To the Parents

Parents are a vital part of the Quail Valley Swim Team! We drive our children to practice and meets. We're there to cheer them on and support their efforts. Competition at an early age can teach our children good sportsmanship, goal evaluation and the importance of being a responsible member of a team. It is important as parents that we are there to support and encourage our children. It is also important to show our children that we respect the commitment they have made to the team by being part of it ourselves.

With the exception of the coaches, every other job must be filled by a parent volunteer. Over 40 parents are required to run a single swim meet. Most jobs require little or no experience, such as ribbon writing, timing, selling food, parents marshal at relay carnivals, etc. Other jobs, such as referee, starter, and stroke and turn judge require certification. This certification process takes a couple of hours attendance at an MCSL clinic. Once trained, the certification lasts for two years. Please contact your Team Representative for dates and times of certification course. Many members of the team have volunteered at numerous positions and are willing to provide guidance to less experienced members. You are never alone....

Food sales and raffle tickets, at home meets, are our two biggest fundraising activities. Many of the volunteer positions can be done outside of meet and practice times at your convenience. So please- when the call comes to help at a meet, event, or bring a food item for sale, show your children you care about their team as much as they do. To make this team successful, we must all do our part for our kids.

Parent Meetings - The team reps and the coaches may hold an informative parents meeting. The parent meeting will be held poolside or in the community room. This is a great forum to voice concerns, get vital data from coaches, discuss issues with the team, make activity announcements, and to get important feedback. EDIT THIS SECIONThe 2006 annual meeting will be held (TBA)at which we will hold elections for the Parent Board for the 2007 season. It is important for every family to be present at this meeting.

Fundraising - The fees generated from swimmer registration are not enough to support the team financially. Additional funds must be raised to see us through the season. Parent support of the fundraising activities is what keeps registration fees low. Please help support these efforts, and suggest ideas for future fundraisers.

Newsletter - Assuming a volunteer steps up to fill this necessary and important position.....The team newsletter will be published weekly throughout the season. Look for the newsletter on Monday evening in your mailbox.

Website - The Marlins home page is the place to get your Top Times and other valuable information. This site is maintained by Scott Whittaker whittakers@qvmarlins.org. The address for the site is http://www.qvmarlins.org. MSCL has a web site as well - http://www.mcsl.org.

Marlins Listserver - The Marlins have an e-mail istserver hosted by Yahoo Groups. Post a message to the group and all subscribed members will receive a copy. This is s great way to stay informed about team events in near real time. Send your e-mail address to qvadmin@qvmarlins.org to sign up. Your address will only be available to subscribed members of the team.

Team Representatives and Staff

Representative Board
The Representative Board consists of the "A" Representative, the "B" Representative and the Treasurer. The duties of the Representative Board are described in the By-laws section available on the QV Web Page and the last section of this handbook.

Team Representatives
The Team Representatives include Quail Valley parents who volunteer their time to act as liaisons between the swimmers, coaching staff, parents, QV HOA Board, and the MCSL and Montgomery Village B Leagues. Their main responsibility is to coordinate the team activities and meets. The Reps meet with the coaching staff regularly. Questions and concerns that arise should be directed to the Team Representatives.

The Marlins Philosophy
The main goal of the Quail Valley Marlins is for swimmers, coaches, and parents to have fun! The coaches and the Reps would like to stress that swimming is much more than improving times and winning ribbons - it's about self improvement, teamwork, and sportsmanship too. So have fun, be a team player, be safe and swim fast!

League/Team Eligibility
Anyone age 18 or younger on June 1, 2006 with the ability to swim a length of the pool (25 meters) is eligible and encouraged to join the team. Swim team members must have current Quail Valley pool memberships.

Younger swimmers who can swim half the length of the pool or are comfortable in the water and can stand in the shallow end are encouraged to join our Mini Marlins. The Mini Marlins is designed to increase swimming ability and to teach the fundamentals of the four strokes - freestyle, backstroke, breaststroke, and butterfly.

Registration forms must be completed and fees paid before any swimmer may practice with the team.

