Parents FAQ's page

WELCOME TO OUR NEW AND UPDATED FAQ PAGE

Apparel/Equipment

1. How do I know what training equipment my child needs?

There are required equipments lists for each practice group. You can see the equipment listed by group on our website by clicking here.

2. Where do I go to get equipment? Suits? Caps?

For suits, apparel and training equipment we use The Swim Team Store as our primary vendor. If you login to the RISE Aquatic Team Website and click the RISE Shop link you will be able to order.

Team Caps are available directly thru the RISE Aquatic Team. To get team caps please email c [email protected] or [email protected]

 

Billing

1. Can I pay my mothly bills by Check?

RISE only accepts credit card and ACH payments through the team website. Payment by check is not accepted unless an electronic payment fails to clear. Any failed payment is subject to a $35.00 payment-processing fee and a check must be received within 14 days of the failed payment. Failed payment checks should be sent to RISE HEAD COACH Jeff : 3216 N Volz Drive East Arlington Heights, Il 60004.

2. How do I sign-up for Credit Card or ACH online payments?

To sign up for Credit Card or ACH payments on our website you must login to your account using your email and password. Once you have logged in to the site, click on "Setup Auto Pay" on the left side of the home page and follow the instructions on the next page.

3. Is financial assistance available?

Financial assistance is available on a case by case basis. To request financial assistance please contact the RISE Aquatic Team Head Coach at c[email protected].

4. How do I know if I owe anything on my account?

To see any current or existing charges on your account you must login to your account using your email and password.
Once you have logged in to the site, click on "$ My Invoice/Payment" on the left side of the home page. On the screen that loads, click on "view" under "Account Balance" next to the most recent invoice for your account. Only the most recent invoice listed will show up to date information.

5. When do I pay for meets?

RISE bills for meets after they occur. RISE pays all meet entry fees and then you are billed for them using your team unify billing account. Fees from meets are typically posted the week after a meet occurs

6. How do I cancel my membership?

RISE's withdrawal policy states that you will qualify for a refund if you withdraw your swimmer in writing before the start of the season. NO REFUNDS WILL BE GIVEN AFTER THE START OF THE SEASON. Any withdrawal will be subject to a $75.00 processing fee. If you do not wish to continue at the end of any season, simply do not register for the coming season.

7. What kind of charges are posted to my RISE account?

RISE will bill you for registration fees, meet fees, travel fees incurred on behalf of your swimmer and necessary fines within our Parent Volunteer Policy or Financial Policy. To view the RISE Parent Volunteer Policy, please click here.

8. Where can I see the detailed charges on my account?

To see any current or existing charges on your account you must login to your account using your email and password. Once you have logged in to the site, click on "$ My Invoice/Payment" on the left side of the home page. On the screen that loads, click on "view" under "Account Balance" next to the most recent invoice for your account. Only the most recent invoice listed will show up to date information.

9. How do I make a payment to RISE?

RISE requires payments be made via the Online payment system. Either ACH Transfer or Credit Card payment is available. The ACH/Credit Card system will transfer any fees due to RISE on the 1st of the month following invoicing.
Registration fees will be invoiced in full at the start of each season. Meet Fees will be billed each month. Special fees such as team travel fees will be invoiced in the month in which they occur.
Unless there is a failed payment, payment by check is NOT allowed. If an electronic payment does not clear the full balance is due within 14 days and a $35.00 failed payment processing fee must be added to any payment by check. Mail failed payment checks to: RISE, Attn: Head Coach Jeff, 3216 N Volz Drive East Arlington Heights, Il 60004.

10. When are payments due to RISE?

Payments are due to RISE on the 1st of the month.

11. What does it mean when I receive an invoice email notification that says I have a balance due?

This means you have outstanding fees on your account and a payment is due.

12. When and how do I receive my bill?

You can always view the balance on your account once you are logged in to the website. You will receive notification before the 21st of each month that automatic billing will take place. This is a good time to go online and view your account and any outstanding charges.
To see any current or existing charges on your account you must login to your account using your email and password.
Once you have logged in to the site, click on "$ My Invoice/Payment" on the left side of the home page. On the screen that loads, click on "view" under "Account Balance" next to the most recent invoice for your account. Only the most recent invoice listed will show up to date information.

