WELCOME TO A GREAT NEW YEAR!

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Dwayne Bryan
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1 Davis Aquadarts Volume 1, Issue 1 Sept WELCOME TO A GREAT NEW YEAR! Davis Aquadarts is a United States Swimming program located in Davis CA. For information about the program please feel free to contact the coaching staff at: Davis Aquadarts PO Box 186 Davis, CA swimdavis@yahoo.com We offer programs for elite level swimmers to seasonal -beginning swimmers. Every athlete ready for swim team in Davis has a place on the Aquadarts. Special points of interest: Welcome to the TEAM Keeping your swimmer engaged Fall Meet Schedule Meet Checklist Coach Contacts WELCOME TO THE 2011 Fall Season We want to welcome all our new and returning fall swimmers to the Aquadart swim program. The most important part of getting introduced to the program is going to be communication. Here are some important things that everyone should know about our communication methods: 1. s are sent out from the Aquadart website. If you are not receiving s please Coach Billy (swimdavis@yahoo.com) so we can make sure to add you. 2. Your Aquadart account - You can add addresses and edit your personal information on the Aquadart website. Please feel free to play around with your account once you sign-in. 3. Weekly Announcements & Newsletters - We will be ing out and posting the weekly announcements and newsletters on the Aquadart website. 4. Contact your coach - The coaches s are on the back page of this newsletter. Please feel free to contact your group coach directly with any questions you may have. How to keep your swimmer engaged! What is the secret to getting swimmers interested, engaged, and passionate about swim team? The best advice is GET INVOLVED AND PARTICIPATE! Swimmers: Get your swimmer involved by attending regular practices, meets, and social events. Swim meets are the best social environment created in our sport. Friendships and personal achievement are great motivators for kids. The swimmers that stick with our sport literally Dive in Head First. Parents: Get involved! Volunteer to help at meets or social events. Volunteering will create your own friendships and understanding of the sport of swimming. Ask questions! Please come to the parent meeting and ask as many questions as possible. your coach if you have any questions.

2 Page 2 West Coast Swim Shop The Davis Aquadarts have begun a great relationship with West Coast Swim Shop. West Coast has a store located in Folsom CA but they have created an online website specifically designed for the Davis Aquadart swimmers. Check out their site ( Click on team portal in the lower left corner and then click on Davis Aquadarts. Check out all our team gear and training equipment. West Coast will be working our Davis swim meet on September 23rd 25th. If you call them by Wednesday the 8th you may be able to get a suit delivered to the Davis swim meet. Check out the order form on the back pages of this newsletter. We are a speedo sponsored program. Please do your best to order suits and equipment that are speedo products. This will also help to support the Aquadarts! SAVE THE DATE: Aquadart team shirts and caps will be given out at the Davis Meet in Sept. Swimmers not attending can get them at practice after the meet. New Parent meeting is scheduled for Sept 7th from 6:15pm - 7:15pm. Please attend to ask questions and learn more about the Aquadart program. Swimming Websites that can be very helpful: 1. Davis Aquadarts ( - We will update the team news and send information. Dart swimmers can sign up for our meets and parents can sign up for parent volunteer jobs. 2. Swim Connection ( - Check this site out for results and upcoming swim meets. 3. Swim Connection (Meet Entries) - (ome.swimconnection.com) - This is the site to enter swim meets. 4. Sierra Nevada Swimming ( - This is the site for our LSC. Time standards and information is available for you to view. 5. USA Swimming ( - Times, information, results, and other information can be found. Time standards for all levels can also be found. 6. Swimming World ( - Swimming news and information on the breaking news regarding our sport. 7. Pacific Swimming ( - We end up attending a lot meets including Far Westerns that occur in Pacific swimming LSC.

