So Your Child Joined the Woodcrest Swim Team, Now What?
Welcome to Our Swim Family!!!!
General Swim Team Questions
- Who can answer my questions about the swim team?
Any general questions shouls be sent to [email protected]. Questions related to Officials (Starter, Referee, Stroke & Turn) may be directed to John Doyle ([email protected])
- What strokes do the swimmers use in competition?
Freestyle, backstroke, breaststroke, and butterfly
- I see that there are different age groups for the swimmers. How does that work?
The age groups are 8 & under, 9-10, 11-12, 13-14, 15-18. Every other year your child will have an "up" year when they are the oldest in their age group and a "down" year when they are the youngest in their age group.
- Does Woodcrest have an Olympic size pool?
No. The length of Woodcrest's pool is 25 meters. An Olympic size pool is 50 meters. A 25 meter pool is sometimes referred to as a junior Olympic size pool.
- What is Tri-County?
The Tri-County Swimming Association is an organization representing 33 summer swim clubs in three counties (Burlington, Camden, Gloucester.) Woodcrest is one of the 33 swim clubs. You can visit the website at www.tricoswim.org for more information.
Tri-County is also used a shorthand for the "Tri-County Championship Meet" that is held at the end of the summer swim season. To attend Tri-County a swimmer must qualify by swimming a fast time in the particular event. The times required to qualify for each age group and stroke are listed on the swim team bulletin board and at the Tri-County website.
In addition, our team will field relay teams for Tri-County which do not require members to individually quality as indicated above. This is a great opportunity for our swimmers to participate!
Swim Team Practices
- Who are the coaches?
Information on the coaching staff is available on TeamUnify. https://www.teamunify.com/rectcspawsd
- How often and when is practice?
The practice schedule is available under the Swim Team tab on TeamUnify. https://www.teamunify.com/rectcspaws
- Should I stay and watch a swim practice?
You're welcome to watch. Please refrain from talking with the coach during practice. Practice is when the coach spends time with the swimmers. Please hold you questions for the coach until before or after practice.
- What happens if we have a conflict and my child is not able to attend practice?
In the case of a planned absence you can speak to the coach ahead of time or send an email to the coach. In the case of illness, if it is for a meet please try and contact the coach. There is no reason to follow up if it is for a practice.
- Does my child need to wear the team swim suit during practice? During a meet? What brand and where do I buy it?
Not during practice. In fact, to reduce wear-and-tear the swim team suit should only be worn during meets. The swim team suit changes from year-to-year. Swimmers who do not wish to purchase a new suit are welcome to wear a red or black suit. The Swim Team tab on TeamUnify has information on the suit for this season.
- My child attends a summer day camp. Can s/he still participate?
Yes! Camper practice is held nightly from 5:30 to 6:30 pm. To sign up for this practice speak to the coach. If your child attends a camp for a one or two week session they can attend camper practice.
Swim Meets
- What is a dual meet and what other kinds of meets are there?
A dual meet is held between two swim teams. One swim club is the host team and the other is the visiting team. Woodcrest participates in five dual "A" meets and three or four dual "B" meets. The schedule is available from the Swim Team tab on TeamUnify.
There are two main championship meets that Woodcrest participates in: Cherry Bowl (13 teams) and the Tri-County Championship Meet (33 teams). Each is discussed more below.
There may be additional meets offered by other clubs and advertised at www.tricoswim.org.
- What is an "A" meet and what is a "B" meet?
"A" meets are competitive and the results determine what division Woodcrest will swim in next year. "A" meets are held on Saturday mornings and have 66 events that include all age groups. At the end of the swim season the team with the best record moves up a division and the team with the worst record moves down a division. Woodcrest is currently in C Division.
"B" meets are not as competitive and the results have no effect on Woodcrest's standing in the division. This does not mean that the kids swimming in “B” meets are any less talented and often you will see swimmers from the “A” meet swimming strokes that they are not able to swim in an “A” meet because their times are not as competitive. The “B” meets are also limited to 12 and under swimmers and are held on Wednesday evenings. Additionally, swimmers may not swim events for which they have Tri-County qualifying times in the “B” meets. "B" meets have fewer events and tend to be less structured than "A" meets.
