This booklet is meant as a general overview of swimming with Sea Dogs.

BEING ON THE TEAM

What are the practice groups at Sea Dogs?

The progression of practice groups in Sea Dogs is Buccaneer 1, Buccaneer 2, Age Group 1, Age Group 2, Age Group 3, Juniors, and Seniors 1 and 2.  Children progress through the groups based on a combination of mastery of strokes, maturity, makeup of the group and speed.

How is it determined?

The path of your swimmer can be confusing. A swimmer may proceed quickly through a few levels and then settle for quite a long time in a particular group. It's different for every swimmer. Growth, skill and maturity all play a role in graduating each level.  Whatever the pace of progress is, your swimmer will be challenged just enough that they are seeking to improve themselves, but not so challenged as to become disillusioned. As parents we rely heavily on our coaches to decide that fine balance. They see our children's work rate and improvement every day, and as such, can make the best decisions.

YMCA and USA Swimming

Sea Dogs are both a YMCA and a US Swimming team. This means that we get to compete at both Y events as well as USS events. As such we have an extra opportunity to compete.  An up-to-date YMCA membership is required for your swimmer to compete on the team. If they don't have membership they aren't insured and can't go in the water. The YMCA spot checks regularly so keep a close eye on it.

SWIMMING AT CCP

The children do swim through rain, but not thunder and lightning. The pool is cleared for thunder and the coach stays with the children until it's determined to be safe to return. If the thunder looks like it's going to continue the coach will cancel practice. Stay local if the weather looks dodgy. For rain we recommend bringing a large see-through garbage bag for the child to put their backpack in. Wet backpacks become moldy backpacks and that's not a good thing.

Please sit at the picnic tables during practices, not on the bleachers. The children have a lot of complicated intervals and drills and, especially with the younger ones, are easily distracted. Please speak to the coaches outside of poolside coaching time. You can call them at the YMCA during the day to discuss your swimmer or email them with concerns and questions. (contact info included in this doc) Please don't approach them on the deck while they are watching and coaching the swimmers. If you have non-coaching/logistical questions ask one of us STPA members. During your time at the picnic tables get to know the other swim parents. They are a mine of information and you will have friends for the swim meets.

Please ask your children to maintain good behavior at the town pool. While there they are representing their team. Have them follow good etiquette insofar as is age-appropriate.

SWIM MEETS

Summer is typically long course season and is swam in Long Course Meters (LCM) known to the little ones as "in the big pool". Some of our BUC and younger meets though can also be in Short Course Yards (SCY).  The coaches will indicate the format in their Meet Info email that is sent out the week of the meet.

In this meet info the coach will indicate the "on deck" time which is the time our team arrives. Coach will also remind you to sign up for your volunteering duties.  Sea Dog swimmers get there 15 minutes before warm up to set up, settle down, and get ready. That's especially important for the younger swimmers. It's also good for us to build in a few minutes for traffic delay and general family bedlam. Text the coach if you are running late. If the coach does not receive a text from you your swimmer will be scratched (will not be able to swim).

Swim meets can be 4 hours long. It's important to pack well.

Swim Meets – For the Swimmers

Equipment - Team suit, team hat and 2 pairs of goggles, 2 towels, a folding chair, a backup suit of any sort for emergencies, warm clothing, and sneakers, sunscreen for outdoor pools. Swim caps will be for sale at home meets, and a designated parent will have a limited supply at away meets. (Ordering info in the section on Gear)

Snacks - Non sugary snacks, fruit, cheese stick, pretzels, crackers, power/granola bars, lots and lots of hydration especially water. Gatorade is not required but some swimmers find having one bottle for the end of the meet helps the dehydration. Water is always the best option. Candy will be confiscated, as will electronics and cell phones. Electronics take away from the team experience and can distract a swimmer from their race.

Swim Meets – For the Parents

A comfortable chair, reading material/other amusement, cash for a program/heat sheet/swim vendor items, highlighter, hydration and snacks, light clothing (it gets hot), your sunscreen, a good sense of humor and patience. Check the Facebook group for hints on local restaurants, sandwich shops, traffic etc. Outdoor meets have maximum sunburn opportunity with the sun reflecting off the water and concrete. Be careful.

