Thornhill is a fun and inviting community with activities for all ages. Our swim team is a true community event. Many of our neighbors volunteer to assist, and others just enjoy a leisurely stroll down to the pavilion to join with their neighbors to encourage our team members (and for a little snack) on swim meet nights!
The Tornados, the youth swim team for the Thornhill neighborhood, is part of the Greater Charlotte Swim League. We compete with other local swim teams each summer. The team provides another opportunity to enjoy our community, for both the swimmers, their parents, and the entire neighborhood!
Our Objectives
To paraphrase our league’s motto, Let the children swim! We strive to provide the encouragement and fellowship to allow each child to grow and enjoy their world. We expose the children to the true sense of community, by observing their parents and neighbors volunteering to fill the various roles, that make the swim season successful. While our focus is our children, a secondary objective is that their parents get to know their neighbors as well!
It Takes A Whole Village!
It requires a significant effort to enjoy a successful swim team season. The team members’ parents have significant opportunities to assist. And the team really encourages additional community support. Our neighbors are very active in assisting the team, by helping with Swim Meet duties. Some of our neighbors actively support the team by cheering our children while attending the swim meets. While other neighbors support us by involving their business as one of our sponsors.
To minimize the uncertainty, we keep our community informed in many ways. On this site, we have articles on What Happens At A Swim Meet, Volunteer Roles to support the team, and even Maps to assist our members get to the swim meets. Check out our Parents Information page for more details for our swimmers and their parents.
You are cordially invited to join in, meet with your neighbors, and have a good time!
Sponsors
The swim team has received support from many businesses within our community. We certainly appreciate their support and we would ask you to consult our list of sponsors to meet your needs. Whether you are simply looking for a quick snack, groceries, or selling property, we ask that you consider one of our sponsors to meet your needs.
Organization
The Thornhill Swim Team has now officially been recognized by the IRS as a Public Charitable tax exempt organization under 501 (c) (3) of the Internal Revenue Code. (NOTE: This does not mean that our annual dues are deductible.) More information was published in the Thornhill Reporter Winter 2009 Edition, Finances.
Season
Our year begins in January, when the Team Reps start meeting with the GCSL, Greater Charlotte Swim League, to discuss the new season. By March, most of the dates have been set and verified with the competing team, as well as the hosting pool facility. Now the work begins! Sponsors need to be approached, coaches need to be contracted, Volunteer schedules created, and the community must be informed to enlist their support for our team.
As April rolls around, team member registration starts. In May, the children brave the cold waters as team practice begins after school. The individual teams schedule their competitions in June. In July, the select swimmers compete in the All Star competition held at the MCAC in Uptown. With any luck, this still leaves six weeks for the family before school restarts!