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Welcome to the Franklin Township Swim Club (FTSC)
www.ftswimming.org

This handbook is intended to outline procedures and guidelines for our new members as well as existing members.

FTSC is sanctioned by USA Swimming, the National Governing Body for the sport of swimming in the United States.  You may visit their website at www.usaswimming.org for valuable parent and swimmer information.  This is also where you can set up your “My USA Swimming” page which will list all meet results, times, and club information.

All clubs in the state of Indiana are locally governed under Indiana Swimming, Inc., www.inswimming.org .  This is the best place to find detailed meet information and swimming news for our state.  It is highly recommended that all parents visit this site and return often for updates.

All FTSC swimmers are required to register and become members of USA Swimming.  As a USA Swimming member, you’ll represent FTSC and be eligible to participate in competition swim meets.

FTSC’s Board of Directors and coaching staff are dedicated to providing a strong swim program in which all members can excel.

FTSC also requires parental involvement in several available capacities.
Lifeguards, Officials, Timers, Coaches, and mentors to families new to our club are crucial to our success and growth as a swim club.  Information on Lifeguard or Official training programs can be obtained by speaking with our head coach, or a member of the board.

Mission Statement

Franklin Township Swim Club is designed to provide a forum to allow swimmers to improve and enhance their swimming ability.  Franklin Township Swim Club provides a foundation to prepare swimmers for middle school, high school, and college level swimming and strives to create championship level athletes without burnout.

Goals

  1. To improve each child’s competitive swimming ability through good instruction and participation in competition.
  2. To allow for each swimmer to obtain their highest potential over his or her career.
  3. To reinforce good social and teamwork skills.

Communication

Communication within the club is mainly through email and the FTSC website www.ftswimming.org .  It is very important that you let us know of any changes to your email address or you may miss out on important information/changes.  If you do not have an email address or access to a computer, please make sure that we have your current phone number so that someone can contact you, if needed.

Practices

Swimmers are required to arrive promptly for practices and be ready to swim at the appointed practice time.  In the event of changes in the practice schedule, you will be notified via email.  Changes will also be posted to the club’s website, www.ftswimming.org .  In case of severe weather, i.e., thunderstorms, please be aware that swimmers may not be in the pool when there is visible lightning, and practice may possibly end early.  In the case of school Holidays, and snow days, if Franklin Township schools are not in session, there is no swim practice unless otherwise noted on the team Calendar.

Team Uniforms

All members are REQUIRED to have the following:

Swimsuits    

Goggles         Required

Swim Caps   

Swimmer Levels

RAINDROPS- Level 1 - (Learn To Swim Competitively)

Must be able to swim the length of the pool once without extreme difficulty in order to be accepted to the program.

Level A - 11 & 12 year old novice
Level B - 9 & 10 year old novice
Level C - 8 & under novice

Introduction to competitive swimming.  Will focus on learning freestyle, backstroke, and breaststroke as well as an introduction to starts and turns.  Basic water safety and lane etiquette will also be learned.  Must complete the beginner level program in order to become a part of the Competitive FTSC team.  Dual meets will be required, but participation in invitational meets will be prohibited unless suggested by the coaching staff.

To be run in 8 week long sessions 3 days per week.  Sessions will be held from April to October.

STORM- Level 2 - Entry level competitive swimmers

Level A - 10 & under with at least one “C” level time
Level B - 11 & 12 year old advanced beginners
Level C - 10 & under advanced beginners

Will focus on attaining a basic knowledge of all strokes, including butterfly and will learn to swim and IM..  Strong emphasis on learning proper stroke technique and legal strokes, starts, turns and finishes.  First level that will compete at invitational meets. 

3 practice days per week.  Minimum 25% of scheduled invitational meets with 1-2 events per day participation.  Participation in any available dual meets is mandatory.

THUNDER-Level 3 - Intermediate level competitive swimmers

11 & 12 “C” level times/ 10 & under “B”  times

Swimmers have a basic mastery of  all strokes.  Will focus on a continued improvement in technique, learning basic interval sets, and begin to train to swim moderate distance events.  There will also be focus on improving times in all events.

3 practice days per week.

Minimum 75% of scheduled invitational meets with minimum 3-4 events per day participation.  Participation in any available dual meets is mandatory.

LIGHTNING-Level 4 - Upper intermediate level competitive swimmers

Level A - 10 & under divisional level and beyond
Level B - 11 & 12 “B” level times

Swimmers have a basic mastery of  all strokes as well as competitive times in multiple events.  Will focus on a continued improvement in technique, learning basic interval sets, and begin to train to swim moderate distance events.

4 practice days per week.

Minimum 75% of scheduled invitational meets with minimum 3-4 events per day participation.  Participation in any available dual meets is mandatory.

FLASHES-Level 5 - Advanced level competitive swimmers.

