MAKO FAQ’s

Joining the Team and Fees
How do I register/join the Mako Swim Team?
What are the fees to swim on this team?
What are meet fees? How do I pay them?
Is there any financial assistance available for swim families?

Practice
Where does the team practice?
What does my child need to bring to practice?
How are swimmers placed in practice groups?
How often should my child go to practice?
What is the National Focus Team?
Who can swim on the National Focus Team?

YMCA/USS Questions
What is the difference between Short Course and Long Course seasons?
Must my child swim both YMCA and USA meet programs?
May I join USA Swimming now if I did not sign up for it during registration?
What is the difference between YMCA swim meets and USA swim meets?
What is an “Age Group Qualifier” meet?
What does the term “aging up” refer to?
What is the “Yankee Cluster” meet?

Communication
How does the swim team communicate?
When can I talk to the Coach?

Meets
What does my child need to bring to a meet?
I need a new team suit.
How do I know which meets to sign my child up for?
What meets are good for my 8 & under (or my novice swimmer) during Long Course season. 
How do I scratch from a meet?
Whom do I contact if my child is sick or must scratch the day of a meet?

Volunteering
Do I need to volunteer at meets?
What are points? How many points do I need to earn?
How do I sign up to volunteer?
I volunteered at an event but was not signed up. I need help getting my points – how do I get credit?
How Many Points do I have to earn? How many have been recorded for me?
I want to help coaching, whom do I contact?
How do I learn more about becoming an Official?

How do I register/join the Mako Swim Team?
Contact Roger Simmons, Head Coach, rsimmons@regionalymca.org 203-775-4444, ext. 124. Roger will assist in suggesting the best way to get started.  It is helpful if you fill in and bring with you a completed “Waitlist New Swimmer Data Form”

What are the fees to swim on this team?
Fees vary by age group. Practice Chart and Fees Form details the fees.

What are meet fees?  How do I pay them?
Fees are charged for invitational meets. YMCA Dual meets are free of charge. Invitationals usually charge $3.50 - $5.00 per event entered, and approximately $5.00 per event for championship meets. A portion of meet fees are paid during registration.  If you go over the allotted meet fee you will be charged at the end of the season.

Is there any financial assistance available for swim families?
The Mako swim team has a discount structure for families with 3 or more swimmers.  Financial Assistance: YMCA memberships and programs are open to everyone.  When the costs of our services prevent an individual or family from participating, the YMCA will offer financial assistance, as funds are available, to those who are eligible.  See the Member Service Desk at the YMCA for more information.

Where does the team practice?
At the Greenknoll YMCA’s indoor 25 yard pool, in the summer we also use our outdoor 50 meter pool. Some practice groups also practice at a nearby offsite pool, the Dive Shop in Brookfield.

What does my child need to bring to practice?
Swimmers should bring with them to all practices: Water bottle, 2 pairs of goggles, and 2 caps, if caps are worn and training equipment. Do not wear your good “team suits” to practice as they will wear out too soon.

How are swimmers placed in practice groups?
Initially all new swimmers are put into practice groups by looking at their age and their ability. We do not have any hard and fast criteria for swimmers to move up through the practice groups.  It is generally done at the discretion of the coach or coaches.

How often should my child go to practice?
This varies by age group. Suggestions are: Silver - 2 to 3 times a week, Blue - 3, AG1/AG2 -3 to 4, All Sr’s - 4 to 5, NR - 6 . More details can be found on the Practice schedule.

What is the National Focus Team?
The National Focus Group of MAKO swimming has been created to provide a select group of MAKO Senior level swimmers advanced training opportunities, with the objective of helping the group’s members achieve their higher level swimming goals.

Who can swim on the National Focus Team?
Registration for this group will be invitation based. Athletes receiving invitations will be at the discretion of the coaching staff, based on a several guidelines. Examples of guidelines include the USA Swimming motivational time standards, with the 13-14 “A” standard as a minimum. Having met this minimum is not a guarantee of invitation, it is simply a guideline. All swimmers in this group must be at least age 13. National Focus Group Regulations.

What is the difference between Short Course and Long Course seasons?
Short Course and Long Course Seasons:  The Short Course (SC) Season runs from September to March with some championships in April.  The primary SC competition venue is a 25-yard or 25-meter pool.  The Long Course (LC) Season runs from April through most of July with some championships in August.  The primary LC competition venue is a 50-meter pool.

Must my child swim both YMCA and USA meet programs?
No, but speak to your coach to understand what option may be best for your swimmer.

May I join USA Swimming now if I did not sign up for it during registration?
Yes, please provide a copy of your swimmer’s birth certificate and a check or credit card payable to the Regional YMCA of Western CT to pay for their USA registration and set up a meet account.  The initial meet account payment is listed on the Payment Worksheets for each practice group. Be sure to consider how many meets are still available for you to sign up for when you make your decision to join USA swimming late – we enter USA swim meets relatively early in the season.