What will they be swimming?

Coach will send out a meet entry form before the meet. It will show all our swimmers and their events. It will also be on the website under the tab that says Events. Print it out. It makes it easy to see who's swimming (maybe you can carpool?) and, if you forget to get a heat sheet at the meet you have something to go on. The meet entry will show the swimmers seed times.

What do I want to happen at the meet?

You want your child to be happy. They are always improving and perfecting strokes. To drop time is tremendous but doesn't always happen. While they are perfecting or changing their stroke their time might not improve. What you are looking for is a well-executed race with nice starts, turns and strokes. The speed will come with practice and experience.

There is always something positive in a race to praise. The coaches will coach the technicalities; you should applaud the tenacity and execution of your swimmer. Be aware there are plateaus too when a child is growing. Their muscle memory doesn't match the newly grown muscles. Focusing on swimming well instead of fast is a more positive parenting approach, especially for the younger ones.

Focus on your own swimmer. Do not entertain a swimmer comparing him or herself to another swimmer. There are different rates of progress and physical growth. Encourage your child to find the positive in another child's race and praise their friend accordingly. Encourage teamwork. Lead by example. Every child is different, even within the same family!! We pride ourselves on good sportsmanship and teamwork here at CDOGs, both parents and swimmers. This is the most important takeaway from our sport.

DQs

It can be crushing when a child is disqualified. USA and YMCA Swimming have criteria for starts, turn, strokes and finishes for all the strokes. Our kids learn them in practice. A momentary lapse in concentration, or a flubbed stroke can cause a DQ. Always make sure a child knows why they were DQ-ed. It happens to everyone, even Olympians. Let them know that by making mistakes early in their career it will help them avoid the mistakes later. It's very important to learn what that mistake was so that they can concentrate on it at practice time. Don't make it a tragedy. It's a great learning tool.

How long will we be here?

Depending on the size of the meet, 3-5 hours. The first hour is warm-up which consists of lap drills and starts. Then the meet heats begin. Sea Dogs tradition is that swimmers remain until the last Sea Dog swims. We also sit together. The younger swimmers love to look up and see a block of support.

Who are all these people working the meet?

These are all parents. It takes a huge effort to host a swim meet. There are a lot of roles to be filled. The white-shirted people are officials. They are the Referee, the Starter, the Admin Official the Strokes and Turns official etc. They make sure the rules are being followed. They also DQ. Don't be mad at them. There is no point in allowing illegal strokes, turns or finishes as a child will be DQ’ed later on in life when a championship might be on the line. Other roles are timing manager, timers on the lanes, security people, runners and posters (who collect the times for the computer people and post them when they are official), computer operators, timing operators, concession people, program sellers, setup crew, etc.

SWIM MEETS - JOB OBLIGATIONS/VOLUNTEERING

What are my responsibilities? Volunteering/Work Obligations 

At an ANY MEET your role is simple. You must sign up to work at each session for each of your swimmers. The official policy can be found on the Work Obligations option under the Events Tab.  Generally, at an away meet you will be asked to time. You use the stopwatch and/or plungers to time the swimmers and note it on the clipboard. You hang out with the other timer on your lane and it's fun. You must check in with the Parent Liaison. This person checks in with the host team to see what our obligation is and divides the timing responsibilities among the parents in equal intervals. Always report to the Parent Liaison to let him/her know you are there.

 (For longer distance races i.e. 500/800/1000/1500/1650 your child must provide their own timer & counter, usually a parent to time and a fellow swimmer to count. This does not count toward your session obligation.)

***Families who do not volunteer to work are charged a $50 fine per session missed*** 

Unfortunately, because of serial offenders in the past CDOG had to instate a common practice borrowed from other swim teams. We don't have to levy it often as our parents are great volunteers. It is applied though, so beware. It is charged to your account and will appear on your monthly invoice.

