2025 Handbook

https://ckswimteam.swimtopia.com

Mission Statement

The Cherry Knolls Neptunes is a neighborhood summer club swim team that teaches swimming and life skills. We aim to provide a fun environment that fosters team building and improvement while encouraging bravery and sportsmanship. We promote CK community pride. We serve kids ages 5-18 who can successfully swim one lap unassisted. Swimmers' families shall be in good standing with the pool and swim team.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Leadership Team of Volunteers- see website

About Cherry Knolls Swim Team

Costs

E-mail and Team Bulletin Board

Volunteering

Practice Schedule- see website

Swim Meets

Warm up schedule

How to Know What Events Your Swimmer is in

How and Why Meets are Judged

Sportsmanship

Ribbons

Spectators

Preliminaries (Prelims)

Entries

Schedule

Finals

Swim Meet Volunteering

Requirements

Shift Times

Volunteer Positions

Fundraising Events (See Website for detailed yearly events info.)

Swim a Lap

Team fundraising dinner/Thursday Family Night

50/50 Raffle (4th of July)

Restaurant Nights

Social Events (See Website for yearly events which may or may not include)

Kick-Off Dinner

Night Games (for ages 11 and up)

Surprise Breakfast

Team Pictures

Prelims Party

All Team Banquet

Leadership Team of Volunteers and Coaching Positions:

There are 7 volunteer positions on the CK Swim Team Leadership Team/CKST Board. The team members are responsible for hiring the coaches for the team, developing a budget for the team, and orchestrating the season. The CK Swim Team leadership team also represents the team at Rocky Mountain Swim League meetings and at Cherry Knolls Swim and Tennis Club board meetings. The current board positions can be found on the website.

Co-Parent Reps, 2-4

Computers/Meet Managers

Treasurer

Volunteer Coordinator

Social Events Chair

Fundraising Chair

Concession Co-organizers

Head Coach(es)

Assistant Coaches

Junior Coaches

About Cherry Knolls Swim Team:

Welcome to the Cherry Knolls Swim Team! The purpose of this manual is to help you as a swimming parent. Our swim team is open to children 5-18 years old, who at a minimum can successfully swim one-length of the pool (per RMSL rules), and whose families are members of the Cherry Knolls Swim and Tennis Club. For the safety of the swimmers on the regular team, the 6 and unders will be capped at 18 swimmers, 7-8, 9-10, and 11-12 age groups will be capped at 35 swimmers each and the 13-18 year olds is only capped to not exceed more than 150 total swimmers. At the end of the first week of practice, if a first year team member is not able to get across the pool unassisted, parents will be notified by the coaches that their swimmer would best benefit from lessons. Swimmers who are unable to make it across unassisted will have their swim team fees refunded.

Our team is a member of and regulated by the Rocky Mountain Swim League (RMSL). This is a recreational league consisting of 19 teams split into four divisions; A, B, C, and D. Placement within a division is determined by numerous factors. This year, Cherry Knolls is in the B division, and we will swim against four to five teams during the regular season.

The RMSL rules that most directly affect swimmers are:

1. A swimmer must be a current member of the pool for which they are swimming.

2. The age category in which your child will swim is defined by your child’s age on June 1st.

3. The League requires swimmers to participate in at least 10 practices and 2 regular swim meets to be eligible for Prelims and Finals.

4. A swimmer MUST be able to swim the entire length of the pool by themselves in order to be on the team.

Costs

The team is self-supporting with no financial assistance from any outside entity including the Cherry Knolls Swim and Tennis Club or Cherry Knolls Improvement Association. The only paid staff are the team coaches. Several fundraising events are held to help cover the costs beyond the registration fees. Money raised by the team pays primarily for coaches’ salaries and any new equipment needed to support the team, such as lane ropes, kick boards, flags, tents, chairs and technology updates. Without your continued support of these fundraisers we would be forced to dramatically increase the fees for swimmers. The $225 registration fee for 2025 covers those items identified as per swimmer costs/ $250 without Intent to Register. Per swimmer costs include RMSL fees, prelims/finals costs, a meet Concessions fee, social event expenses and trophies/awards.

If you do not complete the Intent to Register forms, and there is space available on the team, you will be assessed an additional $25 per swimmer at registration.

If your Registration fees are not received by the stated due date you will be assessed a $15 late fee. Your child will not be able to swim in any practices or meets until fees have been paid. This includes payment of your Cherry Knolls Pool membership.

Contact a Parent Rep about possible scholarship availability.

Refunds will not be given after the first day of practice should a swimmer decide not to participate in the season.

