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WELCOME
We are happy that you
have taken an interest in our program and want to welcome you as
Bend Swim Club members. During the past years, the Bend Swim
Club has provided many rewarding experiences for young swimmers of
all ages and ability levels, as well as a place to be mentally and
physically challenged in a wholesome environment. By being a
part of our competitive swimming program, your swimmers will have
the opportunity to fulfill many of their physiological, emotional,
and social needs. We are certain that this experience will
also help prepare them to become responsible adults.
We hope that you will
make an effort to keep informed, assist when necessary, and enjoy
the benefits of our successful and growing program.
The values of the Bend
Swim Club are unique and cannot be directly compared to any other
club. The philosophy of this club incorporates the spirit of
the Bend community. The Bend Swim Club shall provide the last
line in a well-rounded swimming program and make it a learning
experience for those interested in increasing their swimming
efficiency beyond that offered the learn-to-swim programs. The
club must insure competition at all levels so that each and every
child competes at his or her own best level. The Bend Swim
Club shall also provide a social experience for children of all
ages and provide an atmosphere of camaraderie and cohesiveness
while maintaining discipline and physical
training.
MEMO TO
NEW PARENTS
Competitive swimming is
an entirely new world, with a language of its own, which is learned
in time with experience. Patience and perseverance are the two
most important traits both competitive swimmers and their parents
need to develop.
It takes time to build
the endurance necessary for sustained speed in races. It also
takes time to acquire the stroke and turn skill essential for
speed. This means a lot of repetitive practices before a new
swimmer should even be thinking of entering a swim meet. It
also means that new swimmers can become unnecessarily
discouraged.
Most children can learn
to be good, competitive swimmers given time and
determination. The process is usually a slow one and can be
frustrating at times if, at the offset, parental and swimmer
expectations are unrealistic. Even the best swimmers in the
world reach time plateaus that can last for months. Swimmers
and their parents need to just hang in there when this
occurs. The best way you can help your swimmer succeed is for
the whole family to acquire both of the "P" traits - patience and
perseverance!
Another important thing
to keep in mind is that swimmers are competing not so much against
other swimmers, as against their own best times.
Again, we are glad you
have chosen to be a part of the Bend Swim Club. It is a great
group of kids and parents and we hope you find it a rewarding
experience.
ELIGIBILITY
Eligibility will be
determined by the Bend Swim Club coaching staff after the swimmer
has successfully completed a try out. He/she must be able to
swim all required strokes, demonstrate reasonable endurance, and be
six years of age or older.
PARENT
RESPONSIBILITIES
A swimmer’s
goal’s can be achieved with a smooth relationship between
parents, coaches, and club officers.
Parental cooperation is
necessary for this club to function. Help is always needed in
telephone calling, supplying food for our concessions at our home
meets, fundraising, and working on committees doing the
organizational jobs. Please volunteer your time
willingly! Some specific responsibilities are:
1.
Volunteer your time at meets both home and away. At away
meets, the biggest responsibility is helping to time for an hour or
so.
2.
Read all swim club communications which
includes the swim club newsletter (on the web site,
www.bendswimclub.com), Oregon Swimming newsletter (on bulletin
board), and United States Swimming newsletter Splash magazine.
(Also on bulletin board).
3.
Attend board meetings when possible, especially if you have a
concern or an idea to share.
4.
Pay monthly dues on time, by the 5th of each month.
5.
Support the coaches and team with a positive attitude.
6.
Get involved!
SWIMMER
RESPONSIBILITIES
All swimmers should
establish short term and long range goals. Short term goals
might be those goals that could be attained that season or year,
while long range goals would be those that are ultimate or final
achievements. These goals could and should change from time to
time as the swimmer becomes more or less successful in his/her
progress. Each swimmer must share in the following
responsibilities:
1.
Attend practice on a regular basis.
2.
Communicate with the coaching staff when obligations cannot be
fulfilled.
3.
Participate and support fundraising activities.
4.
Arrive at all workout sessions on time.
5.
Approach all situations with a positive attitude. Encourage
others who are down.
6.
Support the coaching staff and the training program.
7.
Establish short term and long range goals and actively pursue them
in your training sessions.
8.
HAVE FUN!
DISCIPLINE
Disciplinary problems
will be dealt with on an individual basis. Swimmers must
understand their responsibilities to the coaching staff, other
swimmers, and the property of the training facilities the Bend Swim
Club uses. Disciplinary problems will be dealt with
immediately in accordance with the Athlete Code of Conduct (see
below).
