Springwood Swim Team Information

• Our Coaches
• Invitationals
• Team Calendar and Meet Schedule
• Preseason, Regular Season and Evening Practice Schedule
• Team Fees
• Swim team registration form
• Mini Sprinters
• Team Suit
• All About Buddies... Buddy Night, etc.
• Parent Participation and Responsibilities
• Meet Conduct and Sign Out Policy
• County Times
• Concord City Meet

Team Coaches

Invitationals

• Invitational Meets are meets Springwood attends and competes in as a team, by invitation of the host team.
• Unlike regular dual meets, Invitationals cost money to compete and entries are final once submitted.
• Invitationals often have their own unique “specifics” (fees, awards, entries) described in the “Meet Sheet” that I receive from the host team. Copies of these “Meet Sheets” can be found in the orange Invite Binder kept in the coach’s office cabinet should you be interested.
• ALL SWIMMERS on the team roster WILL BE SCHEDULED TO SWIM IN ALL INVITATIONAL MEETS SPW attends (with the exception of Devil Mountain Pentathlon*). Athletes must “sign-out” by the specified date in the “Vacation Binder” if they do not plan to attend. Note: Often entries are due for these particular meets 2-3 weeks in advance so please pay special attention to the “SIGN-OUT BY…date.”
• “Sign up” will be required for Devil Mtn Pentathlon because the swimmer pays their own entry fee for this meet. Details will be communicated.
• Notice Crossings Challenge & Woodlands fall on the same weekend. All swimmers will be scheduled to participate in one of the two meets based on their individual times.
• Meet details & parent work schedules for invitational meets will be available on the website & posted at the pool as they become available.
• Invitationals are an excellent opportunity for your swimmer(s) to Swim!!!

The following meets fall into the "Invitational Meet" category:
Bishop Bash, Woodlands, Crossings Challenge, League Championship, Devil Mountain Pentathalon, County Meet & our own City Meet

• Bishop Bash  Monday June 20th,  hosted by Bishop Estates, All 8& under swimmers compete

• Devil Mountain Pentathlon  hosted by Dana Hills, THIS MEET RUNS 2 DAYS BUT SWIMMERS PARTICIPATE 1 DAY BASED ON THEIR AGE-GROUP & GENDER
  • Saturday July 9: 6 & U, 7-8’s & 9-10 girls
  • Sunday July 10: 9-10 boys, 11-12’s 13-14’s & 15-18’s
• Crossings Challenge  Saturday July 23rd  hosted by Walnut Country
• Woodlands Invite  hosted by Woodlands Swim Team
  • Saturday July 23rd :  Freestyle, Breaststroke, 13 & up I.M. & Medley Relay
  • Sunday July 24th :  Fly, Back, 12 & under I.M. & Free Relay
• League Championship Meet  hosted by all the meets of the DCSL League, Saturday, July 30th
• City Meet hosted by Springwood August 5,6,7 at Cowell Pool, Concord
• County Meet hosted by LMYA August 13-14 at Acalanes High School (swimmers must achieve qualifying times to compete in this meet)

For questions about invitationals, email Tammy Brown at dtbandj@pacbell.net

Preseason, Regular Season and Evening Practice Schedule

June 13 - End of Season
10:40 - 11:10am       6 & under   
9:50 - 10:40am       7/8's
9:00 - 10:00am       9/10's
8:15 - 9:15am       11/12's
7:15 - 8:30am      13 & up

Practices are held Monday through Friday.

Some adjustments may occur based on age group sizes.

Team Fees

Swimmers under the age of 15, fees this year will be as follows:

1st Swimmer -  $200
2nd Swimmer - $170
3rd Swimmer - $150
4th Swimmer - $110

Swimmers 15-18 Years old - $50
Mini-Sprinters - $175 (an additional $125 fee applies if you are not a club member)

Non Swim Club Member Fee $225
Fundraising Fee $100 per family, except for families who only have 15-18 year old swimmers: the $100 donation is optional, but appreciated.
City Meet Advertising Fee $35

Swim team Registration Form

If you still need a registration form for the 2011 season, click here to download one.

**If you are a family returning to Springwood from last season, we will have your completed pre-registration paperwork waiting for you to review on team sign up day, Saturday March 26th.

Mini-Sprinters

Beginning swimmers get a taste of swim team! The Mini-Sprinters are our group of youngsters who are just entering the swimming ranks. Typically, these are swimmers who have just learned how to swim. It is up to the coaches to decide if a swimmer is ready for mini’s -- they may recommend that he/she needs more time in the learn-to-swim program. In addition, if a swimmer is acceling as a mini-sprinter, they may be invited to join the Springwood swim team. This is up to the discretion of the team coaches.

They are given excellent instruction by the swim team coaches and are encouraged to swim in the first two meet events - the time trials and our first dual meet of the 2011 season against Bishop Estates. This year the Mini-Sprinter begins April 18th.

See the team fees section above for information about mini-sprinters costs. Please note: If your mini-sprinter is invited to join the Springwood Swim Team, there will be an additional fee to graduate to the team. The team director can provide additional details about this fee.

Sign ups for Mini Sprinters will be March 26th from 9 am - 11 am.

Please contact Jennifer Ferrari at ferrarij@sbcglobal.net for more information.

Team Suit

Team suits are availble at Nor-Ski in Lafayette, located at 3518 D Mt. Diablo Blvd. or call
(925)283-2522 for more information. Team Suits are not mandatory, but are encouraged.

