Frequently Answered Questions
What do we do if it snows, rains a lot, or we have another earthquake?
The primary rule is, USE YOUR BEST JUDGMENT". No practice is more important than your safety. To help you in making your informed decision, following are the general guidelines used for each pool.
South Run/Audrey Moore: *Inclement weather – we do not necessarily follow the school closing schedule and our early practices are usually too early for the school closing announcements so PLEASE...
1. CHECK your EMAIL &/or
2. Check
the calendar!
If Fairfax County School dismiss two hours early &/or afternoon activities are canceled due to the weather conditions, there will be NO afternoon practices held.
If Fairfax County Schools are closed for the entire day and South Run RECenter is OPEN to the public, we will endeavor to have a coach on deck to hold an optional practice for those who can safely travel over to the pool.
No attendance will be taken and this practice is entirely at your discretion. Please check your email &/or the calendar.
As always, USE YOUR BEST JUDGMENT when deciding to travel to practices when the weather is inclement.
Your safety is far more important than any practice.
SAINT ALBANS: Call 202-537-6462
SPRING HILL: http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/parks/weatherclosures.htm
Holton: Call 301-365-5300
TUCKAHOE: This pool follows Arlington County Public Schools. SDS families should check Arlington County Public School Status. Click here for A.C.P.S. emergency closings web page when weather is inclement.
Also listen to local radio, when A.C.P.S. are closing early or closed all day, SDS will not hold practice.
If schools are delayed, we wil hold practices as scheduled.
LAB SCHOOL: Call 202-965-6600 for outgoing announcement on whether the pool is open or close for practices or Click here Lab School Swimming Home page scroll down for inclement weather announcements for the pool availabilty.
For Weekend Sea Devil Swim Clinics: Check the website main page and your email for emergency closing announcements .
If there is not message indicating we are cancelled then we plan to hold clinics.
As weather conditions change rapidly, please always use your best judgement when deciding to travel during inclement weather.
/top/How do you determine which group should my child swim with?
Placement is decided by age, experience, goals, and dedication. We try to place swimmers in groups where thay will be challenged, but able to complete the practice goals. If you have concerns about your swimmer's placement, talk to the coach.
How can I volunteer to help with the team?
See the coach, drop us an email, or give us a call. Sea Devil Swimming is largely a volunteer run organization. Your help is needed and we appreciate your support.
How can I help my child swim faster?
Be a supportive parent. Please let the coaches coach. Maintain an open dialog with coaches. Provide good meals, plenty of sleep, and unwavering support and praise. Remember: Coaches coach, officials officiate, parents parent.
For more on Successful Sports Parenting, click here to download an excellent 5-part brochure from USSwimming.
( this pdf is 22 pages long).
Where can I learn more about my swimmer's coaches?
Funny you should ask. Just click here.
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Where are all these pools located?
Again, funny you should ask. Just click here.
Where do I find phone numbers & email or snail mail addresses?
This is the team mailing address:
Sea Devil Swimming
P.O. Box 650070
Potomac Falls, VA 20165-0070
Coaches email addresses are generally:
firstnamelastname@seadevils.org
We try not to list the full email addresses in order to reduce the amount of spam.
What do I need to have in the way of suits & such?
Swimmers should purchase a team suit, shirt, and cap for meet participation. Goggles are recommended for all swimmers. Some coaches require fins or zoomers. See your swimmer's coach for specific equipment requirements.
Sport Fair is the official supplier of Sea Devil suits, shirts, etc.
Sport Fair
5010 Lee Highway
Arlington, VA 22207
703-524-9500
Download the 2011 Equipment list
Click here for Sport Fair Monthly SDS Specials!
Can you give me a bit of SDS history?
Sea Devil Swimming, formerly the Capitol Sea Devils and Victor Swim Club, brings the best of Potomac Valley Swimming together as one organization. We provide world-class training for everyone from novice to masters swimmers. SDS is a team of over 700, with over 400 competing in USA Swimming sanctioned meets. We have practice sites in the District of Columbia, Maryland,and Virginia.
Sea Devil Swiming is a non-profit organization.
What is the SPEED DEVIL award?
Events must be swum in a sanctioned USA Swimming competition for September through May during the year of the award. DQs (disqualifications) do not count. If a swimmer ages up during the year and wished to use the younger age group, the swimmer MUST have completed the requirements for the younger age group while still within that age group.
6 & Unders: 25 free, 25 back and one 50 stroke
8 & Unders: 25s in all strokes, 50s (all strokes except fly), 100 IM and 100 free
9-10s: 50s in all strokes, 100s (all strokes except fly), 100 IM, 200 IM, 200 free
11-12s: 50s and 100s in all strokes, 200 free, 200 IM, one 200 any stroke, 500 free
13 & Up: 50 free, 100s and 200s in all strokes, 500 free, 1000 or 1650 free, 200 IM, 400 IM
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What's up with the online directory?
The online directory provides a way for SDS member families to provide contact information including email, telephone, and street address information to other member families. Many report it is useful for establishing carpools. Access is by password, the list of members is never used for any reason and the data are never shared. The individual user determines what information is shared or visible to others. Email the webmaster to receive an invitation if you are not in the directory and would like to be. It is completely voluntrary.
