General Information and FAQs
- Who is eligible for the team?
- Practices
- Coaches
- Team activities
- Supervision
- Transportation
- Noise and parking restrictions
- Volunteers
- Team facts
- Meets
- Trophies and awards
- Dive team
Who is eligible for the team?
Team members must be members or associate members of Little Falls Swim Club (this is a requirement of the Montgomery County Swim League).
The team is separated into two groups for practices:
The regular team is for kids who know how to do most of the strokes and can keep up with a regular practice.
The developmental team is for kids who can swim two lengths of the pool but need help in mastering the different strokes or do not yet have the endurance for a regular practice. (If a child is not yet ready for the developmental team, the club offers private lessons - ask the lifeguards). The developmental team practices mainly take place in the diving well, since it is a short distance to swim across.
The coaches will place kids in the appropriate group at the beginning of the summer - so if you are not sure where your child belongs, come to the first practices and ask the coaches. As kids improve, they can join the developmental team when ready, or move up from the developmental to the regular team at any time during the season.
Team activities (pep rallies, team breakfast, team banquet, beach trip, etc.) are meant for both regular and developmental team members. Developmental team members will also be encouraged to swim in meets as soon as they are ready.
What if you are not available for part of the swim season?
This is fine. Many team members are away for a week or two of the season at camp or on vacation. If you know that you are going to be away for part of the season, please tell the coaches.
Practices
Swimmers should come to practice most days that they are available, and should keep coaches informed of when they have conflicts that will cause them to be absent for more than several days (there is no problem if your child needs to miss practice for camp, vacations, etc. - just keep the coaches generally informed).
Afternoon practices generally start the first week the pool is open. After the public school year ends, there is both morning and afternoon practice - swimmers may come to either one, but are encouraged to come to morning practice if possible, since the full pool is available and the coaches can give more individualized attention.
Swimmers are expected to pay attention at practice. Any swimmer who is causing trouble or distracting others will be asked by the coaches to leave practice for that day.
Instruction:
The practices have a large number of kids and individual attention is not generally possible. There are fewer swimmers at morning practice, so there is more chance for individual attention. The team also gets to use the entire pool for morning practice, so we encourage swimmers to come to morning practice whenever possible.
During the season, the coaches will use some of the practices to concentrate on certain areas, such as an individual stroke, or flip turns. Usually the practices right after a 'B' meet will try to help any swimmers who disqualified during the meet with working on the cause of the disqualification. If you want to know when certain areas will be covered at practice, ask the coaches.
If you want more instruction than is possible at practice, most of the coaches or lifeguarding staff may be hired for individual lessons, separately from the swim team. There are also many private swim clinics offered in this area.
Coaches
The coaches are hired by the company that manages the pool, Bethesda Aquatics. If you have any issues with the coaches concerning your particular child or anything special you want the coaches to know about your child, please talk to the coaches directly. If there are any issues that do not seem addressed by talking to the coaches, you can contact the swim team reps. Please understand, however, that the reps do not employ the coaches and are not responsible for them. The reps do, however, try to optimize the situation for both the coaches and the team whenever possible.
Team activities
Activities include:
Team Pictures:
Team and individual pictures for all swimmers (including developmental) will be taken after a home A meet (see the schedule for the date) - come to the pool by 11:45. Pizza lunch will be available for purchase.
Alumni Day:
LF alumni will be invited to join us for Alumni Day. Lunch will be available for purchase (alumni eat for free!)
Beach Trip:
We hire a bus to take parents and swimmers to Rehoboth for the day. Look for an announcement in late June about how to sign up for the trip. Kids must be accompanied by chaperones (who must be at least 15) unless they are 13 or older.
Team Banquet:
This is the end-of-season dinner, including a slide show and presentation of trophies - all swimmers (including developmental) get trophies with their names on them. All team members and their families are invited. Sign ups and payment is due a few days before the banquet.
Pep Rallies:
Fridays, 6 pm before each A meet, for ALL swimmers (including developmental). The coaches usually post a theme for the pep rally on the team bulletin board a couple of days before the pep rally, so look for that so you can come dressed for the theme.