Practice Notes
As we all know, schedules at the end of the school year are extremely hectic for parents and swimmers alike. Please try to attend the age-appropriate practice after school. Once school is out, swimmers should attend the morning practices whenever possible. The team has sole use of the pool on weekday mornings. If family schedules prevent attendance at the morning swim practice, swimmers are expected to attend the afternoon practice. Swimmers are welcome to attend both the morning and evening practices after consultation with their coach.

Please see important notes on "Frank" below for procedures for notifying the coaching staff of expected absences. Swimmers should arrive at practice on time and ready to swim! Questions or concerns about practice attendance should be directed to the Head Coach.

The coaching staff encourages parent participation, but because practice times are so limited, they ask for no interruptions during practice. Please speak to your child's coach before or after practice or leave them a note in their mailbox.

Suggested Equipment List:
Goggles, Cap, Fins optional
Practice suit (not the team suit, which is used only for competition)
Water bottle (clearly marked with swimmer's name)
Team Suit

Frank
"Frank" is the friendly name for the team attendance log. Frank is a notebook that is stored in front of the team mailboxes. Please note any days that your swimmer will miss practice and especially any meet days. This simple record keeping makes meet lineups and scheduling much easier. It is extremely important to make these notations in Frank. Without accurate information on swimmers availability, vacancies could occur on the meet roster, and eligible swimmers may miss out on an opportunity to swim. This can have a significant impact on the outcome of the meet. If for any reason you are unable to record a swimmer's absence in Frank, please contact the Head Coach or the Representatives.

Inclement Weather
In the event of inclement weather, the coaches will have dry land workouts. Swimmers will not be asked to be in the water if the air temperature is below 65 degrees F. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact Tim Brockway or the Representatives. Practice will be canceled in the event of a thunder or lighting storm. If practice is canceled, a sign will be posted on the front door of the clubhouse, or the lifeguards will be notified to handle phone inquiries. In the event of inclement weather during a meet (B Meet or Saturday morning), report to the Quail Valley or away pool unless you are notified otherwise.

Swim Meets
Swim meets are held weekly after the end of school on Saturday mornings (A Meets) and weekday evenings (B Meets). There are five A Meets and five B Meets. In addition to these meets, there will be other competitive events. These events include Time Trials, Mini-Meets (Mini Marlins and 8 & Under age group), Relay Carnivals, Long Course, Divisional and All-stars.

Meet Times and Arrivals/Warm-up Times

	Arrival/Warm-up Home Meet	Arrival/Warm-up Away Meet	Start Time Home & Away
A Meets (Sat.)	7:30/8:00 am	8:15/8:30 am	9:00 am
B Meets	4:30/5:00 pm	5:15/5:30 pm	6:00 pm

 

A Meets
A Meets are scored meets against the five teams in our division. For the 2006 season, we are in Division K of the Montgomery County Swim League (MCSL). MCSL has 14 divisions - A through N. Division A is the most competitive. The team scores in meets against the other teams in our division decide our division placement for the following season.

Eligibility
The coaches decided the lineup for the Saturday morning A Meets based on previous times. The A Meets consist of the three fastest swimmers in each event or stroke. There are three exceptions to this rule:
1. For freestyle in the 12& under age groups, the top six swimmers participate.
2. Each A Meet swimmer may only swim three individual events per meet in addition to an Individual Medley (IM) and a Relay, or two Relays. If the coach and swimmer elect to swim both Relays and the IM then only two individual events may be swum. Total events may never exceed 5. This limitation often allows a swimmer that is the fourth fastest in that event or stroke to swim at the Saturday morning A Meets. Absences due to illness or vacations are filled by other swimmers in that age group.
3. In the absence of enough swimmers within any given age group, a swimmer may "Swim Up." This gives a swimmer the opportunity to swim an A Meet where he/she may not have qualified within their age group. When a swimmer swims up, he/she may only swim in that age group for that meet.

A Relays
A Relay Carnival - (TBA). Evening warm-up times (TBA).
A Relay teams will be determined by the top times report. The relay teams for A Relay Carnival will be finalized after the previous A Meet. The relay lineup will be posted that day. Please put your name in FRANK if you are unable to attend A relays. Alternates will also be listed.

