Just a few more days!

We are about halfway through our winter break training with just a few extra practices to go.  If you are in Columbus, please attend as many practices as you can as these can have a very positive impact at the end of the season.  This may be the first time for some of our swimmers to do doubles (two practices a day).  This is a great opportunity to practice new skills, fatigue the body, grow some strength and add some speed!  Encourage your swimmers to come in with a positive and hard working attitude towards every practice. 

Meet Sign Ups

Tomorrow is the last chance to declare for the Kelly German meet.  A large number of you have not sent a response.  As a result, we have resent the invitation to all families.  Your prompt response saves the coaches a LOT of time. Time that can be spent on how best to torture help your swimmer become faster.  Please reply and make sure you save your response.  Thanks! 

While in your portal, take a look at other upcoming meets and submit responses sot hat you do not miss future deadlines.

Inclement Weather Policy

With cold and snow here, I would like to take a moment to address how we decide to cancel practices for inclement weather, and how that is communicated to you.  If we do need to cancel an evening practice due to weather related issues, we generally make that decision by 3:00.  This is then posted on our Facebook page, tweeted and then posted to the teamapp.  We do not generally email out last minute changes.  If you think there may be a weather related cancellation, please check the website before heading out the door.

We utilize a lot of information to make these decisions: including the local weather forecast, school closing, the county level system (a level 2 in Delaware county generally warrants practice cancellation, any level in Franklin could as they rarely declare one) and the road sensors and cameras available on ohgo.com

On a side note, our club is private, meaning we are not governed by the typical liability of holding a practice that a public/school based club would have during poor road conditions.   It is ultimately your choice to get on the road to drive to practice, so when the weather is bad we ask that you use your best judgement and do so only if you are comfortable.  We never have repercussions or reprimand a swimmer for missing practice during poor road conditions.

January & February Meets

Fortunately, we have been accepted into the UASC Triple Crown! However, we have been very concerned with the lack of good meet opportunities locally.  After looking at the information for upcoming local meets, we feel we have a decent solution that will prepare our swimmers most effectively to succeed at Championships.

Triple Crown - we will swim both days (relays have been eliminated from this meet).

Kelly German January 19-20 (Friday and Saturday only)
Scarlet 2 & Gold: 400 IM Friday; 100 free, 200 back and 200 fly Saturday.
Scarlet 1: 200 free & 200 IM Friday; 100 free, 200 back or 100 br, 200 fly or 100 IM Saturday.
Silver: Any events on Saturday
Junior: Lew’s choice Friday and Saturday

January 26-28 is the Indy meet for some of our swimmers, everyone else is eligible to attend the UAC Frosty Fun meet Sunday, 1/28 at CSG.  Last chance to qualify for Indy is at the Triple Crown.

February 3-4 we will add the GCSTO Last Ditch Meet on Saturday and Sunday only.  Swimmers participating at Indy should choose one day.  We have been very pleased with how our swimmers are competiting at this pool.

February 11, we will remove the meet at New Albany.  The coaches have never been very impressed with how we swim at this pool. With the addition of the GCSTO meet we feel it would better serve our swimmers to head to practice on that day.

Masters & Intro Sign-Ups

We will offer adult fitness, masters and tri swim training beginning in January.  Practices will be offered Mondays & Thursdays 7:30-8:30 and Tuesdays from 4:30-5:30. Cost is $150 for unlimited practices Jan & Feb or $8 to drop in. Please email Lew if you are interested (ltimberman@gmail.com).  Please share with your tri athlete friends!  This will be coached by Lew.  First practice is Tuesday, January 2!

Intro to Swim Team Group will be offered Sundays 3-3:45 and Thursdays from 6:45-7:30 with Coach Laurie.  First day of practice is January 4 and swimmers in this group will be able to attend meets this winter.  Cost is $250 for swimmers new to the group.  We will not practice on Sunday, January 28.

Registration is now available at Active for both groups.  The system will only charge a processing fee for Masters and will charge $150 plus processing for Intro.  All other fees will be collected through our QuickBooks (Intuit) billing system.  Please be careful when registering - Active asks if you would like a membership in their premium product - you do not need this.

Link to register: http://www.active.com/columbus-oh/water-sports/swimming-registrations/buckeye-swim-club-18-2017

Winter Break Schedule

The best part of school breaks is the opportunity to swim a little more and get a little faster! Swim teams everywhere look forward to school breaks.  Please work with your teammates to help get to as many practices as possible.  This is also an opportunity for you to drop off your swimmer and run errands child free! :)

The final schedule is below.  The only tentative practice is tomorrow morning (it is dependent on the morning lifeguard getting to the pool/home in time from college). We will text and Facebook this practice status later today.  Please do not come to practice if you are in school (we have had some questions about scheduling practice during school).  The only way we are able to fit all groups in at once is because over  half of our swimmers will still be in school.

UASC Triple Crown declarations

A large number of families missed the UASC Triple Crown entry declaration deadline. Please email Laurie by end of the day on Wednesday if you want to be entered into this meet. You will need to go to our website or the Teamapp app to read the meet information in order to know dates, time of day and events offered.

Your prompt attention is appreciated.

You will receive an email reply from Laurie on Wednesday if you email your request early. If you wait until end of day Wednesday, please do not expect confirmation right away (office day is Wednesday).

Reminder that your invites come from he following email address: noreply@awntx3.email.active.com 

Emails from these kind of addresses will generally go to junk, clutter or the gmail promotions folder. Please make sure you have your email set to receive these in your priority inbox!  

Intro to Swim Team, Winter Session

Please share this with your friends that are interested in swimming!

We will resume our intro to swim team group on January 4 and will offer the group through the end of our teams competitive season.  Practices will be held Thursdays 6:45-7:30 and Sundays from 3-3:45.  Last practice will be Thursday, March 1.  Current intro swimmers- if you would like to continue in our group, simply send me an email.

We would like to add 6 swimmers to the group to bring our total to 12.  So, if you have friends interested, please let them know about us.

Cost for the winter session is $175 for our returning swimmers (you will receive an invoice for this, please do not register at Active). Cost for new swimmers is a total of $250 ($150 to register at Active and another $100 invoiced to the family).  Please feel free to share cost information to your friends.

