Hello Rockshire Sharks!

We hope everyone is enjoying the first days of Spring! Registration will open tomorrow and all details are available below!! Here you will find:

1. Registration opens April 1! See below for details
2. Team practice schedule
3. Meet Schedule
4. Coaching staff this year
5. Become a sponsor for the Rockshire Sharks!
6. Behind- the scenes volunteer positions needed!
7. Shark Gear links
8. Officials clinics
9. Registration details

1. Registration will be open Monday, April 1 on the team website! We will send detailed information on how to complete registration in an email prior to its opening. Please remember that in order to participate in the swim team, your family needs to be a registered member of the pool. All Rockshire members who pay HOA dues can register for free, as it is included with the HOA fees, and outside memberships this year will be posted on the Rockshire HOA website HERE.

***A reminder about registration: You will be required to fill out your volunteer hours prior to completing registration. All swim team member families are required to volunteer for at least 18 hours. If you cannot fulfill the hours during swim meets, please consider the volunteer positions listed below! For preteam families, volunteering is optional (but highly encouraged for our fun Friday night events!)***

As a reminder: You may register for the regular team if your child is able to swim unassisted the length of the pool in one stroke.

The preteam will only have two sessions in the evening from 5:30-6pm and 6-6:30pm. These spots are limited, so please be sure to register when it opens to assure you can get the time you need.

Preteam coach applications will be available when registration opens and will be DUE May 1.

Have a question about registration fees or finances? Contact Elena Belyaev, the Rockshire Sharks treasurer, at [email protected]

2. Team practice schedule:

Swim Team practice will switch to its summer schedule on Monday June 17 2024.

Shark team practice Schedule

May 28-June 14:

11 & Up: 4:15 - 5:00PM

9-10: 5:00 - 5:45PM

8 & Under: 5:45 - 6:30

Shark team practice Schedule

June 17-July 19:

Mornings:

11 & Up: 8:45-10:00AM

10 & Under: 10:00 - 10:50AM

Afternoons:

11 & Up: 4:15 - 5:15 PM

9-10: 5:15 - 6:00 PM

8 & Under: 6:00 -6:45 PM

Pre-team practices will begin on Monday June 17, 2024

3. Meet Schedule: *for a full schedule of all events and meets, please see the website*

Saturday, June 8- HOME- Time Trials!

Wednesday, June 12- B meet HOME vs Inverness

Saturday, June 15- A meet HOME vs Quince Orchard

Wednesday, June 19- B Meet HOME vs Montgomery Square

Saturday, June 22- A meet AWAY at Olney Mill

Wednesday, June 26- B meet AWAY at Eldwick

Saturday, June 29- A meet AWAY at Daleview

Sunday, June 30- Division H Relay Carnival at Olney Mill

Wednesday, July 3- B meet AWAY at Old Farm

Thursday, July 4- Firecracker relays at Rockshire

Saturday, July 6- A meet HOME vs Garrett Park

Wednesday, July 10- B meet away at Tally Ho

Saturday, July 13- A meet AWAY at Potomac Woods

Sunday, July 14- B meet relays at Tally Ho

Wednesday, July 17- Makeup date for B meets

Saturday, July 20- Divisionals at Potomac Woods

4. Coaching staff: This year we are happy to welcome back Sarah Culkin this year as our head coach, new assistant coaches Hannah Deffinbaugh and Colleen Kincaid, and Preteam head coach and assistant coach Sean Culkin. Find out more about our amazing coaches on the website HERE.

5. Become a sponsor for the Rockshire Sharks! Own a business or know someone who does? Consider a sponsorship for the Rockshire Sharks! Sponsorships keep our registration fees low and our coaches salaries competitive, and we are looking for sponsors! Here is the form to fill out as a sponsor: Sponsorship Form

6. Behind the scenes volunteer positions needed! Did you know you can fulfill all 18 hours of volunteering by helping out with various behind the scenes tasks? Here are a few that we need to fulfill before the season starts:

