The Baldwin Whitehall Swim Club, Inc. ("BWSC") is a member of Allegheny Mountain Swimming ("AMS") and United States Swimming ("USS") Associations. It is a parent-run organization consisting of members primarily from the boroughs of Baldwin and Whitehall. The goal and purpose of the BWSC is to promote the sport of swimming and reinforce the qualities of sportsmanship and fair play through team involvement.

Following are the Rules and Regulations by which the BWSC achieves its goal and purpose:

SECTION I

Managing Party Designations

The BWSC is divided into two managing categories, the "Dry Side", consisting of an Executive Board of Directors that effectuates the management of the membership and its finances, and the "Wet Side" consisting of a head coach and assistant coaching staff that effectuates the training, supervision and motivation of the swimming athletes. Duties of each group are more fully set forth below:

Dry Side:

1. The Executive Board is the governing body of the "Dry Side" of the club and addresses issues including, but not limited to, membership, affiliate registrations, fundraising, hosting of meets, team enrichment, the purchase of team equipment, and the finances of the organization. The "dry side" refers to management of BWSC activity outside the water and pool area.

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Wet Side:

1. Head Coach:

• a. The Head Coach has the full control of the wet side of the club.
• b. The Head Coach is the supervisor of the Assistant Coaching staff, the pool, pool deck, including lifeguards, swim meets, and the weight room.
• c. The Head Coach is responsible for scheduling coaching representation for daily practices and at swim meets attended by BWSC swimmers.
• d. The Head Coach sets all practice schedules and weight lifting.
• e. The Head coach determines a swimmer’s eligibility for weight training.
• f. The Head Coach determines a swimmer’s progress and ability to advance to the next level of swim practice.
• g. The Head Coach will handle or support an Assistant Coach in the disciplinary action taken with regard to a swimmer. Complaints received by the coaching staff and/or actions taken by the Head Coach, will be documented by the Secretary.
• h. The direct report of the Head Coach is to the Executive Board.


2. Assistant Coach: The duties of the Assistant Coach are to execute and follow-through with the directions and desires of the Head Coach to the ultimate benefit of the BWSC swimming athletes. The direct report of the Assistant Coach is to the Head Coach.

SECTION II

National/Local Affiliation and Registration:

1. The BWSC is a member of and sanctioned under the national entity of United States Swimming through its local swim club (LSC), Allegheny Mountain Swimming. A registration fee is paid by the BWSC and charged to each individual swimmer by the AMS/USS for inclusion and participation.

2. The BWSC Executive Board, Safety Director and coaches must be registered with the AMS/USS.

3. Upon Registration with the BWSC, parents and swimmers are bound by these Rules and Regulations and the Rules and Regulations of the Parent Organization of Allegheny Mountain Swimming and United States Swimming, a copy of said Rules & Regulations can be found on the AMS website at www.amswim.org.

4. Transfer of Swimmers in Good Standing. In accordance with AMS Rules and Regulations Part One, Section C, subsection 4:

• a. An athlete wishing to transfer from one AMS club to another or into AMS from another LSC or from AMS into another LSC should use AMS Attachment No. 5 which can be found on the AMS website at www.amswim.org.
• b. While a swimmer can practice with his/her new team upon application for transfer, the swimmer must serve in an unattached status for one hundred twenty (120) days from the date of his/her last competition in which they represented their former team or club. AMS Registration Chairman must have AMS Attachment No. 5 completed and signed, and proper fees must be paid before the transfer is complete.
• c. Application for transfer must be made to the AMS Registration Chairman and all necessary paperwork must be completed prior to the attachment to the new team.
• d. Transfers occurring between September 1 and December 31 require both current year and subsequent year registration. (2003-01)

SECTION III

Designation of Seasons, Schedules and Practice Locations

1. The BWSC follows a two-season calendar listed below:

• a. The Fall Season runs from September of a given year to March of the following year; and
• b. The Summer Season runs from May through July of a given year.

　

2. The BWSC follows the following practice schedule:

• a. Practices during the Fall Season run Monday through Friday, according to facility availability. A monthly calendar is provided to each family or can be accessed through the "LIVE" link on the home page of the BWSC website at www.BaldwinSwimming.com.
  