The fastest eligible swimmers will swim the A Relay Carnival. In some cases the 5th or 6th fastest (in the event of same gender relay teams) may be used to provide a more balanced lineup. If a relay team wins their event and qualifies for All Star Relays the fastest eligible swimmers at the time of All Star Relays will comprise the relay team and swim that event.

Scoring
Dual Meets- Winning team awarded 6 points. In the event of a tie each team receives 3 points.
Relays- 1st - 6th receive points as follows 10-8-6-4-2-0.
Divisionals - 1st -6ht scores as follows 20-16-12-8-4-0.

B Meets
B Meets are held weekday evenings. B Meets are for all swimmers that do not qualify for the Saturday morning A Meets. This year we are participating in the Montgomery Village B League, as arranged by the B representatives. This affords our swimmers the opportunity to swim against other clubs, outside our assigned division placement. Although B Meets do not count toward our placement in the MCSL standings, they are great fun. B Meets provide every swimmer the opportunity to compete and improve their standings.

Please do not discourage your children's participation on the team or at the B Meets because they are not an A Meets swimmer. B Meets are fun and an opportunity for swimmers to gain experience from their performances. Great satisfaction is derived from swimmers getting "personal best" times and improving their times over the season. As strength, endurance, and technique improve, the B swimmer has great potential to qualify for A Meets.

The stated purpose of the B League is to provide swimming opportunities for swimmers who do not participate in "A" meets. In order to be fair to the "B" meet swimmers, specific rules of eligibility apply.

Eligibility
1. Any swimmer who swims more than two events in an A meet will not be eligible to swim in the following B meet.
a. Any swimmer who usually swims in an A meet but misses an A meet for personal reasons (illness, vacation, etc.) will not be eligible for the following B meet.
b. A swimmer who swims in an A meet will not be eligible to swim the same events in the following B meet, even if otherwise eligible.
c. A swimmer who swims two events in an A meet and scores points (takes 1st through 5th place) in BOTH events will not be eligible to swim in the following B meet. However, if that swimmer scores points (finishes 1st through 5th) in just one event, he/she will be eligible for the next B meet, subject to rule 1b above.

2. In B meets as in A meets, a swimmer is expected to be legal in the stroke before being entered in an event.

3. If the first B meet precedes the first A meet, the first B meet will not be used for qualification times.

4. No exhibition swimming will be permitted.

5. No "swim-ups" will be permitted in B meets unless it is necessary to fill positions in the Freestyle Relay. This swimmer must be eligible to swim in the B meet.

The spirit of these guidelines is that our fastest swimmers; regardless of their finishing place at an A Meet should not be competing against "B" swimmers. The coaches have final discretion and should discuss lineup changes with B reps and opposing team coaches. These guidelines are reviewed annually. If you have any questions regarding the B Meet eligibility guidelines, please contact the B Reps.

Meet Entries
A Meets - A Meet lineups are decided by the coaches and posted Thursdays. Please be sure your swimmer's name is checked-off under each event posted to indicate that he/she will be present and swimming. If your swimmer is unable to swim for any reason, cross your swimmer's name off the lineup and immediately tell a coach. Failure to do so will prevent another swimmer from having the opportunity to swim in the A Meet and risk losing points for the team. All swimmers should check this line up, regardless of whether they usually swim A or B meets.

B Meets - B Meet lineup will be posted prior to the meet. Following the procedures for A Meet entries, please indicate your swimmer's intention to swim. If you have any questions, please contact the coach immediately.

Exhibition swimmers will be noted with an "EX" by their name and stroke.

Preparing for a Meet
What to Eat - Eat a light, high carbohydrate meal at least one hour before warm-ups. Drink plenty of fluids, especially when the weather is very warm. For Saturday morning meets, a piece of fruit, yogurt, bagel or English muffin eaten 1 ½ hours before warm-ups should help maintain carbohydrate levels.

During a meet, swimmers should consume small amounts of fluids frequently, and high-carbohydrate, low-fat snacks such as fruit or low-fat yogurt. Stay away from sugary foods and drinks containing caffeine or carbonated beverages. Several drinks of cool water or Gatorade, and a piece of fruit after warm-ups or the first event should help the swimmer's energy level stay constant throughout the meet.

