Wells Branch Armada

Summer is officially in full swing, and so is the Armada season. As we head into June, our swimmers continue to build confidence, improve their skills, and create lasting friendships both in and out of the pool.

In this issue, you'll find everything you need for our first away meet of the season, details about this week's Swim-a-Thon, volunteer updates, meet highlights, Fast Fishies, relay champions, record breakers, and our growing list of NWSC Invitational qualifiers.

Thank you for the incredible energy, support, and team spirit you've brought to the season so far. Let's keep making waves together!

By Patrick  Ricci, President

Can you believe we're already halfway through our six regular season meets? Huge thanks to all of our swimmers, parents, and coaches for helping these first three home meets run so smoothly. It's a big week for Armada with Swim-a-Thon on Tuesday, picture day and pep rally on Friday, and our first away meet on Saturday. 

Speaking of pictures, you've probably noticed that we have photographers capturing photos at every swim meet. Check them out in our shared albums--and add some of your own! 

To make the album a little more manageable going forward, we're creating separate albums for each swim meet/event. So if you have photos to upload, please put them in these meet- and event-specific albums:

WBA vs. PFP

Swim-a-Thon

WBA vs. BHC

"You must do the thing you think you cannot do." - Eleanor Roosevelt 

By Coach Maddie

Swimmers, what a performance from each of you this week! Every one of you stepped up to the blocks with confidence, gave your best effort, and attacked the water. Us coaches were incredibly proud to see many of you take the skills and techniques we worked on and apply them to your races. The result was 183 time improvements, increased confidence and the achievment of many personal goals.

As we enter our second week of morning practices, I want to encourage everyone to continue challenging themselves this season. Keep trying those events that push you a little outside your comfort zone. You might surprise yourself and discover that you enjoy the 100 IM or even a distance freestyle event. The coaching staff is here to help, whether you're working toward a legal time, improving a flip turn, or building confidence in a new event. Let us know what we can do for you!

If you'd like extra work on specific skills, be sure to sign up for our swim clinics, which have moved to Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.

Clinic Schedule (more clinics may be added if requested):

Monday- Flip Turns, Dives, Freestyle, Backstroke 

Wednesday- IM Turns, Dives, Butterfly, Breaststroke 

Friday- Dives, IM (racing strategy focus)

Lastly, we're excited to introduce PEP RALLIES this season! Our first pep rally, and team picture day, will be held this Friday from 5:30pm to 6:30pm at Willow Bend Park, right next to our pool. Wear your Armada shirt and join us for some fun as we gear up for our first away meet of the season!

by DJ Loberg, Meet Director

Our 4th official meet and our 1st Away Meet!

📍 Key Info:

• Registration deadline: Monday June 1st at 1:00 PM
• Location: Blockhouse Tidal Waves -
   Apache Pool, 3100 N Block House Creek Dr, Leander, TX 78642
• Arrival Time: 6:00 AM – Be on time and check in right away
• Tidal Waves Warm-ups: 6:25–6:55 AM
• WBA Warm-ups: 6:55–7:25 AM
• Meet Start: 7:30 AM
• Events: Swimmers may compete in up to 3 individual events
• Spirit Theme 🎃☀️ Summerween 👻🍉

📝 If your swimmer cannot attend or needs to scratch, please text and/or email us ASAP!

🚘 Parking Reminder

Parking IS allowed on Block House Drive. Please abide by the no parking signs and cones. No parking is available on any side streets nor in the cul-de-sac directly adjacent to the pool.

No parking per state law on the bridge, within 15ft of fire hydrants, within 30ft from a stop sign, WILCO Sheriff’s office will ticket anyone parked in these areas and are frequently patrolling the streets, please be careful to avoid these areas.

NOTE - They understand that they do not have the best parking situation. They ask the following: Absolutely no drop off IN the parking lot, in the street, or at the bridge. Thank you in advance for understanding.

Other Blockhouse Meet Info

Restrooms:
They have restrooms inside the pool gate, near the ready benches, and a port-a potty and hand washing station near visiting pits.

Playground:
The playground in the middle of the parking lot is strictly off limits. We need to keep this open for their neighborhood residents.

Sales:
Their concession stand will be located inside the gated area near the entrance closest to our pits. They accept cash and credit cards. They will have a merchandise sales area near the restrooms. 

Chicken Heats:
They draw random heats and they are considered chicken heats, similar to our newest Lucky Duck heats. Chicken heats are not announced until that heat of swimmers have started and are already in the water. The winner of that heat gets a rubber chicken along with their heat winner ribbon. It is random and crazy, but the kids love it!

