Regency Estates Swim Team Orientation Thursday, June 5 th 5:00PM

Our Program is for children ages 5 and above who have had an introduction to swimming (we require that they can put their face in water and can swim in some fashion across the width of the pool) It offers a safe, nurturing environment with a small swimmer-to-instructor ratio. It's a great way to learn how to swim while having fun with other children the same age. It's also a terrific way for kids to begin to learn the basic breathing, stroke techniques, and gain endurance and confidence in the water. Includes Swim & Dive Team social events and opportunity to sign up for RESC Mini Meet – Sunday July 20th

 Pre-Team: 4-4:30 p.m. Monday and Thursday OR  4-4:30p.m. Tuesday and Friday  Coach – Katie Wright / Parent Coordinator – Sue Farley Kids are broken up according to abilities in each lane - Informal Assessments done the first few practices. Parents can watch and observe The parents must be away from the group as a whole. If the parent is constantly at the side of the pool, then the child is clearly not comfortable in the water and should not be on pre-team. That is one of the pre-reqs. Junior coaches are in the water with pre teamers. Coaches work with students on all strokes. The season for them is 5 weeks, or 10 practices. Once a student can swim 25 meters - 1 length of pool then child can participate in a B meet. Transition to Swim Team - this can occur during the swim season or the following year - discuss with coach for assessment Parents can speak with coaches after practice.

 Our swim team program consists of a series of dual meets divided into two levels of competition. We have a full season of Saturday ‘A’ meets and Wednesday night ‘B’ meets, so all of our swimmers will have an opportunity to compete in at least one meet each week.  The advanced ‘A’ meets are limited to the top 6 swimmers in Free and the top 3 in every other stroke (incl. IM), while the ‘B’ meets are open to any swimmer except one who placed in the top 2 Regency swimmers in the previous A meet.  Participants compete in different age groups and meets depending on their achievement level and how old they are on the first day of the meet. Recognized age groups are 8 & Under, 9-10, 11-12, 13-14, Team practice groups are usually determined by age and/or ability.

 May 27 – June 12  13 & Over: 3:30 p.m.-4:45 p.m. (Monday through Friday)  8 & Under: 4:45 p.m.-5:30 p.m. (Monday through Friday)  9-10: 5:30 p.m.-6:30 p.m. (Monday through Friday)  11-12: 6:30 p.m.-7:30 p.m. (Monday through Friday)  June 13 – July 11*  11 & Over: 7:30 a.m.-9 a.m.; (Monday through Friday); 5:30 p.m.-6:30 p.m. (Monday through Thursday)  10 & Under: 9 a.m.-10 a.m. (Monday through Friday); 4:30 p.m.-5:30 p.m. (Monday through Thursday)  Pre-Team: 4-4:30 p.m. Monday and Thursday OR 4-4:30 p.m. Tuesday and Friday  *No evening practices on June 11, June 18, June 25, July 2 and July 9 because of the B meets those evenings  Divisionals Practices — July  10 & Under: 8:30 a.m.-9:30 a.m.  11 & Over: 8:30 a.m.-10 a.m.  All-Stars Practices — July  All Groups: 9 a.m.-10 a.m.

 The four competitive swimming strokes are freestyle, backstroke, breaststroke and butterfly. The combination of all four strokes is called individual medley (IM).  In freestyle events, the competitor may swim any stroke. The stroke most commonly used is sometimes called the crawl, which is characterized by the alternate stroking of the arms over the surface of the water surface and an alternating (up-and-down) flutter kick.  Backstroke consists of an alternating motion of the arms with a flut­ter kick while on the back. On turns, swimmers may rotate to the stomach and perform a flip turn and some part of the swimmer must touch the wall. The swimmer must finish on the back.  The breaststroke requires simultaneous movements of the arms on the same horizontal plane. The hands are pressed out from in front of the breast in a heart shaped pattern and recovered under or on the surface of the water. The kick is a simultaneous somewhat circular motion similar to the action of a frog. On turns and at the finish, the swimmer must touch the wall with both hands simultaneously at, above or below the water surface.  Some consider the butterfly to be the most beautiful of the strokes. It features a simultaneous recovery of the arms over the water combined with an undulating dolphin kick. In the kick, the swimmer must keep both legs together and may not flutter, scissors or use the breaststroke kick. Both hands must touch the wall simultaneously on the turns and the finish.  The individual medley, commonly referred to as the I.M., features all four strokes. In the IM, the swimmer begins with the butterfly, then changes after one-fourth of the race to backstroke, then breaststroke and finally freestyle.

