Eagle Watch Swim Team

Welcome to the 2026 Eagle Watch Eagle Rays Swim Team. We are very excited for this upcoming season and hope you are as well. Registration this year will be done online only and will open on February 14, 2026. Please make sure you have paid your HOA dues for 2026 or you will not be able to register.

Registration Dates

• February 14th – April 12th – Registration opens for all swimmers
• April 12th-18th  – Late Registration
• April 18th – Registration closes

Our 2026 swim team board will be as follows:

• Whitney Barnes – Coordinator
• Coleen Saitz – Concessions
• Jamie McManus - Volunteer Coordinator
• Mackenzie Wallace – Head Coach
• Lily Jacobs – Assistant Coach

Eagle Watch Eagle Rays Mission

We promote a fun and safe environment for kids to swim in the Cherokee County summer swim league. We are dedicated to boys and girls in the Eagle Watch neighborhood and surrounding neighborhoods by teaching the fundamentals of swimming. In addition to learning all the strokes, our coaches focus on key values including teamwork, integrity, and sportsmanship. This is a recreational swim league. While our team works hard and is competitive, we hope that the kids will learn to love the sport of swimming, have fun, and build lasting friendships.

 Volunteering Requirements

All swimmers’ parents/guardians MUST volunteer at 4 sessions for the first child and 1 additional session per additional swimmer with a maximum amount of 5 sessions (there are 2 sessions per meet, so a total of 10 sessions throughout the season). For example, if you have 2 or more children on the swim team, you will need to sign up for 5 sessions of volunteering. Parent volunteers are VITAL to run swim meets. Without volunteers, meets cannot be run efficiently. Although greatly appreciated, concession donations do not count towards your volunteer shifts. If you do not fulfill your volunteer requirement, you will be charged $200 so we can run our meets effectively.

Volunteer Positions

• Announcer: Announces events and keeps events running smoothly. We would love to have one announcer for the season. Our announcer receives a discount on registration.
• Deck Manager: In charge of the ready area and will line up all swimmers on the deck for their event behind the blocks.
• Concession Stand: Sell & restock concessions at meets.
• Timers: Sit at a lane and record times. Need 2 timers for each lane. One timer will operate the watch and the other timer will record the times.
• Place Judges: Record the order that swimmers finish.
• Judges Recorder: Will stand behind the place judge and when the race is finished and the judges have ruled on place finishes, he/she will record the places in the appropriate block on the place judge's form.
• Master Recorder: Collects the Place Judge's form from the Judge's recorder when the event is complete and then goes to each lane and records each swimmer's time in the time column of the Place Judge's form as noted by the recording timer.
• Runners: Collect time sheets and Place Judge's form from the Master Recorder and takes them to the computer station after each event.
• Computer Operator: Will input results from each event as reflected on the completed Place Judge's form into the computer immediately after each event. Our computer operator receives a discount on registration.
• Ribbon Table: Sit at the scorekeeper table and prepare ribbons for the swimmers.
• Bullpen: Responsible for organizing swimmers in specific age groups and making sure they arrive on time for their race.
• Event Board: Responsible for changing out the events after one has been completed.
• Set up/Cleanup: Help before or after meet move pool chairs and tables.
• Concessions pick up: This person is responsible for picking up our Chick fil-A and pizza order and delivering it to concessions by 5:15 pm.

Parents at Practice

An adult is required to accompany any child 7 and under. It will be at the coaches’ discretion to ask any child to leave who is not following directions and creating an unsafe environment for the other swimmers.

Coaches' Discretion

Every swimmer that signs up for the swim team will be evaluated during the first weeks of practice in the pool. If the coaches feel that any swimmers’ behavior or lack of experience may cause harm to other children or themselves in the pool, we will discuss refund options with you. Our number one concern is keeping our pool safe for all swimmers.

Team Suit & Swim Caps

We will be getting new swimsuits this year, since the previous year's suit is being discontinued. We will have a team suit fitting TBD. If you cannot attend the fitting, please visit our team store on our website to purchase the team suit. We highly encourage your child to wear the Eagle Watch team suit in black & green, but if you do not take advantage of that, your child MUST wear an all-black speedo type one-piece for girls or all-black jammer swim shorts for boys. If your son is 11 and older, he may wear a solid black swim short in lieu of the jammer. Swim caps and a team t-shirt will be provided to all swimmers as part of their registration fees.

Declaring for Meets

Our coaches work very hard setting up the heat sheets prior to a meet. We understand that the summer is full of activities, including family vacations and camps. It is a HUGE job to divide the kids into the heats and events for the meets. Please notify the coach as soon as you know that your child is going to miss one of the swim meets, so they can plan accordingly. We will open up the meet for you to declare on the Friday before a scheduled meet. We ask that you declare if you will be attending a meet or not by Monday at 10 PM of each swim meet week. For our Tuesday meet, we will open up the meet on Thursday and we ask that you declare your swimmer by Saturday by 10 PM. Click on the Meets tab on our website and go to Sign up calendar to declare for the meets.