Each swimmer in the group will be members of Buckeye Swim Club, with a USA Swimming membership.  This means the kids will be able to participate in meets.  The first meet that is a great opportunity is the UASC Triple Crown.  At this point, each of our swimmers can compete in a 25 free and 25 back if they are 8-under. Our 9-10 year olds should be starting with 50 free and 50 back. These events are offered Saturday morning, January 6.  If you would like to swim, simply respond to your Active Invite or send me an email by Friday.

BKYS Apparel Sale---ALL ORDERS DUE MONDAY, DECEMBER 11th

We will be taking orders during practice.  ALL orders are due on MONDAY, DECEMBER 11th!  Please note the VERY quick turn around.  I will have order forms at practice and leave some with each of the coaches.  I will also have them this weekend at the MAKOS Holiday Invitational.
Any questions: lesallows@columbus.rr.com

Please note, that the logo on the order form is for representational purposes only and may change.

Buy One Get One Free Code for Nationals Tonight!

Follow the link below and use code: COSA
for buy one get one free tickets to tonight's nationals.

https://tickets.vendini.com/ticket-software.html?t=tix&w=223a24211fb6719351c224f532e0d349&vqitq=0313967b-012d-4793-8178-ebdc42315f60&vqitp=3b9968c9-9695-4bde-99a7-48941b96cf59&vqitts=1508275521&vqitc=vendini&vqite=itl&vqitrt=Safetynet&vqith=c75b99a2c7cee5382b4c9e8665ba37a2

Active Portal is now mobile friendly

You now can interact with your Swim Portal in a dynamic mobile fashion! No matter the device our swim portal will format accordingly. There is no need for an app because we are the only organization in the market that offers you a truly enterprise level SaaS (cloud based) platform.

Below are a few screen shots of the portal at www.swimportal.active.com. 

Swim Portal Home Screen w/ Drop Down Box Navigation

Slide out navigational tab (foreground)

– My Wallet Payment Editing (background)

Additional Merchandise Check Out Screen

BKYS Holiday Party Saturday, December 2, 2017

BKYS HOLIDAY PARTY- Saturday, December 2nd

What better way to celebrate the holidays than by eating pizza and watching some FAST swimming.  The USA Winter Nationals are being held right here in Columbus at Ohio State!  We will meet at Tommy's Pizza on Lane Ave at 3:30 PM.  The Booster Club will be paying for all SWIMMERS and coaches pizza and drinks.  Others are welcome to join at their own expense. We will then head over to McCorkle Aquatic Pavilion to watch Saturday Finals beginning at 5:00 PM.  Everyone will be responsible for purchasing their own ticket to Finals.

Saturday Events include:
1650 Freestyle
200 Backstroke
100 Freestyle
200 Breaststroke
200 Butterfly
400 Freestyle Relay

Below is a link to purchase tickets.  Be sure to purchase the single session ticket for Saturday Finals.


https://www.usaswimming.org/utility/winter-nationals-tickets

Please sign up on the Sign Up Genius link below and let us know how many people will be attending and how many are BKYS swimmers.  We will need this for a head count for Tommy's to reserve seating and have pizza ready for the swimmers.

http://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0c4aafaa2fa64-holiday

If you have any questions you may contact either Ron Sallows at rsallows@columbus.rr.com or Laurie Sallows at lesallows@columbus.rr.com

Thanksgiving week practice schedule

Tentative Schedule Changes for Thanksgiving Week:

Wednesday, November 22
Senior and Junior 8-10:45 am
Scarlet 2 & Gold 12:30-3
Silver 2 12:30-2
Scarlet 1 & Silver 1 -1:30-3

Thursday, November 23
NO PRACTICE, HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Friday, November 24
Senior and Junior 9:30 am- noon
Scarlet 2 and Gold 12-2
Scarlet 1- 12-1:30

Swim A Thon Money Due Dates

A HUGE thanks to all the swimmers who participated in the Swim A Thon on Sunday.  Now it is time to get out and collect from your sponsors.  We will be collecting ALL MONEY AND PACKETS (you need to turn in your packet even if you did not participate or pay $1 fee to USA swimming for all packets that are not returned).  We will be collecting at the following times at Columbus North:

Sunday, November 26th from 1-3:15 PM
Tuesday, November 28th from 6:15-8:30 PM
Wednesday, November 29th from 6:15-8:30 PM

If you can not make it to one of these times please be sure to hand in your packet and money to your coach before Wednesday, November 29th.  ALL packets and $ need to be turned in by Wednesday, November 29th.

Stoller Fundraising Product Pickup

Thursday, November 16 is the pick up day for your orders.  Orders will be available at the pool from 6:00-8:00 PM.  Thanks for participating Buckeye families!

Pictures Needed

Help your coaches focus at meets.

At this week-ends Golden Bear we had NO pictures posted to the Buckeye Instagram account.  Why?   - because there was very little down time for the coaches to do so.  We were very busy doing our most important job - coaching!  

We LOVE posting pictures to the Instagram account.  Please consider helping us out by taking control of our account while you are at a meet.  Texting pictures to the coach is nice (and very MUCH appreciated) but not quite the help we are looking for.  It's super easy to post to Instagram, please consider being a volunteer social media king or queen at the next meet.

ANYONE can post picture to the teamapp app.

Thanks!

Meet Wrap Up

Golden Bear Success!
We have just finished another very successful competition with lots of great swims and learning opportunities.  We dropped over 548 seconds, averaging just over 4 seconds per best time! 

Gold Stars to the following swimmers who had best times in every event: Savanah Cornelius (6 best times, 25.43 seconds), Sam Evers (7 best times, 33.31 seconds), Nandita Gaddam (1 best time, 4 new races),  Amanda Jones (6 best times, 14 seconds), Justin Li  (6 best times, 35.44 seconds),  Christopher Martin (6 best times, 21.17 seconds),  Nicholas Martin (3 best times, 3 new new events), Nick Mountz (6 best times, 15.74 seconds)!!

KUDOS to Andrew Huang who was High Point winner in 10-under boys.

Keep up the fantastic work Buckeyes!

Administrative Reminders

Just some friendly reminders:

• Please login to your active portal once a week and check meet invites, results and invoices.
• We do not automatically bill your account any longer for team fees.  PLEASE make sure your QuickBooks invoice is up to date.  
• If you keep a credit card on file at Active we will automatically bill your meet fees.  We appreciate prompt payment BEFORE the meet.

We do have room for 2-4 more swimmers in Silver, and would like to add  a coach to help Jess.  If you have friends that are interested, please send them to us!  

