Barracuda Nation!

With the regular season wrapping up, it's time to turn our focus to post-season. This is your complete guide — meet overview, eligibility, sign-ups, volunteer needs, practice schedule changes, and what to expect. It's a lot of information — but if your swimmer is headed into post-season, it's worth a read. So grab a coffee and read on!

The Post-Season Meets

• Summer Showcase (formerly B-Champs): Thursday, 7/23, Aqua Club, 4:00pm. A dual-purpose meet. For swimmers who haven't qualified for Prelims, it's a chance to experience a championship-style meet in a fun, celebratory atmosphere — no pressure, no relays, no team scoring. It's also a "last chance to qualify" meet for swimmers chasing a Prelims cut: swimmers with zero individual qualifying times can swim the full meet, and swimmers with exactly one qualifying time can swim up to 3 additional events to try to add more (just not the event they've already qualified in).
• Girls Prelims: Monday, 7/27, View Ridge, 4:00pm. For swimmers who've hit a qualifying time, individually or as part of a qualifying relay. Top finishers advance to Divisionals.
• Boys Prelims: Tuesday, 7/28, Sand Point, 4:00pm. Same eligibility as Girls Prelims above.
• Northern Divisionals: Thursday, 7/30, Klahaya, 4:00pm. The top 6 finishers from Prelims in each event.
• All City: Tuesday, 8/4, Arbor Heights, 4:00pm. The top 6 from the combined Northern and Southern Divisionals results.

Full details on how each meet works are on our Post-Season Guide.

Sign-Ups Are Open

We've opened entry sign-ups for the first three post-season meets: Summer Showcase, Girls Prelims, and Boys Prelims.

Eligibility reminder: your swimmer needs to have competed in at least two regular season meets to be eligible for any post-season meet, so Sheridan Beach on the 21st is your last chance to hit that requirement.

Not sure whether your swimmer has a qualifying time? Check their race history in Swimtopia — look for the "PRE" label next to a time that meets the prelim qualifying standard for that event. You can also check the latest qualifiers list on the Meet Results page. A couple of things to keep in mind: the race has to have been swum this season to count, and a qualifying time is only one part of eligibility — your swimmer also needs to have competed in at least two regular season meets. Full details are on the Post-Season Guide. If you think you qualified and something doesn't look right, let Coach Dom know ASAP.

Before you sign up for Prelims: know that it's a commitment. If your swimmer advances, they're expected to be available for both Northern Divisionals and All City. If your swimmer can't make either of those meets, please don't sign up for Prelims — mark "not attending" instead.

Even if your swimmer hasn't individually qualified for anything: please still indicate whether they're able to attend Prelims. Relay entries are based on the team's combined times, and we often need swimmers to fill A or B relays, or serve as relay alternates, even without an individual qualifying time. Knowing who's available helps us build the strongest possible relay lineups.

Swimtopia will only let you sign up for a meet if your swimmer meets the eligibility criteria, and you'll only be able to select events your swimmer has actually qualified for based on current Prelim Qualifying Times.

Heads up: we expect eligibility to keep shifting over the next few days as Sheridan Beach and Summer Showcase wrap up — race results get uploaded to Swimtopia after each meet, so the qualifiers list will update as swimmers post new times. We're opening sign-ups now anyway because the League turnaround for entries is tight, and we'd rather give you a head start. If you're sure your swimmer has qualified and you're not able to sign them up, let us know ASAP so we can look into it.

We Need Volunteers

Post-season meets typically need at least 3 timers and 1 stroke and turn judge from our team. If you're able to help — even if your swimmer isn't competing at that particular meet — we'd love your support. Sign-up links are in the meet list above. We'll send plenty of reminders closer to each meet, but wanted to flag it now while you're thinking about the season ahead.

Practice Schedule Changes

Normal practice times continue through Tuesday, 7/21. Starting Wednesday, 7/22, practices consolidate for Prelim qualifiers and Summer Showcase participants, and shift again a few times as the post-season narrows down who's still competing:

• Wednesday, 7/22 – Thursday, 7/23 — Prelim qualifiers and Summer Showcase participants
  • 12 & Unders (8 & Under, 9–10, 11–12): 8–9am
  • 13+ (13–14, 15–18): 9–10am
• Friday, 7/24 – Tuesday, 7/28 — Prelim qualifiers only (same times)
  • 12 & Unders (8 & Under, 9–10, 11–12): 8–9am
  • 13+ (13–14, 15–18): 9–10am
• Wednesday, 7/29 – Thursday, 7/30 — Northern qualifiers only
  • All swimmers: 9–10am
• Friday, 7/31 – Tuesday, 8/3 — All City qualifiers only
  • All swimmers: 9–10am

A Few Additional Reminders

• Sheridan Beach (Senior Night!) — Tuesday, July 21st: Sign up your swimmers (deadline 12pm Monday) and sign up to volunteer
• End of Season Coaches Gift: Karen Bombino is organizing our end-of-season coaches gift fund — please give generously!
• End of Season Party RSVP: Pool party + Chipotle + awards, Wednesday August 5th, 6–9pm. Please RSVP for your whole family including guests not in Swimtopia.
• Private Lessons: Want to tune up before post-season? Chat with Sophia, Cooper, Matthew, Olivia, or Adam after practice to book a session, or ask Coach Dom to point you to the right coach for your swimmer's goals.

We'd love a strong Blue Ridge showing this post-season. Have a great weekend, and Go Barracudas!

Stephanie, Lulu, and Joe
2026 Swim Team Coordinators