FAQs
Does my child need to come to all practices and meets?
We encourage kids to come to as many practices as possible. Ultimately, the more practices a swimmer attends, the more skills and speed they acquire. We expect swimmers tp attend every meet they are able. We understand that there are vacations, jobs, and illness that may prevent attendance - that is ok! We just ask you let us know beforehand if your child will not be in attendance.
What do the letters next to my child’s time mean?
In swimming, there are competitive classifications and associated time standards. In JRAC, these standards from slowest to fastest are Novice, Regular, X, and XX. Champs qualifying times (QUA) are at the upper end of the Novice standards. When results are printed out, you will see letters that denote if your child reached one of these standards. You can find the current time standards on our website and the JRAC website
How do you decide what events to put swimmers in?
Planning for a meet is a very tedious process. We have to follow several JRAC rules. Each child can swim no more than 3 individual events and one relay. We cannot enter more than three swimmers in Regular, X, and XX heats, with the exception of a few events. In planning for the meet we have to look at chances for success (can a child legally swim a stroke? does the other team have significantly faster swimmers in certain divisions?), how we fit the maximum number of swimmers into each event, and how to spread out who swims what in crowded age groups. Some meets, your swimmer might only swim 2 events and in others 4. We want swimmers to swim as much as they can, but sometimes it’s just not possible to max out every child. The league rule book can be found on the JRAC website. **when swimmers do not show up for a meet without prior notice, it throws off the maximizing of events and takes away from other swimmers**
How do relays work?
Relays consist of 4 swimmers, no more than 2 boys. Usually, relays are merit based, and the fastest swimmers are placed in them. We do try to give everyone the chance to swim in a relay at least once per season. When able, we will swim exhibition relays to give kids the experience of swimming in the fun relay environment.
