Parents Information Package

The following packet of information will help swimmers and parents to know more about summer swim league, how the meets are run and scored, and will help to make all of this less confusing and more fun!

The following pages contain many details about the Thornhill Tornados swim activities. We have assembled many details to assist in your enjoyment of this activitiy. Plese keep in mind, that the swim team activities are the single largest gathering of Thornhill residents during the year. We encourage our non-team neighbors to come out and cheer for our children. We operate food concessions at our home meets to allow our neighbors to walk over and join in the fun. We want to assure you that whether you are a parent, a neighbor, or a visiting team, you will enjoy the swim meet, as well as the feeling of community.

General Information

All children of Thornhill ages four through eighteen, regardless of ability or experience, are invited to participate in the FUN of swim team. Each team member can perfect their strokes, make new friends and learn the unity of the team experience.

Our team is part of the Greater Charlotte Swim League. The purpose of the Greater Charlotte Swim League is to encourage children to swim in a friendly, nourishing, recreational environment. Our League Representatives are Gina Shay and Barry Hall. Our Head Coach for the 2007 season is Amy Beach. The All-Star meet will be held shortly after the division meets have ended.

The following packet of information will help swimmers and parents to know more about summer swim league, how the meets are run and scored, and will help to make all of this less confusing and more fun!

STARTING TIMES:

All evening meets shall start promptly at 6:00pm with every reasonable effort being made to complete all meets within (3) hours. Warm-ups begin at 5:30 pm. Each team will get a fifteen-minute warm-up with the home team warming up first. Please have swimmers up at the pool one hour prior to the start of a meet.

AGE GROUP CATEGORIES:

Shrimps (6 and under)

These swimmers will compete in one length of freestyle, but their results are not scored as part of the meet.

8 and under

These swimmers must be able to swim one length of the pool freestyle, and be able to demonstrate the capability of at least one other stroke.

9 and 10

Swimmers of this age should be familiar with the competitive strokes and be willing to learn from, and practice with, our experienced coaches. It is not necessary to be proficient in all strokes, or to be an expert swimmer.
These swimmers may also enter the IM - Individual Medley - one pool length of each stroke in this order: butterfly, backSTROKE, breaststroke and freestyle.

11 and 12

these swimmers have the same requirements as the 9 and 10 group, except that they must swim two full pool lengths for each event except IM, which will be 100 meters.

13 and 14

these swimmers have the same requirements as the 11 and 12 age group

15 through 18

same as above

Maximum Number Of Events Per Swimmer:

Each swimmer may swim up to a maximum of 3 individual events and 2 relays for a total of five (5) events. IM's are considered an event.

A swimmer may move up one age group in the relays only, but each relay team must have at least TWO SWIMMERS of the same proper age for that group. THERE WILL BE NO SUBSTITUTIONS IF SWIMMERS OF THAT AGE GROUP ARE AVAILABLE, meaning present at the meet.

SCORING:

No points will be scored for the 6 and under freestyle events.

In Case of Ties:

If there is a tie for first place in an individual event, both swimmers receive four (4) points and there will be no 2nd place. If there is a tie for second place, both swimmers receive two (2) points and there will be no third (3) place. If there is a tie for third place, both swimmers receive one-half (.5) point. (Total points for each individual event cannot exceed nine (9) points).

If there is a tie for first place in a relay event, both teams receive (8) points and there will be no 2nd place. (Total points for each relay event cannot exceed sixteen (16) points). In individual events, a swimmer may place from any heat. In timing all events, record times to the 100th's - do not round off.

Times

All places are to be determined by the stopwatch times. There will be two (2) timers in each lane.

Disqualifications (DQ's)

A swimmer will be disqualified if the swimmer does not do the strokes and/or turns properly.

All teams must report for scheduled meets regardless of the weather!! Meets can be postponed by mutual consent of the clubs involved. No meet can be postponed until 30 minutes after the scheduled starting time of 6:00pm. If a meet has already begun and is interrupted by thunder, a maximum 30-minute delay is allowed before the meet is called.

In order to qualify for the All-Star meet a swimmer must have swam at least three meets during the season and must have done at least 3 events in each of those meets. There are no Shrimp events at the All-Star Meet.

What Happens At A Swim Meet?