HOME MEETS are where we shine. This is where we host the meet at our own pool. Sea Dogs host State Championship level competitions all the time, and bring elite swimmers and their families into Cheshire from all around the State. These meets are huge undertakings and are a boon for the town and our program. Again, go to our website and click on Events to find your meet. 

If CDOG is the host of a meet you are expected to volunteer for every session that you have swimmer swimming. Simply put, if you have swimmer swimming you have a parent working. There are lots of roles for all types. Again, the fine is $50 for not fulfilling your duty. For all meets it is levied per session so it can add up.

What roles are best for me?

  • If you are technically minded and quick thinking join the computer and timing table. We love to train new members. This is a position that enables you to get a bird's eye view of your child swimming and get the official time first! It's also the job that makes the meet fly by as you are busy for the whole duration, it's fast paced and fun. It has monetary incentives granted by STPA involving splash fees. It can help your escrow stretch.
  • If you like being busy but are technophobic, runner or poster is a good role. A runner gets the timing sheets from the timers and brings them to the computer table after each event. They also post up the official times and chase around for the computer table.
  • Heat winner is a great one. You get to give out the heat prize to the winner of each heat, usually, the prize is a rubber duckie.
  • Awards folks get the ribbons and trophies ready using results from the computer table.
  • Officials are pivotal to the meet. It can't run without them. When you get comfortable in our swim family, we encourage you to think of becoming an official. There is an incentive given by STPA. It's worth thinking about.

Take a close look through the volunteer roles posted on our website for your swimmers meet and try a few of them.  Different personalities like different jobs. Mix it up until you find your one.

Meet mobile App- for the parent who can't attend there is an app called Meet Mobile. Many of the meets use this. You can see real time results for your swimmer. Great app if you have two or more swimmers in different meets and do not have the personal power of bilocation.

USING TEAM UNIFY / OUR WEBSITE

Our website is www.seadogswim.org. We use an app called Team Unify. It allows us to post news, events, coordinate meets, show pictures, manage our swim gear sales etc. Get into the habit of using the Sign In button as we do hide some content behind a firewall for the security of our swimmers. Take some time to explore it.

Here's how to declare your intention for a swim meet that your child is eligible to swim in:

  • To the left there's a SIGN IN button. Clicking it will take you to this page below. Enter your email and password. If you don't have a password email stpa@seadogswim.org
  • Go to the Tab that says Swim Meets (this will take you to all the Meets)
  • Look over the swim meets and find the meets your child is eligible for
  • Click on the "Edit Commitment" Tab and then choose either "Accept" or "Decline" the meet. If you are only going to attend a portion of the meet (ex. Will swim on Saturday but not Sunday), you should "Accept" the meet and then include a note that will let the coaches know to only enter your child in a specific portion of the meet.
  • IF YOU ARE LEFT UNCOMMITTED YOUR CHILD WILL BE ENTERED IN THE MEET AND YOUR ESCROW ACCOUNT WILL BE BILLED EVEN IF YOU DO NOT ATTEND THE MEET.

SWIM GEAR

  • Our team suits and hats can be ordered through Metro Swim Shop. They will advise you on size, or, ask a parent with a similar sized child for help if in doubt. The swim suits can look tiny when you first buy them.
  • Buy an extra practice suit and rotate them throughout the season. Rinse in cold water to make them last longer. Never put them in the dryer.
  • The swim bag is very useful and lasts a long time. It's worth thinking about. It can be ordered from Metro.
  • Your swimmer will need a chair. We use an armless one so more chairs fit on deck and the kids can move comfortable in and out.
  • Parkas become useful for outdoor early morning meets. They take 6 weeks to order so plan accordingly. They are good in the winter and summer for early mornings. They are great in the Summer for night outdoor finals. They are good for evening practices at CCP. It's an investment. Buy larger than your child for extended use. Also can be purchased through Metro.
  • Label everything. Monogram bags etc. with your family name to hand down. Swap as much as possible. Kids will lose things. Label with child's name and team so that it has a chance of making it back to our coaches especially if we are at away meets.
  • Aquablades are used for Regionals and Age Group Championships. They can be ordered from our swim vendor. Order one size down. They are supposed to be tight. CDOGs do not allow fastskins before a child turns 13. They are prohibitively expensive and have limited shelf life so breathe a sigh of relief.
  • Swim goggles types are a personal preference. However, opt for mirrored/tinted goggles as we have a lot of outdoor swimming in Long Course. Backstroke is no fun with sun glare.