What to Bring - It's always a good idea to bring folding chairs and/or blankets that can be easily transported. Many pools have limited seating. Be prepared for unexpected weather changes. Make sure your swimmer has plenty of dry towels and extra sweats or warm-up outfits as the evening temperatures can get brisk in the early part of the season.

Ribbons and Ribbon Distribution
Ribbons for A Meets go to sixth place. A Meet ribbons will be distributed in the mailboxes that afternoon or the following day.

Ribbons for B Meets go to sixth place. Some teams award "Heat Ribbons" for winners of each heat; others give participation ribbons. B Meet swimmers can check with the coaches or Team Reps for more information. B Meet ribbons will be distributed at the following morning's practice. If not present check your mailbox.

Meet Results
Meet results are generated via computer and then copied for each team. These will be posted as soon as possible on the team web page, and on the bulletin board in the lobby. If you have questions, check with the coach or Team Rep.

What Causes a Swimmer to be disqualified.

Freestyle:
A swimmer can do any stroke when swimming in a "freestyle" event. "Freestyle" does not mean the Australian Crawl, which is what most children choose to do. A swimmer can be DQ'd for the following:
Walking on the bottom (touching the bottom is acceptable).
Pushing off from the bottom (i.e. propelling one's self forward).
Pulling along on the lane ropes (Grabbing the lane ropes is OK).
Finishing in the wrong lane (veering in the wrong lane is OK as long as one finishes in the correct lane).

Freestyle of 50 meters or longer
Failing to touch the wall at the turn (if one doesn't touch, one can actually go back and touch in this event)
Head failing to break the surface of the water by 15 meters from the start (Head merely needs to break the plane of the surface - entire face does not need to be seen)

Backstroke:
A swimmer has to be on his/her back, except for during a turn (and then it is very prescribed about how long the swimmer can be on his/her back). A swimmer can be DQ'd for the following:
Failing to break the surface of the water with head by 15 meters after the start and after each turn.
Touching the bottom.
Pulling along on the lane ropes (Grabbing the lane ropes is OK).
Propelling one's self along the sidewalls.
The most common mistake younger children is to flip over before they touch the wall at the end. They have to stay on their backs.
With older children, the biggest mistake happens during the turn. A swimmer can turn over and take one continuous arm pull, flip and touch the wall with one's foot and be once again on one's back as he/she leaves the wall. If the swimmer misses the wall, he/she cannot scull back and forth. A swimmer does not have to do the flip turn. It is OK to stay on one's back, touch the wall and then turn one's body. A swimmer has to be on his/her back as he/she leaves the wall.

Breaststroke:
The two biggest mistakes swimmers make are the wrong kick and forgetting to finish with a two-handed touch. The hands may be at two different heights on the pool wall but they have to touch simultaneously. (There must be a two-hand touch at the turn as well, in 50-meter or 100-meter breaststroke events.) The feet must be turned outward, as propulsion is coming from the soles of the feet pushing the water, not the tops of the feet as in other kicks. Other reasons for being DQ'd include: hands should not go past the hips except for the first stroke after start and turns, and the head must break the surface of the water at least once during each complete cycle (one arm stroke and one leg stroke.)

Butterfly:
As in breaststroke, a two-handed touch is required at the finish and at the turn. The kick must be a dolphin kick, which is when the legs move simultaneously. If swimmers do a flutter kick (like in freestyle), they will be DQ'd. The swimmer must breast the surface of the water by 15 meters and their arm recovery must be above the water. Arm movement must be simultaneous as well
A well executed butterfly (or Fly) is the most beautiful exhibition of power you'll ever see in a swimming pool. Quite frankly, the fly is the hardest stroke for most swimmers to perfect and while they are learning it many look like they are drowning. There are two components of the fly; the arm pull and the kick. The arm pull must be an over the water recovery (elbows breaking the surface of the water) with the arms moving simultaneously. The kick is a dolphin style kick with both legs moving simultaneously. If the swimmer does a flutter kick (like in freestyle), they will be DQ'd. Unlike the Breaststroke, there is no requirement to alternate the kick and pull. Turns and finishes require a simultaneous two hand touch at the wall.

