MERCER ISLAND BEACH CLUB SWIM TEAM Welcome to the Mercer Island Beach Club Swim Team! Our swim program has something for everyone from the beginning 6-year-old to the experienced senior in high school. Swim Team members learn self-discipline, goal setting, and teamwork in a fun and supportive environment. During the summer, swim team members work on stroke technique, turns, conditioning and having fun. The competitive season in the Midlakes Swim League begins in mid-june and ends in late July. In addition to swim meets there will be several social events and an end-of-the-season awards night. CRITICAL TO OUR TEAM S SUCCESS IS HAVING PARENT VOLUNTEERS TO SUPPORT THE SWIMMERS THROUGHOUT THE SEASON! It takes all parents to run a successful team. Each family will be asked to volunteer during the meets in which your children are swimming. The more informed you are about the Swim Team and swim season, the more successful your child s experience will be. The handbook has been revised so please read through it carefully. If you have any additional questions we will be happy to answer them. Any updates to the schedules will be announced via email to you and posted on our team communications system and team bulletin board. Welcome to another fun-filled swim season! SWIMMER ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA The swimmer s age on June 15 th will determine the swimmer s age group for the season. No exceptions. A Little Waves swimmer must be at least 5 years old and be able to swim one length continuously of freestyle. The Little Waves point coaches will assess swimmer s progress and decide if the swimmer is eligible to swim in a B meet in the 8&Under category. An 8&Under (6-8 years old) swimmer must be able to swim one length continuously of freestyle demonstrating good stroke technique and ease of movement in the water, and be able to swim the backstroke, breaststroke or butterfly legally. A 10&Under (9-10 years old) swimmer must be able to swim two lengths of the freestyle demonstrating good stroke technique and ease of movement in the water and be able to demonstrate an ability to swim the backstroke, breaststroke or butterfly. A 12&Under (11-12 years old) swimmer must meet the criteria for 10&Under plus demonstrate a legal backstroke, breaststroke or butterfly. One of the purposes of spring season is to help swimmers meet the above cited criteria. It will be the responsibility of the coaches to determine if a swimmer meets their age group qualifications or is placed in Little Waves.
MIBC SWIM TEAM HISTORY The Mercer Island Beach Club is the oldest swim team in the Midlakes Swim League. It began in 1954 when 5 Beach Club swimmers competed in the King County Parks and Recreation Department Swim Championships at Pete s Pool in Enumclaw. By 1957 the Beach club team had 36 swimmers many of whom were brothers and sisters. By 1958 it had grown to 64 swimmers. Much of that enthusiasm can be attributed to the Beach Club swim coach Johnny Goode who led the team to be the King County Champions from 1957-1961. The early days of Beach Club swimming were exciting years. The swimmers trained in the lake where a floating dock was anchored 25 yards west of the current dock. These were the days of cold water, no goggles and slimy boards off of which to make open turns. For meets the Beach Club swimmers tied water ski ropes with balloons attached between the dock and the float to set up 4 lanes. The first meet ever held at the Beach Club was July 20 th, 1957 against Enatai. The Beach club team competed every year in the King County Championship meet in Enumclaw and not only were they champs for 5 years, they were undefeated for numerous years! Needless to say they set a lot of new records and they had lots of publicity. By 1961 the Beach Club started to compete in the Eastern Division of the Seattle Summer League, which was later called Midlakes. 1961 was also the first year that the team had racing suits. The team continued to train and compete in the lake in the early 60 s. As more and more pools were built, it became tough to compete with teams that were training in pools. Plans for the Beach Club pool were approved and the pool opened July 4 th, 1966. In 1968 the first annual all Island swimming competition was held. Mercerdale Shore Club, MICC and MIBC (with orange suits) competed in this popular event! The 70 s were the years marked by the first swimming goggles, the first MIBC cross lake team swims, lots of fun rivalry with the All Island swim meet, and a 4 year streak (1976-1979) where the 18 and under 400 free Midlakes record was broken every year by the Beach Club. By this time the Beach Club team was large enough to have both a good size A and B team. During the 80 s the Beach Club swim team continued many fun swim team traditions and they won the Division II B champs for 3 years in a row (1983-1985). The 90 s were marked by the appearance of Waveman both at meets and on T-shirts to lead the Beach Club in team spirit. The strength of the beach club in the 90 s was shown by its size and numerous Midlakes records, many of which stand today. As we look back over the many years of MIBC summer swimming, we are proud to continue a strong Beach Club swimming tradition.
