SWIM TEAM Registration and Information Packet 2014-2015 Short Course Season
Registration Process 1. Please read the packet carefully. 2. All new swimmers must be evaluated by a coach before they are placed into a practice group. 3. Make sure your YMCA membership is up-to-date at the front desk or if you are new, open a full YMCA membership. 4. Pay the first month s swim team program fee at the YMCA front desk. The program fee will be collected by a monthly bank draft. You cannot register online; you must register at the front desk of the YMCA. Please remember that the YMCA has a NO PAY, NO PLAY policy your child will not be permitted to practice until you have registered and made payment. 5. Complete all registration paperwork and return to the aquatic director at the branch through the front desk. Emergency Medical Form Swim Team Code of Conduct Parent Commitment Contract Volunteer Background Check Form The West Shore Shark Swim Team welcomes you for the 2014-2015 Short Course Swim Season. We look forward to a great season and thank you for being part of our team! Please read the registration packet carefully and make sure all forms and payments are turned in so your child can start to practice September 15.
Our Mission The West Shore Shark Swim Team provides swimmers of all ages and abilities the opportunity to excel in the sport of swimming. Our coaching staff provides swimmers with a structured, challenging and supportive environment that cultivates the spirit, mind and body. We believe success is the result of constant pursuit of excellence in stroke technique and rigorous training. Our goal is to help swimmers develop a life-long appreciation for the sport of competitive swimming and learn lessons through their involvement that can be implemented into all facets of life. Our Vision The vision of the West Shore Shark (WSS) Swim Team is to build an elite swim team focusing on team pride, team unity and team spirit. The WSS swim team shall have as its members swimmers who are well trained, allaround successful individuals; coaches who are role models, both committed and knowledgeable; and parents who are involved, dedicated and supportive. As a YMCA team, it is our goal to ensure that all swimmers, parents and coaches embody the YMCA values of caring, honesty, respect, responsibility and faith.
Practice Groups Swim Team Prep This group will practice twice a week at the YMCA location in which they register. Practices will be twice a week and members of this group will be given detailed instruction on each stroke until strokes are performed legally. They will also work on turns, starts, and finishes for each stroke. Age Group Swim Team - This group will have the option to practice up to four times per week at each of the YMCAs. Instruction for this group will focus on tweaking the strokes to perform them more efficiently and with greater speed. Swimmers in this practice group should be able to perform each of the four competitive strokes legally. Additional practice groups will be added as necessary. The coaching staff has the final decision on practice group placements. YMCA Swim Team Program Fee The YMCA swim team program fees are payable at the YMCA front desk only. The program fee for the 2014-2015 short course swim season are: Swim Team Prep: $200 which will be deferred into 5 monthly payments of $40. This does not mean you are paying by the month; the program fee is being deferred to help families financially. Payments are due on the 15 th of September, October, November, December and January. Age Group Swim Team: $348 which will be deferred into 6 monthly payments of $58. This does not mean you are paying by the month; the program fee is being deferred to help families financially. Payments are due on the 15 th of September, October, November, December, January and February. All swim team members must have a full, active YMCA membership. Membership information is available at the front desk. Financial assistance for the swim team program fee is available to those in need. Please ask for a scholarship application at the front desk.
Swim Team T-Shirt Each swimmer will be provided with a team t-shirt, this is included in the program fee. Team Suits, Caps and Apparel Team suits, caps and spirit wear will be available. More information will follow. Team Cap Policy It is not mandatory that a swim cap be worn, however, if a swimmer chooses to wear a cap at any dual, invitational, USA or championship meet, it must be a WSS team cap. Other swim caps may be worn during practices.
