Philosophy

The Woodneath Farms Swim Team provides a fun and competitive swimming program in a community atmosphere. This is a developmental program designed for the benefit of all swimmers of all abilities. Emphasis is placed on sportsmanship, responsibility and respect and kindness toward others.

Goals

1. Provide qualified swimming instruction for a team member, which is accomplished by contracting with qualified coaches.
2. Provide a chance for each swimmer to perform to the best of their ability in as many events as possible.

Organization

A volunteer board manages and organizes the Woodneath Farms Swim Team. The board is responsible for contracting qualified coaches, providing practice and home meet facilities, managing team finances, coordinating volunteers and maintaining team membership in the Northland Swim Conference. The team Bylaws contain a description of each of the board positions. Board members are elected by the entire Swim Team at the end of the season for the next season. A copy of the Bylaws is posted on the team website and may be requested from any board member.

Swim Board

Current Board Members are listed on the website under About.

Eligibility

Swimmers must:

• be 5-18 years of age as of June 1st. 
• demonstrate the ability to enter the water unaided
• swim one length of the pool without resting on the bottom of the pool or on the lane ropes

Obligations to the Team

Team Fees Fees cover expenses such as coaching fees, insurance, conference fees and equipment (public address system, upkeep on starting blocks, lane ropes, flags, tables, etc.)

• Registration is $150 per swimmer for Woodneath Farms residents and $175 for non-residents.
• A $30 per family fundraising fee will be added to cover some of the items listed above. This is in lieu of selling items or hosting a swim-a-thon.
• Registration will open to returning swimmers and Woodneath residents first. Registration will open to non-residents two weeks later.
• Current year-round (club) swimmers will receive a discount of $40 per swimmer, as their $40 fees to USA Swimming have already been paid. Information about how to receive this discount this will be in the online registration form. Note: high school swim team does not qualify for this discount.

Registration can be completed online and all registration fees can be paid online with a credit card payment. If an alternate payment method is necessary, please contact the Woodneath White Caps Treasurer.

Release Forms: Medical and liability release forms must be signed and on file before a swimmer enters the water on their first practice. These are completed online via the registration process.

Discipline Policy: In order to make practices and meets the most beneficial and safe for all, a discipline policy for both athletes and parents must be signed. If a coach encounters a problem, they will give your child one warning to stop their disruptive behavior. If the behavior continues, the child will be asked to sit out for a period of time. If the behavior continues, the parents will be notified and the child will be sent home for the day.

Parent Volunteers at Swim Meets: All families are asked to volunteer to work shifts during multiple meets during the dual meet season. Details will be provided during registration. We need to fill a large number of jobs at each meet. If you have swimmers who qualify for conference, you will also be expected to volunteer, based upon the request from the Northland Conference. If you do not sign up for the expected number of volunteer positions, someone will contact you or you may be approached on the pool deck during a meet and asked to volunteer.

If you find that you cannot work your shift, a roster of team members will be made available so that you can arrange for your own substitute.

• Volunteer Workers – parents work either the 1^st or 2^nd half of meets at a designated job, [i.e., timer, concessions, scoring table, etc.]. Workers change at the completion of the Backstroke. Most of these jobs are fairly simple and you can be trained the night of the meet.
• Certified Workers – stroke and turn judges, starters and referees must be certified with Missouri Valley and USA Swimming. Interested parties should contact a board member for further information.
• Set up/Clean up: Set up and clean up will be volunteer shifts available for sign up. Set up begins around 3:00-3:30 pm for home meets. Clean up involves putting away equipment after home meets are completed.

Practice Policies

• Daily practices are used to build strength, improve skills and increase speed. Swimmers should make every effort to attend daily practices. If a swimmer finds it necessary to miss practice, advise the coach as soon as possible.
  
• All Woodneath Farms pool rules must be obeyed.
  
• All swimmers must attend the practice time as designated by their age group.
  
• Only swimmers swimming in their designated practice time can be in the pool during practice. 
  
• For the safety of all swimmers, please do not talk to the coaches or your swimmer while they are on deck or in the pool. Any questions or concerns must be directed to the coach by email or after practice. 
  
• Parents should refrain from coaching their children and stay back from the sides of the pool during practice. The coaches will communicate to the swimmers whether they are working hard enough or doing the stroke correctly, etc.
  
• In case of thunder or lightning, the coach will make the call to cancel practice and follow proper procedures to evacuate the facility.

Equipment

Swimmers are encouraged to wear a competition style suit for practices. Team suits and team swim caps are available to purchase prior to the start of the season for meets. If you choose to not purchase a team suit, please try to wear a solid suit in team colors. We encourage everyone to wear a team cap for meets.

While team suits may be worn to practice, keep in mind that the colors will fade and fabrics will stretch with exposure to chlorine over time. Many swimmers use 1-2 suits for practice and reserve the team suit for meets.

In addition to a suit, swimmers need:

• goggles
  
• swim cap
• towel
• water bottle

Attendance at Meets

Heat sheets require time and planning on the part of the coach – it is essential that the coaches have an accurate list of children swimming each meet. We understand that family travel and other commitments may prevent you from attending every meet. If you have declared yourself eligible for a specific meet, but are unable to attend after you have committed, please notify the coaches of your absence as soon as you are aware of it. In the case of emergency absences, please contact your coach via text or cell phone call as soon as you can. Coach contact information can be found on the Coaches tab on this web site.

If you declare yourself eligible for a relay, it is imperative that you stay until your relay event at the meet.

Swimming Events

Prior to each meet, each swimmer will have the option to choose up to three individual events and the option declare themselves eligible for placement on a relay team.

Sign ups for each meet will happen the week prior, online via this website. 

Volunteer Requirements

It takes many volunteers working for our meets to run smoothly. Every family is required to fulfill volunteer jobs totaling  5 "points" (each job is one point). Please keep in mind that some jobs (such as tear down) require you stay the entire meet, regardless of when your child finishes his/her swimming.

If for any reason a meet must be rescheduled, it is still your responsibility to cover your volunteer duties or to find a replacement. Contact the Volunteer Coordinator with questions.