UNIVERSITY CITY SWIM CLUB (UCSC)

Summer Swim Meets

2009-06-10T12:17:00.000-07:00

Dear Team,

Mark your calendars for the summer "optional" fun meets.

June 25 at Center of Clayton
July 9 at Maplewood
July 16 at Center of Clayton

(All dates 5:15pm warm-up, with 5:30pm competition start, over in about an hour.)

The events are short and should offer an opportunity for competition experience.

Swim Practice Canceled

2009-05-16T14:44:00.000-07:00

The Nat has had a mechanical failure. As of now, practice is canceled for the week of May 17, 2009.
If the status changes you'll get an email.

Have a good week.

Karen Palmer

2009 Summer Swim Schedule

2009-05-07T07:37:00.000-07:00

U City Swim Club Outdoor Season
When: June 8 – July 31, 2009
Where: Heman Park Pool, 7210 Olive, University City, MO

Masters (Adult) Schedule:
M, W 6 - 7:00 AM
Sat 7- 8:30 AM
$50/month

Youth Schedule:
T, Th 7- 8 pm
Sat 7-8:30 am

Super Swimmers and Age Group Development are for those swimmers that can swim 50 yards without stopping. Reasonable proficiency in freestyle and backstroke is required.
$60/mo

Stroke Development is for those swimmers that are new to swimming or are still developing basic swim skills. You will swim in 30 minute sessions. Either 7 to 7:30 pm or 7:30 to 8:00 pm.
$55/mo

If you are new to the club, coaches will determine the appropriate swim group.

In addition to regular club fees, to swim or stay on the deck at Heman pool, a pool pass is required. Note: Parents wishing to walk their children in and leave may do so, but please be prompt in picking up your children.

Here are your options:
Residents: (As a reminder you must present your resident card)
Daily Admission Fees:
Youth: $3
Adult $4
Resident Senior (60 and older) $3

Resident Annual Swim Pass
Youth $70
Adult $87
Senior (60 and older) $70
Family ($140)

Non Resident:
Daily Admission Fees:
$6 (must be accompanied by a U. City Resident)
Our swim coach can accompany 4 swimmers under this rule - on a first request basis.

Non Resident Annual Swim Pass
Youth $105
Adult $130.50
Senior (60 and older) $105
Family $210

I recommend that you factor in how many times you think you'll be at the pool this summer and determine if a pool pass or daily admission is most cost effective for your family needs. If you are getting a pool pass, make sure you have it before practice season starts!

If you are already registered with the club you do not need to fill out any new paper work. For those that are new, we will have paper work available as needed.

Thanks,
Karen Palmer
U City Swim Club

Changes to Practice Schedule for March and April

2009-03-13T06:23:00.000-07:00

Hello to all. Due to upcoming tournaments for the UCHS water polo team we will be making some modifications to our regular practice schedule. Please make note of the following time changes:

For the following days, practice will start at 6:00 pm and end at 7:00 pm. Coach Mary's groups will begin their sessions at 6:00 and 6:30.

WED , MARCH 25 -
TH, MARCH 26
TUES, APRIL 7
TH, APRIL 9
TUES, APRIL 21

There will be no practice on the following days:
MON, APRIL 13
MON, APRIL 27
TUES, APRIL 28

Please remember that if you come early and a water polo match is in progress, wait upstairs in the bleacher area.

As a side note, our home meet is scheduled for April 25 and 26. Once again we will need all families to volunteer as timers or for other duties. Instead of email, I will be using a sign up sheet to fill volunteer slots. I'll let you know when that is posted.

Happy Swimming - Karen Palmer

MEET CALENDAR

2009-02-23T15:09:00.000-08:00

March 14 and 15, 2009 Heat Lightning and 8 & Under Championship

Meet invitation Meet Entries

April 25 and 26, 2009 Small Club Championships - home meet.

Meet Invitation Meet Entries

In this video, Josh Davis, Olypmic Gold Medalist, gives tips for swimming butterfly.

Team Swim-a-thon, February 19, 2009

2009-02-23T14:41:00.000-08:00

Congratulations to our 2008-2009 Team Members who participated in our Swim-a-thon fund raiser. Way to go and thank you for your dedication!!!!

OK, the final results are in!

We had a GREAT fundraiser - we raised $1703!!! We had 22 swimmers + 3 more who did not swim but who made contributions.

Gator Great Times Entries - Feb 09

2009-02-05T06:01:00.001-08:00

Dear Parents,

Here are the events that your child will be swimming at the Gator Great Times meet this coming weekend.