Team breakfast:
This is a free breakfast cooked at the pool and served after a morning practice. We will post the date a few days before the event.
Supervision
The pool has a requirement that no child under 10 may be at the pool without a supervising adult present, unless the child is at least 7 and has passed the tadpole test and has signed parental permission on file at the pool. This requirement also applies when children are at swim team practice or a meet or any other team event. If the pool closes unexpectedly for any reason, practice will end abruptly and the coaches or pool staff are not responsible for supervising the swimmers or waiting for them to be picked up. During practices, the coaches and lifeguarding staff are responsible for supervising the safety of children while in the water, but are not responsible for supervising children who are not in the water - if a child wanders away from practice, the staff may not know where the child is, and has no responsibility to supervise that child.
Transportation
You are responsible for driving your child to the away meets, or finding transportation. Often but not always there are enough other people willing to drive if you can't - but you must make these arrangements in advance and decide who you want your child to drive with. The pool takes no responsibility for the safety of the transportation.
Meets can often end early due to weather or pool breakdowns. Please make sure that you have arranged for someone to be responsible for your child at meets if you are not there, so that they are not stranded at the meet.
Noise and parking restrictions
The pool is located very close to many neighborhood homes, and it is necessary that we make every effort to keep the noise within reasonable limits. Please do not bring any noisemakers to the pool grounds, such as megaphones, drums, boom-boxes, or pots and pans. Please do not honk horns or cheer on the way to the pool before meets. For Saturday morning meets, there is no cheering at the pool prior to 9 AM, and any conversations or activities should be kept as quiet as possible prior to 9 AM. B meets end by 9 PM and there should be no cheering after that time.
The pool's parking policies are in force during all times, including practices. In addition, there are special restrictions for meets:
For meets, you must either walk to the meet or park in the Westbrook parking lot. The pool parking lot is reserved for the visiting team, and you may not park in the pool parking lot (if you are transporting team equipment or have physical limitations, please tell us and we will get you a parking pass for the lot). Only if the Westbrook parking lot is full, you may park on the neighborhood streets except for Little Falls Drive, Baltimore, Glen Cove, or Allan Terrace.
FAQ: the streets are public, why can't I park there? You can park there, as long as you are not using the pool. The pool's special exemption with the county requires this parking policy. If you do not comply with it, you will be subject to loss of pool privileges.
Volunteers
The team needs many volunteers to operate. We generally expect one parent to be willing to work at most meets where their child is swimming - helping at the concession stand, writing ribbons, or timing. We also need people who are willing to be trained officials - stroke and turn judges, starters, head timers, and referees. If you are willing to take a training course (3 hours), please tell us at the beginning of the season, and we will tell you the dates of the training courses, or you can look them up on the MCSL web site www.mcsl.org
Please tell us what sorts of things you would be willing to do - we can always use volunteers to help with concessions, pep rallies, the alumni lunch, the team breakfast, the banquet, the beach trip, etc. etc. Without volunteer help, these events will not happen.
Team facts
The team name is the Penguins, and the mascot is Opus. The team color is purple, paired with either black or white.
Meet information
General information
'A' meets are on Saturday mornings. 'B' meets are on Wednesday evenings. There is no 'A' and 'B' team - many swimmers swim at both A and B meets. Swimmers compete against other swimmers in their age group, based on their age as of June 1. The age groups are 8 and under, 9-10, 11-12, 13-14, and 15-18.
Ribbons:
For 'A' meets, ribbons are given to any swimmer who scores points - which is the first 5 places in the individual events.
For 'B' meets, ribbons are given to all participants. Ribbons will say the place for the 1st through 6th place swimmer, and the other ribbons will say 'participant'.
Times are written on the back of the ribbon. No times are given for a race in which the swimmer disqualified.
Ribbons may be picked up at the pool, usually kept in a box or folder on the pool side of the office.
