Great Waves Practice + Meet: Procedures + Policies

Practice Policies:

Use of Facilities

 Parents are asked to stay off the pool deck during practice.

 Parents may leave the facility; however, in case of emergency be prepared to return quickly.

 Swimmers may use the shower and locker room facilities after practice as long as they respect other guests of the facility. Covid-19 may temporarily affect this privilege. 

Complaints of swimmer behavior may result in the parents being asked to accompany the swimmers to and from the locker room, or acces to lockerrooms being removed.

Attendance

Swimmers are permitted to participate at practices scheduled for their practice group ONLY. It is not acceptable to choose to attend another practice group without prior coach permission.

There are no mandatory attendance requirements. However, it should be recognized that those who progress the most during the season are those who have practiced the most. YOU GET OUT OF IT WHAT YOU PUT INTO IT!!!

All swimmers are expected to attend practice on a regular basis. The coaches would like all swimmers to aim for 100% attendance in all groups. Each day, the coaches give valuable instruction and carefully planned workouts. In the world of swimming, there is no such thing as “make up work”. Consistently missing practice will mean missing out on specific work each day. This can seriously hinder a swimmers long term development when it comes to stroke technique and fundamentals. In the situation of a prolonged absence, please notify your child’s coach.

Promptness
All swimmers are expected to arrive at the pool early enough (at least ten minutes) to be suited and ready to meet the coach at the designated time. If you arrive late, you will lose valuable practice time.


Practice and Meet Equipment
Swimmers should be equipped with:
A competitive swimsuit for meets- others are acceptable for practice  a Great Waves swim cap for meets- others are acceptable for practice
a pair of goggles (several pairs suggested)


Practice Cancellations and Inclement Weather
Practices may be cancelled at the last minute due to weather. The coaches wait as long as possible before canceling a practice but will allow for driving time to the practice facility. Evening practice decisions are made by 2:00+ 4:00pm whenever possible
If practice is going to be cancelled a notice will be placed on the website— and an email notification sent out.
In the event that something occurs at an individual facility that forces practice to be cancelled at the last minute, and swimmers have already been dropped off for practice, they will be instructed to call their parents to have them picked up early. In such cases, a coach will always remain at the practice site until all swimmers have been picked up.

Swim Meet Policies:

Team Area

Swimmers are encouraged to sit with the team at all times during a meet and cheer on your team members. Each individual swimmer and their family is responsible to get the swimmer to the coach at least four events prior to their event. Swimmers must keep the area clean and must abide by facility rules.

Swim Meet Apparel

All female swimmers must wear the Great Waves cap to swim meets and all swimmers must wear the team swim suit and team t-shirt to swim meets. Team suits, swim caps, Great Waves t-shirts, and  warm-ups can be purchased through the team. Ordering times will be announced prior to the start of the season.

Swim Team Functions

A few team activities will be scheduled periodically throughout the season. Please pay close attention to the updates for related information. We have some non-swimming activities such as parties, and age group appropriate activities.

Sign Up/Deadline

All sign ups will be done through the website. There will be a deadline, if you miss it you will not be in the meet! PERIOD. All fees will be stated on the sign up, and will be automatically collected when you commit to attending or the deadline. 

 Events

 Coaches will approve events that parents and swimmers pick for meets. We will also adjust and communicate if we feel that your swimmer should be in different events. In some instances, your swimmer maybe too fast or too slow to swim specific events at certain meets. 

Check In

 At most swim meets there will be a “check in” (pieces of paper with our Team List and Events) on a wall. You must circle your name in order to check in that will let the meet host know that you are there and ready to swim . Once you do so, you will proceed to your team sitting area and check in with the coach. 

Warm Up + Warm Down

Two very important aspects to being a great swimmer. It is imperative that we warm up (get your muscles warmed up) as a team (unless told differently by coach for specific reasons). In order to ensure this, arrive early, check in and be ready to swim. Warm down is as important to warm up. We will warm down (stretching muscles out and getting lactic acid out of the body) after every swim, and after each session of the meet. No exemptions. 

Possessions: Please do not pack or bring on deck anything that is expensive or able to get wet. Many times swimmers things are soaked by the end of the meet. Make sure your kids put any possessions back in their bag if they are not using them. Many things get lost or misplaced at swim meets.

Extra Gear: Make sure you and your swimmer pack extra towels, snacks, water, and extra clothes. Each pool deck has different temperatures etc. Make sure you are prepared for any circumstance. Also your swimmer needs fuel and to stay hydrated; snacks and water are best. 

Just For Parents

A parent should:

  1. Volunteer, volunteer, volunteer! Parent volunteers perform a variety of tasks. All jobs are important for the swim team to
    operate smoothly and effectively. For this reason, it is essential that every parent participate in some way by volunteering
    his or her time and talent during the course of the season.

  2. Conduct himself/herself in a manner to earn the respect and confidence of the athletes, coaches, and officials.

  3. Model good sportsmanship in the following ways:
    Encourage all swimmers
    Control your emotions in frustrating situations  Abide by referees’ or officials’ decisions.
    Congratulate the opponents when they win.

  4. Leave the coaching to the coaches! Do not pressure or volunteer swimming advice to your swimmers. Parental coaching can cause much confusion and harm to the swimmer. He needs only one source of coaching input - from the coach.

  5. Keep informed! CHECK THE WEB SITE (). All relevant documents will be posted on the web page and emailed to the contact email.