MIBC Swim Team Handbook PARENT INFORMATION AND RESPONSIBILITIES PARENT ORIENTATION MEETING Parents are expected to attend the Parent Orientation Meeting usually held in the early evening, late in May. See Team Calendar for date and time. PARENT VOLUNTEER PARTICIPATION Parent volunteers are at the heart of a successful swim team! Swim meets are run by parents. Thus, each family will be assigned one two-hour job commitment to perform at each meet that they have a child swimming. It takes 60 volunteers to run a home meet. Therefore, all parents are needed to help run all home meets in which their child swims. Parents will also be needed to volunteer as timers and swimmer coordinators at away meets. Each family will be asked to sign up for every meet via Team Unify. If your child is participating in the meet and you have not selected a volunteer position, the Volunteer Coordinators will assign you a job. If you are unable to attend, it is your responsibility to find a replacement and let the Volunteer Coordinators know who will take your place. Families who fail to meet the minimum requirements of volunteering risk their child s participation on the team. Weekly Volunteer Assignments for A and B Meets: Each week there will be an A and a B meet. Swimmers are assigned to each meet based on coaches decisions and swimmer availability. Tuesday Volunteer Meet Assignments will be emailed and posted by Sunday/Monday and Thursday Volunteer Meet Assignments will be emailed and posted by Monday/Tuesday. Please check your job and shift. If you can t fulfill your responsibilities, you are required to find your own substitute and let the Volunteer Coordinator know. SWIM MEET ATTENDANCE It should go without saying that if you RSVP that your swimmer will be at a meet, your swimmer will be expected to attend that meet and be there on time. The Coaches and Volunteer Coordinators rely on this information to create Swim Meet Assignments and Parent Volunteer Assignments. It is imperative that the Coaches and Volunteer Coordinators know when a swimmer/family will not be at a meet so they can adjust Swim Meet Assignments, Volunteer Assignments or Swimmer Event Line Ups. SWIM MEET AVAILABILITY AND ATTENDANCE COMMUNICATION MIBC Swim Team is moving to an on-line system to manage swimmers availability for each swim meet. The system is called Team Unify. This system will collect your swimmer s availability, as well as your parent volunteer sign-up, for each meet. Coaches and Volunteer Coordinators will use it to develop Swim Meet Assignments and complete the Parent Volunteer Assignments. Mandatory for Each Swimmer: Each family with swimmers is required to accept Team Unify invitations, set up swimmer s accounts and RSVP for each and every swim meet with either a YES or a NO. Team Unify can be updated at any time during the season but for two exceptions; after Thursdays for the following week s meets and after the Prelim/Championship Submission Deadline. UNEXPECTED CHANGES to SWIM MEET ATTENDANCE:
If you find that your swimmer is unable to attend a meet after the final call on Thursday please email swimteam@mibeachclub.com. This email reaches all the Coaches and Volunteer Coordinators. If your swimmer is unable to swim within 48 hours of a meet, please email swimteam@mibeachclub.com AND call. Why? If your swimmer is unable to swim, the coaches have to rearrange swimmers in the Relay Teams and in the swimmer events. It s best to know this in advance to avoid scrambles at the meet. (Let s keep the Coaches sane and heart attack free! and avoid disappointed relay team participants.) Running Late to a Meet? Call your Head Coach (or call or text Volunteer Coordinators) and let us know when you will arrive. Late arrivals affect the relays at the beginning of a meet. INFORMATION TO HELP YOUR SWIMMER IN A MEET Swimmer Event Preparation: At Check-In, you will receive a small sheet of paper that has