Kids who do not want to swim in meets: There are some kids, especially young or newer swimmers, who do not want to participate in any meets. This is fine. The coaches will encourage swimmers to try a meet when they are ready for it. Usually, for developmental team members, this happens for the last couple of 'B' meets. If you believe that your child will feel pressured by the coaches encouraging them to try a meet, then talk to the coaches to make them aware of it.
Expectations at all meets: Swimmers should remain in the team area during the meet. If a swimmer needs to leave the team area for any reason, the swimmer should inform one of the coaches before leaving. We do not want any swimmers to miss the check-in time for their event, or cause the coaches to have to hunt them down.
Parents, siblings, relatives, friends, etc. are all encouraged to watch the meets. Cheering is welcome, but spectators need to be careful to be quiet once 'Quiet for the start' is announced so that swimmers can hear the starting equipment. Parents who are helping with officiating, such as timers, are not supposed to cheer - this is according to league rules, so that all officials can concentrate on officiating in a neutral manner.
The deck area around the pool and at the ends of the pool needs to be left clear for officials working the meet. Please do not stand at the end of the lanes to cheer or film your swimmer, or allow younger siblings to run up and down the side of the pool, since officials need a clean line of sight along the pool sides and pool ends to fairly judge the meet.
Please do not use flash photography during the meet, since the flash may be confused with the flash of the starting equipment. Cell phone ringers must be turned off, because again they may be confused with the sound of the starting equipment.
Rules and disqualifications: There are four different strokes: freestyle, backstroke, breaststroke, and butterfly. Freestyle is the easiest to master, and most swimmers do not disqualify in freestyle races unless they start too early or pull themselves along the lane ropes or walk along the bottom. The other three strokes are more difficult, and younger or less experienced swimmers frequently disqualify. Please help your younger swimmer understand that strokes other than freestyle are difficult to master, and that disqualifying is frequent at first. The standards for disqualification are the same at 'B' meets as 'A' meets (this is not always true in practice, since 'B' meets are sometimes staffed with officials who are newer and do not see all of the disqualifications, or some teams we swim do not provide enough officials to check disqualifications at 'B' meets, or 'B' meets run late and it is hard to see in the dark). It can seem harsh to some people that the disqualification standards are the same at 'B' meets as at 'A' meets, but it is necessary because we do not want kids getting good times at 'B' meets because of doing the stroke illegally, and then get entered into an 'A' meet and promptly get disqualified there, which costs the team points. Meanwhile they may have displaced another kid from being entered into the 'A' meet, whose time might be slower but they were doing the stroke legally.
MCSL rules are used at all 'A' meets, and are the basis for determining whether or not the strokes are swum correctly. The rules are generally similar to USA Swimming rules, with a few exceptions. The MCSL handbook lists all the rules. The handbook may be read on the MCSL web site at www.mcsl.org, and there may be some copies available at the pool. MCSL highly recommends that the same rules be used at 'B' meets, but the implementation is up to the teams running the 'B' meets.
The MCSL handbook also details how meets are scored. At 'A' meets, the fastest five swimmers in the event earn scores of 6,4,3,2,1 respectively - so that having the second and third best swimmers is worth more than having the best swimmer. Relay events are worth more points.
'A meets'
The 'A' meets are against other teams in our division. We are put in a division with five other teams that had approximately the same strength swimmers as we did in the previous year. Team scores are kept at 'A' meets.
How to indicate you are available for an 'A' meet: Any swimmer who wants to be considered for each week's 'A' meet must indicate that they are available for the meet either by:
1. Circling availability on the posted list at the pool. We will post a signup list, with all the swimmers listed by name, one week before each 'A' meet, on the team bulletin board at the pool.
or
2. e-mailing 'team@littlefallspenguins.com' indicating availability for the next meet.
The deadline for signing the posted list at the pool or e-mailing is the end of the Tuesday before the meet. A new signup or e-mail must be made each week.
If you haven't signed up for that week, you will not get to swim in the 'A' meet that week. Please note that telling a coach or a team rep that you want to swim is not enough - there are far too many kids to keep track of verbally.
