Championship Warm-Up Schedule

The pool deck/lawn will be open for setup at 12 noon Friday July 31st.

Attention parents! Everyone should plan on arriving at the pool by 4:00 pm on Friday, and by 7:00 am on Saturday, regardless of which warm-up you are scheduled to be a part of. If your coach tells you to come even earlier, then you should follow their instructions. It is important that you give yourself plenty of time to park, check in with your coach, set up tents & chairs, buy a heat sheet, and mark your swimmer's event/heat/lane. I'll post more about this later, but I just wanted to make sure that everyone was aware that there is a lot more going on during Warm-Ups than just warming up. If this is your first championship swim meet, the most important thing you need to know is to be early!

Friday - July 31, 2009 - 8 & Under Championship

1st Warm-Up 4:10-4:30 pm

Lanes 1-3 Bell Road
Lanes 4-5 Wynlakes
Lanes 6-8 Southeast Y

2nd Warm-Up 4:30-4:50 pm

Lane 1 Deer Creek
Lanes 2-3 Grandview/Greenville
Lanes 4-5 Wetumpka
Lanes 6-7 Maxwell
Lane 8 East Y

1st call for swimmers will be 4:45 pm - Competition will begin at 5:00 pm

Saturday - August 1, 2009 - 9 & Over Championships

1st Warm-Up 7:10-7:30 am

Lanes 1-2 Deer Creek
Lanes 3-6 Maxwell
Lanes 7-8 East Y

2nd Warm-Up 7:30-7:50 am

Lanes 1-2 Grandview
Lanes 3-8 Bell Road

3rd Warm-Up 7:50-8:10 am

Lane 1 Wynlakes
Lanes 2-5 Southeast Y
Lanes 6-7 Wetumpka
Lane 8 Greenville

1st call for swimmers will be 8:05 am - Competition will begin at 8:20 am

Heat Sheet Ads

It's not too late to purchase space in the heat sheet for an ad or to show support for your swimmer or team. I must receive your copy by early Thursday morning in order to include it. Proceeds will go to either the Montgomery YMCA Barracudas or the Montgomery YMCA Summer Swim League, your choice. For more information contact ememlu@gmail.com.

Full page $65
Half page $40
1/4 page $25
1/8 page or business card $15

2009 Championship

The MYSSL 2009 Championship is less than two weeks away! Read the meet invitation for full details. If you are not attending, now is the time to let your coach know. Unnecessary entries can negatively impact your teams score, so inform your coach if you know your child cannot attend. We have some really cool new awards this year! I look forward to seeing everyone there.

emily

Tonight's Meet @ East Y

There is a 25% chance of storms this afternoon, HOWEVER, the meet will not be cancelled unless thunder and lightning prevent us from getting in the pool until after 6:30. In other words, even if there is bad weather, we will delay the start of the meet until as late at 6:30 or 7:00.

If it is storming in your area this afternoon, please check here for updates. I will do my best to keep you informed on the status of any delay or cancellation. Remember, it may be storming in one part of town but beperfectly clear at the meet location. So unless you hear otherwise, plan to be at the East Y by 5:00 for warmups. If there is a delay we will notify you here as soon as possible.

Thanks,

emily

Tonight's Meet Cancelled

The meet tonight at Wynlakes Country Club has been cancelled due to bad weather in the area. Please contact your coach for rescheduling information.

Tonight's meet in Wetumpka

Due to the threat of inclement weather and power outages affecting the setup of the meet, tonight's meet has been rescheduled. Please check the meet schedule to the left for details.

Thank you for your patience,

emily

Official Thoughts :)

There are two main reasons why we have officials at summer league swim meets. The first is the most obvious: to provide fair competition. Imagine a breaststroke race where one swimmer swims correctly while the other flutter kicks the whole way. It is only fair to the legal swimmer to disqualify the flutter kicker, especially if that flutter kick resulted in a faster time for the swimmer. Having officials on deck ensures a fair outcome for all swimmers.

