• A completed registration form is due by the time trials in June in order to participate in the first meet. If the deadline is missed, you may register by the Saturday prior to the second meet in order to participate in the second meet and by the Saturday prior to the third meet in order to participate in the third meet.

• Swimmer’s age as of June 1 determines the age group for competition throughout the summer.

• Swimmers must be able to swim a full length on their front and/or back before or at the June time trials in order to be eligible to participate in the Columbia Neighborhood Swim League. Please note that the summer swim league should not be a substitute for swimming lessons.

• Columbia resident swimmers must swim for the neighborhood where they reside. Columbia Association members who do not live in Columbia will be placed on a swim team based on their residency in a Howard County elementary school district. All participants must swim for the team according to their neighborhood district.

• Team swim suits and apparel can be purchased through your team representative.

• The Columbia Association has options for families who meet federal low income requirements. Please contact Member Services at 410-730-1801 for more information.

• The wading pools will not be open during “Closed Pool Practices.”

• Participants under the age of 8 (eight) must be supervised by a responsible person 14 or older while attending practices.

All swimmers, coaches and parents are team members and representatives of the Columbia Neighborhood Swim League. Proper behavior by all team members has a positive influence on individual and team performance and reflects a strong image of our league.

As a swimmer/athlete member of the CNSL, you agree to abide by the standards of conduct outlined below during the time you are participating with the CNSL throughout the summer season:

1. Team members will display proper respect and sportsmanship toward fellow team members, fellow
   competitors, coaches, officials, parents, facility staff, and the public at all times, including team practice sessions, meets and team social activities.
2. Team members will not engage in any inappropriate physical contact.  Team members will not interact with another team member in a manner, which they would not be willing to use with any teammate of either gender.
3. Team members will not use obscene, profane, or abusive language in the presence of any swimmer, parent, coach, or official during practices, meets, or team activities.
4. Team members will respect the lifeguards at all practice facilities and abide by all rules concerning use of those facilities.
5. Team members are prohibited from possession and use of illegal substances and/or use of tobacco and alcohol. Also, team members will not abuse prescription or non-prescription drugs.
6. Team members will refrain from all illegal or inappropriate behaviors that would detract from a positive image of the team and/or league or be detrimental to its performance objectives.
7. All swimmers will follow the directions of the coaching staff and/or parent volunteers when under team supervision.
8. In addition, Coaches of each team will determine disciplinary consequences for behavior during practice which does not create an environment that is conducive to a productive practice.
9. Failure to comply with this Code of Conduct may result in, but not necessarily be limited to, any of the following actions:

• Swimmer restricted from participating in some or all team activities including practice, meets, and social activities.
• Swimmer sent home or pulled from team practice sessions, meets, or team social activities.
• Swimmer suspended from the team.

Upon notification of a violation of the Code of Conduct, the coaches and/or the CNSL Supervisory staff will determine appropriate consequences and notify the swimmer and his or her parent(s). The swimmer shall promptly be given the disciplinary action decided upon for the violation.

 

Officials run the swimming venue in a manner that is fair to all competitors.  Officials are not the competition, but are observers of the competition.  The official’s crew at a given meet is a separate team that has the common goal of providing safe and equitable competition knowing at the conclusion that they have provided a wholesome environment for young adults to learn valuable lessons on hard work and dedication.  The good official is always in the correct observation position so that they have an uncompromised view of the competition.  At the conclusion of the competition, 99% of the spectators don’t even know who the officials were as they drew no attention to themselves.

An official’s behavior is expected to be impeccable.  Within CA facilities, the official is no different than any other guest and is expected to act in a professional and personable manner.  They should communicate effectively and non-threateningly.  They must never strike or threaten to strike a competitor, coach, fellow official, spectator, or pool operations staff member.  Those who do should be asked to step away from their position on deck and possibly asked to leave the premises if their behavior worsens.  The expected behavior of the athlete and coaching staff is no different once they enter the venue.

To perform effectively, officials need to be in position to observe competitors when they are within their jurisdiction.  The official should stand approx two steps back from the pool’s edge for starts and move to the edge immediately following the starting tone in concurrence with the swimmers’ entrance to the pool.  They should remain near the edge while they have swimmers in their jurisdiction and have the ability to take a step or two away when the swimmers are not.  At the conclusion of the race, the official should step back away from the edge to allow for the exchange of the departing swimmer with the next heat.

All officials have a responsibility to assist the referee keep an orderly and efficient deck.  This can be done easily by conversing with all persons on deck calmly and conversationally.  Officials should never intentionally touch swimmers or coaches.  They should initially use their voice to encourage cooperation with rules or procedures and only use touch as a last resort to gently cajole enforcement of what has been asked verbally.

A competent official is a student of the rules.  They do not invoke historical or obsolete rules, nor do they introduce personal feelings into the content of the rulebook.  Officials follow the rules and invoke published interpretations into their work.  The swimmer always gets the benefit of the doubt.  The confident official can easily distinguish when the swimmer deserves the benefit as opposed to blatantly allowing swimmers to participate outside the published rules.  A good official recognizes the coach’s role in playing advocate for the athlete and should expect that every call may require defending or further scrutiny by the referee should the need arise.

While the CNSL does not have an apprenticeship program, officials training and occasional work or discussions with more experienced officials is encouraged.  When interpretations are needed, the request should be forwarded to the league with the goal of receiving sufficient information for future guidance.  Unfortunately, the league does not have sufficient resources to have fully trained and experienced meet referees at each and every meet.  Common sense and fair play must prevail at all competition.  Decisions must be based on sound judgment and every decision can be questioned for clarification.  Be cautious not to make decisions quickly that set precedence which is clearly outside of or directly against the permissible rules.

No one is perfect.  Officials are human and occasionally make mistakes.  The competent official quickly recognizes a mistake has been made and seeks out an equitable remediation that is both in accordance with the rules and mutually agreeable with the athlete and meet referee.  No official should ever take offense when challenged by a referee to provide additional information in a given situation.  It only shows that everyone is performing their job and doing what is right for the athlete.

Officials that question their role or their competency should take a step back and ask themselves if they volunteered for the right reasons.  With only a five to six week summer competition season, an official must assimilate quickly or seek additional assistance to gain the confidence needed to become truly comfortable on the pool deck.