Hills of Walden Clubhouse Pool. Meet at the cement circle outside the pool to stretch. If you arrive early please do not let your children get in the other pool unless you are residents of the Hills of Walden.

Practice begins Tuesday, June 1 and is held every Monday thru Thursday thereafter. Practice times are as follows:

8:30-9:45 AM Swimmers age 13 & Up

9:45-10:45 AM Swimmers age 9 – 12

10:45-11:30 AM Swimmers 8 & Under

Beginning June 7 11:30-Noon Typhoons

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What do I bring to practice?

Goggles, suit, towel, water bottle

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What if I can't make it to practice?

Please email the coaches at Coaches@waldenswim.com to let them know. In order for your child to be eligible to swim in a weekly meet, they must attend 3 practices that week unless alternate arrangements have been made with the coaching staff.

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What if it's raining?

We practice rain or shine. However, if there is thunder or lightning, we will remove swimmers from the deck until the weather passes. In some cases a practice may be canceled. Check the website and your email for updates since cancellation of one age-group's practice does not mean they're all going to be canceled.

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What do they do at practice?

Well, mostly they swim... Coaches run them through drills, work on stroke techniques, work on starts and turns, and encourage your children to develop into better competitive swimmers. Oh, and they have fun!

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When are the swim meets?

Meets are every Thursday evening from June 3 to July 8 (July 15 is our Bye-Week). Meets start at 6:00 PM. For Away Meets swimmers should arrive at 4:15 for their warm up. For home meets swimmers should arrive no later than 5:15 for warm ups. We have a few meets with pre-meet activities planned. In those cases, parents are responsible for transporting their children to and from activities and meets unless other arrangements have been made. Coaches will NOT be permitted to transport children.

A full list of meets is located on the Events Tab on the website. Maps/Direction to the meets are included on each meet page, as is the theme of each meet (yeah, we like to get dressed up.... it just makes it more fun when your coaches are wearing super hero capes or coconut bras...)

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What should I bring to the meets?

Extra towels, hoodies (it gets chilly in the early part of the season once the sun goes down), chairs, lawn blankets, coolers with snacks and drinks, an extra pair of goggles, swim cap, team suit, mosquito spray, a Sharpie, and a highlighter. Concessions are sold at meets so you'll want to bring cash.

Please do not bring alcohol to swim meets. Save cocktail hour for after the meet. This time is for the kids and we want to make sure you all get home safely. Make sure your kids get plenty of water or Gatorade!!!!

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What events will my child swim in the meets?

Luckily for you, the pressure of that decision is taken off your shoulders. Our coaches want each child to swim every event at least once. They will decide what events your child swims in each meet. Questions about that? Ask the coaches, they'll be happy to talk with you.

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We're going on vacation and missing a meet or two? What do we do?

As soon as you know your plans, email the coaches the dates that your child will be missing practice and meets. Please be sure to let the coaches know by MONDAY of the week of the meet your child is missing what your status will be.

Also, if you have a job assigned to you at a particular meet it is your responsibility to find a replacement. Don't forget to remind them a day or two in advance, too. We will make every effort to email a list of suggested alternates that you can contact first.

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Parent Job Assignments? What are those?

In order for a meet to run successfully we need approximately 59 volunteers for a Home Meet. That means that virtually every parent will work at least half of every meet. Some jobs are performed for the whole meet while some end after the Mens' 15-18 Backstroke event. It is really REALLY important that you perform your assigned job so that we can get our meet started on time. If you can't make it to your assigned position please PLEASE find someone to fill in for you. We can't emphasize enough how important this is. Please don't email grab a board member or a coach at a meet and tell them you can't work. We're trying to get the meet up and running and it's really difficult to make the time to hunt down a replacement for you. Names and phone numbers are on the team website. As stated earlier, we will make every effort to email a list of parents who are not assigned to work in a particular week so you can try to contact them first.

Need a little more info about what your assigned job entails? Click here

Parent Job Assignments may be found on each meet listing in EVENTS as well as beginning on page 10 of the Parent Handbook.

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How do I know what events my child is swimming?

Heat Sheets are sold for $1 at each meet (Conference sheets are usually $5 - $7). The events are broken out into age groups and events (freestyle, breast stroke, backstroke, butterfly, individual medley, and relays) and each event has a heat. If your child is swimming they will be listed under that particular event; you just kind of have to read through the sheet and find your kiddo's name.

Many parents bring highlighters so they can highlight their child's event in the sheet. Some of us also bring Sharpies so we can write the events on our kids' arms so they don't forget and so if they walk around looking confused someone can read their arm and send them in the right direction.

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And where do I get one of the magical Heat Sheets?

At Home Meets we will be selling Heat Sheets at the concessions stand by the candy. Each Away Meet is different so just ask someone holding a Heat Sheet where they found it.

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Do I HAVE to buy a Heat Sheet?

Nope. You can always borrow someone else's. However, it's a nice gesture to buy one every once in a while and share with someone else. They're $1....

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Why is there an X next to my child's name on the Heat Sheet?

