Fall Registration 2024

Agreements

I, (parent/guardian of the enrolled participant)

and (the enrolled participant),

agree and understand that swimming is a HAZARDOUS activity. I recognize that there are risks inherent in the sport of swimming. The participant hereby agrees to participate in the Viking Aquatic Club ( VAC) program and hereby agrees to indemnify and hold harmless its coaches, officers, directors, agents, volunteers, and employees against any liability resulting from any injury that may occur to the participant while participating in VAC swim activities (including but not limited to practice, meets (home and away), dry land training, etc.).

The participant also agrees to indemnify Viking Aquatic Club Swimming, Coaches and Board of Directors for any damages incurred arising from any claims, demand, action or cause of action by the participant. The participant authorizes any representatives of Viking Aquatic Club Swimming to have the participant treated in any medical emergency during their participation in the Swim program’s activities. Further, the participant and/or parent/guardian agrees to pay all costs associated with medical care and transportation for the participant. I have signed the medical form and indicated any and all medical/health problems of which the staff should be aware.

Please note that each Swimmer is to be registered with US Swimming, which includes secondary insurance coverage for each swimmer. Any incident regarding injury during a scheduled team activity needs to be brought to the attention of the coaching staff IMMEDIATELY and followed up in writing within 24 hours to the Board of Directors. In addition any injury that occurs outside of the team activities that alters the medical condition of the swimmer must be brought to the attention of the coaching staff and the Board of Directors in writing.

VAC Swimmer Code of Conduct

The swimmer and parent/guardian agree to:

• Attend practices and meets.
• Wear swim caps at all practices and your VAC swim caps at all meets.
• Be punctual and ready to start practices and meets on time.
• Be a good teammate – supportive, respectful, enthusiastic, kind.
• Show respect and common courtesies towards coaches, officials, parents, and other teams at meets
• Refrain from using/abusing alcohol, drugs, tobacco and other prohibited substances.
• Refrain from any, dishonesty, violence, bullying, foul language or inappropriate sexual conduct. VAC does not tolerate this.
• Work hard, listen to your coach and have fun.
• Represent VAC with excellence, respect, team spirit, good sportsmanship, and politeness.
• Will not use cameras or other recording devices including cell phones in locker rooms or changing areas or behind the blocks on deck.

Violations of Swimmer Code of Conduct

The swimmer and parent/guardian acknowledge that:

Coaches have the authority to impose the following penalties if a swimmer violates the Swimmer Code of Conduct. These penalties include, but are not limited to the following:

• Swimmer will be given a verbal warning
• Swimmer will be pulled from practice in addition to a verbal warning
• If poor behavior continues, a coach and/or a member of board may meet with swimmer, and parent to discuss the problem further.
• If continued violation occurs, the swimmer may be subject to further disciplinary action, which may include suspension for a week or more, or expulsion from the team. Your signatures below signify that you (parent, guardian and or swimmer) have read and agree to abide by the VAC Codes of Conduct. You also understand that failure to abide by the VAC Codes of Conduct will result in the penalties stated above.

Locker Room Safety Policy

The swimmer and parent/guardian agree to the following policy.

PURPOSE

The following policy is designed to maintain personal privacy as well as to reduce the risk of misconduct and/or criminal activity in locker rooms and changing areas.

FACILITIES

During VAC swim season, practices are held at Valley Central High School Natatorium. The locker rooms are shared with the general public. As such, there are likely to be people who are not affiliated with VAC in the locker rooms around the time of practice. The use of locker room at these facilities is a privilege, and failure to follow posted rules could lead to loss of locker room use or pool time for individuals or even the club as a whole!

USE OF CELL PHONES AND OTHER MOBILE RECORDING DEVICES ARE PROHIBITED

Cell phones and other devices with recording capabilities, including voice recording, still cameras and video cameras increase the risk for misconduct and criminal activity in locker rooms. The USA Swimming Athlete Protection Policies prohibit the use of such devices in the locker room or other changing areas:

305.3 Use of audio or visual recording devices, including a cell phone camera, is not allowed in changing areas, rest rooms or locker rooms.

Since VAC is a USA swim team we also follow this prohibition as its own policy. Violations of this policy by anyone will result in immediate action, which may include, but not be limited to, loss of locker room privileges, suspension, termination of membership and/or criminal prosecution.

MONITORING

When a coach or staff member is aware that an athlete has gone to the locker room during practice, and said athlete has not returned to practice after a reasonable time, the coach or staff member shall check on the athlete’s whereabouts. We discourage parents from entering locker rooms unless it is truly necessary (e.g., to assist a young child who has difficulty dressing, or to assist an athlete with a disability). In those instances, it should only be a same‐sex parent and parents should enter with another adult. Swimmers may arrive late to practice, and VAC practices may end at different times depending upon skill group. In addition, coaches will be busy on deck with instruction during practices. As a result, it is impractical to constantly monitor the locker rooms. VAC does not post coaches or other staff inside or at the doors of the locker rooms, but they may make occasional sweeps of these areas. When coaches or other staff performs such sweeps, women will check female locker rooms, and men will check male locker rooms.

