Goals for parents and swimmers

• Work as a unified team (swimmers, parents, and volunteers) respecting others (including opponents)
• Provide support through volunteer work and being an active parent or swimmer to the best of your ability
• Make our short time together effective and productive in areas of improved swimming skills, exemplary character (serving as a desirable model; representing the best of its kind), and friendly relationships for everyone involved 

Swimmers

• On time for practice with goggles and hair up for swimmers with long hair. Swim caps are encouraged and preferred, but not mandatory.
• Replace horseplay with hard work giving FULL attention and cooperation to the coaches 
• Exercise basic practice principles - No talking while coach is talking, keep hands to yourself, NO foul language or gestures, ready and listening for coaches’ instructions, follow protocol for practice etiquette – don’t be a bully – no aggressive play 
• Do your best through difficult practices – coaches see hard work. 
• Remain in the practice for the entire practice time – if you leave practice you must be picked up by parent or assigned pick up person 
• Report any misconduct by other swimmers to coaches/team leaders immediately (do not allow someone else’s misbehavior be your problem – don’t be bullied)
• Report any injuries immediately to coaches 
• Meet protocol – be on time and in place and ready to swim your events, use positive encouraging language to both teams, win gratefully, lose graciously, stay inside the designated pool area for the meet (off playgrounds and out of other pools), stay on our team’s designated side, care for their facilities (see below) 
• Facility care – vandalism will not be tolerated for facilities and team gear. Respond to any directions regarding the care of swim team gear and facilities used 
• Cheating in practice is not tolerated – do your personal best in any drill or exercise 
• Theft of any kind will not be tolerated – turn in any ‘found’ items especially goggles! Also, 'shopping' from the lost and found is not allowed

Parents

• Report issues to team coordinator: Coaches handle swimmers. The coordinator (TSA Representative) handles parents and volunteers – coaches cannot do both so let them do what they do best by dealing with the swimmers – we want to keep our coaches happy!! 
• No Parent Coaching: Let the coaches do their job and support your swimmer with unconditional encouragement for doing their best – good work ethics in practice should lead to improved swimming skills – if not, have them take some private lessons for individual skills 
• Complaints and problems: Try to come up with a suggestion for a solution as well – we are all volunteers! 
• Full cooperation with volunteer coordinators: Sign up for at least the minimum requirements before the season begins, find your own replacement if something unavoidable comes up, then sign up for another position if someone took yours as an extra. Don’t forget your responsibilities to the meets and be on time and in place by 4:30 so we know you are there and ready to work. No one gets out of working meets (the few exceptions get the jobs needed outside of meets but these are saved for extenuating circumstances and predetermined) 
• Report conflicts to coordinator: Please report any swimmer complaints about another swimmer’s conduct. Discern if it was a minor one time offense or if it is an ongoing problem that needs to be stopped. Check the rules above for what to look for but also let us know if there are specific behaviors that may not be listed that are offensive to your swimmer during practices. We don’t take lightly any bad behavior in water – everyone deserves to feel safe in practice.  
• Meet etiquette: Never approach an official or a coach at a meet with a complaint. If a problem arises, find your team coordinator (TSA Representative) to see if something can be done or wait until the next day if it is a problem that can wait. Meets are hot and fast and many things are happening all at once so ‘stuff happens’ unintentionally. Swimmers miss events at times, weather issues come up, etc… swimmers will have another meet to swim in. Its just summer league so keep your perspective about it all. Swim team board members will be available to help iron out any issues that come up at meets.
• No foul language, alcoholic beverages, foul gestures. 
• Misbehavior at meets: If your swimmer misbehaves at clerk of course, we will bring them to you. They may or may not be able to swim any other events determined by Head Clerk or they may have you, as the parent, escort them to clerk for the remainder of the evening to assist in their behavior issues. We will take action this year for bad behavior in clerk of course. We suggest you stay for the entire meet even if they are taken out of events for the full effect of the consequence. Consequences are only as effective as you allow them to be – don’t waste them – they are intended for improvement and not personal offense. 
• Misbehavior at practice: If your swimmer misbehaves in practice the coach will determine the course of action: either sitting on the pool’s edge until they can safely return to practice correcting their behavior or send them to the team leadership (or parent in attendance) in charge at that practice so they can notify the parents to come pick them up. There could be further consequences depending on the infraction - being expelled from the team or for a certain period of time determined by the coach. This will all be discussed with the person responsible for that swimmer on a daily basis (may or may not be the parent). These decisions are final.  
• Don’t be a NO-SHOW: ‘Decline’ your attendance if you are missing a meet before the deadline. This system will send you a notice for attendance for all meets. Your job is to decline if you are going to be absent.
• Weather: Be patient with weather related issues especially for swim meets. No one can predict weather precisely and we all have to show up regardless of what’s going on in your area and wait patiently. We follow TSA guidelines for meets – everyone is expected to attend and stay for the duration of the process (you were going to be there anyway!). 

Closing summary

At the heart of each of these issues is for everyone to act in the best interest of everyone else thinking not only of your preferences, but how your actions affect the team as a whole and other swimmers/parents. Some situations may seem small to you but when you multiply by the team number, it just doesn’t work. No one gets to be entitled to think single-mindedly. TEAM attitude starts with parents’ thinking and trickles down to swimmers. Please notice that parents have many more codes of conduct than swimmers. This is the best way to keep us all working together in unity.