General

1. What's the difference between long course and short course?

Long Course and Short Course refer to the length of competition pool used during that part of the year. In the United States, the primary course used in the fall and winter is a 25-yard pool. In the spring and summer months in the US, we use the international standard distance of 50-meters for competition. We refer to Long and Short Course to differentiate between the two.

2. Who is my swimmer's coach and how do I contact them?

Each practice group has an assigned Lead Coach. The Lead Coaches are identified on the website by visiting the Coaches page, here. In addition, all Bronze and Gold group swimmers and coaches work under the direction and supervision of the Head Age Group Coach. All Silver and Tiatnium group swimmers and coaches work under the direction and supervision of the Head Coach.  All Silver and Platinum group swimmers and coaches work under teh direction and supervision of the Head Senior Coach.
All contacts should begin with your Lead Coach, but the Head Coach, Head Age Group Coach and Head Senior Coach are also available when you have questions and concerns.

3. What kind of business structure does RISE have?

RISE is a non-profit 501c(3) corporation. RISE is operated by Head Coach and Owner Jeff Arce. 

4. What is the best time to ask my coach a question?

The best time to contact your coach is outside of any practice. The best way to contact your coach is via email or message (telegram or remind). If you need to see your coach face to face, you can arrange this in advance or you can try to see your coach immediately prior to or after practice. Please realize that your coach will be more focused on the swimmers before practice.
Coaches are available after practices to answer any questions. Coaches are not available during practice for any reason.

5. How do you organize your practice groups?

All of our practice groups are organized by age and ability level. The Bronze group represents the entry level swimmers, with ability levels progressing through Gold, Silver, Titanium, and Platinum. 

Meets

1. What strokes do competitive swimmers use?

There are four competitive strokes for all ages of swimmers. The strokes are Freestyle, Backstroke, Breaststroke and Butterfly. In addition, swimmers compete in Individual Medley races that incorporate all four strokes in one race.

2. What are the age groups (8&under, 9-10, etc.) in competition?

Generally competitions are divided in the following age groups: 8 & under, 9-10, 11-12, 13-14 and 15 & Over. You will also see some competitions where events are labeled 10 & under (open to any swimmers younger than 11) and also have "Open" events, which are open to all ages, but generally refer to senior swimmers 13 & Over.

3. How often should my child attend meets?

Competition is an integral part of our team and what we do. We believe that swimmers need to have enough time between competitions for training so each meet will be a good opportunity to show improvement. Ideally, meets will only be scheduled every couple of weeks or twice a month. There are times when our meet schedule offers more than two meets in a month. This provides all swimmers with flexibility in scheduling, but no swimmer should compete more than twice a month.

4. Can I watch my child swim in meets?

Parents are strongly encouraged to watch their swimmers compete in all meets. Parents providing support and encouragement throughout competition are a vital part of the swimmers growth. You are also encouraged to volunteer at meets as a timer or official or in another capacity where available. This teaches your child that you value what they are doing as a member of the team and helps them develop the courage to succeed and fail in competition.

5. Who enters my child in events?

RISE coaches enter all swimmers in events in each meet. Decision on event choice belongs exclusively to the coaches. We believe meet entry is an integral part of the educational process for the swimmer. The coaches make the decisions as part of the overall development of the swimmer and plan entries on a season long basis rather than just meet to meet.

6. How long do meets last?

Meets are broken into sessions. Some meets are one day/one session, while others may go 2-3 or more days and sessions. Generally, each session of a meet is between 3-4 hours long. Dual meets may be shorter and some championship meets may be longer. Some meets offer one session per day for each age group, while others offer a prelim/final format where the fastest swimmers in preliminaries each day come back later that day to compete in finals and swim their events for a second time.

7. When should we get to the meet?

Each meet session has a listed start time for warm-up for that session. Swimmers should be on deck, ready to swim at least 15 minutes prior to the listed warm-up time.

