Massad YMCA Marlins

• The practice schedule is on our website:https://massadymcamarlins.swimtopia.com/practice-schedule
• It's a good idea to have two pairs of goggles for the kids. The kids lose them really easily, so a backup pair is a good idea. These Speedo goggles, for instance, work great:
• The kids can compete and practice without a team suit, but a team suit is encouraged (especially for meets). For practice, swim jammers seem to work best for the boys and a one-piece competition suit works best for the girls.
• Swim caps are available to purchase through the team, but it's a good idea to have some extra caps on hand for your kids. Just a basic silicone or latex swim cap will work. 
• It’s a good idea to arrive a few minutes early to give your child time to be ready to go at the start of practice.
• Many parents sit poolside during practice. (If you have a younger swimmer, it is expected that there will be an adult somewhere near the pool who is responsible for your swimmer.) For those with older swimmers, it’s a great opportunity to grab a quick workout, if you are so inclined.
• If you have questions for the coaches, please wait until practice is over to speak to your swimmer’s coach. It’s important to allow the coaches to keep their focus on the kids in the water.
• During morning practice, no one is to be in any part of the pool other than the swimmers who are practicing.
• There is a lot of new vocabulary/terminology, especially if your child is new to swimming. Feel free to ask the coaches any questions you have (in between practices or after practice). This is also a good resource: https://tidalwaves.swimtopia.com/swim-vocab-and-ru...

• Go to the Signup Calendar page to sign up for volunteer positions and to register your swimmers.
• Volunteer positions sign up and swimmer registration for a meet are both due before 5pm one week prior to the meet.
• If you have not participated as a volunteer by the end of third swim meet, your child(ren) will not be seeded to swim in the fourth meet or any future meets.

**Please note, meets are not required, but encouraged. If you are a new family, you are welcome to come and see what the meets are all about before registering your swimmer(s) for the meets. Some of our new families decide to just do the practices until their children are more comfortable participating in the meets.**

Be on time for the meet, this time will allow for check-in and warm-ups. For home meets, we warm up first and for away meets we warm up second.

For our home meets, we set up on the “large slide” side of the pool and in the grassy area behind the concession stand. The guest team locations at away pools vary; specific information for each pool is usually shared via email the week of that meet.

Call/text if you are running late. We have many relays and entries that could be affected if you are not there.

Volunteers should check-in with volunteer coordinator (look for the volunteer tent) - Let coordinator know that you are there!

Warm-ups for each team will precede the meet, with the host team swimming first. Coach will provide you with a warm-up instruction and when to begin your warm-ups.

After both teams have warmed up and the National Anthem is sung, the meet begins!

Swimmers should monitor events and arrive to Clerk of the Course when event is posted. Please listen carefully to the events being called to the clerk to avoid your swimmer missing his/her race.

Relays will be organized by the coaches and DO NOT go through the Clerk.

Meets typically last four hours. Younger children will be completed earlier in the meet, and you are able to leave when your child is finished (although the last relays are always pretty fun to watch!) unless you are filling a 2nd half volunteer position.  If you are volunteering, you need to stay until the end of the meet.

Before leaving the meet, check with a coach to see if you’re needed for a relay at the end of the meet.

Volunteers should attend volunteer meeting (timer, stroke and turn judges, etc.) prior to beginning of meet.

Volunteers should arrive to volunteer positions prior to start of the meet (first half) or by event number 36 (second half). There will be an announcement.

Coaches typically announce events on meet days (or send out an email with the events listed the week of the meet ). There is usually a posted sheet at the meet as well.

When you arrive at the swim meet for warm-ups, please check the event schedule to see what events your child will be swimming in case there have been changes.

Use a sharpie to write down your swimmer's events, heats, lanes, and what they are swimming on their arm. Here's a good description on how to do it: What and How to Write On Your Swimmer's Arm for a Swim Meet.

Each team may enter unlimited competitors in the 25 and 50 meter Freestyle events. For all other events, each team is allowed six swimmers.

Swimmers are able to swim a maximum of three individual events and three relays. The events each swimmer will swim are ultimately determined by the coaches.

Clerk of Course is responsible for all of the paper work at the meet before the swimmers swim. This includes check-in, seeding, preparation and distribution of cards to timers. Their role to ensure all swimmers are in place and ready to swim their events, so no swimmer misses their race and the swim meet runs smoothly.

Before the swim meet, the coaches make up the meet sheets that tell us who is swimming what events and the Clerk then assigns lanes based on swimmers times.

