KC Y Blue Wave Swim Team

1. KC Y Blue Wave Swim Team New Parent Comprehensive Orientation

2. Benefits of Swimming • A healthy life-long sport • Healthy life-long lessons • Organizational skills • Commitment • Character development – caring, honesty, respect and responsibility • Long-term goal setting • New friends for swimmers & parents • Learning a sport most of us did not grow up with • Community service by volunteering to support your athlete and swim club

3. Key Components of Swimming

4. Athlete • Commitment • Attending practice • Attending swim meets • Paying attention to coach • Social Skills – make friends, have fun • Long/short term goal setting • Measure performance • Willingness to do his/her best • Good sportsmanship

5. Coach • Has a passion for the sport • Is a paid professional • Is a trained expert in the sport • Has a comprehensive workout plan for the whole season including short/long term goals for the team • Must deal with many different swimmers all with different personalities, goals and skill levels • Must deal with many different parents all with different personalities and reasons for being on the team

6. Parent • Let the coach do his job – never coach your child • Insure your athlete is getting proper nutrition • Provide unconditional support to your athlete • Help your athlete deal with both success and disappointment • Enter your athletes in swim meets • Get your athlete to practice and meets on time • Find the right spot for you to volunteer

7. Parent Protocol • Speak to coach only during his office hours or arranged time (before/after overall practice for the day – we run 2-4 practice sessions per day) • Support your child at meets but empower him as well. • Embrace failures as learning opportunities. DQ’s and bad times are part of learning • Speak up if you have questions – Ask your Blue Wave Ambassador, the New Parent Liaison, or any swim parent. They are all nice! • Fulfill minimum volunteer hours per season -

8. Philosophy of Competition • The Blue Wave Swim Team will participate in two types of swim competition: YMCA dual meets and USA swim meets. • The following principles apply to all competitions: • Emphasize competition with yourself. Individual improvement in time or skill is more important than your place in the race. • Consideration for fellow teammates, opponents, officials, and parents is just as important as how you swim. We encourage support for others; positive attitudes and good meet behavior. • We encourage swimmers to learn to set reasonable and logical goals and to strive for excellence even when they experience short-term setbacks.

9. Governing Swim Organizations • We participate in swim meets run by two governing organizations: YMCA Swimming and Diving and USA Swimming. • The technical rules of these organizations are almost identical and the meets are run in similar fashion. • YMCA Swimming and Diving is part of the YMCA of the USA organization. • United States Swimming is the National governing body for competitive swimming. • Missouri Valley Swimming is our Local Swim Committee (LSC)

10. Swim Seasons • The short course season is swum in 25-yard pools (SCY) during the fall and winter months. Meets generally start in late September and end in late March. • The long course season is held in the summer months and is swum in 50-meter pools (LCM) generally April to late August. • Your neighborhood summer swim teams are 25-meter pools (SCM) generally Late May to Mid- July 6-8 weeks. • You may swim both neighborhood and long course simultaneously.

11. USA Swimming (USAS) Meets • Are comprised of Age Group swimming (8 & under, 10 and under, 11-12, 13-14, and 15-18) and Senior swimming (any age as long as the requisite cut-off time has been achieved.) • A schedule of USA Swimming meets is posted on the web page & the team bulletin board. • A schedule of events called the “meet information document” is posted on the website. • Once a parent has reviewed the meet information, they should log on to the team website and declare the swimmers intentions for the meet. • Swimmers can pick the events and days that they would like to attend an event, however, the final choice of events is in the hands of the coach, in consultation with each swimmer.

12. Y Dual Meets • The Blue Wave Swim Team is exploring hosting/attending Y dual meets. • YMCA meets give our team access to a whole new pool of competition. • YMCA meets consist of "dual" meets between Y's, the Y league championship, and Y Nationals in late March/early April and late July/early August. • Swimmers must be current, active members of a YMCA to compete.