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We are new to this swim meet thing, can you explain it, please?
If you are new to competitive swimming, the apparent frenetic nature of meets may be somewhat confusing. Below we provide a brief overview of the types of meets you and/or your swimmer are likely to experience.
Swim Meets Primer
Meet Participation
Our competitive swimmers compete once or twice a month in weekend meets. Inexperienced swimmers usually compete only at local meets. As swimmers progress to higher competitive levels, they travel greater distances with the team to obtain the desired quality of competition. The coaching staff selects the proper meet schedule for each swimmer. Clinic swimmers will compete only in our two clinic intrasquad meets, and will not participate in PVS or competitive team meets. Young swimmers ages 8 and younger (known as 8 & Unders) who want to compete should register for Developmental. Our Masters can compete in local, regional and national meet and handle their meet entries individually.Sea Devil Swimming is a member club of United States Swimming and participates only in USA Swimming sanctioned competitions. Around 200,000 swimmers from pre-school through post-college are registered in one of the 60 Local Swim Committees (LSC’s) throughout the country. Sea Devil Swimming and is one of the largest of the 35+ teams in the LSC called Potomac Valley Swimming, which covers the geographic area of the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. Swim meets can be divided by age group and meet type. In Potomac Valley, the most common types of meets are mini meets, age group meets, open meets, invitational meets, and championship meets.
Mini meets are those for the youngest
swimmers.The
meet announcement will tell whether the meet is for 8 & under or 9 & under. The
meet will have events for each age group. Age groups are defined
by the meet announcement.
Age group meets are usually for
swimmers 9 -13 or 14 years of age. Age groups are defined
by the meet announcement.
Open meets usually have events divided by age group category and
an open category for 13 and older. (It is rare to have a meet with
age group categories above
13-14, usually those above 14 all swim together).
Championship
meets are usually
open to swimmers who have met particular qualifying times. These can be
NST (no slower than) or NFT (no faster than) meets.
On rare occasions there are "close cut" meets
that have both NFT and NST qualifying time. In those meets, the swimmer's time must meet the three bears test of not too fast and not too slow, but just right.
Mini meets, open meets, and some invitational meets are finals only meets. This means that each event has heats and the swimmer with the fastest times across all heats wins the event. Swimmers will be seeded based on times in previous meets, with the slowest times swimming first, and the fastest times swimming last. Depending on the pool, there can be from 6 - 10 swimmers in a heat. If a swimmer does not have a seed time, they will be placed in an early heat.
Championship meets usually are prelims and finals. Very large meets, such as the US Open may have more than one round of prelims, so there may be prelims, semi-finals, and finals.
Most championship meets in Potomac Valley will have a prelim and finals. Usually the 8 fastest swimmers from the prelims compete in finals. These meets are always conducted over several sessions. That is, the swimmer will compete in the morning in prelims, and again that evening in the finals if they qualify. There may be 2 or 3 sets of finals. In these meets, the "B" or "C" finals may include those swimmers who had the next 8 or 16 fastest times. This is done to extend the length of finals to allow swimmers who are in multiple events more time to rest, and to allow those next fastest swimmers an opportunity to swim in finals.
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So do you have a privacy policy?
Yes, we do. Please read on:
SDS Privacy Policy
Sea Devil Swimming (SDS) respects and protects the privacy of our members. We do not sell, trade, or otherwise transfer personally identifiable information obtained from our members to any third party, other than USA Swimming, Inc. SDS will use the email addresses provided solely for the purpose of communicating information about our team or training group related activities.
Information included in our Competitive/Masters team directory is intended for personal use by SDS team members and their families. No permission, either explicit or implied, is granted for the use of any data by any commercial or non-profit organization without written authorization by the SDS Board of Directors.
I'm thinking about having my child join your team, but what does SDS stand for, I mean, what am I getting into?
These are the guidelines we use to direct how we approach the sport we love. We believe it is important that our coaches, our swimmers, and their parents know what we believe, and what we expect from ourselves and those who choose to enjoy the journey with us.
| Pride |
| A Sea Devil Swimmer develops pride through dedication, hard work, and achievement of goals. |
| lValuesues |
| A Sea Devil Swimmer is taught that it is the level of effort put forth, not only the level of competitive achievement, that is a true measure of success. |
| Teamwork |
| A Sea Devil Swimmer receives positive support in all endeavors not only in swimming, but also in academic and social experiences. |
| Support |
| A Sea Devil Swimmer develops pride through dedication, hard work, and achievement of goals. |
| Fun! |
| A Sea Devil Swimmer develops a sense of balance between working toward athletic goals and taking time to enjoy teammates through aquatic games, relays, water polo, and social activities. |
| Our Concept |
| The Capitol Sea Devil Swim Team is a group of coaches, swimmers, and parents who believe that swimming is only part of a child's total development. As an organization, we work to maintain a low swimmer-to-coach ratio, so that we are able to address the needs and desires of each swimmer as both a team member and an individual ² in athletics, education and personal growth. |
| Our Commitment |
|
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