FAQ
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FAQ
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To submit a question, click here.
What's the difference between Tiger Sharks YMCA & USA? While the Tiger Sharks are a YMCA sanctioned team we also participate as a USA Swimming Team. The USA Invitational Meets allow our swimmers to experience competition from a wider geographic area. There is a registration fee to join USA Swimming and an event fee is charged for all USA Invitational meets. USA swimming is another national swimming organization with thousands of participants. Their meet format is invitational and is similar to our YMCA invitational format; whereas our regular YMCA meets are in dual-meet (2-team) format. For more information on USA swimming, click here. If you are interested in learning more about the Tiger Sharks participation in USA Swimming please see your coach. How are relay teams selected for the divisional, league & zone meets? Each age group coach is responsible for establishing all relays for dual meets as well as championship meets. As swimmers abilities develop, the configuration of the relay teams will change, at the coaches discretion. For example: relay configuration can change from the divisional meet to the league meet. Also, just because you swam on a relay that qualified for zones, does not mean that you will swim at zones on that relay... Is USA swimming for the "elite" swimmers only? No. Everyone can swim USA. Minimum distance for USA events is 50 yards. Anyone who can swim 2 lengths of the pool is welcome to register to swim USA invitational meets! I watch the score of the meet on the scoreboard, but the website says 6 to 5. Why are they different? There are 11 total points per meet. There is a point awarded to the team scoring the most points (what you see on the scoreboard.) The other 10 points come from individual groups scores. For complete details, click here. What do we do with all the money we raise? All of the money we raise goes to support our swimmers. Some of the items funded have included: end of year banquet and awards, awards for zone swimmers, the scoreboard, additional pool time, team suits, League dinner, invitational meet coaching expenses, coaches gifts, copying/mailing expenses, etc. What should the swimmers do after they finish their race at a meet? It's tempting to run to Mom and Dad to tell them how well you did, but you should go to your COACH FIRST. Parents: when your child comes to you...ask them if they saw their coach. If they say "no" send them over to their coach immediately. Coaches will offer encouragement, celebrate time drops and offer suggestions for improvement. All of this is best done immediately after you swim an event. Coaches will then encourage swimmers to see their parents. This is a MUST ATTEND event for all swimmers and their families. The end of year banquet is a celebration of the year. It is broken out into 2 sections: general assembly and age group assembly. During general assembly, the discussion centers on things that the whole team should know or should see: summary of the year, special team awards (like improvement awards and coaches awards) are given out. The board is introduced...and new board members are announced/voted for if applicable, zone qualifying swimmers are also recognized. Other general business is discussed. This also acts as the end-of-year general meeting. During the age-group assembly, trophies are given out to all swimmers who swam at the divisional meet. The age group coaches will spend more time talking about each swimmers progress during the year. After the award ceremony, there is typically a pizza party/dance with DJ. What do I do if my child is sick the morning of a meet, and can't swim? Yup, it's happened to us all! The best thing to do is CALL the coach (do not email them) as soon as you know you will not be there. Most kids will be in at least ONE relay and last minute changes require a lot of time and thought. If you can't get in touch with a coach, get in touch with a parent who will be able to tell the coach when they arrive at the meet. What should we bring to dual meets? Ah, yes. What to bring to dual meets! Well, first thing I can think of is chairs...if not for the pool area, you'll most likely need them for the team area. Other things that would make life easier include:
Should my swimmer(s) attend invitational meets? Absolutely! This is a great way for swimmers to swim different events. Swimmers get to CHOOSE their own events! Unlike the YMCA dual meets where the coaches decide what events the swimmers are in, at invitational meets, the swimmers can decide what they want to swim. Watch the meet page for a list of invitational meets that our Team is attending. Invitational meets are a great way to have fun and build confidence...especially the meets with 6& under events for the little guys; and the meets where you swim your age (i.e. 9 year olds swim against other 9 year olds rather than 9/10.) Trophies, medals and ribbons are given out as awards for top swimmers at Invitational meets...a great way for some "extra" recognition. What items do we HAVE to purchase? All required items, and other apparel, will be available for purchase/order at registration.
Why do the relays change from 1 meet to the next? aka Why is my fast swimmer on the "B" relay rather than the "A" relay? This is a popular question and cause for much confusion... The coaches will sometimes change the relay members from meet to meet. When we are facing a weak opponent, the coaches may balance out the relays as the only real competition may come from our own team. When we are facing tougher opponents, coaches of 9 and over swimmers use previous times and computer software to determine the fastest relay, next fastest, etc. Since swimmers times change from meet to meet, it only stands to reason that the relay-swimmer combinations can change from meet to meet. The 8U relays don't score points in Y dual meets. The coaches usually balance out the relay teams to make them roughly equal. 8U swimmers are eligible to swim in a 10U relay. This can be confusing until you realize that the category is actually 10U relay and not a 9/10 relay in dual meets. What should I wear to the various dinners/events? The league dinner and awards banquet are casual events. The Silent Auction/Reverse Raffle are dressier...not formal, but not jeans and T's either. How do you qualify for championship meets?
How much does it cost to join Tiger Sharks? The cost varies slightly from year to year; however, our fees for 2006-2007 year were as follows:
Add all those costs together and that is your total cost.
Optional fees included: Additional Team apparel (available only at registration,) USA Registration fee of $45 & Invitational escrow fees of $50.
How many meets per month do we have to attend?
There are roughly 2 dual meets per month. You do not have to attend all of them, but there is a minimum number of meets you must attend each year to qualify for championships. In the 2006-2007 season, all swimmers needed to swim 3 meets to qualify. This number can change from year to year. Ask your coach.
Who gets ribbons at a dual meet & what is the difference between ribbons?
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