8. What should we bring to the meet?

Each RISE swimmer is required to wear an RISE team suit at all meets, so that is the first piece of equipment that is needed for any meet. You also need to pack at least two pairs of goggles (they do break at the most inconvenient times), one or more towels, sufficient clothing to keep your swimmer warm and comfortable throughout the day, 1-2 water bottles or sport drinks and appropriate snacks for your swimmer while they are at the meet.

9. Will my swimmer be on a relay?

When a meet offers relays, RISE coaches enter swimmers in relays to complete our entry. These entries do not reflect who may actually swim relays at the meet. The coaches make all decisions about relay swimmers the day of the meet. Any swimmer signed up to swim in a session that includes relays is expected to be available to swim on relays if asked to do so by the coaches.

10. What is a disqualification and what should I do if my child gets disqualified?

A disqualification is a technical breaking of the rules for that particular event. DQs are an important part of the learning process for each swimmer. While it may seem like a tragedy in the moment to the swimmer, it is an expected part of the learning process and part of the process for every swimmer. As a parent, when talking with your child after a DQ, simply ask what they learned from that event and reinforce that this is a normal part of the learning process.

11. Where do I find information about times/events/sessions?

Meet Information for every meet in which we compete is posted on our website on the homepage for that meet. To view the meet information for any meet click on "Meets & Events" page at the top of the homepage. Find the meet in which you are interested and click on the meet name. On the page that loads, you will find a link titled "Meet Information". You will find all start times, event lists and information about the operation of the meet as part of this information.

12. Should my swimmer compete year-round?

As your child becomes more desirous to learn and excel at this sport, they will be telling you that they want to do this more and more. In any sport where you put more focus and energy, you will see a faster rate of improvement, but you should allow your child's level of desire to guide your decisions on their level of participation. A highly motivated swimmer can't stand to be out of the water.

13. What is a meet "session" and which one is right for my swimmer?

Meets are organized into sessions to provide a limited time period for each athlete. Sessions are generally organized by Age Group. An example would be a meet that will have sessions on Saturday and Sunday. Each morning session may start at 8:00 am, with warm-up at 7:00 am and include events for 9-10 and 11-12 year old swimmers. The afternoon sessions may start at 1:00 pm, with warm-up at 12:00 pm and include events for 8 & under and 13 & over swimmers. Choose the session(s) that include events for the age of your swimmer.

14. What is the difference between "invitational" and "Championship" meets?

"Invitational" meets refer to meets where the meet host invites specific teams to participate in the meet. An example of this would be the RISE "Josh Church Race Me" meet held every October. We invite teams to participate and only those teams are allowed to enter swimmers in the meet.

"Championship" meets refer to meets held by a governing body (state, regional, national or international) in order to crown a champion for their members. An example is the Illinois Swimming Senior Championships. This meet is held by Illinois Swimming for any swimmers registered within the state of Illinois. Individual state champions are crowned in each event, as well as team champions. .

15. What is an IM?

IM refers to Individual Medley, which is a race that includes all four competitive strokes swum in order, Butterfly-Backstroke-Breaststroke-Freestyle. Different age groups compete at different distances ranging from 100 to 400 yards or meters.

16. At a meet, how do I know which event we are on?

Most meets include an announcer who will announce each event or heat as the meet progresses. In addition, the pool may have a scoreboard that will state the event or heat as it swims. Finally, many meets offer the opportunity for spectators to purchase a heat sheet or meet program that will list each heat of the session so spectators can follow along as the meet progresses.

17. What is a bullpen?

For younger swimmers, host parents may operate a "bullpen" which gets all swimmers lined up and ready to go to the blocks for their event. It is a way for meet hosts to efficiently serve dozens of young swimmers without delaying the meet.

18. What is a mock meet?

Mock meets refer to practice meets held within an individual practice group to help teach swimmers how meets work and how to operate when attending a meet. Swimmers are taught the process for beginning an event, what to look for from officials during a meet, and how to prepare for competition.

