FAQ
Q1: What is WS Gators?
A1: GATORS is a summer recreational swim team open to boys and girls ages 5 through 18. It is NOT a Summer Camp.
Q2: What is the location of the WS Gators?
A2: All practices are conducted at - Warm Springs Cabana Club 251 Goldenrain Avenue, Fremont, CA, USA
Q3. When will the practice start?
A3: Refer to Practice Schedule (https://wsgators.swimtopia.com/practice-schedule)
Q4: When is the try-out for new swimmers?
A4: Tryouts will be held during the first week of the season. If you miss them due to spring break, please contact the coach to schedule tryouts on April 8th, 9th or 10th.
Q5: What are the timings of the try-outs?
A5:The try-outs are scheduled to take place during the swimmer's regular training schedule
Q6: Do we have dates and times of the swim meets?
A6: Refer to Meets & Events Calendar (https://wsgators.swimtopia.com/swim_meets)
Q7: What is the criteria for joining WS Gators?
A7: Swimmer must be water safe. Coaches will evaluate them for fit during the 1st week of season. If unsuccessful, full refund would be provided (minus the credit card fees charged by the payment processor)
Q8: Are we accepting new swimmers?
A8: Yes, as long as the registration is open, new swimmers are accepted.
Q9: Can under 5 year old swimmers join WS Gators?
A9: Yes, if they are water safe. Coaches will evaluate them for fit during the 1st week of season. If unsuccessful, full refund would be provided (minus the credit card fees charged by the payment processor)
Q10: Are there any expectations from the parents?
A10: Yes. Parents are required to volunteer during swim meets. It is Mandatory for parents to complete the volunteering duties. Parents of swimmers participating in EBSL championships will be assigned responsibilities for that event. Experienced parents will be approached for advanced responsibilities. Details will be shared in early May 2024. Parents are expected to be present at all times during swim meets. Parents are expected to Sign Swimmers up for events before the signup deadline.
Q11: The swimmer's birthday is during the 2024 season; which age group would they belong to?
A11: The age group of a swimmer is determined based on their age as of June 1, 2024.
Q12: Do they have to attend everyday?
A12: 3 of 5 days is required. The more the better for the swimmer.
Q13: What skills are required to be successful during the tryouts?
A13: At minimum Water safety and basic swimming. Gators does not provide swim lessons. There is a limited capacity to provide basic swimming instruction. Beyond that it depends… by May 11 swimmers will be expected to swim 25yd (10 and under) or 50yd (11 and up). Also depends on number of athletes for the age group but this is not usually an issue for Gators.
Q14: About 'Tryouts" and "Time Trials"
A14: Please note that “Tryouts” and “Time Trials” are not the same thing. Tryouts will be in early April and the purpose is to evaluate Athlete swimming ability. Time Trials is May 11 (tentative) It is a special kind of meet, just for Gators to get swimmers initial times for the season and also give everyone a chance to practice for a dual meet.
Q15: What are seed times?
A15: Seed times are used to place swimmers into heats and lanes of an event. The following applies in general, but there are exceptions:
- Later heats tend to have faster swimmers than earlier heats.
- Middle lanes tend to have have faster swimmers than outer lanes.
Later heats have a psychological advantage due to grouping with faster competition. Middle lanes have a physical advantage because middle lanes have the least wake interference. These advantages are on the order of tenths of seconds and matter most in the most competitive races.
Seed times are calculated as the swimmer's fastest time from a meet in the current season with following restrictions:
- Seed Times for Regular Season Meets may be from regular season meets or Time Trials.
- Seed Times for EBSL Championships must be from a regular season meet.
Q16: Can last season's times be used as seed times for regular season meets?
A16: No, seed times for regular season meets must be from a meet or time trial in the current season per EBSL rules. Only Time Trials will be seeded using last years times.
Q17: Where will a swimmer get initial seed times if they don't attend Time Trials.
A17: At the next meet they will be entered into events with NT (No Time). The time they receive from those events will become their seed times.
Q18: Why are we required to sign up for the meet no later than 5 days prior?
A18: We have a meet planning process that involves several people on both teams spending over 10 hours of time. We need stable attendance information so that those individuals can work effectively and with minimal rework. Swimming is a team sport. Coaches pick events to maximize points, and cannot do so without knowing who is going to participate.
Q19: What will happen if we arrive at a meet and we are not signed up?
A19: The swimmer will not participate in the meet. They may stay and cheer for their teammates.
Q20: Why should I indicate "Not Attending" in the website if we are not attending the meet?
A20:
Proactively choosing "Not Attending" tells us that you considered the schedule and made a decision to not attend.
When you leave your attendance "Undeclared" we don't know if you are genuinely planning to miss the meet or just being inattentive.
Nobody wants to turn a swimmer away at a swim meet because a parent forgot to sign them up.
Q21: Can I challenge a time or a missed disqualification (DQ) in a race by sending a video?
A21. No. EBSL rules forbid the use of recorded video to verify decisions made during the meet. In Dual Meets, timers are the final word on times and coaches are the final word on disqualification (DQ).
Q22: What can a swimmer be Disqualified for ?
A22: These USA Swimming training videos give a good overview of how each stroke is judged.
Q23: Who judges take-offs, strokes and turns?
A23: During the regular season, each team’s Head Coach is responsible for take-off, stroke, turn and relay inspection and disqualification of their own swimmers. During EBSL championships, a full complement of trained officials judge each race.
Q24: What can I do if I see a disqualifying violation or bad time during a race?
A24: As a spectator you may not challenge a time, DQ or missed DQ. Only the officials will time and inspect a race. Be aware that with limited officiating during the regular season, many DQs will be missed. Our timers are volunteers and mistakes happen. If you notice a consistent problem or egregious timing error, you may politely raise the concern with your team's meet director.
