2010 Season Sep 1, 2010
Welcome Back! Practice will begin on Wednesday, Sep 15 at Middlesex Community College. Practice Groups will be posted no later than Tuesday, Sep 14.
Become an Official Aug 13, 2010
Riptide needs you to volunteer to become certified as an Official to support both home and away meets. Officials work on deck to implement the YMCA swimming rules to help promote fair swims for all swimmers. Several Officials are required for each of our three teams; we cannot run meets without parent volunteers to serve as Officials. We need 4-5 Officials to run every home meet for each team, and 2-3 Officials for each away meet for each team. Your participation is needed and valued by your children, other swimmers, and the coaches. Officiating is a great way to connect with your swimmer at a deeper level, as you become profoundly involved in the details of what they are doing in the pool. Riptide officials exemplify the Y values of Caring, Responsibility, Honesty, and Respect in every aspect of their officiating. Plan to take a YMCA officiating clinic this Fall. Riptide will reimburse your clinic fees, and this year for the first time, you will receive a $100 discount off the total swimmer fee for the 2010-2011 season. Also, you get to watch every meet you officiate from the pool deck - indeed, it is the best "seat" in the house. Clinics are generally offered in September and early October, and should be posted at the following website when available: http://www.njymcaswim.org/index.html
Please don't hesitate - take this opportunity to volunteer now, and make your swimmer proud.
Many thanks,
Charlene Glascock
Riptide YMCA/USA Official
charlene@marine.rutgers.edu
What do you need to do to become an official?
YMCA Official
Level 1 Certification
You will need to attend a YMCA official's Level 1 certification clinic. The course is designed to certify swim officials in the areas of Stroke and Turn Judge, Relay Take-off Judge, Place Judge and Timer. You will then need to take the test (online test with open rulebook) and get on deck as much as possible for experience. Recertify every three years. Minimum age is 21 and you must be associated with a YMCA sponsored swim team. Proof of sessions worked is required for recertification.
Level 2 Certification
You will need to attend a YMCA official's Level 2 certification clinic. The course is designed to certify swim Officials in the areas of Chief Judge, Starter and Referee. To become Level 2 certified you MUST have completed at least one year as a Level 1 certified official and officiated a minimum of 8 sessions as a certified YMCA Swim Official. You will need to take the test (online test with open rulebook). Recertify every three years. Minimum number of sessions required for recertification is 12. Proof of sessions worked is required.
USA Swimming
USA-certified Officials are also required for extra meets, in which many of the Riptide swimmers participate.
- Attend a Stroke & Turn training clinic. This can be a USA-S or YMCA course; however, only YMCA courses (Level 1 or 2) listed on the NJ Swim web site can be substituted for a USA-S course.
- You will need to take the test (online with open rulebook) for that position. This can be either the YMCA or USA-S test so that duplication will not be required. In addition, if the Y test is taken in conjunction with a Y course, this course must be listed on the NJ Swim web site.
- Be a member of USA Swimming
- Be at least 18 years old
- Upon completion of the above, a New Jersey Swimming apprentice official's card will be issued.
- The apprentice will be required to participate in a total of four (4) sessions in at least two (2) different meets at NJ Swimming sanctioned meets. Participation at championship meets will not count towards your apprenticeship qualification. Championship meets are defined as JOs, Senior States, Junior States, Holiday Classic and the Burgdorff Invitational. This participation will involve working with a certified stroke & turn judge or higher. The apprentice may not make calls or disqualifications but will accompany the experienced official during the meet as a training session. The referee should sign the back of the apprentice card for each complete session at which the apprentice worked.
- Upon completion of the four apprentice sessions, send a photocopy of both sides of the apprentice official’s card to the New Jersey Swimming Certification Coordinator. An updated New Jersey Swimming official’s certification card will be issued and sent along with a "New Jersey Swimming Official" patch.
- Recertify every 3 years.
Tryouts For New Swimmers - Sep 8 and 10 Aug 4, 2010
- All prospective swimmers are invited to tryout for the team on Wedenesday Sep 8 and 10, from 6:30 - approx. 8:30PM (this is a two day tryout)
- All swimmers MUST attend tryouts on Wednesday Sep 8
- Tryouts will be held at Middlesex County College in the Physical Education Center
- We ask that all swimmers meet in the lobby of the the P.E. Center at 6:15 PM
- All swimmers must come prepared to swim; suits, caps, goggles (locker rooms are available)
- Parents need to register their child and attend a brief meeting explaining team fees, policies, and schedules
- The final team roster will be posted no later than Monday, Sep 13
If you have any qusetions, please contact Charlie Catania at cacsac3@comcast.net.
All Returning Riptide Swimmers Aug 2, 2010
If you will be returning to Riptide for the 2010-2011 season, you must complete a registration form and mail it with a $260.00 deposit by Aug 27. The registration form is here.
Mail the form and deposit to:
Santina D' Esposito
12 Laila Ct.
Monroe Twp, NJ 08831
Note: $200 will be applied to your yearly fee and the rermaining $60.00 is for the "Y" membership fee. If there are any questions or concerns please contact Charlie at cacsac3@comcast.net.
Nationals Pictures Apr 13, 2010
Brian Bender took some nice pictures at Nationals. Take a look at them here.
Practice Reminder
Reminder: Please do not leave valuable items (wallets, ipods, cell phones) in unlocked lockers at any of our practice facilities. If you are going to bring these items with you to practice, bring a lock for your locker.
Safety Notice
MCC has told us we cannot park in the lot across from the main entrance to the pool (that's the lot that used to have the gated entrance - by the student center). No parking, and no waiting for swimmers. In other words, don't even think about going in there.
It's OK to stop in front of the pool building to drop off and pick up swimmers, but do not sit there and wait. If your swimmer is not there, do not stop. Also, if a car is stopped in front of the building, do not pass it. Wait until the swimmer gets in or out and moves on. Passing on that road is dangerous, since you can't see people crossing the street. Please take these rules seriously. It may make life a little inconvenient for yourself, but the safety of our children is much more important.
Missing A Meet?
If you will be missing a meet, it is imperative that the coaches know about it as far ahead of time as possible. Use this online form to send a notification to your coach. For future use, I put a link to that form on the navigation bar to your left ("Meet Absence Form"). Remember, if you miss a meet without telling your coach, you will be unable to swim in the next meet.
Emergency Contact List
We have an Emergency Contact List that is used for quick notification of things such as last minute practice and meet changes and cancellations, as well as other important timely items, which may be due to inclement weather or other reasons. Notifications of such events will be sent out to all people on this list. This enables you to find out early enough (usually while you're still in the office) to plan around them. To get on the list, just send me an email, providing your name and email address, and indicate that you'd like to be put on the Emergency Contact List. And, don't forget to tell me if your email ID changes!