Milestone Makos

Welcome to your first meet! You are about to discover how many people it takes to run a meet and how big an operation it is!

If you cannot be at the meet by 5:30pm or are running late, you need to let the Parent Rep(s) know. Our Parent Reps are responsible for providing a list of checked-in swimmers 30 minutes before the start of the meet.

If you don’t check in and we don’t know that you are coming, there is a possibility that your swimmer could be scratched (removed from the meet). We do this to avoid heats with empty lanes.

Before the meet

• COMMIT YOUR SWIMMER BEFORE THE REGISTRATION DEADLINE!
• Rest, avoid physical activity, and stay out of the sun.
• Avoid carbonated beverages.
• Eat a high carbohydrate dinner (like spaghetti) no later than 4:00 or eat the following kinds of snacks: bananas, oranges, raisins, Gatorade, graham crackers, apple or fig newtons, animal or saltine crackers, muffins, bagels or rolls, fruit juices.

Warm-ups

You have probably heard that swim meets can last a long time. That is true; however, we do everything in our power to make these meets as efficient as possible. To assist in this, one thing that we cannot be flexible on is timing – there is no “5 minute rule”. For most meets, the home team begins their warm up at 5:00 and end at 5:20, the visitor start at 5:20 and end at 5:40, and the meet starts at 6:00. We have 99 swimmers on our team – that’s a huge number of kids to get through warm-ups in just 20 minutes. If your child is late, s/he will miss their warm-up – don’t let this happen! Be at the pool plenty early enough to check in your swimmer (and yourself if you are volunteering at this meet). These warm up times may be short but provide vital time for swimmers to get adjusted to new and different pools. They are also a great chance to continue practicing the skills they are working on in practice. During warms ups, only coaches will be allowed behind the blocks.

Seating

We have about 65 families in our team. That’s a LOT of people to fit into a deck that is about the size of ours – and that’s only half of it! When you get to the meet, the host team will already be there – their warmup time will be 20 minutes before ours. If you want a seat (and you do!) bring it. It's nice to have a blanket or extra towel for the kids to sit on and save your space. If you want shade, wear it or bring it. If you bring a canopy, expect to share every inch of it with your neighbors. Space will be tight – extremely tight. Think of your seat as a place to relax and get to know your fellow swim team families – a bonding experience! To watch your favorite swimmers, you will need to stand up by the edge of the pool.

Food and water

There will be a concession stand with food. There are usually soda, water, hot dogs, hamburgers, and pizza available along with lots of candy for reasonable prices. If you prefer healthier options, you should pack them along with lots of ice. Dehydration can happen if you or your swimmer overheats – please bring and drink lots of water!!!

Events

There are about 55 events per meet. An event is a swimming category like Event 28: Girls 8 and under Freestyle. In each event there are between one and maybe 10 heats. Each heat is a grouping of 5 or 6 (depending on the number of pool lanes) swimmers who are swimming in that event. For example, there could be 8 heats for event 28. The heats are "seeded" (swimmers with a faster recorded time swim earlier than those with a slower time or no recorded time) This keeps each heat competitive so that the swimmers have a real "race" to win. Ribbons are awarded after the meet for the top 6 finishers of an event and improved times. Heat winners are given something special (like a ribbon or candy) on the spot. You can see all of the events in order listed here

The swimmers are selected to participate in swimming events for the meet by the coaches. The coaches have been evaluating the swimmers during these first weeks of practice and will only put them in events in which they can be successful. As your child learns more strokes and gains more skill, they will have more events - up to 3 plus a relay.

A day or two before the meet you will be sent the list of swimmers and their events. Look for your swimmer's name and make sure that your child knows what events that s/he will have during meet. Early in the meet, check for our team's posters hanging on the fence or wall at the meet (one for each age group) with each swimmer’s name, event number and stroke/distance. Look for your child's events and make sure that you and your child know the events in which your child is swimming. Most kids use a Sharpie and write their event numbers on the back of their hand. The announcer will call the events in numerical order and there will be a flip chart near the clerk of the course, so please pay attention to the event numbers throughout the meet.

Relays

The relay (four kids in one event) teams will not be posted until after the meet starts. Swimmers, who are 8 years old and under, have some of their relays at the very beginning of the meet and at the end of the first half; older swimmers (9 and up) have their relay events at the beginning and end of the meet. For our first meet, the relays will be freestyle only. On alternating meets, the relays are medleys (all four strokes - back, breast, fly, freestyle) swum either individually or as a team.

All relays are subject to change. If a swimmer is sick or does not show up on time this, most of the time, affects the lineup. (The other 3 swimmers in the event will not be able to participate!) Please have this discussion with your swimmer and ensure that they arrive on time and do not leave before their relay. We do not post the relays until after the check-in is complete to ensure that all swimmers are truly present.

