Team Handbook
Yellow Springs Aquatic Club (Sea Dogs) 2025 Team Handbook
Welcome to the Yellow Springs Aquatic Club (Sea Dogs) summer swim team! The Sea Dogs are about improving swimming skills, building confidence and having fun for both swimmers and families.
Overview
The Yellow Springs Aquatic Club (Sea Dogs) swim team has been the youth summer recreational swim team in Yellow Springs since 1991. We are one of five teams that comprise the Miami Valley Swimming Association (MVSA). The other teams are the Clinton County Barracudas (Wilmington), Forest Ridge Fighting Fish (Dayton), Greene Valley Gators (Beavercreek) and Oakwood Dolphins (Oakwood). The Sea Dogs swim in dual meets (against one opposing team at a time) at home and away and in the league championships at the end of the season. Our home meets are held at the Gaunt Park Pool in Yellow Springs. Directions to away meets are available at the Yellow Springs Aquatic Club website ysacseadogs.swimtopia.com. Car-pooling is encouraged. Meets are scheduled on Tuesday and Thursday evenings from mid-June through late July. Most meets start at 6:00 PM. Warm-ups are at 5:00 PM for home meets and 5:30 PM for away meets. Away meets with the Oakwood Dolphins start at 5:30 PM with warm-ups at 5:00 PM. League championships will be held Tuesday evening 15 July for ages 10 and under at the Greene Valley Recreation Club pool and Thursday evening 17 July at the Forest Ridge pool for ages 11 and over. In addition, the Sea Dogs will have a mock meet, t-shirt tie dying and team photo during practice on Thursday 5 June, a Pizza Party & Family Swim night during the bye week on Thursday 26 June, participate in the Yellow Springs Independence Day Parade and an Awards Night & Fun Swim on the Tuesday 22 July after league championships. Participants pay a fee for the summer covering supplies needed for practices and meets, the cost of membership in the league, fees for championships and stipends for the coaching staff. The Sea Dogs also obtain revenue from the Street Fair Parking Fundraisers and other fundraising events. The team relies on the volunteer work and dedication of families and community members.
Cost
Cost for a single child is $110, $85 for a second child and $60 for each additional child within the same family.
Practice Schedule
The practice schedule is as follows:
Swimmers 8 and under: Monday - Thursday, 8:45 to 9:20 AM
Swimmers 9 and 10: Monday - Thursday, 9:10 to 10:00 AM
Swimmers 11 and up: Monday - Thursday, 9:55 to 10:55 AM
Contact Information
Contact information for the coaches is readily available on the website ysacseadogs.swimtopia.com. Also, general questions can be submitted there as well and will be answered by a Parent Board Member. If you have questions about your child’s swim training or practices please call one of the coaches. If you have questions about the family volunteer schedule, or about the areas of volunteer coordination, or need to change a volunteer shift please email the Parent Board from the website.
Swimmer Responsibilities
Do your best and have fun.
Respect the coaches, your teammates, officials, families and other team's swimmers at all times.
Follow the pool rules at the Gaunt Park Pool and all other pools. Remember that you represent Yellow Springs when you are at other pools.
Know the schedule and be on time for practices and meets.
Do not dive into the shallow end of the pool!
Let your coach know if you cannot come to a meet when you have signed up to swim, especially if you expect to be on a relay team.
Be prepared to swim all of the events – including butterfly, the longest freestyle event for your age group and the individual medley – at least twice during the season. (More experienced swimmers will be asked to swim the hard events early in the season; newer swimmers will be given time to learn and practice) Although we want swimmers to swim their favorite events, it’s part of being on a team to swim events that challenge you.
Indicate for each meet whether you will be swimming. Online meet entries will be available. In addition, the coaches will post a sign-up sheet a few days before each meet. If you cannot swim the meet, you need to provide that information online or on the sign-up sheet. This needs to be done 24 hours before the meet starts. Swimmers who do not sign up will not be given races.
