Round Rock Dolphins Swim Team

Frequently Asked Questions

The majority of questions about Dolphins usually concern two main areas – swim practice and swim meets. Although this will not cover every question that arises, hopefully it will answer some of the more common questions. If you have a question that you can not find an answer to here or in the handbook, please put a note in your coach’s folder or ask a board member for help.

Swim Practices

Q: What are the age groups?
A: 6 and under, 7/8, 9/10, 11/12, 13/14, 15-17

Q: How does practice work?
A: For the first week or so, practice will seem a little chaotic and that is the norm, so don’t be worried. What the coaches are trying to do is place 290+ swimmers in the correct lane so they can be with others of the same ability. This takes a while, and your swimmer might be moved around to several lanes within the course of the first couple of weeks. This process will occur again on a lesser scale when we switch to morning practices.

Q: Why is my swimmer in “that” lane and how do they move up a lane?
A: The lanes assignments are created according to ability. In the south pool, the emphasis is on learning how to kick and the basics of three strokes – free, back and breast, with a little bit of fly. In the north pool, there is still an emphasis placed technique and mastering the strokes, but the workouts are now geared towards conditioning as well. It is the decision of the coach as to when a child should be moved up. Your child may be faster than swimmers in the north pool at free and back, but if he is still struggling with breaststroke and fly, chances are he/she will stay in the south pool until they are comfortable with the other strokes.

Q: When are the practices?
A: Practices are everyday after school Monday through Friday from May 4th until June 3rd. On June 5th, morning practices start. Your practice time is determined by what age group your child is in. 8 and under 4:30-5:15, 9-12 5:15-6:00 13 and Up 6:00-7:00.

Q: When is my morning practice time?
A: Your morning practice time is determined by what age group your child is in. 13 and up 6:30am-8:00am, 9-12 8:00am-9:00am and 8 and under 9:00am -10:00am. The more practices a swimmer attends, the more progress that swimmer makes. Please remember that swimmers coming to practice at times not assigned to them leads to overcrowding of lanes, which means that each swimmer gets less attention.

Q: What do I wear to practice?
A: Any swimsuit works. For meets, a snug fitting suit is important to decrease drag in the water. We do have an optional team suit that can be worn for meets.

Q: What do I bring to practice?
A: It’s pretty simple… swimmers should have goggles. Girls, especially those with long hair, may want to wear a cap. Bring a towel and a good attitude.

Q: What if there is bad weather?
A: Please check the website for information regarding practice and meets. Updates about canceling practice/meets and events will also be posted to Twitter. Generally, thunder & lightning mean we will delay the start of a practice or a meet. We must wait 20-30 minutes after any lightning/thunder before swimmers may enter the pool. Sustained thunder and lightning means…you guessed it: no meet

Swim Meets

Q: How do I sign up for swim meets for the season?
A: Approximately the second week of practice, there will be a blue crate located on a table under the superslide. Inside the crate are clipboards – one for boys and one for girls for each age group. The dates for the meets will listed across the top. Simply place a “Y” (Yes) or “N” (No) in the box across from your child’s name. A box left blank will be assumed to be a “No”. If a change occurs in your schedule that prohibits your swimmer from attending a meet that was marked as a “Yes”, please remember to change the sign up sheet as soon as possible.

Q: How do I choose my child’s events for a swim meet?
A: The Monday and Tuesday of the week before the meet, there will be an event sheet attached to the clipboards in the blue crate. Place an “X” in the box under the event your child would like to swim and across from their name. If you do not choose any events but have a “Y” marked for attending the meet, events will be chosen for your swimmer. Your swimmer may choose all 3 of the individual events that they would like to swim at the upcoming meet. Swimmers are strongly encouraged to try all of the events. Although swimmers may select their own events, coaches will have the final decision in meet lineup. After Tuesday morning practice the sign-up for that week’s meet is closed. Relays will be determined by the Coach Tom – please do not mark relays. The only exception to this is if a swimmer does not want to participate in a relay – in that case, please put a “No” in the relay box.

Q: How are relays chosen?
A: The majority of the time, relays are created according to speed. However, the four fastest swimmers usually change from week to week and swimmers improve, so don’t be concerned if one week your child is on the “A” relay and the next week is one the ”B” relay. The other exception to this rule occurs with the Medley Relay (back, breast, fly, free). EX. Placing Bryan, Andy, Randy and Danny together would create the fastest relay team. However, they are the only four in their age group that can swim fly legally. Therefore, instead of just having one fast Medley relay, the four swimmers would be broken up so that there can be four relays – each with a legal fly swimmer. This way more swimmers get to participate.