An index card is made up for each child with his/her name, event number, event name, and in what lane the child is swimming.

These cards are handed out during the meet by volunteers at the Clerk, just prior to the time for the child to go “line up” behind the starting blocks to get ready to swim. The card is then handed to a timer who is at the swimmer’s block. The timers use this card to record the swimmer’s times.

During meets, there are Stroke & Turn Judges who will watch the swimmers during their event and disqualify those who employ improper techniques. Disqualification (DQ) means the swimmer’s time will not count for that particular event and cannotbe scored. DQs are very common, especially with the younger swimmers. Coaches will receive information about the disqualification so they are able to help each swimmer become “legal” in their strokes.

Swimmers will learn to ask for their time from the timer when they get out of the pool at the end of their race. The swimmer can find out their official time once the results are posted for that particular event. The meet results (which include their names, time and event placing) will be posted throughout the meet. At our pool, they are posted on the side of the guard house. After each meet, swimmers’ times will be emailed to our families.

Results will also be posted to the RSL website.

Dual Meets - for all individual events, individuals receive points for 1st - 5th place and for relays, teams teams receive points for 1st - 3rd place.  Teams can earn a maximum of 13 points in an individual event and 12 points for a relay event.

Individual Events

1st place: 6 points

2nd place: 4 points

3rd place: 3 points

4th place: 2 points

5th place: 1 point

Relay Events

1st place: 8 points

2nd place: 4 points

3rd place: 2 points

If the weather is questionable, the Referee and RSL Reps from each team will decide whether or not to cancel the meet. It is difficult to reschedule meets, so every effort is made to avoid cancelation—often waiting indoors or in cars for the storm to pass. Since safety is a priority, swimmers will not be allowed to enter the water until the absence of lightning and thunder for 30 minutes—even at indoor pools. Stay tuned to your Swimtopia app to stay on top of the status of any meet.

Meets are considered "complete" after event 48.  Should a meet be cancelled before completion of event 48, the default rain date is the following night (as the meet will need to be completed/ made up).

In the event of stormy weather that lasts the entire day, possible meet cancelations will be emailed, posted on our Facebook page, and sent out via Swimtopia as soon as possible.

Swimmers should exhibit great sportsmanship at all times, whether the meet is held at our home pool or at another teams' pool.

We want to treat the team pools respectfully and pick up after ourselves.

Support your fellow teammates by cheering for them!

Keep your belongings organized and clean up around you before you go home.

• Swim meets are completely dependent on volunteers. It takes A LOT of volunteers to make a meet run efficiently, especially our home meets. Every family is required to volunteer for one shift each meet their child participates.
• The Marlins use Swimtopia's Signup Calendar page to coordinate volunteers. When you go to the page, you will be able to see every meet requiring volunteers.
• While some positions require trained officials, many just need someone who is willing to learn. Don’t be afraid to try something new! There will be other volunteers who will be happy to help you learn on the job.
• Learn more about Volunteer Positions

Magic Cookies

• At the end of practice the morning of a meet, swimmers are allowed to get a “Magic Cookie” to help them swim their best at the meet that evening. This is done for both home and away meets.
• You can sign up to bring Magic Cookies on our signup calendar. We will need 12 dozen cookies each week, and we try to have at least one dozen peanut/allergy free option. This does not count, though, for the volunteer requirement. 

Splash Party

One evening each season, we hold a Marlins Splash Party. There is swimming (naturally), music, fun games and activities for all ages.

What is my child swimming in the meet?

The coaches will post meet entries at practice the morning of the meet, but remember that there may be last-minute changes, especially to relays, right before and even during the meet.

What time does my child need to be at the meet?

Arrive at the pool at least 15 minutes before the scheduled warm-up begins. Then, find a spot in our team area for your chairs, swimmer’s blanket, swim bag and towels.

Where can I ask directions to the meet?

Directions to pools/meets and more information about the Rappahannock Swim League can be found on the RSL website at www.rslswimming.com. There is usually an email with information about each pool the week of that meet, as well.

What length does my child swim in a meet?

10 and Under Age Group events are one length (25 yards/meters) but 10&Us may swim the 12&U 100 Free or Individual Medley (IM), which are 4 lengths (100 yards/meters); 11 and Older Age Group events are 2 lengths (50 yards/meters) or more.

What if my child cannot be at a specific meet?

If your swimmer will miss a meet, please make sure that you mark your child as "Not Attending This Meet" for that meet in SwimTopia.