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PRESIDENT

The role of this position is to oversee the organization and the operations of the parent committee. There are no special requirements for this position other then a 6 to 8 month commitment (beginning in February and ending in August) to be available to make sure everything is running smoothly. This position also oversees the directors and representatives listed above helping them organize their roles.

GKAISA Team Representative

This representative serves as the Stingray’s interface to GKAISA. In this role, the representative attends GKAISA meetings (usually 3 or 4 per season including one during the fall), may be elected to the GKAISA board, and may participate in changes to the structure and rules of GKAISA. This Directors goal is to keep the Swim Team in good standing with the league and to eliminate the penalty of late fees assessed to the team.

SHA Representative

This representative is reserved for a parent who is a Sugarwood resident and has a swimmer on the Stingrays. In this role, the representative acts as our interface to the Sugarwood Homeowners Association (SHA). This person will attend SHA meetings when there are issues the SHA needs to discuss pertaining to the Stingrays such as pool agreement, insurance, practice schedules, meet dates and other important dates where the Stingrays need access to the Sugarwood pool.

Meet Director(s)

The Director’s role is responsible for running the Stingrays Home and Away meets by having all volunteers needed to run the meet and be available throughout the meet to resolve any issues that may arise. This Director will also be required to be at registration to assist parents in signing up for jobs pertaining to the meets and to answer any parent questions regarding job descriptions.

Coaches Director

The Director’s role is responsible for coordinating the search for a Head Coach each year if necessary. The Director also communicates the Board of Directors directives to the Head Coach & any Coaches needs to the Board of Directors before & during the season.

Insurance Director

The Director’s role is responsible for coordinating and obtaining the appropriate insurance for the organization for the summer swim season in accordance with SHA.

VICE PRESIDENT

This role of this position is to act as a back up for the president. It is a mentoring role in hopes that in the future, the vice president will become the president. This position also oversees the directors listed above and helps these directors organize their roles.

Pool Setup/Takedown Director

This Director’s role is to lead a team of parent committee volunteers and swimmers (10 minimum) to setup and takedown the pool deck area. This would include (but not be limited to) lane lines, starting blocks, tables, chairs, barricades, and other necessary setup needs for running home swim meets. This Director also leads a team of parent committee volunteers and swimmers to takedown the pool deck area after a home swim meet by satisfying the SHA requirements for normal pool operations.

Parking Director

This Director’s role is to lead a team of parent committee (4min.) to organize and direct all parking for home meets in grass areas. This role also requires prior setup of cones and other necessary means to give direction to all vehicles at Home swim meets.

Portable Equipment Director

This Director’s role is to schedule portable lights needed at home meets. This director is also responsible for setting up the pool deck equipment including but not limited to portable starter, sound system, and other related portable equipment necessary for running home meets.

Swim Software Director

This Director’s role is to learn and maintain the Team Manager software for the team. This role also includes the training of coaches and anyone needing to utilize the software.

Website Director

This Director’s role is responsible for maintaining the Stingrays Website and updating the website with any current announcement or information that may need to be posted during the swim season.

SECRETARY

This role is responsible for keeping the minutes of Board of Director meetings and parent committee meetings, overseeing the directors listed above, and helping these directors organize their roles. The secretary will also be in charge of the collection and mailing of a GKAISA forms such as the GKAISA waiver and entry forms. This position also oversees the directors listed above and helps these directors organize their roles.

Registration Director

This Director’s role is to create and distribute registration packets for the upcoming swim season at the registration dates established for that year. This director will assist parents in registering their children, signing up for parent volunteer positions and collecting all necessary forms, waivers, insurance and fees at registration.

Job Descriptions Director

This Director’s role is to create and distribute to the Meet Director descriptions of all jobs necessary for away and home meets. These job descriptions are to inform the parents fulfilling that job of their responsibilities and whom they are to contact with questions.

Email Distribution Director

This Director’s role is to create and maintain the most current e-mail distribution list for all parents, coaches, and swimmers so that the team can be notified and informed effectively during the swim season. This director will be responsible for the mass distribution of any electronic information needing to be distributed to the team.