Level A - 13 & over State qualifiers and beyond
Level B - 13 & over Divisional qualifiers
Level C - 11 & 12 year old Divisional Qualifiers and above/advanced 13 &
over swimmers who are near Divisional Championship times.

Swimmers have a high level mastery of strokes.  Will focus on achieving perfect technique, heavy training, and holding fast intervals during training.

5 days per week practice.
Early morning practice 3 days per week when available.

All invitational meets are required, swimming the maximum number of allowed events per day.  Championship meets are required as well.

Swim Meets

FTSC normally will compete in one or two swim meets each month during the session.

The majority of meets are Invitationals which are held on the weekends and are broken down into sessions by age group.  You will need to indicate on the sign up sheet which days your swimmer will be able to attend.  Events that your swimmer participates in on that day will be determined by their coach and your balance will be deducted from your pre-paid meet fund.

Another type of swim meet is called a dual meet.  This is a meet in which one club competes against another.  There are no entry fees required to participate in a dual meet.  Dual meets are usually only for one day or evening, and may last from 3-4 hours.

All events in a swim meet are individual events except for the relay events.  Coaches decide who will fill the spots on the relay teams. 

USA procedure requires a team to submit an entry to participate in an Invitational meet.  Sometimes a meet will “fill up” which may result in our club not being accepted into that particular meet.  Meets scheduled on the team calendar are tentative.  In the event that we are no accepted into a meet, you will be contacted by email.  If possible, the coaches will seek another meet to attend instead.

Meets sanctioned by USA Swimming are officiated by USA Swimming trained Officials.   Officials are trained to observe proper procedure and stroke technique.  If your swimmer has been disqualified for any reason at a meet, remember that this is a learning experience and not the end of the world.   Nearly all swimmers have been DQ’d at one time or another, even in the Olympics!!  Just ask!

Most of all, remember that your behavior at a meet not only reflects on you, but also on FTSC.

 Swim Meet Sign-up Procedure

Notifications for upcoming swim meets will be posted on the club website, www.ftswimming.org as well as the team calendar.  Deadlines for dates to sign up will be posted as well.  The sign-up sheets will be available at the pool during club practice times at the table outside the coaches office, or on the bulletin board by the entrance to the pool.  You will need to indicate your swimmer’s name, and days available to swim.  Coaching staff will determine which events your swimmer is entered in.  If you have any questions, please see the coach.

Club members have a minimum expectation for participation in meets determined by their ability group.  All fees will be deducted from your meet fund which is prepaid according to this minimum expectation.  If your fees exceed your prepaid fund, you will be asked by the treasurer to recharge this account.

Prepaid meet fees will be determined on this basis, and these fees are non-refundable.

If you are for any reason unable to attend a meet for which you have already signed up, PLEASE notify one of the coaches as soon as possible.
You must understand that if you do not attend a meet that has already been paid for by FTSC, you will not be able to receive a refund for meet fees paid, as FTSC will not receive a refund from the hosting team.

In the event that a swimmer qualifies for Championship level meets, participation in those meets will be paid for by the swimmer’s family in advance of the meets.  Also, all regular season fees must be paid in full for a swimmer to be entered in championship level meets.  If a swimmer misses an event/events at a championship meet, and FTSC must pay penalty fees, those penalty fees will be owed to FTSC by the swimmer’s family.

 What To Expect At A Swim Meet

All swimmers are required to Sign in when they first arrive at a swim meet.  This lets the club hosting the meet know who is in attendance and ready to swim.  Be sure to arrive before the stated warm-up time so you will have time to sign in.  If you’re not sure where the sign in sheets are, ASK!!
Next, your swimmer will need to find their coach and get ready for warm-ups.  Your coach will tell the swimmers where they are expected to sit along with other team members until individual events are called.  Parents are not allowed on the pool deck per USA Swimming standards and procedures.
After your swimmer has finished their last individual event, make sure that they check with their coach before they leave the meet.  The coaches may have signed them up for a relay event.  If you leave before the scheduled relay event, this may cause your teammates to forfeit the relay event.

For High School, and Middle School swimmers competing in other School sports and/or swimming, IHSAA participation rules will be followed and practices or games in other school sports will take precedence during their scheduled season, just inform your coach as to your schedule.

What To Bring To A Swim Meet

Team Swim Suit (required)
Team Cap (required)
Goggles (required)
Sweat suit/warm-ups
Flip Flops or other waterproof Shoes
2+ towels
Entertainment (books, cards, paper, pens, MP3 player)
Gatorade, Water, snacks (sometimes available at Concession stand)

Overview of Strokes

Freestyle  The swimmer may swim any stroke they wish.  Most common is the Australian Crawl (freestyle).  This stroke is characterized by the alternate overhand motion of the arms and flutter kick.

