WHAT “EQUIPMENT” DOES MY CHILD NEED?

• Swimsuit - your child can wear whatever swimsuit is most comfortable for them. Team swimsuits are available for meets, but are optional. Typically you want the suit to be as tight as possible to prevent extra drag while racing.
• Goggles - your child will most likely want to wear goggles for practice & swim meets. Remember to test them out diving to make sure they’re secure. Mirrored goggles are available & little relief from the bright sun in the sky.
• Swim Cap - this is 100% personal preference. It reduces drag of hair, helps keep it out of their face, & reduces exposure to the chlorine (ie. swimmer hair). Purchase at registration or see swim rep.

JR SWIM VS COMPETITIVE SWIM?

• Junior swim tends to be for the kids are beyond swim lessons, but not ready to compete yet (lack endurance, legal strokes, etc). Our Jr Swim focuses a lot on getting legal freestyle & backstroke, starts, etc.  Swimmer should be able to complete one length of the pool without holding wall/lane lines & do not show signs of struggle.  
• Competitive swim creates a more challenging practice for those ready.  Children will be asked to swim multiple lengths of pool. Coaches will work with swimmers to learn legal strokes, starts, & turns throughout the season.  Practices will be used to work on technique and build endurance.  
• If you're on the fence, we strongly recommend having your swimmer attend swim clinics. The coaches will observe & help you decide the best placement.

WHAT IF MY KID NEEDS TO MISS PRACTICE?

• Practice is held Monday thru Friday.  We do not have a strict attendance policy, as we understand families go on vacation and/or sign kids up for summer camps.  We ask you communicate any significant absences to the coaches.
• As with any sport, the more practice you get the more progress you'll see!  Coaches will take attendance into account when creating meet lineups, relays, etc., so please encourage your swimmers to come to as many practices as possible!

HOW DO I SIGN MY SWIMMER UP FOR MEET?

• You will see the meets listed under the "Meet & Events" tab.  Next to each meet is a "Meet Entry" button.  By clicking this you will see your swimmers listed.  Please indicate here whether they will/will not be attending the meet.  Swimmers will not be entered in events unless they are marked "attending"
• Please utilize the notes section to let us know if your swimmer is going to be late, needs to leave early, etc.  This communication helps coaches plan entries accordingly.  

I MISSED THE DEADLINE, CAN I STLL SIGN MY SWIMMER UP?

• Our deadline allows the coaches to put time & effort into our team's entries.  If the deadline is missed, you can reach out to the coach to see if it's possible.  Depending on where they are in the process (ie. how late you are) they *might* be able to squeeze your swimmer in.  We can not guarantee they’ll get entry into the meet.  
• We DO NOT do deck entries.  Please do not show up at the meet and asked to have your swimmer put in if they weren't signed up. 

CAN I PICK MY SWIMMERS EVENTS?

• No - parents do not get to pick swimmer events.  There is a notes section in which you can make a suggestion, but coaches have the final say on what events children swim.  We do encourage your swimmers to talk to the coaches about their goals, fears, etc.  

WHAT IS MY CHILD SWIMMING?

• We try to post events for the swimmers at Thursday practice - BUT last minute changes happen!  Swim rep will email out to families - PLEASE check your child is in the meet if you plan on being present or vice versa.  Contact coaches/swim rep if you see a mistake.  We can NOT change events once the meet is created unless an error has been made.  
• Our league allows UP TO 3 individual events & 2 relays.  Due to the size of our team your swimmer will not get to swim the max number of events, but we try our best to get them in as many as we can.  
• SwimTopia has an app that shares your swimmers events once the heat sheet is released by the host team.  Please wait until you get to the meet to mark heats/lanes.    
• When you arrive at the swim meet, you will see a FINAL list of events posted in the team area.   

WHAT IF MY CHILD DOESN'T LIKE THEIR EVENTS?