Q: What time should I arrive at a meet?
A: Please read the Dolphin newsletter each week and watch for updates in your email box from the Dolphin Google Group… Suffice it to say that you’ll be at the pool from approximately 6:00AM to 1PM for a typical meet.

Q: What do I do when I arrive at a swim meet?
A: It is important that swimmers check-in with their pit parent when they arrive to avoid being scratched from the meet.

Q: What is a Pit?
A: The pit is the tent area set up by age group where the swimmers remain during the course of the meet. It is a very social atmosphere for the swimmers. Swimmers should stay in their pit areas. The Pit Parents are responsible for watching the swimmers in the pit area and getting them to the ready bench when it is time for their event. Parents of young children who take a swimmer from the pit area should inform the pit parent of their whereabouts. Swimmers and parents should be respectful of pit parents and make their job easier by marking all personal items with their name and cleaning up all personal items and trash before leaving.

Q: What happens when a swimmer is late to a meet?
A: The home meet schedule will be as follows (away meet warm-up times will be communicated the week of the meet). Meet start time is usually 7:40, however we may on occasion start earlier depending on the size of the team we are swimming against.. Warm-up times are 13 and Up (6-6:15), 9-12(6:15-6:30) and 8 and Under (6:30-6:45). Swimmers who have not checked in to their pit by 7:00am will be dropped from the meet entirely – no relays or individual events. Please realize that signing up for a meet and then not showing up effects your entire age group. When a swimmer does not show up for a meet, relays have to be adjusted and in many cases relays are scratched from the meet. So, it is not just your child that doesn't swim, but three other children that were looking forward to being a part of a relay

Q: What if I signed-up, but can't make it?
A: Please let us know ASAP! Send an email to Coach Tom at Dolphinscoachtom@yahoo.com, Kara Ritthaler at karaandroy@yahoo.com and your volunteer head to let them know that your swimmer won’t be swimming and that you won’t be working your shift. The more time we have to prepare, the better!

Q: How does a swim meet work?
A: There is not enough room here to answer that question. You’ll get a great feel for a meet when you come to the practice meet on May 22nd. The practice meet is to help new swimmers and returning swimmers see what a meet is all about.

Q: What does a swimmer need to bring to a swim meet?
A: A parent of course to cheer for you! A chair to blanket to sit on, sunscreen, water, nutritious snacks, a couple of towels, books, games, music, etc. to keep busy , goggles—remember to label everything with your name, swim cap -please also wear only a Dolphin Swim cap (this helps the coaches identify our swimmers) or a generic swim cap at all meets. Sweatshirt and sweat pants— mornings can be chilly. Swim suit (yes, swimmers are known to forget their suits and most of all a positive attitude.

Q: What does a parent need to bring to a swim meet?
A: A swimmer to cheer for! A chair to sit on, sunscreen, a hat and snacks, a book to read…there is a lot of downtime in between events...

Q: What to eat at a swim meet?
A. The swim meets begin very early in the morning and last until noon or later. Please pack nutritious snacks such as bagels, granola bars, fruit, smoothies, yogurt, bananas, etc. Foods to avoid at a meet... as a general guideline avoid lots of sugar. That is: soda, donuts, candy, etc. Believe it or not, dehydration is a problem at swim meets. To avoid it, drink lots of water (go figure) and at the same time, avoid sugary drinks.

Q: What is written on my arm at a meet?
A: Event numbers are written on your arm. The purpose of this is to remind you what you’re swimming in that meet. They are written in the following order Event number, Heat number and Lane number.

Q: Will my parent get to see me race if he/she is volunteering at the time?
A: Absolutely! Tell them to drop everything and watch you!! Unless of course they are the announcer, timer, starter, stroke judge or ex-change judge. In that case, they have front row seats anyway.

Q: What is a coach’s relay?
A: About half way through each meet, the coaches and any parents who want to participate get to show off their racing skills. They usually compete against the coaches from the other team, so make sure you get out there and cheer on your Dolphin coaches. They need your support so cheer for them!!!

Q: What awards are given out to swimmers?
A: Swimming is a fantastic sport because each time a swimmer races, they are really racing against themselves. The goal for the swimmers should be to beat their best times each week. Everyone can't win a race but everyone can get a personal best time! Here are some fun awards our swimmers can earn this season.

• Participation Ribbons A participation ribbon to each swimmer, age 12 and under, if they participate in a meet and don't earn another ribbon.
• Time Improvement Ribbons Swimmers will receive a time improvement ribbon each time they swim a best time at a meet.
• Heat Winner Ribbons In a swim meet; we have a number of heats per event. The winner of each heat age 12 and under is awarded a heat winner ribbon.
• Place ribbons Swimmers placing 1-10 in each event win a ribbon