Happy Swimming - Karen Palmer
/UCSC-OZ-Entries003.pdf

Swim-a-Thons , General Information

2009-01-25T12:33:00.000-08:00

2009 swim-a-thon team photo

We cannot rely on monthly swim fees alone to cover the operations, equipment, and staff needed to run a successful swim club. In the past, our club has relied on the USA Swimming Swim-a-Thon as a fun and active event to raise some of those extra funds.

Swim-a-Thons are a USA Swimming sponsored event. Our club keeps 95% of raised funds and the other 5% goes back to USA Swimming to help run their programs at a national level.

We conduct the event under USA Swimming, so information packets and pledge forms are provided. We must return all unused packets in good condition or the club gets billed, so please don’t take a packet unless you are participating.

During the weeks leading to the event we ask that you collect pledges (either by the lap swam, or a flat donation).

Work with a parent in obtaining your pledges and stick to people that you know or local businesses. And remember a big thank you!

Here is an example of what to say as you collect pledges:

The University Swim Club is holding a swim-a-thon on ___________.

The swim-a-thon is to help us raise funds so we can maintain our swimming program. We have a team that teaches kids how to swim and how to become better swimmers. We also get to compete in swim meets. It’s our team’s goal to raise at least $2,000.

We get to keep 95% of the funds and 5% goes to USA Swimming to help with their national programs.

The way it works is that you can make a pledge to me and I will try to swim one mile (that’s 70 lengths) within a one and one-half hour limit. Or you can also make a pledge to me for each length I swim. Checks should be made out to the University City Swim Club.

Thank you!

The process is pretty simple, but effective; it also builds team spirit and feelings of pride. So, join in on the fun and participate.

Jan Thaw - Parent Jobs During Meet

2009-01-21T14:44:00.001-08:00

Dear Parents,

Please review the PDF file /work%20schedule%20for%20Jan%20Thaw%202009.pdf.
Here you will find the jobs that you will be participating in at our January Thaw meet. I have broken each page down by AM or PM Sessions and by Day (Saturday or Sunday). If you see your name in Red that means we didn't hear from you on a job preference so you get the opportunity of a random assignment.

You must let me know if I have made a mistake. I'll be working to fill the open positions.

Thank you so much.

Karen Palmer - Happy Swimming

Swim Clinic with Olympic Swimmers Coming Soon

2009-01-12T08:26:00.000-08:00

We have a unique opportunity to participate in the upcoming Mutual of Omaha Breakout Swim Clinic. This clinic is being hosted by our small club friends the Bridgeton Flying Tigers Swim Club.

Date: Sunday, March 8, 2009
Time: 1:00- 5:00 PM
Cost is $55.00 (Limit of 70 swimmers)

It looks like Olympians Josh Davis and Peter Vanderkaay will be conducting this session. They should also be getting in the water with the swimmers and giving individual attention.

I will have registration forms later this week at the Nat and am also including a PDF file of the registration form. /olympic_training_camp.pdf

For more details on the clinic and organization please visit: breakoutswimclinic.com

Happy Swimming - Karen Palmer

Club Policy For Home Meets

2009-01-09T07:56:00.000-08:00

Hosting a swim meet is a task that requires the talents and time of all our families.

In order to ensure a fun and rewarding meet we ask that you be aware of our policies regarding participation.

We assume all swimmmers participate in our home meets - unless you inform us of other plans.

Since we are a parent run club we have always depended on at least one member from each family to work in a volunteer capacity at the meet for a minimum of two sessions. Those sessions can be all on one day or split between Saturday and Sunday. If you have a teenager they are welcome to help, though we'd like timers to be a minimum age of 15 and have good focus abilities.

If you are a single-parent family and your child is not old enough to get to his events on his own, we can assign a parent in the stands to help your child. Everyone in the club tends to be helpful!

If you choose not to volunteer please let us know, because we do assign positions to parents that we have not heard from. Otherwise in the absence of your participation we request a $25 donation to the University City Swim Club.

We thank you for helping us build team spirit and to host a meet that brings enjoyment to your swimmers.

Jan 6, Jan 27, & Feb 3, 2009 - Change of schedule with Coach Mary

2008-12-29T17:19:00.000-08:00

For those of you with children swimming with Coach Mary we will need to adjust the time for three of our practice dates.

The dates are Tuesday Jan 6, Jan 27, and Feb 3.
First session will begin at 6:00 pm and second session swimmers will begin at 6:30 pm.