Swim A Thon

Swim A Thon

It’s that time of year again when we ask our swimmers to swim and fundraise for our team. We would like to encourage all of our swimmers to take part in this important annual event. All you need to do is collect sponsorships and donations over the next few weeks and then be ready to swim for 2 hours or 200 laps, whichever comes first. As you collect sponsorships, remember that you will be eligible for some great prizes!

All groups will be participating in the Swim A Thon on Sunday, November 12th during their normal practice time!  Remember that the funds you raise will go towards your swimmers required $75 fundraising fee.

All Money raised for the Swim A Thon will will due and collected on the following days during practice:

Wednesday, November 22nd 6:30-8:30

Thursday, November 23rd 4:30-6:30

Sunday, November 26th 1-3 

If you have not received a swim a thon packet please see either Ron or Laurie Sallows during Scarlet practice.  You can also email me at lesallows@columbus.rr.com and I can leave one with your child's coach.  Please remember that all packets must be returned or there will be a $1 charge per USA Swimming.

Brrrrr, close the door!

Now that the weather has turned towards winter, we will be keeping the parking lot door closed.  This helps keep our happy swimmers happy, as that door tends to blow cold air straight into them while they are receiving their instructions.  After practice has ended, please remember to exit through the front door and walk to your car.  If you are picking up your child, please pull up to the front door once practice has ended. We do not permit our swimmers to walk from the front door to the parking lot alone.

Teamapp App

We have put together a free smartphone app for everyone to try.  It's called Teamapp and you can download it via the instructions below.

If you like apps, consider downlading and taking it for a spin.  We are not sure we are keeping it, and would love some feedback!

To get the full features of your teams App you need to download Team App onto your smartphone. Download Team App here (http://teamapp.com/app). Its 100% FREE.

Launch Team App.
Then:
1. Sign-up to Team App. You'll be sent an email to confirm your registration.
2. Log in. Then search for Buckeye Swim Club and request access to group(s) that apply to you.

If you don't have a smartphone, you can be added manually and you'll receive email notifications.  So if we keep the app, everyone will still get notifications.

Meet Schedule Updates

Thanks for Giving, November 12
We did not successfully gain entry into this meet and will NOT be attending.  We will not replace this meet but will hone our focus on swimming very fast at UA the weekend prior and preparing for the Makos meet in December.

Dual Meet for Silvers on November 11
Dublin had initially discussed hosting a dual or tri meet for newer swimmers on 11/11 at Worthington.  We have no new news as to whether or not this meet is on.  We will update you as soon as we hear something.

End of January meet options
January 26-28The OSSC meet that we wanted to attend has been canceled.  We will attempt to enter the Circle City Meet January 26-28 at the IU Natatorium in Indianapolis.  This pool has hosted numerous Olympic Trials and is know to be a very fun and fast place to swim.  The meet itself has qualifying time standards.  Swimmers will need a National BB time standard to enter and event.  You may check out those standards here: http://buckeyeswimclub.com/Files/2020MotivationalTimes-Top16.pdf make sure you scroll down to the third page, which is yards times.

January 28
For those that cannot attend the Circle City, we will attend the UAC Frosty Fun B Meet hosted by Unified at the Columbus School for Girls

October 31

Scarlet Practice will be canceled on 10/31 so that our swimmers can enjoy Beggars Night.

Meet Fees

When we are accepted into a meet, we run billing for the meet and send the host our payment.  Once we run billing you receive an itemized invoice for the meet.  If your invoice shows a balance due, you must pay that day for the meet.  If you keep a card on file, it will be automatically charged.

Pizza Night!

The booster club is holding a fundraiser at Rapid Fire Pizza.  Please share the following flyer with your friends!

Thursday, Oct. 19th
10:30am to 10:00pm

PDF of Flyer

Swim Meet signup Deadlines

Thanks to everyone for responding so quickly to the swim meet invites.  We have started adding those deadlines to our google event calendar as well.  Scarlet, Junior and Senior have their next meet deadline today for the OSSC meet.

Meet Wrap Up

Our first meet was an overwhelming success with our team combing to drop over 370 seconds and competing in over 60 new events.  We had some excellent learning and growth opportunities for everyone and are already back to the pool to improve!  A shout out to Savannah Cornelius  who dropped the most amount of time with 33.3 seconds in the 200 free!  Amanda Jones had the highest percentage of time dropped, with a whopping 17.3% in the 50 fly!!  Full results have been posted in the OneDrive folder for this meet (buckeyeswimclub.com - schedule-  meet schedule, click on the blue box for the DR Meet).

Caps & Suits

The team caps arrived last night and are starting to be distributed.  Also, all team suits have been distributed.  If you owe money for either, we ask that you drop a check to your coach by Thursday pm.  Thanks for your attention to this.

Team T-Shirt Parent Order, due Sunday

This year's team shirt order is now underway & is due this Sunday. Parents can order the team shirt this year to show their Buckeye spirit at meets.  The shirts are cherry red with the logo below on the front in black and chrome. Each swimmer is given a t-shirt, we have their size from registration, so there is no need to order swimmers shirt.

Place your order via PayPal here:

Size

Small Medium Large XL XXL 3XL

If you want to purchase more than one shirt/different sizes - after adding one size to your cart, click the Continue Shopping Button.  That will bring you back to this blog post where you can add more shirts before checking out.

Swim A Thon Fundraiser

Dear Buckeye Families, 

Are you ready for the Swim A Thon? 

We are excited for this new fundraising opportunity, we are asking our swimmers to swim and fundraise for our team.  We encourage all of our swimmers to take part in this important event. All you need to do is collect sponsorships and donations over the next couple of weeks, from family & friends, and then be ready to swim for 2 hours or 200 laps. As you collect sponsorships, remember that you will be eligible for some great prizes! 

This is our biggest fundraiser of the year.  All of the funds raised from the Swim A Thon will go towards each swimmers mandatory $75 Fundraising Fee.  Even if you do not want to collect sponsorships from family and friends you can sponsor your swimmer a flat rate of $75 and their Fundraising Fee will be paid.

Event Details:

• Swimmers can be sponsored on a flat fee or per lap basis for each lap completed
• Swimmers will swim for 2 hours or 200 laps.
• Swim A Thon will be the week of November 6-9...more details on each groups time to come...

Prizes:

MORE DETAILS TO COME!!!!!