How coaches select which swimmers to enter in an 'A' meet: The decision regarding which swimmers to enter at each 'A' meet is solely the decision of the coaches. The primary factor the coach considers is the best time achieved season-to-date at either an A meet, B meet, or Time Trials (the coach will have available the times from all the meets, including the 'B' meet immediately preceding the upcoming 'A' meet). Usually the coach decides on who to swim based on these top times. But the coach may also take into account any other factors that he believes are relevant. Examples of such other factors include: 1) the coach may decide to limit the number of races in which a swimmer is entered if a swimmer does well when swimming in a couple of races but does not perform as well when in more races; 2) the coach may decide not to use a swimmer in a stroke where he believes the swimmer is likely to disqualify based on his observation of the swimmer's stroke; or 3) the coach may choose not to swim a child who has refused to practice when available, or otherwise has caused problems for the team or does not appear interested in contributing to team efforts.
The swimmers in 'A' meets will vary week to week, depending on the above factors and which swimmers are available that week. Many people do not indicate that their child is available for an 'A' meet because they think the chances are low that they would be selected - but sometimes many faster swimmers are out of town on a given date, and there would have been a slot for the swimmer if it was known that they were available (the coaches sometimes make some calls to find other available people if there are not enough swimmers available, but don't count on this because time is very limited when the coaches are doing the scheduling).
The coach evaluates the best strategy for maximizing the points scored by the team. The coach must decide which events to enter the swimmer in (a maximum of three of the four strokes and five events overall), and if there are not enough swimmers in an age group, which younger swimmers to 'swim up' in age. Swimmers are expected to be willing to swim all of the events that they are entered in, and to willingly 'swim up' when needed.
There is a freestyle relay at the end of each A meet, with an 'A' and a 'B' relay. The swimmers for this relay are not selected in advance of the meet. The Little Falls practice is to use the swimmers with the fastest freestyle times swum that day in the 'A' relay, and the second-fastest in the 'B' relay. There are two exceptions: sometimes a fast swimmer will not be entered into freestyle at the meet (because they were entered into all the other strokes), and if they are clearly the fastest freestyler even though they did not swim the event that day, then they will still be used in the freestyle relay. The second exception is that sometimes the coaches balance the fast swimmers between the 'A' and the 'B' relay if they believe that they could get both 1st and 2nd place with that strategy.
Checking to see if you are scheduled to swim: If you have signed up that you are available for an 'A' meet, then you MUST check the list of who is entered to swim on Friday (the list will be posted at the pool, and hopefully will also be posted on the team web site) to see if you have been scheduled to swim. You will not be given a call telling you that you are scheduled. Failure to show up for an 'A' meet when you have been scheduled to swim may mean that you will not be scheduled to swim the following 'A' meet.
Checking in for 'A' meets:
'A' meets at home: Swimmers should be at the pool by 8 AM ready to warm up. All swimmers are expected to warm up with the team.
'A' meets away: Swimmers should check in with the coaches at the Little Falls parking lot at a time to be named by the coaches before the meet (it will also be posted on the swim team bulletin board, and will be announced at the Friday evening pep rally). Generally, the meeting time in the parking lot is 7:45 AM unless the away pool is very close or very far away. Swimmers must check in with the coaches at the Little Falls parking lot - do not go directly to the away pool!
A swimmer who does not check in on time for an 'A' meet risks getting scratched from the meet if we have other swimmers available - we will try to call your house if time permits if you do not show up on time, but we can't guarantee it.
Staying for the full 'A' meet:
'A' meets require a swimmer to be available continuously from the check-in time up to the end time of the meet. Meets generally last until about 12:00, and may last longer if there are weather or other delays.
Swimmers entered into an 'A' meet are expected to stay for the full meet - the coach may want to use the swimmer in the last race of the day, which is a relay event where the swimmers are not scheduled in advance. If a swimmer needs to leave the meet before the relay, please tell the coach before leaving.
