July 18, 2003

Dear Coaches/Team Representatives,

The support and cooperation of all teams is crucial to the success of this Championship for our swimmers. Please read the following points carefully. I am available before the beginning of the meet at CTAgeGroup@aol.com. After Wednesday evening I will not be checking email, so you can leave a voice mail message for me on my cell phone at 203-461-4814.

1.      As you are probably aware, CT Swimming has made changes to this year’s meet to improve the timeline and to conform to the Eastern Zone list of events. Many cuts have been tightened. The Order of Events has changed, and we have eliminated night-before scratch deadlines for the morning sessions. Finals will contain only one heat per event, but scoring will include places 9 through 16 from prelims. Note carefully that any swimmer who scratches from Finals, regardless of his/her place in prelims is not eligible for awards or points. Because there will be many fewer swimmers and parents at this year’s Finals, we do not plan to sell Finals programs and other cutbacks may be needed. Your cooperation in delivering your team’s workers to us promptly will be critical and appreciated.

2.      Work assignments are your team’s responsibility for the entire session, including relays. If a worker needs to leave early, arrangements must be made by that worker or your team to replace them. Meet Management will not be available to assist in this process. Workers should check in at the office at the beginning of warm-ups unless otherwise instructed. Please review the job descriptions and check-in times on the web and the relevant section of the Meet Announcement carefully. Assignments have been made proportional to your team’s entry for each session, taking into account special commitments (officials, hospitality, etc.) made prior to the deadline. Your team will not be relieved of its assigned work responsibilities if officials not on the assignment list show up ready to work on the day of the meet or if you have scratches. Fines will be assessed for lateness, early departure, or no-shows. We will not consider request for changes at the meet. Assignments for finals will be determined and posted approximately 30 minutes prior to the start. Because of the changes to Finals this year, all teams with at least one swimmer in Finals may be assigned at least one job. Please plan accordingly.

3.      Upon arrival, all coaches must register in the office, obtain an ID badge and pick up a team packet. Coaches must show a currently valid USA swimming membership card. The list of properly registered coaches published on the CSI website on Wednesday will be used to verify eligibility. Registration problems must be resolved prior to the meet. Only coaches with ID badges clearly displayed will be allowed on the deck. Coaches meetings are scheduled for Friday at 7:10 a.m. and 1:10 PM p.m. in the office. Each meeting will provide the same information; please plan to attend one of the two.

4.      Coaches may not bring their own children on deck unless they are swimmers entered in this meet.

5.      Warm-up lane assignments will be posted on the pool deck and the website. Lane assignments have been allocated based upon swimmers entered in individual events. At finals, lanes will be reserved for 11/12 swimmers. Only swimmers entered in the session are permitted to participate in warm-ups. We will be crowded; your cooperation is appreciated.

6.      Shaving is not permitted anywhere on the premises. Please warn your swimmers not to put locks on Wesleyan lockers.

7.      Please keep your teams aware that we are guests of Wesleyan University. Coaches are responsible for the clean-up of their team area after each session. Absolutely no decorations may be attached to the walls with tape above the tiled areas at any time, as this damages the walls. The cleaning crew will move chairs and other items each night and items may be thrown away if they look like trash. If you don’t want to lose something, bring it home with you when you leave!

8.      Please review the new Lawn Policy which has been approved by the CT Swimming Board of Directors. It is posted on the website.

9.      Please review the scratch procedures in the Meet Announcement. No-shows at preliminaries and finals will be penalized if not properly scratched. It is the responsibility of the coach and the swimmer to pay attention to finals scratch announcements and deadlines during prelims. “Declared False Starts” are not permitted at Finals.

10.  Entries are final according to the deadlines described in the Meet Announcement. Deck entries will not be allowed. Corrections to improve seed times will not be considered under any circumstances. Check carefully: the time to make corrections is NOW!

11.  Relay cards must include swimmers’ first and last names and ages in order of swim. All relay swimmers must be entered in the meet. Violations will result in disqualification of the swim.

12.  Awards must be picked up from the team room off the pool deck by the end of the meet. CT Swimming will not ship your awards. If you will not stay to the end, please arrange for another team to collect and hold your awards for you.

13.  Food for coaches and officials compliments of CSI will be served in the locker room at the end of the hallway next to the office. Coffee and light breakfast will be available at or before the beginning of morning warm-ups. Lunch will be available at approximately 11:45AM, and sandwiches and beverages will be served in the afternoon daily.

Thank you for your participation and cooperation. We are looking forward to a terrific competition. Please feel free to contact me if you have questions or comments.

 

Sincerely,

Barry Silver

Meet Director