About the PineBrookWood ORCAs Swim Team
representing the neighborhoods of Pinebrook and Brookwood

Our Team Handbook
This handbook will provide you with information about the ORCA swim team and how it operates. Please read it carefully, so your 2007 summer swim season will be a healthy and enjoyable time for the whole family. If you have any questions, ideas or suggestions please call any board member listed on page 4. See www.pinebrookwoodorcas.org/contacts.html website.

ORCA History
The PineBrookwood ORCA swim team is in its 11^th season. Pinebrook and Brookwood residents organized the team in 1996. The ORCA’s are a member of the Clear Creek Swimming League (CCSL).

Clear Creek SwimLeague Handbook
League rules, stroke rules, league records and the order of events at a meet are available in the 2007 CCSL handbook. Review copies are on hand at each practice location, from board members, and at swim meets. The CCSL handbook can be found on the Clear Creek Swim League Website: http://www.ccslswim.org/

Team Goal
Our goal is to provide our neighborhoods youth (18 and under) a high quality summer swim program, where our swimmers can improve their aquatic skills, promote teamwork, good sportsmanship, and most of all, have lots of fun.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Download the Registration Form (.pdf) or Registration Form (.doc), attach the fee and return it  to the address listed on the form. 
 

Eligibility Requirements
Swimmer must be between 5 and 18 years old as of May 1, 2006 and must swim the following distances without holding onto the sides of the pool or touching the bottom until the required length is completed:

Age 8 & Under - One stroke, 25 yards;1 minute continuously

Age 9 & Up - Two strokes, 50 yards each; continuously.

If you are unsure about your child’s ability, attend the practices as scheduled. Coaches will determine each swimmer’s ability and decide if a swimmer meets the above requirements. If a swimmer is found ineligible, a refund will be made.

We encourage younger swimmers to take swim instruction classes before joining the ORCA Swim Team.

Late Registration
Swimmers may register after the regular season begins, if space is available in the swimmer’s age group. However, to compete in a meet the swimmer must be registered by the proceeding Monday. To qualify for Novice, Reserve and Championship meets a swimmer must swim in at least two regular season meets.

Refunds
Full refund will be given only if the team requests a swimmer to withdraw because of inability to swim the distances stated in the eligibility requirements.

Partial refund will be given only as outlined below:

• Withdrawal requested before practice begins will be for the full fee, less a $10 administration charge for each swimmer.
• Withdrawal requested within 5 scheduled practice days from the day the swimmer joins would be for the full fee, less a $15 administration charge for each swimmer.

Refunds will be given only as stated here and no refund will be given for withdrawals due to disciplinary problems.

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ABOUT the PineBrookWood ORCAs Practices
 

About Registration

About Practices

About Meets

Meets Procedures

Maps to Meets

Swim Records

ChampTimes

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For information about the practice schedule click here.

Personal Equipment Needs
Required team suits may be purchased from previous swimmers, or new suits may be purchased from the A Gleam Swimwear May 12, 2007. The 2007 suit is the same as the 2006 suit. Watch for further dates and information in the newsletter.

Goggles are strongly recommended. They provide eye protection from pool water and allow swimmers to see well, thereby improving comfort and performance.

ORCA T-Shirts and Swim Caps are recommended for boys and girls. T-shirts are provided as part of the registration fee.  Caps will be available for sale throughout the season.

ORCA Swim Team T-shirts will also be available for parents and siblings. Be sure to get one and show your team spirit! Ask coaches for how to get them.

Pool Safety
Safety is the most important facet of all ORCA related activities. Under no circumstances will horseplay, in-attention to coaches or pool parent’s directions, or any other potentially unsafe behavior be tolerated. The PBW ORCA Swim Team reserves the right to immediately dismiss any swimmer that does not conduct his or her self in a safe, friendly manner.

Please be sure that your swimmer is well protected against sunburn. Practice and most meets are held at outdoor pools. Sunscreen is a must!

