Welcome to the Stuart Heights Swim Team! We are so glad that you are joining us for a summer of swimming, competition and F-U-N! Becoming a part of a swim team can be both exciting and a little overwhelming, and we are sure that you will probably have some questions. This handbook serves as a general reference for you and your family.

Competitive swimming is a fascinating and rewarding sport. Learning to swim competitively takes time, and swimming well requires endurance. As a result, the summer swim team experience does require a significant time commitment from athletes and their parents/guardians. But we are sure you will find the rewards your swimmer reaps well worth the effort, and you will be shocked by the improvements made in such a short time.

The season begins the Tuesday following Memorial Day and concludes with our seasoning ending banquet following City Meet. Swim practice is held in the mornings Monday through Friday. Your athlete does NOT need to attend all practices offered! Of course, the more practices attended, the quicker improvement occurs. Meets are held most Monday and Thursday evenings.

Each practice, your swimmer will learn and practice proper stroke mechanics to help build endurance through different conditioning exercises. During dual meets, we will compete against other teams from the Chattanooga Area Swim League (CASL). We will travel to their pool for half of the meets, and the other half will be hosted at our home pool located at 3218 Social Circle. We conclude the season with the CASL City Meet, where all teams and divisions of the Chattanooga Area Swim League compete for both individual and team awards.

Our experienced swim coaches strive to create a challenging yet nurturing team environment, where ALL athletes have the chance to grow, learn and work toward their full potential as swimmers, while having fun and enjoying their summer!

Throughout the season, if you have any questions, concerns or would like to get more involved, please feel free to contact any Stuart Heights Swim Team Board Member, in person, by email at [email protected] or via our Remind app @e7eh68. The coaches are always willing to answer questions after practices.

We look forward to seeing you on the pool deck for a great season! GO SHARKS! #sharks4life

WHO CAN JOIN:

The swim team is for children and teens through high school age. Seniors graduating from high school this Spring must be no older than 19 on June 1 to qualify for competition.

All team members are required to be able to swim at least one width of the pool (25 yards) without stopping or touching bottom and be comfortable doing it. They should also be comfortable swimming in water over their heads. Swim team instruction is geared toward helping children who know how to swim refine their strokes and become stronger. Children who join the team to learn to swim can benefit from the experience, but may not enjoy the competitive aspect. If your child is not a swimmer when he / she joins the team, supplementing our coaches’ instruction with outside stroke lessons may help your child progress more quickly. If you wish to pursue this option, the coaches (including junior coaches) can provide you with names of possible instructors.

New swimmer evaluations will be held during the first practice. This will be for first-time Shark swimmers only, to give the coaches an opportunity to assess the swimmers’ abilities in the water.

SWIMMER RULES AND EXPECTATIONS:

1. Follow directions quickly.
2. Respect your coach, teammates, the pool, and yourself.
3. Follow ALL the pool rules home and away.
4. Cheer on your teammates and have F-U-N!!!

VOLUNTEERS:

We need YOU! Swimming is a volunteer-heavy sport. It takes a lot of people to run a meet. We will need timers, judges, scorekeepers, runners, kid pushers, etc. There are many opportunities to participate, and no position is too difficult. We have plenty of people ready to help teach you! Jump on in so that the kids can make a splash!

Volunteer Commitment:

Every swim family is committed to three volunteer sessions per season or pay $150 fee.

Volunteers need to report by start of warmup. We literally cannot have a swim meet without these positions filled:

• Volunteer Sign In - please arrive early (and you will be finished early). Check with a board member to get your sign in information. You will be in charge of organizing the other volunteers for this meet.  At home meets, you will also help sell our caps and shirts.
• Deck Parent - You will have a printed heat sheet and will organize our littles and get them to the correct lane on time.
• Place Judge - You will watch the finish of each heat and determines the order in which the swimmer's finished
• Lane Timer - You will record the swimmer’s time. Each timer is provided a stopwatch, heat sheet and assigned a lane. It is fast paced and exciting to have a front row view of the action.
• Scorekeeper - You will work with the other team’s scorekeeper to enter the scores immediately after each event

EQUIPMENT:

• team suit - Please contact Front Runner Athletics located at 4251 Hixson Pike, Chattanooga, TN 37415 for fittings.
• team cap - Your swimmer will receive 1 STH cap; the team cap (or the pink Emily's Power for a Cure) is the ONLY cap that may be worn for CASL meets. Your child may want a different cap to wear during practice.
• goggles - competition goggles are best for competitive swim
• sharpie marker, sunscreen, waterbottle

Label all of your child’s belongings and place them in a carry bag. Purchase an extra pair of goggles and cap, and place them in their bag. You never know when something might break.

PRACTICES:

Monday - Friday mornings:

camper practice 8:00-8:30, 11 & up 8:00-9:30, 10 & under 8:30-9:30 a.m.

