California modified existing school concussion laws to apply the concussion requirements to youth sports organizations including swimming.  Every QuickSilver Swimmer must read the concussion information sheet and sign the acknowledgment form.  QuickSilver has converted this information into an electronic medium for your convenience.  A form must be signed for every swimmer (not family).  

The law requires that a youth athletic program must immediately remove an athlete from an athletic activity for the remainder of the day, if the athlete is suspected of sustaining a concussion or head injury , and prohibit the athlete from returning to the activity until the athlete is evaluated by a licensed health care provider, trained in the management of concussions, and acting within the scope of his or her practice. The athlete must receive written clearance from the licensed health care provider to return to the athletic activity.  If the athlete is diagnosed with a concussion, they must go through a graduated return to play protocol of no less than seven days under the supervision of a licensed health care provider. Youth sports organizations must also notify the parents or guardians of athletes 17 or younger who have been removed from athletic activities due to suspected concussions.

Coaches and administrators must successfully complete the concussion and head injury education required under the bill at least once either online or in person.

PHOTO & VIDEO POLICY

Photography policies are in place for the safety of all athletes.  As part of our mission to ensure athlete's safety, QSS and/or USA Swimming do not allow photography or videography for certain activities.

  • ​Parents may not videotape or take photos during swim practices.  
  • Photos are never allowed to be taken from the diving end of the pool at any swim meet.  It is the parent’s responsibility to read each swim meet sheet. Most meets in Pacific Swimming acquire consent by the parent entering the swimmer in the meet. 
  • ​For team events announced in the QSS Weekly News, attendance will be deemed consent to be photographed unless the parent asks for their swimmer not to be photographed prior to the day of the event.
  • Photos taken by a designated parent for the QSS Facebook, Twitter, or Website may be posted without parent permission if taken at an official practice, team event, or swim meet.  By registering for the team, you agree to have any team oriented photos posted on social media.

VIEWING PRACTICES & SWIM PARENT RULES

Parents/guardians are welcome to view practices on the 2nd and 4th Friday of every month.  Regular practices are closed deck, meaning parents/guardians are not permitted on deck, in the stands, or in the facilities generally.  

Why are parents not permitted on deck?  It effects the safety of the group, diverts attention from athltes, and increases the use of locker rooms by adults.  

  • Interruptions - Parents do not interrupt the coaches on deck while they are coaching. If you need to communicate with a coach, please arrange some other meeting time that works for your family as well as the coach. The coaches are required to have eyes on the group in the water for safety reasons.  Parents asking questions during practices takes away from this safety aspect and diverts attention that should be going to the young athletes in the water.
  • Unfocused Athletes - Young athletes want their parents’ approval more than anything. If they know you are watching practice, it’s only natural for some of their attention to be directed to you. However, for the swimmers to learn as much as possible, it’s imperative coaches have your child’s undivided attention during practice. We ask that you not communicate with your child during practice thus competing with a coach for his/her attention.
  • Safe Sport Considerations - Due to U.S. Safe Sport regulations, we are not permitted to have adults in the locker room faciltiies or helping athletes change.  When parents are at the facility, it increases the amount of adults utilzing other faciltiies that they are not permitted to use.  Sites are set-up to have multilple coaches at a time for safety reasons.
  • Understanding the Sport - Your job as a parent is to tell your young athlete "good job" and "I love you!".  Our coaches spend a considerable amount of time planning weekly training sessions for each of their practice groups. Each training set or instructional drill has a purpose and one practice and/or practice set often builds on another throughout the week and/or season. If you have not attended all practice sessions, you may not understand the purpose of what the swimmers are doing on any given day.
  • Don't Coach Your Child - Please do not try to coach your child based on what you see (or think you don’t see) him/her do. Many times when teaching stroke skills, the coaches ask our swimmers to do things that might not look correct or might actually be illegal according to the rules, but does have important purpose in teaching skills (i.e. swimming one arm fly or swimming breaststroke with a flutter kick or dolphin kick). With these various points in mind, we ask parents to stay off the pool deck during practice hours and not attempt to coach your child based on what you observe at practice.  This is one of the top ways to burn out your athlete.  We should never see a parent at a practice or a meet with a stopwatch around their neck.  
  • 15 Minute Window - We do request that parents drop their swimmers off no more than 15 minutes before practice is scheduled to start and pick them up no more than 15 minutes after practice is scheduled to end.

Thanks for your cooperation and support.