Battlefield High School 2018-2019 Swim Team & Dive Information Packet
WELCOME Welcome to the 2018-2019 High School Swim & Dive season. Below you will find important information regarding the Battlefield H.S. Swim & Dive Teams. This information will help familiarize you with what will be expected of all swimmers and what responsibilities these athletes will have through the course of the season. Philosophy High school sports play an important role in the continuing development of students. The Battlefield coaches recognize this and stress a set of core values designed to help the student-athlete become a stronger individual and team member. The team s core values are commitment, teamwork, integrity, and accountability. These core values are expected of all athletes at all times. The coaching staff is committed to providing an atmosphere where our athletes can be successful and thrive. This is accomplished by providing a facility that offers a safe and healthy environment for practices and competitions, providing workouts designed for high school athletes, and teaching advanced stroke techniques and race strategies. We view ourselves as teachers first and strive to make each swimmer better. We believe that valuable lessons can be learned from each win, loss, accomplishment, setback, and situation that arises during the course of the season. Athletes in all sports should not only learn the sport, but should also use the athletic experience as a learning tool, to gain beneficial skills applicable to life.. The Swim and Dive program is committed to helping athletes improve in the competitive sport of swimming and diving in a fun and team orientated environment. Please remember that the team is a competitive team and athletes will be expected to train and work with coaches accordingly. Coaches: Coach Jay Thorpe Swimogre@msn.com Coach Melissa Cook CookMQ@pwcs.edu Colleen Branigan Colleenbranigan@hotmail.com
Team Eligibility Requirements The requirements listed here must be met in order to be eligible to participate on the Battlefield High School Swim Team. The Physical, Concussion Training, and the Rules Acknowledgement Form must be completed and turned in prior to tryouts. Academics - Students must meet a set of academic standards in order to participate in high school athletics. A student must be enrolled in and passing at least five classes, with a minimum of two C s and three D s per semester. Physicals - all swimmers must have a sport physical dated after May 1, 2018. Mrs. Christi Nelson will be collecting sports physical forms and concussion completion certificates for winter sports on Thursday, November 1 from 3:00-7:00 in the main lobby or commons cafeteria. Students will receive a yellow form after all forms are checked. These yellow forms must be handed to Coach Jay or Coach Cook on the first day of your tryouts. Students can also continue to drop off forms to Mrs. Nelson in the training room after school. If an athlete does not bring the yellow form to tryouts, they will not be permitted to tryout. For your convenience, the physical forms can be downloaded at www.bobcatsathletics.org. The form will be listed on the Files section of the Swim & Dive page on Bocatsathletics.org. Concussion Training All athletes must complete the yearly concussion training as mandated by PWCS. If you are new to Battlefield, (Freshman or transfer student) you will need to physically attend one of the Concussion training seminars. You can find a listing of locations and dates in the "Files & Links" section of Bobcatsathletics.org, on the PWCS website, on the Battlefieldswimming.com site, or in the "Team File" section of this swim page.if you have already attended the seminar in a previous year, you will still be required to complete an online class each year you plan to participate on a BHS team. Please attend the seminar well in advance of tryouts. Tryouts will not be extended for athletes that have not completed concussion training. Blue Cards This form will be distributed after the team has been selected. The blue card lists the athlete s guardians and provides the coaches with important information in the event an athlete is injured at an athletic event.
Divers will receive the Blue Card prior to tryouts and will need to present it with the yellow form to the dive coach. Rules Acknowledgement Form Student and Parent/ Guardian acknowledge that they have read and agree to the information contained in the Information Packet. This form will be required on the first day of tryouts. Tryouts Swim Tryouts will be held November 6 th -9 th from 6:30 8:00PM. Girls tryouts will be on Monday and Wednesday at the PWCS Natatorium. Boys tryouts will be on Tuesday and Thursday at the same venue. Last year there were almost 90 athletes that tried out for the Battlefield Swim Team. With this large number, we will hold two nights of boys tryouts and two nights of girls tryouts. Following is the schedule: November 5 th Boys 100 Freestyle and 100 Butterfly November 6 th Girls 100 Freestyle and 100 Butterfly November 7 th Boys 100 Backstroke and 100 Breaststroke November 8 th Girls 100 Backstroke and 100 Breaststroke Dive Tryouts - For the 2017-18 Season, diving will hold tryouts the same days as swim, but at different times. Tryouts for Dive will be from 4:00 5:30 PM at the PWCS Natatorium. To make the team, divers must master 6-7 dives to be on the competitive team and master 3-4 dives to be on the practice team. Competition team divers will practice four days per week from 4:00 5:30 Practice team divers will practice Wednesdays from 4:00 5:30 Interested Divers must email Coach Thorpe by November 3rd to be included on the roster that will be submitted to the diving coaches at Colgan H.S. It is important to remember that you MUST have completed your concussion training and have a current physical completed. Both of these items should be turned in to the school prior to tryouts..
