|
Most Frequently Asked Questions
Q: What is the
philosophy of the Temecula Swim Club?
A. The TMEC program is committed to exposing
our athletes to life skills in addition to the swimming skills that
will serve them far beyond the realm of competitive swimming. The
concepts of fair play, respect for self and others, the development
of a productive work ethic, and accountability for one’s
actions are interwoven into all aspects of the program. The goal is
to teach and develop these traits so that they become a part of
everyday behavior.
Q. What is the
best way to talk to my child’s coach?
A. Since the coaches only have a limited time
with their swimmers daily, we ask that you do not approach coaches
on the pool deck during practice time. We suggest that you wait
until practice is over to speak to your swimmers coach. Keep in
mind that the coach may have a group starting as your child’s
group is finishing, so try to keep these conversations
short.
Q: What do I need
to bring to try-out / registration?
A: Please bring a swimsuit, towel, goggles,
your checkbook and your child’s birth certificate. We will
provide registration materials and answers to your questions.
Swim team try-outs are offered Tuesday and Thursday at Chaparrel
High School at 5:00pm.
Q: What equipment
does my swimmer need?
A: Swimmers need a water bottle, fins,
goggles, cap, and suit, plus a bag to carry all of
it.
Q: How does my
swimmer change groups or move up in the
program?
A: All of the groups at TMEC run on a
specific training cycle. The stroke schools will test to move up
every two weeks and the competitive groups have a three-month
training cycle. Each swimmer will be tested on the skills that they
learned during the training cycle. A lot of the time it may take
two or three cycles for a swimmer to test out of a group. A list of
the qualifications for advancement are on the just for
kicks page.
Q: What is a Blue
Time?
A:
USA
Swimming has established National Age Group
Time standards to allow for a stepping stone approach that swimmers
can grasp. This is a great way to see progress even if a
swimmer doesn’t win their event. They start at RED
times and finish at NRT times. First time swimmers, or
swimmers with times slower than the RED time, are classified
as having WHITE times for those events. Most swim meets
that use time standards to determine eligibility for swim meets use
these time standards.
Q: What is Short
Course? What is Long Course?
Short Course is training or competing in 25
yard or meter pools, while Long Course is training or competing in
50 Meter Pools. Most indoor pools in the
USA
are set-up as 25yard pools and so most of the
times younger athletes become familiar with early on are the short
course yard (scy) times. Since these meets are held in the
winter months, our Short Course competition season starts in
September and culminates with championship meets in March.
The Long Course competition season begins in April and continues
through July and August depending on the highest-level championship
meet a swimmer can qualify.
Q: What is the
Junior Olympics?
A: The Junior Olympics Championship
(JO’s) meet is the
Southern California
championship meet for swimmers 14 & under
in the Short Course season and all ages in the Long Course season.
The Short Course meet is held in mid March while the Long Course
meet is held in late July or early August. It is one of the premier
age group meets in the
USA
and therefore the top age-group meet
in
Southern California
. Swimmers who successfully qualify and
compete in this meet are generally those that go on to greater
success in High School and even collegiate swimming later in their
career. For this reason, we ask all TMEC families to wait
until the summer break (usually the last two weeks in August) to
schedule their vacations. Qualifying times are established by
Southern California Swimming every fall based on participants in
previous years. You must have the qualifying times to enter
the meet.
Q: What are
National Top 16 Reportable Times?
A: Every year USA Swimming takes results from
meets all over the country and publishes a list of the Top 16
performances from each age group the year before. There is a
list for Long Course and Short Course meets. Swimmers who
achieve the reportable times are not guaranteed to be on the final
Top 16 list.
Q: What is
Swim-a-Thon?
A: Swim-A-Thon is a major national
fundraising project available to all United States Swimming clubs.
It promotes and finances amateur competitive swimming. The purpose
of Swim-A-Thon is to raise money for our TMEC Swim Club.
Swimmers earn pledges for each lap swam at the Swim-A-Thon.
Swim-A-Thon is an excellent method to raise funds for our team and
is usually held each year in September.
If you have any further questions please
contact:
communications@temeculaswimclub.com
OR
Bryan Davis, Head Coach headcoach@temeculaswimclub.com
|