That means that your child is swimming an Exhibition event and that they're swim doesn't score any points for the team. It doesn't mean the swim isn't important. Even if they're not scoring points, they're still swimming against their last best time!

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Uh, what exactly do I write on my kid?

Event name or number, the heat they're swimming, and the lane in which they are swimming. It looks a lot like this:

Event # 1 (Fly) / Heat 3 / Lane 6

Or, if you get REALLY good at it, you'll just scrawl

1/3/6

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Who's the Clerk of the Course and why does the announcer keep calling for kids to come to them?

The Clerk of the Course is the patron saint of Swimmer Wrangling. A lucky few adults stand over by the pool where there are a series of benches. Your child's event will get a first and a second call and it's up to you to make sure they head towards the pool right after the first call. They check in with the Clerk of the Course who makes sure they're in the right place at the right time and then sends them up to the starting blocks.

Be nice to the Clerk of the Course. It's a tough job!

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What if my child misses an event?

In most cases if there is an open lane in another heat your child will be permitted to make up their swim. Sometimes that's just not possible, in which case they are scratched from the event. We are encouraging our older swimmers this year to help wrangle the younger swimmers and get them to their events on time, ultimately however it is your responsibility and that of your swimmer to get where they need to be when they need to be there.

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What is a DQ and why did it happen to my child?

USA Swimming stroke and turn judges monitor each child's swim to ensure that they perform their strokes according to guidelines set by USA Swimming (that's what coaches and practice are for). They also make sure that your child touches the wall at the end of events or during turns.
Sometimes even experienced swimmers experience a glitch in a swim and end up getting disqualified (DQ'd) from the event. When possible the judge who DQ's your child will take a moment to explain what happened and how to correct it for next time. Some children, especially newer swimmers, can take a DQ rather hard. Let's face it, it's a bummer to race and then find out that your race doesn't count. However, approach it as a learning experience, offer comfort and encouragement, and let the coaches continue to work with your child to improve the stroke.

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What does my child do right after they swim an event?

Hop out of the water and go talk to the coaches. They're watching every event and can offer pointers and tips about how to make the next swim even better or give you a screaming high five when you make your best time! Plus, sometimes they have treats.

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Can I talk to the coaches during the meet?

It's easier if you wait until after the meet since the coaches are trying to watch each swimmer in each event. Let the kids talk to the coaches, you take this time to visit with the other fabulous parents around you.

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When does my child get a ribbon for winning/placing in an event?

Ribbons are handed out for 1^st thru 6^th place. They're passed out at Fun Fridays (see Parent Handbook for details). If your child doesn't get a ribbon let them know it's ok and that there are many other opportunities for them to earn a ribbon. Some of our fastest, most experienced swimmers didn't earn a single ribbon their first years of swimming.

If your child swam a personal best time in an event and still didn't get a ribbon, make sure to let them know what a GREAT accomplishment a personal best time is!!!! It means they're improving and that is way more satisfying than a ribbon!

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What do we do after the meets?

Please stick around and help clean up and encourage your children to do the same. The pools we use are all neighborhood/community pools that we are being permitted to use. Let's leave the area in better shape than we found it.

After Home Meets we usually meet at McDonald's on 64^th Street for ice cream and snacks and a chance to visit with coaches, swimmers, and those other fabulous parents you worked with during the meet. The coaches wrap up business at the pool and meet us there. Sure, it's kinda late and we're all tired, but the get togethers are fun and it's a great and relaxing way to meet more people and place faces with names.

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What's all this talk about the Northland Conference Championships and how do I get my child into that meet?

The swim season's last dual meet is July 15 (that's our bye-week so we don't have a meet that week). Each of the teams against which we swim are members of the Northland Conference; the Conference has set time standards that must be met in each age group in order for a child to qualify to swim. The time standards are posted on the website. If your child swims at or below the time standard, then they qualify to swim that event at Conference Championships which are held July 19-21 at Tiffany Springs Aquatic Center.

If your child does not make a qualifying time then their last practice will be July 8. All Conference qualifiers will continue to practice Monday thru Friday at their regular times unless stated otherwise. Each Conference qualifier will receive a free Conference tee shirt and parents will have the opportunity to order for themselves, their friends, family, co-workers, pets.....

More details about Conference Championships will be sent out as that date draws nearer.

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Typhoons

The Typhoons are our emerging swimmers and we are really excited to have them joining our team! They begin practice on June 7 and will practice every Monday thru Friday from 11:30 to noon. They do not attend weekly meets unless they have older siblings swimming in those meets. If you have been assigned a job at a meet and do not have a Hurricane swimming, please contact Maggie Huffman so she can make the appropriate changes.

Typhoons will be broken out into small groups with one or two instructors per group. Depending on their age and ability, they will focus on getting comfortable with the pool, learning strokes and starts, and then they get to participate in their own meet at the end of their season. If you have questions or concerns about your Typhoons, please feel free to talk with the coaches after practice.

Well that should about cover it. If anything is unclear or has been overlooked, email your questions to Maggie Huffman at admin@waldenswim.com!

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