Boys & Girls Club of Greater Westfield

Children that participate in the Rapids Swim Team will learn the sport of swimming. They will learn the different strokes and their skills will be refined to make them the best swimmers they can be. They also learn things that they can apply to their life outside of swimming such as strong work habits and discipline, how to handle competition and pressure, nutrition and even a little physiology.

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Joining a sport is a commitment, and swimming can be more time consuming than most sports.

We see the Rapids Swim Clinic as a developmental program. That is, when we have a swimmer at age six or eight, we want to see that swimmer as a complete athlete at age 18.

The social aspect of swimming is very important, and the Rapids’ coaches try to make practice fun, while working hard, swimming smart, and training in an environment that makes success inevitable.

If a child wants to have a lot of fun but is also serious about wanting to become a good swimmer, the Rapids Swim Clinic is the perfect place to be.

Practice Schedule

Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday

12 &Under 5:30pm-6:30pm

13 & Older 6:30pm-7:30pm

*Minimum of 2 practices a week to attend meets

Swim Meets 101

Each swimmer may swim a total of 3 official events. They may swim 2 individual events and 1 relay, or, 2 relays and 1 individual event.
In a 6 lane pool, 3 swimmers can be entered officially. In a 4 lane pool, 2 swimmers can be entered officially.
“Officially” means that a swimmer is swimming for points. “Unofficially” means the swimmers is swimming for a time only.
At a “home” meet we can run as many extra heats as we want. At an “away” meet it is at the discretion of the “home” team if they run extra heats. I ask if they will be running extra heats in order to give our swimmers as much swimming time as possible.
In order to score as many points as we can, the swimmers with the top three times are entered in an event officially. All other swimmers are given the chance to improve their times by placing them in unofficial events. In order to give our swimmers the chance to swim as much as possible at a meet, we put them in “unofficial” events.
At an “away” meet, if there is an empty lane, a swimmer can not be placed in that event to “fill” the spot. The line up for a meet is done 2 to 3 days in advance. There is no way of knowing how many swimmers the other team will be putting in an event, therefore, I have no way of knowing if there will be empty lanes for extra swimmers.
In order to make a meet proceed more rapidly, events are combined. The Starter has a list of the number of swimmers assigned to each event. If there are not enough swimmers to fill all six lanes in an event, and the following event, the Starter will combine the two events.

PVSL Bi-Laws

Swim Meet Jobs

It takes approximately 36 parents to run a swim meet smoothly. We need volunteers at every home and away meet. Changing volunteers at half time not only allows a much needed break, but allows volunteers to be able to watch their child swim a race. Parents and family members can sign up for jobs in the Meet Sign-Up Book.

Meet Manager (1) -- Ensure all jobs are filled and individuals are in place at meets.
Timers (12 - 6 per half) -- Time one lane for each event and record the time on a lane card. Lane Timer Instructions
Back Up Timer (1) -- Starts watch at the beginning of each event and steps in for any timer whose watch has malfunctioned.
Scorers Table (4 -2 per half) -- Calculates and records scores and times.
Runners (2 - 1 per half) -- Collects cards from Timers, place sheets from the Place Judge, and any DQ sheets from the Stroke and Turn Judges and delivers them to the scorers table.
Bull Pen (2 - 1 per half) -- Distributes lane cards to swimmers.
Bull Pen Wall (2 - 1 per half) -- Keeps swimmers lined up and in order for their events, works with Starter for lane assignments.
Starter (1) -- Announces the events and starts the swimmers.
Place Judge (2 - 1 per half) -- Visually places the swimmers as they touch the wall.
Stroke and Turn Judges (4 - 2 per half) -- Watches swimmers to make sure they are doing the strokes correctly. Disqualifies them if they are not doing the strokes and turns correctly.
Concession Table (minimum of 3) -- Runs the concession table. Concessions Information
Boys and Girls Locker Rooms (2, 1 per locker room) -- Checks the locker rooms periodically to make sure no one is playing in the showers or fooling around.