Eldwick Sharks Swim Team

By registering my child(ren) with the Eldwick Sharks Swim Team, I agree to participate and allow my child(ren) and family members to participate in the Eldwick Sharks Swim Team, and hereby release Eldwick Swim Team, its directors, officers, agents, coaches, volunteers, and employees, as well as the Eldwick Homes Associations, its members, directors, officers, agents, volunteers, and employees from liability for any injury that might occur to myself or to my child(ren) or family members while participating in or traveling to/from any Eldwick Sharks Swim Team event, meets or other team activities.

I agree to indemnify and hold harmless the above mentioned organizations and/or individuals, their agents and/or employees, against any and all liability for personal injury, including injuries resulting in death to me, my child(ren) and/or other family members, or damage to my property, the property to my child(ren) and/or other family members, or both, while I (or my child(ren) or family members) participating in the Eldwick Sharks Swim Team program.

It is required, by both the Eldwick Pool and the Montgomery County Swim League (MCSL), that each member of the team is a member in good standing of the Eldwick Pool.  Eldwick Pool membership is a separate process.  I hereby acknowledge that I will ensure that we are a member of the Eldwick Pool in good standing prior to participating in any Eldwick Swim Team activities/events.  Please click here for more information on Eldwick Pool membership.

The Eldwick Sharks Swim Team is a volunteer organization. Every community swim team relies on parent volunteers. Aside from the coaches, everybody else (including the representatives, officials, etc.) who helps to run the meets, practices, and events is a volunteer. We need ALL parents to volunteer so that the meets and other activities can take place. It is expected that each family with a swimmer at a meet will volunteer for a job for that meet.  Besides, it is fun and you get to meet other parents and become part of the community. You will receive emails and other reminders throughout the season from the Swim Reps asking for sign-ups for each meet. Sign-ups will occur on the Sharks' team website.

Some of the volunteer positions that do not require training that are needed for every meet include timers, runner, concession stand assistants, automation assistant, etc.  

There are several other positions which require MCSL training. We highly encourage parents to take the training for these positions including Stroke and Turn Judges, Starter, and Referee. Please let us know if you are interested and we can provide you details on the training needed for these jobs.

I agree to abide by the MCSL Code of Conduct.  As a Montgomery County Swim League (MCSL) team, the Eldwick Sharks follow MCSL policies. The league has instituted Codes of Conduct for parents & guardians, swimmers and coaches. The codes of conduct may be found on the MCSL web site.

The text of the Parent and Swimmer's code of conduct are included below for convenience.

MCSL Parent/Guardian's Code of Conduct
Parents and guardians will understand that MCSL and its activities are for the benefit of children. The goals of the league include helping young people establish a love for the sport of swimming, while developing advanced aquatic skills, teamwork, and the principles of good sportsmanship. To accomplish these goals, parents/guardians must conduct themselves in a manner consistent with creating a positive experience for children and their families.

As a Parent or Guardian of a child registered with an MCSL member team, you are responsible for the conduct of your guests and other family members. MCSL teams will not tolerate a parent or guardian yelling at or belittling a child, an official, coach or other parent or guardian in any way.

As an adult and role model, children are influenced by my words and actions. I agree to the following:

1. I will remember that all children participate to have fun and that competition is for youth, not adults.
2. I will be a positive role model for children and will encourage them to reach the highest levels of sportsmanship and to follow the rules.
3. I will be respectful and courteous of others, and will support and encourage swimmers, officials, team representatives, and coaches through my positive actions and attitude.
4. I will recognize that meet officials are volunteers and will treat them with the same respect that I would expect if I were in that position.
5. I will not engage in any kind of unsportsmanlike behavior with an official, coach, swimmer, or parent/guardian such as arguing, booing, taunting, or using profane language or gestures.
6. I will teach my child to treat other swimmers, coaches, team representatives, and officials with respect regardless of age, race, creed, color, gender, or ability.
7. I will not be aggressive or hostile towards another individual and will teach my child to resolve conflicts without resorting to violence or argument.
8. I will not ridicule or yell at my child or any other participant for making a mistake and will not hold a specific child responsible for losing a competition.
9. I will respect and support the team representatives’, officials’ and coaches’ authority during meets and will never argue with, question, discuss, or confront officials or coaches.
10. I will support a swimming environment for my child that is free of drugs, tobacco, and alcohol, and will refrain from their use at all team events.
11. I promise to help my child enjoy the summer swimming experience by doing whatever I can, such as being a respectable fan, volunteering at meets, and helping with other team activities.
12. I will do my best to make swimming fun for all children.