Sea Dog Apparel will be made available for families to purchase a few times each season. Keep an eye out for the apparel emails.

ESCROW

About Meet Fees

Swim meet registration fees, entry fees and expenses for all swim meets are charged against the swimmer’s escrow account. Each event a swimmer swims has an associated "splash fee" that is paid to the host team. Splash can range from $6-$17 with a different amount for relays. To avoid being charged for meets you do not attend make sure to give several weeks’ notice to the coaches so they can "scratch" your swimmer. Also, CC escrow@seadogswim.org.  As a meet nears it is at the host club's discretion as to whether fees are reimbursed. The more notice, the more likely.

At the beginning of the season the coaches will broadcast the meet schedule. Be sure to alert them to your swimmer’s availability or lack thereof.

Please check your account regularly to make sure that you are staying on top of paying meet fees. We issue a check to the meet host before the meet. A family with a negative balance will not be allowed to participate in meets.

  • As each meet is billed, you will receive an invoice via email so you have an up-to-date account balance. If you have a credit card on file (from registration) it will be automatically charged. You can go to Setup Auto Pay if you would like to add a credit card to your account for this convenient feature.
  • You may also send a check to STPA (PO Box 271, Cheshire, CT 06410 - note escrow and swimmer in the memo) or make payment on your account to stay ahead of splash fees.
  • If your swimmer is entered in additional events that are cut due to over subscription or other reasons, you may or may not get reimbursed for these events. CDOG needs to pay these entry fees and it is up to the hosting team whether the fees will be reimbursed
  • Swimmers should keep a balance of $50 in their account at all times. If your account is in arrears your swimmer will not be allowed to swim.

Periodically throughout the year each family will be asked to make an additional deposit in the account (usually before Championships) for each swimmer so that enough funds are available to cover year end meets.

***Bounced checks written for any dues, fees, registrations, or other payments to the Sea Dogs will incur a fixed bounced check fee of $35 per returned item, in addition to any outstanding balance; the club will notify the payer within 10 business days of a returned check, the payer must replace the bounced check with a valid form of payment within 10 business days, and the fee will be added to the member’s account and payable along with any outstanding balance; multiple returned checks will accrue fees for each item, repeated incidents may require prepayment or alternative payment methods, and non-payment may result in suspension from practices or meets, ineligibility for future registrations, and administrative holds, with all notices and payments documented in the member’s account; a returned check does not cancel the debt, and the $35 fee may be waived at the club’s discretion with documented bank error evidence.***

If you have any questions about your escrow account, please contact treasurer@seadogswim.org

Mail escrow payments to:
STPA
PO Box 271, 
Cheshire, CT  06410

GOALS OF YOUR YOUNG SWIMMER

The beauty of swimming is that every single swimmer has different, distinct goals and those goals change with their advancement through the sport. For our younger swimmers, to finish a heat legally can be a great achievement especially in long course. Some swimmers may have their hearts set on an Age Group Cut (more about that later). Another swimmer may be determined to improve their pacing on longer races. Others may just be putting it all on the line to win the rubber ducky heat prize. All goals are equally valid. Encourage your child to discuss goals with the coach. Celebrate each one that is met. It's a wonderful thing. These kids work very, very hard.

Buc swimmers usually are working on perfection of strokes, turns and starts. They are learning about meets and meet procedures. They will educate you as they learn. They learn a lot. Our young CDOGs are among the best prepared in the nation.