19. How do I know for which meets to sign-up?

Any meet that is on our schedule for your practice group is a good meet to go to. Swimmers should limit themselves to two meets per month. If you have questions about which meets are best for your swimmer, you should talk to your Lead Coach.

20. How do I sign up for meets?

You sign up for meets on our website. To sign up for a meet, please refer to our "Meet Signup Procedure" by clicking here.

21. What it means when the site is telling the user they've exceeded the maximum # of entries?

Some of the meets have limited number of events per day or per entire meet. Example: 2 per day or 6 per entire meet (if meet lasts 3 days).

22. How do I cancel a meet sign-up?

To cancel a meet registration you have already completed, you simply reverse the process you used to register for the meet in the first place.
Once the entry deadline for a meet has passed, you cannot withdraw from a meet. Immediately following the entry deadline, RISE coaches select events and submit the team entry including entry fees to the meet host. Once that entry is submitted, you are responsible for any entry fees incurred on behalf of your swimmer even if your swimmer does not attend the meet.
Meet entries are generally submitted 4-6 weeks prior to the meet. If you know your swimmer will not attend a meet and the entry deadline has already passed, please email your Lead Coach so he/she is aware your swimmer will not attend the meet.

23. How much do meets cost?

Meet hosts set their own entry fees. In Illinois, some entry fees are standardized but can still vary depending on the type of meet. A typical three day meet will cost an individual swimmer $60-80 if the swimmer attends all days of the meet.

24. How do I find out where meets are held?

Meet information is available weeks in advance of the meet. This information includes start times for all sessions and any special rules or requirements for that meet. This information is always posted on our website on the home page for each meet. To view the home page, click on the name of the meet on our website.

25. What are time standards? Do all meets have time standards? How do I know if my swimmer has certain time standards?

Certain meets have time standards that a swimmer must have achieved in order to be entered in that meet. Time standards are published in advance with the meet information for each meet. Not all meets have time standards. You can check for time standards in the meet information available on the home page of the meet.

26. When do I pay for meets?

RISE bills for meets in arrears. We bill meets monthly.

27. How can I get more feedback on the meets and events my child should swim in the season?

Your Lead Coach is the best person to ask about the most appropriate meets for your swimmer. Your Lead Coach has the sole authority to select events for your swimmer in any meet in which he/she swims. If you have questions about the events selected for your child, please contact your Lead Coach.

Nutrition

1. What kind of food is good for my swimmer to eat?

For young swimmers, a basic healthy diet is all that is necessary for their continued development as a swimmer and a growing child. The one area where athletes are different than non-athletes is in hydration. All swimmers, regardless of age need to hydrate continually while practicing and competing. Swimmers should have a water bottle or sports drink at every practice and competition. More information about nutrition and hydration are available on our Athlete Education pages (we are working on that page).

Officials

1. Who are the officials and how do I become one?

Officials at USA swim meets are all volunteers, generally parents or friends of swimming. Any parent can become an official. To find out more about becoming an official, please contact our Vice-President Events by emailing [email protected].

2. What steps are involved in becoming an official?

There are a variety of different kinds of officials required for every meet. To become an official generally requires an initial class and a required number of training sessions. In order to keep your certification once you have completed training, you must work a required number of sessions each year and attend periodic recertification clinics. For specific answers about becoming an official, please contact our Vice-President Events by emailing [email protected].

3. Do officials get paid?

Officials are volunteers and do not get paid. Scholarships are available from Illinois Swimming for officials who wish to travel to and work National or International events. RISE does reimburse our officials for their USA Swimming annual registration.

4. How often do I have to work if I am an official?

In order to keep your certification once you have completed training, you must work a required number of sessions each year and attend periodic recertification clinics. For specific answers about becoming an official, please contact our Vice-President Events by emailing [email protected].

5. Who can I contact for more information on becoming an official?

To find out more about becoming an official, please contact our Head Coach or Age Group Head Coach.

