Parent information

• Is your swimmer 5 years old? 

• Can they swim one length of the pool without help from an adult? 

• Listen and follow instruction? 

If your swimmer cannot do these things, they may need lessons for another season and try again next year.  Sometimes, parents think they can do these things but aren’t entirely sure.  If you are unsure if your swimmer can do these things, please reach out to Coach AJ! 

If you sign up for the team and your swimmer turns out not to be ready, you will get refunded and we hope you’ll invest the money into swim lessons.  We cannot refund swimsuits, so please only purchase swimsuits early if you are certain of their ability. 

Parent participation is essential to the success of the Juniata Valley Stingray Swim Team. 

For your child's swim season to run successfully, we need parent volunteers to assist in many areas! 

It is a REQUIREMENT that each parent volunteers for their child to continue as a swimmer on the team. 

If volunteer positions are not filled during a meet, the meet will halt until filled. Each team will provide all the materials and supplies needed for each meet; all we need is you. 

Some volunteer positions need specific training; no one will be asked to volunteer for a position where they feel uncomfortable working.

Use your time at the meets to have fun and meet other parents, and you might enjoy the meets just as much as your swimmer. Participating on deck is a great way to meet other parents and get a closer view of the swimmers. It also makes the time go faster. 

• TIMERS! (12 each meet)

  • Ensures the proper swimmer swims in the right event, the right heat, and the right lane

  • Operates timing devices (watches or semi-automatic timing systems - buttons) 

  • Records the time for the swimmer in their lane

• Announcer (1 - home meets only)

  • Announces races and assists at scoring table

• Runners (1-2 - home meets only)

  • Picks up the cards or lane timer slips from each lane after each heat or event, respectively, and delivers them to the scoring table

• Seeders (numerous! ALWAYS needed!)

  • Assist in communicating upcoming events in staging area, sending to “on-deck” area 

• Concessions (2-4, home meets only)

  • Sells snacks & drinks, keeps track of money

Swimmers are expected to show responsible behavior before, during and after practices as well as at meets. The behavior of each JV Stingray affects our team image and relationships. Negative or abusive behavior will not be tolerated. Due to the volume of swimmers and the limited space/amount of practice time available, it is crucial that the practice environment remain positive and that practice sessions operate in a smooth, efficient manner.

Inappropriate behavior includes, but is not limited to, the following:

• Speaking when coaches are speaking

• Disobeying the requests or instructions of the Head Coach or Assistant Coach

• Failing to respect others’ private property

• Behaving in any way that could reflect negatively on the program and/or the Y

• Failing to respect all areas of the facility and/or staff members

• Any disruptive behavior which interferes with practice or the safety of another swimmer will automatically result in the swimmer being asked to leave practice.

• Profanity

• Substance Abuse

Repeated inappropriate behavior by a swimmer may result in them being asked to exit the pool until they are ready to participate in swim team activities in a respectful manner. 

These standards of behavior shall be maintained before, during, and after all practice sessions, meets, and at any team function.

We use D&J’s in Lewisburg as our exclusive source for team gear! We have a contract with arena Swimming! For meets, all gear that the swimmers wear while in the pool should be arena.

Girl’s team suits are an arena Team Women’s suit with Light Drop back. Boy’s team suits are an arena Team Solid Jammer suit. Both suits are a solid Navy Blue with White arena logo.

Practice suits:

Girls’ practice swimsuits must be one piece with straps that stay in place. The vast majority of boys wear “jammers.” We recommend purchasing swimsuits intended for competitive swimmers. We suggest having more than one suit; they will break down quickly over time if used for both practice and meets. Practice suits can be from any brand and source that you choose. If you would like to order suits using the team discount, please contact Mary at D&Js in Lewisburg. She is amazing and will be happy to help. If you order any gear from D&J’s, Kara and Brian are in Lewisburg 5 – 6 days each week and would be happy to bring anything you order back to practice!

Goggles:

Arena offers a wide selection of competitive goggles. We recommend arena Tracks, Python, or Air Speed goggles. These are cost-effective and prices range from $22.50 (Tracks non-mirror) to $42.00 (Air Speed Mirror). There are other options as well! We have an excellent set of fit kit goggles for your swimmers to try!

Caps:

Navy blue is our team cap color. We will be providing 1 team cap for each swimming and will information for ordering additional team caps for your swimmer soon!

Water bottles:

It is very important to stay hydrated during practice and meets

Swim meets are a great family experience. They are a place where the whole family can spend time together and truly support one another. They also afford the team an opportunity to build friendships and celebrate each other’s successes. But we know there is a lot going on in your life, so we want to make things as easy as possible.

