Swim FAQs-2
Q: What times are the practices?
Check the Practices tab for information on practice schedules.
Q: What if my child has to miss a practice or meet?
It is our hope that all swimmers will come to every practice and be available for every meet - then reality sets in!!! Of course, families take vacations during the summer. As your child advances on the team, you will find that you'll be scheduling your getaways for August, when the season is over. But in the meantime, it's not the end of the world if you are going away during the season. Remember, however, that your coaches and teammates are counting on you to come to practice and meets if you are in town. Please tell us if you will be missing several practices or a particular meet as this helps the coaches and team reps with planning.
Q: How will I know if practice or a swim meet is canceled due to weather?
Safety of our families is of the utmost importance. In case of inclement weather, it is the job of the pool operator to determine the safety of entering the water. Meets and practice are not usually cancelled because of rain only. Generally speaking, if thunder is heard or lightning is spotted, there is a mandatory delay of 30 minutes in pool activities and all in attendance must seek cover outside the pool area and the pool operators close the pool. In case of a meet, the Meet officials and Team Representatives will determine whether a meet is to be delayed or called off due to bad weather. If there is a cancellation, we will send notifications to everyone via SwimTopia (those who downloaded the free App will get a notification; those who don't have the App will receive an email).
Q: What if my child does not want to swim in meets?
There are some children, especially young or newer swimmers, who do not want to participate in any meets. This is fine. There are plenty of fun swim team activities outside of meets. The coaches will encourage swimmers to try a meet when they are ready for it.
Q: How are the age groups determined?
We follow the age groups set by the Northern Virginia Swim League (NVSL): 8&Unders, 9-10, 11-12, 13-14, and 15-18. The cutoff date for determining the age groups is June 1. If a swimmer was born on or before June 1, they will swim with the older group. If the swimmer was born on or after June 2 they swim with the younger group.
Q: How does my child get a swim ribbon?
Each swimmer finishing in the top six will get a place ribbon. All other swimmers will get a participation ribbon showing their time for the event swum. Beginning with the second meet of the season, each swimmer may also get a "Personal Best" ribbon if they improve their time from the first meet. Ribbons will generally be available the day after the meet and will be placed in your family folder at the pool.
Q. What is a DQ?
A swimmer will be disqualified (or DQ'd) if they do not follow the rules of the stroke or false start (before the beep). If this happens, you may see a DQ slip in your family folder along with your ribbons so that the swimmers can see what part of the stroke they need to work on. DQs should not be considered an embarrassment for the swimmer; rather it is an educational device for improving their strokes.
Q: Can my child leave the meet after his/her events are completed?
Everyone should try and stay until the end of the meet to cheer on their teammates. However, if you need to leave earlier, please have your child check-out with their Age Group coach before they leave.
Q: What is an IM?
IM's are Individual Medleys which are comprised of all four individual events. For example, a 100M IM consists of 25 meters of butterfly, back, breast & freestyle in that order. A 100 M Medley Relay consists of our swimmers each swimming one of the four strokes.
Q: What is the difference between the Monday Developmental Meets and the Saturday NVSL Meets?
The Saturday NVSL Meets are by invitation only, and Monday Developmental meets are open to all swimmers.
Check out Swim Meet 101 for more information about these meets.
Q: How do I know if my child is swimming in a NVSL Meet on a given week?
The coaches will decide by Wednesday which swimmers will be entered in the Saturday NVSL Meet. Parents will be notified by email that their swimmer has been selected to be part of the Saturday meet lineup. The coaches and team reps will then finalize the entries, including the events each swimmer will swim, for submission Thursday evening to NVSL. The coaches will announce the final lineup at Friday practices and the team reps will send an email to all families with the meet lineup for Saturday. It is vital that you note on the website if your swimmer will be out of town or unable to swim in the meet.
In case of illness or injury, inform the team reps ASAP if you feel you will be unable to attend. Lineups cannot be changed after being submitted to the NVSL and sent to the opposing team. However, there are some substitution rules that allow us to slot in another swimmer, which provides opportunities to swimmers were not already swimming a full line up in the meet and helps our team not lose points with empty lanes.
Q: How do coaches choose among the swimmers for the NVSL Meet Entries?
The coaches make their choices by individual swimmer times and availability. Swimmer times are recorded in a database maintained by our team's data representative, and the coaches consult these lists to make their decisions. The times recorded at Time Trials (sometimes referred to as a "practice meet") will be used as the baseline for the season and will also help the coaches make decisions for entries at our first meet.
We do not use times from prior seasons or from year-round swim for purposes of seeding the NVSL meets. That is why it's important for all swimmers (except mini dolphins) to attend the Time Trials if they want to be considered to participate in the first NVSL meets of the season.
With the goal of winning meets (i.e., scoring points) we obviously want the 3 swimmers entered in each event that have the best chance of winning. The higher the finishing place, the greater number of points earned. However, different circumstances can also come into play, including injury, vacations and other schedule conflicts, etc., that may influence the coaching staff's decisions on the Saturday NVSL Meet entries. Never assume your swimmer will not qualify for a Saturday meet. Instead, be sure to check your email on Wednesdays, you will receive an email from the team reps if your child has been selected to swim. Coaches will also announce the swimmers at practice Friday morning.
Q: What exactly is a Time Trial or Practice Meet?
This our first event of the season and is only for our team. It allows children, many of whom are new to swimming, an opportunity to see what it's like to go up to the starting line of a race, listen for the instructions of the referee and starter, and legally start their race. The swimmers will be able to record times for each event having been performed in "meet conditions" to establish their baseline entry times for future meets. In addition, this is a great opportunity for parents to learn what a meet is like and to learn or hone their skills at officiating a real meet. First-time parents are encouraged to work as timers at the Time Trials so that they too can become accustomed to meet rules and protocols. Find more information about time trials under Swim Meet 101
Q. What are the other meets during the seasons?
Information on Divisionals, Individual All Stars, Divisional Relays, and All Star Relays are available under Swim Meet 101 . Please check it out and contact us if there are any questions.
