Go Rockville Rays!

2011 End-of-Season Banquet Slides

The Rockville Rays, a summer competitive swimming program offered by the City of Rockville Department of Recreation and Parks, is celebrating its 28th season in the Montgomery County Swim League (MCSL).  Division A champions since 2005, we look forward to continuing our long tradition of excellence and teamwork.   Cara Chuang will be the Rays Head Coach with Michael Fu serving as the Assistant Coach.  George Karayianis will be our team representative.  Jim Treichel and Deepthi Fernando will serve as our A team representatives with Tapas Saha and Diana Wobus serving as our B team representatives. 

Our program consists of a series of dual meets divided into two levels of competition. The advanced ‘A’ meets are limited in the number of competitors per team, while the ‘B’ meets are open to any swimmer not competing in the ‘A’ meets.  We have a full season of Saturday ‘A’ meets and Wednesday night ‘B’ meets, so all of our swimmers will have an opportunity to compete in at least one meet each week.  In addition, swimmers or relay teams with qualifying times/placements may be invited to swim in special meets such as the Coaches Invitational Long Course Meet, or the MCSL All-Star Relays and Individual All-Stars Meets. The 2011 Ray calendar is now posted on our website http://rockvillerays.us.   Please reference the calendar for the dates and times of swim team activities including Time Trials, A & B meets, the A & B relay carnivals, and the A Divisional Championship meet.

Rays swim Team practice starts Tuesday, May 31, in the South Pool (inside the Rockville Swim Center).  From May 31 – June 16, swim team practice will be from 4pm – 5:30pm (Mon – Fri).  On Friday, June 17, swim team practice will be 5:00 – 6:00 pm.  Starting Monday June 20th, swim practice will change to 5pm-6pm (10 and unders) and 6pm–7pm (11 and older) Mon, Tues, and Thurs.  Friday practices will be 5pm-6pm (for all swimmers) so our Friday parties can start at 6pm.  Starting June 17, all swimmers must use the outdoor entrance and outdoor shower facilities when coming to or leaving practice.

Every family on the team is a voting member of the Rockville Rays Parents Association that exists solely to support the swim program.  The success of the summer swim program is dependent upon having many active volunteers. We NEED parents to officiate meets, but certification is required.  Training dates are listed on our Rays calendar as well as the Montgomery County Swim League (MCSL) website http://mcsl.org.  We need also parents to assist in social events, newsletters, bulletin boards, etc…. 

The Parents Association also staffs a snack bar during several big swim meets this summer.  The revenue generated from these activities keeps our registration fees significantly low compared to other pools.  Those funds will subsidize other team activities during the season.

The Rays team swim suits this year will be the TYR Universe (blue).  Boys (jammer) suits will cost $33.92 (including tax) and the girl suits (diamondback) $50.88 (including tax).  Team suits are available for purchase from Aardvark Swim and Sport in Rockville (301-309-3660).

Click here to complete the Team Membership Form.  All Rays members need to be on the Team membership roster.  Even if people already registered at the swim center, you still need to fill out this online form so that the Team has your family on record with the Team management.  Particularly, the coach will need your family phone number and email address to call or confirm if your swimmer will swim in A Meet.  If you have not registered at the swim center, you must do so and pay all fees prior to attending any Rays swim practices or meets.  Two fees are required to complete your registration, 1) A registration fee of $35.00 per family.  This fee covers the MCSL team dues, team newsletter, coaches’ gifts, and other incidentals.  This fee is payable by check only to “ROCKVILLE RAYS PARENTS ASSOCIATION”. For swimmers registered before May 15, you’ll get a FREE Rays swimming cap; 2) A program fee may be paid by cash, check (payable to City of Rockville) or credit card at the Swim Center Front Desk.  Fees are $185 for swim center members, $245 for non swim center members. 

VERY IMPORTANT DATE!!  Our Time Trials is on Saturday, June 11th. To make the event stress-free for children and parents, it is highly recommended that parents attend a parent’s orientation meeting at 7pm on Friday June 10th.  The Rays party will start at 6:00 p.m.  Participation by all families is needed to help run Time Trials.  This meet determines our swimmers’ initial ranking on the team. Please note that only those swimmers that participate in Time Trials can qualify to swim in the first dual A meet.

If you have questions, please check out our bulletin board at the pool, go to Ray’s website or ask your team reps. From the Rays’ website, one can subscribe to the Rays Google group to obtain newsflashes and reminders and/or to exchange ideas about the team. 

Once again: Welcome to Rockville Rays! We look forward to another amazing year!