The four competitive strokes are freestyle, backstroke, breaststroke, and butterfly. All four of these strokes are included in swim meets at various distances and have their own qualifying technique rules. These four strokes are also combined into an event called an individual medley (IM).

• Freestyle - In the event that your swimmer is in a freestyle event, they are able to swim any stroke however, the stroke most commonly used is sometimes called the crawl, which is characterized by the alternate stroking of the arms over the water surface and an alternating (up and down) flutter kick. On turns and finishes, some part of the swimmer must touch the wall (most often their feet in the event a flip turn is used).

• Backstroke - Consists of alternating motion of the arms with a flutter kick while on the back. On turn, 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 back

• Breaststroke - The oldest stroke (dating back hundreds of years), requires some of the most complex movements: simultaneous movements of the arms on the same horizontal plane and a simultaneous kick with a somewhat circular motion. On turns and finishes, the swimmer must touch the wall with both hands simultaneously at, above, or below the water surface.

• Butterfly- Some consider this stroke to be the most beautiful, but the most difficult. It features simultaneous recovery of arms over the water combined with an undulating dolphin kick. In the kick, the swimmer must keep their legs together and may not flutter, scissors, or use the breaststroke kick. Similar to breaststroke, both hands must touch simultaneously on turns and finishes.

• Individual Medley (IM) - Features all four competitive strokes: butterfly, backstroke, breaststroke, and freestyle (respectively)

• Freestyle Relay - Four swimmers compete as a team in a freestyle relay. All four participants swim freestyle for one quarter of the event’s total distance

• Medley Relay - Four swimmers perform all four strokes (one stroke per swimmer). The first swimmer swims backstroke, second is breaststroke, third is butterfly, and lastly freestyle.

Technical rules, disqualifications and techniques change regularly. The coaching staff of the Stingrays not only keeps up with the new advancements in technique and stroke development, but also maintains knowledge of all rules and regulations. Please consult them if you have any questions regarding technique or swimming rules.

Swimmers are always trying to improve their times in each event in their age group. To help

measure improvement, and to set minimum entry times for some meets (most championship meets),

time standards are established. Please note that times are established on a yearly basis, change almost every year and are primarily meant to increase the speed of which a swim meet is run.

Prior to Meets

We will post to BAND for online sign-ups for each upcoming meet. You are responsible for signing up for 1-4 events for each meet you will be attending. This information is due no later than the Wednesday before the meet. All swim meets information can be found on BAND. Please be accurate about your attendance as scratches affect other swimmers. 

What to Bring to a Meet

• Team Apparel - Suit, Cap, goggles. It’s advised to bring an extra pair of goggles and swim cap

• Towels - realize your swimmer will be there a while -pack at least 2

• T-shirts – Team shirts are great to wear to support the team and help keep warm

• Something to stay warm (sweats, parka, etc)

• Something to sit on (towel, old blanket, lawn chair, etc)

• Games. Travel games, books, cards, anything to help pass the time

• A change of clothes in a waterproof bag may make the ride home more comfortable

• Food: granola bars, fruit, dry cereal, etc. - no junk food

• Drinks: water, Gatorade, water, - non- breakable containers only. NO GLASS

Before the Meet Starts

Arrive at the pool at least 15 minutes before the scheduled warm-up begins; arrival and warm-up times will be posted on BAND. Swimmers should be on deck dressed to swim before warmup for stretching and to check in with the coaching staff. It is very important to be on time or inform the coach of possible delays as scratches are typically due when warmups start. If you do not communicate that you will be late for the meet, your swimmer may be scratched.

Upon arrival, find a place to put your swimmer's personal items (Ex: swim bag, sleeping bag/blanket). Many parents also bring a lawn chair for themselves. Be sure to look for familiar faces and the JVYMCA team area. During summer swim, we have a pop-up and banner so we can be found easily!

Once the heat sheets are available, it is CRITICAL that your swimmer know what event numbers, heats and lanes they are swimming. We recommend the following format be written on their arm in permanent ink; Sharpie markers work great!

The E|H|L format is GREAT! This puts all the info the swimmer needs on their forearm for easy access! An example follows: 

E H L

16 4 1 50 Fr

22 1 2 50 Bk

26 3 8 100 IM

The meet started… now what?

• It is important for every swimmer to know what event numbers he/she is swimming. He/She may swim right away after warmups or may have to wait a period of time

• Generally, girl’s events are odd numbered, and boys are even

• The seeders (parent volunteers) will call out what events and heats are up next.

• After each swim your swimmer should:

  • • Go immediately to their coach, and the coach will ask him/her their time and discuss the swim with each other

    • The coach will provide positive comments about the swim as well as suggestions for improvement

    • The swimmer returns to the staging area and waits for their next event to be called