Hello Rockshire Sharks!

We are less than 1 week away from the official start of the season! We are very excited. Please read through everything, especially the Meet the Coaches on Sunday, May 25 and parent meeting session coming up on May 26.

1. Mandatory Parent meeting-May 26 at 8pm
2. Meet the Coaches! Sunday, May 25- 5:30-7pm
3. Practice starts May 27 for regular team-time details
4. Season Meet schedule
5. Time Trials June 7
6. Registration is open! See below for details
7. Preteam and regular team photo- June 12 at 5pm
8. Team trip to Hershey Park- Mark your calendars for July 6
9. Become a sponsor for the Rockshire Sharks!
10. Shark Gear and Suits links
11. Officials clinics
12. Detailed instructions and info on registration

1. In order for your swimmer to enter the water this year, at least one parent for each family MUST attend one of the in-person parent meetings on either May 19 or May 26 at 8pm in the Rockshire pool house. This is for the regular team ONLY. T-shirts and bag tags will be handed out; shirts and sizes are on a first-come, first-serve basis. Thank you to all who attended the May 19 meeting!. The Preteam parent meeting will be on Thursday, June 12 after the team photos
2. Meet the Coaches on Sunday, May 25 5:30pm-7pm at the pool! We will be selling concessions, handing out team swag, and getting a chance to chat with our coaches before the season begins on Tuesday, May 27.
3. Shark Practice Schedule:

May 27-June 13:

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

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

8 & Under: 5:45 - 6:30

June 16-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

***Preteam Begins Monday, June 16***

4. Summer meet schedule:

June

6/7 Time Trials HOME vs Fallsmead

6/11 Away @ Inverness (B meet)

6/12 Team photo

6/14 Away @ Norbeck Grove (A meet)

6/18 Away @ Montgomery Square (B meet)

6/21 HOME vs Willows (A meet)

6/25 HOME vs Eldwick (B meet)

6/28 Away @ Waters Landing (A meet)

6/29 Relay Carnival (A meet) @ Norbeck Grove

July

7/2 HOME vs Old Farm (B meet)

7/4 Firecracker relays!

7/5 HOME vs New Mark Commons (A meet) **Senior meet**

7/8 Long Course Meet

7/9 HOME vs Tally Ho (B meet)

7/12 Away @ Lakelands (A meet)

7/13 PIRC relays @ Tally Ho (B meet)

7/19 Divisionals @ Waters Landing

7/26 Relay All Star meet

7/27 Individual All Star meet

5. Time Trials- Saturday, June 7 at 8:30 am. Swimmers arrive at 7:30am. More details to come, but this year we are resuming the tradition of having time trials with the Fallsmead Sharks as well. It will be a fun cross-neighborhood event!

6. Registration is open 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.

If you register for the team prior to May 9, and are not in the HOA, your pool fee will be $875 for the summer. The price after May 9 will be $900.

****REGISTER EARLY- OUTSIDE MEMBERSHIPS THIS SEASON ARE LIKELY TO FILL UP DUE TO OTHER POOL CLOSURES IN THE AREA****

***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. The preteam is currently full and we will start a waitlist for anyone who wishes to still register for the preteam.

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

7. Regular and preteam photos will take place Thursday, June 12 at 5pm. Please arrive at 4:45pm so we can line up! The preteam parent meeting will be after their photo is over. We will be completing the regular team photo first, followed by the preteam photo.

8. Looking for something fun to do during the long weekend? We will be taking a team trip to Hershey Park on July 6! If you commit and pay for your ticket by May 30, you can get the park ticket at a low price of $38/ ticket. Please sign up by completing this survey and paying the $38 to @RockshireSharks or by check to Elena Belyaev, our treasurer, by May 30. Families will be responsible for their own food, parking, and accommodations if desired. Further details will be forthcoming.

9. 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

10. Shark Gear! Don’t delay! In preparation for summer, we will have the same suits as last year. You can buy them HERE. we also have shark gear available via squadlocker here

11. Officials Clinics: If you are thinking about getting certified as Stroke and Turn, Referee, Starter, or Automation, please find registration information HERE. Please make sure to scroll down when looking at the page to see all of the clinics available***We really need these volunteers to run meets. Please consider completing a clinic to help with volunteering this summer:)***

12. 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 2025 (key points are in bold and underlined).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. If you register for the team prior to May 9, and are not in the HOA, your pool fee will be $875 for the summer. The price after May 9 will be $900.

Fees for 2025 Swim team and Preteam 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.

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].

Congrats on making it to the end:) Have a wonderful weekend! Spread the word and help grow our Shark family! See you all at Meet The Coaches!

Your A-Reps,

Kat and Patrick Hussmann