2014 Overlee Swim Team Handbook
vErleE SWIM TEAM
2014 Handbook
Contacts
Dunia Pasternak
Home: 703-241-5594
Cell: 703-963-0975
NVSL Team Reps
Christie Bloomquist
Home: 703-532-3464
Cell: 571-224-6248
Gina Beck Hartel
Cell: 703-728-8448
School of Fish Rep
Andrew Schneider
Cell: 202-329-9142
/ Monday Meet Coordinators
Regina O’Flaherty
Home: 703-516-7648
Cell: 703-980-2100
Penni McNamara
Home: 703-532-8765
Cell: 703-731-2387
Head Coach
Beth Baker
Cell: 703-447-6089
Associate Head Coach
Abi Ortmayer / Assistant Coaches
TBA
Head Coach School of Fish
TBA
School of Fish Assistant Coaches
TBA
On-Line References:
Overlee Swim Team:
Northern Virginia Swim League (NVSL):
Content
Program Overview/EligibilityPage 2
Parent VolunteersPage 4
RegistrationPage 5
Swimming in the MeetsPage 6
2014 Swim Meet/Social SchedulePage 11
2014 Officials Clinics SchedulePage 13
Directions to Away MeetsPage 14
Swim Team Records and AwardsPage 16
Program overview/ Swim Team eligibility
Program Overview
The Overlee Swim Team program consists of the Swim Team and, new for 2014, School of Fish, a developmental program for our younger swimmers. The School of Fish was established to provide more individualized instruction and technique development for our emerging swimmers who are 8 and younger.
School of Fish: Eligibility and Overview
School of Fish is open to all swimmers who are age 5 or older and under age 9 as of June 1. To determine whether a swimmer will be a member of the Swim Team or School of Fish, the coaches will conduct an assessment during the first week of pre-season practice to evaluate whether a swimmer meets the Swim Team eligibility criteria detailed below. Swimmers who do not meet the Swim Team eligibility criteria will be invited to join School of Fish, which will begin practice when school is out. Attending the assessment is not necessary to be part of the School of Fish, but it is mandatory for those wanting to be on the swim team.
School of Fish swimmers will participate in 2 intra-squad meets, one Monday meet (to be approved by the coach), and, subject to scheduling, a dual meet with another developmental team. School of Fish swimmers also are invited to participate in all Swim Team pep rallies and the Sock Hop.
Swim Team: Eligibility and Overview
The Swim Team is open to swimmers who have completed Kindergarten as of the end of the current school year. Swimmers aged 8 and under will be evaluated during the first week of pre-season practice to determine whether the swimmer will be a member of the School of Fish or Swim Team. The date of the swim test will be announced in advance. Please contact the Team Reps if your child will be absent for the swim test. Make-up times should be arranged prior to the test day if the parent knows the child will need to miss due to conflicts from already scheduled school or other sporting event and/or due to illness. Overlee provides an extensive swim lesson program for those working toward meeting the eligibility requirements.
All members of the Swim Team must satisfy the eligibility criteria described below. The eligibility requirements are necessary to ensure the safety of all swimmers on the team.
- You must be a current member of Overlee Community Association. Inactive members are not eligible for swim team.
- The swimmer must be able to tread water for at least one minute.
- 8 and under swimmers must demonstrate their ability to swim one length of the pool (25 meters), in legal form: freestyle and backstroke and meet the time standards established by the Head Coach for these strokes.
- 9 and over swimmers must swim one length of the pool, in legal form: freestyle, backstroke, and either breaststroke or butterfly.
- Coaches may recommend that a member of the School of Fish or the Swim Teamtake additional swim lessons if the coaches deem such a move necessary for the swimmer’s safety.
- Once a child has passed the swim test, he or she does not need to take the test again. However, the coaching staff reserves the right to re-test any swimmer.
Challenges (13 & over)
In rare cases, a Senior swimmer may be permitted to challenge another swimmer during practice for a Saturday NVSL dual meet spot provided (a) the challenging swimmer was not available for the Monday meet, (b) the challenging swimmer’s attendance has been otherwise outstanding, (c) the swimmer is challenging for an event her/she has not swum in a Saturday NVSL dual meet, and (d) the both swimmers involved in the challenge understand the challenge rules below. Challenges are limited to 13 & over swimmers.
Challenge Rules
A challenge by one swimmer to another for a spot in a Saturday NVSL dual meet may be met by the challenged swimmer in which case the winner, regardless of time outside the challenge, takes the NVSL dual meet spot. A challenge unmet by the challenged swimmer will force the challenger to best the challenged swimmer’s best time in the said event in order to take the spot. Accordingly, the challenged swimmer may choose to race the challenger or force the challenger to “race the clock.”
Swim Team Seniors
Seniors are those swimmers who are 13 and older as of June 1. Seniors are invited to participate in a pre-season Pasta Dinner and weekly after-practice Senior breakfasts. Seniors also help prepare signs and skits for Saturday NVSL Dual Meets. At the end of the Swim Team season, subject to coaches’ discretion, those Seniors who have attended a majority of practices and at least 3 Senior breakfasts, may attend the Senior Progressive Dinner.