1. Fundraising apprentice/chair- this is a year-round job that entails the following work, mostly emails and contacting individuals:
   1. January/February update terms of agreement for sponsor form
   2. Jan-April Reach out to former sponsors and actively seek out new ones; Keep a spreadsheet with data, collect funds, communicate information to treasurer, web designer and meet program designer. Collect logos and communicate/transfer with t-shirt coordinator
   3. Late April/early May- Reach out to bag tag company for design, locate swim calendar for back of tag. Order bag tags
   4. May make sure all funds are collected, logos posted on website; Collect banners from upper level sponsors
   5. Meet the coaches- through late June- assist with distribution of bag tags and t-shirts; Coordinate hanging/removal of sponsor banners at weekly home meets
   6. Weekly meets- communicate w/ announcer sponsors and their levels to be announced during the meets
   7. End of season- July- send tax forms to sponsors
2. Social chair- plan all Friday night fun nights, being present and organizing all volunteers at Friday night fun nights and at the Fourth of July Firecracker relays. Bring all additional food necessary
3. Website manager-help maintain and run the team website and update all necessary information

7. Shark Gear! Don’t delay! In preparation for summer, we have shark gear available via squadlocker here

8. Officials Clinics: If you are thinking about getting certified as Stroke and Turn, Referee, Starter, or Automation, please find registration information HERE. ***We really need these volunteers to run meets. Please consider completing a clinic to help with volunteering this summer:)***

9. Registration instructions:

To register, please visit: https://rockshiresharks.swimtopia.com/

Please read through the step-by-step instructions below, as they contain important information / updates about registration for 2024 (key points are in bold and underlined).

Fees for 2024 are as follows:

$230 per swimmer on the regular team or preteam

$220 for each additional sibling on regular team or preteam

**Fees are non-refundable**

In order to participate on the swim team:

Each family must have a current, paid membership to the Rockshire Pool. Attached is the PDF to the application for non-HOA members from the previous season. The HOA has not yet updated the website with this year’s application. Please note that you can still register for the team while waiting on the HOA application. Note that the swim team does not manage memberships to the pool itself. If you have any questions about pool membership, please contact Laura Etchison at IKO Community Management ([email protected]).

Each swimmer on the regular team must be able to swim one (1) length of the pool, legally and unassisted, in 1 of the 4 swim strokes (i.e., Freestyle, Back, Breast or Butterfly). If you are uncertain about this requirement, please contact the A-Reps at [email protected] prior to registering.

Each swimmer on the pre-team must be at least four (4) years of age but not older than eight (8) years of age by June 1.

If you know of a new family that is interested in joining the team, please give them our email address so that we can walk them through the registration process ([email protected]).

IMPORTANT NOTE: Sessions of Pre-Team fill up very quickly. Also as it relates to Pre-Team, we cannot accommodate requests to switch your child between sessions. The one you sign up for is the one your child must attend.

Step by step instructions:

1 – Access the Rockshire Sharks website (here’s the link.)

2 – Click on “Registration” underneath the “Home” tab, or on the homepage. PLEASE MAKE SURE TO CLICK THE CORRECT LINK- preteam has its own registration form!

3 – Read the welcome message and note the participation requirements (also listed above). You will need to enter in your email, create a password, and enter in all athlete information. On the first page, scroll all the way down to read all of the release forms and check all of the boxes. This will include: Medical Release & Liability Waiver, Membership & Ability, Swimmer Responsibility Agreement, and the Parent Responsibility Agreement.

At the very bottom, Click “Next step”. If you do not get brought to the next page, check the above for any errors you may have made in entering your information.

4 – You will be brought to the athlete groups page. Verify the information that you see is correct for your swimmers you are signing up, and click “next step”.

5 – Volunteer hours! You must sign up for a minimum of 18 volunteer hours before going to the next step. For more information on volunteer roles, please go to the website under the “meets and events” tab, there is a subsection labeled “volunteer roles”. Please make sure to RECORD all of the roles you have volunteered for throughout the summer. You will be held accountable for all of your signups. When you fulfill the requirement, scroll to the bottom and click “Next step”.

6 – If you are registering more than one swimmer, make sure to enter the promotional code “SIBLING” for each additional swimmer to receive the $10/swimmer discount. Click on “Checkout.” Payment may be made via Venmo @Rockshire-Sharks. You may also send a check. Checks should be sent via US Mail to Elena Belyaev at the following address:

2305 Sherbrooke Way

Rockville, MD 20850

If you wish to drop off your check at Elena’s house instead, please DO NOT place the checks in the mailbox. Use the cooler by the front door. Registration is not complete until Elena receives your check. It usually takes a few days for Elena to activate your account once payment is received.

Registration is not verified until your payment has been received.

Any questions? Please contact us at [email protected].

Go Sharks!

Your A-Reps,

Kat and Patrick Hussmann