What ages can join swim team? 

Ages 4 through 18. A swimmer's assigned age group is determined by the swimmers age as of May 1 for the given season.

Do I have to live in the Windrose subdivision to join the swim team?

No, your home can be in any of the surrounding neighborhoods in the area. However, if your neighborhood already has a swim team, we would encourage you to join that team instead unless there are special circumstances that would prevent you from doing so.

What swimming level does my child need to be? 

All water-safe swimmers are invited to join the team, but the Stingrays swim team is not a learn-to-swim program. A good rule of thumb is whether a child can swim the length of the pool without assistance. Their stroke doesn’t need to be perfect, and they don’t need to be fast; that’s where our coaches come in! With new Stingrays, we have numerous coaches in the lanes to help with swimmer progress during practice. At swim meets, however, coaches are not allowed in the water with swimmers.

Read about our Stingray Splash Academy which is setup to evaluate new swimmers as well as 6 and under. 

Is volunteering required?

Yes!  A swim team does not exist without the help of hundreds of volunteers each season. Especially for swim meets, to run 200+ kids through 80 events, we need parents helping out with everything from setup to timing to concessions. You’ll have everything you need to volunteer easily, along with the support of many veterans. Learn more about the volunteering requirement here.

What’s the best way to find out team news and event updates?

If you read your emails from the Stingrays and install the Swimtopia app on your mobile device, you’ll always know everything you need to. 

How often should my child attend practice? 

There is no formal requirement, but to get the best results we encourage coming to practice every day. Practice schedules and durations are curated by age group so kids get the right amount of practice time and mentoring from the coaches.

Do I need to stay with my child during practice?

Parents with children ages 10 and under should stay onsite for their practices. However, only swimmers and coaches are allowed on the pool deck during practice for safety reasons.

Does the team suit need to be worn to practice? 

No, any swimsuit can be worn to practices. Girls should wear one piece suits, while racing suites are recommended for boys. While swim trunks will function, swim trunks create drag and can be more difficult for swimmers to move around easily.

Can a swimmer practice with another age group?

Only under special circumstances with advance approval from a coach.

What happens when it rains?

Meets and practices do not get cancelled due to forecasted weather. If a weather event were to occur that requires the swimmers to exit the pool (thunder, lightning, low visibility to the bottom of the pool), a rain delay of 20 minutes occurs from the time of the last thunder or lightning event. If too many delays occur, it is possible that practice may get cancelled for the day. Delays and cancellations will be communicated through the Swimtopia app. We do everything possible to get through the required event number to finish a meet. Rarely does a meet get cancelled altogether, with the possibility of rescheduling the remaining events for another date the following week to complete the meet.

Is attendance required at all meets?

No, but we encourage participation in as many meets as possible! To attend the end-of-season Divisionals meet with all teams from our NWAL division, swimmers must have participated in two dual meets.

How do I register myself to volunteer?

On the Windrose home page, find the upcoming meet, select Job Signup, and click Edit for the parent who will be volunteering. View and select from the available volunteer job openings. Volunteer sign up usually opens online the Tuesday before the meet at 6pm.

How many events can my swimmer sign up for at a meet?

For Time Trials, sign up for every age-eligible individual event that your child is comfortable swimming. For dual meets, sign up for up to three individual events. Coaches reserve the right to change swimmer events if needed, and coaches pick relay participants based on availability and speed.

Do I need to stay with my child at meets?

Yes. As organized as it is, a dual swim meet has hundreds of people and lots of activity. Parents are responsible for the safety and whereabouts of their own children between their race events. We recommend writing your kids events on their body part of choice with a sharpie to help them and others keep up with their events (it will wash off later). An announcement system will be used by either the DJ or Ready Bench personnel to call swimmers over to the Ready Bench area when their event is called. Only swimmers, Ready Bench personnel, and NWAL officials are allowed at ready bench and behind the blocks. Parents, family, and friends watch events from bleachers and dedicated viewing areas on deck. Parents of younger swimmers should meet them as they exit the water to bring them back to their tent.

What should we bring to a meet? 