Swim Team Selection - Each swim will be ranked by gender. A first place finish will receive 1 point, a second place finish will receive 2 points, etc. Each swimmer will receive a total score that includes points achieved from all four swims. Total points scored will be ranked in order and will determine who makes the team. After 24 selections, individuals will be selected based on event needs. Extra consideration given to returning 3 year lettermen. A listing of the 2018-2019 team will be posted on the swim team page of www.bobcatsathletics.org and will also be listed at www.battlefieldswimming.com no later than 11/11/2018. Each swimmer should plan to attend practice on Monday 11/12/18. This will be our first team practice which will include the first team meeting and we will also be collecting registration forms and payments. Registration At our first team practice on 11/12/18, registration forms and payments will be collected for each swimmer. The registration form is available online at www.bobcatsathletics.org on the swim team page under Team Files and will also be available at www.battlefieldswimming.com in the Team Info section under Forms. Registration fees to participate on the swim team this year are $150.00. This cost covers 1 hours of lane time per evening (5 lanes), all meet costs, team t-shirt, latex swim cap, and all other event costs. Boosters The Battlefield Boosters Club is an outstanding organization that does great things for all students and teams. The Battlefield swim teams have participated in several Booster activities and it not only helps the school, but also helps the teams and individuals. Last year we had several swimmers that did not pay for registration because they had earned enough money through Booster activities where they donated their time. Each team member is highly encouraged to help with these types of activities.
Practices: Battlefield Swim Team will practice Monday through Thursday from 6:30-8:00 with all practices held at the PWCS Natatorium (Colgan H.S.). All practices are mandatory unless excused by one of the coaches. Illness, academic matters, and conflicts with other school sponsored activities will be considered Excused Absences and will not affect attendance requirements. All absences MUST be communicated to the coaching staff 3 days in advance of the absence except in the case of illness. Year round swimmers are expected to attend at least one practice per week. Year round swimmers are defined as swimmers that are swimming more than 5 hours per week. Year round swimmers will be required to complete a verification form of club/year round practice that must be turned in by Wednesday for the previous weeks practices. Meets: Swimming and Diving at Battlefield H.S. is a varsity sport. Coaches will do their best to get every swimmer into the meets, but there are no guarantees that a swimmer will compete in a specific event or a meet. The coaches recognize that conflicts between Club and High school swimming seem to happen every year. Club teams typically will participate in multiple championship meets during the month of December where the swimmers will be rested or tapered in an effort to qualify for Spring Championship meets. The coaching staff in conjunction with other Conference 8 teams has spent considerable time trying to create a schedule that will accommodate everyone. With that said, we realize that there still could be scheduling conflicts. For the upcoming season, each year round swimmer will be permitted to miss one dual meet in December where there is a conflict with a Championship meet without jeopardizing their standing on the team or their ability to letter. Swimmers with a meet conflict must notify the Head Coach on the first day of practice. The Freestyle Frenzy meet was created as a meet for swimmers not participating in a championship meet. Swimmers attending a conflicting club meet are excused from Freestyle Frenzy. Swimmers are expected to arrive at the all meets in time for warm-ups and remain with the team until the last relay finishes. Swimmers that do not arrive at the meet prior to the conclusion of warm-ups may be scratched from the meet.