Team members may try on swimsuits at Out of Breath Sports (42 East Arapahoe Road; 303-798-5037). This date will be announced after registration. All in stock items at the store that day will be 20% off, excluding swim team apparel (such as the meet suits and sweat suits).

There is also a volunteer deposit that will be due before your child/children are allowed to swim. TWO checks will be collected from each family, each for $250. These checks will be shredded at the end of the season if you complete your volunteer obligations for fundraising/social events and volunteering at swim meets. The checks will only be cashed if a volunteer assignment is not fulfilled for the social/fundraising events or meet requirements are not met.

Application/Registration:

The Swim Team application occurs over a multi-day period in March (Intent to Register) and then final registration which occurs in April. Parents are required to submit a Google form for EACH child interested in the Swim Team - Internet to Register. After the Intent to Register period, a link to required team registration forms will be sent.

If your child’s spot on the team is confirmed by email, you will need to register in Swimtopia by the stated deadline. You will ONLY be able to register once you have received an email link confirming your child’s spot and inviting you to register. You must access registration from that link.

Payment is due at the time of registration, along with your physician and insurance information. Payment can be accepted via the registration tool in Swimtopia or by check (address will be available on registration link) within one week of registering.

Swim Team spots will be given to applicants who meet the following requirements:

• Applied by the stated deadline (Intent to Register & Registration)
• Remain in good standing* from previous seasons starting with the 2024 season as outlined in the following section

In cases where an age group has more applicants than spots, priority will be given in the following order:

• Charter member: Current season coaches/children of current and past parent reps

• Charter member: Children of current Cherry Knolls Pool Board members, current Charter Cherry Knolls Swim Team board members, and children of current essential meet personnel (Starter refs, Stroke judges, etc…)
• Charter member: returning* swimmers & siblings (priority will be assigned by number of previous seasons on team)
• Charter member: applicants new to swim team
• Seasonal member: returning swimmers - critical meet personnel
• Seasonal member: returning* swimmers “in good standing” (priority will be assigned by number of previous seasons on team)
• Seasonal member: new to swim team
• If multiple applicants meet criteria above to qualify for available spot(s) per age group, spots will be filled through a random lottery among those applicants.

*Returning swimmers must meet the following “good standing” requirements from the previous season. Decisions regarding exceptions will be at the discretion of parent reps and coaches.

• Attended at least three meets the previous season per requirement
• Met all family volunteer requirements the previous season

If space permits, children will be placed on the Waiting List based on their priority and/or lottery number.

For the safety of the swimmers on the regular team, the 6 and unders age group is capped at 18 swimmers, 7-8, 9-10, and 11-12 age groups are capped at 35 swimmers each (but will be as evenly divided as possible) and the 13-18 age group is only capped to not exceed 150 total swimmers.

New swimmers cannot be added to the team after the first meet.

E-mail, Website, and Swimtopia App:

Our team will consist of 150 swimmers from approximately 90 families. Communication with families is accomplished via weekly email (Neptune News), which will also be displayed on the on our team website https://ckswimteam.swimtopia.com

You are responsible for reading the e-mails and/or the website, taking note of any upcoming events. For information on the Rocky Mountain Swim League (RMSL), check out their website at www.rmsl.org.

There will be an all team parent meeting at the beginning of the season, date announced via email and the website. There will also be a New Parent Meeting.

Volunteering:

Cherry Knolls Swim Team is a terrific summertime tradition and would not continue to exist without parent volunteers. Thank you!!!

To continue with this great tradition, parents from each swim team family are required to volunteer for:

• One shift at every HOME swim meet your child(ren) swims in; AND
• Fulfill 6 TOTAL points as designated under Social and/or Fundraising and/or meets
• If you are not able to meet a volunteer shift obligation for which you are signed up, either at a meet or at a fundraising/social event, you are responsible for finding a sub. Failure to find a substitute for your fundraising/social shift will result in a volunteer deposit check being cashed.

All of Cherry Knolls Swim Team events and meets are run solely by volunteer help. All volunteer positions are described in more detail in this Handbook and on the website. Reach out to a Parent Rep if you need clarification.

Sign-up for all volunteer opportunities will occur with registration beginning in April.

There is an app for smartphones available from Swimtopia. If you choose to download the APP meet information, your volunteer commitments will show up there. Meet Apps info is located under the Parent tab on the website.

Practice Schedule:

CKST practices by age group, and team members are expected to attend all practices. If your swimmer will be missing several consecutive practices (due to vacation, etc.), please notify the Head Coach.