Age Group swimmers are perfecting their techniques too. They usually have some meet experience. Their goals are to drop time and work on getting an Age Group cut. That's a qualifying time for the CT State Championship in their age group. It's a big goal and tough to achieve. It takes a ton of work and a lot of skill. It's usually achieved as your swimmer's age reaches the upper limit of their age level i.e. an older 10-year-old in 10/u. There is a championship in both seasons, long course and short course. Times do convert over, season to season within the year. Regional Championships are usually the "last chance" meet ie the last meet to qualify for Age Groups.

When your child has a lot of experience and if they are a very, very fast swimmer they may qualify for Zones. The Eastern Zone Championships are held in both seasons and your child would represent the State of CT. They compete with children from Virginia to Maine. The cuts are very hard to make. With this meet your child competes as CT not CDOG. It's a different experience and one that our CDOG swimmers have really enjoyed. They make friends from around the state and those friendships remain for years. From a swimming perspective there isn't much personalized coaching so you really aren't looking for that benefit. It's more of an experience for your swimmer. Feel free to discuss with a former ZoneS parent to make up your own mind on participating.

Our older swimmers compete for Age Groups, Seniors, Y Nationals, Junior Nationals, Nationals and Olympic Trials. For Nationals they travel as a team and are wonderful ambassadors for our team. We encourage them to inspire and work with our younger swimmers.  In the past we've enjoyed having our CDOG Olympic Trials swimmers speak with our younger swimmers. They loved it!

KEEPING UP WITH THE TEAM

  • We have an official website called www.seadogswim.org. The calendar, events and meet schedule is there and there will be information with regard to our pool. It also has our handbook posted. Please read and absorb.
  • @CDOG_Swimming_Official is our Instagram page. Coaches posts on this usually.
  • We have an unofficial closed Facebook group and an official Facebook page. The unofficial group is called “The Great CDOG Family”. We began this as a carpool group but it grew in size and functionality and can be a great resource. It is updated daily and sometimes several times a day.  It's a closed group so that privacy is maintained. We post meet info, restaurant/hotel tips, and all sorts of day-by-day info on this site. Anyone can post questions, observations, praise or vents. Consider it therapy.
  • Other useful websites include CTSwim.org. Here you can check your swimmer's times, rankings in events, and qualification for Championships.
  • Another is USASwimming.org. Here you can also check your swimmer's times and what letter standard time they have achieved (National Age Group Motivation Times). It also has great articles on swimming and parenting a swimmer.

 

 

 

USEFUL CONTACT INFO

The Coaches

Remember it is best to speak with them during their office hours or email them through the day. When they are coaching on deck they need to concentrate on the swimmers in the water.  If there's anything that STPA or the New Parent contact can answer, try them first.

STPA

Co President               Deborah Furtado                    stpa@seadogswim.org

Co President                Carlee Brandom                     stpa@seadogswim.org

Secretary                     Nataly Garcia

Escrow                         Kathy Ebert                             cdogswimming@gmail.com

SafeSport                    Meghan McCarthy

Treasurer                    Christine Trapp                       treasurer@seadogswim.org

YMCA Liaison              Jaci Diaz

Member At Large        Stacey Pagliaro
       

 

 

 

 

 

 

SWIMMING 101

The Four Strokes

The four competitive swimming strokes are freestyle, backstroke, breaststroke and butterfly. The combination of all four strokes is called an individual medley or IM. All have particular rules that must be followed.

Here's a high-level description:
 
In freestyle events, the competitor may swim any stroke. The stroke most commonly used is sometimes called the crawl, which is characterized by the alternate stroking of the arms over the surface of the water surface and an alternating (up-and-down) flutter kick.

Backstroke consists of an alternating motion of the arms with a flut­ter kick while on the back. On turns, swimmers may rotate to the stomach and perform a flip turn and some part of the swimmer must touch the wall. The swimmer must finish on the back and not be completely submerged.

The breaststroke requires simultaneous movements of the arms on the same horizontal plane. The hands are pressed out from in front of the breast in a heart shaped pattern and recovered under or on the surface of the water. The kick is a simultaneous somewhat circular motion similar to the action of a frog. On turns and at the finish, the swimmer must touch the wall with both hands simultaneously at, above or below the water surface.