West Shore Shark Swim Team Practice Schedule Group Monday Tuesday Wednesday Friday Age Group 5-6pm @ Lakewood 5-6pm @ West Shore 5-6pm @ Lakewood 5-6:30pm @ West Shore Prep 4:15-5 @ Lakewood 5:15-6 @ West Shore 4:15-5 @ Lakewood 5:15-6@ West Shore NEO League Meet Schedule for 2014-2015 *****Please note dual meets normally last between 3 and 4 hours***** Please note that this schedule is subject to change. October 25, Away vs University Park November 8, Away vs Ashland November 22, Away vs Alliance December 6, Away vs Lake Anna December 20, Away vs Ashtabula January 3, Away vs Wadsworth January 25, Away vs Wooster February 7 or 8 Division Championship TBD March 7 or 8 League Championship TBD
Practice Policy Regular practices are encouraged, the more often a swimmer is in the water, and the quicker the swimmer will improve. Members of the Age Group practice group have the ability to attend practice at any of the two locations. Members of the Prep practice group must attend practice at the location in which they registered. Practice Commitment All swimmers are expected to attend practice on a regular basis. The coaches would like all swimmers to aim for 100% attendance in all groups. We do, however, understand that families also have other commitments. Each day the coaches give valuable instruction and carefully planned workouts. In the world of swimming, there is no such thing as make up work. Consistently missing practice can seriously hinder a swimmer s long term development when it comes to stroke technique and fundamentals. In the situation of a prolonged illness, please notify your child s coach. Meet Commitment Through the course of the YMCA season we have 7 dual meets and 2 championship meets (division championships and league championships). These meats are mandatory for all swimmers although to attend the league championship meet, you must qualify at the division meet. If you cannot attend a meet due to another commitment, it is expected that you notify the coaching staff no later than 7 days prior to the meet. If your child becomes ill, please notify the coaching staff as soon as possible. It is very time consuming for the coaches to put together lineups and relays for a swim meet. We would like to have all the swimmers have a fair chance to swim in relays and in order to do so, we must know who is going to be attending the meet. YMCA Invitational Meets In addition to the 7 dual meets there will be YMCA invitational meets that your child will be able to sign up to participate in. These meets and information packets will be available at practice and registration will occur at the front desk of the YMCA. Invitational meets are a lot of fun. Swimmers are able to choose their own events and have the opportunity to swim events that are not offered at dual meets. They also have a chance to earn ribbons or medals. USA Swimming In addition to being a YMCA team, WSS is also a USA Team. Anybody can become a USA registered swimmer by paying a USA registration fee and be able to participate in additional USA only swim meets. Some advantages of joining USA Swimming are additional meets to enter, opportunities to swim events that are not offered at YMCA meets and swimmers choose their own events. Please remember that YMCA meets are priority over USA meets. You must be a USA member to enter any USA meet.
Team Communication and Other Important Information Since we will be practicing at the three different YMCAs, we will be using email as the primary form of communication. It is very important to make sure you list your current email address at registration and on the emergency form. Please make sure you keep the YMCA and coaches up-todate if your email changes. If you are not receiving email within the first week of practices, please email one of the Aquatic Directors to make sure we have your correct email address. Every swimmer will also have their own mail box within a few weeks. This mailbox will be at the practice site at which you registered. Swim team information, important papers, fundraising info, medals and ribbons will be put in your mailboxes, so please check them regularly. Each practice site will also have a bulletin board, please check it regularly. A lot of information will be posted there including meet information, lineups, volunteer sign-up sheets, fundraising info and zone times among others. Parent meetings will be announced and Aquatic Directors and coaches will be available for question and answer sessions. Parent meetings will be an opportunity for parents to meet one another and also ask any questions they might have. Cleveland YMCA website clevelandymca.org Important Emails, Phone Numbers and Websites Team Website: http://www.clevelandymca.org/swim-teams.html League Website neoyswim.org Zone Website glzyswim.org USA Swimming Website usaswimming.org Head Coach & West Shore Aquatic Director: Carol Dunn cdunn@clevelandymca.org 440 871 6885 Assistant Coach & Lakewood Aquatic Director: Monica Zayd mzayd@clevelandymca.org 216 521 8400
