OLD KEENE MILL JUNIOR TEAMS

For any questions about OKM Swimming, please contact Team Rep Sue Rizzardi by email or call/text 703-589-4102.

OKM sponsors a vibrant summer league swim team that competes in the Northern Virginia Swim League.  NVSL swimming, especially at OKM, is a terrific introduction to competitive swimming for beginners and an exciting team atmosphere for veteran competitors. Recently, OKM has enjoyed a historic run of success with *SIX straight* Division Championship seasons in Divisions 13, 11, 8, 5, 3 and 2!  Our 2025 season is going to be exciting with OKM returning to Division 1!  Let's go Ospreys! 

While water safety is always our top priority, the OKM Swim Team has three other objectives:

(1) Having FUN through swimming in practices, meets, and team social activities
(2) Learning and swimming skill development
(3) Promoting healthy & fair competition with an emphasis on personal improvement

Swimming is a healthy lifetime sport, and even children who are less interested in the competitive aspects will become strong swimmers who are comfortable and safe in any part of the pool, beach or lake.  No experience in competitive swimming is necessary – new OKM swimmers will learn the different strokes, starts, turns, and the rules of competitive swimming.  Once the competitive season starts, all swimmers will have the opportunity to compete in weekly swim meets where they can focus on improving their personal times.

Although swimming is an individual sport, Osprey swimmers enjoy great camaraderie both in and out of the water.  Social events are a big part of the swim team experience – from team breakfasts and pep rallies at the pool to various group outings – and swim team friendships often continue when school starts in the fall. OKM swimming is also a great family activity where all of your children will compete for the same team and swim in the same meets at the same time.  We hope your family will join the OKM Osprey swim family!

Mini Ospreys

The Mini Ospreys program is part of the OKM Swim Team, but it's designed for novice swimmers aged 8 and younger who are not ready for the regular team.  The swimmers are taught in small groups in shallow water, and this is terrific introduction to the swim team.  Mini Osprey swimmers have the opportunity to participate in shorter “lollipop races” before they are able to complete a full 25 meters of swimming.  Our goal is to have these swimmers compete in a 25-meter race by the end of the season and to potentially move up to the regular team the following summer. Practice for Mini Ospreys does not start until school is out.

Eligibility Requirements

The swim program is open to all OKM member families, and we do not make any “cuts” or cap our participant numbers, but we do have the following basic swimming requirements for participation:

Osprey Swim Team: Ages 5 to 18 – Swimmers must be able to comfortably swim the length of the pool (25 meters) in freestyle and backstroke in a consistent horizontal position. Some children will be ready for Swim Team after one season of Mini Ospreys, but it's perfectly fine for some participants to return to Mini Ospreys for a second summer.

Mini Ospreys: Ages 3 to 8 – swimmers must be able to put their face in the water and float.  They must also be comfortable being in the water away from their parents and able to follow directions in a group setting.  For beginners who are not ready for Minis, we recommend doing private lessons with one of our swim coaches or lifeguards.

All new swimmers will be evaluated on the first day of practice, so feel free to bring children for an evaluation if you’re unsure about their swimming ability.

Evening Swim

For families who cannot attend morning practices because of work/childcare conflicts, OKM offers evening practices that begin once school is out. For the first two weeks, children in Evening Swim attend the same after-school practices as the other swimmers.  For the five weeks of the season that occur after school is out, Evening Swim offers three practices per week at 6:30 p.m. on Sundays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays.

Evening Swim does not provide as many practices as the morning schedule, and because it takes place when the pool is open, there are less lanes available and a smaller coaching staff.  Thus, the standard morning program will provide a better opportunity for swimmers to develop, but we are pleased to offer Evening Swim for families who would otherwise not be able to participate.  Children in Evening Swim are full members of the OKM team and compete in the same meets as the rest of the team – Monday evening “B” meets and, if they qualify, Saturday morning “A” meets.

A few additional notes on Evenings Swim:

• Regular team swimmers in the morning program who have a conflict that causes them to miss morning practice may attend evening practices on a space-available basis (but we are NOT able to offer this flexibility to Minis);
• Swimmers in Evening Swim are always welcome to attend regular morning practices when they’re able – but swimmers are not allowed to attend both morning and evening practice in the same day.
• We ARE planning to have Evening Minis in 2023, but it will have limited capacity.  

• The first meet is Time Trials, which is June 7, 2025, where we hope to have all swimmers get times in as many strokes as they're able to do.   
• Meets against other teams are divided into “A” meets for the most competitive swimmers (held on Saturday mornings) and “B” or Developmental meets, which are open to all swimmers on the team (held Monday evenings). There are five meets of each type.  

Cost/Registration

The swim team registration fee for 2025 will be $145 per swimmer for Full/Bonded Members and $170 per swimmer for Associate Members. The third junior team registration (and beyond) across all sports within a family is discounted by $25. 

OKM Winter Swim

OKM runs a once-a-week winter swim program during the winter months at Burke Racquet & Swim Club (near Wal-Mart).  This is primarily for summer swimmers who want to maintain their skills in the winter with OKM friends and coaches but don’t want the commitment/cost of club swimming. OKM has one of the largest winter swim programs in the entire NVSL.

Our volunteer Swim Team Reps are Sue Rizzardi, Katie Bailey, and Ayron Myers.