The other reason for officials is less obvious. Because human reaction time can result in watch time variations of three tenths of a second (or more) we always have at least two officials recording the order of finish of each race. Without this, approximately 20% of the results are wrong due to variations in timer reaction time and the occasional timer error. Timers aren't perfect, and they sometimes don't notice that the watch didn't start until after the race is over. Without officials recording the order of finish there is no way to know what result to give that swimmer. Also, when races are really close the watch times do not always reflect the true outcomes, and the order of finish is necessary to determine the true winner.

I say all this because I think there is a misconception about the purpose of the official. If we care about the fairness of the competition, and more importantly the accuracy of the results then we have to have 4-6 officials at each swim meet. No experience is necessary, although a small amount of training is required. (I personally think that being an official is much easier and more fun than working in bullpen or clerk of course.) I will be happy to conduct as many training classes as necessary. There are links to training videos on the website. If you would like further information you may contact me at ememlu@gmail.com.

Finally, a big thank you to those of you who have been to the training classes and/or worked at a meet. Every year I strive to make this program better and better, and your contributions are greatly appreciated!

See you at the pool...

emily

A word about the weather...

I wish I had the power to control the weather. It takes myself and your coaches many, many hours of work to put together a swim meet, and I hate to see all that effort go to waste, but thunder and lightning are a fact of life in Alabama in the summer. Pools must close 30 minutes following each occurrence of thunder, and 60 minutes for lightning. This is for your safety, and is required by the facility's insurance company.

It is our goal for each team to be able to complete at least 3 of the 4 meets scheduled, so a meet that is cancelled early is not automatically made up. If your team is rained out more than once, we will fit you into another meet (or create a new one) later in the season.

Thank you to all the volunteers!

emily

Timeline for Friday and Saturday Meets!

Friday June 12 @ East Y

5:00 pm Warm-up begins

5:00 pm Officials, Head Clerk, Clerk and Starter report for duty
5:30 pm Head Timer, Head Bullpen and Head Runner report for duty
5:40 pm Bullpen report for duty
5:50 pm Timers and Card Runners report for duty

5:50 pm Call for swimmers for first events
6:00 pm Competition begins

Saturday June 13 @ Southeast Y

7:00 am Warm-up begins

7:00 am Officials, Head Clerk and Starter report for duty
7:30 am Head Timer, Head Bullpen and Head Runner report for duty
7:40 am Bullpen report for duty
7:50 am Timers and Card Runners report for duty

7:50 am Call for swimmers for first events
8:00 am Competition begins!

Official's Training Workshops

Thursday June 11 4:00-5:00 pm @ Southeast Y

This workshop will give a general explanation of how swim meets work and the general duties of the various volunteer positions, but will mainly focus on the responsibilities of the official and finish judge. I highly recommend this meeting for all new swim parents and anyone who may work as an official, especially those attending the meets Friday night and Saturday morning.

Friday June 12 5:00-6:00 pm @ East Y (during warm-ups)

This is the second part of the official's training workshop. We will show a video that details all the rules of swimming, and your questions will be answered by a certified official. Anyone who works as an official should attend this class at least once.

Saturday June 13 7:00-8:00 am @ Southeast Y (during warm-ups)

This is the second part of the official's training workshop. We will show a video that details all the rules of swimming, and your questions will be answered by a certified official. Anyone who works as an official should attend this class at least once.

I look forward to seeing all of you!

emily

Officials' Training Classes

Dear Swim Parents,

The first swim meets of the season are days away, and I want to take this opportunity to welcome back returning families and introduce myself to all the new parents. My name is Emily Giles, and I have been coordinating the YMCA Summer Swim League for the past 5 or 6 years. It is a joy to get to know all the parents, coaches, and swimmers, and witness the growth and development of your precious children. It is a great honor to be able to contribute to their health and well-being. 

As you may or may not know, swim competitions require heavy parent participation. It is impossible to conduct a swim meet without the help of at least 20 parent volunteers each meet. Therefore, it is a league requirement that each family provide a volunteer at least once throughout the season. If every parent does their fair share, no one should have to volunteer more than twice per season. There are sometimes special circumstances that prohibit some parents from volunteering, and we truly appreciate those that help over and above what is expected.