 Arrive at the pool at least 15 minutes before the scheduled warm-up time begins. This time will be in the weekly team s.  Upon arrival, find a place to put your swimmer's belongings. The team sits in one place together, so look for some familiar faces.  After warm-up, your swimmer will go back to the area where his/her team is sitting and wait there until his first event is called. This is a good time to make sure he/she goes to the bathroom if necessary, gets a drink, or just gets settled in. The meet will usually start about minutes after warm-ups are over.  Swimmers are responsible for listening for their events to be called and meeting at the clerk of course, where they will be lined up in the heat/lane they’ve been assigned. Remind your swimmer to stay with the team and what events they will swim at the meet.  Your swimmer now gets his/her cap and goggles and reports to the pool and/or coach for warm-up instructions. It is very important for all swimmers to warm-up with the team. A swimmer's body is just like a car on a cold day-he/she needs to get the engine going and warmed-up before he/she can go all out.  Psyche Sheet or Heat Sheets. A psyche sheet is usually available for sale at concession area of the pool. It lists all swimmers in each event in order of "seed time".  When the team entry is sent in, each swimmer and his/her previous best time (up to the date that the entry was submitted) in that event is listed. If the swimmer is swimming an event for the first time, he/she will be entered as a "no-time" or "NT". Last heat is the fastest heat for each event.

Meet starts with Star Spangled Banner. Please stand for this patriotic moment. It is important for any swimmer to know what event numbers he/she is swimming (numbers on their hand by clerk of course). A swimmer's event number will be called, usually over the loudspeaker, and he/she will be asked to report to the "clerk of course”. Swimmers should report with his/her cap and goggle Boys events are odd-numbered and girls events are even-numbered. The "Clerk of Course” area is usually where all swimmers check in before their event. Clerk will write numbers on hand – Event, heat and lane #. Ex- 50 FR H1L4. The clerk will usually line up all the swimmers and take them down to the pool in correct order. A swimmer usually reports directly to his/her lane for competition a number of heats before he/she actually swims. You can expect at least 1-8 heats of each event-depending on meet and number of swimmers.

 After each swim: ◦ He/she is to ask the timers (people behind the lane) his/her time. ◦ The swimmer should then go immediately to his or her coach. The coach will discuss the swim with each swimmer. Generally, the coach follows these guidelines when discussing swims: ◦ Positive comments or praise ◦ Suggestions for improvement Then the swimmer should report directly back to the team area. If they must leave to go to the bathroom or to see a parent or guardian, a coach must be notified.

Things you, as a parent, can do after each swim: ◦ Tell him/her how great he/she did! The coaching staff will be sure to discuss stroke technique with him. You need to tell him how proud you are and what a great job he/she did. Kids are sensitive. They want to do their best and as parents that is what we hope for. Positive encouragement always. They are swimming and doing their best, even if you think they are not. Refrain from saying - you weren’t working hard or you could have done better. ◦ Take him/her back to the team area and relax. This is another good time to check out the bathrooms, get a drink or something light to eat.  The swimmer now waits until his next event is called and starts the procedure again.  When a swimmer has completed all of her events, and checked in with their coach, the athlete and parents may go home. It is also the parents duty to check with the coach before leaving to make sure your child is not on a relay. It is unfair to other swimmers who may have stayed to swim on a relay when your child has left and the entire relay has to be scratched and is disappointed.  Results are posted somewhere in the facility. Home – Hanging white board by bath house.  DQ – meaning disqualification. It is generally for a stroke infraction which is perfectly okay in swimming. Swimming has rules and different ways of moving the body, like flexed feet in breaststroke, that a child may not be comfortable with. As they learn, the DQ’s provide coaches, parents, swimmers and lesson givers information about what to work on.

Gear - practice suit (1 piece for girls and trunks -jammers or brief for boys), goggles, swim cap (Silicon and Latex Caps), sweats/flannels on colder days usually early in the season, flip flops/slide on shoes. Kickboards are provided. This season the Sailfish Swim & Dive Team will wear the same suit as last year — the Tyr Starship in red. The suit will be available at swim gear stores including Aardvark Sport & Swim. The suit is not required for those on the Swim & Dive Team, but is highly recommended. Team suits are available for purchase from Aardvark Swim and Sport in Rockville ( ). Call before you go to make sure they have the size(s) you need. Red and Black are our pool colors.