RMSL WEATHER POLICY: Practice and Meets will be held if the air temperature is 60 degrees or above, and it is not thundering or lightening. At the discretion of the Parent Reps and Head Coach, practices may occur if the temperature is at a reasonable level below 60 degrees. If in doubt, please check the website and/or your email. Lastly, it is your decision as the parent whether your child should swim or not. If you feel your child should not swim in the current weather conditions it is your option not to send him/her to practice.

INSURANCE NOTE: Due to Cherry Knolls Swim & Tennis Club insurance and liability issues, siblings/family members of swim team participants are NOT PERMITTED to swim or use pool facilities (including Baby Pool) during swim team practice time. The pool does not have lifeguards on duty during swim team practices. Our swimmers are covered during practice time by Rocky Mountain Swim League insurance.

**Practice Reminders**

No one except coaches and the current practicing age group swimmers are allowed on the deck at all during practice. Please do not ask questions or have conversations with the coaches during practice time. They will be happy to talk with you before or after practice. The time stated for practice is short and intense and the coaches need to give their full attention to the swimmers during this time.

During the swim team practices, siblings and carpool riders cannot hang out at the pool when they are not practicing in the water without a parent or supervising adult present.

Swim Meets:

Signing Up and Out for Meets: ** ONLINE MEET SIGN-UP ** Sunday through Tuesday prior to a Saturday meet, an online link will be available on the homepage of the swim team website. There is also a tab explaining how to do this under parent info. Please log into your account and sign your child up for the events they would like to swim. Unless otherwise specified, each swimmer may sign-up for up to three individual events and relays. There is a tab to mark which relays you are available. IT IS CRITICAL THAT SWIMMERS LET THE COACHES OR PARENT REPS KNOW IF THEY ARE GOING TO MISS ALL OR PART OF THE MEET. It is very difficult to make changes to relays and sometimes late scratches result in an entire relay team having to scratch from the event which is unfair to the other swimmers in the relay. If you do not sign up before 10pm on Tuesday your child/children will not be swimming in that meet.

At the end of practice on Wednesday, the coaches use this information to enter swimmers into the meet. The coaches make every effort to heat the meet based on which events the swimmers want to swim. Coaches also look at things such as whether a swimmer is “legal” (is capable of swimming with a chance of not being disqualified). In addition, most recent swim times are used for entering swimmers into relays, etc. There may be circumstances when a coach may enter a swimmer in an event that they did not sign up for to encourage the swimmer to try a new event, or an event the coaches believe the swimmer will do well.

Once the coaches have entered the swimmers, they will print out an event sheet -- listed by swimmer -- and post it during Thursday’s practice. Swimmers will have the opportunity to review the list and may discuss discrepancies or concerns with the coaches prior to the end of practice on Thursday.

Swim meets are held on Saturday mornings. Dates for these meets can be found on the swim team calendar/website. Swim meets begin with the first race promptly at 8 a.m. and last until approximately 1-2 p.m. depending upon the size of each team and the size of the home pool. Swimmers should bring extra towels, sunscreen, healthy snacks, drinks, sleeping bags and a tarp (to keep their items dry). Games or other activities for your child to play with during the meet are encouraged. Label all personal items with swimmers’ name.

Warm Up Schedule:

Swimmers will warm up for Home Meets at 6:45am and at Away Meets at 7:15 a.m. This means IN THE WATER at this time with arrival at the pool 15 minutes prior to our warm up time. It is important to have your swimmer participate in warm-ups. Not only does it “get their blood flowing” it also allows the coaches to identify who is NOT at that meet, thus requiring to “scratch” the missing swimmer from their events and replace them with another. The coaches spend a great amount of time “heating” swimmers. (To “heat” a meet means to determine which swimmers will swim in which individual events and relays.) Please be aware of the tremendous burden it puts on the coaches and officials to make last minute changes.

How to Know What Events Your Swimmer Is In:

“Heat sheets” are posted at practice on Friday at the pool and on Saturday morning at the meet close to the team tent. They will also be emailed. Check these sheets to see what events your child is swimming. Depending on the host team, meet events can also be followed on the Meet Mobile app. A swimmer can swim in a maximum of three individual events and two relays, however with the large size of our team, this is the exception. Staging generally occurs 8 to 10 minutes prior to the running of that event. We ask that ALL swimmers stay under the team tent during the meet. Stagers do not know all the swimmers and it is quite difficult to locate swimmers if they are not under the tent. Stagers will not search for a swimmer who is not under the team tent.

