Greetings Tornado families! I am excited to share that planning has officially begun for the 2026 Tornado swim team season!

Dust Off the Swim Cap!

For swimmers who haven't been in the water for a while and are looking to get in some pre-season practice:

• MSA's pre-team has a few openings (with weekend options)! Pre-team is open to swimmers with a basic proficiency of freestyle, backstroke and breaststroke; they will work on butterfly. MSA will host an evaluation to confirm whether pre-team or lessons is a better fit.
• SwimMAC has replaced its legacy JSL program with a new "Pre-Competitive Program". It is a once/week class that runs 2/16 - 5/30, and it focuses on stroke technique and diving. It runs a few weeks longer than we'd like given our season will begin mid-May, but it's still a great opportunity for kids ages 6-13 to receive instruction before the summer season begins.

2026 Schedule

The Greater Charlotte Swim League has implemented new divisions across the league that were created to minimize travel time and ensure teams are matched against opponents of comparable size. Thornhill has been assigned to the Purple Division, and we will have some new names in our lineup for this year. The jury is still out on whether this new approach will benefit our team, but we will be positive and see how things go!

Our season timeline once again feels compact, but we will hope for good weather so we can get in the pool early.  And we will of course make sure we have enough time in June to get in all of our fun Tornado traditions! 

Please find important dates about Thornhill's 2026 season below:

• 4/1 - 4/20 -- Swim team registration (details coming in March!)
• 5/12 -- Tornado practices begin
  • 5/12 - 6/10 -- Afternoon practice
    
    • 4 - 4:30 -- Shrimps (ages 5-6)
    • 4:30 - 5:15 -- ages 7-10
      **NOTE: based on enrollment, we may divide this practice into two groups for the first few weeks and shift practice times accordingly.
    • 5:15 - 6:00 -- ages 11+
  • 6/11 - 6/23 -- Morning practice
    • 8:30 - 9:00 -- Shrimps (ages 5-6)
    • 9:00 - 9:45 -- ages 7-10
    • 9:45 - 10:30 -- ages 11+
  • 6/24 - 6/26 -- All-star team practice
• Meet Schedule
  • 5/29 -- Time Trials (home)
  • 6/1 -- @ Bridgemill
  • 6/4 -- HOME vs. Ballantyne
  • 6/8 -- HOME vs. Southampton
  • 6/11 -- @ Ft. Mill YMCA
  • 6/15 -- @ Somerset
  • 6/18 -- HOME vs. Lake Park
  • 6/22 -- Relay Carnival
• Team celebration (date TBD)
• All-Stars: Saturday, 6/27, 9 am, MCAC (Uptown Charlotte)

Additional information about registration will be coming soon. We can't wait to see everyone back at the pool in a few short months!

Go Tornados!

Michelle