River Walk Swim Team FAQs
What should I do if I know my child will not be able to swim in a meet?
If you know that your child is not going to swim in a meet at any point in the season you need to send an email to [email protected]. For Tuesday meets the email must be received by 5:00 pm the Thursday prior to the meet. For Thursday meets the email must be received by 5:00 pm the Friday prior to the meet. This will ensure that your swimmer is not entered into any event at that meet. If you do not send an email your swimmer maybe entered into relay events for the meet.
What is a scratch fee?
This is a fee of $10 per event that is assessed to families in which their swimmer was signed up for an event but did not swim. During Divisionals and Championships/ Classics these fees are much higher.
What time do meets start?
Most of our meets begin at 5pm however when we swim against larger teams or out of Division teams meets may begin earlier. Please always read the Shockwave New Flash for specific meet information.
What time do swimmers need to be at a meet?
Swimmers need to be at the pool at least 15 minutes before our scheduled warm-up times. This will allow time for parking, getting to the bull pen area and setting up your chairs. Please check your weekly Shockwaves News Flash for specific warm-up and meet times.
What are the parents responsibilities at a swim meet?
Swim meets are completely run by the parent volunteers of both teams. All parents who have a swimmer should signup for a volunteer job for the meet. In addition, for our home meets we need all our parents to help with set-up and clean-up of the pool area.
How can we help clean-up after a home meet?
Once the last event is completed it is our job to get swim team equipment back to the shed and the pool deck back to normal. If you are still at the meet when it concludes and/or you worked the second half you are encouraged to help clean-up. The more help we have the quicker we can get it done.
Why can't I volunteer at a specific job?
On your registration form you indicated jobs you have done in the past or jobs you were interested in trying. From that information and the list SAIL provides us of volunteers that attended training, either in person or online, we create approved job lists. While we try to assign jobs based on your preferences we may not be able to accommodate those requests. Jobs groups are assigned by the needs of the meet. You will only be able to signup to volunteer for a job you are grouped for.
What is SAIL certification and do I need it?
SAIL provides on line training for certain volunteer jobs through their website. Each swim team is required by SAIL to have a set number of volunteers certified through these on-line trainings. Timer, runner, ribbons, and records are all on-line trainings that you can take at www.swimsail.org. Clerk of Course, Computer, Stroke and Turn, Referee and Starter are jobs that require a classroom training at the beginning of the season. If you are interested in these positions we can have you shadow these jobs this season to learn more about them.
What should I bring to a swim meet?
Chairs for you and your swimmer, towels, extra goggles, swim caps, clothing, water, marker for writing events for swimmers, sunscreen, bug spray, snacks for swimmers and money for concessions and heat sheets.
Where should the swimmers go at a swim meet?
Swimmers should find a place in the bullpen area. Most bring a chair and a bag for their belongings. At home meets our area is against the brick wall by the shallow end of the pool. At away meets it is usually under a tent area on a lawn or empty parking lot at the their pool. It is encouraged that swimmers remain in the bull pen area between their events. If they are not in the area and their event is called it is possible for them to miss their event and incur a scratch fee. This is especially important at the end of the meet when lining up for relays.
Can my swimmer bring friends or siblings that are not swimmers to the bull pen area for a meet?
No. We encourage everyone to come out and support the team but the bull pen area is for swimmers only! Getting the swimmers organized for events can be very chaotic. If there are additional people in the bull pen area it distracts the swimmers and can lead to missed events. All non-swimmers are required to sit in other areas on the pool deck to watch the meet.
What happens if my child is disqualified(dq’d) from an event?
If a child is dq’d from an event it means that they made a an illegal stroke, turn, start, etc... at some point in their event. The Head Official will let the swimmer know that they were dq’d and why. This information will then be given to the coaches so they can follow-up with the swimmers the next week in practice to work on the stroke, turn, start, etc... Being disqualifed and not receiving a time for event can be upsetting to some swimmers but it is a normal part of the process.
What happens if there is bad weather on the day of the meet?
If the weather is bad throughout the day and a meet is cancelled we will inform everyone through Remind101. However, in most cases the bad weather usually happens during a meet and not before. If inclement weather occurs during a meet the SAIL officials and Head Officials will delay the meet till the weather clears if at all possible. Please do not assume a meet is canceled or will be canceled when we have a weather delay and leave the pool. Please wait for official word that a meet has been canceled. Each pool has a emergency evacuation plan but it is important to let your child know where they should go or meet you in case have inclement weather conditions.
Are there other activities for swimmers this summer besides practice and meets?
Yes! We are having some fundraising activities as well as social events planned throughout the summer as well as daily activities during Divisional Week. Please check the calendar on our websit for more details.
Can all swimmers participate in Divisionals?
Yes - the more the better!! We will be competing against the other teams in The Purple Division at Divisionals to achieve the highest possible points. The more swimmers we have swimming the more points we can get. Any swimmer who has swam in 2 meets during the season are elgible to swim at Divisionals. Divisional Week is a fun week full of games, activities, divisional gifts and surprises!
What are Championship & Classics?
Based on the times and results of the Divisionals the top swimmers are eligible to swim in Championships & Classics held at the Westside Aquatic Center. More information about C&C can be found in the RWST Handbook.
How can I get more involved in RWST?
If you are interested in getting more involved we encourage to consider taking on a leadership position such as Concessions or VP of Ways and Means. We would be more than happy to have you shadow in these or any of the board positions this summer so you can learn more about them. If you are interested please email us a [email protected].