How and Why Meets are Judged:

We are a recreational swim team, however, a swimmer’s accuracy in executing a stroke is judged in order to make competition fair for all swimmers. Stroke judges are required by the RMSL to disqualify (DQ) swimmers who are not swimming a stroke correctly regardless of age or ability. If a swimmer is allowed to continually swim a stroke incorrectly, they may have an unfair advantage over the other contestants. The RMSL encourages stroke judges to err on the side of the swimmer; when in doubt, they are to rule in favor of the swimmer.

NEW FALSE START RULE:

False starts Procedure starting in 2025. RMSL will follow USA swimming rule and has no recalls on a false start. If an athlete false starts and the starter sends athletes then the swimmer with the false start would be DQed. This must be verified by the Starter. If the Starter sees movement and asks the swimmer to stand, then there is no false start.

USA Swimming's "no recall" starting procedure allows a race to continue after a false start, and the offender is penalized after the race. The starter's responsibilities in this procedure are to: ● Allow the race to continue ● Make a written record of the lane(s) that false started ● Immediately report the lane(s) to the referee The "no recall" procedure emphasizes that swimmers should focus on their own start and the race, and not be affected by other swimmers. The swimmer who false started will be disqualified at the end of the race.

USA Swimming adopted the "no recall" procedure in September 1999.

**ALL Communication of any DQ/protests need to start with Parent Reps. This is non-negotiable per RMSL. No video evidence is accepted.

Sportsmanship (RMSL Code of Conduct):

Not only do we want to promote better swimmers, but also good sportsmanship. Cheering on others during their race is encouraged. You may want to explain to your swimmer that good sportsmanship is seen when one turns to the swimmers beside them after a race and congratulates them on a good race. All athletes, parents and Coaches are expected to follow the published RMSL League Codes of Conduct.

Ribbons:

Ribbons are given, by heat, to 12 and under Cherry Knolls swimmers who finish first through sixth place. Ribbons are not awarded for any place or event if a swimmer gets disqualified (DQ). 10 & Unders that DQ will receive a purple Super Swimmer ribbon with DQ explanation. Ribbons will be available to be picked up by the swimmers on Monday after the meet in the family folder file box. We offer a ribbon recycling program if your child does not want to keep their ribbons forever.

Spectators:

As a spectator, please stay behind the ropes around the pool deck. The Starter, Referee, Stroke Judges, Clerk of the Course, Timers, Runners, Place Pickers and Coaches are all busy doing their jobs inside the ropes. We ask that you cooperate and encourage you to cheer on your swimmers from behind the ropes!

Unsportsmanlike behavior toward any home or away swimmer, swim team official or volunteer will not be tolerated and will be immediately addressed by the Parent Reps. Everyone needs to abide by the RMSL Code of Conduct, posted on the website.

Swim Meet Schedule: - see website

Maps to all away pools can be found by following the Find A Pool link on our home page (https://ckswimteam.swimtopia.com/) or on the RMSL website (http://www.rmsl.org/teams).

RMSL Championship Preliminaries (“Prelims”):

RMSL organizes Prelims for each age group after the regular season to determine who will compete in the RMSL Championship Finals. Prelims are for all swimmers in the League regardless of age or division. ALL SWIMMERS ARE HIGHLY ENCOURAGED TO PARTICIPATE IN PRELIMS. Our team rankings are determined by how many swimmers participate and relays are dependent on participating swimmers. Each age group has a one-day meet at a pool in the league. Prelim swim meets begin at 8:00 a.m. Usually swimmers will compete in their strongest events for Prelims. In mid-June, coaches will ask swimmers to indicate the events in which they would like to swim in Prelims. The goal is to give them the best chance to qualify for the RMSL Finals.

Entries for Prelims:

Entries for Prelims are due to the League by a specific date determined by the RMSL Board. The entry time for Prelims is determined by a swimmer’s fastest time at a regular dual meet prior to the League’s cut-off date. Generally, the fourth meet of the season is the final swim meet for a swimmer to post a qualifying time for Prelims. These times are used to seed them in a heat of similar times. Our team pays an entry fee for each swimmer registered to swim Prelims/Finals.

If a swimmer will not be able to swim in Finals, please do notsign them up for Prelims. If your swimmer participates, you and your swimmer will be asked to sign a Prelim/Final agreement. This is an agreement between the swimmer and the coaches about their participation and the parent’s agreement to volunteer to fill a shift in Prelims and Finals. RMSL requires swimmers to have participated in at least 10 practices and 2 dual meets to be eligible to swim prelims/finals.

PRELIMS WEEK. See website for dates and locations.

