Welcome to the Westlake High School Swim Team!

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Vivian Nichols
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1 Welcome to the Westlake High School Swim Team! We hope this handbook helps answer some of your questions. Practices Practices are Monday Friday immediately after the end of 7 th period at Rollingwood Pool regardless of weather. Practices generally last two hours. Dryland practices may be added. More specific information concerning morning dryland practices will be announced by the coach at a later date. Any changes to the practice schedule will be sent via to swimmers and their families. Changes will also be posted to the website Please be certain that we have your current, correct e- mail address. Meets Normally, the team competes in a number of dual meets against area schools during the fall months. Some of these meets will be held at Rollingwood Pool and others will be away meets. Dual meets typically take place immediately after school, approximately once a week, during October and early November. Saturday, September 10th - Intrasquad Meet at Rollingwood (all swimmers!). ALL swimmers are expected to attend. If you have special circumstances please be sure the swimmer talks to Isaac about it. Dual Meet Schedule Dual Meets to be announced A full schedule will be sent via to all swimmers once known and posted on the website. In addition to dual meets, the team will compete in other more selective invitational meets later in the season. In some cases, these meets are out of town. ** Any swimmer attending an out-of-town meet is expected to travel, stay and eat meals with the team.** Tentative Invitational Meet Schedule Friday October 28th - Austin Invitational held at UT, prelims/finals format. Thursday, late October 13th Round Rock Invitational, Round Rock This meet will be in a timed final format. More information will be forthcoming. Fri/Sat, November 18 th & 19th TISCA North Dallas. The team historically attends this two day meet at Loos Pool. Information for this year s meet will be available on the TISCA website at There are time standards that must be met for this meet. Check the website to see if you are eligible. The school does not pay for a charter bus for this meet. In previous years, parents of swimmers attending this meet have paid for the charter bus (approx. $90); the Chap Club pays for the hotel. Swimmers will need money for food and incidentals; meals will be planned in advance by parent volunteers. Once a swimmer commits to swim in this meet, the swimmer is liable for their portion of the bus fare, whether they swim or not.

2 Fri/Sat, January 27 th and 28th Districts the coaches will determine who will swim at the District Meet. This meet is held at the UT Swim Center. Prelims are on Friday and finals are Saturday. Fri/Sat, February 10 th and 11th Regionals The Woodlands Swimmers qualify for Regionals by placing in the top 6 in their events or relays at the District Meet. The school pays for this charter bus and the hotel and the swimmers receive a meal stipend. However, most swimmers bring additional money for snacks and drinks and t-shirts at the meet. Healthy team meals (pasta, chicken, salads) are planned in advance by the parent volunteers and the coaches. Fri/Sat, February 24th and 25th State- UT Swim Center- Those individuals who qualify at Regionals will swim at the State Meet. The first place finisher in each event from each of the 8 regions in Texas automatically qualifies. The next 8 swimmers in each event qualify based on the next 8 fastest times from all of the Regional Meets. This same system of qualification also extends to relays, although the coach has final say on who will compete on each qualifying relay. The call-up list is typically posted within hours of the completion of the Regional meets on the Texas Interscholastic League Website. The coach may adjust the meet schedule, perhaps adding another dual meet in the fall and another invitational in early to mid-january. Coaches prefer that swimmers attend at least 1 or 2 of the expected invitationals. TISCA North generally is an excellent meet for our team and swimmers are highly encouraged to attend. Please ask the coaches if you have questions about what meets you are eligible for. Team Spirit Team spirit is important and all swimmers are encouraged to attend local meets (especially District and State meets) and show their WHS spirit. Even if you are not swimming, it is appropriate to attend and cheer on your teammates. Check with the attendance office regarding excused absences (if you are not competing). Parent Team Spirit Parents are encouraged to sit together and cheer on the Chaps. In addition, especially for out of town meets, information will be announced for parents to get together for dinner so parents can meet together and cheer on the Westlake swimmers. Meet the Team Picnic We will have our Fourth Annual Meet-the-Team Picnic on TBD date at Rollingwood Pool following practice (beginning between 5 and 5:30 pm). At that time we will have sign-ups for spirit dinners, the opportunity to purchase team apparel and a chance to ask any questions you may have. BRING YOUR CHECKBOOKS!!! WE WILL BE COLLECTING ALL TEAM FEES AND TAKING MERCHANDISE ORDERS AT THIS TIME. This will be a great opportunity to meet other parents and swimmers and talk to the coaches without a meet going on in the background. We hope we will be able to provide good information and a good time. Parent volunteers will be serving pizza, cookies and drinks! Communications Team Communication will be handled through . Please make sure you check it daily and add jrdirvin@sbcglobal.net to your safe list. We will ask for parent and swimmer s at the meet the team picnic, but you are welcome to send your address (if we do not already have it) to me prior to that date so that we have you in the loop immediately! There will sometimes be messages that need immediate attention. All messages will also be posted to the WHS Swim Team website.

