NEW SEASON: FAQ's

1. Where do I meet for swim practice?
• Swimmers are to meet me (Coach Alisha) on the pool deck 5-10 min before their practice starts. Parents are welcome to walk their children out and stay with them till practice begins. 
2. Are parents allowed to watch practice?
• Once practice begins parents are asked to please leave the pool deck. I do allow parents on the deck 5 min before practice starts and 5 min before practice ends, so that parents can drop off/ pick up their children. The pool decks get crowded and the lifeguards are responsible for the people in the pool and on the deck. It is also sometimes distracting to swimmers if they can see their parents. If there are special conditions or if you are uncomfortable with this please talk to me. 
3. When are swim meets?
• Our swim meets for this season will be March 28th, April 25th, and May 16th. Mark your calendars! All swim meets will be held at our YMCA.
4. What is the required swim gear and where do I buy it?
• Swimmers in the beginner and intermediate groups are required to have a kickboard, fins, goggles, and swim cap (girls only). Swimmers in the advanced and high school groups are required to have a kickboard, fins, pull buoy, goggles, and a swim cap (girls only). This swim gear is used frequently and very important for all swimmers to have. The best place to buy swim gear is swimoutlet.com. If you do not prefer online, kickboards, googles, and caps are usually fine to buy at a general sporting goods store. But good fins are hard to find in a sporting goods store and if you do find them they are usually overpriced. I would recommend buying these fins here or another pair like these. Those fins are a good price and they work great for practice. Please try to avoid buying the scuba like fins they do not work well for practice. If you have any more questions or concerns about fins please ask me. 
5. What bathrooms/locker rooms should my swimmer use?
• I would recommend that swimmers use the family locker rooms located at the north end of the pool deck. These locker rooms provide private bathrooms with showers and also private changing rooms. Sometimes in the men's/women's locker rooms adults are less conservative about dressing and undressing and this makes some children uncomfortable. 
6. Is the pool heated?
• Yes the pool is heated. It is always kept at ~80 degrees. 

Also a couple reminders...

• Please use the bathroom before practice. I understand that the little ones sometimes forget but I have also seen many swimmers use this as an excuse to get out of a hard practice. Because of this I get more strict as my swimmers get older. Almost none of my advanced/ high school swimmers should be getting out of practice to go to the bathroom. I understand there are emergencies and that is okay but I will not be regularly permitting multiple swimmers in those groups to go to the bathroom during practice.
• Please bring a water bottle. 

Currently my YMCA email is not working...I am working with YMCA tech support to get it fixed. So if you have any questions please email Deb at: djrothstein@vosymca.org. If I need to see the email she will forward it to my personal email. If you have emailed me over break I am sorry for not responding!

Thanks!

Coach Alisha