RMSL Championship Finals:

The RMSL Finals are attended by the fastest 16 swimmers from the Prelims plus 2 alternates in each event, from each age group. Finals locations will be posted on the website. Many, many swimmers compete in Prelims and percentage-wise very few will make it to Finals. Great emphasis should be placed on individual achievement throughout the season and everyone should feel good about their accomplishments regardless of qualifying for Finals.

Swim Meet Volunteering Requirements:

It takes 75-80 adults to run a home meet. If you have more than one child swimming in a meet, you may be asked to fill more than one shift. If a parent does not fulfill a shift in a meet your volunteer deposit will be charged. If you are volunteering for the first shift of the day, it is important that you are at your position prior to the start of the meet. Check in with the Volunteer Coordinator prior to taking your position and collect your name tag. 

Use this link to read detailed Job Descriptions! MEET JOB DESCRIPTIONS

If you have additional questions contact the Volunteer Coordinator or any Parent Rep.

Your volunteer events can be viewed by logging into Swimtopia go,ing to the "my account" tab. Your meet jobs will be listed and if you click on the parent names it will show you what social / fundraising events you are signed up for.

Meet Volunteer Shift Times (unless otherwise stated)

Please check in for your shift with the Volunteer Coordinator 10 minutes prior to your shift time.

First Shift: Event 1 – 45    Second Shift: Event 46 - End

Social/Fundraising Events:

As previously mentioned, fundraising efforts help cover our coaches’ salaries, equipment, etc. Parent volunteers are needed to help with the following events. Parents are required to sign up for volunteer positions as part of the registration process.

Events may be added or changed throughout the season and will be updated on the website.

Swim-A-Lap: All swimmers are highly encouraged to participate in this fun event. This is our biggest fundraiser. Swimmers can ask neighbors, friends, relatives, anyone to sponsor them in Swim-A-Lap and pledge an amount for each lap the child swims. Swimmers must sign-up their sponsors and pledges prior to swimming their laps. Swimmers have one hour to swim their laps. The swimmer then collects the pledged amount of money. All money must then be turned in to the Swim-A-Lap chairperson by the designated date to be eligible for prizes.

Thursday Night Family Swim Team Dinner Fundraiser:  This event is put on by parent volunteers and swimmers ages 11 and older. This event is held on a Thursday evening in June, replacing a CK Family Night Dinner.

4th of July BBQ Lunch Fundraiser:  A long-standing community tradition, the CK Neptunes proudly host a festive 4th of July fundraiser featuring a classic hot dog and  cheeseburger meal, along with a fun and friendly cupcake contest. Join us to celebrate, enjoy great food, and support the team!

50/50 Raffle: Sale of raffle tickets during 4th of July where the proceeds are split between the swim team and the winner.

Social Events:

Parent volunteers are needed to help with the following events. Parents are required to sign up for volunteer positions as part of the registration process.

Events may be added or changed throughout the season and will be updated on the website.

Kick-Off Dinner is for all team members (KIDS ONLY!). Dinner will be served at 6:00pm. Team members will learn new cheers and brush up on the old favorites with the help of our seasoned swimmers.

Surprise Breakfast (early in the season) We need PARENTS OF 11 AND OLDER SWIMMERS to sign up for this position. It is a surprise visit early one morning from the older kids to “surprise” the 10 and under swimmers and take them to the pool for a light breakfast and games in their pajamas. You will be expected to drive and pick up children starting at 7am the day of the event and then help serve donuts and fruit. If you have a younger swimmer and want to be a driver this morning you must have someone at home with your younger child who will be "surprised". (18 volunteer drivers needed)

Team Slideshow (All season) The slideshow is a favorite event for all the kids and the parents. It will be shown at the awards banquet. We are asking that parents who wish to have their child in the slideshow submit their own pictures by a certain deadline TBD.

“Messy” Games is a social event for the 11 and older kids occurring in the evening hours. It will be fun and a good way for the kids to bond. There will be games and snacks provided.

Take-Out Tuesdays are a fun night out at local restaurants which also act as fundraisers for the team with part of proceeds donated back to the team. These are not required.

Prelims Party (Weekend before Prelims) Fun events to recognize and reward those swimmers who will be competing in Prelims. This event will be held the week before Prelims, actual date/time to be determined.

All-Team Awards is for every swimmer on the team and their family. It is an event for all of us to celebrate the swim season and for the swimmers to pick up their team trophies and ribbons. Participation by everyone is strongly encouraged; it is a wonderful closure to two months of hard work and fun! This will occur after Finals in Cherry Field & the Cherry Knolls Pool area.