2015 – 2016 HANDBOOK

ABOUT RACE

Riverside Aqua Club of Ellwood (RACE) was established with the purpose of teaching competitive swimming and developing teamwork. Our mission is to build and maintain a competitive swimming community by promoting sportsmanship and teamwork, teaching effective swimming techniques, and developing the work ethic and self- discipline that’s necessary for success in swimming and all of life’s endeavors.

Your child's choice of competitive swimming offers many benefits that carry over into all other aspects of life. Swimming is not only healthy physically, but also mentally. Commitment, goalsetting, timemanagement and self-confidence are all benefits of participating in the sport of swimming.

Our philosophy at RACE is to be an organization that encompasses swimmers from the social butterfly to the fierce competitor, and everyone in between. We provide pressure-free avenues for all aspects, from just coming and enjoying practice to being able to compete nearly every other weekend throughout our six-month-long season. The success of this organization is pivotal on every one of its swimmers; but what is more important, is that every swimmer be treated equally and respectfully, no matter which end of the spectrum they fall. RACE is a competitive sports team, and as with any sport, the undeniable truth is someone must win. While we are proud and excited for our winners, we try even harder to put more emphasis on personal achievements like improving personal best times, or swimming a new stroke or distance for the first time.

OUR SWIMMERS

RACE is ONE TEAM divided up into different practice squads; they are the R Squad, A Squad, C Squad and E Squads. Which squad a swimmer participates on is decided by the coaching staff. The following is a brief description of what is expected of swimmers on each squad.

  • R SquadRespect: This group is comprised of more experienced competitive swimmers. Focus is on refining competitive stroke technique, perfecting starts, turns, and finishes, building endurance, and training for longer swims. Two to two and one-half hour long practices five to six times a week is recommended.
  • A SquadAchieve: This group is for swimmers with some competitive experience. Focus is on enhancing competitive stroke technique, starts, turns and finishes, building some endurance and training for longer swims. One and one-half to two-hour long practices four to five times a week is recommended.
  • C SquadCommit: This group is for swimmers with little competitive experience. Focus is on improving competitive stroke technique, starts and turns, preparing for competition and includes some amount of aerobic training. One and one-half hour long practices three to four times a week is recommended.
  • E SquadEncourage: This group is for younger developing swimmers. They will learn swimming skills improving the front crawl with rotary breathing, the butterfly and breaststroke kicks, and treading water. It will include introduction to diving and other aquatic skills. Racing starts will be taught under the direct supervision of a USA Swimming member coach. The goal is to ready the swimmers for advancement into the C Squad group. The C Squad group will teach them the four competitive strokes and how to perform them legally. One hour long practices two times a week is recommended.
  • Core values:
  • R = Respect
  • A = Achievement
  • C = Commitment
  • E = Encourage

RACE LEAGUES

RACE swimmers compete in two different swimming leagues: Western Central Pennsylvania Swim League (WCPSL) and Allegheny Mountain Swim (AMS). AMS is the Local Swimming Committee (LSC) that RACE belongs to as part of USA Swimming. USA Swimming is the National Governing Body for the sport of swimming.

MORE ABOUT WCPSL

TEAMSThere are approximately 12 teams that compete against one another for points.

AGE GROUPS6 & under, 7-8, 9-10, 11-12, 13-14, 15-18.

All swimmers swim in the age group consistent with their age as of October 1st.

Swimmers may move up one age bracket for a relay.

MEETSEach team decides the number of meets they wish to swim.

Meets may be dual (2 teams) or tri (3 teams) or—rarely—quad (4 teams)

INDIVIDUALAll swimmers swim for points; there are no exhibition heats.

EVENTSEach swimmer can swim 3 events plus relays.

Points are scored for 1st -4th place

RELAYSRelays are mixed (boys & girls)

Points are scored for 1st-3rdplace.

CHAMPSSwimmers who compete in four (4) ofthe scheduled meets qualify to swim at Champs.

This is a one-day, all day event. There is a 10 & under session, and an 11 & over sessionper the host team.

There is a fee per event for this meet.The fees for this event were part of registration fees collected. The fees will be returned in the event that the swimmer does not participate in champs or they are registered for less than three events.

AWARDSIt is the responsibility of the home team to provide ribbons for swimmers at the meet.

Ribbons are awarded for 1st through 6th place in individual events and 1st through 3rd for relays.

Heat ribbons are awarded to all heat winners.

OFFICIALSEach team participating in a meet will provide enough timers for each lane plus one backup timer, a stroke and turn judge, scorer, and deck seeder. Your help will be needed at home and away meets to fill these positions.

SIGN UPSPlease check the RACE webpage to sign up for meets.

See Sign up Procedure later in the Handbook.

MORE ABOUT AMS/USA Swimming

AMS/USA Swimming is structured to allow competition within age groups and with swimmers of the same relative ability. This encourages realistic goal setting and opportunity for improvement.

