The information below is a version of what was sent out to membership on May 11th, 2023. Some links have been removed for the public-facing version. Please get in touch with the swim team coordinators, Jen and Kelly, via the contact page, if you have any questions.
Welcome to the Fairway Farms 2023 Swim Season!
Joining the Fairway Farms Swim Team allows your child to participate in a great team sport, meet new friends, and improve their swimming skills. We are looking for kids ages 4 – 18 who can swim the pool’s length.
Parent Commitments
Parent participation is essential for a successful swim season. We ask our families to sign up to fill a total of four slots during the regular season consisting of 1 or 2 donations and 2 or 3 jobs for a total of four slots. A “slot” is defined as a donation or a job. We need concession donations for four home meets, and we have jobs to fill at every meet (home and away), League Meet, fire-up dinner, and banquet. Your slots should be a combination of donations and jobs. The earlier you go online and sign up, the better chance you will have of getting to do what you want.
If you do not sign up and fulfill your slots, you will be fined $75 for the season. If you do not pay, the $75 amount will be added to your balance the following year. This is a similar practice to other clubs and is a step we felt was necessary due to a lack of participation from some families in the past.
The SignUpGenius for donations and jobs will be sent out the week of June 4th, and we will need everyone to be signed up for donations and jobs by June 21st for the entire season. We would like to know we are set for the season, so signing up early helps us to assess our needs.
If you sign up to bring concession items, please remember to bring them by 4:30 pm. We rely on concession sales to help cover the cost of the season. We are counting heavily on you to fulfill the jobs you sign up for. This season we will only be selling pre-packaged goods at meets.
Missing Meets
We need to know about any meets your child(ren) won’t be able to participate in. If you know of vacation plans now, let us know on the registration form. If you make plans later – you or your child(ren) need to let Coach Megan know as soon as you know. This is all just for fun, but when swimmers don’t show up unexpectedly, it can cause chaos for our coaches at the last minute.
Starting Times for Jobs
We can’t overstate the importance of having volunteers report ON TIME for their position. Please note what time your volunteer position starts when you sign up. This is crucial – we need you at the time noted on Sign Up Genius. Some jobs have a 4:30 pm start time and will finish earlier than the other positions. For example – we start selling concessions at 5:00 pm on meet days – we need people to be there to do their jobs! Please do not sign up for a job that starts early if you cannot be there on time.
Fees and Registration
This year’s fee will be $60 per swimmer, with a maximum family cost of $180. All swimmers must be signed up no later than May 28th. Payment will be accepted in cash or check (made out to Fairway Farms Swim Club) and can be dropped in the clubhouse for the swim team envelope. Please be sure that your swimmer(s) name is written down on the list when you pay. All payments must be received by June 11th. There will be separate fees for the fire-up dinner and banquet – details to come later.
Team Merchandise
Every swimmer receives a team t-shirt and a swim cap with their registration.
Again, we will sell all spirit wear merchandise online this year.
Please note your child must be signed up no later than May 28th to receive their free team t-shirt and swim cap.
Team Swimsuits
A swimsuit representative will be available from Making Waves on June 4th from 10:30 am – 12:30 pm at the swim team kick-off meeting. If you are unsure of your swimmer(s) size, this is the time to come out, as you will be able to see the suits, try them on, purchase and take them home with you right from the club!
The design will have our blue and green colors. Team suits are always optional, just encouraged.
All team suits must be ordered no later than 11:59 on June 4th.
New Parents/New Swimmers: If you are unfamiliar with how a competitive swimsuit should fit, please have your child try it on. Making Waves will be present to assist you with the fit. Competitive swimsuits feel very tight when they are brand new, and if your child is not used to them, they may feel too small. However, it stretches in the water, and you’ll find out after your child has worn it once that it is too big. This is a mistake we see every year, so please ask if you are unsure. If your new swimmer says the suit is comfortable – it’s probably too big.
Swim Caps
Free Latex Team Cap
Every swimmer receives a swim cap as part of their registration fee! All swimmers must wear the team cap at every swim meet. This includes our teenagers as well! This makes it much easier for everyone to identify who the Fairway swimmers are, and we look great. If your cap is torn or lost, you can buy a replacement for $5 in the concession area during home meets or by finding one of us at an away meet.
Personalized Silicone Swim Cap
These will be available for $30 per 2 caps, printed with your last name. The personalized caps will be available in our team store.
