Westgate Gator Swim Team Parent Handbook

The Westgate Swim Team is a member of Valley Aquatic League, along with four other swim teams that we compete against each season. The Valley Aquatic League has 5 dual meets and one Championship meet each year. Swimmers must swim at least one individual event at 2 dual meets to qualify for the Championship meet. The teams of the Valley Aquatics League include:
  • Westgate Swim Team* (Gators) – 4 lane pool at Westgate Cabana Club, San Jose
  • Los Ranchitos Swim Team (Sharks) – 5 lane pool in Campbell
  • Encore Swim Team (Dolphins) – 8 lane pool at Pioneer High School
  • Los Gatos (Stingrays) – 5 lane pool on Oka Road
  • Forest Park Cabana (Tsunamis) – 6 lane pool in Santa Clara
  • Rancho Swim Team (Dolphins) – 5 lane pool in Cupertino 
*The Westgate Cabana Club’s San Jose Conditional Use permit doesn’t allow the team to host a meet at our Westgate facility as we do not have sufficient parking at Baker school and can’t park in the residential neighborhood. Westgate Swim Team rents a high school pool for our home meets. Additionally, WCC does not permit private lessons, instruction, or coaching by outside entities. Private lessons must be reserved through the Cabana website, not arranged with a coach or instructor, unless your own home pool is used.

WESTGATE SWIM TEAM PHILOSOPHY (Adopted in 1985)

  • The Westgate Swim Team supports the development of the skills of each individual. Winning, while valued, is not our primary objective. We value the participation of ALL swimmers, every swimmer is a winner.
  • The Westgate Swim Team philosophy is to develop in your children a love for the sport, improved aquatic skills, teamwork and the principles of good sportsmanship. The coaches’ philosophy is for the swimmers to have fun and build friendships as they develop improved techniques, stamina and fitness. They want to help each swimmer improve and be the best they can be. Most of all, the coaches will ensure that a swimmer does not prevent someone else from doing their best
  • The swim team provides many wonderful benefits to the children and families of our community. Summer swimming is unique in that there is a place on the team for kids of all ages and genders. How many other youth sports have children spanning such a wide range in age participating on the same team? In addition, the Gators offer the only sporting activity that is truly neighborhood based. All swimmers are offered the opportunity to compete, improve their performance, and have fun
  • Develop a love for swimming, make friends, learn about the importance of teamwork and common goals
  • What other sport do you have the same teammates from age 5 to 18 years and get to have all your siblings competing at the same swim meet?

Gator Motto: Swim SMART! Swim with HEART! Swim as ONE!

PRACTICE GUIDELINES

  • Rain or shine, swim team practice takes place in any weather, unless there is lightning
  • Attendance at daily practice, Monday to Friday is not mandatory; we understand swimmers have other activities.
  • We hope that swimmers can come at least once a week in April/May to get to know the coaches and their teammates
  • Come to the pool ready to swim and leave after practice unless your sibling is in the water.
  • Parents must supervise changing or showers for young children. For summer evening practices where team is sharing half the pool with members, swim team nonCabana members under age 11 years must shower at home.
  • Coaches are not here to supervise the locker rooms nor the playground equipment.
  • Parents of young swimmers must supervise (pick up any toys before leaving), and must pick up swimmers promptly after practice.
  • Bring your own fins, goggles.
  • Swim caps are required for hair long enough to get into eyes. Ponytails or braids must be tucked inside swim cap. Swim caps, including custom Gator caps with names and those for long hair, are available for purchase at the desk. Coaches have caps for loan if yours breaks or left at home.
  • Girls must wear a one-piece swimsuit (no bikini style suits)
  • Boys must wear a speedo or jammer (no swim shorts or trunks)
  • Kickboards and pull buoys are available to use at practice as directed by coaches. Swimmers should stack neatly in the bin at the end of practice.
  • Don’t splash, wrestle, or grab another swimmer.
  • Don’t stop in the middle of the pool, don’t walk or stand up. Swim wall to wall.
  • Use of facilities: Swimmers are guests of ALL the facilities we use. Come to the pool ready to swim and leave after practice unless your sibling is in the water. Coaches are not here to supervise the locker rooms nor the playground equipment. Parents of young swimmers must supervise (pick up any toys before leaving), and must pick up older swimmers promptly after practice.
  • Teammates: This is your team; make it enjoyable for everyone on the team. Offer encouragement to at least one other swimmer each day. A “good job” or “nice swim” helps make the practice time nicer.
  • Valuables: Do not leave valuables in the restrooms. Please keep them out on the deck, where you can keep an eye on them.
  • Problems: If you have any questions or problems, email the director or head coach. Do not disturb coaches while they are coaching.
  • Fun: Make sure you always have lots of fun!