  Upon notice to the Membership, additional practices may be scheduled on specific Saturdays from September to the start of the high school swim season. Saturday practices run from 9:00 to 11:00 a.m.
• b. Practices during the Summer Season run Monday through Friday, according to facility availability, as follows:

(i) Short Course - time determined by facility

(ii) Long Course from 7:30 to 9:30 a.m.


c. The BWSC offers four levels of ability to participate:

(i) Beginner (one hour practice)

(ii) Intermediate (one and one-half hour practice)

(iii) Advanced (two hour practice); and

(iv) Long Course (7:30 to 9:30 a.m./Summer Season only)

3. Practices are "open" to the Membership for viewing from the spectator seating area only at the facility where practice is held.

PLEASE NOTE: Calling out to a swimmer during practice time is disruptive to the swimmer and practice session, and is strictly prohibited.

4. Strength Training will be scheduled separately by the Head Coach with sufficient notification to the membership of the scheduled training.

5. The primary practice facility for the BWSC is the Baldwin High School Pool. Additional facilities used by the BWSC are Carrick High School Pool and Baldwin Borough Complex Pool. Additional facilities may added as determined by the Board and Head Coach.

PLEASE NOTE: In accordance with Facility Guidelines and Insurance Requirements of the AMS and BWSC, Non-Registered Members are not permitted on the pool deck with the exception of participation in and for a BWSC-sponsored activity or meet.

　

SECTION IV

Club Registration, Fundraising and Meet Entry Fees Registration:

1. Upon notification to the existing membership, registration will take place the first week of a new season, i.e. first week after Labor Day in September for the Fall Season and the first or second Monday in May for the Summer Season;

2. Existing members must re-register at the beginning of each season.

3. Existing members must re-register within two weeks of the published date for registration for that season; member registrations received after that time period will be required to be paid in full and assessed a $25.00 late fee.

4. Registration fees consist of USS registration through AMS registration fee and BWSC swimming fee.

5. At the time of registration:

a. The USS registration fee must be paid in full

i. If a swimmer’s starting season is "fall", USS registration will run through December 31^st of the following year;

ii. If a swimmer’s starting season is "summer", USS registration will run through July 31^st of the current year.

b. Half of the BWSC swimming fee must be paid; and

c. Optional Fundraising is made available to the benefit of the swimmer.

6. Any and all balances for BWSC registration and fundraising must be paid in full by the documented due date, i.e. November 15 for fall registration and June 15 for Summer registration.

PLEASE NOTE: At the discretion of the Executive Board, the swimmer of any account in arrears will be excluded from practice, meets and team events.

Fundraising:

1. Team fundraising events require participation by all registered families. Team fundraising includes Swim-a-Thon, Meet Host and any other team fundraising event determined to be necessary for the budgetary needs of the BWSC.

2. Individual fundraising is optional and weighs to the benefit of the swimmer’s individual account. Fundraising Options may include Pizza/Hoagie Sale or other fundraising program offered.

PLEASE NOTE: Any individual fundraising funds in a swimmers account may be applied to BWSC registration or meet fees and are non-refundable to the family

PLEASE NOTE: Fundraising opportunities will clearly be identified as "team" or "individual" fundraising events..

　

Meet Fees:

1. Meet fees for individual event entries are the responsibility of the parent member. Payment must be made         at the time of election to participate in a posted meet. Entry Fees are non-refundable once entries are submitted and accepted by the host club. (2005-02)

• PLEASE NOTE: If individual meet fees are not paid in advance of a scheduled meet, the BWSC may preclude that swimmer from participating in that meet.
  
  2. Meet fees for relay entries will be paid by the BWSC.

PLEASE NOTE: If enough eligible swimmers are present at a meet, their participation in a relay entry is considered automatic and at the

discretion of the BWSC unless otherwise noted, in writing by the parent member, as "No Relay". If the "No Relay"option is not exercised and a swimmer does not participate in the scheduled relay, the account of the member will be assessed the relay fee.

