ScoutTN Posted April 23, 2014 Share Posted April 23, 2014 My kids will swim on a team this summer for the first time. I was not a competitive swimmer so I have lots to learn. How do age groups work? My kids have June birthdays, do they go with their May age group or their June one? Or are these things different program to program? In know parents are expected to help at meets. What kinds of things do they need to have done? Any general tips for a newbie? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bettyandbob Posted April 23, 2014 Share Posted April 23, 2014 Age groups: check with your league. Our summer league has a set date, June 1. Whatever age you are on that date that is your age group for the summer. Other leagues may use a different date or have other policies, so check their handbook. This might be explained on their website as well. some jobs for new swim parents: timer concessions 8 and under assistant (make sure the little ones get from clerk of course to the proper lane) If your dc stay in it, you might decide to get training as an official, or learn how to use meet software and help with scoring, or learn how to do clerk of course or be the meet announcer. You'll notice jobs you could try. Perhaps you will volunteer to manage the team. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMe Posted April 23, 2014 Share Posted April 23, 2014 Swam competitive, taught lessons, coached ages from 5-18 in summer rec leagues, year-round teams, and high school. But I can't give you some of the answers because there are variations in all those. For the details of age grouping and such, you'll want to ask your coach or someone who's been on the team a while. As for the basics of helping, usually volunteer timers are needed, helping kids be in the right places at the right time is awesome (love it when a little one starts from the wrong end of the pool with a passion!), and some teams have to set up and tear down their facility. I will say this, though... Great parents are the ones who are encouragers of all, initiate helping, ask questions, and carefully walk that fine line between commitment and obsession. Of course, I never met a coach who didn't appreciate a good cup of coffee or tea... :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
In The Great White North Posted April 23, 2014 Share Posted April 23, 2014 Age groups: check with your league. Our summer league has a set date, June 1. Interesting. I've been involved in swimming for 40 years and never saw this. All the teams I've ever been affiliated with swim the kids with the age group they are on the first day of the meet. Most leagues let them "swim down" for the championship meet. I've never seen this either. Which brings us back to the "ask your team" idea. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J-rap Posted April 23, 2014 Share Posted April 23, 2014 Our swim club had the kids organized according to grade in school. It sounds like it differs from club to club. I know that some parents are timers, some help with snacks for the swimmers, some with food to sell for the people in the stands. I sold equipment to the swimmers for years. We live in a small town, not anywhere near to a store that had speedo suits, hats, goggles, etc. I ordered them through some company and sold them at discount prices to the swimmers (on behalf of the league, not my own business). I would do this for the first month of league swimming each year, and then send back to the company whatever equipment was left unsold. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eternalsummer Posted April 23, 2014 Share Posted April 23, 2014 When they say they need zookeepers, they mean they need parents (at the meets) to keep all the 8 year olds and 9 year olds in line and organize them right before their events, etc. You might need to get one of those tent things depending on where you live - it can be hot at meets, and there's not always a lot of shade outside (usually there are too many parents/family to seat everyone inside for the whole meet). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plansrme Posted April 23, 2014 Share Posted April 23, 2014 Interesting. I've been involved in swimming for 40 years and never saw this. All the teams I've ever been affiliated with swim the kids with the age group they are on the first day of the meet. Neighborhood summer leage policy in GA does this. Kids who win at county are often older than "10U" or whatever because their birthdays were just after the cut-off. They then compete at the county or state summer league meet as the younger age. USA swimming, of course (which, for the OP, is not you--it would include most year-around teams other than, perhaps, YMCA teams) use age as of the first day of the meet. Please, OP, don't sweat summer league! When you sign up to volunteer, I highly recommend that you try to be a shallow-end timer your first summer. Key is "shallow end." Easy-peasy, low-stress job. Once you get the hang of meets, you can move up to more skilled positions. The worst job, in my opinion, is lane coordinator or whatever your team calls the people who get kids in line to swim. I would sooner eat nails. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swimtaxi234 Posted April 23, 2014 Share Posted April 23, 2014 Interesting. I've been involved in swimming for 40 years and never saw this. All the teams I've ever been affiliated with swim the kids with the age group they are on the first day of the meet. This is how a sanctioned USA Swimming meet is run, however the OP is talking about a non-USA Swimming organization like a local summer league which are allowed to set their own rules for age group determination. It is always easier for a local swim organization to have one cut-off date. We had 10,000 swimmers in our county summer league when my children started making one cut-off date a necessity. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unicorn. Posted April 23, 2014 Share Posted April 23, 2014 Based on Texas Amateur Athletic Federation rules (summer league), their summer age is their age on June 1st. There is no ageing up. USA swim rules, they swim the age they are on the 1st day of any particular meet. So it will depend on if it's a USAS summer league, or AAF leaque. Then there is just local, non affiliated leagues. At practice, they swim grouped on ability, not age. Timers, timers, and more timers is the best place to volunteer. We never have enough! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan in SC Posted April 23, 2014 Share Posted April 23, 2014 Our summer league is based on a June 1st age. Our 8us are pros. It's the 6 & unders that need help, but they are so cute. We have three timers per lane, clerks, runners, and concessions. Coaches don't get an assistant, and no one wants coffee when it's 107 degrees! Summer league swim meets are so much fun. Don't be afraid to let your kids write cheers on their arms with markers and sit and have snacks with teammates. It's really easy to jump in and help, so don't worry! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blondeviolin Posted April 23, 2014 Share Posted April 23, 2014 In our current league, it's very common to have kids swim up if they'll be aging up before the next state meet. This will depend on your league. Help here is mostly timing. My husband and I take turns helping there. You might also see if your team has a booster club and see what you can do to help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScoutTN Posted April 23, 2014 Author Share Posted April 23, 2014 Thanks, all! Very helpful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
In The Great White North Posted April 23, 2014 Share Posted April 23, 2014 We had 10,000 swimmers in our county summer league when my children started making one cut-off date a necessity. 10,000!!! The summer league around here has a couple hundred! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swimtaxi234 Posted April 23, 2014 Share Posted April 23, 2014 10,000!!! The summer league around here has a couple hundred! In the summer of 2008, our children swam against teams that had swimmers going to the Olympic Trials. It was a very exciting summer. Summer swimming and club swimming had huge numbers of swimmers. For club swimming, one swim meet (short course) would need three 50-meter pools to run 6 courses (boys on one 25-yard course and girls on the other) just to complete the meet. Points were given per pool, etc. admin nightmare, but somehow it all worked. But we all have super fond memories of our years doing summer swimming. We are actually living in an area now that forces you to quit club swimming by early March if you want to be eligible for the summer league - CRAZY!!! I can understand and appreciate the thought behind keeping the faster club swimmers out of the summer league, but there are so many club swimmers that aren't fast and could benefit from the social part of summer swimming and from getting more competition experience. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bettyandbob Posted April 23, 2014 Share Posted April 23, 2014 Our summer league has around 1000 swimmers on 9 teams. They range from seriously talented club swimmers to kids who are not athletic, but like the atmosphere. 6-10 year olds practice together and 11-18 year olds practice together. The pools are by neighborhood so kids start when they are 6-8 and grow up swimming in the summer with neighborhood friends. Our meet software is set up so A, B, and C swimmers can all swim together and the software sorts scoring at the end. We've been told by the software company that our league is the only league in the country set up this way (or at least we were the first to request this arrangement years ago). Kids swim with their friends whether they are A, B, or C level. And they like it that way. Kids who are club add this to their summer schedule so they have a chance to see friends at practice and meets. Kids are eligible until age 18. Every year there are a couple kids who come back from their first year of college and swim because they haven't aged out. I'm really glad a simple summer rec program can be such a draw to a wide range of kids with a wide range of abilities. I hope the op has a positive experience with her league. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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