FOREST HOLLOW GATORS

NEW SWIMMER INFORMATION

 Your child has just joined the swim team.  And you’re wondering, “What’s going on?”  We’ve all been there.  Hopefully, this packet will provide information to help you better understand the sport of swimming.  Please ASK questions!!  Feel free to talk to  your Team Reps, Coaches and fellow swim team parents.

     The Gators focus on improving swimming skills, learning good sportsmanship and self-discipline, and having fun.  We aim to create a healthy environment that encourages kids to do their best, recognizes their accomplishments and is enjoyable for the entire family.

Swimmer Apparel and Accessories

 Swimsuit - Racing suits are designed to fit snuggly so a swimmer will not have any “drag” while swimming.  Girl’s suits should be high in the front and back.  Boys wear either a brief or jammer style suit.  Many boys will not want to wear these suits at first but will soon realize they are much better for racing than baggy cotton suits.  Racing suits are available at specialty swim stores and large sporting goods stores.  The Gator team suits are available from Sports Fair on Lee Highway and will be sold at the first team meeting.  We keep the same design suit for two years (we'll be getting a new suit this year). Team suits are optional.  If you purchase a team suit for a young swimmer plan on it lasting one summer – let them wear it, don’t “save” it for meets – it probably won’t fit next year.

Goggles - Goggles protect swimmers eyes from chorine and allow children to swim with their eyes open.  Goggles need to fit tightly to keep water out.  For young swimmers, look for goggles with foam or soft plastic gaskets. These will be the most comfortable.  You may want to wait until swim practice begins and let your child borrow a pair and try them out in the pool before purchasing them.  Some children just won’t wear goggles!

Swim Cap  - Each swimmer receives a Gator swim cap.  Have your child ask a coach or older swimmer how to put it on – there is a trick to it!

What to bring to practice – Goggles, cap, towel and sunscreen.  If non-team member siblings will be at the pool during morning practice or meets – remember the pool is closed (including the baby pool) so you may want to bring something for them to do.

What to bring to a swim meet – Swimmers should wear their swimsuit and team tee shirt to the meet.  In a backpack or bag, pack goggles, cap, two beach towels (one towel will always end up soaking wet or dirty from sitting on the ground early in the meet), a sweat suit, and sunscreen.  You may also want to pack a bottle of water or Gatorade and a light snack – try not to visit the concession stand until your swimmer has completed all their events.  Always check with the Head Coach if you need to leave a meet before the last event to make sure your child is not scheduled  to swim in any more events that day.

The Sport of Swimming

The Strokes

The four strokes used in competitive swimming are freestyle, backstroke, breaststroke and butterfly.  Each stroke has specific rules designed to ensure that no swimmer gets an unfair advantage over another swimmer.  Each swim meet includes races in these four strokes plus relay events.  The length of the race is 25 meters (one pool length) or 50 meters depending on the swimmer’s age. Swimmers in freestyle, breaststroke and butterfly races start by diving off the side of the pool.  Backstroke swimmers start in the water.

Freestyle – Swimmers can use any stroke or kick to swim across the pool.  The usual stroke used is the “front crawl”.

Back Stroke –  Swimmers can use any stroke as long as they stay on their back.  The usual stroke used is the “back crawl”.  Swimmers learn to use the lane lines and overhead backstroke flags to keep track of where they are in the pool.

Breaststroke – Breaststroke consists of two parts -  the arm pull and the kick in an alternating sequence.  Elbows must stay below the water except for tagging the wall at the finish.  The kick is the “frog” kick.  Turns and finishes require a simultaneous two-hand touch on the wall.

Butterfly – Butterfly arm pull consists of the arms moving simultaneously with the elbow breaking the surface of the water during the recovery part of the stroke.  The kick is a dolphin kick – the legs stay together and move simultaneously.  Turns and finishes require a simultaneous two-hand touch on the wall.  This is the hardest stroke for most swimmers to perfect.

Individual Medley (IM) – An IM is a race in which a swimmer swims each of the four strokes in this order – butterfly, backstroke, breaststroke, and freestyle. 

Relays -  The are two types of relay events – the freestyle relay and the medley relay.  Each relay consists of four swimmers, each swimming one quarter of the distance

for a total of 100M or 200M depending on the age of the swimmers.  In the freestyle relay each swimmer swims freestyle.  In the medley relay each swimmer swims a different stroke in this order – backstroke, breaststroke, butterfly and freestyle.  Each swimmer must wait until the previous swimmer touches the wall before they can take off.

DQ’s - Disqualifications

 During each meet, trained officials (parent volunteers) observe the swimmers to ensure compliance with the technical rules for each stroke.  If a swimmer violates a rule they will be DQ’ed.  If a swimmer is disqualified they will not receive an official time or be eligible for a ribbon in that event.  Technical DQ’s occur when a swimmer fails to touch the wall at the turning end of the pool, does improper flip turns or performs some component of the stroke improperly.  Some other common reasons for disqualifications are false starting, touching the bottom of the pool and pulling on the lane lines.

 When an official sees a violation during a race, the official  will raise their hand to signal the referee that they have observed a rule violation.  The official  then writes what was observed on a DQ slip and takes it to the meet referee. The referee verifies that a rule was broken and can question the official about the violation.  One copy of the DQ  slip goes to the Team Rep and one copy goes to the scorer’s table.  At the conclusion of the meet the the Team Reps give the DQ slips to the Head Coach who uses them to identify skills that need to be worked on in practice. 

  False Starts – False starts occur when a swimmer moves towards the water after the “take their mark” signal has been given, but before the Starter has started the race.  Sometimes the swimmer falls into the water, but not always.  If a false start is detected before the starting signal, the swimmer can be removed from the race.  If the starting signal has sounded, the race will not be stopped. 

 Officials will always give the swimmer the benefit of the doubt.  A DQ is issued only  when the official is 100% sure an infraction occurred. 

Swim Meets

    Home meets – Swimmers usually need to be at the pool about one hour (the exact time will be posted for each meet) before the meet starts for warm-ups.  During this time, parents help to set up pool – arranging chairs and setting up the concession area.

After the meet, we need to rearrange the chairs and put away the concession items.  If everyone helps it goes very quickly!

     Away meets – Maps and directions to the pool will be provided to each family and are available on the website.  At the designated time, we meet in the Forest Hollow parking lot and “caravan” to the host pool.  Upon arrival, the team gathers and walks in as a big group, cheering loudly. 

At each meet we are assigned a team area.  Encourage your child to stay in the team area and cheer for their teammates.  Parents of younger swimmers are welcome to sit in the team area.  Each pool has a concession area – usually offering hamburgers, hot dogs, nachos, candy, chips, soda, etc.  It’s a great way to have a good meal and support the swim teams.  Please have your child wait until after they are finished all their events before they hit the snack bar! 

Parents’ Role

Encourage your child to do their best without pressure about winning or achieving a “best time” in a race.  Encourage your child’s efforts and point out the positive things, like working to improve a skill or cheering for the team.  Strive to have a positive attitude and to be a good role model by showing good sportsmanship at all times towards coaches, officials, opponents and teammates.   We want our swimmers to enjoy being on the swim team!