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Who is eligible for participation?
How much does it cost?
Springfield YMCA Membership
USA Swimming Memberships
How do I make payments?
Is financial assistance available?
Where are practices held?
What is required to participate in swim meets?
What do swimmers need to bring to a meet?
What do parents need to bring to a meet?
How will I get information about the team?
Interested in joining?
Who is eligible for participation?
The SPY Swim Team is open to youth ages 5-18 who can swim at least one pool length of front and back crawl. Formal tryouts are offered prior to each season.
Swimmers that have been invited to join SPY for the first time will be given a pass to show at the Service Desk.
This temporary pass will be issued by the coaches and is good for 5 practices within a two-week period. This gives the swimmer and parents the opportunity to experience practices before making the decision to join the team.
After the 5 practices have been attended you must complete several pieces of required paperwork and make sure all required fees are paid.
How much does it cost?
For each swimmer to be eligible to represent SPY Swim Team they must have completed the payments for that season.
Springfield YMCA Membership
Each swimmer must be an active member of the Springfield YMCA. In order to enter the building, the swimmer must show a membership card, and parent (if not a member) must show a SPY Parent Pass, at the Service Desk. If the membership card has been forgotten, the swimmer will be asked to fill out a “Forgot Card” form. This should be filled out completely and legibly. Please see membership rates sheet located in this folder. Memberships are processed at the Front Desk.
USA Swimming Memberships
Each swimmer must be an active member of USA Swimming as a SPY Swim Team member. This fee enables a swimmer to compete in meets sanctioned by USA Swimming and provides additional insurance for the swim team. This fee should be made payable to SPY Swim Team and is due along with the USA Swimming registration form within 15 days of joining the team. (Returning SPY swimmers must pay before August 31.) Please make these payments at the Front Desk.
SPY Swim Team Fees
There are 3 swimming seasons that SPY participates in:
• September – March (School Year)
• April – May (Spring)
• June – August (Summer)
Each season has its own pay scale and payment due dates. Full payments are encouraged, but payment dates are published for easier budgeting. Please see fee sheets and payment calendars for specifics.
Meet Fees
For most USA Swimming and YMCA invitational meets, entry fees are about $2.00 - $4.00 per event. Most meets have a swimmer surcharge of $1.00 - $3.00 per swimmer. Both of these fees cover the expenses of hosting a meet. If you enter a meet and do not show up your fees will NOT be refunded.
Psyche / Heat Sheets - Psyche sheets are entries listed by seed times. Heat sheets list the swimmers in the correct heat and lanes they will be swimming. These help parents follow the meet better. Costs range from $1.00 to $10.00.
Housing - Information on places to stay in the meet area, as well as associated reservation information is typically attached to each individual meet information sheet/packet.
Meals – We recommend bringing sack lunches/family coolers or purchasing concession stand food items.
T-shirts – Meet shirts are available at most USA Swimming, YMCA Invitational, and Championship meets. Costs range from $15.00 - $30.00
SPY Team Apparel - Team suits and Team caps (to be worn in meets only) are available at www.thelifeguardstore.com. You will be given instructions regarding how to access our portal during the first week of practice.
Orders for other team items including t-shirts, sweats, bags, parent polo, etc. are taken at the beginning of the School Year Season. These items are payable at the time of ordering and make great Christmas gifts. Please place your orders by due date.
How do I make payments?
All payments must be kept current in order to retain your spot on the team, which includes being allowed to practice and/or compete in meets.
Payments for meet entry fees, team apparel or team-sponsored events should be made in cash or check and placed in the payment mailbox on the wall above the file/mailboxes.
Payments for your YMCA membership, team fees or USA Swimming Fees can be paid by cash, check or credit card at the YMCA Front Desk.
All checks should be payable to SPY Swim Team and be sure to write in the memo section who and what the payment is for.
Is financial assistance available?
Anyone who requires financial assistance or may have a problem making a payment should contact Head Coach Michelle Snelson.
The YMCA’s tenet of “no one is turned away due to inability to pay” is a commitment and goal within all YMCA programs and is supported through donations, discounts and financial partnerships.
Where are practices held?
SPY has limited pool time at the YMCA during the Summer Season, so we often use the Veteran’s Memorial Pool located in Gietl Park. This agreement between both the YMCA and the Springfield Park District does assess additional fees and is published prior to the team banquet.