Backstroke  The swimmer must remain on his/her back at all times except during turns.  The stroke is an alternation overhand motion of the arms with flutter kick.  The swimmer is not required to touch the wall before execution of the turn.

Breaststroke  In the breaststroke, the arms move simultaneously on the same horizontal plane.  The hands are pushed forward from the breast on or under the surface of the water and are brought backward in the propulsive stage of the stroke simultaneously.  The kick is simultaneous thrust of the legs called a “frog” or breaststroke kick.  No flutter or dolphin kicking is allowed.  Swimmers must touch the wall with BOTH hands at the wall before turning.  Swimmers are allowed only one underwater pull with the arms off the start and turn.

Butterfly The butterfly features the simultaneous overhead stroke of the arms combined with a dolphin kick.  The dolphin kick features both legs moving up and down together.  No flutter or frog kick is allowed.  As in Breaststroke, the swimmer must touch the wall with both hands before turning.  This stroke is commonly referred to as Fly.

Individual Medley  This event is commonly referred to as the I.M.  and features all four strokes.  The swimmer begins with butterfly, changes to backstroke after one fourth of the race, then the breaststroke for another quarter, then finishes with freestyle.  The swimmer must touch the wall with their hand for the backstroke to breaststroke transition.

Medley Relay  In the medley relay, all four strokes are swum by four different swimmers.  No swimmers may swim more than one leg of the relay, which is swum backstroke, breaststroke, butterfly, freestyle order.

Freestyle Relay  In the freestyle relay, four swimmers swim.  Each swims one fourth of the distance.  No swimmer may swim more than one leg of the race.

*Please refer to the official USA Swimming rule handbook for complete details

Coaching Responsibilities

The coaches’ job is to supervise the entire competitive swim program.  The FTSC coaching staff is dedicated to providing a program for youngsters that will enable them to learn the value of striving to improve oneself—“to be the best that you can be”.  Therefore, the coaches must be in total control in matters of training and competition.

If a coach is not performing their responsibilities to the best of their abilities, please request a meeting with that coach and the Board of Directors to discuss the matter.

Coaches perform additional responsibilities for our club.  Our club consists of  a mixture of  volunteer and paid coaches.

Financial Obligations

All registration costs and USA membership dues are to be paid for at the time of registration (see FTSC cost schedule) unless arrangements for a payment plan are made with the club treasurer.  We try to keep our registration costs as low as possible to encourage enrollment, but also have many financial obligations that are all a part of operating a successful swim club.  Please note that returned checks will be subject to a $15 charge.

For those who opt to use the FTSC payment plan, payments received after the agreed upon payment dates will owe a $10 late payment fee to FTSC.

Summary

We hope that this handbook helps in answering any questions you may have concerning the club.  FTSC is constantly growing and changing and improving over time.

We are thankful to the Franklin Township School System for the privilege of using the high school pool and expect our members to treat the pool, equipment and facility with care.  Our members are not allowed to wander the high school beyond the natatorium area.  Anyone not following these rules may be subject to removal from the club.  Also, family members may not use the pool facility during club practices.  Any non-FTSC members must purchase a fitness pass from the Athletics office of FCHS to be used only during Community fitness hours established by the Franklin Township Community School Corporation.

Thank you for choosing to join our club!  It’s always a wonderful feeling to watch our swimmers grow, improve, set goals, and achieve them.  Should you have further questions, please see one of our coaching staff or a member of the Board of Directors.  Best wishes for a GREAT SEASON!!

Why Should My Child Be a Swimmer??

 

FTSC Club Contact Information

Board of Directors

Jennifer Mrozinski, President

493-5819
525-3439 cell

jm@ftswimming.org

Debbie Allbright,
Vice President

862-6087

da@ftswimming.org

Sue Boor,
Treasurer

780-8064

sb@ftswimming.org

Beth Matthies,
Secretary

862-1869
525-2497

bm@ftswimming.org

Dave Nadler,
Communications Director

862-1403

dn@ftswimming.org

 Coaching Staff

John Sincroft
Head Coach/Level 5 Coach

John.Sincroft@ftcsc.k12.in.us

Michael Monday, 
Level 4 Coach

mmaddmonday@sbcglobal.net

John Gerling
Level 3 Coach

jjgerling@comcast.net

Shawn Karnehm
Level 1 & 2 Coach

skarnehm@crossroadengineers.com

Emily Kirkpatrick
Level 1 & 2 Coach

ekirkpatrick3@comcast.net

Matt Jeffries
Substitute Coach

mdjeffri@iupui.edu

Club Officials

Dave Nadler

dn@ftswimming.org

FTSC Website

Please visit the club website for the latest practice times, meet information and news.  As this site is updated whenever new information or changes are made, it is crucial that you visit the club site as often as possible.  You may also print the most recent version of the club calendar, and other pertinent documents on the FTSC website.

www.ftswimming.org