Shepherd's Vineyard Killer Whales

• Home Meets:
  
  • Swimmer Check In and Set Up volunteers arrive @ 4:15 pm
  • All other volunteers arrive @ 4:45 pm (check in at the table under the tent on the pool deck)
  • Swimmers arrive and warm up @ 5:00 pm
  • Meet starts @ 6:00 pm
  • Heat sheets will be posted on the larger diving board and we will also try to publish them to the Swimtopia mobile app
  • Bring bag, lawn chairs, snacks, towels, warm clothing for chilly nights, goggles, cap (maybe UNO or another game to keep young ones occupied)
  • Do not park in the pool parking lot
  • Extra sharpie to write your kid's numbers on their arms/back

  Away Meets:

  • Volunteers arrive @ 5:00 pm
  • Swimmers arrive @ 5:00 pm
  • Warm-ups @ 5:30 pm
  • Meet starts @ 6:00 pm
  • Bring bag, lawn chairs, snacks, towels, warm clothing for chilly nights, goggles, cap (maybe UNO or another game to keep young ones occupied)
  • Extra sharpie to write your kid's numbers on their arms/back

Can’t Attend Meet?:

Volunteers: If you are unable to volunteer as scheduled, contact the Voluneteer Coordinators at [email protected] as soon as possible.

Swimmers: If your kids cannot attend the meet, please make sure you log into your Swimtopia account to make the change on the Sign Up calendar.  If registration has closed, please also reach out ASAP to our coaches at [email protected] to let them know.

Swimmer Numbers:
Please remember to write your kid's number on their back/arms. This number should stay the same all summer. It’s helpful to pushers and timers to see numbers written like this: ‘SV 521’

Swimmer Qualifications:

For safety reasons, TSA takes a strong stance on swimmer qualifications, especially in the 6-and-under age group. Therefore, the board has asked our coaching staff to more stringently follow these guidelines:

• Swimmers will only be able to swim a stroke in a meet if they show some proficiency during practice.
• A stroke must be “legal” to participate in a main event.

In order to participate in a dual meet, each swimmer must be able to swim the minimum distance stated below without assistance.

• 6&U must be able to swim 15 yards unassisted
• 7-10 must be able to swim 25 yards
• 11-18 must be able to swim 50 yards

Holding onto the ropes repeatedly and exhibiting inability to swim unassisted is not acceptable for safety reasons. The swimmer’s progress in practice is taken into consideration. It is the coaches’ discretion to decide a swimmer’s eligibility to participate in a dual meet.

If you have any questions or concerns about your child’s status then please talk to the Head Coach.  Our coaches will make every reasonable effort to help your child be ready for competition. These guidelines are established for the safety of the swimmers. Please let the swim team know about any special circumstances that may make meeting the above standard difficult.

Meet Etiquette:

All participants including swimmers, coaches, officials, board members, parents and spectators are expected to exhibit the highest standards of sportsmanship and respect at all times while participating in all SVKW events.

• Show up to the meets on time for warm ups.
• Demonstrate good sportsmanship. Win gracefully. Lose graciously. Congratulate and encourage our opponents.
• Be prepared for your races and arrive to clerk of course on time

Meet Scoring:

Six dual meets are scheduled during the season – three divisional and three non-divisional. Three of the six meets will be held at Shepherd's Vineyard Swim Club, and three of the meets will be held at other pools.

A dual meet consists of the following components:

Any tie finishes - split the points

Scoring is done for main events only.

(see “Main Event Swimmers”)

Events:

1. Rope finish lines shall be established for 6-and-under events. All other age groups shall swim from wall to wall, regardless of pool length.
2. Swimmers in the 6-and-under age group may swim in up to 2 individual main events. Swimmers in all other age groups may swim in up to 3 individual main events.
3. There shall be a medley relay event and a freestyle relay main event separately for boys and girls in each age group, except for 6-and-under. Participation in relay shall not be included in the number of individual main events a swimmer may enter. A swimmer may participate in one medley relay event and one freestyle relay main event. Each swimmer in a relay will swim the same distance as swimmers in the individual main events for the age group.
4. Events shall be swum, alternating between boys and girls and starting with the youngest boys' age group swimming in the event, in the following order:
   1. Medley Relay
   2. Freestyle
   3. Backstroke
   4. Breaststroke
   5. Butterfly
   6. Freestyle Relay

If there are a lot of swimmers at a meet and it looks like the meet may exceed 4 hours, swimmers may be limited to swimming 3 individual events to help the meet proceed more quickly.

You may also opt your swimmer out of relays if they do not wish to swim relays, or they have to leave the meet before the end. The Freestyle Relay is the final event of the meet.

Main Event Swimmers:

The swimmers in the main events will be chosen at the coach's discretion. The decision will be based primarily on the swimmers' times and stroke legality. Consistency of times, performance at meets and practices, and attitude will also be taken into consideration. The coaches and the swim team value the swimmers in every heat.

Weather Policy:

Rain alone is not grounds for delaying or rescheduling a meet. Please show up at the meet at the proper time even if it appears likely that weather may impact the event. Every attempt is made to run a meet on the scheduled day because of inconvenience to the host club and staff to reschedule (usually on the following night), and the difficulty in getting swimmers and workers back due to conflict with other activities. This results in massive changes in the lineup – and possibly the outcome!

The TSA Rules and Regulations state, “Unless the host pool has a written policy that is more stringent, swimmers will not be allowed in the water for a minimum of 30 minutes after the last flash of lightning or clap of thunder.” Furthermore, “A meet may not be delayed or interrupted for more than 60 minutes due to inclement weather. If the meet is interrupted more than once during an evening because of inclement weather, the meet will be stopped.”

As per 2012 TSA rules, all meet participants, officials, and spectators are encouraged to clear the pool, decks, pavilions and other non-substantial structures until the storm threat is gone. It is strongly recommended to go to your car if it is parked nearby.