Weekly News
WST Families,
Congratulations to our swimmers who participated in the Keystone Aquatics Thanksgiving Invitational meet!
Hope you and your families have a great holiday this week.
We were notified last week that the Jim Barnett Park indoor pool will close Wednesday, November 23rd at 12pm. Due to this last minute change WST will not have access to the pool Wednesday, Thursday and Friday this week.
Please SIGN UP and participate in the local Winchester Christmas Parade Monday, November 28th. WST will be walking with the 2 For 2 Foundation and Ms. Shelly Lee. The plan is to meet on Cameron Street in front of the Court House. WST has also been invited to attend the Berryville and Middletown parades Dec. 3 & 4. Our team will be at the RAYS midseason meet these days but if you are not participating in the meet and would like to help show support for the new aquatic center and ice rink please sign up for these meets as well.
The Friends of 2 For 2 Foundation are asking our team families to march in the 3 local Christmas Parades...
1 - Old Town Winchester - 6:15pm on Cameron Street near the Court House
2 - Berryville - December 3rd 11:00am @ Johnson Williams Middle School
3 - Middletown - 12:30pm @Laurel Ridge Community College
A Sign up sheet has been created please sign up asap and show that WST supports the efforts of the 2 For 2 Foundation.
Please wear a red/white santa hat and your WST spiritwear.
On site contact at the parade Shelly Lee [email protected]
Friends of 2 For 2 Foundation Contact Brenda Homer [email protected] Please reach out to Brenda if you are interested in helping the Friends of 2 for 2 Group.
WST T-SHIRTS AND CAPS 55th ANNIVERSARY:
The shirts are in and will be distrubuted during swim partice along with WST Silicon Caps ASAP.
As part of each WST swimmers registration each swimmer will receive a team t-shirt and silicon team cap. The shirts and caps have been ordered and will be distributed as soon as they arrive from the vendor during swim practices. The fees for these items were covered in your annual team registraiton. WST will be celebrating 55 years of service to the local swim community in 2023.
USA SWIMMING REGISTRATION:
If you have not created your swimmers new accounts and registered with USA Swimming for the 2023 season, now is the time.
In the past all swim teams registered their athletes and non-athletes with USA Swimming. As of September 1, 2022 USA Swimming is updating their website and also requiring each swimmer and non-athlete (coach, official, board member) to register individually with USA Swimming.
Any swimmer or non athlete who was registered with USA swimming during the 2021 - 2022 season which includes summer swimmers, should register asap. These swimmers and non-athletes are currently registered through December 31, 2022. The link to register is posted below. You can not register without this link. Step by step instructions are linked below with screne shot on how to create your new account with USA swimming and how to register including which type/level of registration.
HOW TO CREATE AN ACCOUNT WITH USA SWIMMING
HOW TO CREATE AN ACCOUNT WITH USA SWIMMING (VIDEO)
HOW TO REGISTER WITH USA SWIMMING VIA WST
WST REGISTRATION LINK WITH USA SWIMMING
USA SWIMMING SAFE SPORT TRAINING:
USA Swimming Safe Sport staff is hosting Zoom trainings for parents, minor athletes and coaches to assist clubs in completing the Training and Education requirement of the Safe Sport Club Recognition program.
All participants will need to register to attend training. Our team Safe Sport Recognition expired January 31, 2023. All team coaches, officials, board members, parents and swimmers should attend the online class in order for our team to keep it's Safe Sport certification active.
Adult Trainings (18 & over):
· Wednesday, December 7 at 8:00 p.m. ET Register Here
Athlete Trainings (12-17 years old):
· Monday, November 14 at 7:00 p.m. PST Register Here
· Thursday, December 8 at 8:00 p.m. ET Register Here
Coaches Training:
· Friday, December 9 at 3:00 p.m. ET Register Here
USA SWIMMING OFFICIALS:
If anyone is interested in joining the WST Officials Team you can sign up for the online clinics via the Virginia Swimming Website. This is a great time of the year to train 2 sessions per meet.
WHY SHOULD I BECOME AN OFFICIAL
PROCESS TO BECOMING AN OFFICIAL
TWST T-SHIRTS, TOWELS & BUCKET HATS:
The customized towel orders have been place, we will have extra non customized to sell if anyone is interested please email [email protected]
WHO IS THE 2 FOR 2 FOUNDATION?
2 For 2 mission is to develop and maintain swim and ice skating facilities to provide athletic, educational and recreational centers to the community.
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Incorporated September 29, 2021 with the Commonwealth of Virginia State Corporation Commission. 501(c)(3) non-profit
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100% of all fundraising goes to the mission and stays local.
