Overview
Welcome to Five Oaks Swim Team. If you have never attended a swim meet before, it can be a bit confusing. This will give you an overview of what to expect.
Five Oaks swims in the Central Maryland Swim League (CMSL). We are presently in Division V. There are 8 divisions within that league and each team competes in meets (5 total) within their division, known as a dual meet. At the end of the season, each division will host a championship meet, known as Divisionals. Swimmers must qualify to participate in this meet. In addition, there is a league championship meet, known as Straele, this is also a qualifying meet. The coaches/team reps will let you know if your child has qualified to swim in these meets as the time gets closer.
Five Oaks also hosts the Don Schaub Meet. Swimmers who have not placed in the top 3 at the meets are qualified to swim. Parents will be notified by the coaches/team reps if your child has qualified to swim in this meet.
Time Trials
Time trials are a “practice” meet. This is the first meet of the year, usually in late June. We do not compete against another team at time trials. At this meet, swimmers have an opportunity to practice swimming several events for “time”. This gives the coaches and swimmers and idea of what they can do and what they need to work on.
Meets
Swimmers may be entered in up to 3 events (Teams in Division IV or lower allow swimmers to swim up to 4 events. Division III or higher teams allow 3 events)
The dual meets start at 9:00 AM. There is a warm-up period that begins one hour before the meet so that swimmers can get in the pool and warm- up. The home team warmups from 8-8:30am and the visiting team from 8:30-9am.
Lineups (How do I know what I am swimming)
Swimmers are placed into a final lineup the Wednesday. Entries for the meet will be posted at
http://www.sports-tek.com/TMOnline/index.asp?theTeam=FiveOaksSwimTeamMD&REMOTE=T no later than Friday before the meet. Entries will also be posted at the pool the morning of the meet.
Please make sure to remember your events so that you do not miss them.
Heats
Each event will be broken up into groups called "heats." A heat may have 8 or fewer swimmers and each event may have several heats, depending on the number of swimmers entered in the race. Each swimmer is seeded, based on time, with the fastest swimmers in the last heat and usually placed in the center lanes of the pool.
Scoring
Points are awarded to the team who places first, second and third in each event. The team with the most points at the end of the meet- wins.
First place- 5 points, Second place- 3 points, Third place- 1 point
Clerk of Course
The announcer will call out each event as is approaches and instruct swimmers to report to the Clerk of Course.
Parents- please listen to the announcer and get your swimmer to the clerk of course on time, when instructed. It is not the responsibility of the clerk of course or other parents to find your children and line them up. So, please pay attention and help your child get to their event in time so that your child does not miss their swims
The volunteers at Clerk of Course will line up the swimmers by event, heat, and lane numbers.
They will direct the swimmers to the starting block when it is their turn to swim.
Order of Events
Each swimmer will compete within their age group and sex. The groupings are as follows: 6&under, 8&under, 9-10, 11-12, 13-14, and 15-18.
Meet Official
The meet official, dressed in white, is responsible for running the meet according to the rules, starting each event and
Disqualifications
Stroke and turn judges watch the swimmers to ensure they’re doing regulation strokes and turns. If they see something incorrect during a race, the judge will raise a hand to indicate a disqualification, or DQ. After the race, many judges will explain to swimmers at the finish why they were DQ’d, for example, touching the wall with one hand in breaststroke, which must be a two handed touch. Coaches will work with the swimmers to correct their strokes so they won’t be disqualified in the next meet.
A DQ can be temporarily upsetting for young swimmers, but, it’s part of the sport and a character builder. Every swimmer will get DQ’d at some point, they will recover quickly and learn from the experience.
Meet Results
Meet results including time and place, will be posted at the pool. There is also a phone app, called “Meet Mobile” that you can download for your iphone or android. This gives ‘real time’ results, but may not be available at all meets.
Awards
Dual meet awards consist of ribbons for 1st through 4th place. If you have won an award(s), they will be placed in your mailbox in the office and are for pick up by Wednesday of the following week.
Swimming Etiquette
Swimmers in the water show courtesy to other swimmers by waiting until all swimmers have finished an event before exiting the pool. A handshake with the swimmer of either side of you is also recommended.
Team Spirit
If you are not swimming, all swimmers should be watching the pool and cheering for your fellow team mates. Your support means a lot to another swimmer.
What to wear at Meets
Early morning temperatures can be cool. Bring plenty of dry towels, sweats, and/or jackets. Remember to wear your team swimsuit which is available at Cy's Swimwear on Frederick Road. Show your team spirit by wearing your team gear also available on line at http://nightmaregraphicscom.ipage.com/NightmareGraphics/five-oaks-barracudas
Swim Meet Attendance
Attendance at every meet is strongly encouraged. Regardless of your ability, your teammates and coaches are depending on you. A lot of strategy goes into what event each swimmer swims and each place/time important. This is particularly important in determining relay events. If you are placed in a relay and do not attend, other swimmers may be prevented from swimming their relay. If transportation is a problem, please let the team reps or the coaches know and arrangements can be made
Communication
The coaches and swim team reps will communicate important issues throughout the season through e-mail. Please let the swim team reps. know if you do not have access to e-mail.
Swim Team Bulletin Board
Information about meets, special events, results, etc will be posted on the bulletin board located at the entrance to the pool.
Mailboxes
There will be mail folders for each family in a file box, which will be kept in the swim team room. They will be brought out to the front desk counter during practices. It is the responsibility of the swimmer and/or parents to check this folder for any important announcements, notes from the coaches or reps, or awards.