• Coaches put a lot of thought into a meet lineup.  Your child WILL be entered into events that aren't their favorite.  This is done for a couple reasons: 
  • Swimming is a TEAM sport - our lineups take all teammates into consideration, their strengths and weaknesses.  We also factor in the team we are competing against, as our goal is have a win for our team.  
  • We want our swimmers to grow throughout the season, which requires challenging themselves to take on a race they are afraid of or don't believe they can do.  The smile after accomplishing that feat is worth it! 
  • Coaches strive to get swimmers to swim as many different events as possible in preparation for our end of year Champs meet.  A swimmer must have a time to be entered in the Champs meet, so we want to have as many options as possible when creating our Champs entries.  

***Please refer to our Swim 101 page for helpful meet tips!***

WHAT IF WE CAN'T BE THERE FOR THE WHOLE MEET?

• When you sign your child up for the meet, please indicate in the notes section if your child will be late or need to leave early. We are happy to accommodate your swimmer, but PLEASE communicate this to coaches ASAP.
• PLEASE DO NOT leave a meet early if you have not communicated that to coaches. We've unfortunately had this happen which impacts our team negatively. Not only do we lose points for our team, but more importantly we have very disappointed teammates unable to swim their relays.

CAN I DROP MY SWIMMER OFF FOR THE MEET?

• WE NEED YOU! It takes 50 volunteers to run a home meet - these meets are run on 100% volunteers. It's impossible for them to happen unless we have families help.
• Our team has a volunteer requirement signed at time of registration - 10 points/family. These points are earned by volunteering at our meets. We ask that if your child is participating they have someone (parent, grandparent, nanny, etc) volunteer half of the meet.

HOW DOES MY CHILD KNOW WHEN IT'S THEIR TURN TO SWIM?

• Our team has volunteers that are Age Group Coordinators for 10 & under swimmers. These amazing people will help wrangle our younger swimmers and get them to Clerk of Course (where they get lined up).
• It's helpful if your child is in the team area for our AGC's to grab them when it's their turn to swim. Parents are responsible for their own swimmers. The AGC's are there to help, but are not responsible if your child misses their event.

MY CHILD GOT DQ'ED - WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?

• DQ stands for disqualification.  Like every other sport, swimming has rules and a consequence if the rule is broken.  
• Be prepared for DQ’s - they will happen!  
• DQ’s are a perfect learning/growth opportunity as it provides feedback for coaches & parents to help focus on areas that need improvement.  
• DQ's happen at every level of swimming from beginners to Olympians! 

WHAT HAPPENS IF MY CHILD MISSES THEIR EVENT?

• Accidents happen, but this is why it's important to keep an eye on your child.  Ultimately it is the parent's responsibility to make sure this doesn't happen.  Unfortunately, a missed event can not be "made up"
• Consciously “no showing” for an event (especially relays) negatively impacts the team as a whole, individual teammates, coaches, & volunteers.  
• If your swimmer is entered into a relay and you or your child elect to not participate your swimmer will be removed from consideration for all future relays 

HOW ARE RELAYS DECIDED?

• League rules only award points to a relay heat winning team. As a result of that scoring model our team will always swim their 4 fastest swimmer on the "A" relay.  

WHAT IS CHAMPS?

• This meet is the culmination of our swim season! This is where our whole league comes together to compete!
• Swimmers MUST have participated in 2 dual meets in order to compete at the Champs Swim Meet.
• If your swimmer competes at Champs, this is a commitment for prelims and finals (if they qualify).
• This is a TWO day event:
  • Day one (prelims) - there are two sessions that are run like regular meets. The morning session is for 11 & over swimmers, then a small break before the afternoon session for our 10 & under swimmers. There are multiple heats of each event with swimmers representing all teams in our league.
  • Day two (finals) - The top 12 swimmers from each event return the following day to compete in those races again.
• Timelines, details, etc are sent out by the league closer to the event. Information will be passed along from the Swim Rep as soon as that info is available.