Chardon Hilltoppers

The Chardon High School swim team is a Club sport supported at Chardon School. The 2011-2012 season will be our fourth season as a swim club.

High School Team Information

8/31/11 -We cannot give you a varsity letter but the HS has approved an All Star Patch for your Letter Jacket. If you meet the requirements in consecutive years you will get a year pin to add to your existing patch.

2012 - Chardon Hilltoppers All Star Letter Jacket Patch Point System

Frequently Asked Questions

The swim team is a High School Club at this time. What does it mean to be a club sport?

· The swimmer can compete against other High School Swimmers.

· The swimmer can attend Sectionals, District or State Competition.

· The swimmer can qualify for ALL PAC Conference teams in swimming.

· The swimmer can attend the PAC Conference Swimming Championships.

· The swimmer must meet all the High School Participation Guidelines and Grade Requirements to participate at practices.

· The swimmer must assume all expenses of participating including team membership and uniform expenses.

· The swimmer will not be recognized at HS Award Events. Swimmers will not recieve awards from the school.

· The swimmer cannot recieve a varsity letter. However, the school as agreed that a swimmer can get a team patch on their jacket.

· The swimmer must have a physical on record at the High School by the start of the official HS season 11/2/11.

Why are we not a Varsity Sport?

At the current time the School Board can only support the existing Varsity Sports. There are a number of other "Sports" that are also clubs. The School System does its best to support us and does cover us for insurance purposes. Annually the club does have to ask to be renewed and we do keep in touch with the Athletic Director and Principal with regards to becoming a Varsity Sport. We are aware that swimmers would like to get a Varsity Letter but this club was primarily formed to promote the sport of swimming and allow those who do swim to compete against other HS swimmers and potentially swim at State Tournaments. If you have any concerns we request that you take those concerns to Coach Matt Parrish or Coach Kim Marra. As we said each year we have to renew our club status. We do not want anyone to jeopardize our good standing with the School Board or School Administration. Thanks for your understanding.

How does the High School Team work?

The swimmer will start out the season as a Geauga Otter Swimmer until the High School Season Starts with the first meet. By attending three YMCA dual meets the swimmer qualifies to swim at YMCA championships. High School Swimmers will attend three dual meets before the High School Season Starts.
Once the swimmer starts to swim HS meets they can no longer swim at YMCA or USA meets until they “QUIT” the High School Team.
A swimmer must cease non-interscholastic competition(YMCA or USA Swimming) four weeks (28 days) prior to the Monday of the week of the State Swimming and Diving Tournament to be eligible for OHSAA tournament competition in swimming and diving.
An individual my elect to “QUIT” the high school team at any time and return to the YMCA team. However, once you leave the High School Team you cannot go back. If an individual quits the team the remaining members of the team may continue to swim for Chardon High School.

How often do I have to attend practice?

The High School season official starts November 5, 2011. Until that date you will be swimming as a Geauga YMCA Otter and the High School Coaches cannot make any practice requirements of the swimmer. Starting November 5th all HS swimmers will be required to practice 5 days a week.

Acceptable excuses:

Family out of town vacations over the holidays
School commitments with a teacher's signature on an excuse
Missing day at school due to illness with parent note
Physician excuse with signed note from physician
School cancelled due to snow day.
Snow day determined by Coach Matt and Coach Kim when the weather in Geneva is bad and swimmers could not get to practice.

If a swimmer does not meet the requirements after November 5th they will not be permitted to participate in any meets the current or following week of the absence depending on the date of the absence. However they will be required to attend the meet.

If a swimmer consistently misses practices on a weekly basis the Coaches may dismiss the swimmer from the HS club and request that the swimmer return to YMCA only swimming. This decision will be made on a case by case basis with the goal of any dismissal being the best for the team. We cannot have one swimmer adversely affecting the training of the rest of the team.

You get out of it what you put into it and your team is counting on you to succeed!

Do I have to practice with the team to attend HS Meets?

Yes, Coach Matt and Coach Kim are the school board approved coaches and must be present at practices in order to meet the Ohio Athletic Association Rules and Regulations.

How do I earn a team patch for my letter jacket?

See the point system published above.

I have seen some swimmers wearing a Swimming Jacket. How do I get one?

Since we cannot get a varsity letter jacket withouth a Varsity Letter some of the swimmers got together to design their own Swimming Jacket. You may purchase one of these jackets anytime you wish. By the end of the season you will hopefully have some patches to hang on it. At our banquet we give out patches for time standards, All-Star Swimmer, PAC team recognition and various specialty awards.

Since this is going to be a TEAM jacket we do want to establish some GUIDELINES to purchasing the jacket. We would like to highly recommend consistency for the following items:

· The jacket can be purchased at WePlaySports.Com on 1404 Mentor Ave. Painesville, Ohio 44077. Our contact is Glen Haney and he can be reached at 440-357-5586.

· The jacket is a black jacket with red and white trim. It can be found in the Game Sport Wear.com Catalog. Item # 5180.

· The jacket is an old time letter jacket with wool sleeves and a collar.

· The jacket comes in Adult Men Sizes, but XS is available for special order.

· We designed the jacket with CHARDON arched across the back in 3 inch red lettering. This will be Arial font.

· Across the bottom in 3 inch red lettering will be SWIMMING. This will be Arial Font.

· Year of Graduation will be on the upper left sleeve. This will be Arial Font.

· Name on the right front bottom of the jacket.

That is it for standards. The kids can put their awards, patches, and medal any place else on the jacket.

Additional information:

· Each patch is $6.00 to sew on.

· The name is $6.00.

· The year is $6.00.

· The base price per coat is $115.00

· XS is $40.00 more and takes 4-5 weeks.

· CHARDON, SWIMMING is $22.50.

Do I have to buy two uniforms?

No, you may wear your HS uniform to YMCA meets.

What is the required uniform?

Girls - Black Endurance Proback Suit with the Chardon Swim Team logo, the Chardon Swim Cap and the team t-shirt.

Boys - Black Endurance Jammer with the Chardon Swim Team Logo and the team t-shirt.

Warm-up suits are optional.

What if I am in a fall sport?

If you are in a Fall sport you can start when your fall season is over.

How do you know if I am eligible to participate on the Hilltoppers Team?

The team is in contact with the Chardon Athletic Director to make sure you have a physical and meet all the requirements for eligibility.