your swimmer s events listed on it. Take a Sharpie permanent marker and write their events and positions in a list on the inside of the swimmer s arm for your swimmer and parent volunteers to reference. Example: E (Event) H (Heat) L (Lane) S (Stroke) and Distance E51 3 2 Bfly (50) So it would look like this on your child s arm: #4 H2 L8 Relay - Back (1 st position) #51 H3 L2 BFly (25) #61 H2 L6 Free (50) It is also extremely helpful to our Swimmer Coordinators (and other team members) to write the swimmer s LAST NAME on their back. Relays: Relays are held at the beginning of the meet (Medley Relays swimming Back, Breast, Butterfly, Freestyle) and at the end of the meet (Freestyle Relays--swimming Freestyle only). It is important to round up your swimmers EARLY and place them in the correct lanes and in the correct order and at the correct end of the pool for your swimmer to start. 8&Under Relays: 8&Unders only do one length of the pool (25m), thus, each swimmer on the relay team will have a specific position on the pool deck. Position Medley Relay (beginning of meet) Freestyle Relay (end of meet) 1 Back Freestyle Block Placement on Pool Deck 2 Breast Freestyle Opposite side of lane, on deck 3 Fly Freestyle Block 4 Freestyle Freestyle Opposite side of lane, on deck All other events are longer lengths (e.g., 50m up to 400m) and each relay event swimmer starts at the Block side of the pool deck.
During the Meet: Swimmer Coordinators (and Parents can help), get kids to their lanes and line up according to their heat placements at least 1-2 events prior to their event. Announcer will make first call for events to give everyone an audible cue that it s time to collect goggles and get to their blocks. By second call, swimmers should be at their blocks. Parents can help in the lanes! Make sure the younger and newer swimmers know which stroke they will be doing and Remind young swimmers how many hands to touch the wall when they reach it. o 2 hands for Breast and Fly, o 1 hand for Back and Free You can also help young/new swimmers follow the Starter s instructions in getting up on the block. Note: 8&Unders need the most guidance and it s greatly appreciated if parents stay nearby to help them. OTHER INFORMATION Unattended Children Due to the high-risk nature of our waterfront and associated liability concerns, children under 11 must be accompanied by an adult or parent on the club grounds. Staff is here to supervise, but you should not assume that your children are safe when left alone. Members who do not comply may lose their privileges. Swim Team Fees Swim team fees cover the cost of coaches, coaches training, insurance, Midlakes District fees, additional Stroke and Turn Clinics, awards, t-shirts and social events. Fees are charged to Member Accounts upon Registration. MIBC Swim Team Handbook PRACTICE SCHEDULE, SWIM MEETS, AVAILABILITY COMMUNICATION 2013 SWIM PRACTICE SCHEDULE Workouts are arranged per age group. Swimmers should attend only during their scheduled times unless approved by the coaches. SPRING Practice Schedule: starts Monday approximately 3 rd week of May Little Waves 8&Under 10&Under 11 & 12 13&Over Monday -Friday 6:45-7:15pm 6:00-6:45pm 6:45-7:45pm 7:45-8:45pm 7:45-9:00pm SUMMER Practice Schedule: starts Monday after last day of school (mid June)
Little Waves 8&Under 10&Under 11 & 12 13&Over Monday - (1) 11:00-11:30 9:00-9:45am 8:00-9:00am 9:45-10:45am 9:45-11:00am Friday (2) 11:30-12:00 Note: Little Wave swimmers will have choice of two groups for summer practice. CHAMPIONSHIP Practice Schedule: starts approximately 3 rd week of July 8&Under 10&Under 11 & 12 13&Over Monday -Friday 10:00-10:45am 10:00-11:00am 11:00-12:00pm 10:45-12:00pm SWIMMERS RESPONSIBILITIES Swimmers are expected to attend meets as scheduled. During workouts, swimmers are expected to: 1) Be in the pool on time 2) Follow pool rules and cooperate with coaches and other swimmers. 