Tent Rental Director

This Director’s role is to coordinate the rental, setup, and takedown of all tents necessary at home swim meets, away swim meets, the Smokey Mountain Invitational swim meet, and the GKAISA City Meet

TREASURER

This role is responsible for collecting and depositing registration fees, fundraising money, and concessions money, etc. They are also responsible for issuing checks for anything pertaining to the swim team such as GKAISA fees, tent rentals, ribbons, etc. This position is required to keep accurate records of deposits and expenses so that at the end of the year a report can be given for Tax purposes. This position also oversees the directors listed above and helps these directors organize their roles.

Ribbons Director

This Director’s role is to lead a team of volunteers (3 min.) to obtain, print and stick labels on ribbons awarded at home meets. This director will also be responsible for distributing the ribbons to the Sugarwood Stingray swimmers and making arrangements to distribute the awarded ribbons for the visiting swim team. This Director will also research and negotiate the purchase of the swim teams award ribbons for the current year. The swim team is responsible for providing enough ribbons for all event heats of the current years home meets including the visiting swim team ribbons. The meet director typically calculates the number of ribbons once the swim schedule and the away team size is known. The order for the ribbons should be placed by May 1 of the swim year.

Entry Fees Director

This Directors role is to research deadlines and submit all fees for the swim team to participate in the Smokey Mountain Meet, and City Meet. This Directors goal is to keep the Swim Team in good standing with the league and to eliminate the penalty of late fees assessed to the team.

Fundraising Director

This Directors role is to research and organize any opportunities to raise additional funds to aid in the support of the swim team. The parent committee must approve any fund raising opportunities prior to the marketing of such fundraiser.

Apparel Director

This Director’s role is to research and negotiate the purchase of the swim teams apparel. Typically this will be T-shirts, swim caps, hats, shirts, shorts, jackets and other appropriate apparel. This role will also be responsible for managing the stock of apparel from previous years and the marketing of apparel to the team.

T-shirt Design Director

This Director’s role is to design and order the annual swim team T-shirt. The design must be completed one week prior to Memorial Day to allow enough time for approval by the parent committee and ordering from the chosen T-shirt Company. The team T-shirts must be ready for distribution one week prior to the first meet.

DIRECTOR (5^th Board of Director)

This role is responsible for temporarily assisting the President, Vice President, Secretary, and Treasurer during the year if any of the Board of Directors cannot fulfill their responsibilities. This position also oversees the directors listed above and helps these directors organize their roles.

Concessions Director

This Director’s role is to organize the food and drinks that are sold at our home meets, which is a major fundraiser for the team. The Director is required to form a sub-committee of helpers to, setup stand, prepare & serve refreshments, and cleanup stand, for each home meet. This role is also responsible for getting proper change needed from the Treasurer before each home meet and returning profit moneys to the treasurer after each home meet. We usually have 3 home meets per season and one intersquad meet.

Swimmers Life Director

This Director’s role is responsible for planning, organizing, and overseeing the swimmers social and team building activities of the swim team. This job requires the person to setup sub-committees of parents to run and plan activities such as:

The Director is not obligated or limited to the above list of past year activities. This Director will work closely with the Head Coach to schedule and plan activities

Parade Director

This Director’s role is coordinating the submission of registration to the Town of Farragut to enter the annual July 4^th parade. This role also includes the organization of vehicles, parents, swimmers, and anything associated with participating in the parade to meet Town of Farragut requirements.

Year End Party Director

This Director’s role is responsible for planning, organizing and overseeing the year end party committee (5 min.). This job requires the person to setup sub-committees of parent to run and plan activities for the YEP, such as games, awards, food, MC, gifts, etc.

ANNUAL CRITICAL PATH

A summary of the activities for running the swim team

In February, the Board of Directors should meet: to discuss the strategy of how the Stingrays will be run. At this time, a coach needs to be selected if the coach from the prior year will not be coaching again. This is also the time leaders of the parent committee are nominated and selected. Planning should include setting a time and place for the coming year’s registration. The Stingrays in the past have held registration sometime in April on the grounds of the Sugarwood pool.