Our Time Trials is on Saturday, June 7th. This meet determines our swimmers’ initial ranking on the team. Since only Sailfish swimmers can participate in Time Trials, we will need all parents to be available to help run the meet. Please note that only the swimmers who have registered and paid their fees can participate in the Time Trials.

Swimmers in A meets are determined by the coach. Top 6 in freestyle for their age category and top 3 for each of the other strokes. Psyche Sheet is posted the Friday before the meet or the day before. It is up for the pep rally. Caravan meets early in front of pool. Cars follow each other to opposing team’s pool. Coaches and swimmers reflect theme of the week. Parent needs to volunteer during the meet. Sign up using Sign Up Genius found on website. Team gathers at pre determined restaurant for post meet celebration. A portion of sales are usually donated to the team.

 Open to any swimmer who can complete 25 meters in a specific event. (freestyle, back stroke, butterfly and breast stroke). Top 2 Regency swimmers in any event in the previous A Meet cannot swim that event in the B Meet.  Swimmers sign up for B Meet by Sign Up sheet on bulletin board by Tuesday at 5PM. LATE SIGN UPS WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED.  Please sign up for all eligible events. Coaches will tell the kids what events if they ask.  Parent needs to volunteer during swim meet. Sign up using Sign Up Genius found on website.

In addition, swimmers or relay teams with qualifying times/placements may be invited to swim in special meets such as the Coaches Invitational Long Course Meet, or the MCSL All-Star Relays and Individual All-Stars Meets. Sunday, June 22 nd – F Division Relay Lakelands. Like other A meets, the roster is determined by the coaches and posted by the Friday prior to the Lakelands July 13 th - B Relay Carnival Tally Ho - Patti will get us information as soon as she receives it. Should be a highlight of the summer! July 19 th – RESC (F Division Championship) This is the top 2 swimmers in each event competing against 5 other teams.

 Friday nights before A Meets (Thursday before Divisionals Pot Luck)  Theme Based  Arts and Crafts  Pizza  Pep Talk from Coaches – Beast of the Week  Big and Little Buddies  GO HOME AND REST!!!

 Pep Rallies – each Friday before A meets Negin Mahjoob– Theme each week/ Beast of the Week  Lock In – 6/28 – Todd Misura - play games and sleep in tents at this summertime favorite. Parent permission is required for this event and 1 has to stay.  Social – Movies, Bowling – Shiva Shafi  Car Wash – July 12 th – David Wright  Barbeque – after A Meet on July 12th - Helene Dolan and her Barbeque crew + Jodie Ozatalar  Swim and Dive Banquet –June 19 th – Leslie Misura

 Every family on the team is a member of the Regency Sailfish Parents Association, which exists to support the swim program. This includes officiating, timing, clerk of course, food, and other jobs listed on our sign-up.  The success of the summer swim team is dependent upon having active family participation. There are many ways and opportunities to volunteer (help at swim meets, help with our Friday parties and other social events, banquets, etc) so all families must be willing to do their part and help the team when needed.  The revenue generated from A and B meets at our pool support the swim team and pool.  Most of our team communication, swim meet sign-ups, and parent volunteer sign-ups are now being done on-line. s are generally sent every Tuesday and Thursday. Much of the information is time sensitive.  To get team s and information, and to have access to all online sign up forms, make sure Jordan has your information. Shari for dive team.

 Come by and watch one of the practices! You can join any time. Call me, me, or find me at the pool if you have any questions. We’d LOVE you have you on the team!  Sign up is through paper hard copy

 We have two 1 hour 15 min. practices during the week days once school is out- mornings at 11:15 and evenings at 6:15.  FRIDAYS practice is at 4:45-6 so the kids can all participate in the Friday Pep Rallies. (in the couple weeks school is still in session we will just have the evening practice).

 We will be having a scrimmage with East Gate this year on June 8th. This is the Sunday before our first official dual meet. The new divers and their families can see how meets are run, how the divers are called up to the board for their turn, and get feedback on the scores they’re given.  Our 5 “dual” meets are on Sundays (starting June 15th and going through July 13th) at 4:00pm,  Divisional meet on July 20th and All-Stars July 23rd and 24th.  Parents need to volunteer (judge, clerk…).  All divers can dive in the dual meets, divers who qualify will go to Divisionals and All Stars.

Coaches – Travis, Laurence, and Erin Swim Team Coordinator – Jordan Rutberg A Team Rep – David Wright B Team Coordinator – Patty Wang Pre-Team Coach – Katie Wright Pre- Team Rep/Parent Liaison – Sue Farley Dive Team Coordinator – Shari Kressman