SRA Swim Team Handbook

II. SWIMMING TEAM ORGANIZATION

Swim Committee

The Swim Committee is made up of: JRAC Voting Rep (Chairman), JRAC Swimming Rep, an Advisor, Parent Volunteer Coordinators and the Registrar.

All decisions regarding policies and fees are made by the Swim Committee.Hiring is handled by the Advisor and the Chairman.

Swim Team Practice Schedule

Practice schedules are set by the coaches.On Mondays, practice is held only in the morning.On Tuesdays, practice is held only in the afternoon. Two practices a day for each age group are generally offered Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. The more motivated swimmers are encouraged, but not required, to attend both. Saturday practices are held in the mornings only. The coaches will announce other changes.

Team members are expected to attend practice at least once a day and behave in an obedient manner.Mini-Mite are expected to attend only one practice per day. Practices are grouped by ability level.In some cases, the more advanced younger swimmers practice with older children.

Swimmers should come to practice even if the weather looks bad. If the pool is closed, the team will do exercises in the ice rink.

As soon as possible, please fill out a form, available from the coaches to indicate which, if any, meets your children will miss due to vacation schedules, summer camp, or other conflicts.

Advanced Notice of Swim Meets Your Child Will Miss
 
Name of Swimmer:__________________________________(Phone)__________
Date(s) Swimmer will be unavailable to compete in Swim Meet(s)
1._________________________________________________________________
2._________________________________________________________________
3._________________________________________________________________
 
 
Swim Meet Schedule
The meet schedule (as well as the location of the meets) changes every year.The schedule, as well as maps providing directions to JRAC Clubs and Associations, is posted on the web site and on the swim team bulletin board.
Age Groups
Boys and girls compete in separate events in specific age divisions:
 
Mites 8 and under
Midgets 9-10
Juniors 11-12
Intermediates 13-14
Seniors 15-18
A child’s age division is determined by his/her age as of June 1st of the swimming season. For example, a child who turns 9 on May 31st would swim the season as a midget. A child who turns 9 on June 15 would swim the season as a mite.
Swimmers "age out" of JRAC competition (i.e. they may no longer participate) beyond their 19th birthday.
For all Mites, all individual events are 25 meters*, or one length of the pool.The older age groups swim races which are at least 50 meters, or two lengths of the pool. The 100 meter individual medley is offered for Midgets through  Seniors while 100 meter freestyle and other events are offered for Intermediates and Seniors.
Informally, swimmers age six and under are called "Mini-Mites," while the older Mites are called "Mighty-Mites."Beginning swimmers who cannot swim the length of the pool should be enrolled in swimming lessons. The swim team picks up where the lessons leave off.
* Four JRAC teams have pools which are 25 yards in length (Three Chopt, Ginter Park, Shady Acres, and Glen Allen). To convert a given time at these pools, multiply the yard time by 1.105 and round off to two decimal places.

Levels of Competition

In meets, a swimmer competes against other swimmers at his or  her own level of competition. In other words, a first-year swimmer on the team generally will not start out competing against a faster, more experienced swimmer.However, he or she may advance to a higher level as the season progresses.Once a swimmer's time, in a particular event, qualifies him for the next level, he can no longer compete in that event at the lower level.

The classifications for the swimmers are:

Novice- generally the first level of competition.In regular dual meets, each team may swim an unlimited number of swimmers in the novice events. Freestyle is a novice stroke in all dual meets.In each meet, one other stroke (alternating backstroke, breaststroke and butterfly) will be designated as a novice stroke.

Regular  - the second level of competition.In dual meets, each team may enter only three regular swimmers in each event.

X - third level. Those who place in X events get more points for the team than novice or regular. X times are generally equivalent to United States Swimming "B" times.

XX - highest level in summer swimming.XX times are generally equivalent to United States Swimming "A" times.

Registration and Team Fees

All swimmers must be registered with all fees paid in order to swim in a meet. Parents may register their children and pay the required fees at the parents' orientation meeting, in the SRA office, or by contacting the Team Registrar, Len East.

Fees are established by the Swim Team Committee.
Children may not compete in any meets if fees are not paid

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