SWIMMERS:

1. Arrive at the meet
2. Swim warm-up laps
3. Stay in the assigned team area until called by the Coach or the Parent Volunteers to swim - while in the team area the swimmers should follow rules of good behavior, eat fruit, drinks, snacks and pay attention to the TEAM PARENTS. Don't forget to cheer on our team!
4. When called to swim, moves to the Clerk of Course area - where the Clerk of Course will line the swimmers up according to which heat and which lane they will swim.
   1. Moves through the Clerk of Course area until the heat they are to swim in comes up - they will be called to the lane by the Starter/Announcer.
   2. The Clerk of Course Runner takes the heat sheets with the names of the swimmers by heat and by lane to the Head Time Recorder.
5. Moves to assigned lane and follows the instructions of the Starter/Announcer.
   3. The Starter will check with the Timers to make sure that they are ready.
   4. The Starter will then announce the stroke, the distance and the heat number.
   5. Will instruct the swimmers to take their mark.
   6. Will sound the horn.
   7. In the event of a false start, the Starter will sound the horn several times to let the swimmers know to stop.
2008 Tornados Our Tornados
6. At the sound of the horn the swimmer will dive in and swim the heat
   8. Four Stroke Judges, two from each team, will watch the swimmers.
      1. DQ (disqualification) slips will be issued when illegal kicks, strokes, flip turns or touches occur.
      2. The Stroke Judge takes DQ slips to the scorers (one from each team) at the scoring table.
   9. There will be two (2) Timers in each lane.
      1. They will start their stop watches at the sound of the horn and will stop their watches when the swimmer touches the wall at the end of the heat.
      2. In the event that a timer misses the start or end of the heat, they will raise their hand and a back-up timer will step in for them.
7. At the end of the heat the swimmer returns to the team area and waits to be called to the next heat they are to swim.
8. The official time is written on the heat sheet by the Recorder.
9. The heat sheet with the official times is taken to the scorers at the scoring table by the Runner.
10. The scorers compare any DQ slips to the times for the heat and records the scores.
Tornados - 2008 Waiting for their heat
11. The Head Scorer makes sure that everything runs smoothly between the Stroke Judges and the Scorers, should a problem arise the League Reps will be called in to make a decision to stop the meet or find a solution to the problem.
12. The scores are given to the Ribbon Writers so that they can write in the name of the swimmer and their time for the event.
13. Score of the meet will be announced after the IM event. The final score will be announced at the end of the meet after the scorers have completed the scoring.

Miscellaneous

Concessions will be sold at home meets, the stand is run by the Concessions Coordinator and many volunteers. Swimmers should not be allowed to eat heavy food sold at the concessions stand until they have finished swimming all of their events!

In the event of a meet or practice postponement you will be notified via email - this information will also be available on Thornhill's website www.thornhillnc.net under 'pool' - you will see the Tornados link there.

Please remember we need every family to volunteer. Let's be fair and spread the work around, we're sure you will find it fun and interesting to be part of the team!

PLEASE VOLUNTEER!!!

The volunteers who run the meet determine a smooth and efficient meet. We deeply appreciate the efforts of those who consistently volunteer but we need parent volunteers from every family at every meet.

The total number does not include the volunteer coordinators, league representatives and other volunteers, such as swim suit coordinator, registration, trophies, Thornhill "fun wear" coordinator, etc., that have administrative work that needs to be done before, during and after the meets.

Number Of Volunters Needed To Effectively Run A Meet

Position	Volunteers Needed
Starter (Announcer)	1
Head Timer - 1 each half	2
Recorder - 1 each half	2
Timers - 9 each half, 2 per lane	18
Runner - 1 each half	2
Stroke & Turn Judge - 2 each half	4
Clerk of Course - 1 each half	2
Deck Parents	11
Scorer	1
Ribbon Writer	1
Set-up for the meet - 4:30pm	4
Clean up after the meet	4
Concessions - 4 each half	8
Heat/Participation Ribbons - 1 each half	2
Total Volunteers Needed For Each Meet!	62

Volunteer Jobs At Swim Meets

A few of these positions run the entire meet while most have a second half shift come in at the midpoint of the meet.

STARTER (ANNOUNCER):

The starter will conduct the swim meet by directing swimmers onto their lane, getting them into ready position and direct the swimmers to take their mark. The starter will announce the stroke to be used, the distance to be swum and identify the heat number. The starter will then sound the horn. The starter may call a false start only at the beginning of the heat.

HEAD TIMER:

This person will let the starter know if the timers are ready by holding up the "Wait" or "Ready" signal paddle. This person times every heat (with 2 stop watches) so that in the event that a timer misses the start of the heat, the Head Timer can step into that timers place.

TIMER:

The timer will time only his designated lane. The timer needs to listen for the horn blast before starting their watches and to stop the watch when the swimmer has touched the wall. It is not up to the timer to determine if the touch is or is not correct. If a timer misses the start of the heat they should raise their hand and the back-up timer will step in. There will be two (2) timers in every lane.

