NewsSplash: Team Photos, Google Calendar Instructions, How to Swim Legally

Benicia Stingrays

Hi Team, 

 

Just a few new items to cover before Time Trials.  In a couple of days, information regarding Time Trials will be sent out.  The meet sheet (what events your swimmer is swimming and when) will be sent out by Friday evening at the latest.  

 

Team Photos (Friday, May 17th) and Team Shirts

  • Team t-shirts will be passed out on Friday afternoon before photos, where the snack bar is at.  
  • Swimmers should arrive for photos in their team suits and immediately pick up their team shirt.  
  • Typically, swimmers wear their team suit (or whatever suit they have, blue or black is preferred if you don't have a team suit) for individual photos, and all swimmers wear the team shirt for the group photo. The t-shirt is included with your registration fees.  
  • As a reminder, PLEASE fill out the photo order form before arriving on Friday to keep the photo line moving quickly.  These forms are in your family folder in the family folder cart.  You may prepay with this link but you still need to bring in the completed order form.  
  • As a reminder, here is the schedule:
    • 4:00 Begin individual photos
    • 4:30 Break for the team photo; swimmers will be lined up by height so please help keep order to the line.
    • Complete individual photos immediately after the team photo is complete
    • Please arrive before 4:30 to be included in the team photo

 

Adding Stingray Events to your Google Calendar

  • A dad more tech-savvy than I sent me instructions to share with the team (thank you Fernando!).  If you want to add the Stingray events directly to your Google Calendar, here are the step-by-step instructions.  

 

Legal Swims and the dreaded DQ

  • You may have heard coaches instructing the kids on how to swim "legally" at practice (for example, yelling "two hand touch!  two hand touch!" as the swimmer approaches the wall).  All of the individual strokes have rules and techniques that must be followed. 
  • All meets have stroke and turn judges pacing the sides of the pool.  These meet officials are watching the swimmers to note any infarctions that would result in disqualification.    
  • If your swimmer ever has a "DQ" by their name on meet results, it means they were disqualified by the stroke and turn judges because something about their technique was incorrect.  
  • Judges tend to be stricter with older swimmers and more lenient with younger swimmers.  At the big meets, in particular, technique matters and the judges will be looking for poor technique to DQ the swimmer.  At time trials, we are more interested in getting base times for the swimmers, but we will have judges present to critique swims and practice judging themselves.  
  • If you are interested, here are links to videos detailing legal and illegal swim techniques.