All About Buddies, Buddy Night

Every year swimmers can sign up for a swim buddy if they would like to. All you have to do is fill out a Buddy Form at registration and return to the file by the date on the sheet, and you will be assigned a buddy. Click here to download a Buddy Form

Buddies are meant to give each other encouragement and help make new friends on the team. It is recommended that buddies bring small tokens of appreciation to meets periodically, such as a handmade sign and/or a snack and to cheer for your buddy during their swims. If you decide to sign up for a buddy, you are expected to participate throughout the season. The buddy program is intended to grow team spirit and support for other team members, especially new ones.

There is also a Buddy Night event at the end of the season where swimmers and their buddies celebrate the end of the season with an evening of dinner and dancing at the pool.

Parent Participation and Responsibilities

The reason we are all here is for the benefit of our kids; they are the heart of the team. However, it is the parents that keep it going. It takes 35-40 parents to run a dual meet.

All parents share the responsibility of putting on a successful meet with another team. Home meets require a greater number of our parents while away meets require fewer parents. This is because the hosting team provides a snack shack as well as most of the skilled positions such as the starter or referee, etc. Most of the common assigned positions for parents are very easy. Many of the positions afford you a birds-eye view of the meet and the opportunity to meet other parents and to get to know the other swimmers on the team. All families will be asked at registration to sign up for a predetermined number of meets to work at for the season. Training and instruction for these assignments will be given at the beginning of the season during the pot-luck dinner.

It is very important to show up for your work assignments on time. The bottom line is that unless all the deck positions are filled (timers, recorders, runners, etc.) the meet cannot start. If, once a schedule is distributed, you cannot make it due to other commitments please find a replacement for your work assignment-finding a replacement is your responsibility. Work schedules will have “Alternate/Relief” positions assigned. It will help the meet run smoothly if you could contact one of these parents in advance and perhaps trade an assignment with them if unable to attend. Let the Meet Director know well in advance. Always check in with the Meet Director prior to taking your position so your attendance can be confirmed.

Invitational meets: If your child is to participate in an Invitational meet it will usually require a work assignment. That work assignment would usually be posted within a week prior to the Invitational.

Preparing your 8 and Under swimmer Before a Meet: For 8 and Under swimmers, parents MUST write the stroke, heat and lane on the swimmer's right hand (using a Sharpie Pen) prior to starting the meet (see example below). Please use only Sharpie Pens for this.

For Example:

FR 1 – 3
BK 2 – 4
FLY 1 – 2

This example above tells the Shepards who are helping your children to get to their races, that your swimmer is in (Freestyle,Heat 1, lane 3) and (Back Stroke, Heat 2 lane 4) and (Butterfly, Heat 1, lane 2).

Meet Conduct and Sign-Out Policy

Swimmers must sign out for Vacations

The team has a sign-out book for vacation time; verbal notification is not sufficient. If your child cannot attend a meet, you must sign out. Otherwise the coaches will assume he/she will be there and schedule him/her for events.

Signing out of a meet does not relieve you of your work obligations. It is each family’s responsibility to fill their job or find a substitute. If a swimmer misses a meet without signing out, he/she may be ineligible for the following meet.

League meet attendance for all swimmers is critical for the teams league standings during the season. It is preferred if at all possible, that you do not sign out of League meets. These are the meets the team needs the swimmers at the most.

Guidelines for Swimmer success at Meets

Please familiarize yourself with the following guidelines to maximize swimmer performance and promote team spirit!

• Parents and swimmers should be completely familiar with the meet conduct guidelines.
• Get to the meet early for better warm-up conditions. The coaches have specific and routine team warm-ups that benefit race performance.
• Stay close to the team area or cheer at the side of the pool. Team unity is very important - our league gives an award at the end of the season for Sportsmanship, which is based on our entire season. If a coach cannot find you for a race, you will miss the chance to compete and your hard work will be in vain.
• Bring/purchase snacks at meets. Food should be easily digestible and hydration is essential for good swims. Avoid heavy, processed and greasy foods at meets; fruits and vegetables, water and Gatorade are recommended.
• Always wear some type of sandal or shoe. Bare feet lead to stubbed toes, hurt feet, fungus and other general problems.
• For meets with trials and finals, make sure you allow time for proper rest between events.

County Times

The Contra Costa County Meet is the last and most competitive meet of the season. It's comprised of the most elite swimmers in the county. Competing in the County meet is the highest honor, and it is expected that all eligible swimmers will attend. Swimmers are invited to participate on an individual basis after achieving one or more qualifying times (See County Qualifying Times for 2011). A swimmer may swim up to two individual events.

In addition, each team has the option to send up to two relay teams per event. The decision to enter a relay is the responsibility of the coaching staff. Springwood relay qualifying times include two categories: Automatic and Consideration. All members of a relay achieving an Automatic time will be entered regardless of individual times. Relays achieving Consideration times will be reviewed by the coaching staff. Deciding factors include proximity of time to Automatic time, depth of County participating teams, and duration since time was achieved.

There are no official qualifying times for relays. Many coaches take times from previous county meets to create a standard for their team. Our coaches will evaluate performances from our team throughout the summer and make a determination for qualifying relays after the Concord City Meet.

Concord City Meet

All Springwood families are required to work City Meet. This is in addition to your regular season work assignments. Our team sponsors this entire event and we take pride in it's yearly success. We need everyone’s cooperation to make this work!

The Concord City meet is one of the most anticipated meets of the season. Check back here for updates and information about this meet during the swim season. Important information about City meet will also be posted to the home page closer to the time of the meet.