Happy Swimming - Karen Palmer

2008 Winter Break Schedule

2008-12-17T09:57:00.000-08:00

We normally follow the school district's schedule, since that dictates when the pool is open for our use.

Last regular practice is Dec 20. We will resume practice January 6,2009.
It does not look like we will be able to hold any special sessions during the school district's break.

If we are able to hold any other additional practices, I'll be posting on the web site.

Thank you and Happy Holidays.

U. City Swim Club

January Thaw Swim Meet

2008-12-12T12:19:00.000-08:00

Our January Thaw Meet is scheduled for January 31 & Feb 1. (Note these are new days) For those of you new to the club, this is a home meet, which is a lot of fun for our swimmers. We do require that parents volunteer in some capacity during the meet or in the planning stages. As time nears we will be calling on you to help us!!!

/UCSC-2009-Jan-24-25.pdf

Event File /Meet%20Events-UCSC%20January%20Thaw%202009-24Jan2009-001.zip

Basic Swim Rules to Help a Young Swimmer

2008-12-12T11:48:00.000-08:00

Okay, parents, you are watching your child swim during a meet and suddenly an official (those people wearing blue shorts and white shirts) raises a hand. What does that mean?

Basically, the official has seen what is called a stroke infraction. USA Swimming has a list of rules that must be followed for each stroke. This ensures everyone swims the same kind of stroke without any unfair advantages.

If you are like me, a few years ago I didn't even know the names of most strokes or even how to swim them. That however changed and I am now one of those swim officials. From my experiences having to disqualify swimmers so far, I am offering you the following basic reminders that you can give your first-time swimmers before they go out to swim each event.

1. Remind your child what event they are swimming. I often have children ask me what event they are about to enter the water for. Often a child begins swimming the wrong stroke and unfortunately is disqualified.

2. If it's butterfly, remind them to touch the walls with both hands at the same time. It doesn't matter where the hands are on the wall, just as long as it is simultaneous.

3. When doing backstroke, remind your youngster to remain on their backs until they've touched the wall with some part of their body.

4. Breastroke requires touching the wall with both hands at the same time. Again it doesn't matter where the hands are relative to each other.

5. Freestyle is hard to get disqualified on. Any kind of touch is acceptable.

There are of course other stroke rules, but these are the basics that any level of swimmer can easily master. The rest will come with your child's individual progress in mastering the strokes.

Happy Swimming - Karen Palmer

Parenting a Champion

2008-12-05T07:08:00.000-08:00

I found the following information on the USA Swimming website and thought it presents helpful advice for parents during various stages of your child's development.
- Happy Swimming, Karen Palmer

The US Tennis Association has developed a chart of guidelines for parents entitled "Parenting My Champion: Developing Talent." The chart shows three stages of development: Introduction/Foundation (ages 5-10), Refinement/Transitional (ages 10-14), and Elite Performance (15 and over). At each stage the USTA gives recommendations for things parents can do to encourage the child, keep things in perspective AND foster long term development and success.

ParentingaChampion.pdf

Swim Club Brochure and Registration Forms

2008-12-03T06:23:00.000-08:00

Here is a PDF file of our current swim club brochure.

Click here to download club registration forms.

Click here to download the athlete registration form.

Please make sure to make out one check to University City Swim Club - this includes the $50 athlete registration to USA Swimming. We will forward the paperwork and fees to USA Swimming for you.

2008 Thanksgiving Break

2008-11-17T12:42:00.000-08:00

The U. City school district will close Nov. 26-30, which means no swim practice on those days.

Have a safe and fun Thanksgiving.

From,
Karen Palmer

Upcoming December 2008 Meets

2008-11-17T11:27:00.000-08:00

This December, we will be participating in the CSP Swim Your Own Age meet and the HEAT Last Meet of the Year.

The CSP event is scheduled for December 7.
The HEAT meet is scheduled for December 13 and December 14.

Please check with the Ozark Calendar website http://www.ozarkswimming.org/calendar.htm for meet start times and locations. I also will post an announcement at the Nat.

For those of you new to the club, you should, a few days before the meet, receive a list of events your child is signed up to swim. You'll get that from Coach Jon Lane. This will tell you which events your child is swimming. At the actual meet you'll need to purchase a meet sheet or refer to the sheets posted on the walls, so that you'll know the event number that your child is swimming. Some swimmers write the event numbers on their arms with a Sharpie. Then, when the event is called your child will go to the designated "bull pen" area and be directed by a volunteer to the starting blocks. All the experienced parents are more than willing to help. That's how my family made it through my son's first meet!