IM's:
Each stroke must end with the appropriate "finish" touch (i.e. in breast and fly, there must be a two-hand touch; in back, the swimmer must finish on his/her back; in free, touch the wall). During the freestyle part of the IM, the swimmer may not do a stroke they have already done (no fly, back, or breast). During the transition from fly to back, the swimmer must touch with two hands and then turn and be on his/her back when he/she leaves the wall. In the transition from back to breast, the swimmer must touch on his/her back, then turn and be on breast before leaving the wall. The biggest problems are incorrect finishes and forgetting which stroke to do in the correct order (fly, back, breast, free).

Relays:
The most common mistake and biggest reason for getting DQ's is taking off early (before the incoming swimmer touches the wall). Doing the wrong stroke or an illegal stroke would also get a swimmer DQ'd.

League Rules Re: Attire
MCSL rule states "No swimmer shall compete in the MCSL Coaches Long Course Meet, Relay All-Stars or Individual Meets wearing a suit (including cap) bearing the name, insignia, or logo of any team or pool other than the MCSL pool represented by the swimmer." By strict interpretation of this rule, a different cap could be worn at the Relay Meet. However, the spirit of this rule is quite clear. When you are competing for a team (no matter which meet it is), you should not be advertising a different team or group. If your child competes on an MSI soccer team, would it be appropriate for your child to wear a Seneca Sports Assoc. uniform to compete in an MSI game? Swimming is a team-identified sport, too.

Quail Valley encourages all team members to wear the team suit, however, it is not a requirement as long as the suit/cap of choice does not have any identifying marks of another swim club or team.

Sportsmanship
Good sportsmanship is what being a Marlin is all about. Often, at B Meets especially, swimmers may finish while other swimmers in the race still have a long way to go. The coaches would like to encourage all swimmers to remain in their lanes in the pool after their races until all of the other swimmers have finished. Leaving the pool while others are still swimming can be rude and hurt the feelings of the swimmer(s) not yet finished. Many swimmers may not know this but it is something they will be encouraged to do from now on. Thanks for your help in supporting your swimmer(s) to develop this habit.

The Marlins are a team. Cheering for your teammates is a great way of showing team spirit. Please learn the names of the other swimmers on your team and cheer for them with gusto and volume in every event.

What To Do At A Meet

Jobs, jobs, and more jobs, fun and interesting things to do at a swim meet. You have already been told it takes over 40 parents to run a swim meet, here are some of the tasks those volunteers do during a meet.

• Meet Referee*
• Starter*
• Stroke and Turn Judge* (4 per meet - 2 from each team)
• Timers (18-24 per meet - ½ from each team)
• Head Timer and Assistant Head Timer
• Announcer
• Clerk of Course and Assistant Clerk of Course
• Computer Operator
• Scorer
• Help lining up kids for heats
• Marshals
• Food Sales
• Raffle coordinator
• Runner
• Ribbon Writer

