It has been another great year!

Picnic pictures are posted in the photo gallery

We belong to the Northwest Aquatic League (NWAL) which consists of 18 divisions. Each division has 5 – 6 teams. The entire league has approximately 11,000 swimmers and is the second largest swim organization in America with only the United States Swimming (U.S.S.) having more members.

Registration fees are used mainly to cover coach’s salaries, awards, trophies, and equipment. The swim team and swim meets are run entirely by volunteer parents. Each parent is expected to work during the swim season to ensure that the season progresses smoothly, meets take place in an orderly manner, and that no one is overly burdened. Some jobs require training and certification, while others do not. Attached is a list of jobs that must be done to ensure a well run season. Please read through the list and decide which job you will be willing to perform.

We provide a head coach and an assistant coach (if the Board feels necessary) to supervise the swim team. Coaches are paid to coach young people who already know how to swim the basic freestyle.The swim team has hired Heather Schexnayder as head coach . Instruction in diving, turning and swimming the more advanced strokes will be provided in group sessions. It is advisable that parents of young or inexperienced swimmers be present at workouts until their children become more comfortable swimming laps. We welcome parents’ comments, suggestions, or complaints and need your help to have a successful season. However, we ask that you PLEASE do not bother the coaches during practice. If they are talking to you, they are not coaching our 170+ swimmers. Please see them before or after practice, call via phone, or talk to a Board Member (list attached).

The swim team offers group instruction and conditioning. Because of our large numbers, it is not possible to offer individual lessons. If you want your child to advance more quickly than he or she is able to on the swim team, you should seek out private swim lessons.

Practice and Meet Schedule is on the Team Information page.

Meets consist of events in the 4 basic strokes: freestyle, backstroke, breast stroke and butterfly. Individual Medley (IM) is a combination of all strokes. Children 6 and Under only participate in freestyle and back stroke; 7 and Up will do all 4 strokes. A swimmer can participate in a maximum of 3 individual events and some will be swimming in relay events. The coach will decide which events and the number of events a swimmer will participate in depending on their performance at workouts and during meets.

The Northwest Aquatic League sets up rules for running meets and executing each stroke. A swimmer is expected to follow these rules and if he/she does not, they will be disqualified (DQ) for that one event. Some of the most common mistakes which cause disqualification are as follows:
1. Backstroke – Turn over before finishing touch.
2. Breast Stroke – Arms past the waist during arm stroke, flutter kick, and one hand touch at finish.
3. Butterfly – Arms not coming out of the water during arm stroke, flutter kick, and one hand touch at finish.
4. Relays – Early starts and improper strokes.

We participate as a team in swim meets; therefore, we need the efforts of all swimmers to successfully compete. It is the responsibility of the parents to see that their children attend all meets, including the away meets. REMEMBER that In order to swim at the Divisional Meet swimmers must have participated in at least 2 dual meets. Transportation is not provided to any practices or meets. Maps to each of the away meets will be provided

IMPORTANT- Preparation for a meet begins early in the week and all swimmers will be entered in the meet unless they have notified the coach otherwise. Since strategy is used in deciding which swimmers to enter in various events, it is of the utmost importance that the coach knows whether she can depend on each swimmer to be present at the meet. If you know you will be absent on Saturday, please notify the coach no later than practice on Tuesday. If something comes up after that, let the coach know as soon as possible.

It is also important that each swimmer stays at the meet until it is over. Even though your child is not listed in a relay, he or she might be used as a substitute and his or her name would not appear on the heat sheet. In this situation, if a swimmer leaves early, three other swimmers would not be allowed to compete.

2008 Newport Torpedoes Board Members

George Elles - President
Cathi Whitworth - Team Representative
Kay Schexnayder
Connie Schexnayder
Beth King
Susan Kutch
Gary Jones
Jerry Satterfield
Kathy Griffin

Anyone that is interested in becoming a board member is welcome. Please see any of the members listed above for more information.

The Newport Swim Team was organized for the specific purpose of fostering education, training, and competition in amateur swimming.
Newport Swim Team 2008