Waynewood Swim Team

Does my swimmer need to know all the strokes to join the team?

No. Knowledge of the strokes is helpful but not necessary. To participate on the Waynewood Dolphins Swim Team, we require that a child be able to swim unassisted across the pool using any method, even if it is the dog paddle. This insures some degree of comfort in the water. However, swim team is not a substitute for swim lessons. The Dolphins simply do not have the manpower to provide extensive individual attention during practice sessions. For those needing a little help attaining this level of comfort, or for any swimmer who wants a real boost in the swimming, private and semi-private lessons are available through the coaching staff and lifeguard staff at extremely reasonable prices. Once a child has mastered the basics and can swim across the pool on his/her own, they are welcome to join the team, even mid season.

How do I arrange for lessons?

To arrange lessons, simply talk to a coach or lifeguard staff member.

Does my swimmer need a team suit?

Team suits are encouraged but not required for practice or competition. However, it does give younger swimmers a great sense of pride and belonging to wear one. Team suits will be available for purchase on Super Sunday (first Sunday in May) and Time Trials (see calendar for date), directly from our swimsuit retailer Sport Fair (located in Arlington). Each child should have goggles and swim fins for practice.

Where do I buy swim fins and goggles?

Please click here to HERE visit the team store at SwimOutlet.com. The Waynewood Dolphins receive a percentage of SwimOutlet sales. Swim fins and goggles can also be obtained at any sport outlet, such as, Sports Authority, Dick’s Sporting Goods and Amazon.

How can I get involved?

The pre-season “Super Sunday” (first Sunday in May) is a great opportunity to determine how you would like to participate. Swim team representatives and coaches will be available to answer questions and explain various volunteer positions and what is needed to execute a swim meet and events throughout the season. Some of the swim meet tasks include - timing, stroke and turn judging, pre-meet set-up, post-meet clean up, ribbon writing, competition starter, event announcer, refereeing, relay judge, and concession worker. You can also contact one of our volunteer leads or the team reps listed on our Volunteer page of the swim team website. Your help with these events will go a long way in helping the team and making your child’s involvement both enjoyable and organized.

PRACTICE

When is practice held?

The Dolphins practice schedule begins Tuesday after Memorial Day. From that Tuesday until the Monday after school concludes, afternoon practices are held Monday through Friday. Morning and afternoon practices will begin as soon as school is out, and are held Monday through Friday until the end of the season. For most swimmers, the last event of the season is the Dolphin Duel in late July. Those who qualify for the individual or all-star meets will continue to practice until those meets.

 PRACTICE SCHEDULE

After Memorial Day until last day of FCPS
3:45pm-4:30pm (13 & up)
4:30pm-5:15pm (11-12)
5:15-6:00pm (9-10)
6:00pm-6:45pm (8 & under)

After FCPS is out until Divisionals at the end of July

Who goes to afternoon practice?

Supplemental afternoon practices are held for 10 & under (4pm-4:45pm); 11 & up (4:45pm-5:30pm) Tuesday through Friday. These afternoon practices are provided for those swimmers who are participating in summer school, day camps, tennis activities or are working. They are not for swimmers who do not want to get up in the morning. There is no afternoon practice on Mondays because B meets take place on Monday evening. If we have a scheduled Wednesday meet, at home or away, there is no afternoon practice that day.

Can parents be on the deck during practice?

Parents are requested to stay off the coaching deck during practices. While we need and encourage parent participation for meets and events, it is a distraction to the coaches and swimmers if parents are on the deck during practice. The coaches must devote their full attention to the swimmers. For your child’s safety and instructional benefit, please do not enter the instructional coaching area until after practice is over. If you need to speak with the coaches, please do so after all practices are over.

How many times a week does my child have to come to practice?

There is no specific requirement to attend practices. However, the more they attend the better swimmer they become.

I have kids in two different age groups, can I bring them both to the same practice time, rather than sitting through two?

