THE DAY OF … WHAT TO BRING TO A SWIM MEET

• Team Swimsuit - Participants need to come dressed in their team swimsuit.  

• Sunscreen - Remember your sunscreen!  It’s no fun getting sunburned and the UV rays are strong even at early morning swim meets.

• Swim Cap – not required but HIGHLY recommended.  Helps keep hair out of their eyes and their focus on their race.

• Goggles – and a spare pair of goggles.  Straps can break and swimmers rely on their goggles as part of their “uniform”.

• Towel(s) – one for wearing and one for sitting on in the team area.

• Team t-shirts – always have to represent the PW Waves family!

• Chairs – folding chairs for spectators; some meets provide seating, some do not.  Swimmers stay with our team area and sit on towels.

• Drinks & Snacks - lots of water to keep hydrated.  Most teams have a concession stand at meets; but come prepared just in case.

• Highlighter and Heat Sheets – mheat sheets will be available online the night before the meet and will not be available at the meets.  

• Sharpie Pen – we encourage all swimmers to have their Event info written on their arm where they can easily see and take charge of their races.  It’s best to have Event info written on their arm BEFORE arriving at the pool for the swim meet.

WHAT TO EXPECT WHEN YOU ARRIVE AT A MEET

• 6:30am arrival time for weekend morning meets; 5pm arrival time for evening meet.  Unpack and get ready for stretching.

• Swimmers sit with our team; spectators set up in designated spectator area.  

• Only coaches/volunteers/meet staff & swimmers allowed on pool deck during swim meet.

• Swimmers meet with their coach for team stretching and team cheer prior to warm-ups in the water (around 6:45am)

• Locate their events in your program and highlight them the night before; makes it easier following your swimmers along.

• You will see other parents writing event information on their child’s arms/legs with sharpie marker – you may want to do the same. Ideally this is done before arriving at the pool; it allows the swimmers to learn to keep track of their own schedule. **PARENTS are responsible for writing event/heat/lane numbers on their child’s arm.  Coaches will be busy and not writing Event info.

• The meet starter will make announcements for each event and display an event sign. Please make sure you are watching/listening for your child’s event.  Races are fast and can easily be missed if you’re not paying attention.   Swimmers stay with the team to lessen the chance of a missed race.  We will NOT chase down swimmers for their event; it’s their responsibility to stay with the team and focus.

• If your child left the team area, please be mindful of the events. Encourage your kids to stay with the team.  As they get older, it becomes solely their responsibility to get to the Clerk-of-Course for their event on time.  Parents are not allowed behind the clerking/starting area.

ONCE YOUR CHILD HAS COMPLETED THEIR EVENT

• Children will be asked to exit the pool as soon as their race has completed.  Meets move quickly with the goal of finishing around 10am.

• Swimmers return to the team area and are encouraged to read their Event info on their arm to prepare for their next race.

BEFORE LEAVING THE MEET

• Make sure your swimmer has completed ALL of their races for the day.  Do not leave early if you are entered in a relay – leaving before the relay means the 3 other swimmers in that relay do not get to swim because their teammate left.

• LEAVE NO TRACE- clean up your area (swimmers & spectators)

• Thank your coaches and the volunteers/meet staff – it takes A LOT of people to put together a swim meet

MISCELLANEOUS

• Parents … you are your child’s #1 fan.  Remember your responsibility as a parent is to make sure your child knows that win or lose, scared or heroic-you love him/her, appreciate their efforts, and are not disappointed in them. This will allow them to do their best without fear of failure. Be the person in their life that they can look to for constant positive reinforcement.

• Allow the coaches the opportunity to coach.  The relationship between the swimmer and coach is important. When a parent interferes with the coach’s opinion as to how the swimmer should swim or train, it causes considerable and oftentimes insurmountable confusion as to which the swimmer should listen to. If you have a problem or concern, please contact the coach (away from the meet) so you may discuss your concern.

• Please inform a coach/crew as-soon-as-possible if you have RSVP’d for a meet and cannot attend.  Teammates depend upon all kids who have RSVP’d to swim relays and if a child no-shows, then the entire relay cannot swim.

• Coaches will challenge kids to swim not only events that they are comfortable, but also events that they may not particularly want to swim.  

• Practice makes an athlete better and our swimmers are no different.  Coaches will determine if they think kids are physically/mentally ready to swim an event.  If your child is hesitant to swim an event, please be as supportive as possible and allow coaches the freedom to challenge the children.  Many, many times, the kids will surprise you.

• Swimming is a team effort. Encourage your children to come to swimming events with a positive attitude, be supportive of & cheer on their teammates, and to show good sportsmanship towards both heir teammates and swimmers on competing teams.

Reading a heat sheet for the first time can feel like trying to decode a secret language, but once you know what the columns mean, it’s actually quite logical. Think of it as the "program" for the meet.