Parent INFORMATION

Parent Meeting Presentation (May 4, 2025)

PARENT INFORMATION - GENERAL

Thank you for signing your child up to Mills Creek Swim Team and joining our family.  As first timers in the swim world or season veterans, we hope these tips will help everyone get acclimated to our pool and our swim community.

Practice Times:

Please do your best to have your kiddos at the pool and ready to jump in by your start time.  

You are welcome to stay during the morning practices; some choose to and some don’t, whatever works for you and your child.  However, please stay back from the pool deck and let the coaches do their work.  If you do have questions or concerns, please seek out a board member and we can help or relay info to the coach.  There are usually a few of us there during all practices.  

What to wear: 

• A good fitting swimsuit; girls are typically in one piece suits and boys in jammers or shorts.  You do not need to wear the team suit to practices.

• Goggles are a must.  Swim Outlet is a great website to get affordable gear.

• Towel and change of clothes. 

• Water Bottle- believe it or not these kiddos are using lots of energy and get thirsty in the pool

• A swim cap is not required but recommended.  We have Makos caps for sale at practices

• Sunscreen- for your swimmer and for you if you are staying!!

Swim Meets

Before the meet:

A sign up will be sent out on our social media sites.  Please sign up if your swimmer will be participating.  The coach will have a date to cut off sign ups so they can formulate a line up.  We are asking that swimmers participate in at least 3 of our 6 meets.  Our team needs participation in the meets to compete as well as be eligible for swimming at Champs at the end of the season.  

Meet information will also be sent out through social media sites.  Addresses to the away meets are on this webpage.  Arrival time is 4:00 for home meets and 4:30 for away meets.  

At the swim meet:

For home meets we ask families to set up on the lawn area, please be mindful of roped off areas on the pool deck.  

For away meets look out for our blue tents, this is where the coaches and board will be set up.

When arriving at the meet; look for the heat sheets that will be posted.  This sheet will tell your swimmer what events they are in.  Please take a quick picture of your child’s events as many people will be in line to get this information for their child.  Before leaving the list please check off your swimmer’s name, this lets the coach know that you are at the meet.  

The heat sheet will list your swimmers name, the event number/name, lane and heat.  For our smaller meets there is typically only one heat per event.  

Put this information on your child with a marker– event#, event name#, lane, heat.  If they are swimming in a relay; add stroke for IM relay (breast or back) and order number for freestyle relays (ex 2 of 4)

There are many methods to help you and your children remember their events, the marker trick seems to work best for many.  

What to bring:

• Towels- a few

• Chairs or blankets to sit on

• Snacks and lots of them.  Most places will also have concession stands that will accept cash and may accept credit cards. 

• Small toys, games, books to keep children entertained between their races.

• Sharpie Markers

• Spare pair of goggles

• Extra swim cap

***If you need help, please find one of the board members.  We will be wearing blue shirts with “Shark Patrol” on the back.  We are here to help facilitate smooth and fun swim meets!!!

Clerk of Course

This is where swimmers are lined up prior to their race.  Please listen for the announcers to know when to get your kid to line up at Clerk of Course, such as “Lining up events 10-15” or “Events 40-52 report to Clerk of Course”.  Have your kiddos report to the volunteers working Clerk of Course and then find a place along the poolside to watch their event.  Individual events and Relays will be lined up according to order and taken to the pool for their event/s.  Relay events will be given a card to turn into the timer at each line prior to their swim.  Older kids need to listen for the announcements, check in if they are doing a relay, and line themselves up at the correct lane.  

Volunteer Jobs

Please check in with the Volunteer Coordinator when you get to the pool.  There will be an announcement for some volunteer jobs to have a meeting prior to the beginning of the meet.  The meet is 72 events long.   If your job is for the first half of the meet; you will be asked to start prior to the meet and will work until event 35/36.  At that time the volunteers signed up for the second half of the meet will change places with a Mills Creek volunteer.  This is especially important as a timer; as each lane needs to have one timer from each team.  Please listen for an announcement for second half volunteers to begin.  If there are any concerns, please check in the with Volunteer Coordinator.  Click here for more information about volunteering.

MILLS CREEK SWIM TEAM - CODE OF CONDUCT

Coming together is a beginning; staying together is progress.  Working together is a SUCCESS!

I will remember that children are involved in organized sports for their own enjoyment, not mine.

I will not force my unwilling child to participate in swimming.

I will teach my child that honest effort is as important as victory, so that the result of each competition is accepted without undue disappointment.

I will help my child work toward skill improvement and good sportsmanship.

I will require that my child respect other people and their property.

I will encourage my child to attend practice.

I will work cooperatively with the coaching staff.

I will applaud the efforts of home and opposing teams.

I will not ridicule or yell at my child or another child for making mistakes.

I will not question the official’s judgment or honesty in public.

I will support all efforts to remove verbal and physical abuse from children’s sporting activities.

I will take any concerns or problems about the team directly to the Mills Creek Swim Team Board BEFORE discussing them with other parents.

I will not approach a coach on deck, during meets, or during practices. If I need to speak with a coach, I will set up a meeting through the Mills Creek Swim Board.

I will be a good role model to my children, as well as to other parents and their children.

I will actively participate in the Mills Creek Swim Team organization through social media and volunteering opportunities.