Handbook
Whittington Creek Swim Team Handbook
Team Website: www.creek.swimtopia.com
Facebook Page: Whittington Creek Swim Team Crocodiles
Welcome to the Whittington Creek Swim Team! Being part of a summer swim team is a great way to spend the summer. Friendships forged in healthy competition last a lifetime. The experience of setting goals, working hard, and succeeding gives children important tools for their future. Following is information to help you with your child’s swim team experience.
Team Philosophy
Swimmers are encouraged to work towards achieving their fullest potential while supporting and encouraging the achievements of their teammates in an atmosphere which promotes hard work, achievement, and development of character.
Swim Team Board of Directors
The Swim Team Board of Directors is a group of volunteer swim team parents. The board oversees all aspects of the Whittington Creek Swim Team and manages the swim team in accordance with the WCST by-laws.
GKAISA
We compete in the Greater Knoxville Area Interclub Swimming Association (GKAISA). GKAISA includes about 3,000 swimmers from 35 teams in the Knoxville area from neighborhoods, country clubs, and sports clubs. Team size ranges from 30 swimmers to over 300. GKAISA is divided into 6 leagues. The top league is League 1. When a team wins their league, they move up to the next league. When a team loses their league, they move down a league.
Age divisions are 8 & under, 9 & 10, 11 & 12, 13 & 14, 15-18 years. Age is defined as the swimmer’s age as of midnight May 31. No one who is or has been a member of an intercollegiate swim team may compete, regardless of age.
For more information about GKAISA, go to their website: http://gkaisa.swimtopia.com
Swim Practice
Practice begins Tuesday after Memorial Day for regular team members. Pre-team members begin in June - or when the water temperature reaches 78 degrees - you will be notified. Evening practices are for children who are unable to participate in morning practice. Practice times are as follows:
Beginning on Tuesday after Memorial Day:
Mornings Monday - Friday:
- 8:15am – 9:15am: 13 & Up
- 9:15am – 10:15am: 9-10 / 11-12
- 10:15am – 11:00am: 8 & Under
- 11:00am – 11:30am: Preteam*
- *Preteam is only for the month of June and there is no Preteam on Fridays
Evenings Monday - Thursday:
- 5:30pm – 6:15pm: 10 & Under
- 6:15pm – 7:00pm: 11 & Up
Parents should discuss their child’s progress with the coaches either before or after practice, not during.
Private and Semi-private Coaching
Private and semi-private coaching is available from any of the coaches. Schedule this with a coach if you are interested.
Weather Policy
In case of rain, there will be practice. If either lightening or thunder occurs, the pool policy is to clear the pool and wait 30 minutes before swimming again. If this happens after practice has started, coaches will clear the pool and decide whether to wait or cancel the remainder of practice at that time.
In case of rain for a swim meet, the meet goes on. Any decision to delay or reschedule the meet will occur at the meet. Rescheduling a meet is a last resort.
Swim Meets
There will be 5 dual meets, the Smoky Mountain Invitational, and the City Meet. In order for a swimmer to compete in the City Meet, GKAISA requires that each swimmer swim in two GKAISA sanctioned meets. The Green and White practice meet does not count as a sanctioned meet.
Swimmers should be at the pool prior to the start of the meet in order to have time to properly warm up. Do not leave a meet early without checking with the coaches. If you know that your child will be missing a meet due to vacation, camp, etc. you are expected to notify a coach as soon as possible. Last minute changes in the meet lineup are difficult to do.
All swimmers are expected to remain the designated team area during the meet. Each swimmer needs to listen to his/her event to be called. Following home meets all swimmers and families are expected to help in picking up trash and straightening the furniture in the pool area. Since the pool is closed to our neighbors for our meets, we have an obligation to them to ensure that the area is clean when we leave it. One lifeguard will be present to supervise this, but it is our responsibility.
Meet Entries & Roster
You MUST sign up your child for EACH meet. Meet sign-ups will be done online on the team website and an email will be sent when it is time to sign up for a meet. The meet event roster will be posted at warm-up before the meet. Your child may swim a maximum of 4 events.
Meet Check-in & Warm-up
Meet warm-ups will be 1 hour before the start of the meet for home meets and 30 minutes before the start of the meet for away meets. Your swimmer MUST check in with the Coaches no later than 15 minutes prior to the start of the meet. Failure to do so may result in your swimmer being scratched from the meet unless you have notified the coach that your swimmer will be late.
Team Suits and Gear
Team suits can be purchased at Swim and Tri at 5921 Kingston Pike. Your child will need his/her own pairs of goggles and a set of swim fins for practice. Swim and Tri can help you select the correct ones.
Parental Support and Participation
Parental support is critical to the success of the program. All parents are expected to provide one volunteer for a minimum of one shift at each of the meets their swimmer participates in. Each meet will have two shifts of workers. Some positions require special training, but most do not. At our Green & White Meet, we will be teaching parents how to officiate. Parents of swimmers who chose to go to the Smoky Mountain Invitational and/or the GKAISA City Championship must also volunteer for one shift at those meets. Parent workers need to be at the pool 20 minutes prior to the start of the meet.
GKAISA conducts clinics for starters, meet referees, meet directors, and stroke & turn judges each summer. Each club is required to send representatives to these clinics to become “skilled workers”. As we grow and send more swimmers to the City Meet and Smoky Mountain Invitational, we will be expected to supply more skilled workers for these meets. We need you and will give you opportunities to practice your newly acquired skills.
