Triad Swim Team Bylaws

Mission

The Triad Swim Team is to provide an organized and disciplined swim league that encourages participation by all registered swimmers. It will also protect the dignity of young and less-experienced swimmers and strive to improve their skills as well as the skills of all participating swimmers. Triad will also emphasize the evaluation of good sportsmanship and the virtues of clean, fair competition, by word and action.

Formation

The Triad Swim League was initiated by representatives of the Cedarfield, Davis Lake and Wellington communities as whole, known charter members. Skybrook was added to the league in 2005. Winchester was added to the league in 2019. Wynfield Forest was added to the league in 2023. The league is formed as a non-profit organization and will have a representative from each community on its Board of Directors. How each community assigns a representative is at its own discretion. (Amended 1/2015) (Amended 7/2021) (Amended 1/2023)

Structure

The Board of Directors is the governing body and will have access to all records and information relevant to the Triad Swim League concerning its operations and finances.

The governing body will consist of an Executive Board which is chosen from the Representative Body, and any committees deemed necessary by the Executive Board and Representative Body.

The Executive Board will consist of a President, Vice President, Treasurer, Secretary, Scheduler and Champs Coordinator. (Amended 1/2023)

Representatives from all established teams will rotate executive board positions every 2 years.

The President’s duty is to schedule and run any meeting in an orderly fashion according to the

agenda. He/She is also to cast deciding votes in the event of a tie. He/She will also work with other members of the Executive Board on issues of an extraordinary nature.

The Vice President is in charge of ordering all Triad ribbons for regular meets and ribbons and medals for Champs.

The Treasurer’s duty is to keep accurate financial records of all monies received by and paid out by the Triad League. He/She is also to give a financial report at all meetings to include: accounts payable, accounts receivable, and the current status of accounts held in the name of the Triad Swim League.

The Secretary’s duty is to keep minutes of all meetings and handle all correspondence to and from the league in a timely and orderly fashion deemed by the Executive board. The Secretary will also be charged with keeping all current rules and all other league records to be made available to all Executive Board members and any vote-yielding team representative at his/ her request.

The Scheduler is charged with keeping a calendar of all league-related events.

The Champs Coordinator is charged with reserving a location for champs and communicating with the teams and the venue about champs.

Meetings

An annual meeting will be held as needed in January of every calendar year. This meeting will recap the previous year and prepare for the upcoming year. Any proposed changes in the bylaws will be brought to the table at this meeting. A new Executive Board will also be installed every second year and will rotate following this schedule: President to Champs Coordinator, VP to President, Secretary to VP, Treasurer to Secretary, Scheduler to Treasurer , Champs Coordinator to Scheduler (Amended 1/2015) (Amended 1/2023)

Meetings will be held as needed to prepare for the season. There will be a meeting in August to recap the season. (Amended 1/2015) (Amended 1/2023)

Dues

Each team shall be responsible for contributing a fixed fee per registered swimmer each year. This amount will also be determined by the Executive Board Representative Body. All fees must be received by the first scheduled swim meet. (Amended 1/2015)

Dues will be based on the number of active athletes on June 1 of the season year. If a team has more than 5 athletes join after that date, they will submit the additional fee. (Amended 1/2023)

Voting

Each team has one vote and majority rules. (Amended 1/2015)

If teams are interested in joining our league, teams may apply for membership at any time. The application will be approved or rejected by the Executive Board. Any team entering the league will be on probation for two seasons before it receives voting privileges. If at any time, a probationary team violates league rules, that team may be expelled at the discretion of the Executive Board and the Representative Body.

Rules

The league will follow the rules code set forth by the Executive Board. The description of the rules and eligibility status of participants is to be the responsibility of the Executive Board. The rules are subject to protest to the league arbitrators, which are nominated by the Executive Board and approved by the Representative Body. The rules are reviewed annually for improvements, omissions, or changes to be made at that time. Rules may not be reviewed during the swim season.

