How do I join the swim team?
All swim team members must first be full members of the Lakota Hills Swim Club. You can register on our website.
How long does the swim season last?
We generally start practicing the week before Memorial Day, and the season concludes with the Tri-County League Championship at the end of July. Prior to the end of school, practices are run in 2 sessions after school (the pool is heated, and so is generally comfortable by the end of May). Once school is out, the 3 practices are in the morning, with the High School age kids being earliest and small kids last. A detailed practice schedule is located under the Team Info tab.
How long does a swim meet last?
Most meets will start at 6:00pm, with warm-ups an hour before. The last events are generally completed by 9:30, but that can vary somewhat depending on how many "exhibition heats" are run, or if we are delayed due to weather concerns. For those 6 and under swimmers, their last event will wrap up earlier than that.
Do I have to attend all of the practices?
Obviously, you get out of it what you put into it. All swimmers must attend at least 3 practices a week, including the day of a meet, in order to swim in the meet. Details can be found on the under the team rules tab. Exceptional cases should be discussed with the coaching staff.
What if we will be gone for a meet?
You must sign up on the website for all meets that you wish to attend. All entries for a meet will be done a few days prior to the meet date. If you have accidentally failed to sign up for a meet, you must email the Head Coach. There is a league requirement that you must swim two league meets in order to swim in Tri-County Championships.
Do I have to sign my child up to swim events in a meet? How do I know what events they will be swimming?
No, the coaching staff will assign all swimmers to events for dual meets. This information will be available just prior to the meet, posted on a set of boards that hang on the back fence of the pool (by the basketball court; the location differs at away meets), divided by age group. Be sure to check this information when you arrive at the pool, and write down the event number, heat and lane number for your reference (for most kids, this means on the back of their hand. See Swimming 101 tab for more information on specifics at each meet.
For invitational meets, you will sign-up for specific events. Those events are charged per event.
How does my child know when to get to the starting blocks?
All swimmers are responsible for keeping track of the current event (usually posted near the starter's horn) and reporting to the blocks. There are young swimmer coordinators who will help to get the under-6 and under-8 kids to the blocks before RELAYS ONLY prior to their events.
As a parent, you will be responsible for getting your child to the block at the start of the event, usually 4-5 events prior. This is especially important for relay events, it's always a shame when 3 kids miss a relay because the 4th swimmer cannot be located.
Why does my child only swim in one or two events at a meet, while other swimmers are in 3 or 4 events?
The coaching staff does their best to ensure that over the course of the season, all swimmers within an age group will have the same opportunities to swim. All swimmers are encouraged to try to participate in one of the 2 invitational meets during the season to try to get additional races.
Do I have to swim in the invitational meets?
No one is required to swim at the invitational meets, but all swimmers are strongly encouraged to try to participate in one of the invitational meets during the season.
How do I sign-up for an invitational meet?
Just like any other meet, the invitational's signup will be on our website for you to register. Payment for your events will be charged to the credit card on file. Coaches will assign the relay events, and all of the registration information will passed to the host pools as a team. The same procedure should be followed for the Championship meet, except that there is no additional fee for this meet.
How do I know if practice is canceled due to inclement weather? How do I know if a meet is canceled?
An email will be sent out by the coaches if practice or a meet is canceled due to weather. Practice will continue if there is a rain shower, but not for lightening or thunder. Because of the timing, cancellation may vary by age group session.
We will attempt to swim most meets, but may delay or cut short a meet for weather reasons. These are usually last-minute decisions, so when in doubt, plan to show-up for the meet.
Do I need to volunteer to work at the meets? How do I do that?
Yes, each family is required to volunteer during the season in order to receive a refund of the participation check at the end of the season. The number of volunteer credit hours required will be announced at Meet the Coaches night. These jobs generally include timers, concessions, parking, etc. Certain season-long jobs, like being a committee chair, also fulfill the full requirement. All job sign-ups are done on this website under each individual event. Go to the event, click on the "Job Sign-up" button, then select the volunteer positions you would like to fill. Click on the "Submit" button and then verify that you are signed up for the job you selected. The website tracks the volunteer positions each family works so make sure you sign up on line to get credit for your work.
Who brings the food to meets for Concessions?
Of course we encourage anyone to feel free to bring a donation for Concessions at any of our home meets. However, we ask that each family sign-up to bring at least 2 food items during the season. Sign-ups for specific needs are on the website under "Job Sign-ups" for each meet, but if in doubt, we can always use cut vegetables, baked potatoes, cookies, brownies, and candy.
What do the fees and fund raising go to support?
On a seasonal basis, the bulk of the money goes to pay the coaching staff. We also supply each swimmer with a Wavemakers team T-shirt. We also occasionally have large, non-seasonal expense such as replacing lane lines, the electronic starter's console, starting blocks or block covers, for which we budget and save year-to-year so that these expenses can be covered when they arise.
Who do I contact about... ?
Contact information for all board members is available online. At the very top of the website you will see the word "Coaches". Click on that and then scroll all the way down to the bottom of the page. All of the board members and their e-mail links are listed there.