Unfortunately, no. Each age group works on stroke techniques specific to that age group and the different levels of performance. Age group practice also is crucial to the relay teams.

Within the age group practices, how are kids assigned to lanes?

Within each age group practice, each swimmer is assessed and assigned to a lane of similarly skilled swimmers. This allows the coaches in a lane to instruct at a similar level and allows swimmers to practice without running over others or being run over. It is important to recognize that everyone progresses at different rates and the coaches are constantly assessing and moving swimmers, if need be. The coaches main objective is to get improvement from all swimmers.

Is the pool open for use during morning practice?

No. Waynewood Recreation Association does not open until 11am. Parents are reminded that the pool is closed the majority of the time during morning team practice. The pool staff needs the morning to prepare the pools and surrounding area. Please take the staff’s needs into consideration when joining your child in the pool area.

Are practices and meets held when it rains?

Yes, we practice and hold meets in the rain. Practices will be canceled if there is a thunderstorm. WRA lifeguards will determine if the pool needs to close. If a thunderstorm causes pool closure during a meet, please take shelter in your cars and wait it out. The Team Reps and Referees will decide if it is necessary to reschedule the meet. We will use email to provide this information.

MEETS

Does my child have to swim in the meets?

No, there is no requirement to swim in meets. This is again a comfort level issue and the decision should be made through a discussion with the coaches.

My child wants to compete, how do I sign up for the meets?

If your child wants to swim in a meet, he or she should discuss this the coaches in advance. The coaches will advise you whether your child is ready and able to swim in a B-meet, and if so, what stroke(s) he or she should swim. To sign your swimmer up go to the Meets/Events page on the Dolphins website. On this page, you will sign your swimmer up and also have the ability to sign up to volunteer for that event.

What are Time Trials and who should swim them?

Time Trials is the first "meet" of the season, generally occurring the Saturday following the pasta dinner. The primary goal of time trials is to obtain current times for all swim team members (with the exception of Little Dolphins). Coaches will determine what strokes your swimmer will be able to qualify to swim in Time Trials.

What's the difference between an “A” and "B" meet?

A meets are for the swimmers with the top times in each age group. They are held each Saturday morning throughout the season and are swum against another team within our Division in the NVSL. These are scored meets for league records and championships. Participation is based upon each swimmer's best prior time in time trials, A meets or B meets. For each meet, you will need to mark your swimmers’ availability. If your child qualifies for an A meet you will receive an email on Thursday. It is therefore very important that we have current email addresses for all Dolphin families.

B meets, on the other hand, are developmental meets (everybody can swim if they can legally complete the swim.) Consult the coaching staff regarding whether your child is ready to swim a stroke in a B meet. Both A and B meets are generally limited to 2 individual events per swimmer, not including IMs. If a swimmer places 1st, 2nd or 3rd in an A meet, they may not swim that same event in the following Monday B meet.

Explain online Stroke and Availability signups for meets.

Things happen quickly during the season. Watch your emails and please try to respond by stated deadlines for all signups for meets! For B Meets, you may sign up for your swimmer(s) to swim specific strokes, based on the limits and criteria outlined for each meet. For A Meets, you will be simply indicating that your swimmer(s) are AVAILABLE to swim, if their times put them in top contention for a spot. Even if you may not think that your swimmer has a time to make an A-meet, PLEASE do respond about availability for all A-meets; sometimes vacations or illnesses/injuries mean that someone won't swim and we will continue down the ladder in that stroke to find someone who is available.

What is the Dolphin Strategy for “A” meets?

While the primary purpose of the NVSL is to develop good sportsmanship and a love of swimming that will last a lifetime, winning is clearly more fun than losing! An important factor in winning meets is “seeding” swimmers effectively in “A” meets (swimmers are not seeded in “B” meets). This involves placing the team’s swimmers in those events in which they are most likely to score points for the team. Swimmers may sometimes be asked to swim an event they do not like or is not their best stroke, but in which they are likely to gain more points for the team because they are projected to swim faster than their opponents. This is especially true if they are the only ones who can score points in a particular event, while any one of three swimmers could score points in another event.

