Bring On Summer and Bring on Division 2!

Let’s hope that this epically gloomy spring turns into a sunny and cheery summer, especially for our mighty Mount Vernon Park Gators. The 2016 season is almost upon us, and it’s a great time to switch from heat to A/C (yes this spring really has been that bad, hasn’t it?!) and take a look at what the summer swim season has in store for us.  If you have a passion for swimming and love to watch great swimmers compete, you are in for a real treat this summer.  For starters, our MVP Gators will battle it out in the impressive 2^nd Division of NVSL.  Plus, you will have the Olympic Swim Trials in Omaha in late June/early July and the Olympics in Rio in early to mid-August!

The Mount Vernon Park swim program has risen to great prominence in the NVSL over the years under the leadership of Coach Paul Makin.  In 2006 MVP was in Division 7, and we have made steady improvement over the last ten years, including spending the last three seasons in Division 3.  As a newcomer to Division 2, this season will be exciting and challenging for our Gator coaches and swimmers.  To give some perspective on how amazing it is to be swimming in Division 2, consider that there are over 100 teams in the NVSL (102 to be exact) in 17 Divisions.  There are six teams ahead of MVP swimming in Division 1 and 90 behind us swimming in Division 3 or below.  The MVP Gators are among the best, and every year we have excellent swimmers in all age categories doing what they love to do and doing it well. 

Here is a quick rundown of the season and our competitors in Division 2.

June 25th Hunt Valley at MVP

Always nice to start the season at Mount Vernon Park and our first competitor will be Hunt Valley, a club from Springfield.  Of the teams we will face this year, I would definitely say that the Hunt Valley Stingrays are a team that has dramatically improved over the last ten seasons.  Similar to MVP, the Stingrays were consistently in Division 6 ten years ago, but they’ve made continued progress in moving up the Divisional ladder and have spent the last four seasons in Division 2.  The Stingrays placed 3^rd in their 2015 campaign with a 3-2 record, with the 2014 season being slightly stronger with a 2^nd place 4-1 record.  The Stingrays are not new to the Gators -- we competed against them in three of the last ten seasons, with the last year being 2012 in Division 4.

July 2nd Hamlet at MVP

You probably expect some sort of Shakespeare reference as a way of introducing this club from McLean, but that would be too easy.  And nothing about Hamlet will be easy.  The Hamlet Green Feet (that’s their team name, don’t ask, cause I don’t know why) have an impressive history, having spent six of the last ten seasons in the very best NVSL division.  During the last decade the Green Feet have swam exclusively in Division 1 and 2, with the exception of 2012 when they were in Division 3.  Last year’s Division 1 competition was fierce, and Hamlet finished with a winless season; thus the bump back down to Division 2 for 2016.  This meet at MVP, just before the July 4^th holiday, will be one with many fireworks, as this will be a new opponent for MVP and an impressive one at that!

July 9th at Hunter Mill

I’m certain I’ve heard traffic reports on WTOP that involve Hunter Mill (so I have some sense of where this club is), but that’s about it before reading up on this team from Vienna.  Luckily, our first away meet is early on a summer Saturday morning so hopefully traffic out to the western part of Fairfax County won’t be an issue (fingers crossed – one never knows with the Beltway).  The Hunter Mill Sharks are a team very familiar to Division 2, having spent seven of the last ten seasons swimming in this impressive Division.  They found themselves in Division 5 in 2012 but were able to claw their way back to Division 2 a couple seasons later.  2015 was an excellent season for the Sharks, and they finished 2^nd to Wakefield Chapel (who has gone on to Division 1) with a 4-1 record. 

July 16th Donaldson Run at MVP

We are back at Mount Vernon Park to celebrate our amazing seniors, as well as to do some swimming against the Donaldson Run Thunderbolts.  This club, from Arlington, finished last season in the middle of the 2^nd Division pack with a 2-3 record, just behind Hunt Valley.  The MVP Gators have some history with Donaldson Run, having competed against them in three of the last ten seasons, most recently in 2014.

July 23rd at Little Rocky Run

Now if it was Big Rocky Run, we should probably be scared, but Little Rocky Run?!  Kidding aside, this club that we will visit down I-95 in Clifton does not joke around when it comes to swimming.  Our only returning competitor from last year’s season, the Little Rocky Run Stingrays won our Division (3) last summer with an impressive undefeated 5-0 season.  Over the last 10 years, LRR has spent most of their time in Division 2 (five of ten seasons), but also competed a few seasons in Division 1, most recently in 2009.

B Meets

Let’s not forget B meets, because they’re a big part of the Gator experience.  The great thing about B meets is that the Gator swimmers that want to swim are able to, with lots of opportunities to post great swims, beat personal best times, and make it to an upcoming A meet.  But my favorite part of B meets is the chance to watch swimmers race in the dark (don’t worry, there are lights in and around the pool) since these meets start at 6PM and often go until the wee hours of the night.  Ok maybe not that late, but it can feel like midnight when you are waiting for your child to swim their last race of the night!  This year, our first B meet is against Waynewood (Division 8) at MVP on June 20^th.  Next, Hollin Hills (Division 15) visits MVP on June 27^th.   The Gators visit Mansion House (Division 7) on July 11^th.  Our final B meet is at Riverside Gardens (Division 6) on July 18^th. 

Other Big Meets

As far as the big annual meets for 2016 - the Divisional Meets will include the Relay Carnival at Hamlet on July 13^th and Divisional Championships at Donaldson Run on July 30^th.  The All-Star Relay Carnival will be at Greenbriar on July 20^th and Individual All-Stars will be at Little Rocky Run on August 6^th.

I can’t tell you how this season will unfold, but I can promise the Gators will swim great races, post amazing times, and, most importantly, have a blast doing it!  Looking forward to getting things started at Time Trials on June 18^th!