Stonewall Park Swim Team

There are 7 scheduled meets during the summer swim season – 6 dual meets and a Divisional Meet. For the dual meets, 3 meets will be at home (SPST pool) and 3 will be away at the other team’s pool. The Divisional Meet location will vary from year to year. Meets start at 7am SHARP! Your swimmer should arrive at 6am to check in with the SPST registration table which is located to the left of our SPST pool (just a little past the concessions area). For away meets, our registration table is typically located outside the pool near the entrance.

Age Group

The age of each child on June 1st of each swim season determines the age group in which they will swim throughout the season, regardless of a summer birthday.

Heat Sheets

Heat sheets will be posted on the website the Friday evening prior to each meet (and possibly emailed to each family as well). They will include the individual events, the swimmers entered in each event (from both teams), and their fastest time. Our league’s heat sheets list swimmers from fastest to slowest using their best time for each event. Swimmers who have never competed in an event before will be listed after swimmers with times. The notation NT for “no time” will be typed next to their names.

Event Schedule

The event schedule will be the same each week and is as follows:

• FREESTYLE RELAYS – 15 -18 ONLY
• MEDLEY RELAYS – 8 & under, 9-10, 11-12, 13-14, 15-18
• FREESTYLE – 8 & under, 9-10, 11-12, 13-14, 15-18
• I.M. (INDIVIDUAL MEDLEY) – 10 & under, 11-12, 13-14, 15-18
• BACKSTROKE – 8 & under, 9-10, 11-12, 13-14, 15-18
• BREASTROKE – 8 & under, 9-10, 11-12, 13-14, 15-18
• BUTTERFLY – 8 & under, 9-10, 11-12, 13-14, 15-18
• FREESTYLE RELAYS – 8 & under, 9-10, 11-12, 13-14

What to Bring

Getting ready for a swim meet can feel like you’re packing for a week of camping. SPST has a pretty spacious pool deck compared to many of the other teams that we swim against at away meets. For home meets, many of our families bring lawn chairs/camping chairs as well as canopy tents. There typically is room for canopy tents at away meets, but it’s likely outside the pool deck on grassy areas. We are a close nit swim family so we welcome families to share spaces under tents as well. The checklist below might help you pack:

• Team swimsuit
• Team Cap
• Goggles (it’s recommended to have 2 sets)
• Towel (2 per swimmer)
• Sweatpants/sweatshirt (the early morning can be chilly)
• T-shirt and shorts (swimmers may prefer to having clothing over their swimsuit in between events)
• Money for concession (SPST does accept credit, but not all swim teams do – for those that accept credit, there is typically a processing fee).
• Sunblock
• Lawn chairs/blanket/canopy tents/umbrella for shade

Team Suits

Team swimsuits are available for purchase at RIPTIDE Swim Shop at 10371 Central Park Drive (Suite A) Manassas, VA 20110. SPST will send out additional information regarding the team suit as well as a discount that will be available for a period of time. SPST will also send out information of swim cap purchases with the option of personalization. This communication typically comes out to families in April of each year. SPST also has a stock of swim caps and goggles that can be purchased when needed by a board member of the team.

What to Expect

If you’ve never attended a swim meet before, here are a few things you can expect:

• Parents, officials, towels, and kids everywhere!
• Chilly mornings
• Limited viewing space (except for deck volunteers) especially more so at Away Meets. The best way to see your child compete, is to volunteer as a recorder, timer or runner as these volunteer positions are on the pool deck. Please keep in mind that we do require all families to volunteer at each meet. Please note that video recording/pictures will not be permitted on either end of the pool. This is allowed on each side of the pool (but not on the ends where the swimmers are diving/turning and/or finishing).
• Boredom between your kid’s events. We do encourage swimmers to cheer on their teammates and can do so under the coaches’ tent or on the sides of the pool.
• Parking can be a nightmare (with all transparency)! It is recommended that you arrive early. Arriving early will also allow you time to check in your swimmer(s), put up your canopy tent, set up your chairs and have a cup of coffee from concessions before it’s time check in for your volunteer position.
• New friends and a great time if you get involved with the team!

