Your first year as a new swim family can be very overwhelming. On this page you will find tips, a video, and other information that can help. We have lots of veteran swim families that can answer many of the questions you may have.
Swim Gear & Suits - Most of the swimmers of the team purchase gear from two sources. Swimoutlet.com has an enormous selection. www.swimoutlet.com Splashwear Aquatics is an Arkansas company that is located in Little Rock. www.swimmerstuff.com
Practice Suits - There are so many options for practice suits and the fabric content can be confusing. What's the difference between PBT, Poly, and Lycra? Here is a short article to help you out. Swimsuit Fabric Options
Swimmer Hair Care Tips - Green, dry or slimy hair is easy to avoid. Here is a short article to help you out Hair Care
Swimmer's Ear - The dreaded summer ear infection! The preventative drops are just a couple of dollars at Wal-Mart or you can make your own. Here is a Mayo Clinic article with directions and tips to help. DIY Ear Drops for Swimmers
Disqualification - You will hear parents and swimmers talk about being DQ'd. Unfortunately, this does not refer to Dairy Queen. A Disqualification or DQ usually happens when a swimmer makes a technical error in a swim meet.. Trained officials will discretely deliver the DQ slip to a coach or representative of the team. Please remember that everyone, even Olympians, get DQ'd.
The most common ways to to be disqualified are technical infractions,They include but are not limited to:
Freestyle: Walking on the bottom, pulling on the lane rope, not touching the wall on a turn, or not completing the distance.
Backstroke: Pulling or kicking into the wall once a swimmer has turned passed the vertical onto the breast. Turning onto the breast before touching the wall with the hand at the finish of the race.
Breaststroke: An illegal kick such as flutter (freestyle), dolphin (butterfly), or scissors (side stroke); not on the breast; alternating movements of the arms; taking two arm strokes or two leg kicks while the head is under water; touching with only one hand at the turns or finish. Extending arms past a certain point.
Butterfly: Alternating movements of the arms or legs; pushing the arms forward under instead of over the water surface (underwater recovery); a breaststroke style of kick; touching with only one hand at the turns or finish.
If your child is disqualified in an event, be supportive rather than critical. A disqualification should be treated as a learning experience, not as a punishment. A disqualification alerts the swimmer and coach to what portions of the swimmer's stroke need further attention. They should be considered in the same light as an incorrect answer in schoolwork-they point out areas that need practice. Disqualifications are necessary to keep the competition fair and equitable for all competitors. A supportive attitude on the part of the official, coach, and parent can make a positive situation out of the disqualification." USA Swimming
Swim Meet Checklist - There are lots of things to remember when packing for a swim meet. Here is a short checklist to help get everything together.
Event, Heat, Lane - You will see kids at every swim meet with sharpie markings on them. Writing their Event, Heat, and Lane assignment helps them get to the correct place. Please review the attachment on how to do this.