• Sharks coaches advise you attend at least 3 practices per week to see improvement in your swimming times. We seek to build a great team atmosphere where the kids know one another, and the great swimmers can serve as an example to the new swimmers. So we encourage all swimmers to come enjoy practices at Stuart Heights.

• Practice will be held in the rain as long as lightning does not occur. Wet is wet.

• Parents will not be allowed on the pool deck during practice. Please observe practice from the hillside.
  • Avoid distracting the coach or swimmer during practice. If you need to speak to the coach, please do so before or after practice.
  • Leave the coaching to the experts. The coaches were hired to coach because of their expertise and knowledge of the sport.

TEAM COMMUNICATION:

Summer swim is a short and fast-paced season with lots of moving parts. Communication is key…and a two-way street! We use many different forms of communication:

• Email the board via [email protected]
• Social media - Facebook and Instagram
• Remind App – join our group with code @ e7eh68.

Coaches are always happy to meet with you after practice. Please do not attempt to meet with them during practices or meets. We need them to be attentive to all of our kids.

DUAL MEETS:

Each dual meet consists of 62 events and will last anywhere from 2 – 3 hours. The order of the events is always the same:

1. Freestyle
2. Breaststroke
3. Medley Relay
4. Individual Medley
5. Backstroke
6. Butterfly
7. Freestyle Relay
8. Announcement of the Winning Team

Swim meets can be very hectic – especially with the younger swimmers. Experienced parents should help make sure all of our new parents comprehend and understand what is happening at the first few meets.

Swimmers need to check in with the designated coach as soon as they arrive at the pool for the swim meet. Please RSVP to all meets. We need to know whether or not your child will be attending. Substitutions cannot be made at the meet per CASL rules. We do not want any empty lanes that cost us points. Swimmers and parents need to listen to the announcer and keep up with which events are coming up. Swimmers need to be behind the starting blocks and be ready to swim two events before the event they are swimming. – This means having goggles ready and team swim cap on. (Our Sharks and Deck Parents will help with this too.)

CASL provides two meet officials who conduct and oversee the events. Each swimmer can be entered in a maximum of three individual and two relay events. The assignment of swimmers to various events is the responsibility of the coaching staff. To be able to compete in an event, the swimmer must be able to complete the stroke correctly. Incorrect execution of a stroke results in disqualification (DQ) and the loss of points for the team.

The staff recognizes the dedication to practice and the reliability of the swimmer. The coaching staff must try to balance participation with the best lineup for the team’s benefit.

A swimmer’s age for purposes of competition is their age on June 1. A swimmer does not change age groups during the season.

At meets, swimmers compete against other swimmers of the same sex and age group. There are six age groups: 6&U - freestyle and backstroke only, 7 & 8, 9 & 10, 11 & 12, 13 & 14, Seniors (15-18)

A meet includes competition in seven event types. There are five individual events: Freestyle, Backstroke, Breaststroke, Butterfly and Individual Medley. There are two relays: Freestyle Relay and Medley Relay. Each age group participates in each event except those swimmers under age 9 do not swim Individual Medley. 

Swimmers are limited by CASL rules to three individual events per meet and up to two relays. The final heat of each dual meet event is the scoring heat. Exhibition heats are timed, and improvements in these times will mean the swimmer may be swimming for points in the next meet.

The Heat Sheet is a program that shows all the participating swimmers and what events they will participate in as well as the heat number and lane number. Subscribers to SwimTopia Pro App ($2.49/mo or $9.99/yr) will be able to see the heat sheets on the app prior to each meet.  This is highly recommended as it will make your following the events much easier.

Seed Time: Once a swimmer participates legally in an event, they will have a "seed time" in that event for the next meet. Swimmers are placed in heats and relays according to their seed times. 

Points: Points are awarded to the team for swimmers placing 1-8 in individual meets and 1-2 in relays.  Relay points are huge! We always have tough competition in our division and want to be the team that works the hardest and has the most fun! A winner is determined at the end of each meet by who has the most points. 

Parents will please mark their swimmers arm with the Event, Heat, Lane & stroke before each meet.  The swimmer first initial, last name and age should be written on the back left shoulder.

During the meet, our 8 & unders should sit together at the team flag so it is easy for our Deck Parent to find them and get them to the blocks on time. Big Sharks will be managing themselves. *If the flag is ever not there, please just check around for a herd of little people and have them sit together.

An official will be announcing the events but it is so important that parents & swimmers keep up with the event and be ready, and behind the blocks at least one event before. Summer swim meets go pretty fast, so it is critical that everyone pay attention. The coaches will not be calling swimmers to the deck. That is your responsibility. Every swimmer has the chance to earn points for our team. The team with the most points at the end of the meet wins the meet. If something happens and a swimmer misses an event, go directly to the head official (wearing white, usually with a whistle/microphone). If you are lucky, you may be able to get into another heat. This is not always possible so it is very important for swimmers (and their parents) to pay attention to the event numbers.