Sometimes swimmers have a schedule conflict where they are only available for part of the meet. In this case, the swimmer cannot indicate that they are 'available' for the meet on the sign-up list, but must specifically indicate the hours that they are available. The coach will then decide which events to enter the swimmer in.
Why it is necessary to have strict procedures for A meets: The coaches must turn in an electronic entry list to the opposing team by Friday morning. It takes a lot of effort and strategizing for the coaches to figure out which kids to enter in which events, and then takes a lot of time for the volunteer computer operator to enter the entries in the correct format, and for the coaches, computer operator, team reps, etc. to check that the entries are correct. This is why we MUST know who is available for an 'A' meet by the end of the day on Tuesday preceding the meet to have time to do this.
What if there is an emergency preventing a swimmer from being in the meet? Please tell the coaches as soon as possible. If the coaches know before Friday morning, they will be able to change the entry list before submitting it to the opposing team (but the sooner the better, because it takes time and effort to change the list and rearrange the other swimmers).
If the coaches are told after Friday morning but before the meet on Saturday, there is a limited ability to 'scratch' up to three swimmers and substitute other swimmers. If your kid is problematic (like a pending ear infection), please keep the coaches informed so they can plan accordingly, and perhaps line up another swimmer.
There are generally more swimmers who would like to swim at 'A' meets than there are entry spots. Please understand that it feels terrible to these swimmers to know that there are empty lanes and would have been a spot available for them, but they weren't entered because some other kid said they were available but later changed their plans, or got sick and didn't tell anyone in time. It is also unfair to kids to keep them in suspense about whether or not there is a spot for them, or to tell them at the last minute, because some other kid has been thoughtless in saying they are available when they just wanted to keep their options open about whether or not they would be at the meet.
Lunch after the meets: After Saturday 'A' meets, many swimmers and their families traditionally go to McDonald's on River Road for lunch, and the coaches will usually bring the ribbons there for distribution (or you can get them later at the pool). Sometimes the kids decide to go to Chipotles or some other place instead, so listen for any announcement at the meet.
On Picture Day and Alumni Day, lunch is available for purchase at the pool and the team does not go to McDonalds.
'B meets'
'B' meets are scheduled with other teams that we choose - based on location, past experience, available schedules, and teams that have similar philosophies. 'B' meets are supposed to be run similar to 'A' meets, but are not official meets subject to the MCSL league rules, and therefore may be slightly less formal than 'A' meets. Team scores are not kept at 'B' meets.
All swimmers are eligible for 'B' meets and are encouraged to come to them. Swimmers that have placed in an event (scored points) at the preceding 'A' meet may not swim that same event at the 'B' meet, but can swim other events. The coaches would like to know in advance who will not be coming to the 'B' meets since they make out entry cards manually in advance, but it is not mandatory and there will be no penalty if a swimmer does not show at a 'B' meet.
Checking in for 'B' meets
'B' meets at home: Swimmers should be at the pool by 5 PM ready to warm up
'B' meets away: Swimmers should plan to be at the away pool all ready to warm up by 5:30. They do not need to check in at Little Falls before going to the away pool.
Time Trials
This is just like a regular meet, but it is only for Little Falls swimmers. We encourage all swimmers to swim in this meet. It is great practice for the kids and the officials, and the results of Time Trials determine who is selected for the first 'A' meet. If a swimmer cannot come to Time Trials, the coaches will try to time as many kids as possible on Monday and Tuesday following Time Trials - look for the announcement and sign-up sheet on the team bulletin board. Swimmers who do not get timed on these days will need to come to a 'B' meet to get their first times.
Relay Carnival
This is an all-relay meet, using 4-6 swimmers from each age group. If you are likely to be in the meet, we will contact you a few days before to check if you are available. The final list of who will be entered will not be known until the afternoon before the meet (since any best times swum in the Saturday morning 'A' meet will be factored into the decision about who to swim). It will take the coaches a couple of hours after the Saturday A meet to figure out who to enter, and then you will be called if entered (we will try to find out how to reach you on Sat. afternoon, or tell you to call into the pool to find out). There usually is a practice at about 6:00 on Saturday night to practice the relay starts which is important for all entered swimmers to attend if at all possible - if it is not possible, please tell the coach.