GOOD SPORTSMANSHIP

PARENTS’ CODE OF CONDUCT

Parents play a key role in developing a positive team and family environment. The following are guiding principles for all parents:

  • Model appropriate behavior for children. Smoking or drinking alcoholic beverages are not permitted at any pool in the League.
  • Help the athletes recognize that good sportsmanship, personal improvement and honest effort are more important than winning.
  • Recognize that the pool deck is the coaches’ domain and parents must not interfere. Inform the coach of any supplemental coaching being arranged for your children.
  • Encourage your swimmer to check with coach right after each swim at a meet to get feedback. (Parents can listen – but don’t distract coaches from focusing on the swimmers in the water racing. Please wait to talk with the coaches after the meet following awards.
  • Provide support and a positive attitude for all swimmers, coaches, officials and others.
  • Readily volunteer for timing, snack bar and other club duties.
  • Ensure punctuality of swimmers at practices and meets – set an example for your children.
  • Direct all concerns in a positive, constructive manner to the Director or Head Coach.
  • Accept your role as an ambassador for the Westgate Swim Team at meets and in the community – project a positive image.

SWIMMER’S CODE OF CONDUCT

One of the main goals of Swim Team is to promote good sportsmanship to your own teammates as well as to any other team members.  We believe that each member of Swim Team should be a role model in this endeavor. The Swimmer’s Code of Conduct lists behaviors considered essential to this goal.  Parents and swimmers need to know that a swimmer’s failure to uphold the Code of Conduct results in a warning, and repeated failures or a particularly extreme incident may result in suspension or disqualification from participation in team activities and swim meets. The Valley Aquatic League is serious about promoting positive behavior and eliminating poor sportsmanship.

Westgate Gators are expected to:

  1. Show respect and kindness to everyone on our team at all times.
  2. Promote team unity and spirit through active participation in practices and spirit events.
  3. Swim Caps with pictures, slogans or from another school or USA team are prohibited by League rules. This does not promote team spirit!
  4. Demonstrate positive and appropriate behavior at all times (profanity, disrespectful language, or poor sportsmanship are not tolerated). This includes language, posters, and actions.
  5. Show respect to coaches by listening attentively to coaching instructions during meets and practices, discussing concerns directly with the coaching staff, supporting coaching decisions, and maintaining flexibility.
  6. Show respect to officials and other volunteers at all times by supporting decisions.
  7. Exhibit good sportsmanship after every race by staying in the water until all racers have finished and shaking hands with all racers in the heat.
  8. Use positive cheers, friendly words, graciously accept wins and defeats. Promote team unity by watching and cheering on other teammates during meets and by assisting those younger or newer to the team.
  9. Demonstrate respect for the Westgate Cabana community and other host communities by keeping their team areas clean and using equipment and facilities safely and appropriately.

