The number of swimmers has been steadily increasing over the last couple of seasons. To ensure that all athletes have a positive experience, we will strictly adhere to our 50-athlete cap. If you want to enhance your chances of making the team, please read SOMO’s Guidelines for Managing Roster Caps During Signup. Athletes must commit to attending all practices, qualifiers, and state competitions. Athletes who make this commitment and do not follow through will need to sit out the next season.
Swimming is one of the most popular sports in the world. Unlike other sports, swimming is a life skill that is taught, first, to ensure safety and, secondly, for sports and competition purposes. Aquatics covers a great variety of swimming skills, from short sprints to longer events and relays.
The SOMO Swim Team is a competitive swim program with a focus on improving swimming speed, endurance, and technique. It is not a recreational or “learn to swim program”. Healthy athletes with current registrations on file who have passed their 18th birthday are invited to try out for the swim team. Athletes are required to have a comfort level with the water and be able to get into the pool and swim two lengths (in some “free-style” fashion). There are usually 6 swimmers in each lane and the pool depth ranges from 3 feet to 12 feet. Dry land exercise sessions on the pool deck increase swimmer strength, flexibility and coordination.
| Coaches | Ed Novak – Head Coach Sport Director – Rachel Maryn |
| Season Dates & Times | Mandatory Parent/Swimmer Meeting – March 7, 11:30 AM to 1:30 PM Practices: Saturdays 11:30 AM to 1:30 PM, starting March 7, 2026 Qualifiers: State Games: June 12 to 14, 2026 at Towson University Signup Begins: Sunday, January 25, 2026 at 6 PM Age: 18 or older as of March 7, 2026 |
| Athlete & Volunteer Registration Expiration Date | Sport’s State Games competition date: June 14, 2026 All Forms must be up to date before the signup date (last Sunday in January). The expiration date on an Athlete’s Registration form, or a Volunteer’s certification, must be after the above State Games competition date to participate in the upcoming season. |
You can find the official Special Olympics Rules, Fact Sheet, Coaching Guide, and other resources at this link: Special Olympics Swimming.
SOMO provides athletes with all equipment required for swimming.
Athletes must purchase team swimsuits from SOMO. Athletes can keep their swimsuits after the end of the season and use them again in subsequent seasons as long as they fit and remain in good condition. All athletes should have a “practice swimsuit” to wear to weekly practices. Athletes need to provide their own goggles and towels. A team t-shirt and shorts will be provided.
Location: Montgomery College Germantown Campus Pool (20200 Observation Drive, Germantown, MD 20876). The pool is located inside the Physical Education Building (PG).
Timing: Practice occurs every Saturday afternoon from 11:30 AM to 1:30 PM. Swimmers should arrive at the pool so they are ready to swim at 11:30 AM with prompt transportation pickup at 1:30 PM.
Mandatory Parent Kickoff Meeting: Parents and swimmers must attend the kickoff meeting held on the first day of practice to learn about our season’s details. After the meeting, swimmers will begin practicing.
Activities: The first two practice sessions are used as team tryout sessions. Athletes must attend the first two tryout/assessment and orientation training sessions. Details about the swim team program will be shared at the mandatory kickoff meeting. Regular practices combine in-water training with dryland training.
The Swim Team will participate in Qualifiers swimming against teams from other Maryland counties. The Team Managers/Head Coach will announce full details for Qualifiers after season start.
The State Competition for Swimming is held at Special Olympics Maryland’s Summer Games at Towson University near Baltimore in mid-June.
Athletes must attend at least 80% of provided practices and participate in both qualifiers to be eligible to compete in Summer Games.
Spaces on the team are limited due to facility and coaching staff limitations. Due to the limited number of team spaces available, athletes who wish to join the swim team must commit to Swimming as their only Spring sport and to attend Summer Games. Swimmers may also participate in Friday Evening Conditioning.
Swimming is both an individual sport and a team sport. Athletes commit to attend all practices and at least two sanctioned qualifying events. Athletes also commit to work with the coaching staff to increase stamina, increase event distances, and increase/improve stroke techniques.
Details about selection to the Summer Games Delegation will be presented by the Head Coach. Our Summer Games Swimming delegation will be a mix of “In-House” athletes and “Day-of” athletes. “In-House” athletes stay with coaches and chaperones in a Towson University dorm. “Day-of” athletes travel to Towson with their chaperone for each day of competition.
Some “Day-of” athletes only participate in 1 day of competition. If you are a “Day-of” athlete, please tell the Head Coach if you wish to only participate in 1 day of competition.
The “In-House” Delegation slots are very limited and have specific requirements for qualification. First, athletes must have a level of independence, appropriate behaviors, and a level of responsibility to be able to follow a schedule consistent with dorm requirements to be considered for housing. In addition, a strong record of attending practice, arriving on-time, and displaying good sportsmanship improve an athlete’s chance of being selected for the “In-House” Delegation.
Our ability to house male athletes overnight in the dorms depends on having male chaperones. At this time, we are very limited in the number of male athletes we can house. All dads/male guardians please consider volunteering as a chaperone. Questions, please contact either the Head Coach or the Volunteer Team Manager.
