Transparency Regarding WEST Operations
Good Evening WEST,
The safety of our entire community is a top priority and if you have questions or concerns, we want to hear them. As a private non-profit organization and facility, the only way we can survive long-term is to keep operating in a safe and sustainable manner. If you are not comfortable with our procedures at this, or any time, simply don’t participate and contact our office to discuss individual options. Our goal is to provide our services while following safety ordinances as outlined by our various governing bodies. We hope this message is informative and helpful to our community.
Since the Governor’s guidelines do not specifically define Swim Team operations, we determined groups of 3 swimmers per lane can both appropriately space athletes within the lane and space from other groups. This is consistent with the Guideline’s structuring of Group Lessons stating, “up to 5 students in each group are allowed for independent swimmers”. Our plan is consistent with USA Swimming’s Guidelines - which the Governor’s Guidelines also link to. By limited Swim Team Practices to only 18, we are conservatively under both the Guideline’s capacity restrictions of 25% facility capacity (42.5 people) and the pool square footage formula as outlined in a later update to the Governor’s Guidelines (43.75 swimmers).
The Guidelines specifically state “for lap swimming, only one person is allowed in each lane” and there are many distinct differences between Lap Swim and Swim Team Practice. For example, during Lap Swim we cannot control the speed of individual swimmers and/or when they take breaks to rest on the wall. During Swim Team Practice however, each group is assigned by speed and all swimmers move in a coordinated manner. Practices are structured with strict time management and training intervals along with swimmer’s knowledge of pace clocks allows coaches to effectively manage athlete distancing.
PNS Coaches have been actively communicating with the Governor’s Office regarding the reopening of pools. Derived from those communications, it is generally understood that Swim Team Practices fall under the category of Fitness Classes which has been determined to follow the 25% capacity rule and proper social distancing. Not only does our plan for Swim Team Practices meet this criteria, it is consistent with the majority of PNS and Summer League teams that are now back operating with a range of anywhere between 2 and 5 swimmers per lane. Compared to most of whom we have spoken to, our Reopening Plan is consistent and slightly conservative. We have reviewed our plan closely and feel we are operating in a safe manner.
If you are uncomfortable with your swimmer sharing the lane with others, or any of plan’s procedures, do not attend practices. We respect each family’s decision to make the best judgements for their individual situation and circumstance. If your swimmer is not able to attend practices and would like at-home workout tips / help, please email their Group Coach. We are also working on additional dryland offerings for those that are not able to attend practices yet, and having input from those individuals would be helpful in determining those programs. We will allow Club Team swimmers who are not able to attend Swim Team Practices due to safety concerns, to book a lane during Lap Swim times.
Protecting our community is a top concern and we want to do our part to both limit the spread of the virus while keeping our team, facility, and mission alive.