Senior Recognition
Being a member of the Overlee Swim Team becomes a large part of the swimmer's summer and involves activities and friendships formed outside of the pool as well as the many hours spent at the pool for practices and meets. We recognize the importance of all of our swimmers as a part of this team. Senior recognition is a special event during the last home Saturday NVSL meet when our graduating seniors and their families are acknowledged.This recognition will be for seniors who are active participants during the year in which they graduate out of swimming for the NVSL. An active participant goes to practices, swim meets, pep rallies, and other activities that are a part of the team. A swimmer who graduates from high school but may have one more year of NVSL eligibility due to a birthday after June 1 may choose if they would like to be recognized in their high school graduation year or in their final year of NVSL eligibility.
parent volunteers
Parent volunteers make the summer swim season possible. The Swim Team operates solely with help from parents with the exception of the coaches. Every swim family must work at several points during the summer, for a minimum of 5 hours per child registered up to 15 hours per family. Most of the jobs can be done very easily or with minimum instruction. All of the swimmers benefit from a combined effort of the parents. It takes over 40 volunteers to run each meet and many, many workers to help coordinate all the fun social events and activities.
If you cannot commit to a job each week, then talk to the Team Reps about other options that may be done on your own time. If you are new to the team or unsure about what a job requires, ask a Team Rep. They will be happy to explain the job and what it entails.
The Team Reps will ask for helpers by email and through on-line sign-up links. THANK YOU to all the parents that have already committed to various roles throughout the swim season.
SATURDAY Meet Officials
AnnouncerBaman Rusby/Grant Yoder
Clerk of CourseMary Bohan
Chief TimerRob Ridgeway
Head OfficialMarc Ortmayer
Social Chairs / Meet workers
Concessions Nora Ellison/Catharine Frisk/Suzie Robertson
Data ManagementKaren Lundy/Lenore Day
Chief Timer (Monday)Duncan Lyons/Scotty Greenwood
Ice Cream SocialNancy Aldinger
Lunches for Saturday MeetsErin Hart
Merchandise SalesLaura Neuman/Jamey Bowers
O & W PicnicSheri Grant
Pancake Breakfast (12 & Under)Debby Flynn/Maria Puletti
Parent Deck Socials Melanie Cummings/ Liz Bailey
Photographers/Slide ShowKyle Pasternak/Dunia Pasternak
Progressive Dinner Liz Shipley
Sun-Gazette SummaryMacKenzie Kearney
RecordsChristine Dolan
Registrar Suzie Robertson
Ribbons (Mondays)Sara Sullivan
Senior RecognitionDiane Allard
Singers Sarah Bloomquist
Social Event CoordinatorsMelanie Cummings/Liz Bailey/Sheri Grant
Team Pasta Dinner Nancy Murphy
Tee Shirt DistributionMegan McMorrow
In addition to the above list, we need parents to fill various other jobs. Thank you for your help!
REGISTRATION, DUES, AND REQUIRED EQUIPMENT
On-line Registration opens in mid-March. Please register by June 1st! Swimmers cannot participate in the Orange & White meet on June 14 unless registration fees are paid in full.
To register, login to Overlee.org, click on the “Swim Team” link, then click on “Registration.” This link will take you to the registration page. If you were part of the team last year, please do not create a new account. Login to the registration process as a returning user. Your username is the email address you used to register with last year. If you have forgotten your password, please follow the link and your password will be reset for you. Please be sure to complete and update all fields.If you know your swimmer will be unavailable for certain meets, you must indicate these dates during registration. The 2014 registrar is Garry Young ( . If you have any questions regarding registration, please contact Garry or your Team Reps.
Dues
Season dues for Swim Team summer 2014 are $155 for the first swimmer, $150 for the second swimmer, and $145 for each additional swimmer in the family. School of Fish season dues are $150 per swimmer, regardless of number enrolled per family. All dues include a team tee shirt, a non-personalized latex swim cap and a white tee shirt to be used at a pep rally. Swim Team members may purchase additional team tee shirts and personalized caps (subject to applicable deadlines) at the time of registration. Overlee merchandise also will be available at the Orange & White meet and at most home Monday meets.
Team Pictures
If you want a team picture, you must order it during the registration process. The picture will be taken prior to the Orange & White meet on the morning of June 14th. The cost is $18 per photograph.
Bathing Suit Sales
All suits may be fitted and purchased throughSport Fairlocated at 5010 Lee Highway, 703-524-9500.
This year, the suit is Nike Foil Skin for females (both fastback and cut-out) and male briefs.Male jammers are the Nike Team Color Block. Both styles have an OVL logo on them. The team suit will be priced as follows (prices include team logo, but not sales tax):
Youth*Adult**
Male Jammer $52.00 $52.00
Male Brief (26 & up) $44.00 $44.00
Female Team Suit $82.00 $82.00
*Youth sizes are 28 & smaller. **Adult sizes are 30 & up
EQUIPMENT
Each swimmer should bring the following items to every practice: a swim cap, shaded goggles, fins, and a water bottle. Please apply sunscreen to your swimmer before practices.