Dual Meet Job Descriptions
Parental support is critical to the success of the swim team. All parents are needed to help at meets. All parents are expected to provide one volunteer for a minimum of one shift at each of the Dual Meets. Some positions require special training; most do not. Training is provided by GKAISA for Meet Referee, Starter, Stroke & Turn Judge.
- Meet Referee - Has authority over all meet officials, assigns and instructs them, leads all discussions regarding rules, makes final decisions concerning any protests, interprets applicable USS and GKAISA rules for meets. ( GKAISA certified position)
- Meet Director - Has responsibility for ensuring that the facility is prepared for the meet and that all equipment and supplies needed are available. Lines up meet workers for all home and away meets. (Needs to attend GKAISA clinic.
- Starter- Lines up and starts all events, calls false starts. (GKAISA certified position)
- Finish Judge - records the place finishes for each heat of each event.
- Overcall Judge - records the place finishes for each heat of each event. Acts as a tie-break when finish judges don't agree.
- Relay Jump Judges - Watches relay jumps and records early jumps.
- Stroke and Turn Judges - Disqualifies swimmers who perform their strokes or turns illegally, as defined by GKAISA. (GKAISA certified position)
- Head Timer - Oversees lane timers, signals starter that timers are ready for event start, and provides backup timing for lane timers.
- Lane Timer - Times event using stop watch, records time on event card.
- Scribe - Assists the Lane Timers by recording swimmers' times on event cards.
- Heat Winner Ribbons - Hands out heat winner ribbons to swimmer who comes in first place in each heat.
- Line-up - Responsible for getting event cards to each swimmer.
- Team Parent - Responsible for getting younger swimmers to the Clerk of Course on time to line up for their events.
- Clerk of Course - Places swimmers in correct lanes in the staging area prior to event.
- Marshall/Spotter - Maintains order around blocks/starting area, checks to make sure swimmers are in proper lanes for events.
- Runner - Picks up event cards and judges’ sheets at conclusion of each event. Delivers them to scoring table.
- DQ Runner - Picks up DQ slips from Stroke and Turn Judges and delivers them to scoring table.
- Placer/Sorter - Aligns event cards in order of finish, attaches any DQ sheets to event card, gives cards to scorer.
- Paper Scorer - Enters swimmers names, swim times and points scored on master score sheet using event cards and judges’ sheets for results. Maintains running score for each team.
- Electronic Scorer - Enter the results into the Meet Manager software program.
- Ribbon Writer - Fills out ribbons using event cards and judges sheets in order of finish.
- Concessions Worker - Sells food and drinks at swim meets. Helps set up and tear down concessions area.
- Photographer - takes photos of WCST swimmers and families at the meet.
- Set-Up Volunteer - Sets up flags, chairs, tables, tents, etc. in the pool area in prepartation for the meet.
- Clean-Up Volunteer - Cleans up pool area and stores away all swim team gear.
Understanding a Swim Meet
1): In a dual meet, teams are allowed to enter their swimmers in 3 individual events and 1 relays or 4 individual events or 2 individual events and 2 relays. In the City Meet, swimmers may enter in 3 individual events and 1 relay or 2 individual events and 2 relays.
2): One swimmer is allowed to move up to one age group in order to form a relay. A relay may not have more than one swimmer on it who has moved up. Only one swimmer per age group may move up.
3): Girls’ events are odd numbered and boys’ events are even numbered.
4): At dual meets, visitors swim in the even lanes while the host team swims in the odd lanes.
5): Order of events: Individual medley, freestyle, medley relay, backstroke, breaststroke, butterfly, and freestyle relay. Age group order for each event is: 8 & under girls and boys, 9 & 10 girls and boys, 11 & 12 girls and boys, 13 & 14 girls and boys, 15-18 girls and boys.
6): Scoring at a dual meet:
Individual Relay
1st place 5 points 7 points
2nd place 3 points 3 points
3rd place 2 points 0 points
4th place 1 point 0 points
5th place 0 points 0 points
6th place 0 points 0 points
In individual events, only two swimmers per team may score. For example, if three swimmers from our team finish in the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place, the 3rd swimmer is moved to the 5th scoring place so that the opposing team will earn the points for 3rd and 4th places. Similarly, only one relay team per swim team may score per event. Only the first heat of an event earns points for the team.
7): Place ribbons are awarded based on actual order of finish with the swimmers’ times recorded on them.
GKAISA Rules
All smoking and alcoholic beverages are absolutely prohibited in the pool area at all GKAISA swim meets. Parents please note: This is a GKAISA rule. FAILURE TO COMPLY WITH IT CAN RESULT IN OUR TEAM: 1) FORFEITING THE MEET , AND 2) BEING SUSPENDED FROM GKAISA COMPETITION FOR THE REMAINDER OF THE SEASON. Proper conduct is expected from all persons attending a swim meet. The Meet Referee has the responsibility of ejecting from the meet any persons not displaying proper behavior.
Other GKAISA rules have been included in this handbook where appropriate. This is an incomplete list of rules. If you would like to see the complete listing of GKAISA rules, go to the GKIASA website: http://gkaisa.swimtopia.com