TEAMSThere are many teams throughout Western PA, parts of Ohio, and West Virginia.

AGE GROUPSAge groups depend on the meet format.

Most meets are 10 & under, 11-12, 13-14, 15-18. (Some meets are 8 & under.)

All swimmers swim in the age group consistent with their age as of the day of the meet.

MEETSA list of the AMS meets that a coach will be attending will be posted on the AMS page of the RACE website.

Some additional meets that a coach is not attending may be available. This means you will be attending on your own, and may be signed in by a coach from another team.

Some meets require a maximum or minimum time to qualify or participate.

Meets vary greatly depending on the meet format.

INDIVIDUALThe number of events a swimmer can swim depends on the meet format.

EVENTSScoring depends on the meet format.

RELAYSRelays are boys or girls only.

Scoring depends on the meet format.

AWARDSEach meet is awarded dependent on the meet format.

OFFICIALSThe host club provides officials and timers and are all AMS approved.

Just watch and enjoy the meet.

SIGN UPSPlease check with Coach Gwen to sign up for AMS meets.

See Meet Sign up Procedure later in the Handbook.

There are additional fees involved with AMS. There is a team fee to join, which will cover USA Swimming membership, as well as coaches fees for the meets. Event fees are currently between $5.00 to $6.00 as set by the league and are additional to sign-up fee. To help make processes easier for the treasurer, every AMS swimmer will be required to have an AMS escrow account. The Treasurer will use this account to pay for entry fees to participate in meets. Once an account’s fund falls below $25.00, the owner will receive notice and be asked to deposit another $50.00. Any escrow account at or below negative $50.00 (-$50.00) must be brought positive before a swimmer is allowed to be registered for a meet.

AMS Swimmers will also be required to participate in AMS only fundraisers. These funds go towards offsetting coaching fees.

MEET SIGN UP PROCEDURE

All final decisions regarding stroke eligibility and events entries will be left up to the discretion of the coaching staff. Event selection will be based on what is best for the team (this means that the coaches take into consideration all swimmers in an age group, and they try to rotate swimmers through all strokes throughout the season), and what may best push the swimmer to excel. Please understand that it is a league rule that swimmers must be able to perform strokes legally, therefore a swimmer may not be eligible for all events.

WCPSL SIGN UPS

  • An online sign up form will be placed on the RACE webpage.
  • Please indicate whether or not you will be attending and if you’d like to be considered for a relay. “A” and “B” relays are made up of the swimmers with the fastest times. Coaches will try to rotate remaining swimmers in an age group through the “C” relay. It is important that if you sign-up for relay eligibility that you check with coaches prior to leaving the meet to see if your swimmer has been entered into relays. These decisions may be made during the meet.
  • Note the sign up deadline! Deadlines will usually be a week and a half to two weeks prior to meets. Any swimmer missing or forgetting to sign up for a meet will only be able to swim if there is an open lane in the first heat. No new, or shuffling of heats will be permitted.
  • Each swimmer can compete in three individual events.

If you show up on the day of meet having forgotten or missed sign ups. See the coachfirst thing and he/she will help you determine if there are any events open for you to participate in.

AMS SIGN UPS

  • Please see Coach Gwen to sign up for AMS meets.
  • Note the sign up deadline! Deadlines will usually be at the end of Monday night practice. Deadlines may be several weeks prior to meet. Any swimmer missing or forgetting to sign up will not be able to swim at the meet.
  • Many AMS meets require qualifying times, and some have age restrictions. Coach Gwen will reach out to the families of the swimmers who qualify for each meet we are attending. Please respond to Gwen by deadline she provides if you are available one or both days. The events will be determined by the coach.

Your AMS escrow account will be debited the amount per the number of events a swimmer signs up for. You will receive notice when your account needs replenished.

DUTIES OF COACHES, OFFICERS AND CHAIRPERSONS

The following is a brief description of the duties of the coaches, officers and chairpersons for RACE. The object is to outline these duties to increase awareness of the positions, encourage new parent interests and to support the sport of swimming.

Coach – The coaching staff consists of a head coach and several assistant coaches. The coaching staff is certified in lifesaving, has passed all clearances and has various amounts of training in coaching and swimming technique. The head coach separates the swimmers into groups based on skill, sets practice workouts, chooses swimmer events for meets and encourages fitness and the sport of swimming. Our returning coaching staff is required to update their training as part of continuous improvement. Many of our coaches were competitive swimmers in high school and college. Our coaching staff is approved yearly by the RACE Board of Directors.

RACE Board of Directors – The officers of the board are voted to a one-year term during the annual RACE banquet. Official duties are covered in the RACE bylaws. General duties for each position:

President – provides leadership and vision for club and sets future state. Presides over monthly meetings and enforces bylaws. Coordinates the season’s dates and calendar. Represents club at annual WCPSL meeting.