BEND SWIM CLUB ATHLETE
CODE OF CONDUCT
Being a member of the Bend
Swim Club (“Club”) is considered a privilege. In
order to maintain that membership swimmers are expected to conduct
themselves in accordance with the highest ethical standards by
displaying good sportsmanship, honesty, integrity and proper
respect for coaches and other swimmers.
As a member of the Club
certain conduct will not be tolerated. Such conduct includes,
but is not limited to:
Use of alcohol, tobacco or
illegal substances
Violation of any local,
state or federal law
Disrespectful behavior
towards coaches or teammates
Violation of USA Swimming
Rules
Violation of Juniper Swim
and Fitness Center Rules
Any other conduct deemed
“detrimental to the team”
The consequences for
violations will vary according to the severity of the
offense. However, the following procedures will be
followed:
1. The Head Coach will notify the athlete,
athlete’s parents and Board of Directors
(“Board”) of the offense.
2. A conference will be held with the Head Coach,
athlete and athlete’s parents.
3. The Head Coach will determine appropriate
discipline in consultation with the Board.
Such consequences may
include, but not be limited to: suspension from the team,
undergoing appropriate drug or behavioral counseling, and if
warranted, expulsion from the team.
If the Head Coach has
reasonable cause to suspect any swimmer is using illegal
substances, Head Coach has the authority to have such swimmer drug
tested at the Club’s expense. If such drug test is
positive, the swimmer will be suspended from the Club, and will be
required to petition the Board before he/she can be readmitted to
the team. If such swimmer is readmitted to the team, he/she
will be subject to random drug testing at the swimmer’s
cost.
TRAINING
GROUPS
There are five training
groups within the Bend Swim Club that the swimmers are divided into
according to age and ability level. All parents and swimmers
should understand that the coaching staff has the responsibility of
assigning swimmers to the various training groups and has the
prerogative to change these assignments during the season as
circumstances dictate. The coaching staff will place swimmers
in the group that will benefit the swimmer the greatest. The
coaching staff’s philosophy is "Continued Development-Novice
through Senior".
RED
The Bend Swim Club entry
level for 8-Unders and brand new 9-10 year olds. Emphasis is
on development of all four strokes, starts and turns. Swim
meets will be encouraged when the child is ready. Swimmers are
asked to practice three times per week of their
choice.
BLUE
These are usually 8 to
13 year olds. The emphasis is on developing improvement in all
four strokes, starts and turns. Swimmers are introduced to
interval training, but the emphasis is on technique. In this group,
swimmers are encouraged to begin making short term goals. Endurance
work is the major physiological practice goal. Swimmers in
this group practice three days per week for 1 hour per session on
the days of their choice.
BRONZE
This group consists
primarily of 9-14 year olds. The middle school and high school
swimmers in this group are usually first or second year swimmers
and will be moved to the Silver group when he/she and the coaching
staff feel they are ready for the increased
commitment. Swimmers in this group do a great deal of their
workouts as interval training with technique still highly
stressed. Swimmers in this group practice three to four days
per week for 1.5 hours per session.
SILVER
This group is the top of
the age group part of the program. Swimmers must be at least
11 years of age to train in this group, but consists mainly of
11-18 year olds. This group practices for 1.5 hours per
session and swimmers are asked to attend 4-5 days per
week. Some swimmers may be allowed to attend morning practices
up to twice each week. The primary emphasis in training with
this group is developing a good aerobic base, with a philosophy of
everybody being good freestylers, good IM’ers, and having a
good secondary stroke. These swimmers will also participate in
a dryland program that involves push-ups, abdominal work, and
medicine balls. Dryland sessions are 20-30 minutes in length
usually done after practice 2-3 times per week.
GOLD
This is the highest
level training group in the Bend Swim Club. This is a fairly
elite group of swimmers as the commitment involved is
high. Swimmers in this group train 6 days per week, some days,
twice per day. Swimmers in the Gold group train 2 hours in the
afternoon plus two 1.75 hour swimming sessions and two 1.25 hour
weight training sessions after their swimming workout. The
amount of time involved is considerable and because of that, the
number of swimmers in this group is
limited.
GENERAL MEET
INFORMATION
The Two-Season
Concept
The Swimming year runs
from approximately the middle of September to the middle of
August. The Short Course season runs from September through
the end of March. The majority of meets during this period of time
are held in 25 yard pools. The Short Course season culminates
with the Short Course Age Group and Senior State Championships,
Season Finale, Sectionals, and finally the Spring
Nationals. Following their last meet, all swimmers will
take a break ranging from 1-2 weeks in length.