Understand that the Yellow Springs Aquatic Club may dismiss any swimmer without refund at any time due to unacceptable conduct.
Family Responsibilities
Family involvement is the backbone of the Sea Dogs swim team – it takes a village to run a swim team – and the Sea Dogs could not function without the hard work and dedication of the many family members.
Signing up your swimmer: You should sign your swimmers up for meet events by going to the team schedule and clicking on the meet. The sign up deadline is Sunday at midnight for Tuesday meets and Tuesday at midnight for Thursday meets.
Helping your swimmer: Make sure swimmers are on time for practices and meet warm-ups. Check swim meet and invitational schedules carefully and help them be ready for their events at the meets. If you have young swimmers, find out when their relays are and help the whole relay team get to the blocks on time.
Encouraging all the swimmers and modeling respect: Keep in mind that the goals of the program are to help the kids improve their swimming skills, build confidence and have fun. The team includes swimmers of all ability levels, and swimmers and families are expected to be respectful and encouraging of everyone involved. Families also are expected to set an example of respect and sportsmanlike conduct toward teammates, swimmers from other teams, coaches and officials. Disrespectful or abusive conduct, by anyone, will not be tolerated and families are encouraged to make this clear to swimmers and visitors.
Staying Informed: Check the bulletin board at the pool entrance or the team website for important information. Please also make sure the team has your email address, as emails are the easiest way for the coaches and coordinators to be able to reach everyone.
Working at Meets: It takes more than 40 families volunteers to run every home meet. We also must provide family volunteers (timers and judges) at away meets. Therefore it is absolutely critical that every family cover four work assignments (usually, an assignment is for one half of a meet) at home and away meets during the regular season. If you are scheduled to work a meet but cannot be there, you are responsible for finding a replacement worker and notifying the Family Board Member serving as volunteer coordinator.
Understand that the Yellow Springs Aquatic Club may dismiss any swimmer without refund at any time due to unacceptable conduct.
Volunteer Assignments at Swim Meets
Each family is required to furnish four points worth of volunteer assignment work either at swim meets or at various activities throughout the season. Meets are divided into two shifts and volunteering for one shift constitutes one point's worth of volunteer effort. Most of the volunteer assignments do not require any experience or particular knowledge of swimming. For the jobs that do involve more specific knowledge, the MVSA offers a training session for judges, referees and announcer/starters before the start of the season. Parent volunteers at the championship meet are generally the parents of those swimming at the meet. The responsibilities of each assignment are summarized below.
Alternate: Serves as a substitute or "as needed" in any position that does not require training (unless you happen to have the necessary training). Alternates must accept their assignment, which is based on the need at the time. No experience necessary.
Announcer: Sets up and uses PA system (preferably separate from electronic starting device used by Starter). Makes first, second and third calls for all events at times to be determined by coaches, Clerk of Course or Referee. Calls first and second half workers to their stations at appropriate times. Makes other announcements as needed.
Clerk of Course: Organizes the swimmers as they report for their events and directs them to the blocks for each race; escorts the youngest swimmers to the blocks. Experience with swim meets is helpful.
Event Monitor: Updates Event Number board continuously as the meet progresses; not for those with attention deficit issues, but otherwise no experience necessary.
Head Timer: Keeps two additional stopwatches; serves as back-up for the timers in case there is a mistake or a malfunction of the timer’s stopwatch. No experience necessary.
Hospitality: Provides refreshments (primarily bottled water) to all meet volunteers and otherwise sees to their comfort and general well-being along with checking bathrooms and reporting to the board any problems.
Place Judge: Watches the end of the race to determine the order in which swimmers complete the race; records results on place slips and passes them to Runners. No experience necessary.
Referee: Assigns Stroke & Turn Judges to their lanes and arbitrates any questions concerning the Judges’ calls; must be trained as a Stroke & Turn Judge. Experience necessary.
