August 29, 2025 | 26-2025

COLUMBIA COLLEGE SITE ONLY

Sat., Aug. 30th: Happy Labor Day weekend - no practice for Bronze or Silver groups. Gold will run as scheduled.

Mon., Sept. 1st: Happy Labor Day! Practice(swim only) will run from 8:00 - 10:00 am at Topspin for swimmers age 13 and over.

Sat., Sept. 6th: No practice due to an out of town open water event. Bronze and Silver are welcome to swim at the Topspin site. No Gold practice.

Thurs., Sept. 18th: Practices cancelled for all groups due to high school meet at CC.

TOPSPIN SITE ONLY

Sat., Aug. 30th: Happy Labor Day weekend - no practice for Seeker, Bronze, Silver or Stay Fit groups. Gold will run as scheduled at CC. Senior & HP will run as scheduled at TS.

Mon., Sept. 1st: Happy Labor Day! Practice(swim only) will run from 8:00 - 10:00 am at Topspin for swimmers age 13 and over.

Wed., Sept. 3rd: EDIT - PRACTICES WILL RUN AS SCHEDULED.

Wed., Sept., 17th: TS Wednesday practices for Early Gold 2:45-4:15, Sr & HP, 2:45-4:30p.  Bronze & Silver 4-5:00p due to high school meet at TS.

We officially started the 2025-26 swim season and our Annual Meeting was AWESOME! So far, we have had so much fun getting to know our new swimmers, seeing our returners, and starting to learn new skills. 

Here are some reminders:

• When you arrive at Columbia College or Topspin, please walk your swimmer in and ensure that they are prepared for the coaches to greet them. 
• Please write their name in black sharpie on all their equipment.
• Make sure your swimmers have the right equipment for their group - check the equipment lists in the new member corner.
• For dryland (DL on the schedule), wear tennis shoes and appropriate clothes over their swimsuit.
• For swimming practice, swimmers need equipment, a cap, goggles, towel, and water bottle.
• After the conclusion of practice, please meet your swimmer inside the pool area to be picked up.

At Columbia College, swimmers put their belongings on the bench below the observation area. Parents from all groups are welcome to sit upstairs seating/viewing area (balcony) for the entirety of practice. There is no on deck seating. 

Parking at CC: please do NOT park in the reserved spaces on Burke Avenue. We must utilize Lot D which is the fenced in parking area right off of Burke Avenue AT ALL TIMES OF DAY AND DAYS OF THE WEEK.

 At Topspin, Seekers, Bronze and Silver swimmers can put their belongings in white deck chairs, equipment and water bottle at the end of their lane. Parents sit in chairs on deck or picnic tables behind the blocks. Siblings must stay with their parents. 

Gold, Senior and HP parents you are welcome to the practice deck the last 10 minutes of practice.

Dear CA Families, 

It is exciting to start a new season with new opportunities in the pool and meeting new teammates and families. 

An important detail that may be of interest to you is the  CA Sponsorship program. This is an opportunity to raise funds for our team through Corporate Sponsorship. A local business or individual can become a Platinum, Gold, Silver, or Bronze Sponsor for our team. When you sell a sponsorship, 90% of that money goes directly into team operations, and 10% of that sponsorship is credited to your account for dues assistance. That means a gold sponsorship of $1500 will earn you a $150 credit to your account! 

This is an incentive to sell these sponsorships, and businesses generally like to support us because we are a not-for-profit, 501 (c)3 and this program provides them with valuable advertising exposure.  

Visit our website for more information:  Carolina Aquatics Swim Club - Fundraising 

Erika Lovegreen is our lead on this, email Erika (eelovegreen@gmail.com) if you want to sponsor or have any questions about selling a sponsorship. 

DEADLINE TO SUBIT IS SEPTEMBER 10th.   

We are thankful for all our CA families and what you do to support our organization.  

Go CA!! 