Pop up tent, Goggles, swim cap, sunscreen, towel, camp chairs, picnic blanket, coloring books, and games. Bring a cooler with drinks and snacks if you would like, and be sure to stop by the Stingrays concession stand at home meets, where breakfast, lunch, drinks, and snacks are always ready. Some families share pop up tents with others to save space and hang out with friends and family in between events.

How long do swim meets last? 

Dual meets typically last between 4 and 5 hours on Saturdays, depending on number of swimmers and volunteer participation. While we love to see our Stingrays support each other throughout the meet, you are more than welcome to leave when your swimmer's events and your family's volunteer shifts have been completed for the meet. 

Do swim meets have concessions? 

Yes! All league teams have food available for purchase for breakfast and lunch during a meet, usually with credit card capability. 

Does the team suit need to be worn to meets? 

No, but we encourage at least wearing a red suit to match your teammates! Girls should wear one-piece suits. Team suits and caps of other teams should not be worn.

What are invitational meets?

Invitationals are optional meets outside of the league’s regular dual meets that we participate in for fundraising, extra competition, and more fun! For many invitationals, they take place over several days and require qualifying times for entry, and swimmers can even select their own events. They provide higher levels of competition for personal best times. 

What are Time Trials? Do I need to attend?

Yes, sometimes also referred to as "Mock Meet", everyone that is available to attend the Time Trials meet should attend. Unlike a normal dual meet, the Time Trials are a practice meet so that everyone can practice all of the things necessary for a swim meet to run. A swimmer can swim as many events for their age group as they feel capable of doing. Completing each event provides the swimmer a "seed time" for an event, which is required to participate in that event during a regular season dual meet. Times that are performed during Time Trials are not official times and can not be used to qualify for invitationals.

What happens if we are unable to attend the Time Trials? 

If for some reason you are not able to attend the Time Trials meet, please get with your coaches to schedule obtaining times for the various events during practice. Those unofficial times can be also be used as "seed times" for dual meets as well. 

What happens if I learn a new stroke after Time Trials and would like to compete it during a Dual Meet?

Discuss with your coach and they will confirm if they feel you are ready to compete the stroke in a dual meet. If the coaches agree that the stroke can be safely competed, a time can be scheduled with the coaches to obtain seed times during practice.

What are Divisionals? Do I need to attend? 

Yes, everyone that is available to attend the Divisionals meet, should attend. Divisionals is a special meet at the end of the season where swimmers from all teams within the division compete. To qualify for an event in the Divisional meet, a swimmer must have competed in at least 1 event in (2) dual meets during the current season, and received a qualifying time at least once for an event. 

What is a qualifying time? 

A time that a swimmer receives from an official meet (dual, invitational or divisional) when they are able to successfully complete the swim of the event without receiving a disqualification during the swim.

What is a disqualification? 

Like any other sport, there are certain rules that must be followed during the swim of each stroke to compete them successfully. These rules exist not only for the safety of the swimmer, but to help ensure consistency and prevent other swimmers from having an unfair advantage during competition. When a swimmer performs an event, there are officials on deck that monitor the various lanes for safety and help ensure the stroke is being swam in the proper manner. If an official observes a swimmer performing an infraction, the infraction will be validated and recorded, and the swimmer will be informed of the infraction after the swim is completed. 

How do I find out which events my swimmer will be participating in for a swim meet? 

If you are signed up for notifications from the Windrose swim team, there should be an email with a link to the Psych sheets and/or Heat sheets by the Friday evening before a meet. Additionally, you can report to the check in table prior to the meet and find out which events your swimmer is participating in.

What happens if I miss the deadline to signup for a swim meet? Can I still participate? 

Late signup is normally not possible due to many different constraints and the number of people involved. Please reach out to your team's Clerk of Course ([email protected]) for assistance in determining if any accommodations or exceptions can be made. 

How do I become an Official?

Why just watch when you can be part of the action? Get a front row view to every race!

No prior experience necessary. Signup for one of our league's free training classes starting in February. Visit https://nwalcertified.com and signup for Stroke and Turn class to get started. Like to help but prefer a slightly calmer atmosphere? Computers may be the job for you. Visit https://nwalcertified.com and signup for Computer class to get started.

Have questions? Contact your team representative at [email protected]