Welcome Flying Fish!

NEW 2025 Information is HERE!

Swim Team General Information

Eligibility

All pool members - ages 18 and under - are eligible to join the swim team. Your child should be comfortable putting their face in the water and be able to jump in and swim safely to the edge without assistance. Swim Lessons will be offered during the summer season for those who need additional assistance to prepare for swim team.

To join the swim team, click the REGISTRATION FORM below and you can conveniently register all your children for the swim team at the same time.

Registration Form

Swim Practice Hours

Regular practice times are Monday-Friday:

Ages 13-18 8:00 a.m. -9:20 a.m.
Ages 9-12 9:20 a.m. -10:30 a.m.
Junior Fish ages 8 and under 10:30 a.m. -11:00 a.m.

*Junior Fish are children who are brand new to swimming. Your child should be comfortable putting their face in the water and able to jump in and swim safely to the edge without assistance. All new swimmers will be evaluated by the Head Coach to determine any placement changes in practice groups.

VAST Team Fees for 2025

First swimmer in family – $100*
Second swimmer in family – $90
Third swimmer in family – $75
Additional swimmers in family – $70

* Lynchburg Aquatic League requires all league swimmers to be members of the pool for which they swim. Student memberships age 13 -18 are available for those who are not already members. The cost is $325 for a single child, which includes a non-voting summer membership for that child, team shirt AND team fees.

Swim Team Payments!

1 Child - $100

2 Children - $190

3 Children - $265

4 Children - $335

Additional Children - $70

Swim Team Membership - $325

The links above will direct you to Square for secure and convenient payment processing. Square payments will include a 3% convenience charge. We will happily take payment via check to avoid this additional charge. Make your check out to "Vista Acres Pool" and mail it to PO Box 4764, Lynchburg, VA 24502.

Coaching Staff for 2025

We are excited to announce the return of Coach Jordan Stackpole as our head coach along with Coach Chase Stickle as our assistant coach for the 2025 Summer Season! Our biggest announcement is the addition of Coach Ethan Malone! Coach Ethan will continue to swim during his last qualifying year as a Flying Fish, and will also jump out of his practice session and assist coaching our two younger age groups of swimmers.

Swim Team Board Representatives: Rebecca Stickle and Victoria Torrence-vaflyingfish@gmail.com

Meet Coach Jordan:

Hello! I am Jordan and I am very excited to be coaching Vista Acres for a second summer! I grew up in a town near Youngstown, Ohio. There I swam competitively for eleven years. I was also on my high school’s swim team, where I was a captain my senior year. After graduating high school, I attended Liberty University where I swam for the men’s club team for two years. I recently graduated this past December with an undergraduate degree in Sports Psychology and a minor in Youth Ministry. I am currently pursuing a master's degree in Sports Administration. I started my coaching experience as an assistant coach for the Salem Piranhas, a USA swim club in Ohio. I also coached four years for a summer league team back near my home, where I was an assistant for two years and a head coach for another two years. I am currently an assistant coach for the Lynchburg Piranhas, and also the Head Coach for Heritage High School. My hobbies are hiking, traveling, and hanging out with friends and family. I love the sport of swimming, and coaching is my passion. I love seeing kids fall in love with the sport! I want to pour into the youth in my community and help better their swimming ability while also maintaining a fun and welcoming environment. I am excited to watch friendships form and make new memories.

Meet Coach Chase:

This is my second year coaching along side Coach Jordan at Vista Acres. Most of you know me as a swimmer at Vista Acres. I spent many years swimming as a flying fish for Vista Acres, and 4 years swimming at Heritage High School. I loved to play soccer as the goalie and on the field. I also kicked for my high school football team as well. I will be a junior at Liberty University this fall. I am a certified lifeguard and also work with Coach Jordan as a lifeguard at LU. I am in the Air Force ROTC program at Liberty and I am studying Aeronautics. I am passionate about health and wellness, physical fitness and sports. I also love music.

Meet Coach Ethan:

I have been swimming for 10+ years. I have swam on a club team along with summer swim and high school. I made states for 3 years on the relay. I was a team captain on my high school team during my senior year of high school. My favorite stroke is butterfly. I enjoy teaching the form side of swimming and love trying new ways to teach. In my free time I enjoy playing disc golf and spending time outside with friends and family.

2025 Meet Schedule

6/9 - Home vs. Bedford Y
6/16 - Away @ FAST
6/23 Away @ Hill City
6/30 Home vs. Wildwood
7/7 Home vs. Rainbow Forest
7/14 Away @ Farmington
7/19- "B" Championship Meet
7/26 - "A" Championship Meet

Special Events

: Swim-A-Thon
July 26: Swim Team Banquet at Vista Acres

Notices and Handouts

The swim team will have a “mailbox” for each family in a file folder box. This box will be kept in the guard building so please check your family’s folder regularly. Each week you’ll find items like handouts, ribbons, and other team information. Please advise your children to be sure this information makes its way home.

Text Message Alerts

Our Coaches will be using a text message service to send out messages about practices, meets, inclement weather, etc. This will be a way to quickly contact parents of last minute changes. The service does not require parents to share their cell number as it is secure and private. You will receive the code after you register your swimmers. Please sign up for this as soon as possible to make sure you aren't missing any important messages.

Sign Out Dates when you cannot attend a Meet.