While kids are naturally interested in records and personal bests, A meets are team events. Meets will be seeded for the best possible team score. Remember Dolphins swimming is a team sport.

Per NVSL rules for dual meets, once Team Reps have exchanged seeding sheets on Thursday before the meet, the meet is set. Neither team can shift swimmers around after the exchange. Substitutions are allowed on Saturday morning only under very strict rules. IT IS IMPERATIVE THAT THE TEAM REPS AND COACHES KNOW BY TUESDAY MORNING IF A SWIMMER WILL NOT BE AVAILABLE FOR A SATURDAY MEET. (An email reminder will go out each week).

My child DQ'd in his last meet, what does that mean?

What constitutes a DQ? It is a disqualification issued when a stroke is not performed correctly or the take off or finish are not executed correctly. It happens a lot with younger swimmers as they are just learning the proper technique. Not to worry. This is a learning experience. There is no shame in a DQ, only in not trying. The coaches will work with your swimmer to help them understand the DQ and to establish proper technique.

Will I be able to talk to my child during the meet?

Yes, although we ask that you stay out of the team area. Your child should come to the fence or out of the team area to speak with you because parents are not allowed in the team area. Kids should be looking to the coaches for swimming advice. Also, parents are not permitted in the the Clerk of Course area (where the swimmers sit on benches waiting to swim). Because things can seem a bit chaotic during the meet, the younger swimmers are usually shepherded back to the team area after their swim. So give them a wave or a thumbs up, blow them an air kiss, and yell "great" job, but please don't come onto the deck or into the team area. Trust us, someone will come find you if your child needs you.

What should I send with my child at a meet? Can he have an iPod?

They should have a towel or two, dry clothing, and their swim cap and goggles. A second swim cap and an additional pair of goggles is highly recommended as these are frequently lost or broken. Many meets are during the hot summer days and the kids tend to get dehydrated. Make sure they have adequate water or Gatorade for the meet. An iPod is fine. Whatever you send, PUT YOUR NAME ON IT! IT WILL DISAPPEAR! The ground is littered with clothes, goggles, and even electronics after every meet. Any items left behind are placed in Lost & Found. Please do check Lost & Found frequently during the season as items are donated when the piles get too big!

****Please Note: We have swimmers with severe food allergies. Please be mindful of what you pack and emphasize to your swimmers the importance of keeping the team area free of trash and any dropped food.

Explain the difference between heats and events.

A swim MEET is comprised of events; An EVENT is a race or series of races (HEATS) for a stroke, by age group and gender. A HEAT is a single race within an event. An example of an EVENT would be 9-10 year-old male backstroke. In an A meet, there is a single race or HEAT for each EVENT. In the B meets (developmental meets), there may be multiple races or HEATS within each EVENT. In B meets, ribbons are based on a swimmer's place within a HEAT, irrespective of the times of the swimmers in the other heats within the same EVENT (every swimmer gets a ribbon).

Explain how heat and lane assignments are based on time.

Kids are generally paired up against others with similar speed. Lane assignments are based on times with the center lanes going to the swimmers from each team with the fastest seed times. In A meets, lane assignments are done by computer according to time and team. In B meets, lane and heat assignments are generally done by time as well though the rules are less stringent. This is where practice makes a difference. The fastest swimmer gets the best lane and heat. (Example: The higher the heat number the faster the swimmer. The fastest swimmers will be in the last HEAT in the center lane as these lanes are felt to have less 'drag'.) We have a Time Trial at the beginning of the season to get official baseline times and to establish our swim team ladder. With these initial times, the coaches are able to put swimmers of similar ability together in a HEAT in the B meets, so the swimmers are more evenly matched.  

Our Waynewood Dolphins Parent Handbook has answers to all of your swim team questions. If you still have questions after consulting the handbook, you can ask one of the team reps or coaches.