Dear Torpedo Families,

We hope you're having a great start to the season! As we dive into summer, we want to provide important information about an exciting end-of-season event: the Greater Richmond Aquatic League (GRAL) Championships, often referred to as “Champs.”

What is Champs?
GRAL Champs is a highly anticipated, multi-day swim meet that brings together swimmers from all 30+ GRAL teams in the Richmond area. It’s a celebration of the hard work and growth our swimmers achieve throughout the summer season. Champs offers an opportunity for swimmers to compete at a larger scale and to wrap up the season with energy, excitement, and team spirit.

When is Champs?
The 2025 GRAL Champs will be hosted at SWIMRVA on the following dates:

• July 19th: 12 and under swimmers
• June 20th: 13 and over swimmers

More specific timing and location details will be shared closer to July..

How Do Swimmers Qualify for Champs?
To be eligible to swim at Champs, a swimmer must:

• Participate in at least two regular-season meets during the 2025 season
• Achieve a time equal to or faster than the JV standard in an event
  • Time Standards are listed out by Age group and are based on the metric of pool raced (yards or meters)
  • GRAL 2025 Time Standards

Champs T-shirt Design Competition: This year GRAL has opened the 2025 Champs t-shirt design to the swimmers and their adults to put on their creative swim caps. The winning design will be selected by the GRAL Exec Board and showcased on this year's shirt!

• Submit designs by June 22nd
• Design requirements: high resolution image in PDF, JPEG, PNG, 300dpi or greater
• Email design to: [email protected]

Our coaches work closely with swimmers throughout the season to help them improve and understand their chances of qualifying. Even if your swimmer is newer to the sport, Champs is a goal worth striving for—it’s an exciting motivator and a great team bonding experience!
If you have any questions or want to know more about how your swimmer can work toward Champs qualification, please feel free to reach out to our coaching staff or parent board. We’re here to support every swimmer, whether they’re aiming for Champs or just learning to love the sport.

Let’s have a fantastic season, Torpedoes!

Brooke Joyce
Champs Coordinator
Twin Hickory Aquatics Team