Packets:

Will be available beginning Monday, October 16th during practice.  

*PLEASE note that per USA swimming we must return ALL unused packets or we will be charged $1.00 per packet not returned.  If you take a packet and do not participate you will need to return your unused packet or you will be charged a $1.00 fee.

Swim Meet responses

PARENTS/SWIMMERS: ACCEPT MEET INVITE IN PARENT PORTAL

nce meet invites are sent out from Swim Manager, this is the process to confirm attendance:

• Note: Meet entry process is only available during Online Meet Entry period

1. Parent will receive email indicating organization is accepting entries, as well as a link to the Parent Portal

2. Click on hyperlink to portal and log in 
3. Once in portal, select View Meets tab
4. Select Attending or Not Attending

• Note:  If organization allows parents/ athletes to pick what events to attend, the eligible events will display once Attending is selected. Check the box next to each event you wish to compete in. 

5. Select Save ​

• Note: When Online Meet Entry period has ended, meet status will be changed from "In Progress" to "Closed" in Swim Portal.

Tentative Buckeye Swim Club Events 2017-18

Attached is a tentative schedule of events for the 2017-18 swim season.  Please remember that this schedule is tentative and remember to check this blog weekly for changes/updates to the schedule.  Please contact either Ron Sallows at rsallows@columbus.rr.com or Laurie Sallows at lesallows@columbus.rr.com if you have any questions.

Buckeye Swim Club Boosters

Dates of Importance

(Schedule is subject to change)

September 17, 2017 - Parent Meeting/Suit Fitting

September - Fall Board Meeting – CONFIRM

Booster Club quarterly business meeting; Election of 2017-18 Booster Club Executive Board 

September - Fall Apparel Sale – CONFIRM

October 1, 2017 - Fall Team Activity (Lehner’s Pumpkin Farm) – CONFIRM

Boosters will pay for swimmer wristbands, provide meat, plates, silverware.  Parents asked to bring side dish to share and beverages.

October 6-8, 2017 - Dayton Meet (Silver 1, Scarlet, Junior, Senior)

October 21-22, 2017 - Worthington Meet (Silver, Scarlet, Junior, Senior)

October 2017 - Butterbraid Fundraiser – CONFIRM

To be delivered before Thanksgiving.

November/December 2017 - Buckeye 200 Swim-a-thon

Major Fall/Winter Fundraiser - CONFIRM

November 3-5, 2017 - Golden Bear Meet (Silver, Scarlet, Junior, Senior)

November 11, 2017 - Dublin and Worthington Tri-Meet (Silver)

November 12, 2017 - OSSC Thanks for Giving Meet (Scarlet)

November 17-19, 2017 - Ohio Senior Meet (High School or Older)

December 1 or 2, 2017 - Team Holiday Event – CONFIRM

December 8-10, 2017 - MAKOS Holiday Invite (9 & overs only, prelims/finals)

December 2017 - Winter Board Meeting - CONFIRM

Booster Club quarterly business meeting

December 15-17, 2017 - GCSTO Holiday, Ohio Virtual Dist. (Silver/Scarlet Dist.; All Scarlet)

January 6-7, 2018 - Triple Crown (Silver & Scarlet)

January 20-21 or January 27-28, 2018 - OSSC IMX Challenge (No 8 and under)- MEET CANCELLED

February 2-4, 2018 - DR Swim Your Own Age (Silver & Scarlet)

February 11, 2018 – New Albany Kicker Classic (8 & under only)

February 22, 2018 - Regional Pasta Party (Columbus North) – After practice

February 23-25, 2018 - Central Regional Champs (Silver, Scarlet, Junior, 8 & under one day)

March 2018 - Spring Board Meeting - CONFIRM

Booster Club quarterly business meeting

March 2-4, 2018 - Auburn Classic (9 & Over team travel meet)

March 3-4, 2018 - Mini Meet (8 & under only)

March 16-18, 2018 - Ohio Age Group SC Champs (Must have Ohio JO time standard)

March 22-24, 2018 – Central Sone Sectionals (Must have Sectional time standard)

April/May 2018 - Michaels’ Meat Fundraiser – CONFIRM

To be delivered before Memorial Day Weekend

May 2018 - Spring Team Event - Cedar Point/Kings Island Trip – CONFIRM

June 2018 – Summer Board Meeting – CONFRIM

Booster Club quarterly business meeting

June 2018 - Early Summer Team Event – Zoombesi Bay – CONFIRM

July 6-8 or 7-9, 2018 – Central Regional Champs (Silver, Scarlet, Junior)

(Major Summer Fundraiser)

Summer 2018 - Golf Outing (Darby Creek Golf Course, Marysville, OH) - CONFIRM

July 20-22, 2018 - Ohio Age Group LC Champs (Must have Ohio JO time standard)

July/August 2018 - End of Summer Team Event – Delaware Mingo Park Pool

Dinner (6-8 pm and Pool Party 8-10 pm) – CONFIRM

August 2-5, 2018 - Central Zones LC Championships Geneva, OH

Team Suits, Caps & Shirts

Team suits that were not available on 9/17 have been ordered and should trickle in over the next few weeks. 

Team caps have been ordered with the hopes that they will arrive by our first meet!  They likely will be handed out at the meet.

Team shirts will be ordered in early October to distribute by the second meet.  These shirts are given to each swimmer and will likely be available for parents to order.

Sunday Practice/Fall Party

Due to Sunday's Fall Party, Silver practice will be 2:30-4 this Sunday 10/1.  Have fun at Lehner's families!

Buckeye Swim Club Fall Party

DATE: Sunday, October 1
TIME: 5:00-7:30 PM
LOCATION: Lehner's Pumpkin Farm
                      2920 St. Route 203
                      Radnor, OH 43066

Admission for the farm and activities including the hayride will be paid for by the Buckeye Swim Club Boosters

DINNER: 6:00 PM
Hamburgers and hotdogs will be provided by the Boosters.  Plates and table settings will also be provided.
We ask each family to bring a dish to share as well as their own beverages.

