Frequently Asked Questions
Do I have to be a good swimmer to join
the team?
All you need to be able to do is swim 25
yards of freestyle and backstroke. If you can not
swim a full 25 yards, we have
pre-competitive programs
available over the Fall and Winter months
2
Tell me more about your
Pre-Competitive Programs. What if my child only
wants to swim one day per week?
Currently
available at our West Shore practice site (not
available at Northern practice site) We
have three (3)
different programs for our Pre-Competitive swimmer.
The first program is called "Take Your Mark". This
program meets on Friday evenings from 6:15-7:15pm,
beginning in September and continuing through the
Christmas holiday. There are no swim meets only
learning of all the competitive swimming strokes, and
becoming proficient in those strokes. The only
requirement for participants is to be able to swim a
length (25 yards/75 feet) of the pool on your stomach
and back, unassisted. The second part of this
program is called our Mini Team. This program
starts in January and continues through the end of
March. This program is meant to be an extension of
the Take Your Mark program. We add two (2) intra
squad meets during this program, which will occur on
Sunday afternoons at the YMCA, lasting one hour.
Our next
Pre-Competitive Program is called "Just
For Fun". This program meets on Sundays from
4:30-5:30pm and will begin the end of September
and run through the end of March. This program is
very similar to the Friday night program BUT there are
no swim meets involved, and it is held on Sunday
afternoons for those that might not make Friday
evenings. These programs are held at the YMCA
I I see you have practice locations at Northern
High School (NYAC) and West Shore YMCA (WSY)
Eight years ago, we began
a practice site at Northern High School (Northern
York Aquatic Club-NYAC) for residents of the
Northern York School District.
After
about three years and 60 swimmers later, the Northern
York School District Board of School Directors allowed
the YMCA to open the team to a certain percentage of
"outside district residents". Currently
we
can handle 130 athletes at this facility, over 60% of
which come from the Northern York School District.
The practice levels are the same as WSY practice levels.
The fees at this facility are about the same as the WSY
practice groups, with Northern York School District
residents receiving a discounted rate. Certain
practice groups at our Northern practice site will practice with WSY practice
groups on certain nights at
Messiah College. During the 2009-2010 swim
year, WSY and NYAC Pre-senior level swimmers will
practice together at Messiah College on Friday evenings. Over the Summer months the
WSY Senior group, and the NYAC Senior group will
practice together two days per week. NYAC swimmers
will compete in the
Central Pennsylvania Aquatic League (CPAL) as a
separate team than WSY. Those swimmers that are
registered with NYAC do NOT have to be YMCA members,
UNLESS they wish to participate in YMCA meets
such as Winterfest (at University of Maryland), YMCA
Districts, States and/or
Nationals. NYAC swimmers may also register for
USA swimming ($59 cost) and will represent WSY when they
attend various USA swimming type meets. NYAC
swimmers have the same benefits to
fundraising as WSY swimmers. The
Head Coach at NYAC is Scott Zacharda [email].
NYAC swimmers that are WSY members may also practice
with the WSY practice group of their ability if the
Northern School District is closed for bad weather.
The
NYAC Registration Information is here. The NYAC Meet
Schedule is available
here.
Do I have to tryout?
No. Swimmers are taken on a priority
basis with the first priority being given to current WSY
swimmers, second priority given to any swimmers that
participated in our Spring stroke clinics, and the
remainder of swimmers are then taken as space permits.
The first step in the
registration process is to return
the
WSY Swimming Registration form with your $100 per family
Administrative Fee (except for
pre-competitive classes, who may register at any time,
and there is no Administrative fee). Swimmers that
wish to join over the Spring and Summer months will pay
50% of the current Administrative Fee.
The coaches will meet on
Monday, August 24,
2009 and place the swimmers (based on
the
registration forms returned) into the proper
practice groups.
3 What
if I’m involved in other sports?
We
have many athletes
in our program that participate in other activities.
Our program offers many different practice times.
If you participate in Fall sports, and will not begin to
swim on a "full time" basis until November, you must
fill out a
registration form, and return this form along with your
Administrative Fee and note on that form that you will
not begin until November. You will begin to pay
your training fees in November when you start with our
program. It is
important that we have your name on our roster so that
we may assign you a practice group, and pass along all communication,
so please be sure you fill out the
registration form,
and return it with the administrative fee
4 Are
meets (current
schedule) held every weekend?
No, and it is up to you how many meets
you enter based on your schedule. Our team
participates in the
Central Pennsylvania Aquatic League for swimmers
that wish to participate in Dual meets. Over the
Summe
r months we compete in
USA Swimming
meets, and those swimmers that choose to participate
in local Summer League meets will participate in meets
within the
Capital Area Swim League. These
meets are optional, and are not required. Swimmers
that wish to participate in USA Swimming meets, there is
a $59 annual registration fee, and this allows swimmers
to participate in USA meets. Our team usually
attends one USA meet per month. Our team also
hosts
three USA meets in October, November and January at CV High School
as well as a Summer Long Course Meet at Bucknell
University. Those swimmers that participate with
their Summer recreational teams in June and July are
still eligible to participate in the USA swimming meets
with WSY over the Summer months.
2009-2010 WSY Hosted Meets are here. Our Season Ending meets include YMCA Districts,
States, and
Nationals, as well as our High School
swimmers participating in the District and State meets
representing their
High
School Teams. Swimmers 9 and over that
qualify for the season ending meets are expected to attend these
meets. The District meet
is held at LaSalle
University and the State meet is held at Penn State.
Both of these meets are in March. Those swimmers
that make the
YMCA
National
qualifying times will attend that meet
in April in Fort Lauderdale. Swimmers 9 and over
must participate in 3 "YMCA Only" meets to be eligible
for these meets. An example would be WSY vs York
YMCA or WSY vs Tri Hampton YMCA. Our meet
schedule
is here.