Importance of Practice
Swimmers will realize many benefits by attending practice regularly including the following:
- Instruction and coaching in the proper competitive swim stroke techniques
- Opportunity to build physical endurance
- Staying up-to-date on team information (Newsletters & other info are distributed at practice sessions)
- Developing team and neighborhood friendships
Please Note: Much of our practice concentrates on stroke and technique, but we cannot provide individual attention on a daily basis. Practice does not take the place of lessons. We encourage our swimmers to take stroke lessons.

Do’s and Don’ts
All of our activities take place in community pools. Swimmers are expected to follow all community pool safety rules. Failure to do so will jeopardize future use of the pool by the team. Other practice rules are as follows:
- Be on time but no more than 10 min. early
- Prompt pick-up. Coaches are not responsible for children beyond practice hours. Repeated violations of late pickups will result in dismissal from the team.
- Parents escort small children to pool and stay for practice if possible.
- Do not use baby pool during practice or home meets.
Volunteer parent pool monitors will attend all practices. They are expected to control swimmers in and out of the water, and enforce all pool rules.

Need to Speak with a Coach?
If you need to speak to a coach, please try to do so before practice or after practice is over. The coaches are responsible for a large number of swimmers during practice sessions, plus a lot must be accomplished during these sessions. For these reasons, please do not hold conferences with the coaches during a practice session.

For information about the practice schedule click here.

All About Meets

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Regular Season Meets                                            
Each of the five Large Division I Teams participates in five regular season, dual meets. 4 of those meets are against Division I Teams, the other meet is an Interdivision meet against a Division II team.  The 4 Division meets determine the Division champion, the Interdivision meet is for times only. For 8 & under Mini-meets (see Other Meets below) may be scheduled on different dates. Updates and times will be provided in the newsletters.

Intrasquad Meet
Our team intra-squad meet is held prior to the regular meet season in order to help all our swimmers feel comfortable in meet situations, to determine the ability level of our swimmers at the beginning of the season, and to provide our volunteers the opportunity to learn their jobs. Times for the meet are NOT SANCTIONED by CCSL.

Championship Meet Series
Every season, the CCSL conducts a series of season ending meets. This meet series consist of a novice meet, a reserve meet, and a champ meet. Swimmers may be eligible to swim in one or all of these meets, based on performance. Participation in these meets will require a small fee, paid by parents at the meet. Also, parents of participating swimmers will be required to help operate the meets.

Other Meets
In addition to regular season meets, we may participate in mini-meets held on weeknights. These meets may count as part of regular dual meets and are designed to aid younger swimmers in preparing for the “big meets.” These meets may include multiple teams as well as funny themes (i.e.“Wacky Relays”). The goal of these meets is to foster team spirit, good sportsmanship, cooperation, and to have lots of fun.

Time Trials (10&under only)
Time Trials will be held in mid-May at practice for age 10 & under swimmers only. The coaches will use this information to schedule individual and relay events for the first meets.

Events
Swimmers compete against other swimmers of the same sex in the same age group. The five age groups are 6 & under, 8 & under, 9 & 10, 11 & 12, 13 & 14, and 15 to 18. Swimmers will compete based on their age as of May 1, 2005.
A regular season meet consists of seven types of events. There are five individual events: Freestyle, Backstroke, Butterfly, Breaststroke, and Individual Medley (consists of all 4 strokes). The other two events are relays: Medley and Freestyle. There are a total of 80 events in a regular season meet.
Each age group competes in each event, except 6 & under swimmers do not swim Breast, Butterfly or Individual Medley events. 8 & under swimmers do not swim the Individual Medley.

Entries
Swimmers 14 and under may swim of total of 4 events. Swimmers 15 and up may swim a total of 5 events. Swimmers 14 and under are limited to a maximum of 3 individual events while swimmers 15 and up may swim 4 individual events. Coaches make the decision as to which events a swimmer will swim at each meet.

Heats and Scoring
Most events consist of more than one heat. In these cases, the scoring heat (the only heat recorded as the official score for that event) is always swum last.

Ribbons 
Ribbons are awarded to all swimmers in all heats, except when disqualified. The event and official time will be recorded on the back of the ribbon. Ribbons will be distributed at Monday’s practice.

*Ribbons from the previous meet will be placed in the family folders the following week.

