2026
April 6, 2026
Hi Gators!
We are excited for the 2026 swim season to begin! We want to welcome back Jaleh Javadpour as our head coach at Avalon. This is Jaleh’s second season coaching the Gators and we are so thrilled to have her back this year. We are looking forward to an exciting season. We also want to welcome back Ashley Cryer, Lilly Chang and Helena Freiden as assistant coaches this year. Ashley is finishing up her third year at UVA and will be the Head of our Pre-Team as well as an Assistant Coach for swim team. Lilly is a graduating senior this year. She plans to attend Virginia Tech this fall, and we want to wish her the best of luck! Helena is finishing her first year at Virginia Tech and she is excited to be swimming again this season. We are excited to have a great team of coaches this summer!
We are ready for everyone to start registering for our 2026 Summer Swim Team season. Please visit Swimtopia at https://avalongators.swimtopia.com/ and register your Gator swimmer(s) today. If you are new to Avalon, you will need to create a new account on the Swimtopia site by also clicking on the above link and then you will be able to register your swimmer(s).
Swim Team Registration is limited to Avalon Members only. You must be an active member to participate.
If you have a new swimmer that is 8 & Under, Please DO NOT register for swim team until you have your swimmer evaluated. More below....
The price for registration for swim team will be $140 for the first swimmer, $140 for the second swimmer, and $130 for each additional swimmer in a family. Swimmers ages 15-17 will be $110 and graduating seniors will be $25.
**NEW SWIMMER EVALUATIONS** For the safety of your kids, if your swimmer is 8 & under and has never participated on a formal swim team, summer or year around, they will be asked to attend an evaluation session so that the coaches can properly place your child in the correct program (Team, Pre-Team or Lessons). Evaluations will be held on Sunday, April 26th at NOVA Regency at 12:00 p.m. If you cannot attend this date, you can make arrangements with the head coach.
Please DO NOT sign up through SwimTopia until your child has been properly placed after evaluations. Please use this link to sign-up for evaluations.
**PRE-TEAM REGISTRATION** You may sign up for Pre-Team using this following link:
Payments for pre-team will be billed through Community Pass and must be paid by June 8, 2026.
Pre-Season practice will begin on Thursday, May 18th and practices for regular season will start on Monday, June 8th. Tentative practice schedules are posted online.
Meets will be held on June 8th, 22nd, 29th, July 6th and July 13th.. Champs will be held on Wednesday, July 22nd. We are asking each swimmer to commit to a minimum of 3 meets this season but the coaches encourage you to attend as many meets as possible.
Each swimmer will have to fill out a waiver on the JRAC website. A waiver must be completed before you can participate in your first meet. Please click on this link to fill out and complete the waiver. JRAC 2026 Waiver
It truly takes a village to run a meet. This year we are asking each family to volunteer 3 shifts per family. You will be able to sign-up for volunteer positions during registration. There are some volunteer positions that require training. JRAC will be holding training in-person and on zoom this year. The training schedule is posted on the ARA Gators website. Grab a friend and sign up to train for one of these special positions. If you are interested in training for a special position, please contact our volunteer coordinator Nikki Cimino.
**TEAM SUITS** We will have new team suits this year. Team suit fittings will be held at Avalon on Tuesday, May 19th from 4-6 p.m. If you need to be sized for a new suit, Virginia Swim Shop will be there to help us with fittings. Team suits, caps (personalized & non-personalized) and other swim necessities will be available for purchase.
**If you would like to order a personalized swim cap, please fill out this Google form. Caps are $30 for 2 personalized caps. Orders are due MAY 8th.**
We are looking forward to a fun swim season! Be on the lookout for emails with information regarding this season.
Please let us know if you have any questions or need any further information.
We look forward to seeing all of you very soon!
Patty Chang & Clair Carpenter
March 2026 UPDATE:
We are busy planning our 2026 Summer Swim Season and are looking forward to getting back to Avalon in a few short months!
- Registration will be live on Monday, April 6th at 12 p.m..
- Swim Team Evaluations will tentatively be held on April 26th at NOVA Regency and is required for any new swimmer.
- Please reach out to Patty or Clair if you are interested in having more of an official role this swim season. Thank you!
Go Gators!!
2026 Swim Meet Schedule!
May 9, 2025 UPDATE:
Pre-Season Practice has pushed back to start on Monday May, 19th due to the resurfacing of the pool deck.
Practice times will remain the same. Thanks!!
May 5, 2025 Update:
Welcome Back Gators!
We are looking forward to seeing you all back to Avalon for Pre-Season Practice on Monday May 12th!
Here is our Practice Schedule.
We have a few action items, please complete these ASAP:
JRAC Waiver (linked)
Each swimmer must have a completed waiver to compete. Click here to fill out the waiver.
RSVP to Pizza Party Kick Off (linked)
We will hold a combined swim practice on Tuesday, May 27th, 5pm. We will enjoy cookies and pizza while we learn team cheers and meet Gator Buddies.
Sign Up for the Remind App (linked)
We will use this app to communicate with parents, share pictures, and quick information.
Gator Buddy Favorites (linked)
This is a fun tradition that supports mentor relationships between our younger Gators and our older Gators! If you choose to participate, please fill this form out by May 30th to ensure your swimmer receives their buddy prior to our first swim meet.
JRAC Training Schedule (linked)
Please consider attending one or more of these training sessions. It takes a village to run a swim meet and these accreditations help if we need to quickly fill in a vacant volunteer spot! Thank you!!
In addition, we are looking for a Volunteer Coordinator to look at Volunteer Sign Ups the day before Swim Meets. They will help organize name tags and vacant volunteer spots. This job will take care of all 'day of' hours for your family and is really helpful to Patty and I! This can also be split between two people if you want to tackle this as a team!
Swimsuit Fittings: Swimsuit fittings will occur from 4-6 p.m. on Tuesday, May 20th at Avalon. Additionally, Virginia Swim Shop at NOVA Regency will be open during our swim evaluations at 2:30 p.m. this Saturday, May 10th if you would like to come to try on and order suits.
Helpful Links:
Calling All Local Businesses!
Please pass along our Sponsorship Flyer to raise money for our Swim Team!
Team Shirts will be ordered Friday, May 16th with whatever Sponsorships we have so far.
Contact Information
Parent Rep, Clair Carpenter: [email protected]
Parent Rep, Patty Chang: [email protected]
