Austin Country Club Swim Team Handbook
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Welcome! This handbook provides information that swimmers and parents need to know about the Austin Country Club Swim Team: how the team operates, how a meet is run, what the expectations are of the swimmer and parent(s), and how to make the season a true success for every participant. Competitive swimming really is fun; however newcomers might feel somewhat overwhelmed at first. Read this handbook and please don’t hesitate to ask questions of the Parent Representatives, Parent Committee and/or of the coaches. We hope this handbook will help each family understand how they can best contribute. We're happy to have you as part of the Austin Country Club Swim Team!! Go Dolphins!
Team Communication
We will be using our website www.accdolphins.swimtopia.com and e-mail for all communication regarding swim team. Please become familiar with the website, as you will be using it to manage your child(ren)'s meet preferences. General team questions/concerns will be addressed by the Parent Reps serving as Co-Presidents, Amy Gieffers and Adam Cotner ([email protected]). Also please feel free to contact Parent Committee members if you have a question regarding their area of expertise. If you have a question for a coach please visit with them during non-practice times or via e-mail. Please do not interrupt the coaches during practice - their attention needs to be on the swimmers in the pool!
The League The ACC Swim Team is a member of the Clubs of Austin Swim League, which includes the following clubs: · Austin Country Club · Barton Creek Country Club · The Hills of Lakeway Country Club · Westlake Country Club · Westwood Country Club . Rollingwood Country Club The league is governed by Bylaws, which are available through the Parent Reps, our website or in the handbook available at all times on the pool deck. Eligibility
The children of any member of Austin Country Club between 4 and 18 (4 by May 1st) are eligible to become members of the ACC Swim Team. A child should be able to swim the length of the pool in 70 seconds without touching the bottom, sides or lane ropes. Grandchildren of members are not eligible to swim. As per CASL bylaws... A swimmer will be ineligible to swim in any CASL meet if he/she practices or competes with any other team, club or organization seven days prior to the first official AHSL meet up to and until the last day of that year's CASL sanctioned competition.
Fees
The fee includes payment for league registration, coaches' salaries, team T-shirt, insurance, ribbons, an inter squad practice meet and 7 dual swim meets. This fee is NON-REFUNDABLE.
Parent Involvement
The more active you are as a parent, the more interested your child becomes. Swimming is hard work, and the rewards are enjoyed more with parental support. It takes over 50 ACC parent volunteers each week to run a meet. There are many meaningful and rewarding opportunities for parent participation. See below for a list of required volunteer positions. If you would like to serve on the committee, please contact the parent reps. REMINDER: Every family is required to volunteer for a minimum of four (4) swim meets per season. All of the jobs, except for certified stroke judges and the starter, require minimal training. The League Bylaws require that we provide: For Home Meets: 1. Meet Director 2. AHSL Certified Starter 3. Announcer (may be the starter) 4. Official Coach for home team 5. TEN timers and watches, plus a Head Timer with two watches 6. Two Certified Stroke Judges, and one additional AHSL Certified Stroke Judge if the home pool has a diving well or other obstruction to walking the length of the pool. 7. Three scoring and ribbon officials (this is computer and ribbons) 8. False-start rope 9. One Head Ready Bench official and one other Ready Bench official
For Away Meets: 1. Official coach for visiting team 2. Two AHSL Certified Stroke Judges 3. Eight timers 4. Three scoring and ribbon officials
ACC requires additional volunteers as follows: 1. Age Group Parents: 1-3 per meet depending on age and size of group 2. Event Monitors: 1-2 to alert Age Group Parents when it is time to line-up 3. Ready Bench: 5-6 Ready Bench/Ready Chairs 4. Check in table 5. Floaters
Parent Committee
The objective of the team's Parent Committee is to provide a support system for the program by fulfilling many of the team's administrative duties (registration, running of swim meets, distribution of awards and incentives, organization of social functions, etc.) so that coaches can devote their attention to the swimmers. We hope to provide the children with the maximum possible enjoyment of a competitive swimming environment. The swim team in completely volunteer parent run! The Meet Warm-up Starting times and Events: Warm-up periods vary for each meet with the home team warming up the first half and the visiting team warming up the second half. (Example: For an 8:00 meet at ACC, with a one hour warm up period, ACC warms up from 7:00 – 7:30 and the visiting team warms up from 7:30– 8:00). Check our website and read your emails to know EXACTLY when our warm up period begins for each meet. It is important for each swimmer to loosen up before racing. The Starter is obligated to begin the meet on time. Again, check our website and your emails as these times will vary. Each event begins with the youngest age group and progresses to the oldest age group. Grouping is determined by the swimmer’s age as of May 1, 2019. Age groups are: 6 & Under 7 & 8 9 & 10 11 & 12 13 & 14 15 through 17 The order of events is as follows: Individual Medley (IM) for 7 & 8’s and older Freestyle Relays Freestyle Backstroke Breastroke Butterfly Medley Relays (for 7 & 8’s and older) Swimmers under the age of 11 may be entered in only three individual events, plus relays per meet. Swimmers age 11 and up may swim in all individual events, plus relays. Swimmers must swim in a designated age group. Swimmers may swim up in age group in relays. Swimmers may not swim down. Relay team swimmers are selected by the coaches. Swimmers times and team participation are taken into account in selecting relay teams.
