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NEW PARENT INFO

Parents, welcome to DCS! Our aim is to create an environment in which the sport of competitive swimming becomes a life-long passion and a great experience for you and your athlete.

If you are new to the sport, the USA Swimming website (www.usaswimming.org) is an excellent resource for all things swimming.

Step One — Practice and Meet Gear

At practice, we require girls to wear a competition suit of their choice. Boys must wear a competition suit as well (either jammers — a longer "cycling style" fitted suit or a "speedo" — bikini style suit). Surfing/beach swimwear and non-fitted tankini-style swim suit will only impede your swimmer's agility in the water. Look under our Required Training Equipment  tab for links to online stores that sell appropriate suits and practice equipment!

At meets,  swimmers are required to wear a competition (racing) suit, their DCS team swim cap, and DCS team shirt (color of shirt each day depends upon meet length. Schedule is listed in Required Training Equipment tab).

At swim meets, all DCS swimmers are required to wear the following:

  1. DCS team swim cap (color may vary upon level of achievement)
  2. Competition suit of their choice (royal blue color encouraged but not mandatory)
  3. Team T-shirt following this schedule:

 

*NOW* Purchase required team t-shirts and any additional practice gear and fanwear at SwimOutlet.com. Click on DCS Team Store for merch! Or Click on SwimOutlet for access to ALL swim products.

Step Two — How to Sign Up for A Swim Meet

Ready to race? The team meet calendar is prior to the start of each season under "Team Events". Read the description of each meet to know which meet(s) your swimmer is expected to attend.

A reminder email will be sent to all groups about meet sign up deadlines. These deadlines are fixed by the host team to ensure enough time to prepare everything for the meet. Last minute additions or changes are highly discouraged and most often not possible.

To sign up, follow these steps:

  1. Under the DCS Calendar, click on Team Events.
  2. Select the meet you'd like to attend, paying attention to any requirements or restrictions indicted in the meet info.
  3. Click "attend".
  4. If you'd like to attend on only a select day or days, use the notes function to let us know which days you want to swim.
  5. The coaches will select your swimmer's events.

THEN,

  1. After the sign up deadline has passed, an "initial roster and fees" email will be sent to those swimmers who have registered to compete. Parents and swimmers are asked to review the roster and make any additions/corrections/changes. This roster gives parents an opportunity to remove their swimmer from the meet. A deadline is set to respond.
  2. Then, a "final roster and fees" email is sent to all participants. At this point, members are responsible for meet fees even if their swimmer is unable to attend.
  3. Fees for the meet will be posted to each member's account and may be paid before the event OR can be paid with the following month's tuition.
  4. DCS will send payment to the host team for all DCS entries prior to the event. We do all of the paperwork!

***USA Swimming Sanctioned Meets*** : Each session of racing will last no more than four (4) hours. Swimmers in our competitive groups (Bronze, Silver, Gold) may compete in 2 sessions per day IF participating in a preliminary - final meet. These meets may be at home or away. Bronze, Silver and Gold group swimmers are expected to compete in one sanctioned meet per month.

**Non-Sanctioned DCS Home Meets** : These meets are usually held on Friday nights at the BWAC and are designed for newer swimmers (Novice, Blue, Future) to become accustomed to racing and comfortable with the swim meet format. Typical duration is under 2 hours. Novice, Blue, Future group are expected to compete in these non-sanctioned meets when scheduled.

Step Three — At The Meet

If you've never attended a swim meet, please use the info below to prepare yourself and your swimmer for his/her first experience in competition:

Are you a first time "swim mom" or "swim dad"? Unsure of what a "heat sheet" is?

Confused about what it means to "mark up" your swimmer?  Just follow the steps below and have fun.

Things To Bring To A Swim Meet

  • Sharpie Permanent Marker
  • Highlighter, ink pen
  • Extra Towels
  • Blanket to spread out for seating
  • Foldable Chairs, if desired
  • Toys/Books/Games/Cards to pass the time
  • Light, healthy snacks and drinks, if desired
  • Extra goggles and DCS team cap
  • Competition swim suit

Preparing your Child to Swim at the Meet

Download or purchase a heat sheet (event program).

Highlight or mark your swimmer's name and events in the heatsheet so you can follow along

Before every race, insure that your swimmer goes to his coach and speaks with him/her about his event. The coaches will make sure that they get to the starting block (or bullpen) in time and confirm lane/heat assignments.

After every race, insure that your swimmer goes to his coach and speaks with him/her about his performance.

Below is a "cheat sheet" grid that many parents create to keep track of their swimmer's program – Event/Heat/Lane/ Stroke

Example:

E H L S
3 4 5 50 Fr
7 2 4 100 Back