January 2015

Triad Swim League Rules for Swimming Competition

(It is recommended that all officials prior to every meet review the league rules)

1. General

1. These rules are specifically designed for closed meets in privately-owned pools and shall govern the conduct of all swimming meets scheduled, sponsored, or sanctioned by the league.

The league will generally follow USS rules with a focus of the swimmer not gaining an advantage pertaining to strokes, disqualifications, duties of officials, judging, timing and similar technical matters shall be observed at all league meets unless modified by the rules. Short course rules shall apply to all league competitions.

1. The host team will contact the visiting team at least 48 hours before the meet with information about parking, food, and a map of where bullpens are located. The meet starting time shall be no later than 6:00 P.M. unless weather is an issue. In the event a meet must be rescheduled, the date and time selected by the host pool for the rescheduled meet must be acceptable to the visiting team (Amended 1/2023)

1. All competitors shall report to the host pool no later than one hour before the meet is scheduled and shall immediately proceed to their assigned area. (Amended 1/2023)

Warm-ups for the home team will begin at 5:00 P.M. until 5:25. The visiting team will warm-up from 5:25 P.M. until 5:50. The pool will be clear of swimmers ten minutes before the meet is to begin. Swimmers will report to their assigned area and hold themselves ready to report immediately to the clerk of course when their events are called. The meet will start at 6:00 P.M.

1. Spectators shall be strictly controlled, and reasonable measures shall be taken to ensure that spectators do not interfere with the officials in the performance of their duties. The official team representatives (meet directors) may consult the stroke judge if necessary but shall refrain from doing so while an event is in progress.

1. No event will be delayed pending the late arrival of a competitor.

1. The order of events for meets will be Free Relays at the beginning of the meet with the Medley Relays occurring at the end. (Amended May 18, 1996) The order of events for the Championship meet will be as indicated in Swimmingly. (Amended 7/2021)

1. It is not the purpose of the Triad Swim League rules contained herein to set standards of care for the safety of the competitor. Safety considerations should be addressed by the competitor and community pool organization where the meet is held.

2. Eligibility

1. Only the families with full swimming privileges and active members of a swim club in good standing are allowed to participate. Under unusual circumstances, the Executive Board may grant exceptions to this provision. (Amended 1/2015) (Amended 1/2023)

1. Recruiting club swimmers outside jurisdiction (i.e. the neighborhood) is NOT permitted. You can invite swimmers from other neighborhoods who do not have a neighborhood swim team but they still need to meet the membership rules in section 2.A. Any intentional breach of this rule will result in forfeiture of the meet(s) in question. (Amended 4/2024)

1. The eligibility of the competitor to compete in particular age groups shall be determined by his or her age on June 1. The uppermost age group will consist of persons 15-18 years of age. (Amended 1/2015)

1. In relays, competitor’s 6-and-under may be moved up one age group to compete in a relay. (Amended 1/2023)

Competitor’s 9-and-older can be moved up to any age group above their own in

relays BUT each relay MUST have at least one swimmer that is the correct age.

Competitors cannot compete in any age group BELOW their own.

To be eligible for a relay, swimmers must be able to swim the length of the pool unassisted (coaches cannot be in the water). (Amended 7/2021)

In individual events- competitors must compete in their own age group with one

exception: Six-and-under swimmers may move up one age group for individual

events at the coach’s careful discretion.

9/10 IM will be added to the swim program (events 36 & 37)

It will be the decision of the Coach’s careful discretion if a younger swimmer can swim

this event. (Amended 1/2015)

1. Each team must maintain an up-to-date list of swimmers with applicable birth dates for ready reference in case of eligibility disputes.

3.Limitations on Entries

1. Dual Meets

1. Each competitor is eligible to enter up to three individual events and two relays.
2. There is no limit on the number of competitors or relays on each team.