Swim attire must be non-transparent. Also, a new ruling requires that meet swimsuits for ages 12&U cannot cover neck, arms below shoulders, or below knees. This formally applies even to floppy Bermuda or "board" style shorts.

Swim caps are optional.

Happy Swimming!

Karen Palmer

2008-2009 Practice Schedule

2008-08-19T17:20:00.000-07:00

Practices at The Natatorium Begin Tuesday, September 9, 2008

Super Swimmers

Level 1 5:30-6:00 PM, T & Th
Level 2 6:00-6:30 PM, T & Th
Level 3 5:30-6:30 PM, any 2 days M-Th

AGD, High School, HS Prep

5:30 – 7:00 PM, M-T-W-Th
10:00 – 11:30 AM, Sat.

Masters

6:00 – 7:00 AM, T & Th
10:00 – 11:30 AM, Sat.
Optional evenings

Indoor season registration is Monday, September 8, 2008, from 6:00 to 7:00 PM in front of the Natatorium (7420 Shaftesbury Avenue).

New swimmers are also welcome to register anytime throughout the year.

Rate Schedule

2008-08-19T17:19:00.000-07:00

2008-09 Rate Schedule

Adults

Masters $50/mo

Youth

Fulltime $90/mo
(4+ practices/week)

AGD/competitive $75/mo

Superswimmer (Levels 2 & 3) $60/mo
(1 hour practices)

Stroke training (Level 1) $55/mo
(30 minutes, beginners)

Youth swimmers must also join USA Swimming for insurance coverage and competition eligibility. $50 annual USA Swimming membership is billed at signup time.

The University City Swim Club will work with families to make sure everyone who wants to swim can do so. Reduced rates and scholarships are available upon request.

2007-08 UCSC Indoor Season Details

2007-08-11T09:08:00.000-07:00

Indoor season starts with registration
on Tuesday, September 11, 2007

Come between 6:00 and 7:00 PM to the circle drive in front of the Natatorium (7420 Shaftesbury) to receive a registration and information packet, meet coaches and current swimmers, ask questions, and be measured for optional team swim suits if desired.

Practice starts Wednesday, Sept. 12

Practice schedule

Super Swimmers
Level 1 5:30-6:15 PM, T & Th
Level 2 5:30-7:00 PM M-Th (pick 2 days)

AGD, Seniors, HS Prep
5:30 – 7:00 PM, M-T-W-Th
9 – 10:30 AM, Sat.

Masters
6:00 – 7:00 AM, T + Th
9:00 – 10:30 AM, Sat.
Optional evenings

The UCSC Board wants to take this opportunity to welcome all new and returning swimmers for the coming season.

This year we will again be utilizing this website as our source of communication. Please sign up for email updates using the "Subscribe" window at right (scroll down). This will send you an email whenever this site is updated.

Information regarding practice changes, upcoming meets, practice calendars, meet results etc. will be updated in the website.

We will still send out information via email when necessary. We will try to keep emails to a minimum, but it is important we have a current email address to let you know about certain things.

If you experience any problems with the website (actually a blog masquerading as a website), or have any suggestions for it, please contact:

George Lenard @ george1314@charter.net or gll@hdfh.com

Important Swimming Story in Wall Street Journal

2007-03-20T21:30:00.000-07:00

I thought many of you would be interested in this.

Perhaps even a team outing to see the movie together?

The following is a partial quote from the Wall Street Journal Tuesday, March 20, 2007:

Minorities and the Swimming Gap

Perhaps no institution in America is less racially diverse than the swimming pool.

The result: Black children drown at rates far above average.

The problem has drawn little attention because drownings kill a fraction of the number of African-American children who die in, say automotive accidents, and because black parents haven't much protested against the dearth of pools and swim instruction in the inner city.

In part this is because of higher priorities such as improving schools and reducing crime.Yet it also reflects the lingering effect of spurious research -- some of it published in academic journals as recently as the 1960s -- describing blacks is inherently less buoyant and disadvantaged in water.

Little wonder that black parents in disproportionate numbers of never learned to swim, have harbored a fear of water and have cautioned their children to stay away from it, according to many who studied the problem. . .

Now, a coalition of local and national health officials and some groups are creating programs to teach inner-city children how to swim, focusing particularly on minorities. . .

The same parents who make sure their children can read, write and play basketball need to make sure their children can swim.This is a life-saving skill.

These efforts are expected to get a boost from the release this week of a movie featuring a long-ignored hero in American storytelling -- the black swimmer.