Practices

1. How often should my child attend practices?

At a minimum, each swimmer should attend 50-85% of all practices scheduled for your group. Except at the introductory level of our sport, if a child goes to one practice a week, they will pretty much stand still in terms of development. If they go to 2-3 per week they will consistently improve. At the upper levels, swimmers need to attend 4-6-8 practices a week to continue to improve. You can never go to too many practices if the child wants to attend. You shouldn?t force your child to attend against their will, but at the same time, you shouldn't hold your child back from attending as often as they want.

2. Can I watch my child swim in practice?

Parents are welcome at all practices for all of the practice groups. We ask that you only watch and refrain from communication with your swimmer or the coaches at any time during practice.

3. What is dry land and why is it important?

Dry land practice is comprised of on land exercises and activities, which build strength, speed, coordination and conditioning in addition to the in water, practice. Dry land skills are part of the total package, which allow each swimmer the best opportunity for consistent improvement.

4. When and where are practices?

Each practice group has an individual practice calendar. Practices are held at Libertyville High School in Libertyville, IL. Practices for younger swimmers are generally held in the late afternoon/early evening on weekdays and throughout the day on Saturday. Older swimmers may also have early morning practices on weekdays. To view practice schedules, please click here.

5. My child is not keeping up and I want to give him/her private lessons. Does RISE offer that?

Most coaches on our staff offer private lessons if asked, or know someone who will. This is an individual decision by each coach, and private lessons are often limited by a lack of available pool time. RISE coaches may only give private lessons to current members of RISE Aquatic Team.

6. What can I do to help my child with swimming during the week?

The best thing you can do for your swimmer is to be a supportive parent in all ways. This includes providing your swimmer the opportunity to attend as many practices as they desire, providing them with proper nutrition before and after practice, reinforcing your coaches messages regarding being on time, paying attention and giving their best effort, and showing them how proud you are of them every day.

7. What do I do if my swimmer can't make practice?

It is not necessary to let your coach know each and every day whether or not your child will be at practice. However, when there are extraordinary events such as illness, family commitments or other activities that will prevent your swimmer from participating for an extended period of time, you should contact your coach as soon as possible.

8. What are Stroke Clinics? Does my swimmer need to attend Stroke Clinics? How do I find out about Stroke Clinics?

Stroke clinics are extra sessions run by the coaching staff that targets specific skills. Each clinic runs 30-90 minutes and is usually available prior to the start of the season or the first 2-3 weeks of the Fall and then Spring seasons. Stroke clinics are an additional opportunity for a swimmer to work on specific skills.
Each practice group will teach the necessary skills for advancement within the groups allotted practice time.

9. What should my swimmer wear to practice?

For an in-water practice, swimmers need to have a suit and goggles. RISE recommends that your swimmer not wear their competition or team suit to practice every day. You can purchase a wide variety of suits from The Swim Team Store for practice. This is an opportunity for your swimmer to pick a suit in a style and color they like. However, swimmers should wear competition style suits. It is not appropriate for a swimmer to wear board shorts or other beach style swim suits, or bikini style suits to practice. In addition to their suit and goggles, swimmers must bring their required equipment to every practice. For dryland practices, swimmers need to wear gym clothes (shorts, t-shirt, gym shoes and socks). On a cool day where dryland practice might be outdoors, swimmers should be prepared with a sweatshirt and/or sweatpants if needed.

Tryouts

1. What is a tryout and what should I expect?

All swimmers wishing to join RISE must participate in a tryout. Tryouts are scheduled in August and March of every year. Tryouts may be scheduled on multiple days, but each swimmer need only attend one day of tryouts. Notice of our tryouts is posted on our website on August 1st and March 1st of each year. This is the only notice of our tryouts.

In order to be eligible to be considered for a spot on our team, a swimmer must be at least 5-years-old prior to the start of the next season, able to complete 50 yards of freestyle and 25 yards of backstroke. Skills needed to make the team get more difficult as the swimmer ages. Please see the tryout flier for more information on what skills are needed by group. Swimmers who can complete the minimum requirements may be asked to demonstrate other skills such as butterfly or breaststroke, competition turns and starts as part of the tryout process. All swimmers who try out for the team are matched with the most appropriate practice group on our team.
Matches are made based on age and ability. All swimmers matched with each practice group are ranked based on their performance at tryouts and any available spots in that group are offered based on those rankings. Swimmers will be notified of tryout results the day following the last tryout of the season

2. Do I pay in advance for the season even though my child hasn't tried out and officially made the team yet?

No. Payment is made only after your swimmer has been offered a spot on the team.