SWIM MEET & EVENTS

The Valley Aquatic League has a limit of 135 swimmers at each swim meet. Eligibility for Champs meet requires at least 1 individual event is swum at 2 league meets.
  • For dual meets and Championships, swimmers are limited to 3 individual events, and at most 2 relays.
  • The coaches choose the events based on how much progress a swimmer is making in different strokes, and balancing the number of swimmers in each event; younger swimmers may not swim the same 3 events every week.
  • Older swimmers may have established their best events with little or no fluctuation.
  • At least one meet per season is a “swimmer’s choice” meet, where the swimmer and parents can choose which individual events they would like to swim.
  • The Head Coach is responsible for developing the “meet sheet entries” each week and providing the event list to the director for preparing the computer entries for the following Saturday’s dual meet.
  • The director emails entries to the host team. The “meet sheet” is then emailed to all families.
How does a coach decide who is going to swim which events?
The coaches try to put an equal number of swimmers in each event and almost all swimmers will do freestyle. The coaches also know which stroke a child may need more work on before competing in it so that he is not disqualified. The director and coaches keep track of best times, consistency of times, and relay split times.

TIPS FOR PARENTS & SWIMMERS AT SWIM MEETS

  • Please arrive on time. If late, you will be scratched from your relay!
  • BRING: Cell phones & Food Please patronize the snack bar—it is an important source of revenue for any team. Limit your swimmers to high-energy food that digests easily like fruit, vegetables, water and juice (doughnuts, sodas, hamburgers, chips, candy, etc. are not suggested or encouraged during the meet) Save the treats for celebrating after the meet!
  • BRING Gator Team suit, cap & goggles. Caps or suits from a high school/USA team are not permitted by League Rules. Team store is at every meet if you need caps, suits, goggles. Warm-up gear is essential: sweatpants, sweatshirt, parka, blanket, or sleeping bag. Mornings are chilly and your little ones will be cold after they get out of the water.
  • Extra towels 2 to 4 towels per swimmer (don’t count on the sun to dry)
  • Slip on shoes / flip-flops
  • Sunscreen & hat or visor. The hours in the sun at a meet really add up. Pay attention to covering the nose and shoulders; wear a shirt between events.
  • Games, books, cards, etc. to stay busy between events
  • Lawn Chairs
  • Canopy, tarp, or umbrella (Most pools will not allow tents on the deck.)
  • Participate in warm-ups, team meeting, and ‘Gator cheer before each meet. Make sure your swimmers are a part of this—team spirit is essential.
  • Stay after the meet for the awarding of the “Matt Mikaelsson Sportsmanship Awards” for swimmers who are Motivating, Inspiring, Kind, Awesome, Encouraging, Loyal, Smiling, Supportive, Outstanding, Never unkind, and “Swimmer of the Week” honors to swimmers who work hard at practice, respect for others and improve at least 2 times, don’t miss a race nor DQ.

SWIMSUITS

  • Boys are requested to wear a racing-style swimsuit (jammer or speedo style suit) to practice. Baggy boardshorts can make learning the strokes more difficult, but the older swimmers will often wear them to create “drag” which works the muscles harder.
  • Girls are required to wear a one-piece suits for practice which must have enough integrity not to bag.
  • Practice suits should be more comfortable fitting. The practice suits will have a little more drag in the water which helps build up the muscles. Some older swimmers will sometimes wear two practice suits for even more drag in the water. If a little hole develops or the seat wears thin, just put on another suit over it! When you see the older, high school swimmers with their layered suits, you will know why.

SWIM CAPS

  • Hair long enough to get into the face requires a swim cap for practice. Braids and ponytails must be tucked inside caps. Caps protect hair from the sun and chlorine.
  • Official Westgate swim team caps are required for swim meets, however any cap may be worn for practice. 
  • Practice and racing caps can be purchased from our team store at practice or swim meets. Custom caps with swimmer name can be ordered in April. 
  • Rinse cap immediately after swimming! Getting rid of all the chlorine and chemicals helps the cap last longer. Pat dry with a towel and use cornstarch or talcum powder on the inside of the cap.
  • Keep out of the sunlight when not in use.