What is required to participate in swim meets?
To participate in a meet (competition), you must attend a minimum of one practice per week on a consistent basis. SPY is a competitive team and to compete as a team everyone should be involved in meets. Every swimmer that is participating in practices during that specific season is required to participate in at least 3 meets during the School Year Season, 1 meet during the Spring Season, and 1 meet during the Summer Season. Failure to meet these eligibility requirements may result in dismissal from the team roster, and/or not being invited to return the following season/year. Participation in 1 day of a meet is allowed.
In order to swim in the YMCA Championships (Junior District, District, Area, and Nationals) a swimmer must swim in a minimum of 3 YMCA Sanctioned meets during the School Year Season and be a full member of the YMCA 90 days prior to the championship meet.
If a swimmer is listed as a relay member (including alternates) at the District level and that relay qualifies for the Area meet, that swimmer will be expected to participate at the Area meet. If there is financial or transportation difficulty, arrangements can be made; please see Michelle Snelson.
YMCA Meets are sponsored and closed to other YMCA teams. Meets are usually only 1 day, but some invitational meets are 2 and 3 day meets. Swimmers will swim their age as of December 1st for that School Year Season. For example, a child who turns 9 on December 1st will swim in the 9-10 age group. A child who turns 9 on December 2nd will swim in the 8-Under age group.
USA Swimming Meets are meets sponsored and closed to USA Swimming registered teams and are sanctioned through USA Swimming. These meets are usually 3 day meets. Swimmers will swim their age as of the 1st day of the meet.
What do we need to bring to a meet?
Swimmers:
-Sleeping bag or blanket
-Pillow
-Chairs
-Food and Drink (NO junk food or carbonated drink)
-Money
-Combination Lock
-Games, homework, crafts, books, cards
-Extra gym bag usually kept separate from the swim bag to hold an extra set of dry clothing to wear home.
-Swim bag which includes the following
-Team suit
-1-2 caps (preferably a team cap or solid yellow)
-Extra suit for drag or incase team suit gets ruined
-3-4 large towels
-2-3 sweat suits
-2-3 pair of goggles
-Personal hygiene items (shampoo, soap, brush, etc.)
Parents:
-Chairs
-Clipboard
-Pen / Highlighter
-Stopwatch
-Busy work
-Emergency suit repair kit
-Permanent marker to write events on swimmer’s hand
-Cooler for food and drink
-First aid kit
Note:
-Label all of your items (including SPY wear)
-Parents wear light clothing – it’s HOT / Humid in the pool area
-Please refrain from bringing items like footballs, Frisbees, etc. (they can cause injury in the staging and bullpen areas)
-A sturdy laundry basket may be useful for toting swimmer’s belongings. It is very handy – no digging into the bottom of a bag or having items spread out around the staging area.
How will I get information about the team?
There is a “family file box” for swim team families located in the viewing area of the pool. Within 15 days of all paperwork being signed and turned in, and all payments current each family will be given a file folder to act as their mailbox. Parents should collect items in their family file after each practice you attend.
Please check your file regularly so that meet and other important information is not missed.
We are using email for most of our communication now – please make sure SPY has your current email address and check it regularly.
Additionally, the SPY Typhoons Swim Team Parents Group meets every 4th Monday of the month at 6:30 pm.
Attending these meeting gives you an opportunity to become involved in team decision making and other activities. It also provides a forum to ask questions and to discuss issues related to the team. Most meeting are held in the YMCA Board Room located in the front lobby. Minutes are distributed to all SPY Families, via their mailbox, after the monthly meetings.
Meeting dates for the 2007-08 School Year/Spring/Summer Seasons are listed below:
September 24, 2007
October 29, 2007
November 26, 2007
December 17, 2007
January 28, 2008
February 25, 2008
March 31, 2008
April 28, 2008
May 19, 2008
June 23, 2008
July 28, 2008
August 25, 2008
-If you have any question concerning practice, team fees, meet registration or meet fees, please feel free to contact Michelle Snelson or any officer of the Parents’ Group.
-If you have any questions about how things work, please contact any “experienced” parent member.
-If you would like to be involved in any team activity or become a swim meet official, please talk with a SPY Parent Group Officer.
-If you have a concern about the coaching staff, please talk with the SPY Typhoons Parents Group President, Steve Patton.
Interested in joining?
Please fill out the form below and we'll contact you.
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