Practice Policies
SWIM TEAM PRACTICE
Swim team practices are held daily, Monday through Friday (we do not practice on Wednesdays), during the morning between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 11:15 a.m. Practice sessions begin in June and are organized by age group.
Practices will be held in inclement weather unless an electrical storm occurs.
PRACTICE RULES
1.) Swimmers should attend all practices. Swimmers who are members of other clubs may attend practice sessions for that club, but must be present at practice the day before a meet (Tuesdays and Fridays) or they will not be eligible to swim in the meet.
2.) Swimmers should be at practice 15 minutes prior to practice beginning for stretching and attendance and are to be picked up promptly at the end of the practice session.
3.) **Please refrain from disturbing the coaches during the practice session. If parents need to speak to the coaches please do so at the conclusion of all practice sessions or via email.
4.) Swimmers are required to attend daily practices which are held the day before a swim meet. Coach Chris is to be notified of absences prior to meet days (Tuesday morning or Friday morning absences) by phone or email or the swimmer may not be allowed to participate in the swim meet. If the swimmer is unable to make one of the mandatory practices due to illness, they MUST still check in with a coach in order to swim in the meet.
****If you will miss any swim meets due to vacations, all-star games, summer camp, etc. please notify Coach Chris at least 3 days in advance by email.
5.) Swimmers should arrive at the swim meets for warm-up at 5:00 p.m. for Wednesday evening meets and at 8:00 a.m. for Saturday morning meets. The meets are approximately 2 hours long and are scheduled for 6:00 p.m. on Wednesday and 9:00 a.m. on Saturday.
6.) All new swimmers and 8/under swimmers will try out and be tested and evaluated upon the following criteria:- Swim 25 yards freestyle: face in the water with rotary breathing (no doggie paddle)
- Swim 25 yards backstroke to check for buoyancy and survival skills
- Optional: Third stroke of their choice-breastroke or butterfly.
- Dive/jump in pool and begin swimming
- Survival skills (ex. Treading water, buoyancy, float on back)
SWIM MEETS
The Morris Plains Swim Team is a member of the Morris County Area Swim League which consists of 11 teams and pools that are either 25 yards or 25 meters in length. Each pool is a 4, 5, 6, or 8 lane pool. At a 4 lane pool, each team has 2 official lanes. At a 5 lane pool, each team has 2 official lanes and the 5th lane is exhibition. At a 6 lane pool, each team has 3 official lanes. At an 8 lane pool, each team has 3 official lanes and the 1st and 8th lane is exhibition.
**PARENTS OF 10/UNDER SWIMMERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO ASSIST THEIR SWIMMER(S) DURING THE MEET WITH REFERENCE TO EVENT, HEAT, AND LANE ASSIGNMENT TO AVOID MISSING AN EVENT. (E-event, H-heat, L-lane)
SELECTION FOR MEET EVENTS
Each swim meet will have separate races for boys and girls by age groups for the following strokes: freestyle, breastroke, backstroke and butterfly. At each meet, IM’s (individual medley: 25 of each stroke in the following order-fly, back, breastroke, and freestyle), medley and freestyle relays are also held. Age groups are designated as follows: 8/under, 9/10, 11/12, 13/14, and 15/18.
CHAMPIONSHIP MEET
Swimmers must compete in 3 dual meets to be eligible to swim in the championship meet. *There are specific guidelines for the number of entries allowed to participate in this meet which are set by the league. (ex: 6 entries for 8/u free (girls) vs. 4 entries for 11/12 free (girls).
*Subject to change
DUAL MEET SCORING/EVENTS
RELAYS: First Place: 7 points, Second Place: 0 points
INDIVIDUAL MEDLEYS AND INDIVIDUAL EVENTS: First Place: 5 points, Second Place: 3 points, Third Place: 1 point
Each swimmer may swim 3 official events. A swimmer may compete in several exhibition (unofficial) races but may not exceed 3 official swims.
