Swim Meet Tips
Following are some hints and suggestions for those of you who have never attended a Gwinnett County swim meet and a reminder for those of us who have.
MEET CHECK-IN
All swimmers and volunteers must sign in at the check-in table upon arrival. This assures the coaches and the volunteer coordinator that all swimmers and volunteers are at the meet.
MEET CHECK-OUT
All swimmers must check out with the head coach prior to leaving the meet if they leave before the end of the meet. This is essential to the safety of our children. It is also a team matter because they may be needed to swim a relay in which they were not originally scheduled to swim. The coach will know if your child is through for the evening and will release him/her if he/she is finished.
INCLEMENT WEATHER
Swim meets are NEVER cancelled prior to the start of the meet. The assumption is that the meet will be held but possibly delayed. Please show up on time, ready to work your assignment, with your child prepared to swim. If the meet is postponed, this will happen on the pool deck and the make-up time will be announced at that time. Every attempt will be made to swim the meet as planned, before postponement.
Should threatening weather start during the meet, an announcement will be made to clear the deck. At home meets, PLEASE GO TO YOU CAR BUT DO NOT LEAVE UNTIL AN ANNOUNCEMENT IS MADE BY THE MEET OFFICIALS; every attempt will be made to finish the meet. Should the meet be cancelled, check your email for the makeup time (typically Monday or Tuesday of the following week). At away meets, go to your car or to a location announced by the head official.
PARKING
We expect anywhere from 300 to 500 people at the pool for swim meets. As you can imagine, parking is always a problem. Be prepared to walk a long distance. Many pools, including Evergreen Lakes, have limited facility parking. Please remember to follow parking instructions at other pools. Please be sure to only park on one side of the street to ensure an adequate corridor for emergency vehicles to travel in and out of the event, if necessary.
WARM-UP
Reminder, warm-up for home meets begins at 5:00 pm and for away meets at 5:25pm. Please arrive at least 15 minutes prior to warm-ups so your swimmer will be ready to get in the pool when warm-up begins.
WHAT TO BRING
Bring your own chairs. Club chairs at the pool are used for staging the swimmers.
Bring several towels. It’s nice to have a warm, dry towel after each event. At least two towels per swimmer would be good. Believe it or not, by the end of the meet it gets a little cool, especially if wet, so bring a sweatshirt or something warm for the swimmer to wear between events and after the meet is over.
Swim meets can run as late as 11:00pm, although a smooth running meet can finish by 10:00pm. We suggest you bring entertainment (cards, electronic games, iPods, etc.) for your children to prevent boredom between events. All events for 6 & under are held in the first half of the meet, so those swimmers will be free to leave after they have competed in their events and their parents have completed their volunteer job shift. As mentioned, you are free to leave as soon as your swimmer has competed, but please check out with the head coach prior to leaving the meet in case relay teams are rearranged.
Our Concession stand will sell food, drinks, candy and lots of other great stuff. You won’t have to worry about eating before you come. Coolers are welcome if you would like to bring your own snacks and drinks.
WHERE DO WE SIT
Our team area for home meets will be on the wooden deck/pavilion. Parents sit on the lake side of the pool. At other pools, just look for familiar faces to see which side of the pool you should be on.
Please make sure your children remain in the team area during the entire meet. The bullpen workers will make every effort to call them for their event, but if they do not hear their name, they may miss their event and their opportunity to swim in the meet. For new and younger swimmers it is a good idea to help them get to the bullpen at the correct time. There will be a sign near the bullpen indicating which events and heats are lining up. The bullpen is at the deeper end of the pool. Swimmers are lined up at least 3 heats before the race.
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