Warm-ups

Each team gets a 20-minute warm-up. The home team always warms up first. During home meets, SPST warm-ups beginning at 6am. Warm-ups resemble organized chaos, as the entire team warms up all at once, so it’s very crowded on the pool deck! After our warm-up, SPST swimmers gather around the Coaches Tent for the Coach’s motivational speech and Team Chant to get our swimmers excited which also instills team unity and camaraderie.

Warm-ups for away meets typically start at 6:20am.

Reporting to Clerk of Course

When the announcer calls the swimmer’s event number over the loudspeaker, the swimmer should immediately report to the “Clerk of Course.” This is the person who gets the swimmers in order for their event. The SPST Clerk of Course area is in the baby pool/wading pool area. This will be different for Away Meets.

PARENTS: It’s important to allow your child to remain at the Clerk of Course area alone. The kids have excellent supervision and direction from parent volunteers who help at Clerk of Course.

Spectating

Please try not to interfere with any of the officials, and keep back from the sides of the pool. League rules prohibit parents or other spectators from “coaching” the kids. Please make sure that you give them only encouragement and not any swimming tips.

What's My Time?

Swimmers tend to ask the recorder for their (unofficial) time as soon as they get out of the pool at the end of a race. Once the times for each event are collected, the official results are posted by the Scoring Officials. Each Team has an area where they post the official times for each event. SPST posts the official Times outside the gate next to the concession area.

Disqualification (DQ)

Our league complies with USA Swimming rules - the same rules used at all National meets like the Olympic Time Trials. To ensure fair competition for all swimmers, these rules are equally applied to all swimmers, regardless of age or experience. During competition, if a swimmer fails to comply with the stroke and turn rules, a Stroke & Turn Judge (dressed in white shirts and blue shorts) will raise their hand, write up a disqualification (DQ) slip, and present it to the referee for approval. A swimmer is not disqualified until the referee accepts the report. Almost all swimmers in all age groups have been disqualified at some time. This should be viewed as a learning experience and not a failure. Swimmers should discuss the DQ with their Coach after the race, and together they will formulate a plan to correct the mistake.

Post-Meet Cleanup

After each home meet, our team is responsible for “putting the pool back together again.” This means removing lane lines and backstroke flags; returning tables, chairs, and lounges to their original spots; disassembling temporary pavilions, as well as picking up and removing all trash and lost & found items. That’s a lot of work for a committee of two, but many hands make light work. If everybody helps to clean and move just a few chairs, the job will get done in minutes. When we visit another pool for a swim meet, please be sure to leave the area the way you found it. Pick up all the trash in your area, whether you made it or not. Thank you in advance for helping with cleanup.

Meet Awards/Ribbons

At the swim meet, heat ribbons are awarded to the fastest swimmer immediately after each heat. Other swim meet awards will be passed out on the following Tuesday/Wednesday after each age group’s swim practice. If you know you’ll be absent, ask a friend to pick up your ribbons. Otherwise, they will be held until the end of season Awards Ceremony.

Things to Remember

Our coaches are responsible for coaching in the pool and cannot chase swimmers who wander off, or force older swimmers to participate in practice. If you are concerned about whether your child will remain with the coach or follow instructions, then an adult should accompany and stay with the child during practice. During meets, the same applies.

Everyone is welcome to watch swim practice, but please resist the temptation to coach and encourage your child while he/she is practicing. This creates a distraction for everyone.

It’s not necessary to notify coaches if you will miss practice. We understand that other sports and end of the year activities will overlap as well as planned vacations`. If, however, you’ll miss several practices in a row due to other commitments, please mention this to the Coaches. If you choose to drop off the team, please notify a Coach.

Swimmer Conduct

• Acceptable Behavior: Positive Attitude, Hard Work, Helping Others, Good Sportsmanship, Cheering for Team Mates, and Making New Friends.
• Unacceptable Behavior: Pushing Others into the Pool, Running on the Pool Deck, Horseplay, Towel Snapping, Excessive Splashing, Dunking or Holding Someone Under the Water, Pulling on a Swimmer’s Body during Swim, Foul Language and Sitting Along the Edge of the Pool with Feet in the Water during Meets.