Hey BASS Families, Our first week of practice was great and It was wonderful seeing everyone in the water! Below is some important info for the next couple of weeks of our BASS season. Practice Info Please plan to arrive 10 minutes before your swimmer's practice time so there's time to stretch and get ready before their practice starts. Swimmers should bring a suit, goggles, and a water bottle to every practice. (Swimmers with long hair should also bring a cap) Quick reminder that Monday/Wednesday practices start at 6:15 pm this season. BASS Families are restricted to the upstairs viewing area and the parking lot. Please drop off and pick up your swimmer(s) in the lobby, family members are not allowed to come onto the pool deck. Family members should also use the upstairs bathroom in the lobby rather than the pool deck locker rooms, including to help kids change. Team Gear We'll have a gear swap next week, all week, upstairs near the viewing balcony. Bring any lightly used swim or BASS gear you no longer need, and feel free to grab anything that would be helpful for your family. Please also take a moment to update your swimmer's shirt size in your Captyn account. Our 2026-27 BASS Team Shirts and Caps will be passed out soon, be on the lookout for a message letting you all know when we plan to start passing them out. First Meet, September 20th Our first meet is Sunday, September 20th. This will be a fun, low-pressure meet, perfect for families trying out their first USA Swim meet and for experienced swimmers looking to get in some early-season racing. I've attached the full meet invite HERE with details including location and event list. Warm-ups will begin a little after 5:00 pm, exact warmup times will be sent out as soon as we have a head count on who is attending. The meet itself will run from 6:00 to 8:00 pm. Sign-ups will open through your Captyn account soon, we're working through a few sign-up issues and will let you know as soon as it's ready. Entries will be due by Wednesday, September 16th . Please note, this is a USA Swim meet meaning that times achieved in this meet will be valid times and that an active USA Swimming membership is required for every swimmer entered. It will be an intrasquad meet across all three BASS sites (Fluvanna, Charlottesville, and Orange), which means we need to fill volunteer positions across all three sites together. If you're able to help, we would love to have you. You can sign up here: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/805054AADA823A6FB6-65748510-bass USA Swimming Registration I've attached step-by-step instructions for registering your swimmer for a USA Swimming membership HERE. If your swimmer had a membership last season, you likely don't need to do anything. Premium memberships are valid through the end of this calendar year. Seasonal and flex memberships will be automatically renewed by the club soon. For anyone registering for the first time, there are three membership options: Flex (12 and under only): allows participation in up to 2 meets, excluding championship meets. The September 20th meet is an intrasquad meet and will not count toward that limit. Seasonal: valid September through March Premium: valid through the end of the 2027 calendar year  Communication Please join our team communication app, Spond, using this link: https://spond.com/invite/ULYPB . This is where you'll find team event details and parent led updates. We ask that all athletes 13 and up join as well. Weather delays and other last-minute updates will go out by text and email. Please keep an eye on both, especially on bad weather days. If you ever need to reach me directly, my email is DiFazioMike99@gmail.com . Thanks so much, and I'm looking forward to a great season with all of you! Coach Mike DiFazio

Hey BASS Families, As we get ready to start our 2026–2027 BASS season, I wanted to share a fundraising opportunity that has been offered to our program. We have the opportunity to raise money for our team by helping park cars at the county fair on Thursday, August 13, at 4:00 p.m. If you or one of our older swimmers is available to help, please email me. We greatly appreciate anyone who is able to help, even if you can only be there for part of the afternoon. I’m looking forward to getting everyone back in the pool and having a great season!  Coach Mike DiFazio