Good morning, Torpedo!
This week is our first competition week, and after time out of the water last week, we really want to make sure that everyone who is available makes practices.
If you are planning to come to either meet this week, we need you to sign up in the meet book. If you don't sign up, your swimmer will not be entered. Warm ups for Friday are at 5:30pm. The Shelby pool is located at: 850 W Sumter St, Shelby, NC 28150.
Saturday's meet is at home with an 8am warmup. You may set up tents along the side of the road on Arnaud, on the tennis courts, and in Rotary Park starting at 7am. If you want to join us for a swim, there is a Masters practice at 7am that morning as the pool is getting set up. The meet will start at 9am.
We have the first round of shirts in hand, and I was hoping to get them out in time for this past Friday's Crawdad's game ('Dads won 5-1 over Kannapolis for a fun game!), but we'll have them available for you all this week and at the meet Saturday. You will be given the shirt size that you chose when registering your swimmer. If you wish to order an additional shirt, please let us know and we'll get them ordered on June 15. Payment must be made at time of order, and shirts are $15.
Caps are in production and we hope to have them soon.
VOLUNTEERING: WHAT CAN I DO?
Unlike a lot of our other youth sports, swimming requires parents to take an active role in helping our competitions run smoothly and efficiently. If we do not have volunteers at meets, home or away, then the work often falls to the same folks time and again.
I like to ask that each family try to have a family member (parent, grandparent, aunt or uncle, older sibling, etc.) help at each meet. The roles are not difficult, but they are crucial to our meets.
Here is a quick rundown of ways you can be involved:
Heat Winner Ribbon "Giver Outer"- Yes, it's exactly what the name suggests. At the end of each race, you give heat winner ribbons to the winner! A great way to get familiar with the running of meets. If we do a "Hot Heat," then you may give the special prize away, too.
Runner- Everyone knows to walk on a pool deck, so this is not an entirely accurate description of the role. The runner helps the scoring and timing table to collect DQ slips and back up times during the course of a meet. Another easy way to get in to volunteering.
Concessions- At home swim meets, we may run a
small concession stand on the pool deck. These folks help keep everyone
sugared and hydrated, and when caps and shirts arrive, they assist with
dispensing them, as well. Shade included in this role.
Timer/Head Timer-
These roles are likely the ones that most people experience for their
first time volunteering at a swim meet. Whether home or away, this is
the one that requires the most bodies. But don't get scared off by
keeping time! If you can write numbers to the hundredth of a second from
the stop watch, you can do this job. What makes it even better, is that
you get to work with a partner. Most teams use the Dolphin wireless
timing system, and we use a wired system, but everyone uses back-up stop
watches. The head timer provides a back up watch should a timer have a
malfunction or missed start, and is one of the easiest roles we have. It
does require attention to the races.
Stroke/Turn Judge- This role is for more experienced volunteers who have been around the sport some. These officials observe the meet to make sure the swimmers are following the rules when competing. If a swimmer doesn't follow the rules, they raise their hand to signal an infraction, and then fill out a DQ slip for the scoring computer operator. This position requires some online education provided for free by USA Swimming, a brief test for the league, and some time shadowing other officials. It's not a hard job, but sometimes people don't like it because they are responsible for DQing swimmers. If you think of a DQ as a way of teaching and learning, it is a crucial and helpful position for the growth and improvement of our swimmers. Officials should never be out to get anyone, and the benefit of a doubt always goes to the swimmer. For more information on this role, speak with Coach Andersen.
Starter- At home meets, this is among my favorite roles to fill. The starter sets the pace for the meets, keeping races rolling along with the help of the Clerk of Course and Timing Console Operator team. Starting is an easy job. It does require some training, but one can be taught quickly to do it well. Depending on the races, may also keep track of the order of finish. Feel free to speak with me if interested in this role! Not much stroke-specific knowledge required here!
Timing Console Operator-
At home meets, this person works with the starter to keep the races
moving and to make sure we get times for each race to import in to the
computer. The basics of this role are fairly simple, using three or four
buttons on the console throughout a meet, but occasionally technology
or timer errors throw a curve ball in to things. Works closely with the
Scoring Computer Operator to keep track of race results. We have some
great timing operators, but it never hurts to cross-train and broaden
your knowledge base!
Scoring Computer Operator- At home meets, this role works to import race results from the timing console in to the scoring software. This person may also have to change relay names and input DQ codes when a swimmer is disqualified by an official. This requires some training, and we are very fortunate to have several folks who have been doing this role for many years. From time to time, a time may not come across correctly, and the operator and runners work together to retrieve and calculate the back up times. Similar to the timing operators, though, it never hurts to learn more about different ways to be involved!
Let's have a great week!
