HOPEWELL, Va. — Since 2014, SwimRVA and Hopewell City Public Schools (HCPS) have partnered to deliver life-saving Learn-to-Swim lessons to every second grader in Hopewell’s elementary schools. What began as a shared commitment to water safety has grown into a comprehensive aquatics initiative that now expands competitive and career-building opportunities for Hopewell students.

Thanks to HCPS’s balanced calendar and an expanded collaboration with the Hopewell Community Center, this long-standing partnership has opened an extraordinary new chapter. For the first time in more than 40 years, students from Hopewell High School and Carter G. Woodson Middle School can now compete as members of a new, school-based competitive swimming team, officially bringing the Blue Devils back to the pool.

Beginning this fall, Hopewell High School and Carter G. Woodson Middle School are able to compete through their ongoing collaboration with SwimRVA. Unlike many high school sports, no prior swimming experience is required. There are no tryouts, only a willingness to show up, work hard, and grow as a team.

The after-school program is led by SwimRVA’s experienced coaches and instructors and is designed to meet swimmers at every skill level. Coaches guide structured workouts on deck while instructors support skill development in the water, creating a safe, engaging, and confidence-building team experience. Competition-ready swimmers train at an advanced level, while newer swimmers progress toward racing, all within the same supportive environment.

During the season, swimmers will compete twice, once at their home pool at the Hopewell Community Center and once at SwimRVA’s regional aquatics facility, SwimRVA-CSAC. High school swimmers with prior competitive experience may also qualify to participate in Virginia High School League (VHSL) events, including one of two VHSL invitationals hosted at SwimRVA-CSAC and the VHSL Class 3A Regional Championship, also held at the facility.

Beyond competitive swimming, Hopewell students can continue their aquatic journey through additional programs that connect athletics, education, and workforce development. Beginning this spring, high school students may enroll in Lifeguard School, a two-week immersive program that combines swimming skill development with professional rescuer certification.

During the summer, students can also participate in SwimRVA Water Sports Camp, a two-week immersive experience featuring twice-daily swim instruction, aquatic activities, and land-based enrichment programming at the Hopewell Community Center. These experiences build confidence, teamwork, and leadership skills.

Both programs culminate with a behind-the-scenes visit to Kings Dominion Theme Park, where students are introduced to real-world job and career opportunities in water parks and amusement parks, connecting aquatic skills to future employment.

By introducing water safety in elementary school, expanding health and recreation through after-school programming, developing athletic skills in middle school, and preparing high school students for workforce opportunities as professional rescuers, SwimRVA and HCPS are creating a powerful, citywide aquatics continuum that promotes safety, confidence, opportunity, and lifelong success.

The first meet between Hopewell High School and Carter G. Woodson Middle School will take place on Tuesday, December 16, at the Hopewell Community Center, located at 100 W City Point Rd, beginning at 3:45 p.m. and concluding at 4:30 p.m.