Barracuda Nation,

What a season! We wanted to thank every family and swimmer who was a part of the team this year.

From the New Family Information Session in April, to our epic End of Season Party, and everything in between: sunny (and rainy) evening practices and deck hangouts, the Ice Cream Social, Intrasquad, the Pancake Breakfast, morning practices, home swim meets (including our win against Wedgwood!), away meets, the Tie Dye Party, Senior Night, Summer Showcase, the Adult Meet, Prelims (and breaking team records), Northerns (and the post-Northerns Team Dinner), and All Cities (and the pancake breakfast with coaches beforehand) — wow, it's been such a fun season.

It's been a treat to see how much everyone has come together and how much the team has developed over just a few short months. We look forward to seeing everyone back next season. To those moving on, especially our graduating seniors, you'll be missed, but we're excited for your next endeavors.

Thanks again to our amazing coaching staff for all you do in and out of the pool for our kids: Dom, Sophia, Cooper, Matthew, Olivia, and Adam. We are lucky to have such a dedicated crew.

A few notes as we start to wind down the season:

Team Awards Recap

If you missed our award ceremony earlier this week, we wanted to share a few highlights. First, every swimmer received a 2026 Team Medal. If you weren't at the ceremony, you can swing by the lifeguard office to pick up your 2026 medal. Additionally, we wanted to take another moment to congratulate and honor our 2026 award recipients.

Coaches Award:

• Hazel Wilson
• Olin Brinkley
• Juliette Holt
• Olivia Keith
• Tyler Branstetter
• Jasper Timmons

Most Improved:

• Shea Swinburne
• Parker Love

Most Inspirational:

• Andrew Williams
• Lillian Sullivan

Newcomer:

• Henry LaBarge
• Louiza Roth

We also wanted to honor and highlight 8&U girl Olivia Keith, the 2026 recipient of the Bill Shortt All City Award, for scoring the most points at the All City Championship (Medley Relay, Free Relay, 25Y Freestyle).

Finally, we've posted the 2026 season slideshow on YouTube (unlisted). Thanks to Coach Sophia for putting together this year's reel, and thanks to all families who submitted photos to the collection!

2027 Key Dates

While we're sad that the 2026 season is over, we're already looking forward to 2027. If you want to plan ahead, here are a few key dates to pencil into your calendar:

• Registration Opens: April 1
• First Practice: May 10
• Start of Meets: Late June
• Post-Season Window: July 26 – August 3 (Prelims, Northerns & All Cities)
• All Cities: August 3, at Klahaya next year
• End of Season Party: August 4

This is a tentative, speculative schedule based on typical dates for the GSSSL summer season. League schedule will not be finalized and approved until the Spring meeting (likely March 2027), but this should be helpful for planning purposes. Families who are hoping to compete in Prelims and other post-season races should avoid travel that would preclude attending meets during this window.

End of Season Survey

In a couple days (hopefully...), we'll share a (hopefully...) short-ish survey to help us plan for next season. We'd appreciate if you could take a few minutes to fill it out and share your candid feedback about what you loved and what could be improved, so we can hopefully make 2027 as awesome as possible. Stay tuned!

Club Swimming

For Barracudas interested in staying active in the water during the school year, there are a number of quality club swimming programs in our area that cater to all ages and experience levels — from those looking for just a couple of low-pressure practices a week, to those looking to make the next jump in competitive swimming. A few options:

• Excel Swim Club — practices out of pools in North Seattle
• SMAC — practices out of pools in North and Central Seattle
• Cascade — practices out of pools in North, Central, and South Seattle

Coach Dom is a full-time coach with Excel's High Performance Group and is happy to answer questions about any of these programs, or connect you with other Barracudas who have experience with each club — feel free to reach out to him directly. And no pressure, as most families are quite happy with swim team being a summer activity!

Merch

We have a very small number of the vintage Blue Ridge hats remaining. If you'd like one, please order one on Swimtopia before they're gone!

Team Photos

A reminder that you can still order individual and team photos from Photo Day. Head on over to the Red Fish Blue Fish gallery to browse proofs and order digital or physical copies.

Upcoming Events

While the swim season is over, summer and community are not. A few upcoming events:

• Food Truck Fridays. Food Truck Fridays continue at the clubhouse through the summer, with the next one tonight with Vandalz Tacos at the pool. Swing by for dinner and a Friday night swim!
• End of Pool Season Party. Date TBD. Let's get together again for one last hurrah for the summer. Details to come!
• Blue Ridge Golf Tournament. Tim and CM are organizing a Blue Ridge golf tournament at Harbour Pointe on Sunday, September 13th, with proceeds benefiting the Blue Ridge pool, including some lounge chair upgrades. Will be a super fun event! Contact Tim Swinburne or CM LaBarge to sign up or with questions before it's too late!

Keep an eye on the Blue Ridge newsletter, Facebook, and Instagram for other things the Events team and passionate neighbors are working on to keep our community together in the months ahead.

Thanks again for an amazing season. We couldn't have done this without such an awesome group. Look out for the survey in a few days. We hope everyone is enjoying a well-deserved break from swim team and has a wonderful end of summer. We look forward to seeing you in 2027 — Go Barracudas!

Stephanie, Lulu, and Joe
2026 (and 2027...) Swim Team Coordinators