MISSION MARLINS NEWSLETTER
Mission Marlins Scoop Week 6 - Friday, July 10, 2026
From the Coaches
It’s Championships’ week! Here we are…at the end of another AMAZING swim season. I hope each of you experienced all that this league is about: great competition, fitness, and fun! Champs always bring about a week of excitement. As we face off with all the other teams, I hope each of you feels a sense of accomplishment this week. If you try your best this week, you will have succeeded! Let’s go after best times this week and let the other teams see the fruit of your hard work. Swim fast, Mission!
**Communication to coaches is so important!** Novice Championship entries are DONE and were submitted Saturday at 9:30AM. Level II/A Championships entries will be turned in on Wednesday, July 16th at 12:30PM. Please make sure you've communicated absences. Once entries are done, no changes can be made. THANK YOU!**
- Save the dates:
- Championships are Tuesday, 7/14, and Thursday, 7/16 (during the day) this week! Timeline information is below.
- There will be a special practice for Level II swimmers on Wednesday, July 15th. Details below!
- End of the Season Picnic/Awards ceremony is Friday, July 17th at 7pm!
- Picnic & Awards: 7:00-8:30pm; Pool Party: 8:30-10:00pm
- Every single swimmer will have something to pick up!
Next Week at a Glance
Tuesday, 7/14: NOVICE CHAMPIONSHIPS at Shawnee Mission Aquatic Center
Wednesday, 7/15: Level II/A Qualifiers Practice
Blue and Red Team Qualifiers: 8:00-10:00am
Orange, White and Yellow Team Qualifiers: 9:00-10:00am
Thursday, 7/16: LEVEL II/A CHAMPIONSHIPS at Shawnee Mission Aquatic Center
Friday, 7/17: NO PRACTICE! Awards Picnic at 7:00-8:30PM; Pool Party 8:30-10PM
Championship Information
TUESDAY, JULY 14th, 2026 - NOVICE CHAMPIONSHIPS
Where: Shawnee Mission Aquatic Center (17251 W 87th Street, Lenexa, KS 66219)
Who: All swimmers ages 14 and younger who have not Level II'd all events
When: There are two sessions (Details below with all end times approximate)
SESSION 1: Swimmers who did not qualify for a novice time in any individual event will arrive at 7:45 AM; 8:00 AM warmups; 8:25 AM meet start time; 9:00 AM meet end time
*Note* These swimmers will only swim one individual event; No relays.
SESSION 2: All 14 and under swimmers who qualified for a novice time in at least one individual event will arrive at 9:00 AM; 9:30 AM warmups; 10:30 AM meet start time; 3:00 PM meet end time
*Note* These swimmers will only swim events with a novice qualifying time (up to three individual events) and possibly one or two relays.
Swimmers 15 and older are not eligible to swim at Novice Champs.
**Novice Championships entries have been turned in.**
WEDNESDAY, JULY 15th, 2026 - LEVEL II/A Practice
8:00-10:00 AM – Blue/Red Team Level II/A swimmers
9:00-10:00 AM- Orange/White/Yellow Team Level II/A swimmers
THURSDAY, JULY 16th, 2026 - LEVEL II/A CHAMPIONSHIPS
Where: Shawnee Mission Aquatic Center (17251 W 87th Street, Lenexa, KS 66219)
Who: All swimmers ages 14 and younger with Level II/A times and all 15-18 year old swimmers
When: There is only one session.
Level II/A swimmers will arrive at 7:30 AM; 7:45 AM warmups; 9:00 AM meet start time; 1:30 PM meet end time
*Note* These swimmers will only swim events with a Level II or A qualifying time (up to three events) and possibly one or two relays.
Volunteering for Champs
We've been allotted a certain number of volunteer spots at both Novice and Level II Champs. We cannot run the meet without your help. Please see the sign-ups below for each day of champs and help out where you can. Thank you!
Novice Championships Volunteers - Tuesday, July 14th
**Please note: this sign up is for Session 2 on Tuesday (the longer session)**
**If your swimmer is participating in Session 1 and you're willing to be a timer or a runner, please email/text Coach Katie. I will start a list of volunteers for that session. Thank you in advance!**
Level II/A Championships Volunteers - Thursday, July 16th
Champs Theme - Unleash Your Inner Animal!
The Mission Marlins are known for their incredible team spirit! Our team theme this year for champs is "Unleash Your Inner Animal!" Anything and everything animal is recommended! Be creative! Don't you worry - your coaches participate, too! Start thinking about how you can participate!
End of Season Awards Picnic & Pool Party - Friday, July 17th!
There will NOT be practice on Friday, July 17th!
End of season awards will be held at Victor X Anderson Park (the park to the west of the pool) from 7:00-8:30PM followed by a pool party at the outdoor pool from 8:30-10:00PM. Since we partnered with Chick-fil-a this summer, they’re helping provide some items for our picnic, so the distribution of our alphabet with items to bring looks a little different this year. See below:
**Last Name A-H: Please bring an appetizer type item to share.**
**Last Name I-P: Please bring fruit or veggie type items to share.**
**Last Name Q-Z: Please bring a dessert type item to share.**
Plates and napkins will be provided. Bring your own drinks (non-alcoholic) and chairs (or towels/blankets). Every swimmer has a personalized award to pick up! If you cannot attend, please designate someone to pick up your swimmer’s awards & return top tanker shirts. Thank you!