1. Championship meet

1. Each competitor is eligible to enter up to three individual events and two relays
2. There is no limit on the number of competitors, however there is a limit of two relays per event per team.
3. ALL swimmers on each team are eligible to swim in the championship meet as long as they have competed in at least 2 regular season meets. (Amended 4/2024)

4. Entry Lists

1. Entries must be Heat Sheet Ready in Swimmingly by 6:00 p.m. the day before the scheduled meet. The home team director will notify the opposing team when the meet is merged and ready. You may not unmerge the swim meet without agreement from both team directors. (Amended 1/2023) (Amended 4/2024)

B. It shall be the responsibility of each team representative to examine the entry list of the

opposing team prior to the meet. If the entry list contains obvious irregularity, that

irregularity may be corrected by agreement of the competing team representative.

(Amended 1/2015)

1. It is not required that swimmers on relay teams swim in the order in which they are listed on the entry list. The scorekeeper will update in Swimmingly. (Amended 1/2023)

5. Substitutions and Scratches

1. All Meets

1. A swimmer may not be moved from one event to another unless approved by both

meet directors.

1. If there is room in a heat, a late entry swimmer may be deck added during the meet. (Amended 1/2023)
2. Substitutions may be made in relay events, when necessary, because of sickness, injury, or absence of a competitor.

6. Scorekeepers

1. This parent volunteer works with the Meet Directors and Starter to score the meet on Swimmingly. They handle disqualifications, false starts, and all other scoring that happens at each meet. This volunteer must be tech savvy.
2. The home team will provide the scorekeepers iPad for the meet. For dual meets, each team will provide 1 scorekeeper who will work together to monitor the times coming in for each event and validate them. If there are any issues during the meet regarding scoring, both teams meet directors must agree on the solution. At the championship meet, there will be 2 scorekeepers from 2 of the teams. Any issues during the meet must have all meet directors in agreement. (Amended 1/2023)

7. Timing

1. Official times to two decimal places (hundredths) shall be used for determining orders of

finish and records.

1. The meets will be set up on the scorekeeper’s iPad with a timing tolerance of 0.3. (Amended 5/2024)
2. A minimum of two timers per lane is required. Official time will be determined as calculated by the Swimmingly timing system (average of both timers). The scorekeeper may override the higher of entered times if times are significantly different and does not affect finish order. The finish judges order of finish will always be consulted if a heat has any times that are flagged by the Swimmingly timing system as having a timing error. (Amended 1/2023)
3. Timers must be at the “finish” end of the pool and be in a position where they can see any part of the swimmer’s body touch the wall (i.e., leaning over the edge to watch the finish, NOT standing or sitting in a chair back from the edge of the pool.)
4. Timers will use the Swimmingly app on their own personal phones. They are expected to come with their phone fully charged and bring a charging cable and backup battery if they have one. All teams will bring backup batteries for their volunteers if needed. (Amended 1/2023)
5. For dual meets, each team will provide a relief timer stationed at the finish if a timer needs replacing due to a malfunction or human error. (Amended 1/2023)
6. At Championships, 2 relief timers will be provided by rotating teams.
7. The following will determine finish order: Swimmingly, Finish Judges, and Scorekeeper. If there is a challenge the head coach should have their Director bring the challenge to the opposing team(s) directors. (Amended 7/2021) (Amended 1/2023)

7. Place Judges

1. All place judges shall be at the “finish” end of the pool and are required to record the order of finish. For dual meets, there will be 1 set of finish judges, each team providing 1 finish judge and they will work together to determine the order of finish. For the championship meet, 2 sets of finish judges sitting on either side of the “finish” end of the pool (1 representative from 4 neighborhoods) will be used to determine the order of finish. (Amended 1/2023)

1. Discrepancies (Regular Meets)

1. In the event that there is a disagreement between an official time and the place judges’ order of finish, both place judges must agree in order to override an official time.
2. In the event that there is a disagreement between two place judges, the times calculated by the Swimmingly timing system will determine the order of finish. (Amended 7/2021)
3. In the event that a race is too close to determine an order of finish by the place judges, the times calculated by the Swimmingly timing system will be used to determine the order of finish. Finish judges should circle places that they are unsure of the order of finish. (Amended 1/2023)