Event Sign Up: We’ll be using our website for meet registration. Please make sure that you know your username and password and are familiar with the registration process. Detailed registration instructions will be emailed well in advance of our first swim meet. There are strict deadlines for meet sign ups which we must adhere to in order to share this information with the opposing team as regulated by the bylaws. Our goal in using the website is to give the coaches as much time as possible to coach while allowing the swimmer/parents significant input in which events they swim. Please remember, the final decision of what event(s) your child swims belongs to the coach. Relays: Being placed on a relay is an honor! Relays take a great deal of coordination and are usually constructed by using the fastest times from prior meets. This year we will also be using the swimmers participation in practices and the team as a factor in relay placement. Please respect the coaches’ decision on the relay teams as they have put a lot of thought into this placement. Your swimmer must be singed up to swim at the meet or they will not be assigned a spot on the relay. FREESTYLE RELAY: This is the SECOND event at the swim meet. If you child is placed on this relay they must arrive on time to the meet and immediately check in with the appropriate age group parent. Age group parents will be organizing the children for this event before the meet starts; if your child is not checked in they will unfortunately be replaced for that relay. MEDLEY RELAY: This is the LAST event of the swim meet. If your child is placed on this relay be prepared to stay until the end. It is critical that he/she stays to swim - the whole relay team is affected if one swimmer is not present to swim.
Disqualifications: Disqualifications (DQs) are part of the learning experience in age group swimming. There is a “legal” way to swim each of the four strokes and when “infractions” occur, a swimmer is DQ’d. The swimmer receives no ribbon for that event, and if a swimmer is DQ’d during a relay, the entire team is disqualified. The reason for this process is that no swimmer is to have an unfair competitive advantage and improper techniques may sometimes provide just that. The upside is the DQs help the swimmer to recognize when they are doing something wrong and the coaches can make corrections in their stroke. DQ reports will be given to the coaches after every meet in order to help correct the problem areas. Please be aware that if your swimmer, especially in the younger age groups, frequently DQ’s, it doesn’t mean that they aren’t trying or that the coaches are not working with them. Development of motor skills varies dramatically, and some children may not physically be able to perfect their stroke at their current age. Encourage your child to keep trying! It takes practice, perseverance and development. Common DQ’s: o Standing on the pool bottom before the final touch o Not using the proper kick o Not touching simultaneously with both hands in Breastroke and Butterfly o Ankle holds or toe curls for Backstroke starts o Not remaining on their backs before the final touch in Backstroke o Not transitioning from the dive to the stroke properly Stroke Judges: Stroke judges are referees who are trained in the proper rules and techniques for executing strokes, turns and touches. All stroke judges, starters and coaches must attend a stroke clinic for certification. There is a strong effort to provide consistency throughout the league and throughout the season. Stroke judges are required by AHSL bylaws to inform swimmers right away, when possible, if they are disqualified. They try to be gently, but when the heats are running quickly, it’s a tough job to inform, console and judge the next heat. The decision of the stroke judge is final. Most importantly, please understand that their objective is to help our swimmers learn to swim the strokes legally and properly and to make sure that no swimmer has an unfair competitive advantage over another by swimming the stroke improperly.