Disqualification (DQ’s)
Swimmers may be disqualified during a race for either starting improperly or executing a stroke illegally. A disqualified swimmer will not score points. Only the starter, stroke and turn judges, or referee may disqualify swimmers according to published United States Swimming Association rules. Please remember these people have received CCSL training and, most importantly, are volunteers.

Times and Records 
Swimmers should realize that they are competing against the clock as well as other swimmers in the pool. Swimmers should set a goal to better his or her time from one meet to the next.

Official times - Swimmers establish official times for each event they compete in. These times are used to determine eligibility to swim in a Championship Meet. A novice time is achieved when a swimmer’s “best time” for a stroke is slower than the reserve cut-off time. A reserve time is achieved when a swimmer’s “best time” for a stroke is equal to the reserve cut-off time and less than the champ cut-off time. A champ time is achieved when a swimmer’s “best time” for a stroke is faster than the champ cut-off time. The reserve and champ cut-off times for each age group can be found in the CCSL Handbook.

It is important to learn to read the cut-off timetable. Keeping a personal swim record for your swimmer can help in goal setting and tracking individual progress. You are encouraged to use the personal swim record forms on page 18 of this handbook. It’s fun to track each swimmer’s progress and to encourage them to set and work toward reaching their goals.
Note: Time standards are listed in both yards with a conversion to meters. The ORCA pools are 25 yards in length. Other pools may be 25 meters in length.

Swim Meet Procedures 

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Entry Procedure
At each meet there will be signup sheets for the next meet. If you are not at the meet, you must let Coach Chris know via email (headcoach@pinebrookwoodorcas.org) which events you would like to swim no later than noon on Monday. The Head Coach has the final authority on assigning swimmers to events and relay teams.

Absences
If a swimmer is going to miss a meet, the Head Coach must be notified, in writing or by phone, no later than the Tuesday practice before a meet. If a swimmer misses a meet, after being entered, for any reason other than sudden illness or a family emergency, he or she may not be entered in the next meet. Swimmers entered in meets, which do not show up, deprive other swimmers of a chance to swim in those events. They also create extra work on Saturday mornings, because substitutions must be arranged before the meet can begin.

Coach Chris Woodard

Weather
Rain or shine, the meet will go on. Rarely is a meet postponed because of weather. All swimmers should come to the meet unless advised not to by the ORCA head coach or phone tree. Remember bad weather delays or postponements are in the interest of the swimmer and spectator’s safety.

Transportation
Each family is responsible for providing transportation for their swimmer(s) to the meets. Parents or responsible adult should accompany and remain with their swimmer(s) at all meets.

Stay with the Team
During the meets, swimmers should sit with their team in the ORCA tent area.

An event will start on schedule whether or not all swimmers are present when the event begins. Coaches and Tent Parents will notify the swimmers when it is time to go to the ready area for an event; however, swimmers are responsible for reporting on time.
Remember, your team may lose points if you miss your event,
so Don’t Be Late!

Need to Leave Early?
Swimmers should not leave a meet before it is over. Swimmers leaving before completing their events may cause the team to lose points and/or a relay team to be scratched, denying three other swimmers a chance to compete. Even if swimmers have completed all their events, they may be needed for a last minute substitution, particularly for relays late in the meet. If you need to leave early you must check out with the Clerk of Course personally.

Remember We are a team!

All swimmers should notify the Head Coach if they need to leave before a meet is over. If you need to leave early you must also check out with the Clerk of Course personally. Swimmers who leave a meet before swimming all of their events (including relays) without permission of the Head Coach and Clerk of Course will not be entered in the next meet.

Questions or Complaints?
During a swim meet, any questions or complaints about actions of the officials or the opposing team must be directed to the ORCA Team Representatives, Gil Mays, who will relay the question or complaint to the referee. CCSL rules prohibit parents, coaches or swimmers from approaching judges or the referee directly.

College Scholarship
CCSL provides up to a $1000 scholarship to graduating seniors (one boy and one girl) who has swum in the CCSL for 3 years (senior year mandatory). Nominees are submitted from each team and a drawing and the winners randomly drawn from the nominees from across the CCSL. See the CCSL Handbook for more information.