Ribbons: Works with Scorekeeper and Scorekeeper’s Assistant to label place ribbons for each event. No experience necessary.
Runner: Delivers place slips from Place Judges and lane slips from Timers to the Scorekeeper and Scorekeeper’s Assistant after each event. No experience necessary.
Scorekeeper’s Assistant: Assists Scorekeeper by organizing place and lane slips making sure they are filed in separate bags for each team after places and times are recorded; works with Ribbons to print labels. No experience necessary.
Starter: Stands at the starting end of the pool and uses the electronic starting device. At the Referee's signal, announces next event/heat to swim. After a long whistle and hand signal by the Referee, starts the race with the command, “Take your mark” or “Swimmers, take your mark” and activates the start horn.
Stroke & Turn Judge: Observe the swimmers to make sure they are doing each stroke and turn properly. If a stroke or turn is improper, these judges will disqualify the swimmer from that race. Experience necessary.
Timer: One timer for each lane; takes the times of each swimmer using a stopwatch; records results on lane slips and passes them to Runners. No experience necessary.
Sea Dog Swim Meets
Events Your Child Will Swim
Each meet your child can swim up to three individual events and two relays. The relays are events 11 - 20 and 71 - 80 and are listed below. All other events are individual events. Usually your child will swim in events with other children of his/her age. Occasionally, your child will be asked to "swim up." The coaches, in an effort to put as many kids in as many relays as possible, might be left with a relay of only three swimmers. Since relays must have four swimmers, a younger swimmer is asked if they are willing to swim in an older relay. It's always optional but it is a challenge that many kids will remember for years. Ask the coaches about their "swimming up" stories. Your child may also be asked to swim up if the age group above has very few competitors. It's a way to earn points for the team.
What to Bring to a Meet
Bring towels, games or other activities for the time between your swimmers’ events, folding or portable chairs or blankets for your family and swimmers, and some food (no glass containers please) if you choose. Limited concessions may be available at meets. You will want to bring chairs to the championship meet - it lasts several hours and families and swimmers generally wait in a gymnasium between events. If the weather is rainy, bring umbrellas or ponchos. The evening weather may be cool, especially early in the season, and jackets or sweaters are a good idea particularly for the swimmers. Team suits may be purchased but are not required for the meets.
Weather Policy
Meets and practices will go forward if there is rain but not during a thunderstorm. In accordance with Village and Gaunt Park pool policy, if the lifeguards see or hear lightning or thunder, they will suspend the meet until at least 30 minutes have passed since the last thunderclap or lightning flash. It is difficult to reschedule a dual meet, so MVSA teams try to avoid weather cancellations if possible. Therefore, please bring your child to the pool even if the weather is rainy; often a storm will pass and we can proceed with the meet even after a late start or a suspension of the races.
How a Dual Meet Works
Before each meet the coaches will have prepared “heat sheet” information for each race. Heat sheets indicate the event number and description (e.g. 50 meter freestyle), the heat number (when there are more swimmers than pool lanes, there will be more than one heat) and the lane to which each swimmer is assigned. Swimmers can check the heat sheets online prior to each meet. Heat sheet copies will also be posted at each meet. Families should help swimmers keep track of the heat sheet information so they know when to report for their races and which lane to go to. (Many families bring a Sharpie pen and record the information on the swimmer’s arm before the start of the meet.) Sometimes meet events are organized by a "Clerk of Course" directing swimmers to events as they are called by the Announcer/Starter. At Yellow Springs’ home meets the clerk of course is located in the diving board area. The announcer usually will give three calls for each race (first call, second call, last call). Swimmers are responsible for getting themselves on time to the Clerk of Course or, at locations where there is none, to the starting blocks. The list of events is provided below.
Terminology
Swimming has its own language. The glossary below explains some of the terms used.
Blocks – The platforms on which the swimmer stands and pushes off to start the race.
