First swim meet of the season...today!

Our first meet of the season is upon us, and we are very excited.  Warm-ups will begin at 3:30 today, so plan to arrive about 20 minutes early to the Mt. Hood CC Aquatic Center.  It can be hard to find, but follow the CC's signs for the Aquatic center.  The entrance is off of NE 17th and is on the south part of the property.  Click here for a Google Map.  The meet should last around 3 hours.  Please have your swimmer check out with a coach before leaving.  

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. Today, we can get into the water to begin warm ups at 3:30.  We ask that everyone arrive on deck around 3:10-15 to get set up.  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 by cheering, reading a book (that could possibly get wet), 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) once they get their meet entry card, and they need to keep it dry and walk to the bullpen. 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.

Communication:
If you need to contact a coach for any reason, call or text Coach Kevin (503-267-2346).  Especially if a swimmer will not show up for the meet.  We make all of the relays, and it is easier to substitute someone if they tell us in advance if they are not coming (even if its an hour before).