| What is required to be on the swim team? The desire to swim at practices and at meets. The ability to swim one length of the pool in freestyle and backstroke. Swimming is a no cut sport if rules are followed. What paperwork is needed to swim? Emergency form, parent permission and doctor's physical. What is required to letter in swimming? Please see the lettering policy. To follow the lettering progress please see the attendance record. Where and when is swim practice? St. Mary's practices at the Portland State pool. Please see the practice information. Where and when are swim meets? St. Mary's does not have any home meets. Please see the meet schedule and driving directions. You can also call the SMA Athletics Info. line at 503 542 6817 for meet locations and cancelations. Can parents observe practices? Yes, there is an observation area above the pool where parents may watch practices. Please wait to speak with the coaches until practice is over. How can parents help the team? In order for meets to operate smoothly we usually need to provide adult timers. Parents can also help by donating healthy food and juice for meet days. Meet volunteers can sign-up at Winter Sports night on November 22 at 7:00. If you miss Winter Sports night and would like to volunteer to help the team please email Marisa. To see with what you volunteered to help check the volunteer list. Is there a team uniform? Yes. The swim team orders shirts, pants and suits every season. The uniform is not required, but almost everyone orders a team suit and most order a sweatshirt or long sleeve T. Each swimmer will recieve one team cap which they must wear at meets. St. Mary's also has some parkas and warm-ups available to borrow for the season. JD Pence will come at practice to fit team suits. You must order suits on the team fitting day, however, you do not need to pay for the suit until it is delivered to the school. The suit will cost around $45. Please see Anna Maria if you need assistance in paying for your suit. These are only suggestions and not requirements: What equipment do I need to swim? One or two competitive pratice suits (preferably Speedo, TYR or Nike) Suits will usually fade and tear after Christmas because swimmers are in the water so much, therefore, it's a good idea to have at least two suits available. Competitive suits are made to stay on while diving and turning. Patterned suits usually last longer than solid suits. Make sure practice suits are comfortable and not too tight. Don't pay more than $50 for a practice suit - you could find one under $40 One or two pairs of goggles (preferably Speedo, TYR or Water Gear) Goggles are often lost during the season, so having two pairs is usually a good idea. The best goggles have rubber around the eye pieces and a double strap. Please don't buy black or reflective goggles - they are too dark for indoor swimming. Some good goggles are: TYR Racetech, Speedo Hydrospex, Water Gear No-Leak One or two swim caps. Latex and silicone swim caps will prevent hair from getting too damaged and also keep longer hair out of the face. Nylon caps will keep hair out of the face, but will not protect hair from damage. Most competitive swimmers wear latex caps. Where can I buy equipment? JD Pence Aquatic Supply (offers discount bins and a grab bag special) Portland Swimwear (beware of cheaper suits that won't last) GI Joes and Copelands (sometimes have good sales) JD Pence is St. Mary's swim team's official suit supplier. JD Pence and Portland Swimwear will open goggle packages and let you experiment to find the goggles the fit perfectly. |