April begins the Long
Course season, during which time, the majority of meets are held in
25 & 50 meter pools. The Long Course season culminates
with the Long Course Age Group State Championships, Bend Open,
Western Zones, and finally the Summer Nationals. The entire
club takes a break following their last meet until the middle of
September.
Meet
Schedule
Each year, Oregon
Swimming publishes a schedule of all meets offered in the upcoming
seasons. After reviewing the schedule of meets, the coaching
staff prepares a BEND meet schedule. The schedule is put
together with all swimmers taken into consideration. The
coaching staff would like to see every swimmer compete at least
once a month in the fall and winter. During the summer, the
meet schedule is a little more condensed and swimmers should look
to compete up to twice or even three times a
month.
Classification of
Meets
DUAL/TRI MEETS: Between
one or two other teams only.
"A", "A/B" MEETS: Open
to those swimmers who have equaled or bettered the listed "A" or
"A/B" time standards.
"B/C" MEETS: Open to all
swimmers who have not achieved "A" time standards.
INVITATIONAL: Only
certain teams invited.
OPEN MEETS: Any teams
may enter.
TIMED FINALS: Swimmers
swim once. Places determined by time in heats.
PRELIM-FINALS: A meet
with preliminary heats to determine who swims in finals (usually
contested later the same day).
LONG COURSE: 50 meter
pool
SHORT COURSE YARDS: 25
yard pool
SHORT COURSE METERS: 25
meter pool
Entering a Swim
Meet
INVITATIONALS:The coaching
staff will hand out entry information at practice for upcoming
meets. It is you and your swimmer’s responsibility to
make sure you get the information. Check the entry
deadline on the bottom of the entry form to make sure you know when
your entries are due. Late entries cannot be accepted because
the team’s entries are due on a certain date. The
coaching staff tries to give the swimmers as much time as possible
to sign up, but the entry deadline is the deadline. Please do
not sign up for relays. The coaching staff will take care of
this if there are enough swimmers attending the meet. If you
are uncertain as to the number of events your swimmer should swim
or what events your swimmer should swim contact your coach. No
entry fee is necessary when handing in your entry forms. Entry
fees will be billed out on your monthly statement. Entry forms
can be put in the wooden box next to the bulletin
board.
DUAL MEETS: You need
to sign up for dual meets on the bulletin board at the Aquatic
Center. Please make sure you include your swimmer’s age
on the first day of the meet. The coaching staff will select
the swimmers’ events. These meets are free unless the
team takes a bus, in which case you are looking at a cost of
approximately $25.00. This fee covers transportation and
food.
Eligibility
Swimmers may attend only
those meets which they qualify for. For an "A/B" meet, a
swimmer may enter only those events in which he or she has met or
bettered the "B" time standard in. Some meets will allow
swimmers to swim one extra event for every "B" time they
have. For "B/C" meets, swimmers may not swim events in which
they have "A" times in. Usually, the qualifying times for each
meet will be listed on the meet information
sheet.
Arriving at Meets
All swimmers should be
at the pool ready to swim by the designated warm-up time. The
warm-up is important if the swimmers are going to perform at their
best. The warm-up allows the swimmer to get a feel for the
competition pool and prepares the body to swim fast. If a
swimmer is entered at a particular meet and is unable to attend,
he/she should contact the coach as soon as possible.
Coaching
An important aspect of
the coach’s job is giving the swimmer input before they race
and giving feedback after they race. Make a point to see the
coach before and after you race.
Attire
Team suits are not
required, but it looks better when the whole team looks like a
team. If swimmers wish to wear a cap, then they are required
to wear a team cap. Suits are ordered in bulk in September at
the beginning of the Short Course season. Suits may be ordered
during the season, but you will have to do the ordering
yourself. Caps may be purchased at any time from the coaching
staff for $3.00 for latex caps, and $10.00 for the silicone
caps. It’s best to have a couple of caps as they do rip
from time to time.
Most of your aquatic
needs can be purchased from J.D. Pence located in Forest
Grove. Telephone orders can be placed by calling
1-800-547-2520. If they have what you need in stock, they can
usually send it to you that day. J.D. Pence is represented at
most meets.
Recommendations:
1.
Swimmers should wear a suit other than their team suit to
practice. Practice suits can be purchased through J.D.
Pence.
2.
Your team suits are for racing only! Take care of
them. They should fit tightly to prevent
drag.
3.
Goggles are recommended to protect eyes from the chemicals, and
caps will protect the hair and reduce drag.
