aquatics center at Campolindo High School in Moraga.
Contacts
Ask anyone. Everyone on the team was new at some point and we are all here to help! Feel free to ask:
- Club Manager ([email protected])