Volunteer

1. When and how often should I volunteer, and does RISE do fundraising?

RISE is a parent/volunteer organization. As part of your commitment to the team, parents are expected to volunteer when their child participates. Parents can volunteer as part of competition (timing at meets, running concessions at hosted meets, etc) or outside of competition (coordinating team parties, organizing volunteers, etc) at their choice. The RISE Handbook states that any parent can be expected to volunteer at any meet in which their child is participating.

2. Who should I contact for volunteering?

The Head Coach is the person responsible for our volunteers. Contact information is available on the CATS Website or by clicking here.

3. How do I get more involved?

RISE is always looking for more parental involvement. For volunteering at meets, signup is done online as part of the meet registration process for your swimmer. Whenever you register your swimmer for a meet, you are encouraged to click on the "Job Signup" button to see what volunteers are needed for that meet.

4. How do I volunteer?

You can volunteer at meets by clicking on the Job Signup button under the meet name on our website. When you register your child for a meet, you are prompted to choose a volunteer position by clicking on the "Job Signup" button. To volunteer outside of competition, please contact our Volunteer Coordinator(s).

5. What if I signed up to volunteer and then is not able to?

The Parent Volunteer Policy requires you to find your own replacement if you cannot fulfill your volunteer commitment or assignment. In addition, you should contact RISE's Head Coach if you cannot fulfill your commitment at a RISE hosted meet.

6. What if I am assigned a meet job but can't attend?

The Parent Volunteer Policy requires you to find your own replacement if you cannot fulfill your volunteer commitment or assignment. In addition, you should contact RISE's Head Coach if you cannot fulfill your commitment at a RISE hosted meet.

Website

1. What if I cannot login to the website?

You need two pieces of information to login to the website. The first is the email you gave as your primary email when you registered with the club. If you do not know that email address, please contact the RISE Administrator via the Contact page on the website.
The second is your password. When you registered with the club, you were sent a randomly generated password for your first login. You may have changed that password after you first logged in. You can request your existing password be sent to your primary email address by clicking on the Request Password link on the login page of the website.
Each family has a single account, and each account has a single primary email used for login. It is not possible to create separate logins for each member of the family

2. How do I find my swimmer's best times?

To find your swimmer?s best times you must login to the website using your email and password. Once you have logged into your account, click on "My Meet Results" on the left hand side of the homepage. On the "My Results"page your swimmer is listed in the box next to "Member" and you are given a variety of choices to filter the results you want. If you have more than one swimmer, they will each be listed in a drop down member next to "Member". Complete your selections of the filters available and click on "Search" to see your swimmers best times.

3. How do I easily navigate around the RISE Website?

There are two primary menus for most things you will need to access on our website - News and Meets. Additionally, the top navigation bar includes menus for Team Info, RISE Shop and Group Calendars for the entire site. Along the left side of the home page are links for your account information, meet results and invoices. You can address questions to RISE coaches using the Contact page on the website.

4. Do I need a username/password for each family member?

Each family has a single login for their account. The login information consists of the primary email address associated with the account and the password for the account. You can change the primary email associated with your account at any time by clicking on "My Account" on the left hand side of the homepage once you have logged into your account with your current email and password. It is not possible to create additional logins for other family members.

5. Why require a username/password to use the RISE website?

The Username/Password allows you to access information specific to your swimmer and your account. These include financial information as well as meet entry and result information.

6. How can I change my email address or other contact information?

You can change your account information at any time by clicking on "My Account" on the left hand side of the homepage once you have logged into your account with your current email and password.

7. Can I change my password?

You can change your password at any time after you have logged into your account with your email address and current password. To change your password, click on "Password" at the top of the homepage.

8. What do I do if I forgot my password?

If you forget your password, you can have it sent to your account's primary email address by clicking on the link on the sign in page of the website.