C. Discrepancies (Championship Meet)

1. In the event that there is a disagreement between an official time and the place judges’ order of finish, both sets of place judges must agree in order to override an official time.
2. In the event that there is a disagreement between the two sets of place judges, the times calculated by the Swimmingly timing system will determine the order of finish.
3. In the event that a race is too close to determine an order of finish by the place judges, the times calculated by the Swimmingly timing system will be used to determine the order of finish. Finish judges should circle places that they are unsure of the order of finish. (Amended 1/2023)

8. Disqualifications

1. Disqualifications (DQ’s) shall be governed by USS rules at all meets** The league will generally follow USS rules with a focus of the swimmer not gaining an advantage pertaining to strokes, disqualifications, duties of officials, judging, timing and similar technical matters shall be observed at all league meets unless modified by the rules.
2. This volunteer must be a certified stroke judge (certification is by https://strokeandturn.com/ after completing a short online training). This volunteer uses the Swimmingly app on an iPhone to disqualify swimmers who gain an advantage by using an illegal stroke.
3. Each team will provide 1 stroke judge at all meets, including the championships. The stroke judges will either be seated mid-pool or walk up and down the pool so they can accurately see swimmers. This will be determined by the host team. (Amended 1/2023)
4. Disqualifications should be limited to those codes found on the DQ master list provided to each team.
5. The DQ codes are:

(Amended 5/2024)

9. Protests

1. Protests involving turns, strokes and other technicalities:

1. Any protest or complaint of this type will be communicated to the opposing team’s representatives and the meet director within 30 minutes after the event has been recorded. If an agreement cannot be reached then the protest must be submitted in writing to the league board.
2. If the protest is made during the competition, no awards may be given to the swimmers in that event until the league arbitrator rules on the protest.

1. Protests affecting the eligibility of any swimmer to compete in any race shall be made in writing to the league board before the race is held. If the protest is made during the competition, then the swimmer can compete under protest and no awards may be given to swimmers in that event until the league board rules on the protest.
2. Any other protests arising from the competition itself shall be communicated to the opposing team’s representatives and the meet director before leaving the meet. For the championships, the protest must be submitted in writing within 48 hours to the League Board (Amended 1/2015)

10. Scoring

1. Individual events in dual meets shall be scored as follows:

6-lane pool (6 places) 7-5-4-3-2-1

Ribbons will be given through 8th place

2. Relay events in dual meets shall be scored as follows:

1st place: 7 points 2nd place: 4 points 3rd place: 1 point

ONLY SCORE THE TOP 2 RELAYS per single team

(Amended 1/2015)

Ribbons-1st-3rd

3. Championship meet-relay events:

8-lane pool (3 Places) 18-14-12

ONLY SCORE THE TOP 2 RELAYS per single team

Medals-1st-3rd

Ribbons-4th-6th

4. Championship meet-individual events: (Amended 8/2022)

8-lane pool (10 places) 11 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Medals- 1st through 3rd

Ribbons- 10 & under 4th through 16th , 11 and up 4th through 10th

11. Meet Rainouts and Cancellations

In cases of rain, thunder, lightning, etc. the meet director and coaches from both teams will make the decision to call the meet after the first 30-minute delay. There is a 30 minute thunder/lightning delay and if lightning is present, the pool deck must be cleared. The meet directors will decide after the first 30-minute delay, to stop, or to continue the wait for another 30-minutes. The cut off event number to score a meet is the COMPLETION of Individual Medley in dual and the championship meet. (Amended 7/2021)

12. Resignations

1. No team shall have claim to any assets after resignation, either forced or not under any circumstances.
2. Should the league dissolve for any reason, all assets will be divided equally among the teams after all debts are paid.

13. Alcohol

No team personnel, official or volunteer parent shall use alcohol from the time of

arrival at the site of the competition until they leave following the completion of

the meet.

Amended 1/2023