Things you may want to bring to the meet

• 2 towels
• Blanket
• Snacks (concession stand will be open)
• Credit card or cash for concessions
• Sharpie (to write your child’s events on them)
• Swimsuit
• Goggles
• Swim Cap
• Great Attitude!!

Inclement Weather

In the event of dangerous conditions due to weather at the meets, the meet official and team coordinators will determine the length of the delay. Following a period of at least 15 minutes from the last clap of thunder, the meet will be restarted from the point at which it was suspended. If the delay lasts longer than 1 hour, the meet should be called and rescheduled, if necessary. The meet is official after the 46th event (scoring heat only) has been completed. If the meet gets rained out this year, we will make it up during practices.  Please download the Swimtopia app for weather alerts.

Unsportsmanlike Conduct & Alcohol

It is the mission of the Atlanta Swim Association to provide a safe and fun environment for the children of the participating teams to enjoy all the aspects of recreational swimming. The competition ceases to be fun when adults and swimmers behave in an unacceptable manner. Any unsportsmanlike conduct, either by a swimmer, volunteer, or spectator, will be cause for expulsion from the meet. The coach has the authority to dismiss a child from practice or a meet for improper behavior. ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES ARE NOT ALLOWED on the pool deck during a swim meet or practice.

Dive Certification

Per Cherokee Board of Health requirements, teams have to undergo dive certification for swimmers.

Only new swimmers, or those swimmers 10 years or younger, need to be certified.

4 & up do get certified. Dive certification must be done for anyone who is new to the team regardless of whether you swim somewhere else during the year. All kids ages 4-18 have to be dive certified to be able to dive in summer swim meets in Cherokee County, GA.

If your child does not get dive certified, they will have to do in water starts (one hand on wall, push off wall at the start whistle).ONE OTHER THING TO NOTE: Swimmers HAVE TO be able to swim the length of the pool by the first meet. No coaches in the water with swimmers.

We will host a dive certification prior to the start of the season. Stay tuned for more information and the date. Dive certifications must be completed by the end of May.

Swim Meet Schedule

• Thursday, May 28th – Meet 1 vs. Woodlands
• Thursday, June 4th – Meet 2 vs. Deer Run
• Thursday, June 11th – Meet 3 vs. Wyngate
• Thursday, June 18th – Meet 4 vs. Bradshaw Farms
• Tuesday, June 23rd – Meet 5 vs. Orange Shoals
• Thursday, June 25th - End of Season Party

All meets start at 6 pm with swimmers arriving at 4:45 pm for home meets and 5:15 pm for away meets. Warmups for home meets begin at 5:00 pm sharp and 5:30 pm sharp for away meets.

Practices

We understand that the end of the school year and summer are busy times for everyone as kids are transitioning between sports, after school activities and going on vacation, so please know that practices are NOT MANDATORY. We encourage our swimmers to come to as many practices as they can to stay competitive. No need to notify us if your swimmer cannot make it to practices. For our older swimmers (13+), we would still love to have them on our team even if they can’t make practices, but would like to be a part of the team and compete in the meets.

Practice Schedule – (dates and times are subject to change)

Dryland Practice begins Monday, May 4th thru Thursday, May 7th

• 4:00-4:45 pm – elementary school
• 5:00-5:45 pm – middle & high school (includes rising 6th graders)

In Pool Practice begins Monday, May 11th thru May 21st (Monday thru Friday)

• 4:00-4:30 pm – 6 and under
• 4:30-5:15 pm - 7/8
• 5:15-6:00 pm – 9/10
• 6:00-7:00 pm - 11+

Out of School Pool Practice begins Tuesday, May 26th (Monday thru Friday)

• 8:00-8:30 am – 6 and under
• 8:30-9:15 am – 7/8
• 9:15-10:00 am - 9/10
• 10:00-11:00 am – 11+

Fun Fridays – every Friday after our first 4 meets we will have Fun Friday with donuts at 10:00 am for all swimmers! We will not have Fun Friday after our last meet since we will have the end of season party.

We will not have dryland practices on Fridays and no practices on the last day of school on May 22nd or Memorial Day on May 25th.

Sponsorships

We are looking for sponsors for the 2026 swim season! If you or your business would be interested in sponsoring the Eagle Rays, please send an email to [email protected] for more information. All sponsorships will need to be turned in by May 1, 2026.

Spiritwear

You can purchase spirit wear items during registration. We will be offering a team t-shirt, dri-fit t-shirt, and tank for this season. We will have a limited number of shirts available during the season, so please purchase yours during registration.

Communication

For immediate updates about practices, cancellations, and meets, please download the Swimtopia app.

We are looking forward to a great season! Please feel free to reach out to the board at [email protected]. Also, make sure you follow the Eagle Watch Eagle Rays Facebook page and check our website for updates.