NOVA News
October 16th, 2023
As we approach the season of gratitude and giving, I wanted to take a moment to share a special opportunity to support the NOVA Swimming community this #GivingTuesday.
On Tuesday, December 3rd, NOVA will be participating in this global day of giving, and we invite you to join us in making a meaningful impact. Your generous contributions help provide scholarships, enhance our training programs, support equipment needs, and ensure that all of our swimmers have access to the best resources for their success. This year you can also choose to help us Elevate NOVA and give to the capital campaign to finish the second floor.
We are incredibly grateful for all that you do to help make NOVA Swimming a place where athletes thrive both in and out of the pool. Together, we can make this #GivingTuesday one to remember!
Please visit novaswim.org to learn more and to make your donation. Your gift can inspire greatness in our swimmers and help propel the NOVA Regency Aquatic Center to new heights.
Thank you for your continued support, and we look forward to your involvement this #GivingTuesday!
With gratitude,
Julie Farney
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NOVA's Thankgiving practice schedule begins November 27 and runs through December 1st.
The full Thanksgiving practice schedule can be found HERE
There is still time to support Henrico Chrtistmas Mother. Click the link https://evite.me/XbRjkdhqvq to sign up for items and deliver them to the collection boxes at either Gayton or Regency by Saturday November 30th. On Sunday December 1st our Senior Groups have an opportunity for service. They will inventory all of the donated items and help load them into cars to be delivered to the Christmas Mother Warehouse.
Thank you to all who have donated, it is wonderful to help those in our community.
RAY's Nutcracker Invitational 12/5-12/8
NOVA's December Dip- 12/6-12/8 Entry deadline 11/25, Committ HERE
Speedo Winter Juniors 12/11-12/14
TAC Blizzard Blitz 12/12-12/15
CGBD 8-12 Holiday Champs 12/13-12/15 Entry deadline 12/1, Committ HERE
NOVA's 2024-2025 Short Course meet schedule is posted to the NOVA website HERE!
"Preparedness"
In 1907, The Boy Scouts Association founder, Robert Baden-Powell coined his British group’s motto, “Be Prepared.” When asked, “Prepared for what?” he replied, “Why, for any old thing.” He later elaborated that Scouts should prepare themselves to become productive citizens and strong leaders, ready in mind and body to face challenges with a strong heart.
Preparation is also the cornerstone of an athlete’s success. In the world of swimming, both athletes and coaches share the responsibility of building a solid foundation through disciplined training. Coaches design practices with certain set focuses, offer support, and provide technical feedback. Swimmers contribute by consistently showing up, working hard, and maintaining a good attitude. Together, they set goals, learn from each other and hopefully have some fun along the way! This collaborative effort prepares swimmers for each competitive season.
The beauty of swimming is it also prepares its participants with life skills beyond the pool. In the earlier years, learning about stroke patience and control while developing effective listening and remembering skills can transfer to daily life situations. As NOVA swimmers age and progress through the program, they become adept at juggling and managing their daily routines. The rigorous schedule of morning practices, hours of school, additional practices or activities and finally homework fosters foresight and organization. Tasks like packing bags, setting an alarm, balancing social and sport obligations, overcoming competition plateaus, dealing with injury and illness, and handling disappointments provides swimmers opportunities to develop independence and hone coping skills. Navigating team travel meets prepares them for future recruiting trips, college life, and living away from home. And let’s face it; squeezing into today’s tech suits surely prepares them for all sorts of future struggles!
While swimming may not last forever, the lessons learned along the way will. Much like the Scouts, NOVA swimmers will be well prepared for any old thing as athletes, productive citizens and strong leaders, ready in mind and body to meet life’s challenges with a strong heart.
- Coach Anita
NOVA swimmers crossed the river and raced November 16 &17 at the WAC Fall Invite at CSA . Swimmers took on two courses to achieve many new best times, new time standards, and new qualifying times. This was a great tune up meet to get read for our December Champs meet. Congrats coaches and swimmers on a great weekend.
Age Group Dev. Silver, Age Group Gold, Senior Dev. Bronze, Senior Dev. Gold, Senior Gold, National
The other half of the NOVA swimmers raced at NOVA Regency in the Cranberry Contender November 15-16. There was a lot of "Awesomesauce" swimming with plenty "saucy" races and some "sauce bosses" in the house. Swimmers raced hard and did a great job of being aggressive in their races and as a team we achieved many new time standards and AGC cuts. Great work NOVA!
Novice Bronze, Novice Silver, Novice Gold, Age Group Dev. Bronze, Age Group Dev Gold, Age Group Bronze, Age Group Silver, Senior Dev. Silver, Senior Bronze, Senior Silver,
Power Points are a scoring system used by USA Swimming to measure and compare swimmers’ performances across different events and age groups. Each swim is assigned a score, or “power points,” based on how close the swimmer’s time is to world-class standards. This system allows athletes, coaches, and teams to track performance improvement and assess strengths across various strokes and distances. NOVA awards 950 point swims with a coveted RED jacket, swimmers can check power points calculator on the USA Swimming website HERE
These power points are also central to USA Swimming’s Virtual Club Championships (VCC). The VCC is a program that ranks clubs nationally based on their swimmers’ power point scores throughout the year. This virtual competition allows teams across the country to compete against each other without attending in-person meets. By combining power point scores from each swimmer, clubs can see where they stand on a national level and use the VCC as a benchmark for improvement and goal-setting.
NOVA is currently in 4th place nationally and in the VCC this season. The VCC rankings can be checked HERE.
- Coach Alex
