The information below is general information about the Raleigh Racers and what to expect if your athlete is a part of our team. If you have any questions please don’t hesitate to ask any of the coaching staff for more information.
Swim Practice
The swim season for the Raleigh Racers usually runs from January to May and ends with the conclusion of the SONC Summer Games.
We start the season with clinics held on Saturdays in Jan/Feb until regular practice starts. This is a time where the athletes have the ability to get more one-on-one time with the coaches than they would during the normal practice. The start date of the clinic differs from year-to-year depending on when we can obtain pool space.
Our normal practice will start mid to late February and run to the end of May. We practice every Tuesday and Thursday at Pullen Aquatic Center. The team is so large we divide the athletes into two groups with one practicing from 6-7pm and the other from 7-8pm. We are lucky to have a group of dedicated volunteer coaches on deck to help facilitate the practices.
The practice schedule can be found on the Raleigh Racers Team Calendar.
During the season we will have a couple of days that we mark as “fun days”. During this time we will not have a normal swim practice but will do something fun with the athletes. Coaches and even parents are welcome to participate. In the past we have had “race the coaches” day and have played water polo.
Attendance is taken during practice. If for some reason your athlete misses a practice, they can make it up by swimming 45min-1hr and turning in a completed make-up form to the coach. The only time attendance will not be taken is during spring break and a “fun day” where participation is optional. The attendance will be used in case we are given a quota limiting the number of athletes we can take to Summer Games.
Please see the post What to Bring to Practice for information on what the athlete should bring to each practice.
Swim Meets
During the season we will try to attend 3-4 swim meets. Depending on the meet SONC may provided transportation for the athletes and even accommodations if it is overnight. Coaches will start getting head counts early in the season to prepare transportation and start registration for the meets. As we get more information about the meets it will be added to the Swim Meet Information post on our website.
Depending on the meet, the athlete will be registered for 2-3 individual events and maybe a relay depending on the number of athletes going and if the athlete is registered under level-2 or level-3. The athlete does have a say in what they would like to swim. We encourage them to talk to the coaches if they have a preference of events.
Swim meets are not mandatory, however it is the only way that we can obtain good times for the athletes. These times are important because we need them to be as close as possible to their “race pace”. Unfortunately, we have discovered that athletes never swim “race pace” during practice no matter how hard we push them.
Please see the post What to Bring to a Swim Meet for information on what the athlete should bring to a swim meet.
Communication
It is important for the team to stay informed on what is happening. We do our best to provide different forms of communication to get information out to the team.
The majority of the communication is done using an email distribution list. Emails from this distribution list will have a Subject starting with “[TheRaleighRacers: XXX]“. If you are not receiving emails during the season , check your junk mail folder or let the coaching staff know so we can verify we have the correct email on the list.
In addition to emails, we try and put information on our team website. The latest information can be found by clicking the “Latest News” menu item or navigating directly to https://raleighracers.org/home.
The team also has a Raleigh Racers Facebook page where we share information and pictures during meets and Summer Games. This page is closed to the public and you have to request to be added as a member. This is for the privacy of our athletes.
During meets, Summer Games and for important notifications we have created a Raleigh Racers Swim Team Community group. This group is very useful for sending messages during trips and when practice has been cancelled. If you would like to join the group please see a coach during practice.
Last but not least use the coaches and other parents/guardians as a resource for information.
Paperwork
At the beginning of each season we will require paperwork to be on file with SONC. If your athlete competes in more than one sport then the paperwork may be up-to-date. If we find it needs to be updated then you will be notified by a coaching staff member or the Wake County Coordinator.
Equipment
The team provides kickboards and pull buoys during practice. At the beginning of each season we will take swimsuit orders and purchase a suit for the athlete if they need a new one. In addition we will provide goggles and a swim cap.