For 8 and under families, this leaves only 20 min. to notify the swimmers/parents in the first relays. Please listen for your child’s name and make sure they are in the team area immediately after warm-ups. There will be volunteers corralling the kids for each relay (4 swimmers per relay) and they will need to remain with their relay. Make sure they have made a bathroom trip prior to their event if possible. Once all relay members are accounted for they will head over to the Clerk of Course. Please do not accompany your swimmer unless you are assisting with the relay. Each swimmer will be swimming one length of the pool.

For 9 and over swimmers, relays are at the beginning and at the end of the meet. Please check carefully to ensure that your child does NOT have a relay before leaving the meet. Please, please do not leave the meet early if your child does have a relay – 3 other swimmers are counting on this. Of course, staying to the end of the meet to cheer on the last relays is appreciated!

Understanding event names

Here is a breakdown of the distances:

25 = one length across the pool
50 = two lengths (one each, there and back)
100 = four lengths (two full laps)

8 and unders generally only swim 25’s; 9 to 12 yr. olds mostly swim 50’s; and 13 and ups swim both 50’s and 100’s.

The four strokes are back, breast, butterfly, and freestyle. If this is your first meet, freestyle is likely to be your child's only stroke. There is also the category of IM (Individual Medley) in which a single swimmer swims all four strokes as one event - not a common event for a swimmer at their first meet!

This first meet is both fun and stressful so please reassure your child that if they make a mistake or miss an event it is okay. The coaching staff does a great job with positive reinforcement. It’s amazing what they can get these kids to do by the end of the season!

Clerk of the Course

When you hear your child’s event number called to the clerk of course (this is the person who controls the flow of swimmers to the pool), please have them get their cap and goggles (no towel or shoes) and send them to the clerk of the course area. Once there, your child will be placed in a particular heat and lane. You probably will not know which heat and lane they are in until they are behind the block. Volunteers will be working with the clerk of course and will make sure your swimmer knows when to step up to the block.

Dive Blocks

The swimmers are not required to start on the block. (The blocks are the steps from which the swimmer can dive into the pool.) Please reassure your swimmer that if he/she is not comfortable diving from the starting block, he/she can dive from the side of the pool next to the block, or start in the water. All backstroke events start in the water.

Items to bring:

• Towels (2) – one to keep your swimmer dry – one for seating/warmth - your swimmers will get cold when they are wet and it is dark.
• Goggles – extra pair if you have them
• Caps – MANDATORY for swimmers whose hair covers their eyebrows.
• Sweats - in case it gets cool after dark
• Shade (hat/canopy, sunglasses etc)
• Chairs / Blankets
• Money for concessions
• Cards / Games
• Snacks – like non-carbonated drinks, non sugary items (cereal, rice-cakes) or fruit.
• Bug Spray
• Patience – lots of it!

Weather

Be prepared for inclement weather. You will need to clear the pool deck in the event of lightning so please bring something for your child to do while waiting in the car. Many families pack movies for vehicles with DVD players. DO NOT LEAVE THE MEET WITHOUT NOTIFYING A COACH OR THE PARENT REP. We will be using Swimtopia Mobile to keep everyone informed of the meet’s delays, restarts and/or postponement. You need to dowload SwimTopial Mobile with the phone(s) that you will have with you at the meet so that we can reach you if you leave a meet due to inclement weather. We really try to complete the meet the first night. If Wednesday’s meet is postponed due to weather we will be completing the meet on Thursday.

How long does a meet last?

This quick answer is "as long as it takes". The real answer is a bit more complicated! Most eight and under swimmers are in event 28 or 29 (Girl/Boy 25 meter freestyle) and that is their last event. On the whole, those events usually happens around 8:30 and mark the halfway point of the meet. That is when we switch to our second shift volunteers. It can depend on the size of the team that we are swimming against, the size of the pool, the efficiency of the parents running the meet, and, of course, the weather. Most eight and under (only) families can leave the meet at this point. There is one other eight and under event - butterfly that happens after this one - but very few kids are usually in that event.

If your swimmer is nine and up, then your meet lasts longer. The relays are at the very end of the meet - event 52-55 and we have as many of these as we can - most swimmers have one. Generally they are done around 11:00. Our league (GRAL) really wants to see all meets end by 11:30. In recent years, I have not seen one go past midnight.

Important Rules:

1. Writing on your body is prohibited except the events on hands.
2. Swimmer may wear only one suit.
3. Please wear the team cap or a solid cap. All suits should be competitive in style and cannot have the name of another team on it. (i.e. BAC, Atlee). We sell the Makos caps at the meet. They are $10 or $15 depending on cap(latex/silicone). Please bring exact change if possible.

If your find yourself running late, write/call/text the parent rep.

Lastly – have fun!!!!!

Whew! That’s a lot to know. Thanks for reading and doing your best to prepare for your first meet!