A good butterfly may be the most beautiful of the strokes. It consists of a simultaneous recovery of the arms over the water combined with an undulating dolphin kick. In the kick, the swimmer must keep both legs together and may not flutter, scissors or use the breaststroke kick. Both hands must touch the wall simultaneously on the turns and the finish. 

The individual medley, commonly referred to as the I.M., features all four strokes. In the IM, the swimmer begins with the butterfly, then changes after one-fourth of the race to backstroke, then breaststroke and finally freestyle.

Swimming Terms

We have a lot of lingo. It's confusing in the beginning. Ask lots of questions. Here are some of the more common terms and their meanings:

Bulkhead- moveable wall constructed to divide a pool into different courses, such as a 50-meter pool into two 25-yard pools.

Circle Swimming- swimming to the right of the lane to enable multiple swimmers to swim in one lane

Circle Seeding is used in the preliminary races of meets utilizing "Preliminaries & Finals" format, and it only affects the last three heats of the event.  In a 6-lane pool, the swimmers with the three fastest seed times swim in Lane 3 of the last three heats, the swimmers with next three fastest times swim in Lane 4 of the last three heats, etc.

Consolation- (finals) competition for the fastest of those who failed to qualify for the finals.

Converted times- times swum in a 50-meter pool and translated to reflect an equivalent time in a 25-yard pool or vice versa. Converted times cannot be used to qualify for the larger meets or championships, but they do give a good indication of what times a swimmer may attain in another course.

Course- designated distance over which competition is conducted. Our long course is swum in 50-meter pools and our short course is swum in 25-yard pools.

Cut- slang for qualifying time, time standard necessary to attend a particular meet or event

CCP- Cheshire Community Pool. Our home base usually.

Deck entering- a swimmer not entered in a meet may be allowed to swim in heats that have open lanes. This is done the day of the meet and may incur additional charges.

Dry land training- training done out of the water to enhance swimming performance, usually includes stretching, calisthenics, weight training. Many of the kids use a yoga mat on deck.

DQ (Disqualified)- The swimmer’s time is not considered in the competition due to an improper or illegal stroke technique or other rules infraction.

False Start- An error in which the swimmer leaves the block before the swimmer touches the wall on a relay event. Also, a false start is given to any swimmer who makes any movement after being called “to your mark” but before the starting signal has been given.

Finals- the concluding session of each day of the meet in which the final race of each event is swum.

Flags- backstroke flags placed 5 yards (short course) or 5 meters (long course) from the end of the pool. The flags assist backstroke swimmers in executing a safe and efficient backstroke turn.

Flyover starts- Starts where all swimmers stay in the water after they are done with their race, move to the side and remain still while the swimmers on the blocks for the next heat start. After the start, swimmers who have completed their event can exit the pool. These starts are used when time is limited.

Time Standards NTS (No Time Standard)- used for meet entry purposes, means anyone can swim a particular event regardless of how fast or slow his/her time is. On the heat sheet as NT.

Open- an age designation that allows swimmers of all ages to swim those events

Peak- top performance level attained by tapering

Taper- carefully planned program that involves getting a swimmer’s body and mind into peak performance levels before a major competition

T16 (Top 16)- refers to a time standard, based on the top times in the nation. Time standards are set for both long and short course to give national recognition to the fastest 16 swimmers in each stroke, distance, gender and age group. Achieving these standards allows a swimmer’s time to be submitted for consideration each year. They do not guarantee achieving a Top 16 ranking.

Prelims & Finals meet- meet in which swimmers swim early in the day and return later to swim again if he/she makes the consolation or final heat. In CT this is usually only a format for 11+ year olds, and is not done at every meet.

Qualifying heats- Competition in which a number of heats are swum to qualify the fastest swimmers for the finals. The finals heat of the fastest 6 or 8 swimmers will determine final placing for the event.

Qualifying times- certain times that must be attained in order for a swimmer to enter a particular event. Also called minimum times

SC (Short Course)- season from September to March, swum in 25-yard indoor pools.

