SEEEYA SWIM TEAM

• Meeting notes
  • Jan 6, 2009
  • Feb 9, 2009
    

 Swim team members must be a full member of the YMCA.

 Swim team members must be swimming at Minnow level (should be able to swim both freestyle and backstroke and be able to complete one full lap if 8 or under or two full laps if over 9).

  Communication:

• This website (check back frequently)
• Family Mailboxes (located in the observation room)
• Bulletin Board (located in the observation room)

  Sign up for Saturday swim meets by the end of evening practice on Tuesdays (sign up sheet will be posted on the bulletin board).

  For dual/tri-meets, the coaches will decide what events each swimmer will swim.  For invitationals, parents/swimmers will choose the events that they want to swim and will pay a fee (usually $2-$5 per event) for each event chosen.

  Saturday swim meets begin around 1:00 pm; warm-ups begin around 12:00 noon  (unless otherwise specified).

  Parent's Board Meetings will be held at 6:00 pm at the YMCA on the 1st Tuesday of each month beginning in September.  Please plan to attend -- issues are discussed, the financial status of the team is discussed, meets and invitationals are planned, and parental responsibilities are assigned.

This section is dedicated to 'first-year' parents to assist them in preparing for the first meet of the season.  First off, I want to encourage all of you to not be afraid to ask questions!  We were all in your shoes once! 

Preparing for a meet

• Expect that dual meets typically last about 4 hours.
• Bring:
  • Blanket to sit on (in the 'holding' area which is the gym during home meets).
  • 2 Towels ( some people like to bring one towel per event swam, usually four)
  • 2 sets of goggles and swim caps
  • Snacks - we have a concession stand in the gym during meets and we typically provide hot dogs, sloppy joes, fresh veggies, chips, candy, brownies.
  • Stuff for kids to occupy their time as they wait their turn in the pool.
  • Folding chairs
• Wear LAYERS as it tends to be 'tropical' inside the pool area and cool in the holding area.
• Bring a POSITIVE attitude to the meets  

At the home meets, we use the gym as our 'holding' area as the swimmers wait to swim their events.  There will be a whiteboard set up by the doors that will be periodically updated to let us know what events are in the BULLPEN which is in the observation room.  (The bullpen is where swimmers go to 'line up' for their events to find out what heats and lanes they will be swimming in).

After your child swims his/her event, encourage them to check with their coaches for any feedback and coaching. 

Please arrive at the home meets at 11:45am to find out what events your child will be swimming in.  The event list will be posted on the gym wall.  (You should be able to find it easily - there will be many swimmers and parents standing around a certain spot before warmups start   ).  Bring a pen or permanent marker to write down the events on your child(ren)'s hand (and  yours) so everyone can remember what events they are swimming.  Warmups start at 12noon for the host team.  The visiting team warms up at 12:30.  So, PLEASE be prompt.

Every parent is required to help run the meet.  You can sign up for either half of the meet.  There should be a signup sheet posted in the observation room a week prior to each home meet.  Various assignments include:

• Timers (2 each lane)
• Head Timer (Has extra stopwatches in case a timer doesn't start his/her watch on time)
• Runner (Brings in the time cards from each lane after each event)
• Bullpen (Lines up swimmers in the right heat and lane prior to going to the blocks)
• Concessions (Help set up and run the concessions in the gym)
• Scoring (Run the hytek program and verify times)
• Officials (Must be YMCA certified - Run the meet, watch swimmers)

Equally important, we need people to help with set up and take down. 

Here are some terms or words you may hear being used at the meet and their definitions:

• Bullpen - The area where swimmers report before each event to receive their lane assignments.
• Deck  - The area immediately around the pool. 
• Event - The race in which the swimmer will participate.  For example - 25 Fly, 25 Free, 100 IM
• Heat - A race in a single event.  An event may have more than one heat, depending on how many swimmers and lanes.
• Seed - The placement of a swimmer within an event based on individual time (the swimmer's best time for that event).
• Seed Time - The swimmer's time for the particular event.
• DQ - This means the swimmer was disqualified for a technically incorrect kick, stroke, turn, start or finish.