Called "Pride," the movie is based on the true story of a Philadelphia parks-and-recreation coach who salvaged an abandoned pool and turned and inner-city group of blacks into athletic stars. Leaving their dingy pool for meets in fancy suburbs, the young black swimmers encounter looks of disbelief from their all-white competitors.

But the results make clear that nothing inherent is keeping blacks from achieving success in the pool.

Public-health officials hope the publicity about African-American success in the pool will put misperceptions to rest and help narrow a swimming-proficiency gap that helps explain why black children between ages 10 and 14 drown at 4.5 times the rate for white children.

Swimming ability is such a vital survival skill that some health officials believe it should be a school requirement.

Check out info on the Pride movie, including a link to the trailer.

USA Swimming has a new program to address the problem. It includes "Sponsor a Swim Lesson":"Through retail partnerships and individual donations, the USA Swimming Foundation will provide free swimming lessons to children who can’t afford them in ethnically and economically diverse areas. The first program will launch in March with a soon-to-be-announced retail partnership."

UCSC alum Emily Lenard will be Swim Lesson Coordinator at Heman Park this summer, and UCSC alum Jesse Winters has offered to help out with UCSC. There may be some opportunity to work with them on participating in "Sponsor a Swim Lesson". It could be a good recruiting opportunity, as well as just plain a good thing.

E-mail subscription

2006-11-15T13:03:00.000-08:00

This year I changed our e-mail subscription service to what I hope is a more reliable one, Feedblitz.

If you sign up at right under "subscribe," you will receive an e-mail each time new material is added to this site.

Although we are communicating a lot through regular e-mail, the subscription will ensure that you are alerted to special items such as the meet photos I posted yesterday.

Missed last night's parent meeting? Here's the lowdown.

2006-11-15T12:52:00.000-08:00

About 10 of us met at the Nat last night and kicked around a number of issues for quite some time.

The following are our recommendations. If you have any disagreements, questions, or comments, please use the comment function at the end of this post or e-mail us at universitycityswimclub.com.

Practice schedule:

Eliminate Saturday practices for kids. This is the most popular practice for Masters, whereas it is not well attended by the kids. Eliminating it will allow the Masters to spread out over more lanes, while also allowing Jon to focus fully on the Masters swimmers.

Older non-Masters swimmers who are able to keep pace with Masters and do the same workouts as Masters will still be welcome.

Eliminate Friday practices. Friday night, for obvious reasons, is the least well attended of our practices. Currently, attendance is usually only a couple of summers.

We will maintain this time slot availability for possible special events as announced, such as intra-team meets, family swim, pizza parties, etc.

Practice times.

All kids will start practice at 5:30pm.

The more advanced swimmers will practice for an hour and a half, ending at 7:00.

SuperSwimmers will end at 6:30.

The beginning swimmer class will be Tuesdays from 5:30 to 6:15.

Coaching staff supplementation:

To avoid having to cancel practice due to coach absences, we will explore the possible availability of several individuals as on-call substitute coaches. We will also talk to them about taking over the Tuesday 5:30-6:15 beginning-swimmers class.

Finalizing the fee structure:

Beginner class. This class on Tuesdays will be 45 min/week at a cost of $30/month. This comes to $7.50/45 min, which is comparable to Clayton Center group lessons, and cheaper than one-on-one private lessons.

At this rate, enrollment of two kids will cover our coaching cost for this class; four or more kids will make a positive contribution to team finances.

The suggested maximum age for this class is 6, subject to coach's discretion.

Other age groups. No change to present fees.

Super Swimmers pay $50/month and practice twice a week (Tuesday and Thursday).

Age Group Development (AGD) pay $75/month and practice 3-4/wk.

Timing of promotion to AGD is subject to coach's judgment, normally around age 9, or for older beginners, at least within a year of starting with UCSC.

Other arrangements may be considered in the future.

Meet registration:

We continue to have some difficulty competing with large clubs in getting registered for meets, most recently getting shut out again by our Clayton neighbors at CSP.

We will make clear to the CSP-Swim-Your-Own-Age organizers and Ozark Swimming that this is a big deal, and hope for some "political" flexibility.

However, we can improve our registration chances by:

Notifying UCSC early of participation preferences

Responding quickly (even no-thanks) to email questions on participating in a particular meet, so we can finalize our applications as early as possible.

Action as a board:

The above recommendations were adopted at an informal meeting with no representation of Masters swimmers. That is why at this time they remain recommendations only, and why we seek additional input.

We intend to schedule a board meeting on these and other issues after putting together some budget figures. Please volunteer for the board. Masters swimmers are particularly needed -- your interests should be represented on the board.