3) Listen to Coaches and swim their directed workout and not interfere with another swimmer s workout 4) Enter the pool area no earlier than 5 minutes prior to workout 5) Leave the pool area no later than 5 minutes after their allotted workout. 6) Behave appropriately in the locker room, respecting club facilities & others property 7) Have fun! If a swimmer cannot follow the workout guidelines after repeated reminders, the coaches will follow a prescribed discipline procedure. The coaches may ask the swimmer to sit out for a few minutes or they may remove the swimmer from the workout and call the parents to pick up their swimmer. SWIM MEET INFORMATION TIME TRIALS (A.K.A. BLUE AND WHITE MEET) Participation in Time Trials is mandatory. Time Trials is a MIBC meet where every child swims every stroke to establish a base-line time. This helps the coaches designate which swimmers will be assigned to the A and B levels of competition or Little Waves. Time Trials are in the same format as a swim meet, so it is good practice at the beginning of the meet season. WEEKLY A AND B SWIM MEETS MIBC competes in the Midlakes Swim League which is comprised of 26 teams. Each team is placed in a Division with other closely ranked teams. MIBC is in Division I this year. The divisions are based on the results
of the dual meets (A and B) and League Championships the previous year. Find the tables at the end of this document for a complete listing of all Midlakes teams and Divisions. Each week there will be an A meet and a B meet against another team in our Division. Some swimmers will compete in A meets, some in B meets, and some in both. Assignments are based on ability, improvement and availability for each meet. Note for B Meets: If a swimmer s time for an individual stroke exceeds the cut off for B Meets, they will not be allowed to swim that stroke in that age group in the B meets. Swimmers are expected to be present for the whole meet, regardless of the events they are swimming. Swimmers may be needed to fill an unexpected vacancy and their support is needed for other team members. The Coaches will attempt to put each swimmer in his or her best stroke. Sometimes for the sake of the team, the Coaches will enter someone where needed, instead of where he or she wants to swim. A swimmer may swim no more than 4 events in a meet. These can be a combination of 2 relays and 2 individual events or 3 individual events and 1 relay. Swimmers may compete in one or more of the four basic strokes, and/or the medley relay, and/or individual medley, in their respective age division. In addition, at the discretion of th Point Coach, a swimmer may swim up an age group. Age Groups: 8&Under girls and boys 10&Under girls and boys 12&Under girls and boys 13&Over girls and boys MEDLEY RELAY 1 BACK (Back Stroke) 2 BREAST (Breast Stroke) 3 FLY (Butterfly) 4 FREE (Freestyle) INDIVIDUAL MEDLEY (IM) 1 FLY (Butterfly) 2 BACK (Back Stroke) 3 BREAST (Breast Stroke) 4 FREE (Freestyle) Suzanne and Dan Riley, 4/6/10 1:49 PM Formatted: Centered Swim Meet Time Line: Meets are held on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons/evenings. There is one home meet and one away meet each week (one for A, one for B). Check In For Swimmers and Volunteers Warm Up Meet Start Time Approximate 2 nd Half of Meet Approximate End of Meet Time HOME Meets 4:00pm 4:30pm 5:30pm Approximately 6:45-7:00 Approximately 8:30-8:45pm AWAY Meets 4:30pm 5:00pm 5:30pm Approximately 6:45-7:00 Approximately 8:30-8:45pm CHAMPIONSHIP MEETS At the end of the season, there are two championship meets. Every A and B swimmer will compete in either League (A Champs) or Division (B Champs) championships. Since a swimmer can only compete in 3 events between the 2 championships meets, each person will usually participate in just B or just A Champs. B Champs is the championships for our Division and will have 5 other Swim Teams