13. USA Swimming (USAS) Meets • Entry in a USA swim meet means that each swimmer's USA account will be billed for each event, whether or not they actually compete, since we must submit the entry fees with our entry. These fees are up to $4.50 per event. • USA meets are often classified as A, B, C or some combination of letters. These classifications refer to the cutoff times for the fastest and slowest swimmers that are allowed to swim at that meet. • Most meet BWST attends are called Age Group (All Ages) meets and have no cut-off times and are sometimes swum in single year age groups, e.g. 8 & Under, 10, 11, 12, etc.

14. USA Swimming (USAS) Meets • In USA A/B meets anyone with an A or B time can compete, but C swimmers cannot. In B/C meets, anyone (even without a time) can compete, but A or faster swimmers cannot.   • A swimmer's age for a USA meet is his age on the first day of the meet. A swimmer's age for a Y meet is his age as of December 1 of that dual meet season. The swimmer's USA number is the swimmer’s birthdate followed by the first 3 letters of her first name, her middle initial and the first 4 letter of her last name: • Annie M. Jones, born 5/19/79, has a USA Swimming number of 051979AnnMJone

15. What to Bring to a Meet • Chairs • Blankets or extra towels to sit on • Coolers with snacks and drinks • Extra pair of goggles, swim cap, team suit • Extra towels, hoodies, pants, flip flops • Parka • Dress in layers – pool areas are HOT & HUMID. • Sharpie and a highlighter • Cash to buy concessions and heat sheets • Plenty of water or Gatorade for your swimmer • Blue Wave Ambassador’s phone number • Patience, positive attitude, team spirit

16. Meet Preparation and Conduct • Team warm-ups are usually held 1 to 1 1/2 hours prior to the start of the meet. • Swimmers should be on deck dressed to swim 20 minutes before the start of pool warm-up for stretching and to check in with the coach so the coach can turn in the correct scratches and deck entries for the day. If you are late, you run the risk of being scratched from your events. You are not refunded for any scratches. You need to pay $7 for deck entries to the host team. • For safety reasons, the coaches supervise warm-ups in the pool. A good warm-up is vital to a successful meet. The ages and numbers of swimmers determine warm-up schedules for a given meet.

17. Meet Preparation and Conduct • During warm-up, swimmers must enter the water feet first with a minimum of jumping to make sure that no one is injured. • At the end of warm-up there is usually the "one-way" sprint time when swimmers can practice diving from the starting blocks. • After warm-up, swimmers stay warm, but if it is hot and sunny, stay in the shade and out of the direct sun.   • Once the meet begins it is important for swimmers to report to the coach before each race. • It is the responsibility of the swimmer to know their event, heat, and lane.

18. Meet Preparation and Conduct • Discussing the race before the swimmer competes allows for final instruction and reminders to set swimmer up to swim their best race. • Report to the Clerk of the Course and/or blocks in plenty of time to be by yourself and concentrate on your race. • Sit with the team in the team area. Support your teammates by cheering, offering congratulations, and being positive. • Show respect for the meet officials, as well as other teams and coaches.

19. Reading a Heat Sheet • On Webpage under Team Info, Team Handbooks, Reading a Heat Sheet

20. Reporting Times From Meets • If electronic touch pads are used at a meet they provide the "official" time. Buttons and manual watches are used only for backup. When watches are used, the middle of the 3 times is the official time. Official results are posted throughout the meet so you can see how your swimmer did. • Official times are only recorded in individual events. In general swimmers swimming relays do not have times recorded for their leg of the relay since they did not start from a starter's signal. The exception is the split time for the first swimmer in a relay, which is an official time and is reported.

21. 2013/2014 BWST Meets (all posted on www.kcbluewave.com Calendar) • September • NLU Decathlon • October • Blue Wave Invitational (required) • Splash • Cool Spooktackular • November • Tsunami Fall RoundUp • Jim Devine – Columbia • December • True Blue Igloo • January • Rock the Blocks • February • NLU Last Chance

22. Championship Meets (Qualifying Times Required) • Winter Qualifier – East in December • Midwestern Winter Classic in December • MAL 8 & Under in February • SCY Districts – East in February • SCY Sectionals in February • SCY Championships in March • LCM Districts – East in July • LCM Championships in July • LCM Sectionals in July • Central Zones in August • Nationals in August

23. How to Sign Up for a Swim Meet http://www.kcbluewave.com/ • Sign In (contact team administrator for login/password) • Choose Events • Find the meet you are interested in • Click “Attend this Event” • Click on your swimmer’s name • Select “Yes” from the drop down box • Type any notes to the coach in the Notes box, eg “only attending on Saturday” • Put a check box next to the desired events (note the day and session D1/S1) • Click “Save Changes” • Send payment immediately to Blue Wave Swim Team.