Volunteer Commitment And most importantly, VOLUNTEERING, it s why we are able to have a swim team. It is not only necessary to volunteer but a mandatory swim team obligation. We cannot run a swim meet without many volunteers. Each meet requires at least 25 volunteers not including officials. Please make sure you have read the Parent Commitment Contract and make sure to volunteer and sign up to work at home meets, championship meets and USA meets when required and please volunteer when there are team fundraisers. If your child is entered in any championship meets at the end of the season, YMCA or USA or any invitational meet that requires us to provide volunteers you must be able to volunteer if you enter your child in these meets or find somebody to volunteer in your place. It is not fair when the same group of parents always volunteers their time and other parents do not. Each family will be required to have at least 4 volunteer commitments this season and high school parents are required to have at least 2 volunteer commitments. Failure to meet ALL your volunteer commitments will result in a $100.00 fine at the end of the season. You can earn your volunteer requirements by volunteering at the Lollipop meet, home meets as an official (must be certified), a timer, a runner, concession room helper, event board worker, clean up helper or 50/50 raffle worker or by signing up for duties at our Christmas party, end of the year banquet, helping out at team fundraisers or any other event that may take place this season. Please note that anybody can be trained quickly to do any of the volunteer jobs required except officials need to take a class and be certified. Please feel free to ask questions if you do not understand something, do not hesitate to talk to or e-mail your coach or any other swim team families. There is a lot to know and new swimmers and parents can sometimes feel very overwhelmed. We understand this and we have all been new to the team at one time. We have a great team and great kids and parents that would all be glad to help out. Please do not hesitate to ask for help! All families will be assigned a food, drink, snack item or a small monetary donation to bring for all home dual meets for the concession stand and may be asked to donate desserts, side dishes, salads, etc. for different parties or fundraisers there may be throughout the season. For the safety of all of our swimmers, the YMCA is now requiring all volunteers to complete a background screen. Please fill out the background screen form at the back of this packet for each person in your family that plans on volunteering and place it in the black box. If you do not want to submit to a background screen, you may pay the $100.00 fine and forgo your volunteer commitment. Parent s Name Swimmer s Name Date Parent s Signature
JOB DESCRIPTIONS OF VOLUNTEER POSITIONS FOR DUAL MEETS Certified YMCA Swim Team Official- Ensures a fair swim meet by making sure all swimmers are following all rules and swimming their strokes legally and disqualifying swimmers with illegal strokes. Timer- Accurately time swimmers with a stop watch in one lane for the duration of the swim meet. Three timers are needed per lane at each swim meet. Watches are started at the flash of light and are stopped at the completion of the race as soon as the swimmer touches the wall. All timers must be in position to view the swimmers touch at the end of the race. Runner- Collect lane slips and disqualification slips after each race and deliver to the desk. Event Board Worker (Pool Area) and (Gym)- Writing events down on the dry erase boards that are in the water and on deck to be in the water so spectators know what swimming events are up. 50/50 Raffle Sell raffle tickets for the first half of the swim meet by walking around the pool area and gym area of the swim meet selling tickets until the starter calls the winning ticket. Concession Worker- Set up food, drinks, replace food and drink items as needed, collect money for concession items and cleanup of concession stand during each home meet. Locker Room Monitor and Clean Up (Boys and Girls)- Check locker rooms every 15 minutes by walking through to ensure there is no vandalism, rough housing, etc. for the duration of the swim meet and general cleanup of the locker room area after the meet is over. General Clean Up-Cleanup of the whole facility after the meet is over. Throwing away garbage on floors in pool area, gym area, hallways, sweeping, vacumming and emptying garbage cans in the facility at the completion of the meet. 8 and Under Helpers- Gathering, finding and lining up the 8 and unders for their relay events. Making sure the swimmers are on the correct side of pool.