- Can a child swim in both “A” and “B” meets?
Yes. This is up to the coach. You should let a coach know if you have a specific request or concern. The coach will have more flexibility in putting your child into a B meet and has less flexibility with an A meet.
If a swimmer has qualified for the Tri-County Championship Meet in a particular stroke they can't swim that stroke in a “B” meet.
- How do we know which meet my child will swim in?
The coach will tell you what event(s) your child will be swimming in the day before the meet. The "meet sheet" is posted at the Friday night pep rally and on the morning of the meet.
- How many meets will my child participate in?
It depends on a variety of factors including your child's swimming ability, the availability of other children within the age group, and coaching strategy.
The summer swim season is relatively short (five weeks) with only five dual meets. At most a swimmer would participate in Cherry Bowl and then Tri-County, so the season is at most seven weeks long.
- What if my child is unable to participate in a meet? ***This may change.****
Meets are scheduled in different ways.
B meets you have to indicate you wish to participate. Only swimmers between the ages of 5 and 14 may participate in a B meet. There are no 15-18 events for B meets. To participate in a B meet sign in to a B meet binder and indicate two strokes you might be interested in swimming. If you wish to participate in a meet you use the B meet binder.
A meets you have to tell the coaches you are not available. All swimmers on the team have the chance that they will be scheduled in a B meet. Coaches will let swimmers know at Friday practice if they are swimming. If your child is not able to swim you have to sign out using the A meet binder.
- When are the meets?
"A" meets are Saturday morning. The coach will tell you when to have your child at the meet for warmups.
"B" meets are on Wednesday evening. Again, the coach will tell you when to have your child at the meet for warmups.
A schedule of the meets can be found in the Swim Team tab on TeamUnify.
- How long does a meet last?
"B" meets are usually 2 to 2.5 hours.
"A" meets are usually 2.5 to 3 hours long.
- What teams will we swim against?
It depends on the division. The teams in each division are listed at the Tri-County website: www.tricoswim.org.
A schedule of the meets can also be found in the Swim Team tab on TeamUnify.
- Where can I find directions to the swim club we are visiting?
You can find directions to all the clubs at the Tri-County website (www.tricountyswimming.org). Often the team will meet at Woodcrest and drive in a caravan to the opponent's swim club.
- What are the events in a meet?
The events in a "B" vary some; however, there are 66 events in an "A" meet. B meet events vary according to the discretion of the home club.
- What is a "heat"?
An event may be divided into multiple "heats." Usually a dual meet will only have one heat in each event with 2 to 8 swimmers depending on the number of swimmers and the size of the pool. The championship meets with multiple teams often have multiple heats of each event to accommodate the large number of swimmers.
- What is a relay? And what stroke(s) do the swimmers use?
Relays consist of four "legs" with a different child swimming each leg. The distance varies with the age group from 100 meters (four lengths of the pool) for the younger age groups to 200 meters for the older age groups. You can review the full list of events to get a feel for where the relays occur in the meet.
There are two types of relays: medley and freestyle. The medley relay has four different legs: backstroke, breaststroke, butterfly, freestyle. The freestyle relay has four legs of freestyle.
- How is it determined what swimmers will be on a relay?
The coach makes this decision. There are a variety of factors involved.
- How is the winner of a dual meet determined?
The fastest swimmers in each event earn points for their team using the following scale:
- Individual events: 1st = 5 points, 2nd = 3 points, 3rd = 1 point
- Relay events: 1st = 7 points, 2nd = 0 points
- What does DQ mean?
Disqualification - this can happen for a variety of reasons including starting early (false start), leaving the diving block early in a relay, performing an illegal stroke, performing an illegal turn, not touching the wall with two hands during a breaststroke turn, etc. If you'd like to learn more, see the Swim Meet Officials section below.