As you establish your vacation and other plans for the summer, please indicate the absence of your swimmer(s) for any particular meet in the Sign-Out Notebook. This book will be located in the swim team file box and it is important that you sign your child(ren) out of a meet by WEDNESDAY preceding the meet on the following Monday. Failure to do so could result in disqualification of an event or relay which may be important to the meet line-up. If an emergency arises, or a swimmer becomes ill, please notify the Coach as soon as possible.

New Swimmers

If this is your child’s first swimming experience, the coaches will evaluate them and recommend the best practice session for them to attend. They may assign them a shortened practice session. As they progress and gain endurance the coaches will let you know when they are ready to increase their time. Involvement in our meets will begin as soon as your child is able to swim the full length of the pool without assistance! You will be amazed at how quickly their proficiency increases throughout the summer!

Team Swimsuits-Our Team Color is Purple!

Please support our swim team by purchasing your swimming needs through Swimoutlet.com. The link to our team store is here: Vista Acres Team Store

While it is not mandatory, a team suit helps each child feel like a part of the team and helps our overall team unity and spirit.

Our team color is Purple!

After the meets

One tradition our swimmers love is to go out for ice cream after our swim meets! This is optional, but we love continuing our team spirit after the meets with a treat!

Will will have an ice cream social and late night swimming at our pool a few times, TBA. The cost will be $3.00 or $15 per family.

The BIGGEST fundraiser we do is our Swim-A-Thon. We will need volunteers to help with this event.

Championship Meets

There are two Championship Meets held at the end of the summer season – a “B” Championship Meet followed by an “A” Championship Meet. To qualify for the “B” Meet, a swimmer must have swum the specific event(s) in a dual meet and not have made an “A” time or been disqualified. If a swimmer has two or more “A” times, he/she may not swim in the “B” Meet. Any “A” times received in the “B” Meet qualifies the swimmer for the “A” Meet also.

To qualify for the “A” Championship Meet, a swimmer must have achieved one or more “A” times during the season, either at a dual meet or the “B” Meet. If you finish first in an event at the “B” Meet, you also qualify for that particular event at the “A” Championship Meet. One “A” time qualifies the swimmer to swim only that individual event plus the relays. Two or more “A” times qualifies the swimmer to swim any three individual events plus the relays.

In the “B” Meet, team points and awards are given to the top eight finishers. Medals are awarded to the first three places; ribbons are awarded to places four through eight. In the “A” Meet, team points and awards are given to the top six finishers. The first three places receive medals; the next three receive ribbons.

Volunteer Information

We LOVE & NEED Our Parent Volunteers!

It takes the effort of our whole Vista Acres Family to run our swim meets. All parents of swimmers are encouraged to volunteer. Most volunteer positions are simple and easy to learn at the meet. A few positions require specific training and certifications and they are indicated below. Lynchburg Aquatic League provides training for these positions annually. If interested, contact Chris Malone at Christopher.a.malone@gmail.com

Since a typical meet lasts about 2-3 hours, you can choose whether you want to work for half of the meet or the whole meet. Meet sign-ups are done weekly and can be found on the signup genius link that will be sent via email. Please help out the team by having at least one parent in each family sign up to help out in some way at our swim meets. This is very important and will prevent us from trying to find people before a meet. We have to have positions filled in order to have the meet.

Volunteer Positions

*MEET REFEREE: Has authority over all officials. He/she will decide all questions relating to the actual conduct of the meet. The referee must be a certified stroke and turn judge qualified by the LAL and/or the USS.

*STARTER: Upon signal from the Referee, assumes full control of swimmers until a fair start has been achieved.

*STROKE AND TURN JUDGES: Note infractions of strokes and turns. Must be qualified by the LAL and/or the USS.

HEAD TIMER: Makes sure lane timers are ready and watches are clear before the start of each race. Also provides a roving watch in case a lane timer misses the start or has a watch malfunction.

PLACE JUDGES: Stationed near the finish of each race, and judges the order of finish of all swimmers.

ANNOUNCER: Before the start of each race, he/she shall announce the number of heats. At the start of each heat, he/she shall announce the lane, name of each swimmer, and the team affiliation. He/she shall also make any other announcements as requested by the Scorer, Referee, Record Keeper, or management.

LANE TIMER: Two timers shall be placed directly over each lane at the finish. Their watches are started at the instant of the flash from the Starter. Their watches are stopped immediately when any part of the swimmer’s body touches the end of the pool.

SCORE KEEPER: Records the order of finish and the times of each swimmer in all events and disqualifications as given them. They shall complete the team scores.

*These volunteer positions require specific training and certification from the LAL and/or the USS.

Contact Chris Malone if you are interested in the 2025 Stroke & Turn sessions: May 3rd and May 17th

Vista Acres Swim Team Code of Conduct

I will attend practices, arriving on time and be ready to swim when the coach begins practice.
I will do my best every day.
I will be respectful of my teammates and encourage them. I will not say anything negative to or about a teammate's abilities.
Running on the deck is not permitted.
Horse play on the deck or in the pool is not permitted.
Hanging or pulling on the lane ropes is not permitted.
I will not throw training gear. This includes, but it not limited to, my goggles or swim boards that belong to VAST.
I will display good sportsmanship at ALL times. Win or Lose.
I will follow the coach’s instructions and remain silent when the coach is speaking giving him/her my full attention.
I will not use foul language at any time while at Vista Acres.
I will remember that at all times while at the pool (even when not practicing or attending a meet) I represent VAST and will display good behavior.
I will also display good behavior and sportsmanship when visiting another pool for a swim team meet

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