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Volunteers are asked to give their time, talent and/or treasure. All volunteer run. No office, no rent, no paid employees.
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Model is to be a public/private regional partnership with the local government.
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Will attempt 2 World records for first time in our area, October 29, 2022.
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Proud member of Top of Virginia Regional Chamber and membership paid by a donor.
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Will produce inclusive, state-of-the-art facilities. They work with Access Independence to ensure 100% accessibility.
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Winchester Swim Team is a proud partner of the 2 For 2 Foundation.
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Friends of 2 For 2 support fundraising for the mission.
10.Our goal is to serve our kids and our kids’ kids and prevent net zero debt related to the facilities.
www.facebook.com/2for2foundation - please like and share all posts from this site to share the excitement
ANNUAL CALENDAR + MEET SCHEDULE
The annual calendar and 2022 - 2023 tentative meet schedule was emailed out to the team last Friday. Here they are just incase you missed them...
Please review the meet schedule and register to participate in each meet from the MEET EVENT PAGE. Each meet has a different deadline so get your sign ups in asap.
COMMUNICATIONS:
All communication, billing, meet sign-up and schedule changes are done via the WST website: www.winchesterswimteam.com. Although parts of the website will be accessible to the public, you must provide WST with an e-mail address to gain access to the “team only” areas. Once your registration information has been entered into the system and approved you will receive an email with directions to sign into the website and verify your account information. PLEASE do this as soon as possible. You do not want to miss any important information. We encourage you to check your email and the website at least once a week. It includes a calendar, news, contact info, forms, and membership data. In addition to email we also use text messaging to communicate any last-minute practice changes due to unexpected weather. Our website is a continuous work in progress. If you have any suggestions or concerns, please contact [email protected] We are always open to suggestions for improving the site. WST Coaches Contact & Information Page.
WST BOARD MEMBERS & COMMITTEES:
President - Paul Warnagiris - 703-283-1133 - [email protected]
Vice President - Faye Thompson – 540-667-7251 – [email protected]
Secretary/Officials Chair – Becky Billings - 540-664-9161 [email protected]
Treasurer – Tiffanie Lugo - 304-579-7418 – [email protected]
Member at Large – Chad Harrington - [email protected]
Long Course Meet Director – OPEN
Volunteer Coordinator – Tracy Howard - 540- 535-9928 - t[email protected]
WST Athlete Representatives:
Lead - Lauren Masters (senior)
Andrew Thompson (senior)
Grace Morgan (junior)
DATES FOR YOUR CALENDAR (All dates are tentative and subject to change):
CLICK HERE FOR FULL SEASON MEET SCHEDULE
CLICK HERE FOR MEET SIGN UP PAGES
NOVEMBER:
23 to 25 - No Swim Practice due to Jim Barnett Park Closing
26 - Practice 8am to 10am
DECEMBER:
1 - 4 - RAYS Nutcracker Classic - Jeff Rouse, Stafford (Prelim/Finals)
3 & 4 NO SWIM PRACTICE
6 - WST Practice 4pm to 6pm
7 - 10 - Speedo Winter Junior National Meet - Greensboro, NC
11 - WST Intrasquad Mini Meet 4:00pm to 8:00pm
12 - Swim a Thon - Jim Barnett Park 6:30pm - 9:30pm
13 - WST Annual Holiday/Christmas Party - Social Hall - War Memorial Building - Jim Barnett Park 6pm to 9pm
15 - WST Practice 4pm to 6pm
21 - No WST Practice due to High School Swim Meet
23 to 26 No Practice due to Jim Barnett Park Closed
31 to Jan. 2nd - No Practice due to Jim Barnett Park Closed
JANUARY:
7 - 8 RAYS Jeff Rouse Meet - Stafford, VA
21 - 22 Hanover Duck Bowl Meet - Stafford, VA
27 - 29 USA Swimming IMX Challenge Meet - University of Maryland, College Park, MD
FEBRUARY:
17 - 19 Northern District Championships (12 & under) - Stafford, VA
24 - 26 Northern District Championships (13 & over) - Stafford, VA
RECOMMENDED APPS FOR PARENTS & SWIMMERS TO USE:
On Deck - This is our team website app. Please log in with your username and password for your WST website account. This app is recommended instead of using your browser on your phone. https://apps.apple.com/us/app/ondeck/id292507219
Search for your swimmers times - USA Swimming - https://www.usaswimming.org/Times/individual-times-search
Meet Mobile - app used at all swim meets to show heat sheets, results and more. https://apps.apple.com/us/app/meet-mobile-swim/id422154977
Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns.
Hope you all have a wonderful week!!
Kelly Warnagiris
WST Team Administrator & Officials Chair
703-283-9121