The reasons are complicated, but sometimes coaches will enter an athlete as an exhibition swimmer. This means the swimmer cannot earn points but can still swim for practice and sportsmanship.

A DQ is a disqualification from an event due to a mistake in a start, stroke, turn, or finish. If you are disqualified in a race, the judge will raise their arm, fill out a DQ slip, and your time will not be counted. This will happen. It is part of the learning process. It is not ideal, but no reason to scold a swimmer. We are all out there to have fun. Yes, we want to win (and really, really want to beat Ooltewah), but developing a love of the sport and enjoying the team comradery is so much more important.

Good sportsmanship is essential. Stay in the pool until everyone from the heat is finished. Shake hands with the swimmers on either side of you. We are the team with the best integrity and will remain so.

BILL CAULKINS CITY MEET:

The CASL City Swim Meet is a two-day Championship swim meet. Swimmers from teams in all three CASL divisions will compete in the meet. City Meet is a fun and exciting experience for both new and experienced swimmers. It is also one of the few meets for which swimmers have the opportunity to select their own events. The meet is divided into 2 preliminary sessions (10 & U in the morning with 12 & Up in the midday), and the top 16 swimmers of each event per age group return for finals that evening.

Finals are scored, so those finals determine the points a team/individual receives. All league teams compete in this meet for top honors in each division. It is an exciting meet that you want to be a part of each season! Your swimmer’s registration fees have already paid for the City Meet. Details and the registration forms will be distributed later in the season.

WHAT TO BRING TO MEETS:

Swimmers:

• Team suit, team shirt, team cap and a pair of goggles (We suggest always having a backup pair of goggles.)
• Warm clothes (it can get cool as the sun sets), a change of clothes, a hat
• Cards, games, etc. to pass the time
• Sunblock, eardrops, bug spray, etc.
• A small cooler with healthy snacks and plenty of drinking water

Spectators:

• Chairs or blankets for seating
• Golf umbrella for shade
• Sunscreen and bug spray
• Meets can run several hours. Concession stands (of varying quality) are typically available, but you, too, may prefer to bring your own cooler of snacks or picnic dinner.
• Lots of water to stay hydrated

INCLEMENT WEATHER:

Swimming is a wet sport, so YES, we still swim in the rain. Wet is wet, right? Parents, for you that means bring a raincoat. The swimmers will already be wet, but will want something for warmth out of the water.

We do NOT swim if there is thunder and/or lightning in the area. The CASL rule for this is a 30 minute delay for each thunder and/or lightning strike. During a meet, this may mean only a delay, where we must clear the pool deck. Please wait in your cars until a decision is determined.

Join our Remind group @ e7eh68 for quick updates during weather delays.

TIPS FOR A GREAT SEASON:

Swimmers:

• Athletes should give their best at all times.
• Be proud of your best efforts regardless of their time or team score.
• Be a humble winner and a gracious loser. Shake hands after each heat. Wait until everyone in the heat is finished before exiting the pool.
• Be on time to practices and meets with gear in hand.

Parents:

• Help your child learn discipline by getting him/her to meets and practices on time – and arriving promptly for pick-up.
• Your child’s commitment to the swim team will be only as strong as your own commitment.
• Ask your child what he/she learned at practice and what he/she hopes to do better the next time.
• Give all the positive support you can. You are there to love and praise them. Please let the coaches coach.
• Learn the rules of competitive swimming – don’t guess at them. Watch swimming videos with your child. Ask a more seasoned swimmer or parent.
• Encourage your child to communicate directly with the coach; don’t become a middleman.
• Support the coach even if it means disappointing your child. Keep in mind the coaches spend a lot of time putting the line up together – trying to balance competition and participation. Please do not undermine their decisions.
• Prepare nutritious meals – especially before meets.
• Be positive. With your words and actions, attempt to relieve the pressure of competition, not increase it.
• Never abuse a referee or judge, or question their calls. Teach your child to accept and cope with the decisions of the officials. CASL rules prohibit parents or swimmers from approaching judges and/or referees directly. Disregarding this rule could causethe team to incur sanctions or prompt removal from the competition.
• Model fair play always. All parents are expected to display sportsmanlike conduct during every meet. Any questions or complaints about the actions of the officials or opposing team must be directed to the team Pool Representative, who will replay the question or complaint to the referee.
• Praise other people’s children from the sidelines and after meets. Please do not openly criticize any athletes, parents, or coaches.
• Have reasonable expectations. Our summer program is NOT a replacement for swim lessons. Although you will see some instruction and improvement, a beginning swimmer will benefit from small group or private swim lessons.
• Be willing to help out when you are needed or when asked. Summer swimming does not happen without our awesome volunteers.
• Stuart Heights pool lifeguards are not connected with the swim team. They will not be able to answer your swim team questions.