Most
Frequently Asked Questions
What is
the Giant Gift Card Program?
When and where are the parent
meetings?
What is the reason for the
parent meetings?
When is my child's
registration form due?
How does the coach
determine what my child swims?
How many events can a child swim?
How do you determine
what lanes the swimmers will swim in?
What is the
difference between "live" and "exhibition"?
What happens if my
child can't attend a meet?
How is it determined
which swimmers swim on a relay?
How does my child know
what they will be swimming?
What is an IM or
Medley relay?
How do the swimmers
know when to line up/ get ready for their event?
What is the shopping
list for?
What are these sign
ups for jobs at the meets?
How do I communicate
with the coaches if I have questions or What if the
coach has not resolved my issue to my satisfaction?
What is
US Swimming is
the largest governing body for swimming in the
You should know that there are some
distinct advantages to the set-up of US meets. First, it allows you and your
child to pick what they want to swim (instead of the coaches telling your child
what they are going to swim in the dual meet). Second, there is no such thing
as "exhibition" vs. "live" in US meets. While each swimmer represents PAC, they
are truly competing against the clock and points are not really relevant. They
are truly swimming for themselves with the support of parents and teammates. Finally,
they are far more likely to compete against children of similar ability/skill
level in a
An invitational is a specific type of meet
that can take on many different forms. It can be a "Mini" invitational- meaning
that it is a meet offered to swimmers 8 & under that swim for certain
clubs. This format allows the host team to limit the number of swimmers that
they accept and the number of teams that are invited. When we receive
Invitational meet announcements, the announcement will be posted like a US Meet
as we are an invited team.
What
is the Giant Gift Card Program?
PAC has a wonderful fundraising
opportunity to make some easy cash on your everyday purchases. For each dollar
you spend on your groceries, the Club will receive a 5% bonus.
How it works is, each week you will submit
a request with the amount of cards that you would like to purchase along with a
check (into the Waters family "mail file") and we will purchase the Gift Cards
that you need and return them into your family "mail file". At this time we
will be selling $50 and $100 cards (order forms can be found in the "forms
depot").
These cards do not have to be limited to
PAC families only. Adding more families, by including neighbors, friends and
other family members for gift cards that they will use everyday will help
support
When and where
are the parent meetings?
Meetings are generally
held the 3rd Monday of each month at
What is the
reason for the parent meetings?
Our club is totally
run and funded by our members. Our coaches and lifeguards are the only paid
staff. Parents are responsible for scheduling, fundraising, purchasing
equipment and general operations of the team. All these issues are discussed at
parent meetings. Coach Brian typically attends these meetings so that parents
can ask questions of how proposed changes, scheduling and purchasing of
equipment will effect the swimmers. He does not vote,
but provides updates to the group as to specific agenda items and brings the
parents attention to concerns which the coaching staff may feel need to be
addressed.
Each year the club
conducts fundraisers to help defray costs as well as provide/maintain the
equipment required to run a swim meet. They can vary from selling items to
staffing a large year-end meet. It is a club rule that each family must
participate in the fundraisers. When a large league wide meet is hosted, it is
typically at the end of the season. The Palmyra Aquatic Club bids on hosting
the meet and then assumes responsibility to ensure this meet runs smoothly and
efficiently. A year-end meet of this size requires a large number of volunteers
to work that day. To enable PAC to staff the meet properly, the requirement is
for each family to volunteer someone to work for at least one shift, typically
in the morning or the afternoon. While we understand that people have jobs that
limit their availability, we ask that arrangements be made to provide the club
someone to work that day. The club then receives the proceeds from admissions,
programs, and the refreshment stand, which serves to enable PAC to meet its
operating expenses. Failure to honor this request places unnecessary burden on
other club members and jeopardizes the excellence with which the meet is
handled. The jobs are not difficult for the most part and there are many
choices. Training is available as well. This only applies when we are hosting a
championship meet.
When is my child's
registration form due?
Registration forms
must be submitted BEFORE your child is allowed in the pool for practice.
How does the
coach determine what my child swims?
Coaches carefully
place swimmers in all events to ensure PAC has as many lanes filled as possible
to provide as many opportunities for swimmers to swim. The coaches use their
best judgment in placing swimmers where they feel the team needs them to earn
points or to develop their time within a certain event. They often place
swimmers in events where they can earn the most team points for the club and
thus make our best chance at winning the meet. Each swimmer's assignment is
carefully selected based on the swimmer's skill and ability, as well as the
potential against the opponent. As a club, we hope to win the majority of our
dual meets to enable us to stay in the higher division (summer only) where we
feel our swimmers have a better chance of improving their personal times. The
coaches' decisions are final and no changes will be made to the line-up, except
in the case of illness.
How many
events can a child swim?
At dual meets, each
swimmer can swim 3 individual events and one relay. In a divisional meet they
can swim a total of 3 events. Two relays and one individual or 2 individuals
and one relay. In US meets, they may swim as many as 5 events per day depending
upon the type of meet and qualifying times.
How do you
determine what lanes the swimmers will swim in?