SECTION V

Expectations of Parent Members and Swimmers

1. Duties of the Parent Members (to include guardians, if applicable):

a. Re-registering the swimmer as scheduled by the BWSC;

b. Having the swimmer to the facility and ready for practice, with all required equipment, in accordance with the practice schedule.

c. Responsible for transportation to/from scheduled practices and meets;

d. Signing-up swimmers for eligible meets;

e. Checking the sources of communication between BWSC and its members for updated notices and information; and

f. Participation in BWSC-sponsored fundraising events and, in particular, the hosting of meets, to the benefit of the entire membership.

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2. Duties of the Swimmer:

a. All swimmers shall conduct themselves in accordance with the BWSC Rules of Conduct. Copies of the Rules of Conduct are posted on the bulletin board and available through the BWSC website at www.BaldwinSwimming.com. Breach of any Rule of Conduct will result in one or all of the following:

1. Verbal notification to the swimmer and parent/guardian by a coach on duty for the time being upon occurrence of the breach in question;

2. Documentation and written notification to the parent/guardian of the breach in question;

3. Suspension of the swimmer from the balance of practice at the time of the breach in question;

4. Suspension of the swimmer from future practices to be determined by the coach on duty at the time of the breach in question;

5. Suspension from the use of the locker room facility for the purposes of changing before and after practice to be determined by the coach on duty at the time of the breach in question; and/or

6. Dismissal from the BWSC with any outstanding fees due upon demand. No refund of fees will be made by the BWSC to the member family as a result of dismissal of a swimmer. (2003-02)

b. All strength training swimmers must attend swimming the nights they are scheduled to weight train. Any and all exceptions will be addressed and determined by the Head Coach.

c. All swimmers attending practice or swim meets are under the authority of the "coach on deck" assigned to that practice or swim meet;

d. Swimmers are expected on the pool deck promptly at the start of the designated practice time , with their suits on and all necessary equipment.

PLEASE NOTE: If a swimmer arrives to practice more than 15 minutes late, that swimmer must address the Head Coach or the

Assistant Coach in charge for the time being, to determine whether he/she can join the practice already in session.

e. All swimmers are required to attend dry land workouts for both the Fall and Summer programs.

f. Any swimmer requesting early dismissal from practice must bring a written note from a parent or guardian. In the alternative, the Parent (or Guardian) is responsible for addressing the early dismissal with the Head Coach or the Assistant Coach in charge for the time being.

　

SECTION VI

Miscellaneous

1. Dissemination of BWSC Information. The BWSC will, from time to time, disseminate information to the Membership by the following means:

a. U.S. Mail, postage prepaid;

b. Distribution into individual folders contained in a filing cabinet "mailbox" maintained at the facilities in use;

c. E-mail transmission;

d. Telephone;

e. Posting to a bulletin board for public viewing at the facilities in use; or

f. Posting to the BWSC website at www.BaldwinSwimming.com

2. Team Events:

a. Team events such as seasonal parties and or activities arranged for team enrichment are for the benefit of BWSC members and their immediate families only. Any request for an exception to this Rule shall be addressed with the Executive Board of the BWSC.

b. Swim-a-Thon is considered a team event, and is the only team event where participation by all swimmers is required.

3. BWSC Hosting of Swim Meet:

a. Parent members are required to participate, in some capacity at a BWSC host meet; all parents are required to sign up for jobs as presented at parent meetings and posted to the bulletin board;

b. At a minimum, all member families are required to provide a food and drink donation for the purpose of selling at the hosted meet.

4. Away Meets: Pursuant to AMS Guidelines, the coach representative and BWSC swimmers are the only BWSC representatives permitted on deck during an away meet. If there is an issue as a Parent Member that you must address with your swimmer or coach, meet with them outside the pool area to address your concerns.

5. Team-Sponsored Away Meet: In order for the BWSC to pay for the individual entry fees for any member wishing to participate in the team-sponsored away meet, that swimmer must have participated in a minimum of two (2) sanctioned meets throughout the fall season. If a swimmer has not participated in at least two (2) sanctioned meets, the individual swimmer is not barred from participating in the Team-Sponsored Meet, however, that individual is responsible for his/her own individual entry fees for that meet, which fees must be paid in advance of participation.

NOTE: The BWSC is not responsible for the payment of any member or family accommodations or food purchases during the team-sponsored away meet.

NOTE: Meet Fees must be current at the time of participation of a swimmer in the team-sponsored away meet. (2005-01)