Who is swim team for?

Swimmers MUST be willing to put their face in the water and have basic swim skills.  Swimmers must be between the ages of 5-18.  Exceptions may be made for swimmers who are approaching their fifth birthday.  If you are unsure if your child is ready for swim team, please reach out to us and we will be happy to provide guidance!

Does my swimmer need to know all four swimming strokes?

No. Your swimmer only needs to have the stamina to swim 25 meters. Our practice program is designed to acquaint and teach young swimmers proper strokes and introduce the training required for today's competitive swimming. Emphasis is placed on learning the proper stroke, start and turn techniques as well as the improvement of each swimmer’s "personal best" time in each event.

Do I have to be a member of the pool?

As much as we would love to accept everyone, it is a GRAL rule that all swimmers must be members of their pool to participate in a GRAL swim team.  Please visit mechanicsvillepool.com for information on how to become a member!  We have the lowest annual membership fee and would love to have you join our pool!  

We can't make all the practices, is this ok?

Absolutely!  Summer is a great time to take family vacations and things come up!  Try to come to as many practices as you can.  The more practices you come to, the better!  

We can't be at a meet.  What do I need to do?

Please let our parent representatives know ahead of time if you will miss a meet (or two) as soon as you know for sure.  This way, we will not enter your swimmer into events or relays for the meet(s) you will miss.

Is it mandatory that we volunteer?

Yes!  The MRA Swim Team and GRAL are parent run organizations, and it truly takes a village. It would not be possible to run a meet without our parent volunteers. In order for your swimmer(s) to participate, parents must volunteer for at least one half of each meet their swimmer is competing in.  Parents of multiple swimmers are encouraged to volunteer for more than one half of each meet if possible, and may be required if necessary!  

How many events does a swimmer swim?
Swimmers may swim in up to 3 individual events and 1 relay per meet.  You may find your swimmer in fewer events, depending on the coach's observations and your swimmer's readiness. This is because there are not always enough swimmers to swim the relays and/or they are not yet able to legally swim certain strokes.

What is the order of the Medley Relay?
(1) Backstroke (2) Breaststroke (3) Butterfly (4) Freestyle

When do swimmers receive ribbons from meets?
Ribbons will be stored in the swimmer folder. Ribbons are distributed at Saturday morning donuts and ribbons practice after the meet. Parent reps have access to ribbons at other practices if needed.

What is the Swimtopia App?

Swimtopia App is a paid app for your phone and provides real-time meet results and standings from anywhere, at any time. You can flag your swimmer/s as “favorites” and then easily filter down to see both completed results and upcoming schedule. This app is NOT mandatory but the results are faster than what our computer volunteers can print and post!    

What should I bring to a meet?

Your swimmer, lawn chairs, sun block, food and drinks, a hat and/or sunglasses, rain gear if needed, some money if purchasing concessions, and a Sharpie to mark your swimmer(s) events on their hands.

What should a swimmer bring to a meet?

A swimsuit, cap, goggles, towels (usually more than one), sun block, rain gear if needed, a hat and/or sunglasses, food and extra drinks, a Sharpie to mark your swimmer(s) events on their hands, and some money if purchasing concessions.

What is a heat sheet?

This is a program of events listing swimmer’s events, heats and lane assignments.  Heat sheets can be found on the SwimTopia app!  

What is an event?

It is the age group, distance and swim stroke.

What is a heat?

It is the placement in the event that a swimmer is assigned. This is usually assigned based on a swimmer's time. This allows the swimmers to compete against swimmers of comparable skill levels, when there are more swimmers than lanes in the pool.

What is the clerk of course?

This is a meeting spot for the swimmers in a designated area prior to their event/heat of competition. This helps our swimmers avoid missed swims.

How is a meet scored?

During the meet points are awarded to the top six finishers. Relay points are awarded to the top three relay teams.  These points are tallied for a final team score.

What is a DQ?

It is a disqualification. Swimmers disqualify themselves when they are not swimming a stroke according to the stroke rules. This is not something bad, it is a way to help swimmers improve.  If you have a question about a DQ, feel free to reach out to the parent representative.  Please do not approach a coach or official at a meet regarding a disqualification.    

Does my child have to dive off the blocks?

No!  Swimmers will undergo a dive certification at practice for safety, and can chose to do an in-water start or a dive from edge of pool (next to the diving block) if more comfortable.  

What length does my child swim in a meet?

The 8 and under and 10 and under swimmers swim one length (25 meters). All other age group swimmers swim 2 lengths (50 meters) or 4 lengths (100 meters).

What is a flip turn?

It is a type of turn performed at the end of the first length of a multi-length event.  Although flip turns can improve a swimmer's time in the event, they are not required.

I'm a new swimmer. What are some of those terms you're using?

Freestyle:  A freestyle race is a race in which contestants may use any stroke to complete the distance. 

Interval: a specific time period in which you must swim a specified distance. A set of ten 50 meter swims on a 1:30 (one minute and thirty second) interval means that you must complete each swim in less than 1:30. If you complete your 50 meters in 50 seconds, then you have forty seconds to rest before your next swim. Most people feel that if you are going to gain the greatest physical benefit from swimming, you have to incorporate intervals into your workout.

Kickboard: a flat rectangular piece of Styrofoam used to isolate leg muscles in kick sets.

Lap: a lap is either one or two lengths of the pool. Whether it is commonly used to designate one or two lengths can vary from area to area and even pool to pool. It's usually easier to describe a distance in yards/meters or in number of lengths.

Set: a number of repeated swims at specified distances with a stated rest interval between each swim.

What about weather delays?

To stay up to date on weather closings and delays for practices or meets, make sure you have signed up for our Swimtopia alerts.  We will swim in the rain, but thunder/lightning will clear the deck for 30/45 minutes.  If this happens, please stay in your car until the meet or practice is able to resume.  

Confused about times?

The swimmer’s times at time trials might be in a 25 yard pool. Most indoor pools are 25 yards and most outdoor pools are 25 meters - which is a bit longer than 25 yards. The first time your swimmer competes in a meet outdoors, it may seem that he/she is adding time. This may not be the case. A good rule of thumb is to add 2 seconds to the 25 yard time to get the meter time.

Sportsmanship

No team personnel/competitor/spectator shall act in an unsportsmanlike manner. This includes any act the referee deems unsportsmanlike, including, but not limited to the following:

• Making insulting or derogatory remarks, gestures, or acts

• Trying to influence or showing disgust with Official’s decisions

• Interfering with meet Officials in the performance of their duties

• Interfering with meet Participants