Timers: Timers are a crucial element of the meet, and they get a great seat! Each lane has three timers. The swimmer’s official time is the middle of the three times. If only two times are recorded, an average is taken. Experience is not necessary but a few words of training are offered before each meet. Many timers are needed. Results: The results of each event will be posted shortly after the completion of each event. The results will show place rankings and individual times. Other reports, such as DQs lists and individual top times, will also be available. Volunteers: It is very important that volunteers check in at least 30 minutes before the start of the meet. There is much to do to orchestrate the entire meet. Volunteers being in place with time to spare allows for a smooth flow. If you cannot meet your volunteer commitment, YOU MUST FIND A REPLACEMENT AND INFORM THE VOLUNTEER COORDINATOR, VIA E-MAIL 24 HOURS IN ADVANCE WHO WILL BE REPLACING YOU. *Failure to comply will result in your club account being charged $200 per occurrence*
Tips for Swim Team Success
What to Bring to Meets: Please bring the following to the meets (and label everything!): Wear team suit and T-shirt Blanket or chair, if desired Visor or hat Sunscreen Swim caps and goggles Activities for in-between races: cards, puzzles, games, etc. Please NO water guns! Cooler with healthy snacks: fruit, bagels, juices, power bars, and veggies
Remember: Junk food raises the blood sugar level too quickly and then it falls below where it was to begin with, bringing on a feeling of overwhelming fatigue. No glass containers please. At home meets, you will be able to purchase breakfast, lunch or dinner, depending on the meet time. What to Eat Beforehand: The night before the meet, eat a HIGH CARBOHYDRATE AND LOW FAT DIET. This includes any type of pasta (spaghetti, lasagna, etc.), potatoes, veggies, bread and salad. Get to bed early. The day of the meet, a big breakfast may be too much since the meets are generally in the morning. Try toast, cereal, and pancakes or waffles and fruit juice. How to reduce swim stress: Please be at the meets ON TIME so that you can set up your area. Arriving on time gives your swimmer a chance to get his bearings for the meet. It is important to arrive 15 minutes before warm-up because the Age Group Parent needs to take attendance. Tardiness raises the anxiety level of the children because they don't know whom they can depend on to is on the relay team with them, and coaches and volunteers must spend valuable time juggling relay teams. If a problem arises, please get in touch with a coach or parent volunteer as soon as possible. Practice: Each swimmer is expected to attend practice every day. We understand that this is extremely difficult because everyone has busy schedules and conflicting activities. But daily practice IS important to the development of a swimmer through exposure to both interval training and skills technique. Email the coaches if you have conflicts. They may suggest that your swimmer attend an earlier or later workout if they cannot attend their regularly scheduled practice. Some swimmers may be moved up or down an age group for practice, depending on their swimming ability. The decision relative to any movement by an individual from his/her age group practice will be made by the coach. During swim team practices, pool is closed to all recreational swimming. Swimmers are not allowed in the pool unless they are swimming with their designated practice group. ACC does not provide towels during swim team practices, please be sure to bring a towel from home. Sometimes eyes are irritated by chlorine. Goggles are effective protection. It is also important to dry ears well after swimming and with your doctors’ permission, apply “Swim Ear” to prevent swimmer’s ear. Avoid heavy meals before practices (and meets). Swimmers can be refueled afterwards!
Pep Rallies: During the season we will have a Friday Night Pep Rally and Fun Thursday practices to help create team spirit while allowing the kids to enjoy each other’s company without the structure of practice or competition. Check your email and our website for any news about this season’s events. Awards Banquet: The season-ending Awards Banquet is truly a special night for the kids who have worked so hard throughout the season. Each child receives a participation trophy and special awards are given for each age group. We wrap up with a TERRIFIC slide show which captures the FUN, SPIRIT, COMPETITION and COMRADERY we have enjoyed all season. You won’t want to miss this ice cream social - it’s a GRAND FINALE!! Ribbons: Place Ribbons: The top six finishers in every event will receive a place ribbon. Heat Ribbons: The winner of each heat will receive a heat ribbon. Improvement Ribbons: When a swimmer lowers his/her best time in any event, they will receive a Best Personal Time ribbon for each improvement. These are the really important ones! Participation Ribbons: These will be handed out to swimmers 8 and under if they did not receive a ribbon at a meet.
Age Group Parents: These volunteers are very important to your swimmer and are critical to ensure a smooth flowing meet. They maintain their groups in a designated area and are generally responsible for seeing that your children are where they are supposed to be. It is extremely important that your child cooperates with these parents. When your swimmer arrives at the meet, they must FIRST check in with their Age Group Parent. They confirm what strokes they will be swimming and to which relays (if any) they have been assigned. The Age Group Parent is responsible for getting swimmers to the Ready Bench on time for their events. Age Group Parents cannot leave their assigned groups to look for missing children. Therefore, all swimmers are expected to stay with their age group for the entire meet. Ready Bench: The Ready Bench is the staging area where swimmers are lined up in their lanes before they swim their events. A smooth Ready Bench is key to a well-run meet, and we have a wonderfully efficient crew. Volunteers help ensure that everyone is in the proper lane, heat and events.
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