Welcome New Swim Team Parents!

Congratulations on choosing an excellent sport for your child and for joining an excellent swim team. The Ashland Barracudas began in 1994 and is a member of the Greater Richmond Aquatics League (GRAL). The Barracudas have received numerous good sportsmanship awards and swim awards over the years. The Barracuda Board thought it would be helpful to provide new parents with basic information to help your family transition into an exciting new sport. Below you will find answers to frequently asked questions. And if your question isn’t answered here, ask anyone on the board or team. – including the kids, who always know the answers!

Where can I get information?

• Ask another parent or swimmer who is on the team! If they don’t know the answer, find a Board Member.  This is a great community to join…

• Read the Barracuda Swim Team Handbook from cover to cover. Coach Trent and various swim team parents have put a lot of time into this handbook.

• Check this website for updates and announcements.

Swim Gear

Swim Suits – The team suit is available at Disco Sports (www.discosports.com) behind Regency Square Mall. It’s a good idea to take your child with you to try on the suit and make sure it fits properly. The suit should be tight when dry, but will loosen up in the water, so you don’t want to start with it loose! The girls’ shoulder straps should pull up to their ear lobes when dry. The boys’ suit generally follows their waist size. Team suits are not required, but girls must wear a one-piece and the boys should have a jammer type (similar to bike shorts). Team suits are chosen every two years.

Swim Caps – One cap with the team logo is issued every season to each swimmer..  Swimmers are encouraged to wear the caps with the logo because it makes it easier to spot our swimmers in the water (can’t see the suit when they’re swimming!).  If the logo cap is lost or ripped, a replacement is usually available for a very nominal fee.

Goggles – when you find a pair that fits your child’s face, buy several extra pairs (they easily get lost, broken, etc.) and bring them to the meets! It’s also good to bring an extra swim cap, even if it doesn’t have the team logo, since those can break on the blocks, too. Note: The team provides each swimmer with a free team cap.

Swim Meets: What to expect….

FUN: Think of Wednesday nights as a giant block party with family and friends! Please note, since meets are so long, be sure to have your children bring activities (cards, board games, books, etc.).  Also bring several towels – water sport and all!

Length: Our swim meets run from 6:00pm to (generally) 10:30pm. Younger swimmers are usually able to leave earlier. Although the meet begins at 6:00, swimmers need to arrive earlier for warm ups and check in (usually 4:45 for home meets and 5:15 for away meets). It is very important that your child checks in! Many parents car pool or take turns bringing swimmers early.

Weather: Be prepared for heat, cold, rain and storms. Meets can be swum in rain but if there is thunder or lightening, meets may be delayed or cancelled.  A specific group of swim team officials monitor the situation and make the decisions. If a swim meet is cancelled due to weather, it is usually rescheduled for the following night. Cancellation of meets is decided by several people. Meets can be swum in rain, but obviously not with thunder and lightening. The handbook goes into more detail about this. We utilize a system called OneCall which allows the coach to make “one call” and  his recorded message is delivered to team family number(s) they listed on the registration form.  In addition to delayed/cancelled meet information, you may receive notification calls of cancelled practices. If you provided a cell phone for the OneCall system, be sure to bring it to meets since we are often sequestered to our cars during storms and messages will be transmitted this way (as well as word of mouth…but sometimes it’s just raining too hard to get out of the car!)

Meet Results: Your swimmers time and place will be posted in a designated spot soon after the event. At home meets, they are posted on our bulletin board. At away meets, you can usually find them by looking for a huddle of people staring at a wall (where the results are posted).

Permanent marker pens. Buy several so your child (or the coach, for younger kids) can write their events on their hands. It can get very confusing on the night of a meet, and having the event, heat, and lane written on their hand helps A LOT. Parents often write the events on their own hand – especially if they have more than one swimmer!

What is a “DQ”?

This refers to a ‘disqualification’ and it occurs when a swimmer does not swim a stroke correctly. While no child ever enjoys “getting DQ’d,” it happens to most every swimmer at some point. The Stroke & Turn Judges observe swimmers during meets and the coaches will review the DQ cards and use the information to teach your son or daughter how to swim the stroke correctly the next time. If your child is DQ’d, he or she will find out on the results sheet.