Break or Relay False Start – When one swimmer on a relay team leaves the wall or block before the other swimmer in the water touches the wall.
Championships – The Miami Valley Swimming Association Championship Meet, held in late July.
Clerk of Course – An area where swimmers go to be staged for the upcoming event.
Disqualification (D.Q.) – Some infraction of the rules committed by the swimmer. This could be a violation of the rules regarding the start, turn, touch or stroke. When this occurs, no points are scored and the time is not recorded.
Dual Meet – Swim meet with two teams, held at the Gaunt Park Pool or at the home pool of the opposing team.
Event – A race classified by the age, stroke and distance (e.g., Boys 13-14 100-meter freestyle).
Exhibition Heat or Exhibition Swimmer –An event or swimmer that does not count toward the total points for the meet.
False Start – When a swimmer leaves the block before the starter has started the race.
Heat – Groups of swimmers all competing in the same event or race when there are more swimmers for the event than there are lanes in the pool. At dual meets the first heat is the “medal” heat with exhibition swimmers in the later heats. At championships the swimmers with the fastest “seed” times generally swim in the later heats.
Heat Sheet – Form that identifies events, heats, lanes, swimmers and times.
I.M. – Individual Medley; one swimmer swims one or two lengths of the pool per stroke in the following sequence: butterfly, backstroke, breast stroke, freestyle.
Lane – Specific area to which the swimmer is assigned to swim.
Medley relay – a race in which four swimmers swim 25 or 50 yards each. The first swimmer swims backstroke, the second breaststroke, the third butterfly and the fourth freestyle.
Referee – An official who assigns the Stroke & Turn Judges to their lanes and arbitrates any questions concerning the judges’ calls.
Runners – Parents who collect lane slips or cards from each lane at the end of a race and run them to the scorer’s table.
Scorer – The family workers who score the dual meets.
Scoring a Meet – The totaling of points awarded to individuals and teams. Teams are awarded points based on the placement of individuals and relays from the team. The number of points and places awarded varies with each type of meet. In regular season dual meets, first place gets five points, second place gets three points, third place gets one point. Relays are all or nothing – first place gets seven points, second place gets no points.
Seeding – The placement of a swimmer in a heat with the fastest swimmer generally swimming in the last heat toward the center of the pool. In the summer league this occurs only during the championships.
Split – A segment of time for part of an event or race. Most common on relays where you have four individual times that equal the relay time.
Starter – The person who starts the race with a gun or buzzer. This person also determines if there has been a false start and whether to recall such a start.
Stroke and Turn Judges – The officials who see that the swimmer does each stroke and turn properly. If a stroke or turn is improper these judges will write up a disqualification card and bring the card to the runner or the scorer’s table.
Strokes – The four competitive strokes: butterfly, backstroke, breaststroke and freestyle. Each stroke has a proper execution.
Take your Mark – The command the starter gives the swimmers at the start of each race that tells the swimmer to take his/her starting position.
Timers – Parents who take the times of each swimmer. There is normally one timer per lane using a stopwatch and hand-recording the results. A head timer serves as a back-up for the timers in case there is a mistake or a malfunction of the timer’s stopwatch.
Warm-ups – The pre-meet swim that allows swimmers to get a feel for the pool and the starting blocks. Warm-ups also enable a swimmer to loosen up and practice events they will swim that day. At dual meets the home team generally warms up first, then the away team. At championships, warm-up times are assigned to each team.