Please RSVP to sign up genius by 9/29/17 8 PM

Any questions please call/text Amanda Klein 614-774-0140


Please use the link below to sign up at Sign Up Genius:


www.SignUpGenius.com/go/10C0C4AAFAA2FA64-buckeye

An Open Invitation for Buckeye Parents to become a USA Swimming Volunteer Official

Hello Buckeye Parents, I am Will Indest, a fellow Buckeye parent, and a 7-year volunteer official for USA Swimming and Ohio Swimming.  Ever wondered what it would take to get out of those uncomfortable bleachers and get on the pool deck near the action.  Consider becoming an official.  No prior swimming or officiating experience required.  In fact most officials were not swimmers themselves. 

The steps are straight forward and can be found here:  https://www.teamunify.com/czohlsc/UserFiles/File/Officials/Become%20a%20USA%20Swimming%20Official%20OSI.pdf.    Most importantly, the required clinic is coming soon on Sunday, October 8^th at 1PM at the Carriage Place Community Center at 4900 Sawmill Road, Columbus 43235.  

Any questions, call or write me at 614.288.7003 or will@dtvc.com.  Come join us on deck and help us  run the best meets so our kids can get their best times, (and our families can get to the next thing on time.)

Parents that officiate will have their booster fundraising requirement waived. 

Welcome to BKYS- New Parent's Guide to Swimming

Following is a "New Parent's Guide to Swimming/Swim Meets".  I hope that this information is helpful to our new swim parents.  If you still have questions please feel free to contact me at lesallows@columbus.rr.com or find me at practice/meet.  I have 2 girls that are in Scarlet 2/Scarlet Gold practice and we will be at all the meets whenever 11-12 and 13-14 age groups are swimming!  Welcome to BKYS, we are happy to have you and your family!

A Buckeye Parent’s Guide to Swim Meets

Swim meets are a new experience for many Buckeye swimmers and parents.  The following information will help make that experience more enjoyable.

Swim meets are a great opportunity for swimmers, parents, and coaches to see how all of the hard work during the season is paying off.  For parents, it’s also a time to meet other parents and have fun interaction while the swimmers are spending time with their teammates and making new friends from other teams.  The entire swimming community is great and this is your chance to be a part of it all.

As your swimmer ages and progresses, more meet opportunities become available.  There are several types of meets in which Buckeye swimmers may participate.  We’ll cover those meets later and provide additional information regarding qualifying for those meets and special procedures that will apply to your swimmers for those meets.

  

Swim meets often have 200 to 500 swimmers entered in a meet.  Pool deck space is limited so we ask parents and swimmers to arrive early (15-20 minutes at minimum).  Swimmers should locate the BKYS team area on deck.  Spectator seating is often limited so we ask that swimmers remain on deck or in the “crash area” with their teammates and coaches. Parents should plan to arrive early to get seats in the bleachers.  BKYS parents try to sit together in one location to cheer on the team together.

Swimmers are to see their coach before and immediately following their event. 

In order for corrections/praise to be effective it needs to be given while the event is still fresh in the minds of both swimmers and coaches.

  

Coaches and officials make every effort to see that swimmers are in the correct heat and lane. However, it is up to the swimmer to be at the correct place at the correct time and pay attention once they are behind the starting blocks.  Parents are not allowed behind the blocks unless they are a timer (more on that later).  Some, but not all, swim meets have a staging area called the “Clerk of Course”or “Bull Pen”. The event name and number are announced in the gym and pool deck.  Swimmers should then report to the Clerk of Course. The Clerk of Course will organize and place swimmers in the proper heat and lane.

  

Pictures may be taken but NO flash photography is allowed at the start.  The starting system uses a flash and a sound signal to start the swimmers.  Camera flashes can cause the swimmer to “false start” (moving before the system flash / sound), resulting in a disqualification. 

  

Buckeye parents and swimmers have a reputation for being one of the most supportive and polite teams in our area. We lead by example and take pride in being a positive role model for all teams.

What to take to the meet:

• Directions to the pool and your event entry sheet posted on the Active web page several days before the meet.  If this is an “away” or out-of-town meet, hotel information will also be available.
• Swim gear – team suit and Cap, team shirt – we’re proud of our swimmers and want everyone to know they are BUCKEYES, goggles (take a spare pair just in case), 2 towels, deck shoes (old tennis shoes are great for this since they cover the entire foot and help prevent injuries), something warm for the swimmer to wear between events.  Most meets have a vendor selling various swim gear, T-shirts, goggles, suits, etc. – so don’t panic if your swimmer forgot something.
• Snacks – apples, oranges, breakfast bars, cheese sticks, crackers, sandwiches
• Drinks – water, sport drinks (Water is the best option.  Please limit sport drinks to one bottle per meet session)
• Sleeping bag or blanket for swimmer to lounge on in crash area between events

• At larger meets there is often plenty of “down-time” between events.  Help your swimmer plan ahead by packing: a book, homework, small games, deck of cards to keep them busy between events

(Please secure high cost items such as i-pods or leave them at home)

What happens at the meet?

Do not be late for warm-ups for several reasons:

• Coaches are required to turn in a “Scratch Sheets” during warm-ups (late arrivals risk being dropped from the meet with NO REFUNDS)
• Coaches need to know who is available for relay events
• Swimmers hate being late.  Starting off the meet in a panic will not help your swimmer achieve the best results.  Of course things happen so please let someone know if you’re going to be late (text or call another parent or coach so everyone knows you’re on your way).

What are Warm-ups?

Warm-ups are the first thing that happens at meets.  It’s madness, it’s mayhem, it’s fun!  This is a bit of “practice swimming” to get everyone loosened up for the meet, a chance to get familiar with the pool and the starting blocks, and allows coaches to make sure everyone is there.  Warm-up times will be posted on our web-site the week of the meet.  Warm-up periods are often divided by age-group, gender, team, or a combination of all three.

To ensure the safety of your swimmers, there are specific procedures for warm-ups.  The coaches will make every effort to make sure swimmers understand these procedures and follow them.

• No diving in the pool during general warm-ups
• During warm-up enter the pool feet first - one hand on the deck
• Starts, which are conducted at the end of general warm-ups, are the only time you are allowed to dive in under coach control).  Swimmers can be removed from the meet for not following safety procedures

Heat sheets:  This is a list of all of the swimmers in the meet sorted out by the heat and lane they will swim in for each event.  Heat sheets are typically sold at the meet.  Most parents highlight the swimmers from their team so they can cheer the Buckeyes on from the stands.  Heat sheets are posted for swimmers in the “crash area” to help swimmers be at the right spot at the right time.

Younger swimmers often write their event number, heat, and lane assignments on their arm.  We ask that swimmers age 11 and up learn to read a heat sheet and refrain from this practice.

