FUN! Fun, Chaos, excitement, confusion, and some swimming! 

Swim meets are a great opportunity for the whole family to spend time together with the neighborhood. We generally swim against other neighborhoods nearby so you might even know some families from the opposing team.

There are five to six meets during the summer season. There are five dual meets scheduled to start at 5:30 pm.  Warm-ups start an hour earlier. Generally, meets last around 3 hours.  The first four dual meets are always on Thursday evenings.The 5^th (and last dual meet) will usually be on a Tuesday. The last meet is the ASA Championship meet held at GaTech. It is a great culminating meet for all of the kids.  

Our team ranges from 50-60 swimmers. The pool deck and parking area can get quite crowded during a meet when you factor in the swimmers, parents, along with the other team’s swimmers and parents.The crowded atmosphere makes it extremely important that your children stay in their bullpen area . It’s for their own safety! 

At any time if you feel lost or confused, ASK FOR HELP from the swim team coordinators!  Meets can be very overwhelming for the kids, parents, and coaches!  We do ask that all questions/concerns be directed towards other parents or the swim parent volunteer coordinators.  The coaches and assistant coaches have been instructed to pay attention to the swimmers. Please let them have fun with your kids and help get them ready for the meet.  Once you have attended a few meets, it will all become very routine and enjoyable. Remember to - Keep Calm, Be Patient, and Enjoy it!

WHAT TO BRING TO A SWIM MEET (LABEL ALL PERSONAL ITEMS)

1. Team swimsuit, cap and goggles.Having an extra cap or goggles packed in a bag is also a good idea.These items tend to rip or break at the most inopportune times!

2. Towels- 1-2 towels per swimmer; one to sit on and one to wrap up in 

3. Portable chairs for parents

4. Spirit wear or clothes to put on in between races or when swimmers are finished racing.

5. Entertainment for swimmers such as games, cards, coloring books, books (electronics around a concrete pool deck and water is usually not a good idea).

6. Money for concessions. Meets will always have some sort of food available for purchase. 

7. Coolers are allowed for additional drinks or healthy snacks at our home meets.They may or may not be allowed at away meets. NO GLASS! Please drink responsibly.

8. Your OWN Sharpie Marker if you want to allow your child to draw body art.

BEFORE THE MEET STARTS

Check your swimmer’s events

Typically all swimmers will have their events written on their arm before they come to the meet and get wet. Make sure that they have each event number, heat, and lane written on their arm in a permanent marker, like a Sharpie before the meet begins. This helps your swimmer remember what events they are swimming, what event number to listen for, and what lane to get lined up behind. (There will also be a deck manager that helps them lineup behind the blocks prior to each event.) It is also a good idea for you to write down their event numbers so you can make sure to watch your swimmers. Avoid sunscreen on this area, as sunscreen can take the markings off. 

This is an example of how it will look on your child’s arm:

“E” is the Event Number (Event numbers in this instance are 6, 12, and 16)

“H” is the Heat Number (Heat numbers in this instance are 4, 3 and 4)

“L” is the Lane Number (Lane numbers in this instance are 4, 5, and 8)

“FR” is a Freestyle Event

“BA” is a Backstroke Event

“BR” is a Breaststroke Event

“FLY” is a Butterfly Event

"IM" is the Individual Medley

"MR" is the Medley Relay

"FRR" is the Freestyle Relay

ADDITIONAL INFO

Arrive at the pool at least 15 minutes before the scheduled warm-up time begins.

Warm- up times for home meets are usually at 4:15 pm so swimmers should arrive at 4:00 pm. Warm-up times for away meets are usually at 4:45 pm so swimmers should arrive at 4:30 pm. Parking is always a challenge so it is best to arrive early. Also, make sure you adhere to “NO parking signs” whether it is a home or away meet.

Find your child’s Bullpen area. 

For home meets, we utilize shade canopies as bullpen areas in the parking lot of the pool. Find the appropriate age group under the canopy, find a spot for your swimmer’s towel and make sure you let the bullpen volunteer know you have arrived.