Divisionals
This is the championship meet for the six teams in the division. Fewer swimmers are entered than in an 'A' meet, as each team may enter only two swimmers per event, rather than the usual three in 'A' meets. Divisionals starts an hour earlier than an 'A' meet.
We have to submit the entry list a week in advance. For any swimmers who are likely to be entered in Divisionals, we will contact you in advance to see if you are available. The coaches use the same procedures for selecting swimmers for Divisionals as is explained above for 'A' meets, using primarily the fastest times swum in any A or B meet. Note that the times listed in the meet program for entered swimmers are only A meet times, due to league rules. So if you are looking at the entry lists and see times or swimmers that are different from what you expect, this is probably because only A meet times are listed there, but the swimmers have been selected based on both A and B meet times.
Divisionals is a long but fun meet, with the coaches from our team and usually other teams in various theme costumes. Many kids enjoy coming to Divisionals even if they are not swimming in the meet.
If you are going to be out of town in the week or two before Relay Carnival or Divisionals but would be back in time to swim, please tell us so we know how to contact you. If we do not know that you are available and cannot readily contact you, you will not be entered - so please keep us informed.
Long Course and All Stars
These meets are for the top swimmers in the county, or the winners of the divisional relay carnival. If you qualify for these meets, the coaches will let you know. You can track your chances by looking at the top times report for the entire league on the MCSL web site.
The Long Course meet is held in the middle of the season, and the races are twice as long as the standard races. Swimmers with the top times in the county are invited to this meet.
All Star meets are held at the end of the season, a week after the Divisional meet. Qualification for Individual All Stars is based on a swimmer attaining the 'all star nominating times' that are established by MCSL. MCSL then takes the top swimmers (16 plus alternates) of those who have qualified. Attaining an 'All Star' time at any point is an impressive achievement, but does not necessarily mean that the time will be fast enough to make it into the All Star meet.
The Relay All Star meet entries are the teams that have won a relay at the division's Relay Carnival (or, for the Open Medley or Graduated Free, the best time swum in the division during the season). A team is allowed to use any swimmers it wants at Relay All Stars, not just the swimmers that won the relay that got them into All Stars. However, the Little Falls practice is to use the same swimmers that swam the original relay, unless they are not available or there is some other unusual circumstance.
We encourage team members to come as spectators to Long Course and All Stars, both to support our swimmers in those meets and for the excitement of seeing the best swimmers in the county
Trophies and awards
All team members are presented with a trophy engraved with their name at the team banquet. If you are not at the team banquet, please ask the guards to open the swim team office and look for your trophy there.
There are 'high-point' trophies given to the swimmer in each age group who scores the most points at A meets (not including Divisionals or relays).
There are four special awards. The recipients of these awards are determined by the coaches. 'Most Improved' goes to a swimmer who, in the coaches' opinion, has put forth a lot of effort which resulted in significant gains in ability, usually compared to performance in previous seasons. The coaches look at times in this season and the previous season, but do not apply any specific formula or quantitative method in determining the most improved swimmer. 'Dedication' award goes to a swimmer for dedication to improving themselves and, more importantly, dedicating efforts to support the team and other team members. 'Coaches' Award' is in memory of Tom Denney, a long-time parent volunteer who represented the best in sportsmanship and support for teams - so this award goes to someone who serves as a role-model for others on the team. 'Swimmer of the Year' goes to someone who is a very good swimmer (but not necessarily the best) who also demonstrates commitment to the team, and like the 'Coaches' Award', is a good role-model for others on the team.
Dive Team
The club also has a dive team. The dive team is run separately from the swim team, but practice times are coordinated so that it is possible to be on both the swim and the dive team. Dive team members are part of all swim team social activities such as the pep rallies, team breakfast, beach trip, and banquet.