3 Page 3 Aquadart Meet Schedule September Sept. 9th (4pm 7pm) Davis FUN Meet Davis, CA Arroyo Pool This meet is open to all new, beginning, intermediate, and younger Aquadart swimmers. Sign-ups will be on the Aquadart website. Sept Davis Home Meet Davis, CA This meet is open to all Aquadart swimmers. Swimmers should sign up on swim connection (ome.swimconnection.com). October October 8 (12pm 5pm) Dual Meet with BAC & VACA Davis, CA This meet is for our Group 5 and Group 6 swimmers. Sign-ups will be on the Aquadart website (aquadarts.org) October 7-9 California Capital Meet Roseville, CA This meet is open to all Aquadart swimmers except Group 6. Sign-ups are on swim connection. October Lodi Pumpkin Meet Lodi, CA This meet is open to all Aquadart swimmers except Group 6. Sign-ups are on swim connection. We will not have coaches attend on Sunday of this meet. October 22 (12pm 5pm) Senior Tri-Meet with AH and DACA Davis, CA This meet is for our Group 5 and Group 6 swimmers. Sign-ups will be on the Aquadart website (aquadarts.org) October 23rd Aquadart Team Banquet Davis, CA We are having our team banquet in Davis. More info to come! November Nov 5-6 Redding Meet Redding, CA This is a team scored swim meet. All aquadarts are encouraged to attend this meet to support the team. Entries will be on swim connection. Hotel blocks will also be sent out to our families. Nov Marlins Meet Folsom, CA This meet is open to all Aquadart swimmers except Group 6. December Dec 2 4 Husky Invite Seattle, WA This is a senior level qualifying meet. This is a shave/taper meet for the Group 5 & 6 swimmers. Dec. 2 4 Woodland Meet Woodland, CA This meet is open to all swimmers not attending any other meets in December. Dec 8 10 Junior Nationals Austin, TX JR Nationals Dec Age Group Champ Meet Sac City College Indoor Championship meet for our age group level swimmers.

4 Page 4 Time Standards (Motivating Our Swimmers) Each year, USA Swimming establishes time standards, or "Cuts" for each of its major meets, from BB or age group meets through Olympic Trials, swimmers are always striving to make their next cut. In this section, you'll find all the information you need to move up to the next level, whatever that may be. Age Group Standards C - This standard is achieved automatically when a swimmer finishes a legal race. B - This is the first standard that swimmers should try to achieve BB or JO - This is the standard that qualifies swimmers for the Junior Olympics A - AAAA - These levels of A times allow for motivation to continue to work to improve FW - Far Westerns is the top Age Group meet in the country Senior Standards One cut regardless of age. JR+ - This is the beginning level to senior swimming. Sectionals - This is the first senior level meet on the USA Swimming schedule JR Nationals - This is the top meet for 18/U swimmers in the USA. SR Nationals - This is the USA National Championships. Olympic Trials - Qualifying for the 2012 Olympic Trials in Omaha Nebraska. This is the 51st year of the Davis Aquadarts! DART PINS Bronze Medal Pin Any swimmer that achieves 5 or more best times at a swim meet. Silver Medal Pin - Any swimmer that achieves 7 or more best times at a swim meet. Gold Medal Pin - Any swimmer that achieves 10 or more best times at a swim meet. Rainbow Pin Any swimmer that competes in a relay at a Team Scored meet. Parent Participation Policy Please Volunteer We still need volunteers for the Davis swim meet on September 23rd 25th. Parents can sign up on the Aquadart website on a first come, first serve basis. The Aquadarts depend on volunteers to run the team successfully, and each family is required to participate. The swim year is considered to be September to August and families will be required to volunteer a minimum of 15 hours per swim year. Falldarts is not included in the policy.

Page 5 Swim Meet Checklist Team Suit - Always pack a spare suit (they do fall apart sometimes!). For championship meets, remember to pack your performance suit and warm-up suits.