If your child entered the meet after the host deadline, they may not be listed in the program as these are printed 3 to 5 days ahead of the meet.  Late entered swimmers will need to check with their coach for their heat and lane assignments.

The races:  Swimmers will compete against others of the same age and gender. They will be “seeded” into heats with those who have similar times.  New swimmers with “no times” (NT), will all swim together, usually at the beginning of each event.  For most meets, each heat gets faster.  This is a great opportunity for the coaches to have new swimmers watch more experienced athletes demonstrate skills that we may have worked on in practice – parents can learn something too so watch as much swimming as you can!

Events alternate girl/boy throughout the meet.  There is usually an announcer letting swimmers know where to be and when, but parents can help make sure their swimmers get where they need to be prior to their event.

Swimmers are to see their coach before and immediately following their event. 

In order for corrections/praise to be effective it needs to be given while the event is still fresh in the minds of both swimmers and coaches. (Yes, you’ve seen that before – good catch!).

Who are the guys and gals in white tops and navy bottoms?

Those people are dedicated volunteers.  They serve several functions during the meet so you’ll see them everywhere.  They “marshal” warm-ups to ensure safety, they start each race, they observe the swim strokes and turns in each lane to ensure that the swimmers are “legal” as they swim.

Legal?  Yes, “legal.”  Each stroke has a set of rules for how it is to be swum:  specific arm motion, specific kick, specific turn, and even a specific finish.  These are all things we work on in practice so your swimmers know the rules.  Sometimes they get excited and “forget.”  It is the job of the official to keep an eye on all of this so that everyone is under the same rules for competition and things are kept fair.

Disqualifications are handled by the officials.  They don’t enjoy disqualifying swimmers.  Officials take the time to explain to the swimmer and coach what the problem was so we know what to work on in practice. 

Please do not confront or argue with an official or judge as this can result in your removal from the meet.  If we become “unglued” our swimmers miss the opportunity to learn from their mistake and how to do it correctly next time.  We, as coaches, probably take it more personally than you as a parent.  Let us handle it.  You can help best by helping us teach everyone to exercise good sportsmanship:  no arguing with officials, throwing goggles, temper tantrums (and that goes for the swimmers and coaches too!).

What happens after the event has been completed?

All of the swimmers times are compiled and placed in order fastest to slowest.  There may have been some shuffling around since swimmers may “drop time” (go faster) or “add time” (go slower) than their entry time.

Your swimmer may add time (go slower) than they did the last time they swam the event.  Relax – we may have been working on a specific technique in practice and we want to spend this event reinforcing that technique in “race conditions” with your swimmer.  They may add time but have perfected something we’ve been working on for days or weeks.  These little adjustments are what we feel will pay off in the end for your swimmer.

Event results are posted in public areas for parents and swimmers to view. The times posted are usually accurate.  Electronic touch pads are very sensitive and are confirmed with two stop watches. When there is a large discrepancy between the touch pads and stop watches, the computer alerts the meet manager and an average is taken to determine the time.  If you feel there is an error, let one of the coaches know and we will take care of it.

There are often awards at meets (ribbons, medals, plaques) based on times swum during the events.  If your swimmer has received an award these will be picked up by the coaches at the conclusion of the meet and distributed to swimmers at practice during the week after the meet.

How can I help my swimmer improve?

Encourage your swimmer to “Do your best” every time they hit the water.  Swim meets are competitive, but the main purpose is to show swimmers that all their hard work at practice is paying off for them personally.  The best thing parents can do for their child is support them regardless of how they perform at a meet.  Some will get great times, others not so great and everyone gets disqualified at least once in their swimming career.  Just hug them and be proud of them for getting out there and doing their best.

• Don’t compare your child with another on the team or worse with a sibling (each child learns at their own pace).
• Avoid the temptation to coach or give your child last minute tips, the coach has specific technique tasks that they will give your child and too much coaching will only lead to confusion and disappointment.
• DO NOT BRIBE YOUR CHILD.  Payment or rewards for time drops or performance sends the wrong message to your child.  Tell them you are proud of them even when they come in last or are disqualified. It is all about the journey not just one race.  
• Don’t participate in negative conversations or gossiping about other swimmers, parents, coaches. If you have concerns or issues please speak to your coach after the meet or between sessions.
• Focus on the positive – Imagine you’re the swimmer in the back seat on the way home from a meet and imagine what you’d like to hear from your parents. “Wow, you really had a great start in that backstroke event!” or  “I can tell you’ve been working on your flip turns at practice.”  
• Encourage their enthusiasm about swimming, but remember that the children are there to have fun. 
• Get them to practice as often as possible. 
• Make sure they’re getting enough rest and eating well. 
• Volunteer to help with team events.  Our swimmers work hard, so they deserve to have well-run meets, fundraisers and fun activities.  These only happen when parents step-up to make them happen. 
• Let the coaches do their jobs. 
• Learn as much as you can about swimming to share the sport with your swimmer.  Go to www.USASwimming.org and click on the “Parents” section for resources and tips. 
• Consider becoming an official – You’re at the meet anyway!  It’s cooler on deck, you get a free heat sheet, and you usually get snacks during the meet!

Still have questions about meets?

Ask another parent or coach.  If you have questions about what’s happening at the meet, please ask a “veteran” parent or one of the coaches.  They’ll be happy to try and help.  Jot down any questions that you have and bring them to practice – you might not be the only one with that question and we can let everybody in on the secret! 

During and after the meet: 

• Please police your area in the stands (throw your discards in the trash can, make sure you or your neighbor didn’t forget something – camera, purse, pen, etc).  We’ll remind the swimmers to do the same thing on deck and in the “crash area.”
• Cheer for your child as well as their teammates and friends.  Swim meets are a lot more fun when you’re cheering for more than one swimmer.  If you’re at a football game you have to cheer for everyone – and there’s no quarterback in swimming…

Types of Meets:

 Dual Meet:  This is the most informal of meet formats.  Two teams swim against each other for points.  These meets are usually a quick morning, afternoon, or evening contest.

USA Invitational Meet:  This is the meet most attended by Buckeye athletes.  These meets are hosted by local clubs and offer a wide variety of events over the course of a weekend.