In March, the parent committee should meet (“Spring Meeting”) to continue to select parent committee leaders and plan for the upcoming year swim season.

In March, GKAISA holds its Spring and Scheduling meetings. Coaches and Swim Team GKAISA Representatives from each of the teams attend and schedule the meets for the upcoming season. The Stingrays have typically tried to always schedule home meets on Tuesday evenings.

Once the schedule is set and approved by GKAISA, the ribbon director needs to determine how many ribbons are needed for all home meets. The home team is responsible for supplying enough ribbons for each event and heats per event for the visiting team. The order for the ribbons should be placed by May 1of the swim year.

By the end of March, the registration package needs to be finalized and made available to the swim families via email and the website typically.

In April, the Stingrays typically hold registration. Advertising in the local newspapers the date and time is optional. Copies of the registration package need to be made available for those that did not receive an electronic version and for new families. Swim Meet Volunteer signup sheets need to be available during registration for all Away and Home Swim Meets. It is mandatory that every family that has a swimmer swimming at a scheduled meet volunteer at least one parent for one of the Two shifts of time of Home and Away Swim meets for the various jobs that are required and that the Meet Director organizes. It is also required that every family of a swimmer volunteer at lease one parent for one other position (director) on the parent committee.

In May, the Stingrays are actively recruiting additional swimmers and preparing for the first swim practices. The two weeks prior to Memorial Day the team typically holds 4 evenings or dry land practice. This is broken into two groups, ages 10 and under being the first group and ages 11 and up being the second group. During this time the coaches have the swimmers do exercises and participate in activities for team building. It is a great time for the swimmers to get to know one another and the coaches.

Swim practices typically begin following the last day of school for Knox County. These practices are divided into age groups/experience. These practices typically are Monday thru Saturday in the mornings. Head Coach determines practiceas for each swim year.

Once the Stingrays have practiced for a week or two, typically its time for the first meet. Whether it’s at home or away, there is a lot of preparation needed that requires parental involvement.

In October, the Board of Directors and parent committee should meet (“Fall Meeting”) to discuss the strategy of how the Stingrays will be run for the next year. This is also the time new Board of Directors are nominated and selected for the upcoming year.

“PREPARATION AND PLANNING PREVENT POOR PERFORMANCES”

SWIM MEET PARENT VOLUNTEERS

 

One of the most important ways parents provides support to the team is by working at swim meets. At least one parent is required work each meet in which their child swims. It takes almost 50 parent volunteers for each dual away meet and about 75 parent volunteers for home meets. Our team is also responsible for providing volunteers to work at the City and Smoky meets.

If you have never worked before - Don’t worry! We will show you what to do. If a job you have seen before or you've heard about seems interesting to you and you'd like to know more, here is a brief description of the positions:

**Meet Director: Organizes the meet ahead of time. Recruits workers, gets workers and officials into position, and makes sure meet starts on time.

 

**Meet Referee: Head official during the meet. In charge of timers, stroke-and-turn judges, other judges. Handles disputes and keeps the meet moving. Usually provided by “home” team.

 

**Starter: Starts races and timers, calls false starts.

**Stroke and Turn Judge(2): Calls all infractions of the Stroke and Turn rules.

 

Scorer(2): Enters swimmer names, times, and teams. Keeps a running total of the team points.

 

Computer Input: Inputs data into a computer during the meets in order to keep things organized and to streamline things for the upcoming meets

Head Timer: Will signal starter when all timers are ready; will start watch on each event and serve as the back-up timer.

Timer(3): Times races with stopwatch, completes time sheets.

Scribes(3): Records the finish on a score pad and premature relay leg starts as called by a finish judge.

Runner(2): Collects time cards from the timers, order of finish from the scribes, and DQ slips from the stroke-and-turn judges, takes them to the scorer

Jump Judge(2): Calls jumps on relays at opposite end of the pool from the finish judges

Finish Judge: Calls the order of finish, calls relay jumps at the start end of the pool.

Overcall Judge: Calls the order of finish, if the finish judges do agree.