We are excited about the new season starting.  As we plan, we are looking for volunteers to help serve on our committees like business sponsors, meet management, officials, social, and more! Not sure where you could help? Take a look at the opportunities. 

So excited to announce CA’s newest partnership with SwimIntel!

Anyone may join in on the introductory zoom meeting to learn more about SwimIntel. Ideal for PARENTS OF 8TH graders through 12th graders on Sunday, September 7, 7:00-8:30p.

SwimIntel gives swimmers access to hundreds of comprehensive college profiles as well as a personalized best fit report that lets them know what conferences and colleges potential matches with them are athletically, academically, and based on their personal criteria. These tools combined with support from our CA coaching staff and SwimIntel will ensure that your swimmer knows what to do, when to reach out, and exactly how the college swimming recruiting process works from beginning to end.

Our partnership with SwimIntel gives our swimmers a discount.

You can learn more about SwimIntel at https://swimintel.com.

Commit to event and you will receive a zoom link for the meeting.

WHO: Gold, Senior or High Performance groups

We have some upcoming open water opportunities that we wanted to make you aware of. If your swimmer would like to participate in an open water in September, please choose one or the other, not both.

September 6^th: Carolina Cup Open Water Meet, Echo Lake, Seven Lakes, NC (Pinehurst)



This meet is held as a part of the North Carolina/South Carolina Open Water Select Camp, but is also open to any USA Swimming registered athlete wishing to participate.  This meet is a part of the selection process for the South Carolina Swimming Open Water Zone Team, and if you are interested in being considered for selection to that team, which will travel to Houston, TX next April for the Southern Zone Open Water Championships, this is an event for your swimmer. South Carolina Swimming will use the 3k results for open water zone team consideration. CA will send a coach to this event and swimmers will swim as a CA member.

September 13^th: Dam Swim: Lake Murray

This event is a 2.2 mile swim in Lake Murray. This is NOT a CA sponsored event. Swimmers register on their own and will either compete with their high school teams or as an individual. All proceeds go to help fund an indoor pool in Lexington. Here is the link to sign up: https://www.lakemurraydamswim.org/

All swimmers must have a USA Swimming membership.

NEW MEMBERS: The CA Registrar, Janis Baker, will email you instructions for you to register and pay the USA Swimming membership directly to USA Swimming on September 1st.  

RETURNING MEMBERS from last season, the CA Registrar will register returning members and bill your account later in the fall. If you are adding a sibling for the 1st time to the team the CA registrar will email you instructions for you to register and pay USA Swimming membership for your newest team members.

Welcome Back to the Racefest Series! 

We’re thrilled to kick off our first Racefest of the season — and what better way to celebrate than with a sweet treat? 

Jeremiah’s Italian Ice will be available for pre-order and ready for pickup at the meet!

 Order Deadline: Sunday, September 7th

 Payment: Collected on the day of the meet

 Important: Please only order if your swimmer is attending the event.

 Place Your Order Here



Let’s kick off the Racefest Series with exciting races and a cool, refreshing treat. See you at the pool!

We all know how vital parent volunteers are to the success of our swim meets and the growth of our swimmers. Now, there's an opportunity to get more involved and support our sport by becoming a USA Swimming Official. 

South Carolina Swimming is actively seeking new officials, and we would like to invite your parent volunteers to consider this rewarding opportunity. Officials play a critical role in ensuring fair competition and a positive environment for our athletes. It's a chance for parents to contribute, learn more about the sport, and be a part of the swimming community in a meaningful way. 

Please encourage your parent volunteers to consider becoming certified as a Stroke & Turn Judge (S&T) or an Administrative Official (AO). Below are the steps to get started: 

Steps to becoming an official 

New officials start their certification process as a Stroke & Turn Judge (S&T) or an Administrative Official (AO). The general steps for becoming certified for each of the positions are the same. 

