May 2009 Dear Swim Parents, Welcome to the 2009 swim team season! We are looking forward to having a great time with your children in a laid back but organized swim experience. The goal is to create a can do attitude for the newest members of our team and offer constructive support for more experienced swimmers. We have hired Chris Brady, a swim coach with more than 15 years experience, to work with our coaches and help the team. He will be at the pool every Tuesday morning this season. This being our first season as the parent coordinators, we ask you to be patient with us. We need volunteers and ask that you step up when asked. The role of the coach, will be preserved, with your help. We will do what we can to keep our coaches in the pool at practice and pool side during meets. This means that we need your help keeping an extra eye on you swimmers at practice, lining the children up during meets, volunteering to time and process ribbons. Please let us know if you can help consistently, or we will simply ask for volunteers meet to meet. During meets, one of us will be at the table scoring at all times. Last minute line up changes will be handled by the coaches and Mike Interante on the deck. No shows for meets cause undue stress for everyone. In the event of an unexpected absence we ask that you notify us by 4pm. This will give us a few minutes before the meet to make the necessary changes reducing stress for everyone! We will give everyone a handout at the timing with accurate phone numbers for communication purposes. Finally, if you have any concerns, please speak with Loren Dempsey or Diane Conlon as soon as possible. We are all volunteers trying to do our best for the children. If you think we can do something better, let us know. If you are unhappy and speak to other parents, or the coaches, we cannot help resolve your concern. We will not have all the answers but will work to resolve any issue that comes up as quickly as possible. Thank You in advance for making this a great experience for all the children! Loren and Diane Information about Meet Line Ups The goal of this program is to get everyone in the pool during meets. Mike Interrante, an experienced swim coach/coordinator, will work with the coaches to create a line up that works best for our team. Ideally, most, if not all children will get to swim in at least one individual event and a relay at every meet. When possible, we will run second heats, giving less experienced swimmers opportunities to participate on a more competitive level. Second heats are not always possible. They are at the discretion of the referee and host as they will cause the meet to run longer. Every effort will be made to place swimmers in up to 3 events (max allowed per meet). This will mean that swimmers may be asked to swim a stroke that they are still learning (especially 8 and under). Please encourage your child to swim the stroke that works best for the team but do not hesitate to speak with Diane or Loren if this causes undue stress for your child. GHBC i Swim Encouraging the swimmer inside every child! They can do it ….we will help! Practice: This is a summer club swim team. We know that you will have lots of conflicts with practice. Please try to come at least twice each week. If you cannot make the assigned time, please speak to Diane or Loren. Caps: Make sure that your child has a cap if they ordinarily use one. GHBC caps are available for $5. under swimmers to help them and the coaches know where they need to be. If you are uncomfortable with this, please let us know before hand. Many of the little ones wear these markings as a badge of honor and try not to wash it off until their friends can see it ! beforehand. Having a child not show up or telling us at the last minute has cascading effects. Last season, a relay team s had to be scratched because of a no-shows. That’s 3 swimmers, waiting around all meet, that are not able to swim because of the one absence. If we know in advance, we will most likely be able to make adjustments. Having a friend or neighbor show up at a meet and tell us that your child is not going to attend is not helpful. This forces us to frantically make line-up changes at the last minute Once the race begins, you are free to cheer! Thanks for your support! Information for Swim Team Meets · Please check your email for any changes in case of inclement weather. *Meets are rarely cancelled* · If a Meet is scheduled there is no practice unless specifically noted. · Rules dictate that swimmers can swim in up to three events. Ribbons are awarded for 1st, 2nd, 3rd and participant levels. Participant ribbons are awarded to kick boarders and to swimmers who did not win any race in a particular meet. · Swim Meet Schedule will posted in Breezeway and On-Line. PRINT A COPY FOR REFERENCE! · Directions to clubs will be online, emailed at the beginning of the season and posted in breezeway. NEW THIS SEASON
This information has been adapted from the SWA CYO Sharks. The suggestions have helped with smooth seasons for many years. We hope you find the information helpful!
Goggles: Please make sure that your child has a good pair of goggles and that they are adjusted for a proper fit. Often, a swimmer will come up to one of the coaches and ask them to adjust their goggles…right before they are ready to swim. This takes a couple of minutes, not seconds. Time is critical here, so, best to do this at home.
Suits: The league does not require swimmers to all wear a team uniform – but swimmers, especially boys will notice that traditional suits move around and slip during races. Tight fitting suits are best.
Jewelry: Swimmers are not allowed to wear any jewelry . If noticed, the ref will ask the swimmer to step down and not allow them to swim. They will not hold up the meet to ask a swimmer to comply. The concern here is injury and liability.
Writing on Skin: We have found it helpful to write event numbers and lanes on the 10 and
Spectators: Spectators are not permitted on the pool deck during meets. As a parent, if you need to help your child at anytime, just come on the deck. Please leave the pool deck as soon as possible or volunteer to stay and help! We can always us more help.
Absenteeism: If you know that you cannot make a meet, please let one of the coaches know
Cheering on the Team:
Meets can be incredibly loud. That’s fine and it’s what we’re all here for….to have fun and cheer on our kids. But, when an event is about to begin, we need to have the place quiet. Some of the refs have a good handle on keeping it quiet and orderly for the starts, while others just keep going regardless of the noise. When it’s noisy, some of the swimmers cannot tell when to start. They can be a little nervous and miss coaches instructions, the refs “ready” call, or even the whistle or gun. Some swimmers are hearing-impaired and may get a late start because of the noise.