Clerk of Course: Insures swimmers are lined up behind the fence in an organized fashion and in correct heat sequence. Combines heats if needed prior to the swimmers coming to the blocks. This insures an efficiently run meet.

Ready Bench Marshals(3): Assists Clerk of Course in helping younger swimmers get seated in order of events and heats behind the fence. Brings swimmers through the gate when they are ready to be lined up behind the blocks after the Clerk of Course makes any needed adjustments.

Check-in Parent: All swimmers report to this person on arrival to a meet. This person will attempt to be conspicuous in some way.

Ribbon Director and helpers(3): Attaches computerized sticker to ribbons and places them in the family files. This can occur during, after or in the days to follow the swim meet. It is encouraged to have ribbons ready for distribution by no later than seven days following a swim meet.

 

Concession Sales: Sells food/snacks at home meets. First shift helps with set up and the final shift helps put things away.

 

** Requires Special Training;

During registration a “sign-up” board is the place to sign up for the jobs you would like to work during the swim meets. Please volunteer for these jobs as often as you can. It’s our obligation and it is one of the best ways to get to meet everyone and feel part of the team. If you are interested in training for one of the skilled worker positions, please talk to one of the steering committee members to find out when to attend one of the GKAISA Stroke and Turn clinics prior to the beginning of the season.

SUGARWOOD RULES AND ETIQUETTE

Swimmers

• Be on time.

• Always do your best.

• Treat others the way you would like to be treated – cheer for your teammates,

• During practice, allow others to pass you in your lane

• Respect other swimmers’ personal property.

• Always listen to your coach – be quiet when your coach is talking to you.

• Ask questions if you do not understand.

• Never get out of the pool without permission.

• Eat a good, balanced diet, and get at least 8 hours of sleep per night.

• If you have a problem with a teammate or with the practice, talk to the coach first.

• If something is wrong (e.g., your leg hurts, you have an ear ache) tell the coach before practice.

• If you know in advance that you will not be at practice, let the coach know.

• Do not sit on the lane ropes or run on the pool deck.

 

Parents

• If you have a question, complaint, or suggestion, please bring it to a parent committee member's attention. The web site has email addresses to all steering committee members. The Stingray Directory will also have a listing of who to contact (when the team is in place and the directory is created). Please, do not attempt to discuss it with the coach during practice. The coach's attention must be devoted to the swimmers. If the parent committee member is not available at practice, and you don't think you can wait to contact a member via email or phone, please wait to discuss things with the coach after practice. These same rules also apply during swim meets.

• Please fill out the meet schedule form to indicate which meets your swimmer(s) will participate in. If there are changes, please let the coach know in advance of the meet. When the coach anticipates a swimmer will swim at a meet, along with individual events, a swimmer may also be included in a relay. If the swimmer doesn't show up, the swimmer is letting down three other swimmers as well as the team.

Swim Meets

 

Sugarwood Stingrays Swim Team is part of GKAISA and our meets are competitive. This season, we will swim five dual meets. In addition, we will participate in the City Meet and the Smoky Mountain Invitational.

 

Please read the following information carefully:

•         Please provide us advanced notice in writing when your swimmer will miss a meet. Rearranging a meet line-up is very difficult at the last minute when swimmers do not show. As team rosters for the Smoky Mountain and City Meets have to be submitted weeks in advance and substitutions are not allowed in these meets, it is especially important to let the coach know if your swimmer cannot attend.

•         NEVER leave a meet early without informing the coaches. There may be a last minute change and your swimmer may be needed to swim.

•         Please be on time for all meets and practices. Swimmers should be at the pool at least 30 minutes before a meet is scheduled to begin. This gives swimmers time to set up in the tent area, find out what events they will be swimming and familiarize themselves with the pool during warm-ups. Parents should help their swimmers check-in and then report to the work assignment for which they volunteered. During home meets, as the swimmers check in. Only one heat sheet will be offered per family.

•         Dual meets last from 3-4 hours. The Smoky Mountain and City Meet are daylong events. Daylong events require that the swimmers arrive early (usually before 8 a.m.) for warm-ups.

