Tech Suit Policy
(Implemented Fall 2015. Updated for Fall 2017)
SBSC Coaching Staff Philosophy
Our staff believes tech suits have a limited place in Age Group swimming. We believe hard work, great technique, and excellent practice and meet attendance is far more important to a swimmer's success. Tech suits were originally designed for world class athletes and we as the swimming community have been duped into believing swimmers need high dollar suits to have fast swims at any age. We know this is not the case
SBSC Tech Suit Tenets
- Our policy will evolve over time and may change each season. Any changes will be made at the beginning of a season and will be communicated to our families. It will also be one of our documents requiring a digital signature during our online registration.
- USA Swimming prohibits any swimmers 12 years old and younger to wear a technical racing suit
- SBSC swimmers ages 13 and over will be allowed to compete in tech suits if they meet the following conditions
- Must have met at least one Divisional time standard in their age group
- Have better then 80% attendance at scheduled practices
- Must have head coach permission
- Swimmers 13 and over may be able to wear tech suits during in-season (non-taper meets) if there is a compelling reason. Any time achieved while wearing a tech suit will not be used to determine relays for championship meets
- All decisions made by the coaching staff will be done on an individual basis. No two swimmers are alike, and no two situations will be the same regardless of the number of similarities they may have.
- Violation of this policy may result in scratching of any remaining events of the meet. Violations will require a meeting of the parent(s) and swimmer before entry into any subsequent meets.
Meet Expectations
(Policy established and implemented beginning with the fall/winter season 2018-2019 season)
- All swimmers, after their first season, will be required to attend at least one meet per month or pay a higher training fees. The months of April and September will not have this requirement.
- Event selection is a coaching decision. The only exception is if there are family budget concerns and those need to be brought to the attention of Coach VanDriessche well in advance of the meet. Even in those circumstances the coaches will do the event selection while staying within the family budget.
- Swimmers do not scratch events/meets unless they are ill. Once the swimmer is at the meet this will be a coaching decision. We will not keep swimmers in a meet if they are truly sick. But more times than not the sickness is nervousness.
- Pre-lims/finals meets swimmers are expected to swim in finals if they qualify or if they are scratched into the event. Swimmers who also qualify as alternates for any event should report to the pool as if they are swimming. The only time a swimmer would be allowed to scratch a finals swim would be in a qualifying meet (i.e. Divisionals) when their prelim swim was under the cut they were attempting to achieve. Again, this will be a coaching decision.
- Swimmers are expected to be on deck of every meet at the appointed time. Typically, 15 minutes prior to the beginning of warm-ups. These times will be found in the weekly emails the weekend prior to the meet. They can also be found on our website under the news tab as well as links or in full on one of our social media sites.
- Swimmers need to compete wearing the appropriate team cap for that meet. If a swimmer does not have one, they will be given a new cap at the meet and the family's account will be charged $5.
- Swimmers are expected to wear only team shirts while at the meet. No other shirts should be worn.
- When at an out-of-town meet (championships or other meets that require a hotel stay) swimmers who do not qualify for finals are expected to return to cheer for teammates that have. The exception would be on the last day of the meet, and it would delay travel plans.
- Swimmers are not to leave the pool deck without informing the coaching staff where they are going.
- Swimmers should only bring healthy snacks to swim meets and should only purchase healthy snacks from the concession stands.
- While at a meet a swimmer must speak to his or her coach prior to going to the blocks or the clerk of course for each of their events. After each swim they are to report directly to their coach. The only other person they are to speak to before one of our coaches would be an official who is informing them of an infraction.
- All swimmers competing in our dual meets will be expected to stay until the last event has finished.
- Swimmers competing in invitationals or other non-championship meets may leave after their last event is finished. Swimmers must check in with a coach prior to leaving.