RESPONSIBILITIES AND HANDLING OF POLICY VIOLATIONS

Swimmers

• Swimmers are to follow all posted locker room policies as listed in each individual facility and follow the VAC Code of Conduct at all times
• If a coach becomes aware of any swimmer violating locker room policy, they will discuss with the parent(s) of the swimmer(s) involved
• Repeated offenses may result in being barred from locker room use or swim practice
• Use of a recording device will be treated as the most serious offense and depending on content of recordings may require notification of law enforcement
• Swimmers must not use the office doors to enter the pool deck or the locker room.

Parents

• Parents are not permitted in the locker rooms
• If a parent becomes aware of locker room misconduct they should notify a coach or board member immediately
• VAC strongly encourages USA swimming Safe Sport training for all parents (material can be found at www.usaswimming.org under Safe Sport > Access Training Materials > Free Training for Parents)

Coaches

• Are required to have completed Safe Sport training and must undergo a background check as a condition of employment
• Are responsible for communicating any reports of misconduct to the swimmers, parents and board members where necessary
• Coaches will follow a standard process for handling misconduct

By signing below, you agree to the following team requirements:

• Registration Fees are due at time of registration and must be paid in full prior to session start. Swimmers will not be allowed to swim until all fees and paperwork are handed in.
• By signing below you agree to the terms that there will be no refunds, credits, adjustments or exceptions to the rates stated above. VAC is not responsible for practices that are canceled due to weather related school district closings and scheduled pool facility maintenance that may occur.
• US Individual meet & event fees are the responsibility of the swimmer and parent and are due prior to the date of the meet.
• Swimmers will arrive on time and be prepared for practice.
• VAC reserves the right to make use of team photographs on our team and social media sites. If you wish to exempt your child from having their pictures used, then please ask for an exemption form during registration.
• Swimmers with an outstanding balance from a prior swim season will not be able to register or swim until the account is in good standing.
• Acceptance of the team code of conduct (see above) 8. Awareness and acceptance of the team Locker Room Conduct policy (see above)

Parent Requirements

By paying your registration fee you agree to these team requirements:

• Swimmers will attend at least (3) practices per week and arrive on time & be prepared for practice. No swimmer under the age of 11 can be dropped off, a supervising adult must stay or Swimmer(s) will not be allowed to swim. In addition, no swimmer from the Blue group may be dropped off. This is for the safety and security of the child. If this is a problem please contact a board member to discuss exceptions process. If the District does not allow parents in the facility due to COVID rules, then please wait for your swimmer in the parking lot or outside on school grounds.
• Swimmers are encouraged to attend all meets. As meet schedules are available, we will provide you with more information.
• Team suits and cap are the required uniform at all meets. (unless with coaches permission, i.e. fast skins, etc.)
• Parents & swimmers will abide by code of conduct at all meets and practices outlined in the Parent Handbook(available on team website: vacswim.com).
• Swimmer will be a member of the USA Swimming.
• U.S. meet individual event fees are due prior to the date of the meet. Relay entry fees will be paid by VAC.
• Parent volunteers are needed in order to run the meets. At this time, the undersigned, agree to volunteer for a TOTAL of (5) Sessions at ESSL, US Meets or time trials.
• $250 Work Bond will be collected at registration for each family to ensure volunteer sessions are completed. If all work bond commitments are not completed, check will be cashed to help offset costs of coverage.
• Attendance is MANDATORY for the parent’s orientation meeting (virtual).
• Registration fees will be paid following the selected payment plan above.
• Late fees ($25) will be imposed on any unpaid balance
• Refunds will be given during the first 2 weeks of the season only less swimsuit fees. You must cancel by contacting board member Jen Thompson at [email protected]. Acknowledgement must be given by Jen for refund.
• Varsity rates are only available if swimmer has registered and paid upfront the USA registration fee & swimsuit costs and ⅓ of the registration fee by end of September. Balance of registration fees are due no later than November 3 rd or competitive rates will apply. Varsity girls may cancel up to two weeks after the Section 9 Swim Finals, less the bathing suit costs.
• The Viking Aquatic Club is not responsible for loss of swim time due to situations outside of team control. In situations of extended planned disruption we will make best effort to find alternate arrangements to make-up time.
• Swimmers may only attend team scheduled meets. Swimmers may not swim unattached without agreement by a team coach prior to registration for the meet. All decisions are at the head coach’s discretion and are final.
• VAC reserves the right to make use of team photographs on our team and social media sites. If you wish to exempt your child from having their pictures used, then please ask for an exemption form during registration.
• I acknowledge that I have received, read, and understood the USA Swimming Minor Athlete Abuse Prevention Policy. I further acknowledge and understand that agreeing to comply with the contents of this Policy is a condition of my membership with Viking Aquatic Club, as required by USA Swimming (a USA Swimming member club)

I HAVE CAREFULLY READ THE ABOVE LIABILITY RELEASE AND SIGN IT WITH FULL KNOWLEDGE OF ITS CONTENTS AND SIGNIFICANCE. BY PAYING MY REGISTRATION FEE TODAY I AGREE TO ALL STIPULATIONS ABOVE.

Signature