RECORDER:

The Recorder records the official time and finish place on the heat sheet, which is taken to the ribbon table by the Runner. Makes sure that proper recording for lane and swimmer has occurred.

RUNNER:

This runner takes heat sheets from the Clerk of Course to the Recorder - this person also takes the official heat sheets with swimmer times to the scoring table.

STROKE & TURN JUDGE:

The stroke and turn judge will judge strokes for their designated lanes, judge the proper touch on the turn and at the finish and false starts during relays according to league stroke guidelines. Stroke judges cannot sit down and must follow the swimmers up and down the pool. There will be two stroke and turn judges from each team throughout the meet.

CLERK OF COURSE:

The clerk of course will organize the swimmers in their proper lanes and heats. The clerk will make necessary adjustments when applicable. If possible, no swimmer should have to swim alone. After loading the chairs, the clerk of course will give the heat sheets to the runner to take to the head timer/recorder.

DECK PARENT:

Lines up swimmers in the team area for each event, then leads swimmers to the Clerk of Course. These parents make sure the swimmers stay in their "team area" to keep things under control.

SCORER:

There is one scorekeeper from each team to score results and swimmer's names from the official heat sheets. The scorekeeper cannot change the official results on the heat sheets.

RIBBON WRITER COORDINATOR:

This person pre-writes what information they can on the ribbons, i.e., date and event may be filled out in advance so that all that is needed is the name of the swimmer and their team name. The coordinator also oversees the ribbon table during the meet and makes sure that every swimmer, who earns a ribbon, receives the ribbon.

RIBBON WRITER:

This person will write ribbons for placement. The ribbon will put in the appropriate team box. Other recorders at the ribbon table are at the individual team's discretion. This person places the ribbons for each swimmer in their envelope for distribution at practice the next morning.

CONCESSIONS:

Where would we be without Concessions? This is how the swim team makes money! There are many volunteers needed: a cook, cashier and at least 2 additional people to help sell all the goodies. One person generally heads up Concessions and makes sure there are people to get ice for the coolers to keep the drinks cold, purchase hamburgers, hot dogs, buns, candy and chips to sell at home meets.

PARTICIPATION/HEAT RIBBONS:

During home meets, this person gives out participation ribbons to both teams for ALL 6 & under (shrimps) swimmers. Heat ribbons are awarded to both teams for all heat winners in the 6 & under, 8 & under and 9-10 individual events.

SET-UP/CLEAN-UP:

The set-up crew arrives at the pool by 4:30pm at home meets to help with the set-up of concessions and the deck of the pool (lining up chairs, setting up the scoring/ribbon writing tables, placing garbage bags on the fence and clearing the deck to make room for everyone attending the meet). Clean-up stays to help remove any garbage on the pool deck, check bathrooms and help put all lounge chairs and tables back where they need to go. The clean-up crew also helps Concessions pack up.

A Note From Your Swimmer

Dear Mom and Dad,

Remember that I might be a little nervous, so a really BIG meal right before I swim is NOT a good idea. Feed me something substantial around 4:30 - maybe a bagel with peanut butter, or some pasta, or a soft pretzel and some fruit. Greasy food will probably not digest well tonight!

These early summer evening meets can be pretty chilly! My towel is going to be WET after my first race. So as soon as the sun begins to set I am going to be cold. Please pack me several dry towels.

And while we're on the subject of cold ... a hooded sweatshirt and some sweat pants will feel great after the sun has gone down, especially if it's breezy. Also, please pack me something warm to change into after I am done swimming. I might want to stay and watch the older kids, and I don't want to be freezing.

Chances are I'm going to get a little hungry (O.K. A LOT hungry) after the meet gets going - so I might need a snack. The best thing for me will be some fruit (like apple slices or orange wedges or grapes) or a light snack (like pretzels). My blood sugar is going to do crazy things if I start eating doughnuts, candy and chocolate bars between races. So please help me to eat healthy things if I really need a snack.

And another thing - water, juice or Gatorade will be much better for me than a soda from the concession stand!

The last really, super, incredibly important thing for me to tell you is that I need to get some rest today. I really shouldn't spend a lot of time at the pool or out in the sun. I'm going to need all of my energy for swimming tonight (and besides I might be up past my bedtime!!).

Okay - one last really, super duper, incredibly spectacular thing for me to tell you is that I can't wait to see you cheer me on - it makes me feel really important and let's me know I am doing my best!

Thanks for helping me to have a good first meet!

©2005-2010 Thornhillnc Tornados
All Rights Reserved Go Tornados!
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