* Requires MCSL certification

What Do Timers Do??
There is no formal training session to be a timer so we would like to take this opportunity to review the responsibilities of a timer.
· First and foremost be comfortable with the stopwatch that is given to you and know how to start, stop and clear the watch
· You are to start the watch when you see the strobe light flash on the front of he starting machine. Immediately after the start, you need to check your watch to make sure that it started and is still running. If you miss seeing the strobe, or feel that you started your watch too early or late, or if your watch didn't start, raise your hand and let the head timer or the assistant head timer know so they can give you a replacement watch.
· You are to stop the watch when any part of the swimmers body comes in contact with the wall. It is not the timer's job to determine if the touch is legal.
· There are three timers in each lane. One of the timers is responsible for writing down the times on the event sheets. There is a place on the sheet for each timer's time to be recorded. It is very important that under each tie, you put the initials of the timer whose time was recorded on that line. We have found it best over the years if the person doing the writing puts their own time down first and then records the other two times in the same order for each event. The allows the timer who is doing the writing to go ahead and place the timer's initials on the sheet for future events ahead of time.
· Once the sheet has been recorded, it needs to be given to the head timer who makes sure that the sheets have been filled out correctly.
· Do not clear the time off your watch until the head timer instructs you to do so, you will hear the command "Timers Clear Your Watches." There is the possibility that a meet official would need to verify your time.
· It is common in B meets that there are many heats listed on one sheet. The sheet does not need to be turned in to the head timer until all the heats have been completed. If you do not have a swimmer in your lane for an event, you need to place a NS or no swimmer on the sheet and turn it in to the head timer.
· It is also important for each timer to start his or her stopwatch in every event even if he/she does not have a swimmer. It is possible that you could be asked to time that event in a different lane due to a problem with another timer.
· The last, and certainly one of the most important, jobs is to make sure that the swimmer that you are timing is the one that is listed on your sheet. If it is a 50-meter event or longer, you should ask he swimmer's name as they are stepping up for the event. If it is a 25-meter event, ask the swimmer their name as they are getting out of the pool. You must let the head timer know if there is a discrepancy on your sheet.
The length of time it takes to complete a meet relies on how quickly the timers are able to record the times and turn the sheets into the head timer. Thanks again for all your help. Please feel free to ask any of the team reps or officials if you have any questions,

Head Timer (add this section)

Runner
Runners collect the time sheets from the head timer. They also pick up the DQ slips from the meet referee and clip them to the time sheets from that event. Those items are then taken immediately to the head scorer at the computer table. The runner's job is essential to the timeliness in which a meet runs and results are posted.

The runner should stand near the referee at the start end of the pool during 50 and 100-meter events, and near the timers during 25-meter events. After collecting the timing sheets the runner should then see if the referee has any DQ slips that also need to be submitted. The runner also collects record information from the head scorer/computer operator and takes those statistics to the announcer.

Acting as a runner is a great job if you want to see a meet up close.

Head Scorer and Assistant Scorer
The head scorer receives the timer sheets from the runner. He puts them in lane order, staples any DQ cards to the appropriate sheet (making sure the DQ slip has been signed by the referee), and double checks the official time, circling it if it is not already circled. If the official time is not indicated, the head scorer should notify the referee so he can remind the head timer to designate the official time. The official time is the time of two watches that agree, or, if no two watches agree, the middle time, recorded to the hundredths place. If there are only two times, the official time is the average of the two times, recorded to the hundredth. The digit representing thousandths are dropped- there is no rounding, He or she then hands the timer sheets to the assistant computer operator.

The assistant scorer checks the results printed from the computer after each event against the timer sheets to see that the times were entered accurately. He also maintains he DQ log for each team, copying the event, heat and lane number and the reason exactly as written on the DQ card for any disqualifications. He or she assures each team's DQ log is placed with their respective ribbon boxes.

Computer Operator and Assistant Computer Operator
The computer operator types the times into the computer as the assistant computer operator reads them. He or she operates the program during the meet, for example, making the data changes to reflect the scratch meeting, and printing the results and the ribbon labels. At the conclusion of the meet, the computer operator produces all the disks for the league, home team, visiting team, printed copies of the meet results and prepares the package to go to the division automation liaison.

The assistant computer operator reads the times from the timer sheets to the computer operator. He or she also helps the computer operator with other tasks as needed, such as monitoring the printers, changing paper to labels and back, posting results etc.

Ribbon Writers
The awards or ribbon table should be set up next to or near the computer operations table to make the exchange or reports easy. This is a fun and easy task especially if the team is using a computer to run the meet. The ribbon writer should make sure they have a box to sort their team's ribbons. Before the meets make sure the ribbons have been sorted by event. The ribbon writers will receive the ribbon labels from the computer operations table, place the label on the ribbons and then sort them by team. Some teams further sort them by event or swimmer's name. The ribbon writer should have a list of the team's records at an away meet since the home team will not have them entered in to their computer.

Clerk of Course
The clerk works with the announcer to control the flow of swimmers to the clerk's table. (TIP- it usually works well to call swimmers to the clerk two events ahead of the event they are to swim.) At each meet there is usually a clerk of course (home team) and an assistant clerk of course (visiting team). Each clerk can check in the swimmers from his/her own team, or the clerks can divide the duties in whatever method works for them.