What is the difference between YMCA swim meets and USA swim meets?
YMCA and USA are two different types of swim leagues.  All swimmers are automatically registered as YMCA swimmers.  You may choose whether or not to register for USA.  Full details describing these groups can be found in sections 5 and 6 in the Mako Handbook.

What is an “Age Group Qualifier” meet?
An Age Group Qualifier meet is a USA swim meet that offers many of the same events that will be in the Age Group Championship meet at the end of the season. At a qualifier the swimmers earn times that can be used to make the qualifying times for the Championships.

What does the term “aging up” refer to?
You usually swim your age as of the first day of the meet for USA swimming. For meets hosted by the YMCA New England Region and Yankee Cluster teams you swim your age as of Dec 1 for short course and as of June 1 for Long Course. Some YMCA invitational meets use the same age up system as USA swimming.

How does the swim team communicate?
Primarily  via the website www.makoswim.org, as members of the Mako team you are responsible for staying up to date by visiting the website 2 – 3 times per week. Emails are also sent on a regular basis.  

When can I talk to the Coach?
The best way is to send and email or call to arrange a scheduled meeting.  Coaches may also have some availability after practices. It is important not to interrupt practices and swimmer coaching time.

What does my child need to bring to a meet?
Swimmers should bring with them: Team suit, team cap, extra cap, towel, water bottle, 2 pairs of goggles, and a healthy snack.  Deck sandals are recommended for the deck and locker rooms.  For USA meets, depending on location a deck chair, drink, and something to keep them busy.  Some bring: game boys, IPod, book etc. (Keep in mind it’s a wet and there will be no secure area for valuables.)

I need a new team suit.
We only order imprinted suits at the beginning of each season when we have large orders that can be combined for cost effective printing.  The best alternative is to purchase a plain black Speedo lycra suit which will blend in well with our team look. You may purchase these wherever you wish – or we have a team price for these from MetroSwimShop.  You may also wish to email our apparel chair to check if we may be accumulating a number of orders in attempt to get an imprinted suit.

How do I know which meets to sign my child up for?
The meet schedule description has suggestions as to who is best suited for a meet. Some have time requirements and cutoffs. Read the information that is listed on the calendar and if you are still unsure check with your coach. See next question for more info related to beginning swimmers.

What meets are good for my 8 & under (or my novice swimmer) during Long Course season. 
All YMCA dual meets are a good choice and any meet swum in a 25 yard pool. For USA swimming there is usually only a 10 & under age class and includes the young swimmers in that they are eligible to swim the same events.  Exception is if the meet is in short course yard (scy) rather than LC (long course = 50 meter pool) the meet will then often have 8&U only events. Only 8 & unders may swim 25 yard events in both YMCA and USA swimming.  If it is a LC meet, it is a good idea to look at the meet announcement and as long as the session offers the 50 meter free or maybe the 50 meter back (or any other strokes your swimmer is competent at).  Bear in mind that LC meets have a minimum distance of 50 meters. 

How do I scratch from a meet?
Email your coach or Team Administration as soon as you know that you must scratch – any of these contacts can record your scratch on a list that is accessible to the coaches – email is not usually effective on the day of meet. Advance notice is extremely helpful. 

Whom do I contact if my child is sick or must scratch the day of a meet?
Try to get a message to the coach via another parent in your child’s age group who is attending the meet. Exchange cell phone numbers with other parents.  The Mako parent phone directory is a great help for this. 

Do I need to volunteer at meets?
Volunteering is a critical and necessary part of any swim program. Volunteering can be accomplished at meets or via other non meet volunteer opportunities.  If volunteering requirements are not met a fee is charged for each point not fulfilled. See section 9 in the Mako Handbook for full details.

What are points? How many points do I need to earn?
The team cannot run without adequate parent support. All families must earn a certain amount of points per swimmer each season. See section 9 in the Mako Handbook for full details.

Short Course Point Requirements:
USS Swimmer 4 credits, family maximum 12
YMCA Swimmer 3 credits, family maximum 12
High School Swimmer 2 credits, family maximum 12

Long Course Point Requirements (April through July):
USS Swimmer 4 credits, family maximum 12
YMCA Swimmer 3 credits, family maximum 12

How do I sign up to volunteer?
Signup via SuperMeets, the same system you use to sign your child up for swim meets.

I volunteered at an event but was not signed up. I need help getting my points – how do I get credit?
Contact our SuperMeets Coordinator with an email that explains the details. 

How Many Points do I have to earn? How many have been recorded for me?
Log into Supermeets and then click on “Your Account” in the upper right corner. You will see how many are required, how many you have earned and a summary of your earning activity.

I want to help coaching, whom do I contact?
Head Coach Roger Simmons,rsimmons@regionalymca.org, 203-775-4444, ext. 124

How do I learn more about becoming an Official?
Call Greg Dembowski at 203.740.3432 x-201