Announcement

OP Hammerheads Swim Team celebrates milestone anniversary

Friday, July 18, 2025

(July 18, 2025) The Ocean Pines Swim Team is celebrating its 50th anniversary.

Also known as the Hammerheads, the team was established in 1975 by Virginia “Ginny” Reister. The first season featured just a few local children practicing at the Sports Core Pool, which was then an outdoor facility with a towering diving platform.

The following year, the Delmarva Swim Association (DSA) was established, and the team competed in its first competitive summer swim season. By 1982, OPST started winter clinics in rented indoor pool space, as some swimmers began wanting more than just a six-week summer session.

The team continued to grow, and eventually moved to its current summer home at the Ocean Pines Swim & Racquet Club in the 1980s. In 1988, the Ocean Pines Swim Team was incorporated as a non-profit organization, and articles of incorporation were adopted.

The OPST’s year-round swim team was created in 2010, practicing at the Sports Core Pool from September through May. In 2014, the OPST developed an optional USA swimming component for interested swimmers, and in 2016, the team became an official USA swim team, incorporating all swimmers as members of USA swimming. The 2018-2019 season was OPST’s first winter season where competition was exclusively in USA meets.

In 2019, OPST achieved Level 1 Club Recognition Status through USA Swimming, a voluntary program that provides teams with a working blueprint for developing a strong, stable, financially sound, and athletically productive organization.

Today, OPST is a USA Safe Sport Certified team, with over 80 year-round swimmers ages 5-18, 140 DSA summer swimmers, a full-time Head Coach, and several part-time Assistant Coaches.

OPST has also launched a developmental competitive program for the team’s youngest swimmers, Pups, focusing on technique and form right from the start. The program helps prepare Hammerheads for the future.

The nonprofit organization is run by an all-volunteer Board of Directors. Since day one, OPST has been run by dedicated parents who pour in countless hours to keep the team running. Every single parent on the team volunteers their time in one way or another. The team relies on a combination of member dues, sponsorships, and fundraising to ensure sustainability and help with various expenses.

The discipline, determination, friendships, laughter, and a shared love of the sport binds the OPST together and keeps them coming back year after year. The team says it has a long legacy of former members returning as coaches or bringing their own children, even grandchildren, to follow in their footsteps.

The Hammerheads are wrapping up their 50th summer season with a strong 5-1 record, and they’re not done yet. It all comes down to the DSA Championship Meet on Saturday, July 26th. The team says the swimmers are ready to bring the Hammerhead heart, grit, and spirit.

You can learn more about the Ocean Pines Swim Team on their website: https://www.opsthammerheads.org/page/home or find them on Facebook by searching “Ocean Pines Swim Team Hammerheads”.

Announcement

OP Hammerheads Swim Team celebrates milestone anniversary

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