The clerk should check the swimmers in, tell them their lanes, and have them wait in the designated are until it is time for them to go to the starting area. If a race is starting at the other end of the pool - especially 8 and under 25 meter events- it is helpful to have runners take the swimmers to the starting end and place them in their lanes. The clerk can also determine whether the backstroke swimmers have brought their "legs" with them.

When the medley and freestyle relays arrive at the clerk, the clerk should check the relay cards to see that the swimmers' names are filled out in the order of swim and, for the graduated free relay, if there are any swim ups. Relays with swim ups must be entered on a yellow relay card and are not eligible for the All-star Relay meet.

The clerk then enters each swimmer's meet ID number from the meet roster in the space provided on the relay card. (Please note: this ID number comes from the meet roster, NOT the team roster. The meet roster is generated by the automation set up person each Friday for that particular meet; the team roster is a document that remains relatively constant throughout the season. The ID numbers are not the same.)

Announcer
The announcer should be aware of each event as it is swum. He or she can begin announcing the next event shortly after the last swimmer in the previous event has touched the wall. (TIP - if the timers or spectators block the announcer's view of the finish, it may be helpful to have someone stationed at the finish to signal the announcer when the last swimmer has touched. This avoids the embarrassing situation of an announcer announcing the next event as one swimmer is still finishing.)

The announcer also announces the score, All-star qualifying times, and records. Arrange with the computer table and the announcer when this is to be done. At the break, when timers are switching ends of the pool, and at the end of the meet are usually good times.
The announcer should also know how to set up the sound equipment, and call the timers and other meet officials to the clerks area for various pre meet meetings. Appropriate music can be played as long as the county noise restrictions are properly adhered to.

Help lining up kids for heats
This person works closely with the Clerk of Course and helps move the swimmers in heat order and assures the proper swimmers are in the proper order for their events.

Marshals
Marshals are generally only used at large meets like relay carnivals and divisionals, occasionally at some B meets. This parent helps keep swimmers in their team area and in cases where the team area is not near the pool or clerk of course helps get the younger swimmers to where they need to check in.

Food Sales
This is a great job out of the sun with lots of people contact. Help out in the kitchen or at the grill. Food sales are the major income source for our team after swimmer registration.

Raffle Coordinator (50/50 Fish)
This person, often a non-swimming older team member, helps run the raffles at home meets. This year we will be holding a 50/50 raffle at each of our home meets.

Other Competitive Events

Time Trials - This is an un-scored event. Time trials gives swimmers and parent volunteers experience, as well as allowing the coaching staff an opportunity to see the swimmers perform under meet conditions. The times from this meet as well as the Time Trials Make-ups (Monday, Tuesday & Wednesday during practice times only) will be used to determine the lineup for the first A meet.

Relay Carnivals - These meet consist only of relay events. Coaches determine the lineup If unable to swim in the carnival(s), please note unavailability in FRANK, and tell the coaches. "No-shows" at the carnival(s) prevent the rest of the relay team from swimming, so please show consideration for other team members.

Coaches Invitational Long Course - This is a very prestigious meet in which the top eight swimmers in each event in the county swim double their normal distance.

Divisionals - The top two Quail Valley swimmers in each event compete with other top swimmers from all the teams in our division.

All-star Relays -Relay teams that placed first in the Divisional A Relay Carnival qualifies for the All-star meet.

All-star Individual -The top sixteen swimmers in the county in each event. Check the bulletin board for weekly rankings.

Team Events and Activities

Donuts morning - One morning each week will conclude with a mad dash for the donut box. No practice - no donuts!! Please check your calendar for the specific day that donuts are offered.

Picture Day -. Remember your summer of fun in the sun with your Quail Valley teammates. Wear your team suit for the picture. Afterwards, everyone sits down to a big waffle breakfast.

Awards Picnic - This is the end of the season picnic for swimmers and their parents. Special acknowledgment will be given to recipients in various categories.

Other Activities - Throughout the season, the coaches and parent volunteers work together to coordinate non-swimming activities to encourage team camaraderie. These fun activities have included movie night, putt-putt, water-polo games, etc. Watch for announcements.