Greenway Gators

2026 - GREENWAY GATORS SWIM TEAM INFORMATION

Swim Practice
Swimmers 10 years of age and younger must have an adult who remains at the pool with them during practices. Your child is NOT required to attend every practice, but is encouraged to attend as many as possible. We understand the overlap of spring sports at the beginning of the swim season, vacations, summer camps, and other busy life happenings; show up when you can.

Swimmer Evaluations and Preseason Team Meeting: May 26th
New Swimmer Evaluations begin at 5:00 pm. Sign-ups are not necessary. Swimmers will be evaluated in turn as they arrive. The preseason team meeting for all Gators families will be held outside the pool at 6:00 pm.

Preseason Practice: May 27th – June 11th
While school is still in session, we will hold evening pre-season practices on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays from 5:00 - 8:00 pm (6 separate, 30-minute sessions).

The Gators share the pool with Greenway Farms Residents during preseason (and regular season evening) practices. We ask swim team members and families to be respectful of this and give our resident pool guests plenty of space on the deck, chairs, and in the pool. We will set a maximum number of swimmers per session to ensure the pool is not too crowded.

Sign up for preseason practices using Sign-Up Genius. Swimmers may attend no more than one session per day.

Regular Season Practice: Starting June 16th
Morning swim practice times are as follows on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday & Friday (no practice on Thursday mornings):

Regular Season Evening Practices

Beginning Tuesday, June 16th, evening practices will be held on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays from 6:00-6:45 pm and 6:45-7:30 pm for any swimmers in NEED of the evening practice due to day camp or childcare conflicts. Evening practices are not meant to provide twice-a-day sessions for swimmers. In addition, we have a maximum of 12 spots in each 45-minute session (advanced sign-up is requested to manage space).

Mini Gators

For 5 weeks beginning Tuesday, June 16, Mini Gators will practice Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday mornings from 8:00 - 8:30 AM. Mini Gators do not participate in preseason or evening practices.
During Mini Gators practices, coaches will evaluate your child. If they believe they are ready for the Greenway Gators, you will be given the option to move them up. All advancement decisions will be made on or before July 4th.

Mini Gators Swim Meet Schedule:

• TBD

All Mini Meets begin at 9 AM. Swimmers will be signed up for events through Coach Molly G, not SwimTopia.

Swim Team Fun
Parent volunteers donate and serve juice and donuts for the kids to enjoy after morning practice on Fun Fridays for the Greenway Gators, Wednesdays for Mini Gators, and frozen treats after Thursday evening practices as well. 

A sign-up to contribute goodies each week is available on the team calendar and in the SwimTopia app.

We also aim to have opportunities for the swim team and their families to spend time together outside the pool. Currently scheduled events are listed below.

• Monday, June 15: Tie Dye Event (rain date: June 16)
• Saturday, July 4: Red, White, and Blueberry Pancake Breakfast
• Wednesday, July 15: Individual/Team Pictures (in place of regular practice)
• TBD: Swimming for Charity
• Thursday, July 16: End of Season Team Banquet

Signing Up for Swim Meets

Parents are responsible for declaring their swimmer for EVERY MEET and EVERY EVENT they wish to participate in. If you do not sign your child up, they will not be put on the heat sheet and therefore will not swim.

Deadlines to sign up for swim meets:

• 7 PM on Mondays for all Wednesday swim meets
• 7 PM on Thursdays for all Saturday swim meets

Declare for Meets Using the SwimTopia App:

• Click on an upcoming event
• Click RSVP
• Select Attending or Not Attending
• Choose up to 3 individual meets (or all 5 events for Time Trials only)
• Choose relay availability (no relays at Time Trials)
• Add notes, if needed
• Click Save

Declare for Meet in a Browser:

• Log in to https://greenwaygators.swimtopia.com/swim_meets
• Click MEET ENTRY next to the event
• Click Edit
• Select Attending or Not Attending
• Choose up to 3 individual events (or all 5 events for Time Trials only)
• Choose relay availability (no relays at Time Trials)
• Add notes, if needed
• Click Save

Viewing Meet Results

After the meet is over, you can find your full results on the Greenway Gators website under Documents.

Volunteering
Swim meets are run entirely on a volunteer basis. Each family must volunteer at least THREE TIMES throughout the season to keep our team running smoothly.

There are many opportunities available on the swim team website. Your family can split volunteer time between adults, or you can split it with a friend. Volunteer shifts are tracked to be sure everyone is doing their part.

Directions for Volunteer Sign-Up (SwimTopia App):

• Open the SwimTopia app and click on an upcoming swim meet
• Under the Work Shifts section, click on Job Signup
• Adults connected to your account will be displayed on the next page with a sign-up icon beneath each person's name. Click Sign Up for Jobs
  • Click the checkbox next to a Job Name (descriptions below) to sign up to volunteer at the meet
• Click Save Assignments

Directions for Volunteer Sign-Up (Online):

• Log in to https://greenwaygators.swimtopia.com/swim_meets
• Click JOBS next to the event
• Click Edit
• Select a shift
• Click Save

Time Trials (Saturday, June 6th)

This will run similarly to a regular swim meet, so most of the same information will apply. However, time trials are merely to get an idea of your swimmer's time so they can be placed in the appropriate heat. If your child cannot make time trials, coaches will either use the best time recorded from last season or simply be entered in the last heat. There are NO relays for time trials. If your swimmer is brand new to the swim team environment and not planning to swim during Time Trials, we recommend they come to observe and get a feel for meets.

Meet Information
Arrive at meets ready to warm up 45 minutes before the meet start time. Heat Sheets (event number, lane, and heat number for your swimmer) are listed on the Greenway Gators website the night before/morning of a meet. They are also printed and posted along fences and given to coaches and managers. Please use these to ensure your child is lined up and ready for their event(s). They start lining up in the chairs approximately 4-5 heats before their race. The entire meet will run more smoothly if we don't have to hunt for your swimmer!

• Meets last approximately 3-4 hours. They run each stroke by age group, starting with 6 & under boys, then 6 & under girls, through high school kids, concluding with relay events at the end.
• The stroke order at meets is as follows: 1) Freestyle, 2) Backstroke, 3) Breaststroke, 4) Butterfly, 5) Individual Medley (IM), 6) Relays, and 7) 100 Freestyle (ages 13 and up ONLY - this is a new non-scoring event being tested across ODSL this season)
• It is always a good idea to bring tents, extra chairs, hats, and sunscreen to meets.
• The baby pool is not open during meets.

Relays

The final events of swim meets are Team Relays. Unless you specifically indicate that your child does NOT want to participate in relay races at the end of the meet, chances are good that they will be placed on a relay team. Relays are a fun way for the kids to work together to achieve a goal. They are very encouraging and low-pressure. If your swimmer gets put on a relay team, please encourage him/her to swim so that the other three swimmers on his/her team are not left without a chance to participate. *There are no relay events for time trials.

Concessions
The swim team sells cash-only concessions at home meets. There are breakfast items available at Saturday morning meets and pizza available at evening meets, as well as candy, snacks, soda, Gatorade, and water. Prices range from $0.25 - $4 per item, and proceeds benefit the Greenway Gators.

The Greenway Gators is a FUN swim team that is focused on developing skills and friendships. There is no emphasis on winning and we hope you find the environment supportive of your child's development. For the most up-to-date information, be sure to open emails from SwimTopia and join the Greenway Gators Swim Team Facebook group. If you have any questions throughout the season, you can contact the following via email, call, or text.

We look forward to a great season! Go Gators!