• Register as an Apprentice Official non-athlete member of USA Swimming. 
• Take the appropriate clinic. 
• Stroke and Turn - Complete Stroke and Turn Certification Course.  Email the certificate of completion to scscerts@gmail.com. 
• Admin Official – coming soon. 
• Complete the minimum number of required on-deck training sessions. 
• Stroke and Turn Apprentice Form 
• Admin Official Apprentice Form 
• Complete the required steps of: 
• Athlete Protection Training (APT) 
• Background Check (BGC) 
• Concussion Protocol Training (CPT) 
• Register as an Official non-athlete (paid) member of USA Swimming. 
• Email a copy of your on-deck apprentice form to scscerts@gmail.com. 

Useful Tips for these Steps: 

• USAS Registration link is provided by your club’s Registrar or the SCS Registrar 
• Links for APT, BGC, and CPT can be found here: USAS How to become an Official 
• Registration and Background Check require payment to complete. All other steps are free of charge. (Some clubs will reimburse officials for these costs.) 
• SC Swimming Officials uniform is a white collared shirt, navy pants, shorts, skirt or skorts, predominantly white tennis shoes and SCS Name Tag. To order SCS Officials shirts or apparel click here. (Username: SCLSC Password: 1234) 

By becoming an official, parents can help ensure that our meets are well-staffed and run smoothly, allowing our swimmers to focus on what they do best—competing and having fun in the pool. 

Thank you for passing this information along to your teams. Together, we can continue to build a strong and supportive swimming community here in South Carolina. 

Best regards, 

Scott McMillan 

South Carolina Swimming Officials Chair 

officials@sc-swimming.org 

This is a friendly reminder that all swimmers need to have ALL pieces of equipment on their group's equipment lists at every practice. The equipment enhances your swimmers practice and if they do not have it, they miss out. We do not have enough extras for everyone (and snorkels need to be our own snorkel) - you can find these lists in our new parent corner.

Thunderstorm Policies:

Swimming during a storm is NOT allowed at any of our sites. When on duty, lifeguards and facility monitors have the authority and will make the call; CA is required to comply. When no lifeguards are on duty, the CA coaching staff is responsible for knowing the weather situation and making the appropriate call. Again, no swimming is allowed during severe weather, so the coaching staff is responsible for clearing the pool when necessary. For safety purposes, coaches will encourage swimmers who drive to call parents before leaving the facility to get the okay to drive home.

Inclement Weather



In the case of inclement weather, Coaches are responsible for announcing the plan for the day. CA puts safety first. If the schedule is changed, the goal is to notify the membership by 2:00 pm. We follow what our school districts decide, if they cancel after school activities and/or let school out early because they deem the situation dangerous, we will cancel practice.

Lost & Found Policy

We strive to provide a clean and organized environment for all user groups at the facilities. Therefore, athletes are responsible for bringing and maintaining their own swim equipment and gear for practice. This includes ensuring all items are labeled with their name and kept organized to prevent loss or mix-ups. The coaching staff is not responsible for misplaced or forgotten equipment, so athletes should double-check their belongings before leaving the facility.

Lost Items

• Any found items left behind at practice will be placed in the Lost and Found area.
• Swimming equipment (e.g., fins, kick board, paddles, goggles, cap) left on the pool deck will be placed in the appropriate storage bins.  
• Other unclaimed items will be discarded, donated, or repurposed monthly, depending on their condition.

Claiming Lost Items

• Parents and Swimmers may check lost and found for their lost items while at practice during normal operating hours. 
• The Coaching Staff is not responsible for the loss, theft, or damage of personal belongings. Team members are encouraged to label their items clearly and keep valuables secure during their visit.
• High-value or sensitive items (e.g., phones, wallets, jewelry, keys) will be stored securely in the office. To claim such an item, patrons may need to provide a detailed description during normal operating hours.

Thank you for your cooperation in keeping our practice sites clean and organized so they are enjoyable for everyone.