Miami Valley Swimming Association League Dual Meet Events
1. Girls 6 & Under 25 m Freestyle
2. Boys 6 & Under 25 m Freestyle
3. Girls 9 – 10 50 m Freestyle
4. Boys 9 – 10 50 m Freestyle
5. Girls 11 – 12 100 m Freestyle
6. Boys 11 – 12 100 m Freestyle
7. Girls 13 – 14 100 m Freestyle
8. Boys 13 – 14 100 m Freestyle
9. Women 15 – 18 100 m Freestyle
10. Men 15 – 18 100 m Freestyle
11. Girls 8 & Under 100 m Medley Relay
12. Boys 8 & Under 100 m Medley Relay
13. Girls 9 – 10 100 m Medley Relay
14. Boys 9 – 10 100 m Medley Relay
15. Girls 11 – 12 200 m Medley Relay
16. Boys 11 – 12 200 m Medley Relay
17. Girls 13 – 14 200 m Medley Relay
18. Boys 13 – 14 200 m Medley Relay
19. Women 15 – 18 200 m Medley Relay
20. Men 15 – 18 200 m Medley Relay
21. Girls 8 & Under 25 m Butterfly
22. Boys 8 & Under 25 m Butterfly
23. Girls 9 – 10 25 m Butterfly
24. Boys 9 – 10 25 m Butterfly
25. Girls 11 – 12 50 m Butterfly
26. Boys 11 – 12 50 m Butterfly
27. Girls 13 – 14 50 m Butterfly
28. Boys 13 – 14 50 m Butterfly
29. Women 15 – 18 50 m Butterfly
30. Men 15 – 18 50 m Butterfly
31. Girls 6 & Under 25 m Backstroke
32. Boys 6 & Under 25 m Backstroke
33. Girls 8 & Under 25 m Backstroke
34. Boys 8 & Under 25 m Backstroke
35. Girls 9 – 10 25 m Backstroke
36. Boys 9 – 10 25 m Backstroke
37. Girls 11 – 12 50 m Backstroke
38. Boys 11 – 12 50 m Backstroke
39. Girls 13 – 14 50 m Backstroke
40. Boys 13 – 14 50 m Backstroke
41. Women 15 – 18 50 m Backstroke
42. Men 15 – 18 50 m Backstroke
43. Girls 9 – 10 100 m Individual Medley
44. Boys 9 – 10 100 m Individual Medley
45. Girls 11 – 12 100 m Individual Medley
46. Boys 11 – 12 100 m Individual Medley
47. Girls 13 – 14 100 m Individual Medley
48. Boys 13 – 14 100 m Individual Medley
49. Women 15 – 18 100 m Individual Medley
50. Men 15 – 18 100 m Individual Medley
51. Girls 8 & Under 25 m Breaststroke
52. Boys 8 & Under 25 m Breaststroke
53. Girls 9 – 10 25 m Breaststroke
54. Boys 9 – 10 25 m Breaststroke
55. Girls 11 – 12 50 m Breaststroke
56. Boys 11 – 12 50 m Breaststroke
57. Girls 13 – 14 50 m Breaststroke
58. Boys 13 – 14 50 m Breaststroke
59. Women 15 – 18 50 m Breaststroke
60. Men 15 – 18 50 m Breaststroke
61. Girls 8 & Under 25 m Freestyle
62. Boys 8 & Under 25 m Freestyle
63. Girls 9 – 10 25 m Freestyle
64. Boys 9 – 10 25 m Freestyle
65. Girls 11 – 12 50 m Freestyle
66. Boys 11 – 12 50 m Freestyle
67. Girls 13 – 14 50 m Freestyle
68. Boys 13 – 14 50 m Freestyle
69. Women 15 – 18 50 m Freestyle
70. Men 15 – 18 50 m Freestyle
71. Girls 8 & Under 100 m Freestyle Relay
72. Boys 8 & Under 100 m Freestyle Relay
73. Girls 9 – 10 100 m Freestyle Relay
74. Boys 9 – 10 100 m Freestyle Relay
75. Girls 11 – 12 200 m Freestyle Relay
76. Boys 11 – 12 200 m Freestyle Relay
77. Girls 13 – 14 200 m Freestyle Relay
78. Boys 13 – 14 200 m Freestyle Relay
79. Women 15 – 18 200 m Freestyle Relay
80. Men 15 – 18 200 m Freestyle Relay
