Dale City Swim Team

We are happy to be hosting your swim team at our “pond”. We hope the following information will assist you and help the meet run safely and smoothly. Please contact us if you have additional questions.

Address: 14730 Birchdale Ave., Woodbridge, VA 22193. The facility is on the corner of Dale Blvd. and Birchdale Ave. The entrance to the pool is immediately to your left upon turning onto Birchdale Ave.

Parking: The pool has a small parking lot. We have a few reserved spots for our concessions, DCST equipment and handicapped. Otherwise, spots are first come, first served. Please observe parking signs for the town home community across the street from the pool. There is plenty of street parking on surrounding streets. There is parking on the dead-end side of Birchdale, by the ballfield and at Good Shepherd United Methodist Church. Visiting team will be allotted two reserved parking spots at the front. Please notify DCST of whom will take these spots so the parking attendant is prepared.

Team Area: Visiting teams may set up around the outside of the fence adjacent to the road, in front of the hillside from the upper parking lot, and inside the fence along hillside towards diving boards. There are entrances beside the shed, next to hillside, and the double main gate near the Concessions. Dale City sets up in the grass inside the fence closest to the main entrance.

Warm-ups and Start Time: Dale City warm-ups 6:10 – 6:30am. Visiting team warm-ups 6:30 – 6:50am. National Anthem at 6:55, the meet will start promptly at 7am.

Relays: Visiting team relays are lanes 2, 4, & 6.

We use dive over starts for all individual events for 11 and ups, in order to keep meet moving and finish by our deadline. Dive over starts will be addressed at the Officials Meeting. If there are any concerns about this protocol, please raise them with the Head Official. Please inform your 11 and older swimmer(s) of this protocol and review again prior to each of their event(s).

Clerk of Course (COC): We have two CoC. Main CoC, for 50 & 100 meter individual events, is located by the diving board. The 8&U CoC (& 9/10 Fly) is located on deck to right of the main double gate. We announce and display events for each CoC on large cards and have a very good sound system. We will call each event twice only. Swimmers should report to their COC at first call. A “last call announcement” will be made, but swimmers should have already reported. Once an event has been seeded, CoC will NOT reseed for late arrivals. Swimmers arriving after their event is seeded may not swim. We are a county-run pool, we have strict time constraints on turning the pool over to the public; we cannot hold up the progression of the meet to locate swimmers who fail to report. Please listen for announcements for event reporting. You are welcome to have a couple of extra parents on hand at CoC to track down swimmers not present, however, due to the size of our pool deck we cannot allow children (or swimmers) to hang out at CoC with parent volunteers.

Volunteers: Our pool is 6 lanes, lane 1 is closest to deep end (diving board side) lane 6 next to the starter.

There will be two (2) shifts of volunteers (except for officials). 1st shift 6:50 – 9:30 am, 2nd shift 9:30-end (about 12 pm). Please bring as many Stroke & Turn Officials as possible. Please have your Volunteer Coordinator stationed up near the Head Ref at the start of the meet (near Starter System). This will allow for a quick replacement, should we be missing volunteers at the lanes. 

Officials: All officials will meet at 6:35am to go over assignments. Officials meet on the deck near main starting end under large yellow canopy. Visiting teams should provide a minimum of 3-4 Stroke and Turn Officials, if able. Please also have a starter and referee. This allows for a rotation of officials during the meet.

If you are unable to meet the minimum requirements for officials, please let our Head Official (Matt Martinez) know no later than Wednesday prior to the meet.

Coaches Meeting: The Head Coaches for both teams will meet with the DCST Head Official and opposing Referee at 6:20 am under the yellow canopy.

Timers/Recorders: All Timers/Recorders should attend the Timers/Recorders at 6:40 am on pool deck. From this meeting, 1st shift Timers/Recorders will go directly to their lanes for the start of the meet.

Volunteers Needed: Visiting teams should provide the following:

• 2 Timers for Lanes 1, 3, and 5
• 1 Timer for Lanes 2, 4, and 6
• 1 Recorder for Lanes 2, 4, and 6
• Head Timer (to work with DCST Head Timer, please bring adequate watches to supply your teams timers)
• 1 Card Runner Per Shift
• 2 Clerk of Course Helpers for the Main CoC (located by the diving board area) per shift
• 1 Clerk of Course Assistant for 8 & under (next to the main entrance of the pool). This person will work ALL 8 & Under Events AND 9/10 Fly Events. An extra person to hunt for missing swimmers is helpful, but not required.
• 1 Ribbon Labeler per shift
• 2 Computer Persons (team computer rep) (inside Baby Pool Area)

If you are unable to meet any of the minimum volunteer requirements (other than officials), please email Latrice Adkins ([email protected]) no later than Wednesday prior to the meet.

Deck Access & Viewing: There is limited deck space for viewing. Stay behind the roped off areas. Please watch for Working Officials, Swimmers in line moving to events, and ESPECIALLY the Card Runners -give them room!

Absolutely NO spectators will be allowed at the start and finish ends of the pool as it gets very crowded and interferes with both the swimmers and the timers/recorders/runners. (Those NOT swimming the current event or in-line for next event are not allowed to hang-out either.)

Heat Sheets: Heat sheets will be available on the SwimTopia app and at clerk of course. 

Concessions will be available throughout the meet. We have a variety of items: Drinks which include coffee, water, juice, milk, sodas and Gatorade, donuts, muffins, bagels, yogurt parfaits, cereal bars, protein bars, etc, and pasta salad, & fruit salad will be sold first thing in morning. All beef hot dogs & steak burgers offered later in the meet. Assorted candies, snacks and fresh fruit are also on sale. Cash and card are accepted.

Swim needs: We have goggles, caps, swim merchandise, etc on sale at our Apparel tent.

Swim Team Contacts: Please contact our Team President, Matt Martinez ([email protected]) or Vice President, Amanda Corrigan ([email protected]) if you have any questions.

Stephanie Carder, [email protected] is our computer rep. 

We look forward to hosting your team and having an exciting, fun and successful meet.