GOGGLES

  • Goggles are required for practice and swim meets. They protect the swimmer’s eyes from chlorine and enable them to see clearly under the water to use the lines on the bottom of the pool, as well as the wall ahead.
  • Goggles should fit well enough that swimmers do not have to keep adjusting them or draining water from them because they leak. Goggles are worn more tightly for racing than during practice. Many new swimmers lose their goggles the first time they dive because they are too loose.
  • Have an extra pair on hand, since this is considered the most common item in any pool’s “lost-and-found” box. Write your child’s name on the goggle strap!

TOWELS & WATER BOTTLES

  • Bring a towel to practice and more than one to swim meets
  • Make sure your child has a water bottle at practice and swim meets to stay hydrated

FINS

  • Swimming fins improve your kick technique (via positive muscle reinforcement). They allow for proper body positioning in the water, improve ankle flexibility, increase strength and endurance, improve stroke technique and reduce shoulder stress. Younger/novice swimmers will gain more confidence by improving faster and older swimmers will conserve more energy while protecting their shoulders from overuse.
  • Short swimming fins are best (not the long scuba diving fins).

FUNDRAISING

  • All competition team families are required to donate 3 items to the snack bar during the season.
  • Please only donate one item per meet, or you may bring 3 items to a single meet if you are absent at the other meets.
  • Other fundraisers include the Annual Swimathon and Championship program ads.

HISTORY OF THE WESTGATE CABANA CLUB & SWIM TEAM

Westgate Cabana Club’s facility was built in 1962 as a nonprofit corporation. It was not built as an HOA. Ann West swam (along with her three siblings) for the Cabana Club in 1966 and the team was already established. One of their ribbons had the year imprinted on it (1968) and “VSA” on the front. The name of their swim coach was Steve Fox (he was tough and made quite an impression on them!). Their family moved out of the neighborhood in 1968 and soon after started swimming for LTAC (Lynbrook-Tantau Aquatic Club) at Lynbrook High School. Ann remembers taking team photos at the Cabana Club (swim suits had blue and red vertical stripes.
In the 1970s, Westgate combined with Cloverdale and was known as the Cloverdale Westgate Dolphins. It was then a part of the Mission Oaks Aquatic League where swimmers could only swim 2 individual events. The parents voted in 1986 to become the Westgate Gators. A few years later, they joined the Valley Aquatic League. One of the main advantages was that each swimmer could now swim 3 individual events at a meet. The League has a limit of 135 swimmers, ages 5 to 18 years, per team.
Westgate Cabana Club’s pool and deck were renovated in 2003, and more recently in 2022. The Westgate Cabana Club is open to all neighborhoods. The Board of Directors are all volunteers who are passionate about volunteering to keep this facility as a valuable neighborhood community pool where lifelong friendships are made for many decades to come.

GLOSSARY

  • Circle Swim: To swim on the right-hand side of the lane, except in England and Australia (left side)!
  • DQ: Short for disqualification. A DQ is given to the swimmer by an appropriate official who observes the swimmer in violation of a stroke requirement or rule.
  • False start: Movement by the swimmer after taking his/her mark before the starting signal sounds.
  • Fly: Short for butterfly.
  • FR: Short for Free Relay. A free relay consists of 4 swimmers all of whom swim freestyle leg (age 10-under swim 25 yards each; 11-up swim 50 yards each).
  • Heat: Each relay has only one heat. Individual events may consist of several heats. Swimmers are put in heats with others of very similar times and abilities. Unlike U.S. Swimming, Valley Aquatic League swims the fastest heat first, and the slowest heat is the last heat.
  • IM: Short for Individual Medley. This is an event where swimmers swim each of the four strokes one length of the pool, for a total of 100 yards, in this order: butterfly-backstroke-breaststroke-freestyle.
  • Racing start: Streamline shallow dive.