5 Is
there a lot of travel involved?
Most of our
meets are in the Central
Pennsylvania area and at our home pool, although
we do offer the opportunity for travel trips to other
areas. At times our team will host meets at pools
such as CV High School, Messiah College, Bucknell
University, and Northern York High School.
s How does my child get entered in WSY swim Meets?
Most of our Invitational type meets (meaning NON League
Dual Meets), are entered through our utility on the
web site here.
You will find a meet entry deadline. Please be
sure you adhere to the entry deadline, AND be sure you
have enough money in your escrow account. Some of
our meets, your practice group coach will give you
guidance as to what meets to enter. Many of our
swimmers will also compete in "Dual Meets". Those
of you that are swimming at the Northern York practice
site (NYAC) should see Coach Scott or Guy as to the
entry method they prefer for the dual meets. Most
times, Scott or Guy will have a sign-up sheet posted on
the doors of the Northern pool. Those of you
swimming at the West Shore facility will use the same
on-line entry
process. If you have questions on which meets
you should be participating, please talk to your group
coach (or
email). Please note, swim meets that have en
entry fee, there are no refunds given after you have
entered the meet.
6 Where
are practices held?
Practices
are held at the
West Shore YMCA
in Camp Hill ,
Messiah College in Grantham, PA
and Northern High School in Dillsburg, PA. The
current practice schedule is here. The
YMCA of
Northern York practice schedule is here.
How many practices should my child attend each week?
The
answer for that is different for each group, but one
thing that is consistent with all practice groups and
that is a child will never be penalized for missing a
practice. With the younger swimmers (AGA and AGB), it is
suggested that they attend two of the three practices or
three of four offered in a week, although they are more
than welcome to attend all scheduled practices. Groups
such as AGC or Pre-Senior are usually more committed and
attend all of the practices offered for most of the
weeks. Senior level swimmers that are serious about
swimming, often times attend every practice, every week.
No certain number of practices are mandatory, and a
child will not be punished for having schoolwork
or
participating in other activities. There is however, a
direct correlation between good attendance and good
performance
How do I contact the coaches of my child's practice
group?
Any of the coaches may
be contacted by email using the contact information from
our
Coaches Bio section of the web site.
What is my "Escrow Account" Balance? Do I even
have this account
At the time of registration, all WSY competitive
swimmers deposit $50 into their "Escrow Account".
Those swimmers practicing at our Northern (NYAC)
practice site will only place funds in their escrow
accounts if they are taking advantage of the
SCRIPT program (specific to the NYAC program).
Deductions from your escrow account include team store
purchases, invitational entry fees, concession stand
deductions for WSY or NYAC hosted meets. If you
account balance goes to $0, you will receive an invoice
via email to refresh your account. These checks
should be placed in the pool box at the WSY natatorium,
or the "white box" at the Northern High school practice
site. To get your current escrow account balance,
you may always email our volunteer escrow account
coordinator Eve Shirtliff
[emshirtliff@aol.com]
Can
I join anytime?
Yes, you may join the team anytime
throughout the year as space permits. You may find
that one practice group will "close" prior to other
groups. We do have
Swimmer:Coach Ratio's in all
practice groups.
8Do
I have to wear a Team Suit?
No, although we do offer suits in our
WSY
Swim Shop. All WSY swimmers are given team swim
caps free of charge. There will be a charge for
the silicone team caps
9What
is the cost to join the team?
The
cost is based on the group your
swimmer is placed in. All
payments are done by bank
draft or credit card and are monthly. All swimmers (other than
pre-competitive swimmers) must return the
registration form along with the $100/family
administrative fee.
There is a
Program
fee for each practice level, and all
swimmers (except
pre-competitive swimmers) must be
members of the YMCA.
Fees and information on our
Spring and Summer Programs
are here.
Fees and information on our
2009-2010 Fall and Winter program are here. All
WSY swimmers must be members of the YMCA. The
YMCA membership fee must be
paid at the time of registration in the membership
office at the YMCA.
Limited Financial assistance is available. See
Michael Gobrecht for more information. On
Monday, August 24, 2009, all swimmers will be placed
into practice groups (based on the
Registration forms we
have received. After you receive your practice
group (by email), you will receive a
billing statement,
at which time you may pay your first months payment and
fill out the credit card authorization form, or pay your
amount due in full.
All family's (except
pre-competitive swimmers) must have a
family escrow
account.
Withdraws from this account include invitational entry
fees, concession assessments
and
WSY Swim Shop
purchases. See the
WSY "Quick Steps", for an easy explanation of the
registration process.
Who does the coaching and what are their
certifications?
We
have a
staff of professional,
experienced coaches who love what they do. They are all
certified through
USA Swimming and are required to
maintain
CPR, Coaches Safety & First Aid plus other
coaching certifications.
Our coaching staff are members of the American Swimming
Coaches Association.
Coach Michael Gobrecht is the
Director of Competitive Swimming at the YMCA. Mike
is a full-time employee of the YMCA, and begins his 20th
year at WSY. Mike reports directly to the
Executive Director, Joanne Wevodau. The remainder
of our coaching staff reports directly to Mike.
Our coaches meet monthly, and carry out a 30 week lesson
plan (Fall/Winter)
each year. Our coaches take pride in their teaching
to all swimmers. Parents ask all of the time "Will
my child fall behind if they miss a class ?" We do
rotate our teachings throughout the year, however we do
operate on daily lesson plans, similar to your child's
teachers at school. If your practice group has
practices 4 times a week, and you only attend 2
practices a week, your child will only be learning 50%
of what is being taught, so it is important for parents
to understand that your child will not be learning
everything that is being taught.
Email Mike Gobrecht
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