participating. A Champs is the Championships for all 26 teams in our League. Preliminaries are held for everyone participating in A Champs, These consist of three events Junior Girls Preliminary (12 and under), Junior Boys Preliminary (12 and under), and Senior Preliminary (13-18 Boys and Girls). The top 16 swimmers in each event go on to A Champs to swim the finals (1 st 8 th ) and semi-finals (9 th 16 th ). Championship Availability: The entries for Preliminaries and Championships are due early so THE COACHES MUST KNOW BY JULY 1 st IF A SWIMMER IS UNABLE TO SWIM IN THE LEAGUE OR DIVISION CHAMPIONSHIPS
TIME LINE FOR PRELIMINARIES AND CHAMPIONSHIPS Senior Prelims (13&Over) Jr. Girls Prelims Jr. Boys Prelims Division Championships League Championships Check In For Swimmers and Volunteers 1:30pm Approx. 2:15 pm Approx. 2:30 pm 7:15 am 7:15 am Warm Up Meet Start Time Approximate 2nd Half of Meet Approximate End of Meet Time 4:00pm 6:00pm 8:00pm Approx. 2:45-3:15 Approx. 3:00-3:30pm Ex. 7:45 Ex. 7:50 and 8:20 Approx. 4:00pm Approximately 5:30pm Approximately 8:30pm Approximately Approximately Approx. 4:15pm 5:30pm 8:30pm 1pm Approximately Approx. 8:00am 5:00pm 9:00 am 3 Shifts Approximately 6:00pm ITEMS TO BRING TO EACH MEET 5 Towels (one for warmup and one for each event, which is usually 4) MIBC Swim Team Suit 2 pair of goggles MIBC Swim Cap Sun Screen (waterproof) Sharpie Marker (to write events on swimmer s arm) Water, high carb snacks, or cash for concessions purchases Low beach chairs or blanket to sit on 2013 Midlakes League Divisions and Scoring Information for Division Alignment, Meet Scoreboard and other info go to: www.midlakesswimleague.org
Dual Meet Scoring Team points for individual races are as follows: 1 st Place 2 nd Place 3 rd Place 5 Points 3 Points 1 Point Team points for relay races are as follows: 1 st Place 8 Points 2 nd Place 4 Points 3 rd Place 2 Point MIBC Swim Team Handbook PARENT VOLUNTEER JOB DESCRIPTIONS AND HELPFUL TIPS Parent volunteers are at the heart of a successful swim team!
TIMERS Description: Record each swimmers time in an assigned lane using stop watches. Check in with the Volunteer Coordinators before the meet so we know who is here! Timer meeting is at 5:15. This meeting is for all timers, 1 st and 2 nd half, to get any special instruction and training if needed. 1 st half timers check in with Head Timer. 1 st Half Timers: Do not leave your post until your 2 nd half MIBC timer relieves you. 2 nd Half timers be ready to switch around event 35 (estimate around 6:30/7pm) listen to PA announcements as to the exact event switch over. It delays the meet (and causes your Volunteer Coordinators unbelievable stress) if you are late for the switch over. If you miss a start (i.e., forgot to clear your stopwatch or miss hitting the start button) RAISE YOUR HAND and the Head Timer will come and finish timing your swimmer so you have a time to write down. Don t be embarrassed, it happens to the best of us, SWIMMER COORDINATORS Definition: Help 8 & under or 10 & under swimmers at meet Check-In and behind the blocks. 1st Half Swimmer Coordinators: Be ready to work at the start of check in which is 4:00 for home meets, 4:30 for away meets. Place yourself in a spot near the volunteer check in table (this keeps us all central). Have your flag visible as it helps parents and swimmers spot you. Your job: Hand out Swimmer Event Sheets to the parents and mark the swimmer off on the list on your clipboard. This will help us identify missing swimmers that the coaches will need to know about before the meet. Assist your swimmer or swimmer parent to take a Sharpie permanent marker and write their events and positions in a list on the inside of the swimmer s arm for the swimmer and parent volunteers to reference. Ex. Event #51, Lane 2, Heat 3, Butterfly Stroke translates to the following list on the swimmer s arm. E (Event) H (Heat) L (Lane) S (Stroke) and Distance #51 H3 L2 Bfly (50) Your clipboard should consist of (1) A full set of Heat Sheets (2) Swimmer Event Line Up sheets to hand out (3) List of swimmers in your group. We recommend you take a highlighter and highlight all the events for your group of swimmers on your heat sheets. 