MEETS AND PRACTICES
NVSL Meets
Overlee participates in NVSL dual meets as well as relay carnivals, all-star relays, individual divisionals, and individual all-star meets in Division 1 of the Northern Virginia Swim League (NVSL). The NVSL dual meets are on Saturday mornings and relay carnivals are on two Wednesday evenings in July. NVSL rules pertaining to swim strokes, disqualifications, league eligibility and procedures are published in the NVSL handbook that will be made available through links to the NVSL website from the Overlee Swim Team web page.
The coaches select the swimmers for the NVSL dual meets (Saturdays) and relay carnivals (Wednesdays). There are a fixed number of heats and limited entries for these meets. Coaches or Team Reps need to know if your swimmer will be absent for a Saturday NVSL dual meet before Monday of that same week so that they can enter another swimmer.
Swimmers who are scheduled by the coaches to swim in Saturday NVSL dual meets will receive an email Thursday night and have their names posted on the Swim Team bulletin board in the Overlee breezeway. This list will be posted no later than Friday morning after the list is exchanged with the opposing team (exchange occurs on Thursday evening). Parents of children 12 and under who are chosen to swim in Saturday NVSL dual meets are requested to confirm their child’s availability with a team rep as soon as possible on Friday either via e-mail, a phone call, or in person. If your child cannot attend an NVSL meet where he/she is slated to swim or swim his/her event during the NVSL meet due to sudden illness, please contact one of the Team Reps immediately. Additionally, please notify the Team Reps as soon as possible if anticipated absences arise during the summer. After each NVSL dual meet, the results of the meet will be posted in the breezeway.
NVSL Dual Away Meets
Swimmers and parents meet in the back parking lot at Overlee and caravan together to the opposing pool. Maps and directions will be available to all drivers. Please note that swim meets may be delayed or rescheduled because of electrical storms. However, always report for the meet, regardless of weather predictions.
NVSL Divisional and All-Star Meets
Each year, many of our hard-working Overlee swimmers qualify for the individual Divisional Championship meet at the end of July. Many of those swimmers then go on to qualify for the NVSL Individual All-Star meet at the beginning of August. At Overlee our “unwritten” rule has been that if a swimmer will be unable to swim at the All-Star meet, that swimmer is encouraged to give up his or her spot at the Divisional meet in order to allow another swimmer the chance to swim, and possibly qualify for All-Stars. While this is not an NVSL rule, it is considered a courtesy to the other members of the team to allow as many swimmers as possible the chance to compete for a spot in the All-Star meet. Certainly there are extenuating circumstances that may arise, and the coaches and Team Reps are always available to answer questions or discuss any situation. In general, though, a swimmer who qualifies for the Divisional meet but will be unable to compete at the All-Star meet is urged to give up his or her spot to another swimmer who will be available.
How An NVSL Meet Is Scored
Dual Meet Scoring: Total number of points in a dual meet is 420
Individual events in dual meets are scored: 5 points for 1st place, 3 points for 2nd place, 1 point for 3rd
Relays in dual meets are scored: 5 points for 1st place, 0 points for 2nd
Relay Carnivals:
The divisional relay carnival is scored: 1st through 6th (14 points for 1st place) 14-10-8-6-4-2
The All-Star relay carnival is scored: 1st through 18th (44 points for 1st place) 44-38-36-34-32-30-28-26-24-20-16-14-12-10-8-6-4-2
NVSL Meet Scoring: Results of NVSL meets are available at:
Monday Developmental Meets
In addition to Saturday NVSL dual meets, Overlee holds Monday evening developmental meets with other area pools. The Monday Meet Team Reps will send an email to all registered Swim Team members each week notifying swimmers (and parents) of the upcoming Monday developmental meet, sign-up procedure, and applicable sign-up deadlines. The coaches are available to assist the swimmers with selecting their events. Swimmers may compete in two individual strokes. Swimmers aged 8 and under may not swim breaststroke, butterfly, or Individual Medley without coaches’ approval. The Monday developmental meets are open to all swimmers with some restrictions on swimmers who have swum in the Saturday NVSL dual meets (see below). There will be as many heats as required for the swimmers in each event.
The following summarizes the restrictions on the participation of Saturday swimmers at Monday developmental meets:
- Swimmers may not swim the same stroke(s) Saturday and Monday. If a swimmer swam Event A on Saturday, he or she cannot swim that stroke in the following Monday’s meet. Exceptions to this rule can be made by the coaching staff.
- Swimmers who placed 1st, 2nd or 3rd in an individual event Saturday are ineligible for any awards at the following Monday’s meet.
In addition, please note:
- All swimmers may participate in the 9 & over IM (when offered) at developmental meets, but participation will count as one of their two events.
- All 10 & under swimmers must have approval by a swim coach to swim IM, breaststroke or butterfly events.
Practice PolicY