NOVA News
October 16th, 2023
NOVA was incorporated in Henrico County in 1987 as a non-profit 501c3 corporation, with one mission: to be the most successful swim team in the state of Virginia, and to use the sport of swimming to develop young men and women into the next generation of leaders. The original mission statement for the team was:
“Dreams are our Business, Discipline is our Tool, Excellence is our Pursuit”
Since 1987 NOVA has far exceeded that original goal. Today, our mission has not changed, it has just grown. We still strive to develop young men and women into the next generation of leaders, but “being the best” in our field means we are striving to be not only the most successful team in the country, but also an industry leader in all of aquatics. Some highlights of the last 37 years include:
Winning an unprecedented 90 Team state championship titles
18 swimmers representing the United States in international swimming, the US National Team, or the Olympic Team
37 years of NCAA College athletes competing at 110 Colleges and Universities across the country.
That last statistic is one of my favorites.
NOVA has 33 full time coaches and administrative staff. 12 of those, including me, are alumni, and another 13 are parents of alumni, or future alumni. Over the holidays, we had 35 of our college swimmers return to NOVA to train. You can find the full list of our visiting college swimmers here.
I am tremendously proud to be a NOVA alum, and a part of the NOVA legacy. NOVA's alumni are a strong and wide reaching community that supports and continues to contribute to the success and legacy of our club. Look around, there is probably a NOVA alumni next to you on the pool deck!
Leigh Peterson
NOVA Chief Executive Officer
January 12-15th- Select "A level"12 and under swimmers team traveled to Greensboro for the January Jumpstart meet. The prelim/finals meet was a fast meet and our swimmers stepped up and raced hard. The swimmers had a great time, swam fast, and came home to SNOW!
Age Group Gold, Age Group Dev. Gold
January 13-15th- Senior swimmers stayed in town and competed in the NOVA Long Course Invitational MLK weekend. These swimmers raced hard in this prelim/final LC meet against tough competition from all over the east coast.
by Coach Luke
Championship season is starting in 3 weeks!!
There is at least one championship meet for every group across NOVA, which include all ages and levels of experience. These meets take place during the months of February and March, and are very important for all swimmers to attend. An end-of-season meet is a big part of the feeling of accomplishment that keeps swimmers engaged in swimming. Everyone wants to feel that they achieved something, especially when they put in months of hard work! Being a part of a TEAM championship meet win is something each and every NOVA swimmer can be proud of! There are a wide range of championship meets from local to national level with a progression between each.
Next up are our state meets: Age Group Champs and Senior Champs
STATE LEVEL CHAMPS MEETS - These meets are for those with qualifying times from teams all over the state of Virginia. Fun fact: Nova has won every 14 & under Age Group Champs since 2000 and every Senior Champs since 2006.
14 & Under Virginia Swimming Age Group Champs (March 7 - 10 in Christiansburg, VA) - this is the state champs meet, and it DOES have qualifying times in the range of A and AA time standards. This meet is massively important for anyone qualified to attend as NOVA represents ourselves as a team. Swimmers that qualify for higher level meets beyond state champs are required to attend this meet and take part as a team, regardless of their ages. It is prelims/finals as well!
Virginia Swimming Senior Champs (Feb 29 - March 3 in Richmond at CSAC) - This is the State Champs meet for 15 & over swimmers, very similar to Age Group Champs above. All qualified swimmers are required to participate and this is an important team scored meet. Many swimmers use this meet as a qualifier meet for NCSA Junior Nationals.
If you have questions about your swimmer's Championship meet please contact your
swimmer's coach.
Group coaches: Lead Sean Moore assistant James Crabb
How many swimmers are in Senior Dev Bronze? Currently SDB has 31 swimmers.
What skills are SDB working on this week? This week SDB is working on a lot of stroke details and making sure the details of our strokes are being emphasized.
Sean, what's your favorite part of working with SDB? My favorite part of working with SDB is how much of a puzzle the group can be. We have kids coming from all different backgrounds and pathways in the sport of swimming and getting everyone on the same page and working toward the common goal of progress in the sport is an incredibly fun and rewarding experience
James, what's your favorite part of work with SDB? I love their enthusiasm and hunger for growth! Beyond that, they keep it positive and don’t stress out too much about swimming.
Sean, what's your favorite part about working with James? James has an incredible eye for the technical aspect of the sport and an ability to communicate that to our swimmers is really fun to work with. He also brings an energy to practice that is contagious!
James, what's your favorite part about working with Sean? His incredible capacity for on-the-fly remixes of whatever song is currently playing in the building.
Sean, what would you do it you won a $100 million in the lottery? Honestly I would probably still be coaching. I started coaching because it was something I enjoyed doing, although I'd probably travel a bit more in the offseason.
James ,what would you do it you won a $100 million in the lottery? Buy some land and start a farm!
12 and under PPOW
Registration for Spring Clinics is now Open!
Please help spread the word by sharing the attached FLYER
to neighbors and summer league friends who are looking to get a headstart on their season. Summer league teams will receive $25 back for every 10 swimmers registered.
**Current NOVA swimmers should not sign up**
