New Parent Meeting Notes

June 5th

New Parent Meeting Notes 2024

Notes from Coach Megan…

Missing practice for camps, sickness, or other sports is okay. You do not need to notify us if your child isn’t able to attend practice that day.

AVAILABILITY: The most important thing to do is to go to the website and declare your swimmer’(s) availability for the season right now! For GCSL meets availability closes on Sundays before the meet and you will be notified by Megan by Tuesday IF your child is swimming on Wednesday. The email will include which events they’re swimming. Heat sheets will be emailed by Tuesday evening or Wednesday morning. For COSA meets please declare your availability by Wednesday 6:00pm. Please print at home and bring with you to the meet!

GCSL or COSA

We swim in two different leagues: GCSL (Greater Columbus Swim League) and COSA(Central Ohio Swimming Association).

COSA meets are considered developmental meets and are geared toward learning the sport. These meets are not competitive and are focused on new athletes who may still be learning the ropes and strokes of competitive swimming.COSA provides a positive atmosphere where swimmers and families can experience our fun sport!

COSA meets are held on Saturday mornings and any swimmer is welcome to participate. Multiple teams participate in these meets. These meets are usually smaller and typically start with warm-ups at 7:30am and conclude typically by 10:30am.

GCSLmeets, also referred to as DUAL meets, are our Wednesday night meets are are competitive. These meets are against one other team and entries are limited to 4 athletes per event per age group so only the swimmers with the fastest times will swim as determined by our coaches. Usually more experienced swimmers swim in the GCSL meets but please mark you swimmer as available if you are free and interested because sometimes there are chances where they could be included in a relay or swim exhibition at a home meet.

Both leagues have their own championship meet to conclude the season and require an athlete to participare in 3 regular season meets to qualify.

Weather

We do practice and conduct swim meets rain or shine! If it is raining, with no thunder or lightening, practice will take place! IF there is thunder or lightening detected in the area the pool needs to close for 30 minutes and the pool deck must be cleared. IF practices or meets are cancelled you will be notified via Email. PLEASE plan for rain. Tents, sport umbrellas and raincoats are all a part of summer swim!

Work Requirements

Every FAMILY is required to complete 3 jobs per season. Examples of this is bullpen, lane timer, set up, tear down, runner, concession stand, etc. If this is not accomplished, the family will owe a $200 fee at the end of the season. We will work with you to help you achieve this goal. Please reach out with any questions or concerns!

Donating concession items does NOT count as a work requirement, but is GREATLY appreciated!!! Our concession stand is out biggest fundraiser and we can’t make it happen without your generous donations!

Regular Season Swim Meets

During the summer season, there are 5 GCSL dual meets held on Wednesday evenings.

Meets begin at 6:00 pm and generally end between 8:00 and 9:00 pm. Swimmers will need to be at the pool by 4:30 to get ready for warm-ups, unless otherwise directed by the coaches. The PTAC pool closes Wednesdays at 4:00 p.m. on Home Swim Meet Days. The maximum number of events a swimmer can participate in during a dual meet is five (5); three (3) individuals and two (2) relays.

COSA meets are held on Saturday mornings. The meets begin at 8:00 am and finish before the host pool opens to the public. COSA meets do not have a maximum number of events a swimmer can swim. The COSA Head Coach will determine what is best for each swimmer. There is no diving at the COSA meet.

Upon arrival at a meet, be sure to check in with the Swimmer Check-in Volunteer. This helps the coaches know that all team members have arrived at the pool.

Below is a listing of pools. Pool location information is also on the web page.

Delaware DARTS	Mingo Pool, 500 E. Lincoln Ave. Delaware 43015
Grandview Municipal Pool	1350 Goodale Blvd, Grandview Heights, OH 43212
Highland Park Otters	245 S. Spring Rd., Westerville, 43081
Northwest Swim Club	1064 Bethel Road, Columbus, OH 43220
Plain Township (New Albany)	7650 Swickard Woods Blvd, New Albany, OH 43054
Westerville JC	200 Otterbein Ave., Westerville, OH 43081
Worthington Waves	400 W Dublin Granville Road, Worthington, OH 43085

What to Bring to the Swim Meet

• plenty of towels • goggles (two pairs in case one breaks) • swim cap • healthy snacks and drinks (lots of water) • warm clothes to put on after events • marker for noting events on swimmer’s hand • fun activities for your swimmer to do between events • chairs (some pools do not have many chairs available for use during a meet) • blanket (or extra towel) for swimmer or family to sit on • sports umbrella for swimmers to sit under

Prior to coming to the meet, each swimmer should have the following information printed on their arm as shown below:

(E) Event number

(H) Heat number

(L) Lane number

Permanent Sharpie marker works best for this task.

E H L

333 3 5 100 IM

39 4 5 50 Breast

43 3 5 50 Fly

47 4 2 50 Back

How to decipher the Heat Sheet

Regular season heat sheets are relatively simple, since there rarely are multiple heats. Each sheet contains the following information: Event number, event title, heat number, status of heat, lane number, swimmer’s name, swimmer’s age for season, swimmer’s team, and swimmer’s entry time. At the beginning of the season, each swimmer is designated an NT which stands for “No Time”. After they swim their first meet and earn an official time (not disqualified), a time will be shown in the last column. The seed time is based on their best time for the event, not necessarily the time from the previous meet.

Meet Events

Boys and girls swim each event separately.

The events for each stroke go from youngest to oldest. The girls in a given age group swim the even first, followed by the boys.

• 100 Meter Individual Medley

The first event of every meet is the 100 meter Individual Medley,

aka the 100 IM. We use abbreviations for everything! It’s like learning a new language. In the 100 IM, one swimmer swims one lap, one length of the pool, of each stroke in a specific order: butterfly, backstroke, breaststroke, and freestyle.

• Medley Relay

All age groups swim the Medley Relay, including 8 and under.It is a relay consisting of 4 swimmers.

The Medley Relay has a specific stroke order: backstroke, breaststroke, butterfly, and freestyle. (alphabetical)Since the younger children only swim one lap each, those swimmers swimming the breaststroke and freestyle portion of the relay must be at the opposite end of the pool, not the starting block end. Those swimmers will start in the water.

• Freestyle

After the Medley Relays come the freestyle events. These progress as the events above, from youngest to oldest, with the girls swimming before the boys in each age category.

• Backstroke

Backstroke events follow the freestyle events.

• Breaststroke

Breaststroke events follow the backstroke events.

• Butterfly

Butterfly events follow the breaststroke events.

• Freestyle Relay

The freestyle relays are the last events of the meet.

The children love relays and get a real sense of being part of a team by competing in them. Unforeseen circumstances may result in a child being placed in the relay at last minute, so never leave meets early!

The relay team has 4 swimmers.

Ages 10 and under swim a 100 meter relay, which means each swimmer swims onelap (25 meters) of freestyle.

Ages 11-12 and up all swim a 200 meter relay, which means each swimmer swims twolaps (50 meters) of freestyle.

Quick Reference

100 IM aka 100 Meter Individual Medley

Order: Butterfly, Backstroke, Breaststroke, Freestyle

Medley Relay

Order: Backstroke, Breaststroke, Butterfly, Freestyle

All ages swim this event

10 & U ONLY: one lap of each stroke

Breaststroker and Freestyler must be at opposite end of the pool!

Freestyle Relay