Swimmers should report to the pool and/or coach for warm-ups. 

It is very important for all swimmers to warm-up with the team. Swimmers should return to their bullpens after warm-ups.This could also be a good time for young ones to use the restroom.

DURING THE MEET

How do I read a Heat Sheet during the meet?

The Heat Sheet is a program, which is several pages long, that shows all the participating swimmers and the events they will participate in as well as their assigned heat number and lane number.  Not all parents will receive a copy of the heat sheet.  However, announcers, coaches, bullpen parents, and timers, judges, and the deck manager will receive these copies.  The announcer will say the event and heat number so that swimmers know when to step up to the blocks. We will also "combine" races to speed up the meet. For example, if we have two girls swimming fly in the 15-18 age group and two boys -- we will combine them into one heat to save time. The announcer will say if heats are combined. Please pay attention when it get close to the time of your swimmer's event.

Event Number: 

There are usually 80 events in each dual meet. Some meets, may have a slightly different order or set of events. We swim the Medley Relay, Individual Medley (25 yards of each of the 4 strokes), Backstroke, Breaststroke, Butterfly, and Freestyle, ascending by age group. Odd numbered events are Girls, even numbered events are Boys.

The following pictures are examples of heat sheets.  We use a software called HY-TEK to manage our meets:

The following is an example of a heat sheet involving a relay.  This example shows the order of a typical relay which will be left to right, and top to bottom as follows:  

Heat Number: 

In each of the 80 events, there are HEATS. Each heat has one to five swimmers, depending on the size of the pool. Our pool has 5 lanes available for heats.

Lane Number: 

Which lane your swimmer is scheduled to be in.

Seed Time: 

Once a swimmer participates legally in an event, they will have a "seed time" in that event for the next meet. Swimmers are placed in heats and relays according to their seed times*.

Seed Time: 

The swimmer's fastest time prior to this meet.

Know what events your swimmer is competing in. 

It is also important for the swimmer to know what event numbers they are swimming. Bullpen volunteers will be available to help the younger swimmers get to the blocks and lined up for their events in a timely manner.This is why it is very important for our younger swimmers to stay in their bullpen area.

Listen for event announcements.  

Upcoming events are announced over the loudspeaker, asking swimmers to report to the starting blocks. Swimmers should report with CAP AND GOGGLES! Example: “First Call, Event #26, 7/8 Boys 50 Free”.

Report to the Blocks.

The Deck Manager will check to make sure that swimmers are lined up in the right order. However, it is always a good idea to have your swimmer check in with the coaches or lane timers to make sure they are in the right lane and heat.

Swim and Shake!

The swimmer’s goal should be to do their best and improve their times for that event. Swimmers should to stay in the water until the last person finishes so they can shake hands and say “Nice Race” with the swimmers in the lanes next to them. We highly encourage and value good sportsmanship. Parents, during the race feel free to cheer on your swimmers and the rest of the team.You may take pictures and video your child as well.

After the race

Swimmers should return to their bullpens after each race. Parents, make sure to tell your swimmer what a great job they did and how proud you are of them.If sufficient time allows before their next race, swimmers may get concessions to take back to the bullpen. Repeat this process until all events have been completed 6 and Unders may leave after event 36. 

AFTER THE MEET IS COMPLETE

Everyone is responsible for cleaning up the pool deck and returning the pool to its original state. Please make sure to clean up the Bullpen area. Most miscellaneous items (signs, parking signs, orange cones, flags, portable tables, water coolers, event number flipper, canopies, ribbon bin, volunteer bin with clipboards) should be stored in the Lifeguard Room/Storage Closet. Many hands make light work!! If we all work together, we can have the pool cleaned prior to the final score being revealed.

**Once again, at any time if you feel lost or confused, ASK FOR HELP! Meets can be very overwhelming for the kids and parents alike.Once you have attended a few meets, it will all become very routine and enjoyable.Keep Calm, Be Patient , and Enjoy it!**