24. Blue Wave Sponsored Meets • The Blue Wave Swim Team sponsors a number of meets throughout the short course and long course seasons. • These meets are important because they give the Blue Wave Swim Team an opportunity to do fundraising for the team. • It is critically important that Blue Wave Swim Team families support these meets by volunteering. • It takes approx. 150 shifts (~450 hours of time) to host a 3 day meet.

25. Meet Volunteer Descriptions • Meet Director – project planner of meet. Must be USAS member • Timers – operate stop watch, record times • Backup Timer – operate stop watch to use if main timer makes mistake • Head timer – instruct all timers on duties • Runner – collect timer sheets • Ribbons – place labels on ribbons and sort • Safety Marshalls – wear orange vest, monitor warm ups, cool-downs, and general meet safety • Hospitality – coordinate and deliver food for coaches & officials • Officials

26. Officials • Officials provide a critical role in any successful swim meet. • Every USA Swimming official is an ambassador for the sport. • To host a USA Swimming meet the following officials are required: Meet Referee, Deck Referee, Starter, Chief Judges, and Stroke & Turn Judges. • The more officials our team has, the more efficient swim meets will run.  We need officials for both hosted meets as well as meets we attend as guests.

27. Webpage Basics • Checking Meet Results • Checking Invoices • Member Directory • Overview of Menus • Training Videos • Missouri Valley Swimming Link • USA Swimming Link

28. Glossary of Terms • ‘A’ Time: The qualifying time in a given event for the USA swimming ‘A’ classification level. Age Group Swimmers compete in most meets only with those in their respective age groups. Current USA swimming/MVS age groups are: 8 & under, 9-10, 11-12, 13-14, and senior. YMCA is similar. • Age Group Meet: All USAS registered swimmers, 18 years of age and younger, who have met the qualifying time standard for the specific event(s) are eligible to compete in their age category. • ‘B’ Time: The qualifying time in a given event for the USA swimming ‘B’ classification meet. • Block: The starting platform where a swimmer begins a race with a dive. • Bullpen: The area at a swim meet adjacent to the clerk of course in which swimmers are assembled and assigned to their heats in advance of each event. Most meets will have a bullpen for younger swimmers and sometimes older swimmers.

29. Glossary of Terms • ‘C’ Time: The qualifying time in a given event for the USAS 'C' classification level. • Circle Swimming: In practice sessions or warm-ups, by staying to the right of the black line on the bottom of the pool. When swimming in a lane with multiple people, it to enables more swimmers to swim safely in each lane. • Classification of Meets: A swimmer's ability level represented by his or her best time at a previous meet. • Clerk of Course: The person responsible for assigning swimmers to heats and lanes. Usually only available for 8 and Unders.

30. Glossary of Terms • Consolation Final: A final swim after the preliminary heats where swimmers, typically, compete for 9th through 16th place. These swimmers cannot receive higher than 9th place. • Course: The designated distance in yards or meters over which the competition is conducted. • Cuts: The qualifying times for specific types of championship meets. • Deck Seeding: Swimmers are assigned heats and lane right before the session starts. This allows swimmers to placed in the correct lanes according to times in the event of scratch. • Declared False Start: If a swimmer decides to scratch an event or cannot or does not want to swim an event, they can “Declare a False Start in order to avoid being assessed a penalty. The swimmer must clear this with their coach so they can get referee approval.

