Swim Meet 101
EVERYTHING YOU ALWAYS WANTED TO KNOW ABOUT SWIM MEETS...BUT WERE AFRAID TO ASK!
Before the Meet Starts
1. Arrive at the pool at least 15 minutes before the scheduled warm-up begins. This time will be listed in the meet information.
2. Upon arrival, look for your teammates and find a place to put your swim bag. The team should sit together.
3. Your swimmer should report to the meet coach and get ready to swim by putting on their cap and goggles and waiting for warm-up instructions from the coach. All swimmers need to warm up with the team.
4. After the warm-up, your swimmer will return to the team area and should wait there until their event is called. This is a good time to make sure he/she goes to the bathroom if necessary, gets a drink, or gets settled in. Your swimmer should stay seated with the team, so the meet coaches know where to find them! If they need to leave the team area, they should let a coach know!!!
5. Parents should stay on deck for the entire meet and volunteer for a job.
6. Heat Sheets give heat and lane assignments for all swimmers in each event in order of "seed time." When the team entry is sent in, each swimmer and his/her previous best time in that event is listed. If the swimmer is swimming in an event for the first time, he/she will be entered as a "no-time" or "NT." A "no-time" swimmer will most likely swim in one of the first heats of the event. [Heat sheets are often available on the Swimtopia app.]
7. When a swimmer has completed all of his/her events, they should stay until the end of the meet. If you do need to leave, your swimmer should check with the coach before leaving. This allows your swimmer to say thank you and ensure they are not leaving before their events are complete.
What To Take To The Meet
1. Most important: swim suit, swim cap, and goggles.
2. Towels: your swimmer will likely need more than 1 towel!
3. Something to sit on (if desired). Example: sleeping bag, an old blanket, chairs.
4. Warm-Ups: Sweatshirt and pants. Each swimmer may want to bring two because they can get wet and soggy.
5. T-shirts: Two or three. Same reason as above.
6. Games: travel games, coloring books, books, anything to pass the time.
7. Food: Bring snacks. They usually have snack bars at the meet but here are some suggestions for items to bring:
Drinks - Fruit juice, Gatorade, WATER!
Snacks - Granola bars, dry cereal, sandwiches, bagels, nuts, pretzels, Cheez-It’s/crackers.
8. Sunscreen
Once you have attended one or two meets, this will all become routine. Please do not hesitate to ask any other Hurley Rec parent or coach for help or information!
