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Ben Lomond Swim
Season
The Ducks summer swim season
begins Memorial Day - 7 pm at the back gate of the Splashdown
Waterpark. The season consists of practice, swim meets and fun
events. The season ends in late July or early August with an awards
banquet that includes a swim party at the waterpark.
Practice: We practice 3 nights a week until
school ends. Monday, Tuesday & Thursday 7-9pm. Generally
younger swimmers will swim the first half of practice for about an
hour. After school ends morning practice is added to the
schedule. Morning practice is 7:15-8:15 am Monday-Friday.
Swimmers can practice up to 8 times a week. Practice attendance
is not mandatory, but improvement takes practice.
Tryouts: The first two weeks are designated as
our tryout period. There is a $25 non-refundable tryout fee included in the
registration cost. The coaches will evaluate each swimmer and place the
swimmer into appropriate instructional groups based on their swimming
skills and ability. At a minimum, age 8 and under swimmers must be able to
swim 25 meters unassisted (1 pool length) and age 9 and older swimmers
should be able to swim 50 meters without difficulty. Even more important
than minimum ability is the swimmer's attention span and desire to be part
of our team. Swimmers must be motivated to participate in training and meets.
The swim team is not "a learn to swim program" and swimmers must
be willing to enter the water freely and without parental involvement.
First two weeks of practice
can be cool - swimmers should have some warm clothes to put on when they
get out of the pool. This can also be a very confusing time for new
swimmers and parents. Some of the things that occur are new
registration, swimmer assessments & grouping swimmers of similar
ability. There will also be a parent meeting discussing the upcoming
season (usually about an hour during the kids practice, 2nd Monday of the
season) IF
YOU HAVE QUESTIONS PLEASE ASK
Some things that happen at
practice:
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Tuesday Nights coaches
have a short meeting with the team to discuss previous week's meet and acknowledge
swimmers accomplishments.
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Thursday Nights meet
entries are posted for Saturday's meet.
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> Mailboxes After the first few days of practice every family gets a
mailbox, the newsletter and other things will be put in there during
the course of the year (often ribbons). Coaches will also have a
mailbox. They are very busy during practice, if you are going to miss
a meet or need to let them know something please drop a note in their box.
Last notes on Practice:
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We are not a babysitting service. Younger swimmers need a responsible adult present at
all times. All swimmers must have a means to leave the park at 9 pm.
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Weather.... It is
impossible to decide ahead of time what conditions will exist at practice
time. Our weather policy is simple - we decide at the pool, at practice time, whether to hold or delay
practice. We may be able to salvage valuable training time by remaining at
the pool until 1/2 hour after the last thunderclap or lightning flash.
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>Parents... are encouraged to remain at the pool
during the practice session in case your children require assistance or
practice is cancelled because of weather. Please sit in the pavilions or
the grassy area. Only swimmers and coaches are allowed on deck during
practice.
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