West Shore Sharks YMCA and USA Swim Team Code of Conduct The undersigned athlete participating on the West Shore YMCA or USA Swim Team agrees to abide by the standards of conduct outlined below in addition to those established by the staff for both short and long course seasons. All team members are expected to: 1. Offer congratulations to opponents, win or lose, and cheer on their teammates. 2. Wear the designated team suit, cap, and other clothing as prescribed by the coaches. 3. Follow the directions of the coaching staff during practice, meets, and other team activities. 4. Not possess, sell, or use alcohol, tobacco, or any non-prescribed drugs. This behavior is not tolerated. 5. Not remove or take any article that does not belong to them, such as clothing, jewelry, or money 6. Respect the property of the YMCA and any other facility the team may visit or use. No swimmer shall tamper with or cause damage to any such facility. 7. Display proper respect and sportsmanship toward coaches, officials, and administrators, fellow competitors, parents, and the public. 8. Promote positive team spirit and morale, which includes being humble in victory and courageous in defeat. Deal justly, kindly, impartially, and intelligently with all fellow team members. 9. Refrain from all illegal or inappropriate behaviors that would detract from a positive image of the team or be detrimental to its performance objectives. 10. Be 100% financially responsible for any damage to any part of their room or hotel when out-of-town meets require staying at a hotel. Swim team Family Conduct It is unfortunately true that at many youth sports competitions if the parents weren t at the game, the kids would just be fine. Swimming is no exception and some would argue that overbearing swimming parents who lose sight of the real purpose of the youth swimming programs are a prime example of overemphasis on winning. The West Shore Sharks swim team is designed to accommodate a wide range of physical talent, as well as peaks and valleys of athletic motivations. The program seeks a balance between competition, participation, academics, family values and good old fashioned fun. Much of the primary motivation for children is praise of their parents. The manner of administering the praise is important. Praise should not be in the form of bribes or extra rewards that are based on extra requirements of the swimmer. One of the goals of our program is to teach reward of hard work and realizing success from that hard work. Often, feelings of success that a child could have, are tarnished or completely destroyed by the failure to meet an outside requirement placed on the performance by well-meaning parents. If you choose to reward performances materially, do so not on the basis of a task that you believe the swimmer should be able to do, but rather as the result of a solid effort. If rewards are given, keep the idea of the
reward a secret until after the performance. There is plenty of pressure to do well without adding to it with a if you do this, then you will get this type of statement. Overzealous swimming fanatic parents should be forewarned that conduct detrimental or embarrassing to our YMCA or Swim Teams will not be tolerated, just as the conduct of the swimmers themselves, at practice and at meets, is expected to be at the highest level. Parents may NOT interfere during swim practices. Parents are NOT to be on deck at any swim meet, YMCA invitational or USA meet unless they are signed up to volunteer, NO EXCEPTIONS. Failure to comply with the Code of Conduct may result in, but not necessarily be limited to: A. Swimmers are not allowed participation in some or all team activities. B. Swimmer immediately being sent home at their expense C. Swimmer being temporarily or permanently dismissed from the team The coach in charge, along with the Head Coach and the Swim Team Board will make the final decision in matters of discipline or dismissal based on the degree of violation of the above code by the swimmer or parent (s). Swimmer s name (Print) Swimmer s Signature Date Parent s Signature
West Shore Sharks Swim Team Emergency Medical Form Please Print! Name Age Birthday Home Phone Parent/Guardian Address City State Zip Work Numbers: Father Mother car/cell phone E-mail Address T-shirt size adult /child In case of an emergency or injury and if the above parents cannot be notified please contact: Name Phone Family Doctor Phone Family Dentist Phone List all allergies, medications, physical impairments, or anything else of which the coach or physician should know 1. I hereby give consent to the YMCA employees or swim coach to apply first aid treatment to my child until a family doctor can be contacted. YES NO 2. In the event the designated practitioner is not available, I hereby give my consent to YMCA employees or swim coach to secure another licensed physician. YES NO 3. I hereby give consent to the YMCA or swim coach to secure an ambulance to transfer my child to hospital or any other hospital reasonable accessible. YES NO Preferred hospital Note: This authorization DOES NOT cover major surgery unless the medical opinions of two other licensed physicians or dentists, concurring in the necessity for such surgery. The YMCA does not carry accident insurance for members or program participants. You will need to cover your own medical expenses resulting from injury incurred in the YMCA. Date Parent/Guardian Signature Please complete this form and return it to the meet entry box ASAP. Yes, I have read and understand the policies of the Ridgewood YMCA Swim Team and give my son/daughter (name) permission to compete on the Ridgewood YMCA Dolphins Swim Team. Parents Signature date Swimmer s Practice Group