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What's the difference between Tigersharks YMCA & USA?
How are relay teams selected for the Divisional, League & zone meets?
Is USA swimming for the "elite" swimmers only?
I watch the score of the meet on the scoreboard, but the website says 6 to 5. Why are they different?
What do we do with all the money we raise?
What should the swimmers do after they finish their race at a meet?
What happens at the banquet?
What do I do if my child is sick the morning of a meet, and can't swim?
What should we bring to dual meets?
Should my swimmer(s) attend invitational meets?
What apparel items do we HAVE to purchase?
Why do the relays change from 1 dual meet to the next?
What should we wear to the various dinners/events?
How do you qualify for championship meets?
How much does it cost to join Tigersharks?
How many meets per month do we have to attend?
Who gets ribbons at dual meets? What is the difference in ribbons?
While the Tigersharks are a YMCA sanctioned team we also participate as a USA Swimming Team. The USA Invitational Meets allow our swimmers to experience competition from a wider geographic area. There is a registration fee to join USA Swimming and an event fee is charged for all USA Invitational meets.
USA swimming is another national swimming organization with thousands of participants. Their meet format is invitational and is similar to our YMCA invitational format; whereas our regular YMCA meets are in dual-meet (2-team) format.
Absolutely! This is a great way for swimmers to swim different events. Unlike the YMCA dual meets where the coaches decide what events the swimmers are in, at invitational meets, the swimmers can decide what they want to swim.
Watch the meet page for a list of invitational meets that our team is attending. Invitational meets are a great way to have fun and build confidence...especially the meets with 6& under events for the little guys; and the meets where you swim your age (i.e. 9 year olds swim against other 9 year olds rather than 9/10.) Trophies, medals and ribbons are often given out as awards for top swimmers at Invitational. Be sure to click on the meet name on the meet schedule page to read the information packet to get all the information you need when you are thinking about entering an invitational.
What items do we HAVE to purchase?
All required items, and other apparel, will be available for purchase/order at registration.
Why do the relays change from 1 meet to the next? aka Why is my fast swimmer on the "B" relay rather than the "A" relay?
This is a popular question and cause for much confusion... The coaches will sometimes change the relay members from meet to meet.
When we are facing a weak opponent, the coaches may balance out the relays as the only real competition may come from our own team. When we are facing tougher opponents, coaches of 9 and over swimmers use previous times and computer software to determine the fastest relay, next fastest, etc. Since swimmers times change from meet to meet, it only stands to reason that the relay-swimmer combinations can change from meet to meet.
The 8U relays don't score points in Y dual meets. The coaches usually balance out the relay teams to make them roughly equal. 8U swimmers are eligible to swim in a 10U relay. This can be confusing until you realize that the category is actually 10U relay and not a 9/10 relay in dual meets.
What should I wear to the various dinners/events?
The league dinner, awards banquet, and Night at the Races are casual events.
Divisional Championship Meet: All swimmers should plan to compete in this meet. This meet is used to determine who qualifies for the League Meet.
League Championship Meet: Swimmers qualify by their performance at the Divisional meet.
The League meet currently has 3 heats for all 12 & under events and 2 heats for all 13 & over events...including relays.
Zone Championship Meet: you must achieve a qualifying time. This time can be achieved at ANY meet during the swim season, YMCA or USA, including dual meets, invitational meets, championship meets and last chance meets.
The cost varies slightly from year to year; however, our fees for 2010-2011 year are as follows:
YMCA membership for swimmers: $25 start-up fee + $12.86/month (can be bank draft)
Program Fees: $275 for 8&under and $375 for 9&over (This can be paid in 4 installments)
Booster fee: $100
Divisional/League Entry Fee: $18
Cost of team suit & caps
Add all those costs together and that is your total cost.
Optional fees included: Additional Team apparel (available only at registration,) USA Registration fee of $48 plus $10 per family team USA fee, & Invitational escrow fees of $50. (Setting up an escrow account is necessary to compete in invitational meets. It is used to pay entry fees.)
There are roughly 2 dual meets per month. You do not have to attend all of them, but there is a minimum number of meets you must attend each year to qualify for championships. In the 2010-2011 season, all swimmers needed to swim 3 meets to qualify. This number can change from year to year. Ask your coach.
Who gets ribbons at a dual meet & what is the difference between ribbons?
All swimmers (individual or relay) who swim in the FIRST heat of every event will receive place ribbons according to where they finished.
All swimmers (individual or relay) who swim in all other heats of every event will receive Participation ribbons
Any swimmer who is DISQUALIFIED in an event (individual or relay) will NOT receive a ribbon. (If 1 swimmer in a relay is disqualified, the entire relay is disqualified and none of the 4 swimmers will receive ribbons.)
Somewhere toward the middle of the year (meet 3 or 4), you may see a black "Best Time" ribbon. If your swimmer swims their best time, they will receive the place/participation ribbon PLUS a "Best Time" ribbon. These are a very special acknowledgment of a swimmers best time!
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