31. Glossary of Terms • Disqualification (DQs): Trained officials (judges) watch each race. Swimmers with improper form or technique are disqualified and told the reason(s) why. Swimmers should not be discouraged by a disqualification. Most team members have experienced a few DQs. Pay close attention to the official's remarks and work hard (with your coach's direction) to remedy the problem. Swimmers should swim remaining events that day and may enter the same event in the next meet. • Division I Meet: Missouri Valley Swim Meet held in March for swimmers who have achieved a Division I qualifying time. The times are available on the Blue Wave Swim Team website or on MissouriValleySwimming.com. All times are established by Missouri Valley Swimming. • Division II Meet: Missouri Valley Swim meet held at the end of February for swimmers who have achieved a Division II qualifying time. The times are available on the Blue Wave Swim Team website or on MissouriValleySwimming.com. All times are established by Missouri Valley swimming.

32. Glossary of Terms • Dryland Training: Training done out of the water that aids and enhances swimming performance; can include stretching, running, calisthenics, and weight lifting. • Dual Meet: Meets conducted between only two teams. Dual meets usually have a limited number of entrants that can score in each event. • Event: Any race or series of races (heats) in a given stroke and distance. • False Start: Occurs if a swimmer on the block is moving after they are told to take their mark and before the start gun is sounded. In USA Swimming, a false start will result in disqualification at the completion of the race. • Final: The championship heat of an event in which, typically, the top 8 swimmers from the preliminaries compete for final place. These swimmers cannot receive worse than 8th place unless they are DQ’d.

33. Glossary of Terms • Fins: Soft, flexible, and usually made of rubber, fins or flippers are worn on swimmer's feet in practice during certain drills. Some swimmers wear thin or old socks inside the fins to minimize chafing of their feet. • Flags: (Backstroke flags) are placed 5 yards (short course) or 5 meters (long course) from each end of the pool. The flags enable backstrokers to execute a backstroke turn more efficiently without having to turn around and find the wall. • Free Relay: Four swimmers comprise the relay team. Each athlete swims one quarter of the distance using any desired stroke. • Gutter: The area along the edge of the pool in which water overflows during a race and is recirculated through the filtration system. • Heat: A division of an event into a series of separate races. Each race is one heat. Multiple heats are needed when more swimmers enter an event than there are lanes in the pool.

34. Glossary of Terms • Heat Sheet: A list of swimmers entered in each heat of each event of a meet. They are typically listed in order of seeding times and sometimes include lane and heat identification. The host of the meet prepares the heat sheets and sells them for a nominal fee just before the meet starts. • Individual Medley (IM:) An event where the athlete swims all four competitive strokes in one race in the following order: butterfly, backstroke, breaststroke, and freestyle. • MVS, Inc. (Missouri Valley Swimming Incorporated): The organization that administers and governs the Kansas and Missouri state programs for USA Swimming. • Junior Olympics (JOs): Now called Age Group State Championships. This is the final end of the season meet on a state level for those swimmers that qualify. Limited to 14 year olds and under. • Kick Board: Flat floatation device used in practice that is held in front of the swimmer keeping their upper body afloat to work on strengthening the kick.

35. Glossary of Terms • Lap Counter: A set of plastic display numbers used to keep track of laps during a distance race. Also, the person who counts for the swimmer can also be called the lap counter. This person is stationed at the opposite end of the pool from the start and places the number in the water as the swimmer approaches to let them know how far they have swum. •  Level I Swim Meet: Swim meet held in December for those swimmers who have achieved an “A” time in an event according to USA Swimming’s Motivation Time Standards. The qualifying times are posted on the Blue Wave Swim Team website or on the Missouri Valley Swimming website. • Level II Swim Meet: Swim meet held in December for those swimmers who have achieved a “C” time in an event according to the USA Swimming’s Motivation Time Standards. The qualifying times are posted on the Blue Wave Swim Team website or on the the Missouri Valley swimming website.  • Local Swimming Committee (LSC); Governing body for swimming at the local (typically State) level. There are 59 LSCs in the country. Missouri Valley Swimming is the LSC for BWST.

36. Glossary of Terms • Long Course: The term designated for a 50-meter pool. • Medley Relay: Four swimmers comprise the relay team. Each athlete swims one quarter of the distance in the following order backstroke, breaststroke, butterfly, freestyle. • National Reportable Time (NRT): Time standards set for both long and short course based on previous years' top 16 achievements. Only times meeting these standards may be submitted for consideration each year. The Top 16 submitted timed in each event are recognized. • Negative Split: Swimming the second half of the race equal to or faster than the first half. • Official: A judge on the deck of the pool at a sanctioned competition who enforces USAS or YMCA rules. There are stroke and turn judges, administrative officials, starters, safety marshalls and referees. • Open Water Race: A distance freestyle swimming event conducted in a natural body of water. • Pace Clock: A digital or analog clock kept on deck that typically used to check pace or maintain intervals inpractice.