DEFINITION OF GENERAL
TERMS
SHORT COURSE: September
1 to March 31 (25yd or 25m)
LONG COURSE: April 1 to
August 31. (25m or 50m)
CONSOLATION FINALS: A
heat consisting of the swimmers placing 9th through 16th in
preliminaries.
DISQUALIFY (DQ): When a
swimmer performs an illegal stroke or turn.
DUAL MEET: A meet
between two swim teams. Sometimes 3 teams are involved making
it a "Double-Dual Meet". These meets have no entry fees,
awards are usually optional, and they usually last 3-4 hours in
length.
EVENT: A particular
swimming race (i.e. 50yd backstroke) designated by stroke,
distance, age, and sex.
FALSE START: An illegal
start by one or more swimmers in a heat. False starts are
usually called if a swimmer is moving prior to the starting signal,
resulting in the swimmer’s disqualification from that
event.
FINALS: The re-swimming
of the fastest 8 swimmers from the preliminaries.
HEATS: The grouping of
swimmers (usually 6 to 8) based on their entry time. At most
meets, the heats will run from the slowest swimmers to the fastest
swimmers.
HEAT SHEETS: A listing
of events by heats, showing each swimmer and the corresponding
entered time. These can be purchased at the swim
meet.
PRELIMS: The swimming of
all events to determine who will swim in the consolation and final
heats later that day.
TIMED FINALS: Most swim
meets will be timed finals. The event is swum just once, and
the final placings are determined by their official time in the
event.
LSC: Stands for Local
Swimming Committee. Ours is "Oregon Swimming."
SECTION: Our
section is northwest. It encompasses teams from Oregon,
Washington, Idaho, Montana, and Alaska. The Northwest Section
conducts a winter short course championship in March.
UNATTACHED: A swimmer
who competes but does not represent a club.
ZONE: United States
Swimming is divided into four zones. They are Southern,
Central, Eastern, and Western. Oregon Swimming Inc. is a
member of the Western Zone. Each Zone hosts a long course
championship meet in August. This meet brings together the
fastest swimmers in the Zone not including the Junior and Senior
National qualifiers.
FINANCIAL
COMMITMENTS
The Bend Swim Club is a
non-profit, 501 (c) 3, all volunteer organization. The Bend
Swim Club is funded through: (a) Dues, (b) Swim Meets, and (c)
Fundraising.
DUES
Season dues (short
course and long course) are determined each season by the board of
directors. Current season dues are reflected in the
appropriate season contract.
If you wish to pay for
the entire season in September and April, there is a 5%
discount.
At the beginning of each
season, families will be asked to select 1 of 2 payment
plans. The first is for those families that choose to pay the
season dues in one payment (with a 5% discount) the second is
for those families that choose to pay in installments. Such
installments are due on the 1st day of the month in
which the installment is due. Such payments are considered
delinquent by the fifth of the month. Swimmer’s whose
dues have not been paid by the tenth of the month will not be
allowed to swim at practice or meets until such time as their
accounts are current.
Dues are non-refundable.
However, in the case of injury and in special circumstances, dues
may be refunded by a decision of the board of
directors.
FUNDRAISERS
The Bend Swim Club
conducts one mandatory fundraiser each year. In the
summer, the Bend Swim Club holds its annual Lap Swim. Each
swimmer is required
to seek
sponsorship of at least $150.00. For sponsorship equal to and
higher than $200.00, swimmers can earn prizes such as swim club
towel, bags, and sweats.
During the year, the
Bend Swim Club also does mini-fundraisers. These
mini-fundraisers are not mandatory, but are
encouraged.
SWIM
MEETS
The Bend Swim Club hosts
one major swim meet each year, the Bend Open. The Bend Open is
held the second weekend in August. Over 500 swimmers and their
families participate in the Bend Open. We run both the indoor
and outdoor pools at the same time. Because this is such a
large swim meet and because this is the only swim meet the Bend
Swim Club hosts on a yearly basis, all parents are needed to
donate their time for this weekend each year.
Every other year, the
high school district swim meet is held in Bend. The Bend Swim
Club runs this meet and is always in need of help during this
weekend. The high school parents do the majority of the work,
but everyone will be asked to help out in some way (timing, selling
t-shirts, concessions, etc.).
In addition, the Club
also sometimes hosts other meets where parents will be asked to
volunteer their time to help.
ADDITIONAL
INFORMATION
CHANGE IN
GROUPS
Swimmers
will normally move from one group to the next at the beginning of a
season. When a swimmer is moved up or down, the coach will
notify that swimmer, their parents and the dues chairman. Your
dues will be adjusted at the beginning of the next
month
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