Missing Races

MISSING RACES

Missing races happens sometimes. The meets are busy and distracting and every meet flows at a different pace. When your swimmer misses a race, they need to come talk to coach. First off, to see if we still have time to sneak them into another heat. (Please note: this only happens at the discretion of the head meet official and can never be guaranteed, and never looks good for our team).  Secondly, to talk about why the race was missed and about making sure it does not happen again. If we missed a race because (of an emergency) we are hurt, or not feeling well enough to race, that's something that needs to be brought to coach's attention so we can take care of the situation. If the reason is we missed the race because “I was playing with my iPad.” Then maybe having the iPad out is not a good idea; we are there to swim after all.  More than one offense in this case will subject swimmers to penalization (i.e. not being permitted to attend future meets)

                Ultimately, we do hold the kids at every age accountable for making sure they know where they need to be and when they need to be there. As our team grows it is important to hold the kids accountable for learning where they need to be.  It helps us focus more on the swimming and less on unnecessary micro-management and telling kids where to go. Having parent help in this regard is great, assuming you are on the deck with your swimmer. At some pools like B.U., M.I.T., or W.P.I. this is not a possibility. The kids will be held accountable for paying enough attention to be ready for races, warm ups, PRACTICE..... So that when the time comes for them to have to do it on their own, they can be self-reliant and can get where they need to be.