Practice lanes are determined
by the coaches based on the number of kids at practice and the swimmers'
abilities and needs. The coaches may move kids from lane to lane based upon the
sets that they are doing as well as the attendance, but kids will generally
know what lane they should swim in. At a swim meet, the swimmers from each team
are alternated between lanes to ensure they have the chance to see the
competition from the other team. The home team will be placed in lanes 1, 3 and
5, and the visiting team will swim in lanes 2, 4 and 6. Typically the swimmer
with the fastest times recorded in our system will be in the middle lanes 3 or
4. The swimmers with the next fastest times are placed in the next two lanes, 2
and 5 with the lower times in 1 and 6. This is called seeding an event. In US
meets, swimmers are seeded by time- in a 6 lane pool, they are seeded with the
fastest swimmer in lane 3, the next fastest in lane 4, the next fastest in lane
2, the next fastest in 5, the next fastest in 1, and the next fastest in lane 6
(3-4-2-5-1-6).
What is the
difference between "live" and "exhibition"?
The first heat of any
event is considered the live event. This simply means that the swimmers in this
heat can earn points towards the overall meet score in the team competition. The
second heat and all heats following are considered exhibition. Exhibition is
very important as it allows swimmers to improve their times. This allows a team
to place more than three swimmers in each event and provides a greater
opportunity for more children to be able to swim! Swimmers are able to earn a
ribbon for their hard work and participation.
What happens
if my child can't attend a meet?
Coaches must be
notified by Friday one week prior to a meet that the swimmer will be missing. Lineups
are typically completed the Tuesday before a swim meet. This means you must place a note in the
coaches' mailbox on the Friday one complete week before the
actual meet. You can also email Coach Brian.
How is it
determined which swimmers swim on a relay?
The coaches try to get
as many swimmers as possible on a relay in their age group. As explained above,
the middle lane (3, 4) would have the four swimmers with the fastest recorded
times. The next lane would have the next four swimmers with the fastest times
and so on. The times from each meet are stored in a database and generally make
it a simple process for building the relays. The times are taken from the
events the swimmers swim in all season. (Another situation
where exhibition provides opportunities for improving times.) The
computer searches for the fastest recorded times and lists them in order. The
coaches will then create the relay teams based on where we need the swimmers to
swim and how many people they have for relays. While freestyle relays generally
have the four fastest times in the relay, there are situations that arise where
the coach places someone else on the relay. This is part of their
responsibility to ensure the overall team success. Medley relays, where there
is one leg of each stroke, may vary more due to the need to spread the swimmers
across all the relays. During the winter
season coaches may make changes up to two events before the race.
How does my
child know what they will be swimming?
We assume swimmers will
swim in every meet, unless a note is received the week before, and the coaches
place them in the appropriate events. Swimmers MUST check in as soon as they
arrive at a meet with the swim team representatives assigned to check in. They
are typically located in the assigned team area for PAC (white tent during the
summer season). They will hand your child a slip of paper that states the event
name and number, the heat number, lane number, as well as the best time
recorded for your child. Many children write the event, heat and lane number
information on their hand to help them remember when they are swimming.
What is an IM or
Medley relay?
IM stands for
Individual Medley and is an event that a swimmer swims one or two lengths of
each stroke (depending upon the age of the swimmer). The order is butterfly,
backstroke, breaststroke and freestyle. The Medley Relay has the same idea,
though the four swimmers each swim one leg of a different stroke. The order in
the relay is backstroke, breaststroke, butterfly, and freestyle.
How do the
swimmers know when to line up/ get ready for their event?
Swimmers are responsible for getting themselves to
their events on time. We have a Swim Coordinator volunteer who stands in the
TEAM AREA and calls the names of each swimmer, as their events get close. They
line them up in the team area and then walk them up to the starting block area
when it comes time for them to swim. The
swimmer should remain primarily in the team area during the swim meet when they
are not swimming. This way, he or she will be able to hear their name being
called to line up. If the swimmer needs to leave the area to go to the
bathroom, they should notify the swim coordinator or a fellow swimmer in the
area. Should the child choose to sit with parents or an area other than the
team area, the coordinator will not be able to look for your child and
this may result in missing an event should the swimmer not be able to figure
out when they are swimming.
What is the
shopping list for?
When PAC has a home
meet, we provide a food stand for the swimmers and parents. This is a VERY
effective way for our club to earn extra money as a fundraiser. Each age group
is assigned items to bring to the swim meet for sale that day. If you have more
than one swimmer, we ask that you bring what is required for each group.
The Food Stand coordinators count carefully how many swimmers are in each group
and assign the quantity needed across all the swimmers. This is a fairly simple
way of helping the club keep costs down.
What are these
sign ups for jobs at the meets?
To effectively run a
meet (home and away), there are many jobs that need to be covered. It enables
us to be completed by
How do I
communicate with the coaches if I have questions or concerns?
Please drop a short
note to the coaches in their mailbox that is located in the plastic file boxes
that are placed out at swim practices. This way, the coach can contact you
after swim practice and not interrupt the practice in progress. You may also
send an email directly to the Coach Brian.
What if the
coach has not resolved my issue to my satisfaction?
Please discuss this
with the Club President. You can write a note, call, or send an email.