What are Novice, Advanced,Junior Varsity, Varsity, and Senior Varsity times? What do they mean?

Even though swimmers are in the same age groups (e.g., midgets are 9-10 years old), swimmers have different ability levels and are scored accordingly. Thus, within each age group, there are actually 5 different competitions occurring at the same time. For example, if a 10 year old girl gets a time of 45 seconds for 50 Freestyle, and another child gets a time of 38 seconds for the same event, both could end up getting a first place in the same event because one is scored in the Novice category (45 sec) and the other is in the Varsity category (38 sec) seconds). Champs cut-off times vary according to each category and sex. Time Standards for the different levels are in the handbook and on the GRAL website.

What is a mite (or a midget, junior, intermediate, etc.)?

These names refer to specific age groups. They are designed to allow children to compete against their peers. The age groups are: Mini Mites 6 & under; Mites 7-8; Midgets 9-10; Juniors 11-12; Intermediate 13-14; Senior 15-18. You can also find this information in the handbook.

How is a meet scored?

The scoring of a meet is very complex and requires a significant amount of computer data entry. The final results are often not known until the wee hours of the morning after everyone has gone home (except for coaches, computer rep, and other dedicated people we should often thank. The total of all five categories (novice, advanced, junior varsity, varsity and senior varsity) determines the score for the meet. Thus, it is possible for a team that has a lot of novice swimmers to win a meet.  Again, more info about scoring can be found in the handbook.

What are Champs and how does my child qualify?

“Champs” refers to the end of the year Championship Meet, usually held in the Freedom Center in Manassas , VA. All GRAL teams participate (approximately 30). When your child swims a time at or under the cut-off for their age group, he or she qualifies to swim. It is an honor and a reflection of the swimmer’s hard work. If your child qualifies, we encourage you to make every effort to go. Champs are always held the last weekend of July.

Should I give my child tips on swimming?

Coaching is best left to the coaches, for many reasons. In general, the best way to support your child is to cheer for them and tell them how proud you are of them…win or lose. Swimmers always benefit from one-on-one instruction or stroke & turn clinics, often offered at the Y and local swim clubs. If your child seeks your help and you have knowledge about swimming, then you can decide whether or not to help. When in doubt, check with Coach Trent!

Will my young child ever learn to dive or do flip turns correctly? (Or do butterfly or breast stroke right?)

Yes! Have patience and be encouraging. It took one of our wonderful coaches several years to get breast stroke right.

Who gets ribbons?

Every child is recognized with a ribbon. If your child gets 1 st through 6 th place in an event, their place provides points for the team in the respective category (ex., 1 st place in novice = 7 points; 2 nd place = 5 points). Swimmers who do not place will receive a participation ribbon. Coach Trent further recognizes swimmers by posting a giant grid of improved personal times and broken records throughout the season, This poster can be found on the bulletin board. The kids love it.

Does one parent from each family really need to work at every meet? And how can I watch my child swim if I’m working?

Yes, we need at least one parent from every family to run meets. It takes close to 100 people to run a meet. Meets are broken into first and second half.  You only work one half. It is very important that you be able to watch your son or daughter swim – timers have a bird’s eye view. The rest of the workers need to keep an ear out for their child’s events and just let someone working the same job or the volunteer coordinator know you need to step away to watch – just remember to come back! Many parents write their children’s events on their hands (just like the kids).

GET INVOLVED!

Several positions will become open on next year’s board. If you are interested in becoming a board member, contact Veronica Wiles, our president, (wiles.veronica@gmail.com)or Mary Polce-Lynch (marypolce@comcast.net ). In addition to board positions, there are numerous opportunities to volunteer, including Silent Auction, Parent Swim Meet, and of course weekly swim meets.

Hang in there. The first meets and year can be a bit overwhelming. But swimming is such an excellent sport and this is an exceptional team. It will be worth the transition. Next year, you will likely be offering support to a new family…