- What does it mean when my child is "swimming up"?
The coach may determine that the team (and perhaps the swimmer) can best be served by having your child swim in an older age bracket. This is a complement to the swimmer because it shows the coach feels that the he or she can swim effectively and will make a significant contribution to the team.
- How do swimmers earn ribbons and medals at meets?
In dual "A" meets, ribbons are given for the first four places in individual events and first place in the relay events. In "B" meets, ribbons are given to all participants.
The policies vary with championship meets and are usually posted at the websites associated with the championship meet.
- What is Cherry Bowl? When and where is it?
Cherry Bowl is the championship meet with the 13 Cherry Hill swim clubs. The hosting of the meet is rotated between the clubs so it varies with each season.
Swimmers are allowed to swim in one individual event and two relays at Cherry Bowl.
- What is Tri-County? When and where is it?
The Tri-County Championship meet (33 teams) is held in early August. The Tri-County Web Site will have the details. It's an amazing event and you should encourage your swimmer to go if they qualify.
Swimmers may participate in at most two individual events and two relays. Swimmers with must participate in at least two regular season “A” meets to participate in Tri-County.
- How are the results of the meet posted?
The team results will be announced at the end of the meet.
Individual times are posted at the Tri-County web site within the week. A ranking of the best times is kept over the course of the season and is used for seeding (determining the order that swimmers compete in) the championship meets (Cherry Bowl and Tri-County).
Swim Meet Volunteers
- How can I best help the team?
Support your child by bringing them to practice, preparing them for the meet and cheering for them and the team at the meets.
Volunteer to help out at a swim meet or with other swim team duties. It's an all-volunteer effort and there is always something more that can be done. Meets cannot start if there are not enough volunteers present to help.
Consider becoming a stroke & turn judge, starter or referee. The officiating is all volunteer and it always helps to have more people trained to step in when others have scheduling conflicts for a meet. You may also enjoy the meet more when you know the rules well.
It takes approximately 24 volunteers to run a meet:
1 Starter
1 Referee
2 Stroke & Turn Officials
1 Place Judge
1 Head Timer
9 Timers
2 Stagers
3 Score Keepers/Records
2 Runners
1 Announcer
2 Ribbon writers
Plus we will need four (4) volunteers to work the snack table. We always need people to bring food for both the Friday night pep rallies and the home meet snack table.
- How is a meet officiated and who are the officials?
A swim meet will have a referee who runs the meet, a starter who announces the event and starts the swimmers, multiple stroke and turn judges, a head timer and multiple timers for each lane. You'll get the hang of the flow of events at an "A" meet very quickly. The pace is rapid since there are 66 events.
- I see some parents timing the events. Can I do that too?
Sure. At "A" meets there are three timers required on each lane. At "B" meets there are usually only two timers and one is all that is required since the times are unofficial. See the head timer if you are interested in timing. If there are already sufficient timers the head timer may take your name to have you as an alternate if someone has to leave or take a bathroom break.
If you are a timer make sure you use the strobe light instead of the horn for starting your stopwatch. This is why you may see timers craning their necks around the swimmers or other timers to make sure they can see the strobe light.
Although each lane has three timers, there will be two timers from the opposing team timing your swimmer. Likewise we will have two of three timers doing the timing for the opposing team's lanes.
Parents can also be place judges. A place judge records the order of finish and acts as a cross-check to the timings in each lane.
- Why do the timers have to go to the other end of the pool for some events?
The 8 & unders and 9-10 groups have some 25 meter events. They dive off the blocks (or start from the wall for backstroke) and swim one length of the pool. The timers have to see them touch the wall so they are located at the opposite end of the pool from the starting blocks.
By the way, it is legal to start from the side of the pool instead of a starting block. You may see this with some of the younger swimmers who are not comfortable diving yet.
The 11-12 year-olds and older have all 50 or 100 meter events. They start and end on the same edge of the pool by the starting blocks
