SWIM TEAM FAQ
YES! Rain is water and when you’re swimming, you’re wet anyway. The only ones who get “rain wet” during rainy practices are the coaches. Parents usually seek cover. The only time a practice is called off on account of rain is during a thunderstorm. This also means that meets, too, are held in the rain.
Your swimmer should eat foods rich in carbohydrates. Carbohydrates are classified into starches, which are found mainly in grains, legumes (beans), and tubers (potatoes), and sugars, which are found in plants and fruits. The carbohydrates containing the most nutrients are found in unrefined grains, tubers, vegetables, and fruit, which also provide protein, vitamins, minerals, and fats. Carbohydrates are burned during metabolism to produce energy.
Avoid foods made from refined sugar, such as candy and soft drinks, which are high in calories but low in nutrients and fill the body with what nutritionists call empty calories. Before a meet, eat a light breakfast such as cereal, toast, or fruits, enough to give you some energy, but not so much that you feel too “full” to swim. During the meet, you may also want to snack on fruits or foods containing grains to sustain your energy. Drink plenty of water! It gets pretty hot on that pool deck between events. Also, stay in the shade and wear sunscreen.
Their bathing suit, towel, and goggles are essential. At least two pairs of goggles are highly recommended. A lot of times goggle straps or nose-pieces have broken or are misplaced during a meet.
For girls especially, caps are essential to keep the hair under control. The rubber caps will also help to keep your head warm and lessen heat loss. Since summer can be chilly, especially after getting out of a cold pool, sweatpants, sweatshirts or T-shirts are also good items to pack. Maybe a hat. Sunscreen, snacks, and water are also great to have in your swim bag.
DQs are disqualifications. A disqualification is given to a swimmer who does not perform a legal stroke. The strokes that have the most restrictive rules for start, stroke, kick, and turns are breaststroke and butterfly.
Many swimmers just learn these strokes DQ the first time they try them in competition because it’s hard to coordinate all the elements at once without a lot of practice. The rules for disqualifications that PMSL uses (that’s the league our team is in) are the USA Swimming rules. USA Swimming is the governing board for local, year-round swim clubs up to the US Olympic Swim Team. The reason younger children are judged by the same standards as older, experienced swimmers is to help reinforce proper stroke technique with younger swimmers to perform legal strokes.
Younger swimmers who don’t receive that correction early on find it more difficult to change their stroke technique later because the incorrect form has become a habit. The stroke and turn judges at the meet are swim team parents who volunteer their time to attend clinics and learn how to judge each stroke. Two judges are supplied from our team, and two judges from the opposing team.
Perhaps the most difficult job at a meet is to be a Stroke and turn judge. They must judge the opposing team and their own as well. It is not unusual for a judge to give a DQ to his/her child. It’s especially hard to DQ a swimmer who has just mastered a stroke and has made it through the race. Stroke and turn judges perform an important function at meets–if we didn’t supply S&T judges, we’d have to cancel the meet.
If you’re concerned about why your child was DQ’d in an event, please speak to you child’s coach. Coaches record the reasons why DQs were given to work with your child on correcting his/her stroke during practice so that your child can swim the event legally at the next meet.
Please remember that during a meet no spectator can approach the judges or other deck officials–they’re doing their jobs and need to observe the races without interruption. If you’d like to speak to your child’s coach about your child’s performance, please do so after the meet.
PMSL rules stipulate that ribbons are supplied for 1st through 6th place. Many teams, ours included, give out ribbons for places beyond 6th. Our team even gives out participant ribbons to swimmers who receive DQs. However, not every team gives out ribbons for every place.
Younger swimmers love ribbons and the affirmation it brings that they’ve done their best. It can be difficult for a child to watch a friend and teammate receive a ribbon when he/she hasn’t. Please reassure your child that his/her efforts are appreciated by the team and coaches and that the ribbons will come as your child’s swimming improves. Stress goals and future success.
Suits – Girls should wear form-fitting one piece suits and boys should wear either jammers
(suits that look like bike shorts) or swim shorts.
Goggles – All swimmers should bring a couple of pairs of goggles; one pair to wear and a
spare to put in the swim bag in case the first pair breaks or is misplaced.
Swim cap – Swimmers with hair long enough to get in the eyes should bring a cap to wear.
Towel
Water Bottle – Swimmers may be in the water, but they’re still working out and perspiring
and need to rehydrate. Water is still the best choice for fluid replacement.
For suits, anywhere, really for practice. Target, Walmart, etc. has suits, as do many other clothing stores. Local sporting goods stores also carry a small assortment of suits and swim gear. The team’s official vendor is www.Swimoutlet.com, which is an online vendor that gives a portion of the proceeds back to the team.
The link is as follows: Fountain Club Swim Club - SwimOutlet.com
It’s up to your child if he/she wants to practice. For younger swimmers, coaches will attempt to speak to the swimmer and encourage him/her to rejoin the group for practice, but the coaches’ primary responsibility is to conduct practice and keep their attention on the swimmers in the pool. If your child leaves the pool, he/she can remain on the pool deck only if his/her presence doesn’t disturb other swimmers.