2 nd Half Swimmer Coordinators Be ready to take over from the first half Swimmer Coordinators when the Timers switch (approximately 6:45pm). Get 1 st Half Swimmer Coordinator clipboard and ask for any news or updates. Sometimes when swimmers don t show up, we have replacements in their lanes and heats, so be sure that is written in on your Heat Sheets. Relays are at the beginning of the meet and at the end. It is important to round up your swimmers early and place them in the correct lanes and in the correct order. 8&Under Relays: since they only do one length of the pool, you will need to take swimmers in positions 2 and 4 and place them at the OPPOSITE side of the lane. Swimmers 1 and 3 are at the BLOCKS. Medley Relay: 1 st Event of the Meet! Important to line up EARLY. The heat sheets will help you. Stroke Sequence: (1) Back, (2) Breast, (3) Fly, (4) Free. Ex. Heat sheet will look like this, but names only you will need to know the positions: Sally (#1-Back) Franny (#2-Breast) Betty (#3-Fly) Matilda (#4-Free) Free Style Relay: Near the end of the meet, all swimmers do free style. 8&Unders will need to line up according to our example above.
During the Meet: Swimmer Coordinators (and Parents can help), get kids to their lanes and line up according to their heat placements at least 1 EVENT prior to theirs. Announcer will make first call for events to give everyone an audible cue that it s time to collect goggles and get to their blocks. By second call, swimmers should be at their blocks. Parents can help in the lanes! Make sure the younger and newer swimmers know which stroke they are doing, how many hands to touch the wall when they reach it. (2 hands for Breast and Fly, 1 hand for Back and Free). You can also help guide them to follow instructions of the Starter in getting up and ready on the block. 8&Unders need the most guidance and it s greatly appreciated if parents stay nearby to help them. CONCESSIONS This is a fun area to work at swim meets without the pressure of keeping up with event numbers. And concessions volunteers have away meets off! Cashiers work a shift (5:30-6:45 or 6:45-8:00/end) taking orders and handling money at the concession stand. This is an adult-only job. Food Attendants work a shift (5:30-6:45 or 6:45-8:00/end) handing out and replenishing food at the stand. Note: This can be done by non-swimming older siblings. RUNNER Works behind the blocks collecting timer sheets for each lane and taking them to data entry. Timer sheets must be collected and organized in lane order (1-8) and sequentially by event Collect DQ sheets from the Officials at each side of the pool. May run the labels from data entry coordinators to the ribbons volunteers. RIBBONS Put labels on ribbons for each event during the meet and separate out ribbons for MIBC and opponent. Give Coaches of both teams their swimmers ribbons at the end of the meet. May help insert ribbons into MIBC swimmers cubbies HEAD TIMER A.K.A BACK UP TIMER Description: A trained and seasoned timer who: Helps lead the timer s meeting at the beginning of the meet, answers question on rules and proceedures Helps to assure that all timers are ready to time their assigned lanes Wears 1-2 stop watches and starts them incase a lane timer needs a time for a missed start. ANNOUNCER A special trained volunteer who announces the current and upcoming events throughout the meet on the PA system.
OFFICIALS A Midlakes League trained volunteer who watches each race to make sure swimmers comply with league stroke and turn rules. STARTER A Midlakes League trained volunteer who starts each event and judges false starts.