37. Glossary of Terms • Prelims: Also called preliminaries, heats, or trials; those races in which swimmers qualify for the championship and consolation finals in the events. • Paddles: Plastic plates with holes attached to the swimmer's hands by a short piece of rubber tubing which used in practice to improve stroke technique and build strength. • Proof of Time: Meet results signed by an official that can be used for entering championship meets. Sometimes brought to another meet to show that the swimmer has actually swam that time if they fail to swim their entry time and do not meet the time standard for that event. • Pull Buoy: Floatation devices held between the swimmer's legs during practice for stroke and pulling drills which are often used in combination with paddles. • Referee: The lead official at a meet.

38. Glossary of Terms • Relay: An event where a team of four swimmers is part of a single race. •  Sanction: Official / authorized approval from USAS or MVS to sponsor a meet. •  Scratch: To withdraw an entry from competition. The proper procedure must be followed or the swimmer could be barred from competing in their next event(s). •  Seeding: Placing swimmers in order of their entry times for that event. Proper seeding will ensure swimmers in each heat will be of near or equal ability. •  Short Course: The term designated for a 25-yard pool. •  Split: The time per lap, or partial distance in an event. Coaches often record an athlete's splits at a meet or practice to help the swimmer improve pacing and race strategy. Relay swimmers can also receive a split time during a relay depending on the timing system being used at the meet.

39. Glossary of Terms • Starter: The official at a meet responsible for the proper, legal, and safe start of each heat and event. •  Streamline: The position used by swimmers when entering the water after starting off a block or pushing off the walls designed to reduce water resistance. •  Stroke Judge: A certified meet official who determines the legality of swimmers' strokes. They are an official that can disqualify a swimmer during a meet for a stroke infraction. •  Taper: The final preparation phase prior to a season ending championship meet where total swimming volume and intensity are reduced to produce a fast swim. Sometimes referred to as "rest." •  Time Standards: Listed qualifying times that have been set by MVS, USAS or YMCA for each event by age groups for a certain competition. Time standards are typically for Championship meets. • Timed Finals: A meet where an athlete swims his or her event one time. The event is scored based on the times recorded for the event from fastest to slowest.

40. Glossary of Terms • Time Trial: A time-only swim that is not part of a regular meet; or it can be a whole meet where there are no awards or places just times recorded. •  Touch Pad: The electronic device placed at the end of each lane in the water that registers the swimmer's touch and stops the clock. •  Turn Judge: A certified meet official who determines the legality of swimmers' turns and finishes. They are an official that can disqualify a swimmer during a meet for a turn infraction. •  Unattached Swimmers: Swimmers attending meets that are not members of participating team. •  USAS United States of America Swimming, Inc: The governing body for swimming in the US. The national headquarter are in Colorado Springs, CO. •  Warm Down: Low intensity swimming used by swimmers after a race or main practice set to rid the body of excess lactic acid, and to gradually reduce heart rate and respiration. •  Warm Up: Low intensity swimming used by the swimmer prior to a main practice set or race to loosen muscles. A proper warm up gradually increases heart rate, respiration, and helps prepare the body for higher levels of physical activity and to prevent injury.

41. Glossary of Terms • Zone Meet: A multi-state Championship meet in which each state competes as a state team. In the Midwest, teams representing each state or LSC compete in the annual Zone meet which occurs in late summer. In order to make the Missouri or Kansas team, a swimmer must achieve a 'AAA' time in a sanctioned meet. An application must be filled out and sent to MVS to be selected.

42. Questions? • Email Info@KCBlueWave.com • Ask your coach • Use the Contacts on webpage • Contact your Blue Wave Ambassador • Use the Member Directory on webpage • Use the Facebook group • Attend Parent Advisory Board meetings every 2nd Wednesday of the month