Scratch- to elect not to swim an event a swimmer is already entered in. At some of the larger meets, failure to officially scratch results in fines and/or dismissal from the rest of the meet. A swimmer should always consult with a coach if he/she intends to scratch an event.

Seeding- the arrangement of swimmers according to submitted or preliminary times.

Pre-seeded heats- swimmers are arranged into heats in events according to submitted times. Heat sheets are prepared in advance.

Deck-seeded events- swimmers are called to report for their event on the day of the meet. After scratches are determined, swimmers are seeded into the proper heats. Usually only longer distance races are deck-seeded.

Senior- in meet entry information, swimmers of all ages may swim in this category.

Session- any portion of the meet distinctly separated from other portions by locale, time or type of competition, i.e., preliminaries and finals; morning and evening; Senior and Age Group, etc.

Split- time recorded from the official start to the completion of an intermediate distance within a longer event; also, the time for one of the four swimmers in a relay. Under certain conditions, splits may be used as official times, for example, the lead-off swim in a relay or the lead-off portion of an event.

STPA- CDOG's Swim Team Parents Association.

Heat- division of an event in which there are too many swimmers to compete in one race. Often heats are seeded slowest to fastest, except at prelims for larger meets.

Preliminary heats- competition in which a number of heats are swum to qualify the fastest swimmers for the finals where final placing will be determined.

Timed Final heats- competition in which only heats are swum and final placings are determined by the times performed in the heats. No need to return to re-race against the top finishers.

Heat sheets- meet programs that contain the events in the order they will be swum with the swimmers’ names, lane assignments and entry times listed.

High Point- recognition given to each male and female swimmer in an age group for scoring the most points at some meets.

Last Chance- slang name given to the final meet before championships where swimmers may swim in events, they do not have qualifying times in, a “last chance” to qualify

LC (Long Course)- season from April to August, swum in 50-meter pools

LSC (Local Swimming Committee)- an administrative division of USA Swimming with supervisory responsibilities with certain geographic boundaries. Our LSC encompasses the State of CT and is called CT Swimming Inc or CSI,

Mark- (take your) starting position.

Maximum entry times- swimmer cannot be faster than the entry time to enter

Meet sanction- a permit issued by an LSC to a USA Swimming group member to conduct a meet in conformance with all USA swimming rules.

Minimum entry times- swimmer must have entry time or faster in order to enter

National Time- The “A” team comprises those American swimmers who are ranked in the Top 8 in the world. The “B” team includes those ranked in the Top 16 in the world.

No recall starts- type of starts where, if a swimmer false starts, the race proceeds as usual and the swimmer is disqualified at the end

Non-conforming time- qualifying time standard that does not correspond to the course that will be competed

Taper- final preparation phase sometimes referred to as “rest”, the slow gradual reduction of workloads and intensities in preparation for season-ending competitions.

Time Standard- the time standard for any event in a meet is the cut-off time for that event. The range of times is based on past performances.

Timed Finals- Competition in which only heats are swum and final placings are determined by the times performed in the heats. Most of our younger meets are timed finals. Swimmers do not return later in the evening to compete again.

NA or UNAT (Unattached)- Designation given to an athlete who competes but does not represent a USA Swimming Club. Any swimmer who transfers to another USA Swimming club must swim unattached in competition for 120 days between representing the two clubs in competition.

USA Swimming- The organization that conducts swimming programs and supervises amateur competitions in the United States.

Warm-up- Planned pool session to allow a swimmer to prepare for a meet or practice.

Warm-down- Pool session after a race or practice for a swimmer to loosen up his/her muscles to prevent stiffness or soreness.

Zones- USA Swimming is divided into the Eastern, Southern, Central and Western zones. Zone meets, held in August, are the highest level of age group competition available to USA Swimming swimmers. We are in the Eastern Zone with other LSCs that extend from Maine to Virginia. Other LSCs in our Zone are Metro Swimming (New York Metro), New England (everyone but us and Maine), Potomac, Allegheny etc.

 

CDOG Parent Handbook. Revised November 2025.