•         Storm policy. Swimmers will not be allowed to remain in or by the pool during an electrical storm. As soon as officials announce the interruption of the meet, parents should take their swimmer to a safe place. No one may leave the meet until the swimmers are given permission to leave by the coach. (Don't just assume the meet will be called off if the delay seems long, as rescheduling a meet is very difficult).

•         The Smoky Mountain Invitational has a limit on the number of swimmers we can send. Do not assume your swimmer will participate just because he is available. Only 50 swimmers are allowed to go from each team to this meet each day. This is usually not a problem for the older age groups, but it does force some decisions. The coach will notify you if your 10 and under swimmer will be attending.

•         Substitutions are prohibited in Smoky and City Meets. If your swimmer is in a relay at either meet and cannot swim, the entire relay team will be disqualified (DQ). In the City Meet, not only do we forfeit the entry fee for any swimmer who does not show up, but we also pay a penalty fee for each no-show

Pre-Meet Preparations

 

•        .Get a good night’s sleep

• Stay out of the sun prior to a meet

•         Conserve energy by not engaging in other sports

 

What to eat before a swim meet

 

•         Worst Foods: Fatty foods like potato chips, doughnuts, french fries, danishes, and proteins like peanut butter, any meat or fish. All these foods are slow to digest, will be in the stomach for many hours, and will rob muscles of blood in order to digest the food.

•         Best Foods: Pasta, cereals, bagels, breads, fruits, and vegetables. These are out of the stomach in 2 hours. If these foods are eaten more then 3 hours before swimming they can provide energy in time for the race.

•         During the Meet: Bananas, crackers, plain toast (no butter), all in modest amounts. Fruit juices, water or Propel, Powerade, Gatorade or equivalent are necessary throughout the meet. Lack of liquids will affect your performance even before you feel thirsty.

What to Bring to a Swim Meet

•         Patience – meets take time . . .

•         Lawn chairs, umbrellas, sunscreen, sun hats, cooler with beverages

•         Towels or sleeping bags to rest on in the designated team area.

•         Also cards, books and games to help pass the time between events, sunscreen and

goggles. (Sometimes an extra set of goggles are helpful in case yours leak or the

elastic breaks).

•         You might also like to bring money for T-shirts (sold at Smoky Mountain and

City Meets), the heat sheets (at these meets), and snacks.

UNDERSTANDING A SWIM MEET

 

Here are some of the more fundamental rules governing a swim meet. Obviously, it is much more involved than this, but an understanding of how a meet is scored and rules for participation can help you enjoy swim meets.

 

In a dual meet, swimmers can swim in a maximum of 4 events overall (any combination of individual and relay events). Remember, if one swimmer is absent from a relay event, the entire relay may be cancelled. It is very important to let the coach know if you cannot be present to swim at any given meet.

 

Girl’s events are odd numbered, while boys’ events are even numbered.

 

At dual meets, visitors swim in the even lanes while the host team members swim in the odd lanes.

 

 

In individual events at dual meets, only two swimmers per team may score. For example, if three swimmers from Sugarwood finish in the 1^st, 2^nd, and 3^rd place, the 3^rd swimmers would be moved to the 5^th slot, and the opposing team would earn the score for the 3^rd and 4^th places. Similarly, only one relay per team may score per event. Place ribbons are given for ALL finishers in every heat by actual finish order with the time recorded on them.

 

Scoring

Place Individual Relay Ribbon

1^ST Place 5 points 7 points 1^st

2^nd Place 3 points 3 points 2^nd

3^rd Place 2 points 0 points 3^rd

4^th Place 1 points 0 points 4^th

5^th Place 0 points 0 points 5^th

6^th Place 0 points 0 points 6^th

In the large meets (City and Smoky Mountain) there is no limit to the number of individuals or relays in each event from a single team that can score. Ribbons and medals are awarded to the top finishers (i.e., those that “final”). In each individual event the top 6 or 8 finishers (depending on the number of lanes in the pool) and the next tier of finishers swim final and consolation heats to determine final placement. Heat ribbons are usually awarded to the top finishers in each heat.

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