Parent Information

2008 EHST PARENT INFORMATION

 1.  ORCAS MISSION:  To help every ORCA reach their potential as a swimmer and as an individual while building a strong team commitment to the sport of swimming  through the team values of  Sportsmanship, Spirit, Motivation, Dedication, and Excellence.

3.   PRACTICES:  Bring your child 10 minutes prior to their practice time for stretching and   preparation.  Swimmers will be in the water promptly.  (The more practice they get, the better swimmers they will become.)

3.   TEAM COMMITMENT:  Your child has made a commitment to a team and you as parents have a responsibility to help them fulfill this commitment by making sure they participate in as many practices and meets as possible.  Championships are July 8 and 9; please plan your vacations around these dates.  These are the two most important dates of the season.

4.   WHAT YOUR CHILD WILL SWIM AT MEETS:  Provided your child has good attendance and attitude at practices, he/she will swim a minimum of one individual stroke and one relay per meet (usually more).  What strokes your swimmer will swim will be determined by the coaching staff.  Please support your coach’s decision, they work hard on the line-up and all swimmers must get timed on a variety of strokes.

5.   LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP AWARDS:  Swimmers who swim at championships will receive their awards at the Team Banquet on July 10th.  All swimmers will participate in Championships will also receive a team Championships award.  Swimmers who miss Championships will receive a team participation award.

6.   SUPERVISION:  Your child must be supervised by an adult at all times before and after their practice time.  If you cannot be there promptly for pick-up/drop-off times, you must have a designated adult to supervise your child.  This privilege can and will be revoked if your child breaks the pool rules or becomes destructive to the facility/equipment.  During spring practices, swimmers must remain on deck, sitting on the concrete bleachers.  Planning quiet activities may make this less dull.

7.   PRACTICE CANCELLATIONS:  This is rare, but we try to notify promptly by 1) flyer in your file box, 2) notice at the pool or 3) check our website:  www.ehstorcas.netfirms.com.

8.   INFORMATION:  All information can be found in the file boxes on the pool deck or via e-mail.  If you change your email address, please let us know ASAP by either email or placing a note in the board file.  Please check your boxes daily and ask your child to bring home all paperwork from the files if you cannot check it yourself.   Make it a habit to check the website regularly:  www.ehstorcas.netfirms.com.  You may also want to send fun photos of your swimmer and friends to our site for posting.

9.   EQUIPMENT:  Your child should have the following for practices:

a.   Well fitting goggles.

b.  Swim Suit (one-piece for girls).

c.   Dry towel.

d.  Something warm to change into after practice on cold days.

e.  Kickboard – optional.  Can be purchased on line at same site as swim suits or at local pool/sports stores.  Please label with swimmers name.

10.   MEETS:  Look for meet schedule in your file in early May.

a.  Home Meets:  Warm-ups are at 5:00 p.m., meets start at 6:00 p.m. 

b.  Away Meets:  Away teams will let us know what time our team warm-up is (usually it is at 5:30 p.m.).  Bring folding chairs, healthy snacks, games for you child to play with others while waiting for their turn to swim, picnic meal (or $ for meals at the “away” snack bar).

11. SNACK BAR:  The ORCAS set-up and run a snack bar at our home meets.  We strongly encourage you to support it as it is our most profitable fund-raiser each season.  The funds generated help keep the swimmers fees at a reasonable rate each year.

12. VOLUNTEERING:  It is vital that you fulfill your volunteer duties at our home meets.  Every EHST parent is an unpaid volunteer and the meets cannot run without us.  You will receive your volunteer schedule in May, close to the start of the meets.

13. CONSEQUENCES FOR RULE BREAKING:  Please supervise your child for his/her own safety.  Your swimmer will receive a hand-out with an outline of the pool rules, please review these with them.  Discipline is applied at the discretion of the coaching staff; serious infractions may not follow these steps. 

a.   Swimmer will get a verbal warning

b.   Swimmer will be asked to sit-out the rest of practice and the parents will be notified.

c.   Swimmer will be asked to leave practice for the day and parents will be called for pick-up.

d.   Swimmers will be asked not to attend practice for a few days.

14. HOW TO ORDER TEAM SUITS, APPAREL AND EQUIPMENT FROM WEBSITE:  Go to the ORCA site at www.ehstorcas.netfirms.com and follow the instructions there.  Coach James of Blast has sizing suits available at the pool to help determine your swimmer’s suit size.