• Open Invitational – any swimmer may enter regardless of their time in the event(s)
• Time Standard Requirements – swimmers are permitted to enter the meet if they have a “qualifying time” in each event they enter
• Timed Final Meet – every swimmer swims his/her events entered once and is then ranked accordingly
• Prelim/Final Meet – every swimmer swims his/her event once in a “preliminary session.”  After preliminary swims, the swimmers are ranked and a predetermined number of swimmers is invited back to swim the event again in a “finals session” (Typically a consolation heat and a championship heat.  The number of swimmers returning for “finals” is determined by the number of competition lanes available – 6/12, 8/16, 10/20).  Specific rules apply to prelim/finals meets in regard to “scratching” from the finals session.  Please talk to a coach prior to the meet to become familiar with these procedures.
• Championship Meet – swimmers must achieve specific “time standards” to attend these meets.  Championship meets are offered by Ohio Swimming, Inc. (a sub-governing body of USA Swimming), the USA Central Zone, and USA Swimming.   Please ask your coach if you are uncertain as to whether you have met the requirements.

SWIMMING APPS

USA Deck Pass is a great tool for parents and swimmers.  Create an account, download the app and get started!  Click on the link below for more information and to sign up for your own Deck Pass account.  FREE!

http://www.usaswimming.org/DesktopDefault.aspx?TabId=2151&Alias=Rainbow&Lang=en

Meet Mobile - Get meet results as soon as they become available while the meet is running and look up previous meet results.  It does require a subscription, but the cost is minimal.

HELPFUL INFORMATION FOR PARENTS AND SWIMMERS

Governance of USA swimming-

New Parent Information - USA Swimming link

Glossary of Swimming Terms

Meet Schedule

A few have asked - the meet schedule is current on our website.  You can access a pdf of it there or here:  MEET SCHEDULE

Group Meetings this Sunday

TEAM MEETING AND EQUIPMENT NEEDED
We will have a required parent meeting for both the Scarlet and Silver groups on Sunday, September 17.  Scarlet meeting is at 1:00, Silver meeting is at 4:00.  At this meeting we will review best practices for communication and general information regarding our swim club.  Please bring your cell phone &/or tablet as we will send test communications during the meeting to make sure everyone is receiving communications. We will also review how to sign up for meets.

Immediately following the meeting, each swimmer will have the opportunity to try on & purchase the team suit for this year.
If you need equipment please go to swimoutlet.com/bkys   

Price of the team suit is as follows:
Girls suit: $67.20
Boys Jammer: $43.20
Boys Brief: $35.20
Please make checks payable to Buckeye Swim Club.  Sorry no credit cards.  If paying by cash, please seal the EXACT amount in an envelope with your name on the outside.

Senior and Junior swimmers may arrive early to practice (5:30) to purchase their team suits.

Team Caps Action Needed

We have uploaded an excel spreadsheet of our current cap order.  Please review the spreadsheet and make sure your order is correct and (if you ordered personalized caps) the correct name is listed.  You may make changes directly to the spreadsheet (do not email coach) and you have until Monday night to do so. When you registered for Buckeye, the system was set up to require a red cap order.  A few of you accidentally ordered a silver cap without ordering a red cap.  You will need to add on to your order, choosing one of the following options:

• Replace your silver cap with one red team cap, no personalization.  Additional $2.
• Replace your silver cap with two personalized red caps. Additional $17.
• Keep your silver cap and add one of the two above options (one red cap is $10, two personalized caps are $25).

Intro to swim team kids are not required to have a team cap.  If you would like your purchase of a cap refunded, please email coach Laurie at laurie@bkyswim.com

LONG HAIR? CAP FALLS OFF... We now have an option for kids with very long hair, causing the cap to fall off at meets.  This cap has a little more room for extra hair :)  If you would like to add this option, please place an x in the option on the spreadsheet.  There is no extra charge for this.  I'll have a sample at practice this week and Sunday.

TEAM CAP SPREADSHEET

Regular Practices begin September 5

Welcome back to the pool.  All groups will begin regular practices on Tuesday, September 5.  Each swimmer also recently received an email detailing their groups practice schedule.  If you did not receive this, contact laurie@bkyswim.com immediately!

Team CapsWe will hold off on ordering team caps about one more week.  This will give all of our late signups one last chance to get their personalized cap order in.  With the change to a new team suit, we are also switching of to red team caps!  Very exciting :)  Once that order is placed, we would expect the caps to arrive around the end of September.  Those will then be distributed at practice.

Save $50We have approximately 10-14 spaces left in our Silver group & 6 in Scarlet.  Please encourage your friends to join us!  We have the most space available for swimmers age 8 and younger. We will be giving a $50 discount to both you and your friend should they join before September 17.  Have them use the code FRIENDS17 at registration.  Don’t forget to send us their name so that we can discount your team fees.  This discount is only eligible for Silver, Scarlet, Junior and Senior groups.

Intro to Swim Team
We have a new intro to swim team group that will meet Sundays this fall from 3-3:45.  The group is designed for kiddos that are currently in swim lessons and can swim about a length of the pool on their own.  The group is very low commitment and is only $150!  If you have a friend on the fence about joining, please tell them about this opportunity.

TEAM SUIT FITTING

Sunday, September 17

Scarlet swimmers at 1:00

Silver swimmers at 4:00

Senior & Junior at 5:45 

We emphasize the importance of well-fitted suits and equipment to enhance your swimmer's performance and increase their comfort in the water. We encourage you to take advantage of the opportunity to fit your swimmer for the right-sized team suit.  Suits must snugly fit the body and have no visible gaps and minimal wrinkling.  By USA Swimming rule, boys suits must not cover the knee.

Amazon fundraising

When you #StartWithaSmile, Amazon donates 0.5% of the purchase price to Buckeye Swim Club Boosters Inc. Bookmark the link http://smile.amazon.com/ch/31-1765851 and support us every time you shop.

Swim Clinics

The swim clinics will begin Tuesday, August 22! If you would like to attend, we ask that you bring a friend! These clinics are designed for you and the coaching staff to introduce Buckeye to your friends and interested new swimmers.

Invoices have been sent

Invoices for the 2017-18 season have been sent. Please take a moment to check that all information on the invoice is accurate. If you did not receive an invoice, please email laurie@bkyswim.com at your earliest convenience.