A complete practice and meet schedule will be distributed once the roster has been finalized. Team Swimwear Each swimmer should come to practices and meets representing Battlefield H.S. For practices, any suit can be worn, but only Battlefield H.S. caps should be worn. For meets, a Battlefield suit and cap are required. No Club team apparel including: shirts, shorts, caps, backpacks, or suits, should be worn at Battlefield swim meets. Spiritwear In addition to suits and caps, there are several other Battlefield apparel items that are available for purchase. Typically, we carry backpacks, hoodies, shorts, sweatshirts, pajama pants, and warm-up suits all with the Battlefield logos. The best part is that a percentage of the proceeds go back to the team. Transportation We are currently working on bus transportation to and from Colgan for practices. There is no team provided transportation for meets. We may have a bus for meets not at our two home pools. If used, students are expected to ride the bus to and from away meets. Code of Conduct: Always remember that you represent Battlefield Swim Team. Our team members will be held to the highest standard of sportsmanship. You are expected to treat team members, coaches, parents, officials, and opponents with respect. Swimmers will conduct themselves in a manner consistent with Virginia High School Swim Rules and PW County Code of Conduct during practices and meets. Coaches Expectations of Swimmers
1. Be on time Early is on time, on time is late, and late is unacceptable. 2. Listen to coaches, officials, and school administrators 3. Bring enthusiasm to the pool and have fun. 4. Understand that you are part of a team. Treat team members with respect. 5. No cameras, phones, or ipods behind the blocks. 6. No deck dressing. 7. Know when you swim. 8. Never waste an opportunity to swim fast. 9. No drugs, alcohol, or tobacco. 10. No swearing or obscene gestures. 11. At practices and meets we do everything as Battlefield H.S. swim team. Only BHS caps and apparel will be worn at practices and meets. Only BHS apparel will be worn at meets. 12. Bullying will not be tolerated. Parent Volunteers The Battlefield Swim Team depends a great deal on their parent volunteers. Bottom line, our volunteers make our meets run. Each family is asked to commit to volunteering in at least three meets or team activities. Volunteer opportunities include: timers, runners, stroke and turn judges, referee, starter, computer rep, pasta parties, fundraising, community service, senior night and more. Please help support our team by volunteering your time. Varsity Lettering Swimming is a Varsity sport and your participation alone on the team does not guarantee that you will earn a letter. In order to earn a Varsity letter for the 2017-2018 Swimming season, a swimmer must earn at least 100 points. Points may be earned in the following ways: Practice 25 points will be awarded to any swimmer who misses less than 10 practices during the entire season. 50 points will be awarded to any swimmer who misses 2 or fewer Battlefield practices during the entire season. For the determination of the number of missed practices, it does not matter why the practice was missed. We realize that there are valid reasons
to miss practice that is why we allow missed practices at all. Any yearround swimmers who are attending 8 hours of practice time per week with a with a USA Certified Team and coach will be credited with the 25 points provided they submit a signed verification form by their coach confirming practice attendance. USA Swimmers must attend at least one practice per week to assist the coach and participate in team bonding. Meets 1 point will be credited for every meet attended and 1 point will be credited for every event swum, including relays. Freestyle Frenzy and Invitational meets are included. Additionally, 1 point will be credited for each point the swimmer scores for Battlefield during the season. Points earned on relays will be divided by four (4). Discretionary Points Up to 10 points may be awarded, or deducted, at the sole discretion of the Head Coach. Tournament Pointsa. District Meet attendance 25 pts. b. Regional Meet Attendance 25 pts. c. State Meet Attendance 25 pts. Ineligibility - Swimmers will be ineligible for a Varsity Letter under the following circumstances, regardless of points earned: a. They have one (1) unexcused or two (2) excused absences from Battlefield swim meets. b. They fail to earn the 25 points for participation in practice. c. Unsportsmanlike conduct during the season. Definitions Following are definitions of words or phrases contained in this packet: Excused Absence This includes illness, academic conflicts such as: tests, make up work, academic auditions, college entrance exam testing, family emergencies, bereavement, and religious conflicts. There may be other absences that qualify as excused not listed and the coaching staff would make a determination as instances arise. Unexcused Absence Attending or competing in a Club swim meet beyond the one excused December Championship meet, attending or competing in a conflicting sport event, attending parties, work, volunteer assignments.