Aces Aquatics FAQ page

Q. How do swim seasons run?

A. The winter swim season runs from September through March.  The spring season runs from April through June.  The summer season runs from July through August. 

Q. Are precomp swimmers expected to purchase team suits and caps? 

A. No.  Precomp swimmers are not required to purchase team suits/caps, but may if they would like to do so.

Q. How often are swimmers expected to be at practice?

A. Practice makes improvement. We encourage swimmers to attend as many practices as possible. Each training group has a certain commitment level for the number of practices to attend. These levels reflect what we believe to be the minimal number of practices to obtain the most benefit from that training group. More than that is better, less often and it will be difficult to show stroke and conditioning improvement.

Q. Does my child need all the extras that the other swimmers have (i.e. fins, goggles, swim caps)?

A. We encourage all swimmers to own their own pair of training fins. Goggles and caps are not mandatory, but they do enhance the swimmer’s experience.

Q. How many swim meets is my child suppose to attend?

A. Comp 1 and Comp 2 swimmers are strongly encouraged to attend swim meets, but not mandatory. Swim meets are a very important part of the program and not attending will limit your swimmer’s experience. Swimmers and parents should review the team’s meet schedule and plan accordingly. If you are not sure what meets you are eligible to attend, ask the coach.

Q. What do we need to bring to a swim meet?

A. Ideally, each swimmer should have: two towels, two sets of goggles just in case one set breaks; two swim caps if they wear swim caps; sweats that are easy to get on and off between events (parents may be hot in a pool area, but swimmers chill easily); healthy snacks like fruit, fruit drinks, crackers (please be considerate of the facility’s policy on having food on the pool deck); shampoo, conditioner, and brush; and of course a swim suit (ideally this is different then their practice suit and is only used for competitions).

Q. What is “marking my swimmer for a meet”?

A. We encourage new or young swimmers to have someone write their events, heat and lane on their arm or leg with a pen or Sharpie, so they have a reference of what and when they are swimming at a swim meet. This saves time and stress of both the coaches and athletes at a swim meet. An example:

A. Meets may be one or two days over the weekend for one weekend per month.  Swimmers will need to arrive for warm-ups prior to the start of the meet.  Swimmers will know which races they are competing in prior to arriving at the swim meet, but will not know which heat or lane they will be in until programs/heat sheets are completed and printed just prior to the start of the meet.  Cost of heat sheets vary (typically between $3 and $7) depending on the meet.  Once heat sheets are printed, parents/volunteers/swimmers work together to mark our swimmers arms with their heats/lanes.

Note:  I expect swimmers to make as many meets as possible.  Competing both days is your choice.  The team loses rating if swimmers are not competing regularly. 

Q. My child was DQ’ed during an event at a swim meet.  What does this mean? 

A. Swimmers swimming in their first USA Swimming meets may see their children being disqualified (DQ’d) during an event.  The technical rules of swimming are designed to provide fair and equitable conditions of competition and to promote uniformity in the sport.  Each swimming stroke has specific rules designed to ensure that no one swimmer gets an unfair competitive advantage over another swimmer.  The DQ’s are the result of a technical rule violation, such as turning to soon for the turn in a backstroke or pulling on a lane rope.  For that event, the swimmer does not receive a finish time.  Coaches and swimmers will work at practices to reduce and eliminate incorrect technique(s) that cause a DQ.

Q. What is the cost to participate in a meet? 

Meet costs vary, but are typically $10-$15 participate fee per swimmer and then an additional $5-$7 per event.

Q. How are relays determined?

A. The coaches determine who swims what on the relay. Sometimes, depending on what type of meet and who is available, a coach may swim the fastest swimmers possible or they may spread kids amongst different relays for more points or more experience. This is solely the coach’s decision.

Q. Do I need to help at swim meets? I don’t know what to do.

A. The sport of competitive swimming relies on volunteers. Without people volunteering there would be no competitive swimming.  Please volunteer any way you can.

Q. What are Regionals, Silvers and Age Groups? 

A. Regionals meet is held toward the end of our winter swim season and has qualifying times.  This will be the final meet of the winter season for many of our swimmers.  The Silvers meet has qualifying times that are more difficult than Regionals.  You can qualify for Silvers at Regionals.  Age Groups are age group championships.  It has the most difficult qualifying times.  Times can be made at both Regionals and Silvers.  Whatever your final meet happens to be, we are actively practicing until the end of March.

Q. What is “Meet Mobile” and “Deck Pass”?

A. Meet Mobile is a mobile app that allows you to access meet information about your meets including heat sheet information and real-time result.  Please note, not all meets utilize meet mobile and there is both a free app and a subscription for a fee through iTunes or other app stores. 

Deck Pass is a mobile app that USA Swimming members may utilize to set goals for the season and keep track of your progress.  Swimmers can earn digital patches for competing and check your best times, recent meets and rankings.  Coaches can get team’s times, scores and ranks.

Q. What are the benefits of a USA Swimming membership?

A. USA Swimming membership allows your child to swim at swim meets.  It also provides catastrophic insurance at practices and sanctioned USA Swimming meets. Swimmers receive newsletters and other information from USA Swimming.

POINTS TO KEEP IN MIND:

Role:  A parents role is to encourage, support, transport and supply.  The coaches’ role is to provide feedback.  If you feel that there is something wrong with your child’s stroke or you are confused as to why your child was disqualified, please ask.  The swimmers role is to accept advice and coaching with a positive attitude and to put it into practice. 

Individual swimmers develop at different rates. This fact alone may cause stress for swimmers and external pressure cannot quicken or slow the pace of natural development. Excessive pressure can, however, contribute to burnout.

The process, not the awards, is the most valuable part of competitive swimming. The friendships, lessons, skills, and memories gained from participating in the sport and the team last forever. They help create a healthy, happy, and strong person.