Scarlet & Silver begins September 5

The new season is just a few weeks away!  Practices being Tuesday, September 5 with the following schedule:

Scarlet 1:
Sunday 1:00-2:30
Monday 4:30-6:00
Tuesday 6:30-8:00
Wednesday 6:30-8:30
Thursday 5:30-6:45

Scarlet 2:
Sunday 1:00-3:00
Monday & Thursday 4:30-6:30
Tuesday & Wednesday 6:30-8:30
Scarlet Gold adds Saturday 7-9 am

Silver 1:
Sundays: 4:30-6:00
Mondays & Wednesdays 5:45-7:00
Bonus Practice (earn with 90% attendance) with Scarlet, Thursday's 5:30-6:45

Silver 2:
Sundays: 4:30-6:00
Mondays & Wednesdays 5:45-7:00
Bonus Practice (earn with 90% attendance) with Scarlet, Tuesdays 7-8:30

Looking forward to seeing everyone at the pool!

Team Suit and Equipment

The new season is here!
No need to order team suits this year
We will be placing a bulk order for our team suit (this will save some decent $$ for everyone) in late August.  Once all of the suits arrive, we'll have a big team suit fitting party and general team meeting!

Also, we will be introducing swim snorkels to our Scarlet 2 and Gold swimmers.  This means all swimmers in Junior, Senior, Scarlet 2 and Gold will be required to have snorkels.  We have 24 of those on their way to us and will have them at practice by Thursday.   These are $20 each.

Junior & Senior Practice Schedule

The Junior & Senior groups head back to the pool on Monday, August 14!  They will follow this modified schedule to start the season:

Monday 6-8

Tuesday & Thursday 4:30-6:30

Saturday 7-10

Sunday 6-8

Thanks!  Looking forward to seeing everyone back at the pool!

Columbus Youth Triathlon

We are excited to announce the 6^th annual Columbus Youth Triathlon & Duathlon on Aug 12^th!! Here are the key details

·   What: Columbus Youth Triathlon

·   When: Saturday, August 6th starting at 9AM – 10:30 AM

·   Where: Powell Adventure Park - 260 Adventure Park Drive, Powell, OH 43065

·   Race Details: 4 Race Options (1) Youth Triathlon (6-18), (2) Youth Duathlon (6-18), (3) Kids Splash N Dash – no swimming! (ages 3-18), and (4) Foam / Grab the loot Run .5 miles or 1 mile (any age)

·   What you receive:  T-shirt, beach ball at finish line, free kids meal at 101 Beer Kitchen, and 1 free pass to Barre3! 

·   Create a team – have others register – the team that gets the most to register receive 8 free tickets to the Clippers game on Sunday, Aug 20th plus $10 per person to the game room at Grand Prix Racing! (up to 20)

·   Where to Register for race:www.columbusfoamrun.com

·   Use code: 5OFF (Triathlon or duathlon only $20, Splash n Dash $10!) or 20ff (for Foam run only $10!) – codes expires 8/4

Sign Up Genius for Zoombezi Bay on Thursday, August 10th

Please use the sign up genius link below to RSVP for our team outing to Zoombezi Bay on Thursday, August 10th!

http://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0c4aafaa2fa64-zoombezi

Recruiting

Recruiting 101 and Swim Clinics 
As we gear up for the next season, we’d like to take a moment to talk about recruitment.  We do have our end of August Clinics scheduled to help us all recruit new members.  If you know anyone slightly interested in any kind of kids activity, invite them to come with you at the clinics and try us out.  When you bring a new prospective member, the clinic is free to you. We are offering the following clinics at $25 each or $100 for all 5:
• Tuesday, August 22 from 6:30-7:30, Freestyle
• Thursday, August 24 from 6:30-7:30, Backstroke
• Sunday, August 27 from 5:00-6:00, Breaststroke
• Tuesday, August 29 from 6:30-7:30, Butterfly
• Thursday, August 31 from 6:30-7:30, Starts and turns
These clinics will teach the drills and technique philosophy that we utilize in Silver and Scarlet groups.  If your swimmer struggles with our drills, this is a good refresher before we start the season.

RECRUITMENT
The majority of our swimmers come to us based on a recommendation from another parent.  It’s very important that you continue to talk up our program to your friends.  You already help this in a big way by posting all those great swim pictures on FaceBook. You can continue to help by encouraging friends that are finishing swim lessons, have participated in summer league or are looking at a new sport to try.

A word about current club swimmers:
Recruiting swimmers that are already USA Swimming members is frowned upon in swimming circles.  There are actual rules that forbid this.  When you do so, you represent Buckeye, which puts us at risk to go to Ohio Swimming’s Board of Review. On the flip side, if this happens to you, always report the interaction to our club or Ohio Swimming.  EXCEPTION:  If a parent or swimmer from another team approaches you for information, they are fair game to recruit.

Points of Emphasis
Please emphasize our core values and teachings when speaking about our club. A lot of what we teach benefits kids well beyond the pool!
• We have a spot for nearly every level of swimmer (assuming they can swim a lap or two).
• Our attendance policy at lower levels is pretty low key.  We try to offer at least one additional practice per week beyond what is necessary for continued improvement. Most of our younger kids play fall sports.
• We believe that stroke technique is a core part of successful swimming and is a key component in all groups.
• We believe in teaching ownership of your sport from a young age (own your effort, your focus, your improvement, your communication).
• We believe winning is a by product of our core principles, good sportsmanship and being a great teammate.
• We believe in teaching children how to work hard and to take pride in effort and process.
• We believe that it is important for athletes to learn how to fall short of a goal.  Failure is not to be feared, rather we learn from our effort and improve.
• We believe swimming is not only the absolutely best sport, it is FUN!

Clinic Registration 
We would prefer that our current parents and swimmers hold off on registering for clinics.  Rather, please send us the names of your recruits and days you can attend.  If you have earned a free swim Clinic, we will manually add you.

We would certainly take help at these clinics from parents of all level swimmers that feel confident answering questions.  We would also like help from 12-14 yr old swimmers interested in welcoming younger swimmers to our clinic.

Clinic Registration link: http://www.active.com/columbus-oh/water-sports/swimming-registrations/swim-clinic-2017

Recruiting flyer: http://buckeyeswimclub.com/files/clinic%20flyer.pdf

2017-18 Team Information packet:  http://buckeyeswimclub.com/Files/2017-18%20team%20info%20.pdf

2017-18 Registration Link: http://www.active.com/columbus-oh/water-sports/swimming-registrations/buckeye-swim-club-18-2017