WELCOME

The Stillwater Starz is a developmental summer swim team and a member of the Naperville Swim Conference (NSC). A volunteer-driven 501(c)(3) nonprofit, our mission is to develop confident, capable young swimmers and foster a love of competitive swimming in a safe, supportive, and fun environment.

Our swimmers range from 4-18 years of age, and most are residents of the Stillwater subdivision and other nearby communities in southwest Naperville, Plainfield, and Oswego. For our youngest swimmers, their time on the Starz is often their first experience with competitive swimming. It’s also where many of our returning swimmers, some of whom now swim year-round in club and school programs, got their start. Join us this summer, and find out what fun you can have when we shoot for the Starz together!

Starz Roundup: Sunday, June 8, 2025

Lea Fortkamp

Starz Roundup:

Sunday, June 8, 2025

 

Good Afternoon, Starz Families!

 

TIME TRIALS RECAP

What a fabulous first meet! We are so proud of the turnout at this year’s Time Trials. We saw some great first swims, some super coaching, and many happy parents on deck supporting their swimmers. Thanks for your participation, and thanks to our many parent workers for their efforts yesterday. Ribbons will be distributed to all 6U-11/12 swimmers via their swimmer folders on Tuesday. Look for a file box on the deck near the guard/coach office.

A few tips as we head toward Tuesday and our first home dual meet vs. Huntington Estates:

  • When you check in your swimmer, highlight his or her name, then snap a quick photo of his or her events with your phone. This will allow you to step back from check-in, making room for other swimmers and allowing you to write your swimmer’s events on his or her hand in your own time.
  • If you’re a timer, remember that YOU have priority position at the pool’s edge. Please don’t hesitate to politely ask swimmers or coaches to move out of the way. You should be located right on the edge, looking straight down into the water, to see every touch. Most older/more experienced swimmers will NOT finish with their hand on top of the edge/gutter, so you MUST lean over the edge to get a clear view. When timing 25’s, timers should be INSIDE the blue chain at the pool’s edge. If we ask you to move up, you're not in trouble; we just want to put you in the best position to record each touch accurately.
  • If you’re the timer who records times on the timer sheet, please do your best to write your numbers very clearly. This makes life easier for our computers team and ensures that all swimmers receive the time they earned.
  • If you’re an official completing a DQ card, please make it a habit to first circle the swimmer’s name in your heat sheet and note the infraction number, THEN complete the card. This way, if there’s a mismatch with the swimmer’s name and heat/lane recorded on your card, our runner can return for clarification.
  • DQ’s: They happen, and they’re an important part of the learning process. This week, coaches will review Saturday’s most common stroke and turn infractions with our swimmers and help them understand how to avoid these in the future. It may take time, and several meets, for swimmers to perfect their stroke and turn technique; please encourage them to be patient with themselves and to talk with our coaches about their own DQ experiences. If we were to wait until we were perfect to race a new event, then we’d never try anything new!

 

GEAR PICKUP

Thanks to those who picked up their gear and sign orders this past week. We’re almost done with distribution! Gear orders remain for Kavady, Sasidharan, Sluciak, and Song, and a sign order remains for Kathuria. I will bring these to the pool tomorrow (Monday) morning. A coach can retrieve your order from the coach/guard office.

 

TUESDAY’S MEET: HOME vs. HUNTINGTON ESTATES

You’ll receive a full preview of our Tuesday home meet against Huntington Estates, including swimmer and worker lists, tomorrow. If you are unsure whether you are committed to work a job at the meet or whether your swimmer is declared to compete, please check on our website or the SportsEngineMotion app.

 

PICTURE DAY

Picture Day is THIS TUESDAY, June 10. There will be no morning practice on this day. Our home meet vs. Huntington Estates is in the afternoon.

ALL swimmers (from AM and PM sessions) who would like photos, please arrive at your scheduled photo time with a printed copy of the order form (attached to the event on our website, and to be emailed separately shortly). Payment options include exact cash, personal check, PayPal, Venmo, and Zelle. Checks should be made payable to Pfeiffer Photo.

Please wear your team suit. Swimmers will receive their RED 2025 team tee shirt as they arrive for their photos. Individual and sibling photos may be taken in either team suits or in the team tee with navy, white, or khaki shorts. The team photo (ALL swimmers) will be taken in team tee over swimsuit. Please plan to remain (or return) for the team photo at 10:00 a.m.

 

Picture Day Schedule:

Individual and Sibling Photos*

8:30 a.m. – 9/10 swimmers

9:00 a.m. – 6U, 7/8 swimmers

9:30 a.m. – 11/12+ swimmers

*For sibling pictures, please have your younger children attend your oldest child’s time slot
 

Team Photo

10:00 a.m.

ALL Available Swimmers from AM & PM sessions should try to attend!

 

TEAM DIRECTORY

One of SportsEngine’s lesser known but cooler features is Team Directory, an online directory of team families. This password-protected resource is only visible to team members who are logged in on our website. It cannot be accessed by nonmembers. This directory is really handy for parents who need to reach out to one another about meet jobs, arrange playdates for summer swim friends, and more.

The default setting is inclusion in the Starz family directory. If you would prefer that the parent contact information on your account (and your swimmers’ names) NOT be included in the directory, simply log into our website before we publish the directory on Tuesday click on “My Account,” then select “Do Not Participate” from the drop-down menu shown below. Finally, click the green “Save” button in the bottom right corner to confirm your preference.

 

That’s it for today! Have a great Sunday, and we’ll see you tomorrow at practice!

 

Lea

Stillwater Starz Parent Board