Coaches/Parent Relays:
They will plan to have one if time allows. 3 lanes per team.

Pool and Pit Layout:

For our first away meet of the season, we're teaming up with Block House Creek for a fan-favorite theme: Summerween!

Think Halloween meets summer vacation! Break out your tropical pumpkins, beach skeletons, spooky sunglasses, flamingo costumes, witch hats, Hawaiian shirts, ghost floaties, or any creative combination of summer and Halloween fun. The crazier, the better!

Whether you're a swimmer, parent, coach, or sibling, join the fun and help bring some extra team spirit to the pool deck. Summerween is all about having fun, making memories, and showing off the amazing Armada spirit while enjoying one of the most unique themes of the season.

🎃👻🕶️🍍🌴🍉

Let's make our first road trip meet a spook-tacular summer celebration!

by Juli Thatcher, Volunteer Coordinator

Thank you to everyone who pitched in at our 3rd official meet! Your help made it a success.

We still have open slots for this Saturday’s meet, please sign up ASAP so we can ensure a smooth and timely event.

We need all volunteers to check in early morning even if you are assigned to the second shift, that help us run a smooth transition.

📋 Mark Your Calendars

Volunteer signups for our fourth meet go live on Tuesday at 12:00 PM (Noon). Set a reminder and grab your favorite job early!

If something urgent comes up (illness, emergency), please notify Juli Thatcher immediately so we can adjust accordingly.

by Katie Nafius, Sponsorships

Our Swim-a-Thon fundraising campaign is still running and we're more than 40% to our goal! The funds raised from this effort are used to help keep Armada registration low, and pay for needed items to keep our team running smoothly. Reminder, your swimmer gets an Armada tattoo just for registering (FREE) and can earn these amazing prizes with each level as well! 

Swim-a-Thon will be held THIS WEEK June 2 from 6-8pm at the pool. This event will be the culmination of our fundraising efforts, and we'll see how many laps everyone can swim. More prizes, pizza, socializing and more! It's bound to be fun for everyone, so make sure to represent! More info to be sent on Monday! 

If you're interested in helping to plan the event, please email Katie at [email protected]. 

One of the best parts of swim meets is the friendships our swimmers build throughout the season. We encourage families to leave tablets and other personal entertainment devices at home whenever possible and help create opportunities for kids to connect with their teammates.

The hours between events are often when the best memories are made, cheering for teammates, playing games, making friendship bracelets, tossing a football, trading jokes, or simply hanging out together. These shared experiences help strengthen team spirit and make the swim season even more special.

Let's help our swimmers make the most of meet day by putting screens aside and making room for fun, friendships, and Armada memories!

What an incredible meet for the Wells Branch Armada! A huge shoutout to our swimmers who dominated the pool and brought home event wins this weekend! 🏊

These Wells Branch Armada relay teams absolutely crushed it at the meet with some incredible teamwork, fast swims, and BIG wins across the board!

Each week, we recognize the swimmers who made the biggest splash by improving their times the most in each age group and category. These Fast Fishies worked hard and it showed in the pool, great job!

For more information about these and other awards check Weekly Awards FAQ - Wells Branch Armada

* Previous fast fishy award, the swim cap award rolls down but the repeated award winner will get a special prize.

These swimmers crushed it at our last meet, improving their personal bests in three separate events, an impressive display of hard work, focus, and determination!

🎉 Please join us in congratulating this meet’s Triple Drop Swimmers:

We’re thrilled to celebrate some incredible swims that have etched their way into the Armada record books! Breaking a club record is no small feat, it takes dedication, grit, and serious speed. Please join us in congratulating the following swimmers who broke an Armada Swim Team record at our most recent meet:

🏆 McGuire, Lucas - Boys 11-12 100yd Freestyle - 1:04.48 Old: 1:07.33

🏆 McGuire, Lucas - Boys 11-12 50 Backstroke - 33.90 Old: 35.28

We are proud to announce the swimmers who have achieved the time standards required to qualify for the 2026 Northwest Swim Circuit (NWSC) Invitational! This prestigious end-of-season meet brings together the fastest swimmers across the league, and qualifying is a huge accomplishment.

These athletes have pushed themselves all season and earned their spot through determination, discipline, and speed. Please join us in congratulating our Armada qualifiers:

* The list includes only qualifying times for this meet.

** The invitational caps are awarded once per season per swimmer.