5 Page 5 Swim Meet Checklist Team Suit - Always pack a spare suit (they do fall apart sometimes!). For championship meets, remember to pack your performance suit and warm-up suits. Team Swim Cap - Pack two, they tear easily! Team T-Shirt - To ward off the chill and look like a team. Goggles - At least two pair (straps break!). You can also pack extra straps, so favorite goggles can be saved (but, replacement takes time - thus the need for an extra pair). Always alternate two pair during practice. NEVER wear untested, new goggles at a meet. Deck Sandals - There s plenty of ways to pick up infection and get injured around the pool. MAKE them wear sandals on EVERY pool deck - inside or outside! Gloves/Socks - meets during cold weather require you to keep your hands & feet warm for better performances. Towels - Pack at least two (big ones). Everything around the pool gets wet! Something Warm to Wear - Team parka or warm up suit, or sweats and Team fleece jacket; if it s not a article of team apparel at LEAST make sure it has team colors! Ear Drops (for those prone to ear infections) Usually, a vinegar/alcohol solution in a glycerin base - you don t want to deal with swimmer s ear. Use after practice and meets. Baby Powder - To lightly dust inside of swim caps after drying them; keeps them from sticking together and makes them easier to put on! (A sample size will last a long time.). Toiletries - Swim shampoo, conditioner, hairbrush, comb, contact solution, girls-only stuff, deodorant, and other bathroom stuff. A DRY Change of Clothes - For after the meet (to remain dry in a swim bag they must be in a separate compartment or Ziploc bag!). INHALERS - If your child is asthmatic, this is the most important thing they own. Different environments have different triggers that can set off an attack. Tell the coach if your child has asthma and where they can find their inhalers! Pack their inhalers! Same for other medications. Entertainment Items - Books (for reading and school work), MP3/CD player (with earphones), CDs, Gameboys, playing cards, etc. There s lots of time between events! Extra Plastic Bags - For keeping things dry (various sizes) Sunscreen - Get a waterproof type and put it on before you get to the meet (it needs time to soak in). Put it on again after a couple of hours. It s a good idea to have Sunglasses and a Hat. Families can change any personal information on the aquadart website.

6 Page 6 Measuring Achievement By Coach Carolee Gregg How does one measure success in swimming? Obviously, the stopwatch is a good measure of this if the time is faster, there is improvement! However, as a swim coach, I measure improvement in many other different ways also. Here are some of the measures of success I look at in swimming: Making corrections in swimming is the swimmer trying hard in practice to fix technique? Is the swimmer listening to the coach and trying to implement the suggested changes? Is the swimmer willing to come to swim meets and try new events and races? Is the swimmer trying hard throughout the whole practice not only for parts of practices? Is the swimmer coming to practices on a regular basis? Is the swimmer improving times on training sets repeated throughout the season? These are just a few of the measures a coach can use to see improvement in a swimmer, and how a swimmer can measure their own success. This leads to the question of rewarding swimmers for achievement what measures do we use there? For Aquadarts, we have many different rewards for swimming achievement, beginning with ribbons from swim meets. At some meets, all kids get ribbons (i.e. Summerdarts) or treats (Friday Fun Meets), but at the majority of our meets, only a select few will get ribbons. Because we know that many kids, especially new and younger swimmers, measure their success by ribbons, at Aquadarts we offer many different ways for kids to be rewarded for their swims, including: Posters: at our big meets, we have the kids sign a poster and place a sticker by their name for every best time or good swim Dart Tattoos: given at meets for best times or good swims (don t worry - they are temporary tattoos!) Darts: pins given after meets based on the number of best times swum in one meet (5-6 best times = Bronze Dart; best times = Silver Dart; 10 best times = Gold Dart). Rainbow Darts: for swimming on a relay at a championship team scored meet Newsletter recognition for achieving new time standards. US swimming has set time standards for all swimmers for each age group and each event/distance (B, BB, A, AA, AAA, SNRT, NRT). Swimmers can track their achievement by trying to achieve new standards with each meet. Additionally, each fall we have a team Awards Banquet, where swimmers have further opportunity to be recognized for their swim achievements. At the banquet, swimmers can earn the following:

7 Page 7 A trophy based on their highest level of time standard achieved (B, BB, A, etc) during the year (Sept.1-Sept.1). To earn a trophy, swimmers must have been an Aquadart for two quarters during the year, and must have swum at one of the designated meets (listed in the newsletter each year; examples would be any team-scored meet, JO s) Five Star award: earned at least a B time in each of the four strokes and the IM Gold Star award: earned at least an A time in each of the four strokes and the IM Team Record recognition: we track team records and note this achievement at the banquet Our annual Awards Banquet will be held this year on October 24. We encourage everyone, including swimmers new to the team, to attend. It s a fun evening with lots of good food and good company, and it s a great way to see the huge successes and achievements our swimmers have earned through the year. Last Year Aquadart Highlights and Awards: The Aquadarts won the 2011 LCM Junior Olympic Championships by over 500 points The Aquadarts also won the Redding AGO & JR+ meets The Aquadarts had multiple senior swimmers sign to compete in college (UOP, Clairmont McKenna, Wagner College, and The United States Merchant Marine Academy) The team had three individual High School Section Champions and multiple relay champions The Aquadarts had fourteen Aquadart swimmers ranked in the top 20 in the USA for their age group. There are some beautiful sun sets at all the Davis pools during the year! This one was at Arroyo during a practice last February!

8 Page 8 How to Sign-up for Swim Meets & Events Local USA Swimming Meets - Swim Connection New Aquadart Swimmers: We will not register our swimmers for their USA insurance until after Sept 1st so we get a 2012 card. If we registered you today, you would get a 2011 card and owe another $72 in Jan. We want to wait to save everyone $72 for the 2012 year. If you are going to enter the meet please follow the following directions below to get through the system. New UNREGISTERED SWIMMERS go to the website (ome.swimconnection.com): 1. If you are NEW click on "ENTER MEETS" instead of signing in. 2. Click the "Davis BB" Meet on the list of meets 3. Click "Online Meet Entry" 4. Click "I am not a registered OME User" 5. Fill out the information reguired and then click "Continue" 6. Click "Enter Swimmer" Tab 7. Click "Enter all info manually" 8. Fill out all the information required. Two important steps at this point are that you don't have a registration number yet so check the PENDING box. The other is that our team code is DAV for Davis Aquadarts. 9. You can enter times with the events you would like to swim or enter "NT" for those events. NT stands for No Time. It is good to start off with NT for a first meet if you aren't sure about your times. 10. Click "SAVE" on the bottom of the page 11. Click "GO TO PAYMENT PAGE". You must pay for the events to be officially entered in the meet. This process gets much easier as soon as you receive your USA ID Number. The system will store your information and times and link your swimmers to your log-in information. You will be able to get through the meet entry process in a snap. Signing up for a meet on the Aquadart Website: Sometimes we will host dual meets or fun meets in Davis and have swimmers sign up on the Aquadart website. Here are the directions for signing up for a meet on 1. Sign-in on the Aquadart website 2. Click on the event on the Aquadart website. 3. Click on the Attend this event 4. Click on the swimmers name linked with your account. 5. Click on the Declaration Yes 6. On some events swimmers will be asked to sign up for specific events.

9 Team Communication Coach Contact Information If you have any questions, please feel free to the coaching staff or board members directly. Head Swim Coach Billy Doughty (251) Head Age Group Coach Bill Henderson Senior Assistant Oliver Spees Head Summerdart Coach, Office Manager, & Aquadart Coach - Carolee Gregg Carolee Gregg (clbgregg@aol.com) Age Group Assistants Chris Stoner (chris_stnr@yahoo.com) Katie Swensen (katieswensen@comcast.net) Jamie Owen (jamiepowen@yahoo.com) AQUADART BOARD CONTACTS Treasurer Questions: Tracy Van Deynze (aquadarttreasurer@hotmail.com) Registration Questions: Kathy Csaposs (cfamilyof5@att.net) Parent Volunteer Questions: Kerry Halsted (lkttthalsted@hotmail.com) There is a lot of info on the web: (

Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Swim Meets... But were Afraid (or didn t know enough) to Ask

Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Swim Meets... But were Afraid (or didn t know enough) to Ask Table of Contents About Swim Meets...... 1 But were Afraid (or didn t know enough) to Ask... 1 Registering