End of Season Coaches' Gifts & Survey
I'm sending this on behalf of our parent volunteer board. Please read below. :)
Marlin Parents,
As the 2026 season is coming to an end, we have some special people we need to show our gratitude to. Each year we send out an end of the year link (see below) to collect surveys and ask for any donations to our coaches’ gifts. Below is a link for the survey. Please take a moment to go to the link and let us know how you feel about this season; we can only continue to improve this amazing team with honest and sincere feedback.
The attachment below is information on how to donate to our annual coaches gifts. The Marlin coaches give so much of the summer to our kids and year after year show their commitment to each swimmer and this team. We would love your help showing them how much we appreciate what they do. You can either print off the PDF and return it via mail to the address listed, catch Reva McCauley at practice or Champs, or use the Venmo tag listed in the PDF. (Please do not give the donations to the coaches.) Thanks for signing your kids up to be part of this team and we look forward to great success at champs and seeing you in the 2027 swim season.
Sincerely,
Your Mission Marlins Parent Volunteers
Are you signed up for text alerts?
- @swimblue26 (for Blue Team swimmers and families)
- @swimred26 (for Red Team swimmers and families)
- @swimora26 (for Orange Team swimmers and families)
- @swimwhi26 (for White Team swimmers and families)
- @swimyel26 (For Yellow Team swimmers and families)
- @swimgre26 (for Green Team swimmers and families)
Donut Award
Top Tankers
Each Friday, the coaches recognize swimmers from each practice group for their outstanding weekly attendance, hard work, and positive attitudes. It is always a VERY hard decision, as we are full of AMAZING young people! These swimmers were recognized as this week's Top Tankers:
- BLUE: Ashlyn Beckley, Jack Kingston, Izzy Nely, Landon Solenberger, Mirah Wade
- RED: Ellie Collier, Cale Connell, Sloane Nichols, Isaac Schraeder
- ORANGE: Beckum Anderson, Weston Anderson, Collins Beckley, Taylor Boler, Avery Fannin-Hughes, Adalynn Jamison, Diana O'Laughlin, Ella Rasmussen
- WHITE: Isaac Hrabe, George Kingston, Phoebe Lindberg, Lola Stanley
- YELLOW: Knox Bloss, Ella Cleary, River Douglas, Joe Harrington, Rosie Montgomery, Iris Rasmussen, Miles Stripling, Jax Vincent
- GREEN: Norah Cleary, Kate Douglas, Walter Montgomery, Juni Pate
Top Tanker recipients: please return your shirt CLEAN to the awards picnic/swim party on Friday. If you can't attend Friday, please send it with someone or deliver it back to pool on Wednesday morning between 8-10am. Thank you!!
Top Tankers are sponsored by: Gabrielle Morris Real Estate by Compass Realty 🏠
Clubs
Blue Team: I Believe I Can Fly Club (Captain's Class) - Members of this club are able to swim a 25 butterfly without taking a breath. Welcome to the club, blue teamers!
Lucy Adamo, Emily Atchity, Ashlyn Beckley, Joseph Beecher, Annika Berg, Tyson Boyer, Clara Breneman, Elli Brunsvold, Dominic Cara, Cassidy Carter, Ella Clutter, Ian Gonzalez, Charlotte Graves, Caleb Guild, Maddox Harvey, Charlie Holloway, Juliana Jamison, Kaitlyn Kellerman, Jack Kingston, Darcy Kroening, Leah Kroening, Quinn Laing, Nora Lynn, Izzy Nely, Abe Nissen, Caroline Nissen, Zoey O'Keefe, Curtis O'Laughlin, Graham Peoples, Dakota Rominger, Declan Rydzel, Calvin Sawyer, Landon Solenberger, Eileen Smith, Blake Thompson, Lauren Trost, Ella Tylicki, Mirah Wade, Dale Williams, Hazel Williams, Alex Wingert, Zachary Wingert, Calvin Winkler
Red Team: Super Duper 50 Free Club - Red Teamers are given the opportunity to join this club by swimming a 50 freestyle at practice from a start either under 40 seconds (Captain's Class) or under 35 seconds (Captain's First Class). Welcome to the club, red teamers!
Captain's Class (Under 40 seconds):
Layla Busche, Nicholas Cara, Cale Connell, Isaac Datu, Morgan Dennis, Hugh Dunker, Bexley Geis, Lacey Geis, Loren Gillette, Eliana Gonzalez, Eliana Guild, Liam Naylor, Luke Swob
Captain's First Class (Under 35 seconds):
Ellie Collier, Charlie Gibson, Elaine Giroux, Nancy Logan, Mitch O'Laughlin, Isaac Schraeder, Sam Trost, Pierce Wade
Helpful Links
Mission Marlins Wishlist
Things have been added with our championships theme! There is absolutely NO pressure for any of this, but wanted to create it for those who have asked. Thank you for supporting the Mission Marlins!
Previous Meet Results
Resources
Thank You to our Team Sponsor!
Gabrielle Morris Real Estate with Compass Realty 🏠