3 Team Parents are Rhonda Dirvin, Kim Bohls, Maureen Franklin, Agneta Glenesk, Gayle Kirkpatrick, Minerva Martinez, Jennie Prideaux, Carrie Thomas, Karen Thomas, Kathy Sweet, Lori Snyder, Stacey Ussery and Cynthia Woltemath. If you'd like to be a team parent (this means volunteering to work for the team) please contact Rhonda Dirvin at jrdirvin@sbcglobal.net. Please call or any of us with questions or ask the coaches! Typically communication is almost weekly with meet and other calendar information, kudos, important updates and so on.

4 Team Fees Team fees include one Team T-Shirt per swimmer, as well as Spirit Breakfast & Dinner, Team Poster, and Coach Sponsorship. These fees help cover the costs for the Meet the Team Picnic, Spirit Dinners, snacks and drinks at meets, team breakfasts, gifts for coaches, printing and administrative costs, and help defray some expenses for the end of year banquet. Per UIL rules, athletes may accept no money or valuable consideration, therefore we collect the money up front for the Spirit Dinners. This practice safeguards all athletes eligibility. Spirit Dinners The team hosts four Spirit Dinners during the season at the home of a WHS Swimmer. These dinners are for all swimmers on the team (whether you are swimming at a particular meet or not!) to build team spirit and to get to know each other. Due to practice schedules, the dinners are typically held on the Sunday before a major meet. The host house is responsible for the main course; other families sign up to help with drinks, salads, dessert, etc. Spirit Dinners usually last about an hour and a half to two hours. Even though the Spirit Dinner is pre-paid, swimmers still need to RSVP to the host family prior to each dinner. The hosts need to know how many swimmers will attend the dinner to prepare accordingly. s with Spirit Dinner details and RSVP info will be sent out prior to each dinner. Before the State meet, traditionally the team meets at a local restaurant for dinner (Macaroni Grill) early in the week before the meet. All swimmers are encouraged to attend and support the State qualifiers! At this dinner, each swimmer pays for his/her own meal. Team Breakfast This year we are introducing team breakfasts, which will occur approximately once a month before school starts. More information will be forthcoming. WHS Swim Team Website There is a Westlake High School Swim Team website. It will include the roster, schedule, important dates and messages. As the season progresses, it will be updated to include photos, meet results, a copy of this team handbook and other news items. Chap Club Membership You are strongly encouraged to join the Chap Club. All Westlake teams benefit from the Chap Club, directly or indirectly. The hotel rooms at the TISCA North meet are paid for by the Chap Club through the athletic office and we have asked them in the past for new team uniforms, equipment and pop up tents. Membership forms are available online at the Chap Club website ( and will also be available at the Meet the Team picnic. Basic Membership is $50. It is easier for the coach or team reps to ask for monetary support from the Chap Club if we have as many families join as possible!

5 Pictures Tentatively scheduled for before the first Spirit Dinner - Sunday, October 23th. Team Apparel T-shirts, team suit, sweatshirt, fleece, pool towel, car decals, lawn signs and silicon caps will be available to order at the Meet the Team Picnic. All apparel is available to swimmers, parents, siblings, etc. Latex Caps are part of school issued equipment. Team Suits A team suit is not required. This year a team suit will be available for sale, but it is not required that you purchase it. At meets, Isaac requires that swimmers wear a Westlake High School Chap cap, either a purchased silicon cap or the school issued latex cap. Please remember that FINA issued a ruling against the "high tech" suits and UIL is following their lead. At this point, girl's suits must not go past the shoulder or knee and boy's suits can't go beyond the waist or knee. Please do not buy a new expensive swim suit without consulting Isaac. Your swimmer may not be able to wear it. School Issued Equipment Speedo swim bags, parkas, warm-ups, t-shirts and shorts are issued to each swimmer after the team is determined. All equipment issued by the school is expected to be returned clean and in good condition at the end of the school year. These items are not purchased by the swimmers, but are school owned equipment. Items not returned will be charged to the swimmer and obligations not met could prevent a Senior from graduating. Instructions on when and where to return equipment will be given after the end of the swim season. Latex caps should not be returned. Wearing of Team Clothing Per UIL rules, students are considered to be representing their school if they are wearing and/or using school equipment or being directed or transported by a school employee. This includes caps, parkas, and warm-upsanything supplied by the school! Please do not wear school-issued clothing at a USA (club team) meet or that meet could count toward the 8 meet UIL rule stating that No student representing a participant school shall participate in more than 8 meets during the school year, excluding one district meet, the regional meet and the state meet. Varsity Letters All swimmers attending the District meet will automatically letter. It is up to the coaches discretion to award letters to other swimmers based on their performance. All varsity letter swimmers will be announced at the end of the season. Information regarding orders for letter jackets, blankets, additional patches and insignia will be passed along as it becomes available. Typically a representative visits the school in late spring to take these orders.

6 Banquet The Swim Team Banquet is scheduled in March. Our banquet is historically held in the Chap Court at Westlake and is catered by an outside vendor. Letters and participation certificates, awards and Senior recognition and a slide show are all part of the banquet. Swimmers and their parents and families are all welcome to attend. E- mail reminders and formal invitations will be mailed in late February. The cost is usually around $20 per person, including the swimmer (see UIL rule about no valuable consideration ). This covers the cost of the meal, decorations, custodial crew assistance with set-up and clean-up, Tech Crew assistance for our slide show, additional funds for coach s gifts, and flowers.

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