MCSL Swimmer's Code of Conduct

1. I will do my best to listen and learn from my coaches.
2. I will attend every practice and meet that I can and will notify my coach if I cannot.
3. I will treat my coaches, other swimmers, officials and fans with respect regardless of age, race, creed, color, gender or abilities and I will expect to be treated accordingly.
4. I will not engage in any kind of unsportsmanlike behavior with any official, coach, swimmer or other parent/guardian such as arguing, booing and taunting; refusing to shake hands; or using profane language or gestures.
5. I will encourage my own parents or guardians to engage in good sportsmanship.
6. I will expect to be treated fairly over the course of a season with regard to meet entries and recognize that certain meets are more competitive than others.
7. I deserve to have fun during my swimming experience and will alert parents/guardians or coaches if there are problems or it stops being fun.
8. I deserve to play in an environment that is free of drugs, tobacco, and alcohol and expect adults to refrain from their use at all swim meets.
9. I will remember that meets are an opportunity to learn and have fun.

Across the MCSL, the majority of the coaches are college students and young adults who have recently been swimmers themselves. Many years this is true for Eldwick. The MCSL emphasizes that the coaches are to focus on coaching the swimmers, and leave the management of the team to the Swim Reps. 

Please note that parents are welcome to observe practices, but must not distract the coaches for any reason or interfere with the coaching of their swimmer during practice. Talking to a coach during a practice is by definition a distraction.  You must wait until practice is completed before talking to coaches.  Remember that the coaches may have multiple practices in a row with no time between practices.  Coaches may be able to provide private lessons and instruction (for a reasonable fee) to your swimmer(s) outside of normal team practices. Should you engage the coaches for private lessons, the same rules apply with respect to the team and meet participation. Any concerns shall be addressed with the Swim Team Representatives. 

I agree to grant to the Eldwick Swim Team and its authorized representatives permission to record images of me and my family on any media (including, but not limited to, photography film and digital) for use in promoting and documenting the Eldwick Swim Team.  I further agree that any or all of the material photographed may be used, in any form, as part of any future publications, brochures, videos or other media to promote or document the Eldwick Swim Team, and further that such use shall be without payment of fees, royalties, special credit or other compensation. This agreement includes the end of year team video, which may be posted on the Internet.

Maintaining a consistent team image contributes to developing a sense of pride among all our swimmers and helps to establish a team identity. Our team suits are important. Just as no individual player on an NFL or NBA team would ever consider taking the field or court in individualized apparel, we also try to instill in our youth the value of belonging to a team. For this reason all swimmers shall wear a swimsuit during competitions that is either our Eldwick team suit, or a suit that is primarily the team colors (blue or black). Swimmers wearing suits not conforming to this policy may, at the sole discretion of the Swim Team Reps, be held out of competitions. If you have any questions on this policy, please contact the Swim Team Reps.

By registering, I agree that swimmers I am registering meet the Montgomery County Swim Leagues (MCSL)(mcsl.org) rules pertaining to eligibility and transfers.

The following is from the MCSL website: mcsl.org

• MCSL swim team eligibility rules: here.
• Understand the conditions that the MCSL Rules Committee takes into account when evaluating transfer requests by clicking here.
• The window for applying to transfer from one MCSL team to another is no earlier than March 15 and no later than May 1 of the year during which the transfer is sought.
• An online transfer application is available for submission between March 15 and May 1 (note that it is not necessary to submit a transfer application if the conditions in rule 7g are met).