If you haven't done so already, I encourage you to talk to your coach or team parent and find out how you can help.

Most volunteer positions can be learned in just a few minutes at the swim meet, but there are a few positions that require a bit more training. One of those positions is that of the official, or judge. This is a very important position, and helps ensure fair competition and accurate results. Many people are afraid to accept this role, but let me assure you that it is not difficult, and can be a fun and rewarding way to participate. 

Each team will need to have at least one trained official for every ten swimmers, so it is important that as many parents as possible are trained. Although we can train you during the swim meet, it is much more effective to do this ahead of time as a group. So, this year we will be offering training classes for officials and finish judges. I highly encourage these classes for ALL returning swim parents and new parents with previous swim experience, unless you are already committed to working another position such as Head Clerk of Course or Starter. Not only will you learn what you need to know to officiate our swim meets, but you will also be better informed about the rules of the sport your child is participating in. Remember, the more people we have trained, the less those people will actually have to work!

So far we have two classes scheduled, with more to follow:

Friday, June 5 @ Bell Road YMCA 6:00 pm

Monday, June 8 @ Wetumpka YMCA 5:00 pm

If you plan on attending one of these classes, send an email to ememlu@gmail.com with your name, phone number, and the team you represent. This class is also a must for coaches/assistant coaches/parent helpers who need to brush up on swimming rules.

If you cannot attend one of these classes, but would like to attend one in the future, please contact me to let me know when the best time/location would be for you. 

See you at the pool!

Emily Giles

MYSSL Coordinator

New this season...

In past seasons, swimmers were able to swim 3 individual events and 2 relay events at each swim meet. Starting this season, swimmers 10 & Under may still swim up to 3 individual events, and swimmers 11 & over may swim 4 individual events at each meet. 

The 6 & Under Breaststroke has been removed. Also, the 11-12 Breaststroke has been changed to a 25 yard event. The order of events has also changed. Click here if you would like to see the full list.

Volunteers and our first meet...

Our first meet is about a week away! If you haven't done so already, please check out the links to your left under the heading "Volunteer Assignments." You will find specific volunteer requirements for each meet, as well as volunteer job descriptions and pool layouts to help you get a sense of where everyone should be and what they will be doing on the pool deck. 

Swim meets are not possible without parent participation. It is a league requirement that each swimmer be represented by a parent volunteer at least once. If everyone does their fair share, no family should have to work more than two sessions per swimmer. 

As you may or may not know, warm-ups begin an hour before competition, and during this hour last minute changes are made to entries and volunteers are organized and instructed. This hour goes by very quickly, especially during the first few meets when we have a lot of new parents to show the ropes! Therefore, it is very important that all swimmers and volunteers be available at the start of warm-ups, even if their team is warming up second. (When swimmers are not warming up, they should be with their coaches/team parents getting their event numbers and relay assignments.)

We will make announcements calling for volunteers at different times, so please listen up. Here is a tentative timeline for Saturday's meet at Bell Road:

6:30-7:00 AM Pool Setup * 7:00-7:20 AM 1st Warm-up * 7:20-7:40 AM 2nd Warm-up * 7:50 AM Swimmers begin lining up * 8:00 AM Competition

All volunteers (and swimmers) should sign in at Clerk of Course as soon as possible after they arrive to avoid any delay in the start of competition. They should then report back at the following times:

7:00 AM - Head Clerk, Clerk & Starter report for duty (at Clerk of Course)

7:20 AM - Head Timer, Head Bullpen, Head Runner report for duty (at Clerk of Course)

7:30 AM - Officials report for duty (at Clerk of Course)

7:40 AM - Bullpen report for duty (at Clerk of Course)

7:45 AM - Timers report for duty (at starting end of pool)

As always, if you have any questions about these procedures or would like to volunteer, please check with your coach.

emily

Welcome back!

The 2009 season is about to begin! The meet schedule and order of events have been posted, and more information will be coming soon. Check back often...