Kick-Off Meeting
Our annual kick-off meeting will be held on Sunday, June 4th, at 12:30 pm. Swim team payments will be accepted, and your questions will be answered.
Practice Meet
We will again offer the optional practice meet this year on June 17th from 9 to 9:30 am. This is very informal, but it has been a big success for our new families in the past few years. This practice meet is designed to allow parents to try out jobs, such as timing and lane counting. The meet also gives the swimmers a chance to see what a real meet will feel like. This only lasts 30 minutes or so and is entirely optional.
Stroke Clinics
Coach Megan, Coach Brynn, and Coach Kara will host stroke clinics on June 4th and June 17th to help the swimmers feel more confident in the water.
- 11 Years and Older: 9:30 to 10:30 am
- 10 Years and Younger: 10:30 to 11:30 am
Practice
Practice starts on June 19th and is Monday through Friday.
11 Years and Older: 8:00 am to 9:00 am
10 Years and Younger: 9:00 am to 10:00 am
Swim Meets
Dual meets are held every Tuesday and Thursday.
Key times for meets:
- Meets start at 6:00 pm sharp.
- Swimmers should be on deck at 5:00 pm for warm-ups.
- Most of the workers need to be ready to work by 5:30 pm.
- Meet Set Up must arrive at 4:30 pm to begin their shift.
- Concession A workers must arrive at 4:30 pm to begin their shift.
- Please pay close attention to the start times on SignUpGenius!
Bad Weather Provision
Our league drafted an “Inclement Weather Provision” for all of us to follow. Rescheduling a dual meet is always a last resort because of the extra work it causes for everyone. In the case of bad weather, the process will follow these steps:
- There will be no discussion of postponing or canceling a dual meet until 6:00 pm.
- The latest a dual meet will be allowed to begin is at 7:15 pm. The meet must be rescheduled or canceled if we cannot start by 7:15 pm.
- If the meet has been delayed, starting at 9:15 pm – only the point heats will run. No events will begin after 9:45 pm.
- A meet can be considered complete after 29 events have been completed.
League Meet
This year the League Meet will be on July 29th at Burton Hollow. Like the dual meets, the league meet will be split into groups based on age. As we get into the season, we will send out more details on the league meet.
Details on the fire-up dinner (July 28th) and the banquet (July 30th) are still being determined. More information to come on both events shortly.
Events
Volunteer Job Descriptions
- Awards: During home meets, six people sit in a designated area and write on the back of the ribbons for the meet.
- Awards – Sorter: This person will sit at the scoring table and file our team’s ribbons by family as the awards table completes them.
- Card Person: This person sits in a chair on the deck, wears a safety vest for swimmers to find you, and passes out the event cards to the swimmers. This job is required at home and away meets.
- Concessions A: Selling concessions items at home meets. “A” workers report at 4:30 pm to start and are done by 6:30 pm. Concessions workers must have hair pulled back in a ponytail or wear a baseball hat.
- Concessions B: Selling concession items at home meets. “B” workers start at 6:30 pm and are on duty until the end of the meet. Concessions workers must have hair pulled back in a ponytail or wear a baseball hat.
- Head Timer (sometimes called back-up timer): At home meets, we have a head timer running a stopwatch in case one of the timers has a problem.
- Timers: Each team provides timers for the opposing team’s three lanes. Timers are needed at home and away meets. Timing is not a difficult job but does require your full attention for the length of the meet. This job is not recommended for parents of very young swimmers if another adult is not on deck to help your child with their needs.
- Finish Judges (aka Line Counters): Each team supplies one person to record the race finishes. One person calls out the order of the race finishes and the other team writes them down. This job is required at both home and away meets.
- Runners: Runners pick up the cards after each heat and deliver them to the scoring table. Runners also act as “On Call” positions – if workers are needed in another work area one or two of the runners may be moved during the meet.
- Scorer: Each team provides a scorer. The scorers sit together during the meet and record the score. Results will be delivered to the scoring table after every point event.
- Starter: At Home meets, we provide a starter to start the races. While the league does not require us to have a real USA Swimming official, having a trained individual in this role is essential.
- Fire Up Dinner and Banquet: Volunteers are required to set up, serve and clean up at these events. We will ask for volunteers separately for these events once we know what will be allowed.