Parent Meeting 7PM September 30--Kellogg RM, WY
A Devilfish parent meeting is scheduled for Sunday, September 30, 7pm in the Kellogg Room at the Westfield Area Y. Head Coach Brian Guidera will review important information regarding the short course swim season. Representatives from the Parent Assistance Committee (PAC) will discuss team volunteer needs, social and fundraising events and the Devilfish Classic.
In the meantime, please sign in to Team Unify to verify that all your swimmer(s) information and contact information—email, cell phones, etc--is correct. Check tee shirt size and jacket/sweatshirt size as well. If your swimmer has a nickname, indicate the preferred name so that it appears on all team lists. Commit or decline attendance for all active posts of events/meets.
Continue to check Team Unify frequently to stay informed of all things “DEVILFISH”including information about meet eligibility, dates and deadlines; practice changes, social events, dual meets and teams, volunteer commitments, championships, 2012-13 time standards, age-up dates, etc.
Basic definitions: (Terms will be explained in greater detail at the parent meeting)
“USA” vs. “YMCA” --All Devilfish are registered with USA swimming and YMCA swimming.
“Age Groups”—8&U, 9-10, 11-12, 13-14, 15-18. Swimmer’s age for YMCA meet season is as of Dec. 1. For USA meets, a swimmer’s age is his/her age on the first day of the meet. (Example: If a swimmer turns 11 on Dec. 2 and is entered in a USA meet that day, he/she must age-up to 11-12’s. At a YMCA meet whether held on Dec. 5 or Mar 5, he/she is still 10 and swims 9-10.)
“Dual Meet”--Closed meets between two Y teams held on Saturdays lasting about 1.5-2 hours held at home or another area YMCA. WY has two girls’ teams-A&B, and two boys’ teams A&B. Six meets per team per season. Team rosters will be posted on TU when they are finalized.
“Invitational Meet”—Open meets lasting 1-3 days with age-group sessions and established time standards held at various area pools, i.e. other YMCAs, Princeton, Rutgers, GCIT etc.
“Time Standard”— A minimum time a swimmer must achieve to be eligible to enter a particular event at an invitational meet. USA time standards are bronze, silver, gold. YMCA time standards are bronze, silver, state. Some meets do not require time standards (NT) and some meets have maximum time standards. Always check the eligibility list when available!
Some helpful links:
ultimateswimshop.com (Ultimate Swim Shop) Westfield Y Devilfish Team apparel vendor.
njswim.org(NJ USA SWIMMING) Meet calendar as well as NJ/USA time standards and results.
njymcaswim.org(NJ YMCA SWIMMING) Y directions, meets results as well as Y time standards.
Besmarttinc.com(BeSmartt Inc.) Meet information, warm-up times, timing assignments and real time results for most meets in NJ including the Devilfish Classic.
For “stat stalkers”:
usaswimming.org (USA SWIMMING) Time search utility with progressions for any swimmer registered with USA Swimming. Everything Team USA!
swimmingworldmagazine.com(Swimming World Magazine) Great time conversion utility.
ymcaswimminganddiving.org(National YMCA of the USA) Meet information and coverage of Y nationals including real-time results and video.