Vice President – carries out duties when President is not available also maintains AMS escrow account reporting. May carry additional responsibilities or projects as needed.

Treasurer – handles all financial aspects of club including all incoming and outgoing monies. Keeps accurate records and financial statements.

Secretary – handles all correspondence for the club including meeting minutes. Correspondence to parents and team and public relations are also taken care of by the secretary.

Trustees – advisors to the board, auditors to the Treasurer and management of annual elections.

Chair Positions – chair positions are volunteer positions that require a full season commitment. They are a critical part of the success of the club.

AMS Coordinator – coordinates and communicates AMS events and entries for AMS participants.

Meet Entry Coordinator – publishes and receives entries for home and away meets between opposing team(s). Compiles entries into the Meet Manager computer program and heat sheet prior to home meets. Generally handles all items associated with entries and meet results.

Meet Director – publishes and assembles volunteers for both home and away meets. Fills positions based on ability of volunteer as well as critical need to host or support an efficient meet. Conducts home meet official’s meeting and provides provisions to volunteers (e.g. stopwatches, DQ sheets, clipboards, etc.). Handles issues or problems that arise during home meets.

Ways and Means Director – Coordinates club fundraising, apparel and equipment sales, solicits sponsors and runs 50/50 home meet raffle.

Concessions Coordinator – establishes list of food and sundry items needed to sell at home meets, solicits goods and monetary donations to support concessions, purchases needed items and tracks expenditures and profits for Treasurer.

Awards and Recognition Coordinator – coordinates recognition activities including home meet ribbons, banquet hall and food reservations, and banquet gifts and awards.

Webhost–maintains and updates RACE website. Works with head coach and secretary to help organize and publish web information.

2015 WHO’S WHO

COACHING STAFF

Head Coach GwenEmail:

Gwen started coaching with RACE in 2005 and was named Head Coach in 2007. She started out as a competitive swimmer herself at the age of seven and swam throughout high school on both summer and winter leagues. She has 20 plus years of experience in aquatics with both adult and children at various YMCA’s, with numerous qualifications. Gwen is a US Swimming (AMS) coach and holds all the requirements set forth by them, which includes lifeguarding, CPR, first-aid, a federal background screening, and passed the “Foundation of Coaching Test”. She attends the Eastern States Swim Clinic each year, which bodes itself as the most comprehensive and personalized coaches’ clinic in the US. She is a Level II, and is currently working on her Level III status with the American Swimming Coaches Association. In 2010, 2011 and 2012 she was chosen to be on the Allegheny Mountain Zone Coaching Staff.

Coach Eric

Eric joined RACE as a coach in 2008. Eric is a former swimmer himself. He is a US Swimming coach, meeting all prerequisites of lifeguarding, CPR and first-aid, and a federal background screening, and has successfully passed US Swimming’s “Foundation of Coaching Test”. He has attended the Eastern States Swim Clinic as well.

Coach Chelsea

Chelsea was new to RACE the summer of 2011. She has coached the “Mini-Race” and “White” teams since the 2011 – 2012 season as well as the swim lesson program. She organized and managed the Technique Class and swim lessons over the past summer. She was a swim instructor at the Beaver County YMCA for 10 years. She is certified in lifeguarding, CPR and first-aid, and passed a federal background screening. She is a graduate of Beaver Falls and swam on their varsity team. She is presently a kindergarten teacher in the Beaver Falls School District.

Coach Courtney

Courtney was new to RACE the summer of 2011. She coached the “Mini-Race” team during the 2011 – 2012 season and helped with the White team. She was also involved in coaching the Technique Class over the past summer. Courtney has worked at Beaver County YMCA as a swim instructor and lifeguard. She is a graduate of Beaver Falls and was a four year member of the varsity team. In 2011, Courtney graduated from Westminster College.She became the Westminster women's swimming and diving team's 12th All-American all-time with a pair of top-four finishes at the NCAA Division III Swimming and Diving Championships March 23-26 in Knoxville, Tennessee. Courtney placed second in the 200-yard breaststroke (2:17.15) and fourth in the 100-yard breaststroke (1:03.58), each with school record times.Courtney missed becoming a national champion by only 2.47 seconds in the 200 breaststroke and her second-place finish was the highest of all Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) competitors at the meet.

CoachMichelle

Coach Michelle is the newest member of our staff this year and is excited to return to RACE as a coach for the 2014-2015 school year. Michelle began her swimming career with RACE when she was six years old and continued to grow and develop as a swimmer throughout grade school until she joined Riverside’s varsity swim team in 2005.She is certified inlifeguarding, CPR and first-aid, and passed a federal background screening.Michelle is a Riverside High School graduate and is looking forward to giving back to the community that supported her through her childhood years.