Important info...suits, practice, meet!

As of 4pm on Thursday, it appears that our suits won't be ready in time.  I am frustrated by this, but at this point in time it is out of our hands.  I will update you as soon as I know more!  So, plan to wear any suit to the meet this weekend.  Plan to wear our new RED swim caps.  If you didn't get one at the Pumpkin Meet, see a coach when you arrive.

Next, NO DRYLAND PRACTICE on 10/31.  Due to several families notifying me that they won't be coming, I have decided to cancel tomorrow's practice.

Finally, our first "real" meet is upon us, and I am very excited.  Warm-ups will begin at 3:30 on Saturday, so plan to arrive about 20 minutes early to the Mt. Hood CC - Aquatic Center.  The meet should last around 3 hours.

Below you will find some basic procedures and meet etiquette to help understand what a swim meet entails and what to expect.

Here is a good website that lists general swim meet basics from the USA Swimming website.  Feel free to read it (in addition to my notes) for a good overview of swim meets in general.

Arriving and warm-up:
Swimmers should come to the team area on the deck in their swimsuits. We will inform swimmers when the warm-up time begins. Everyone must complete the warm-ups. This is the time for swimmers to get ready for their races, get their muscles warmed up, and get used to the pool they are swimming in.  After warm-ups, we will have a quick team meeting and team cheer.

During the meet:

After the team meeting, swimmer will go to the area where they are sitting and wait there until his/her first event is called. Due to the length of the meet, swimmers should plan to occupy themselves with a book (that could possibly get wet), by cheering, chatting with friends, or sitting with their parents.  No electronics should be on the pool deck, due to the proximity of the water.  They will need to make sure they are paying attention to what event is swimming. The announcer will announce events and heats.  Let your swimmer know that they should go to the bullpen (staging area) about 3 events before they swim WITH THEIR MEET ENTRY CARD in their hand. There will be volunteers to help them get to the right lane in the correct heat of the event.  If the swimmer is not in the lane behind the starting block for their heat and event, the starter will not wait for them, so it is important that they follow the meet.

Snacks:
Since the meets are around three hours long, the swimmers may get hungry.  The best snacking foods would be any light, and nutritious snack that won't make a mess on the pool deck.  Goldfish, Ritz crackers, and Cheerios are poor choices due to how they make a mess once wet on the pool deck.  Fruit, peanut-free trail mix, wheat thins, etc... are all great choices.