Swim meets take a great deal of volunteer time from our parents so it is really important that you make sure your swimmers are wellbriefed on how they are expected to behave. Most are angels, of course, but it’s always helpful to talk to them the evening or morning before a swim meet to remind them about how they’re expected to behave, and important things to remember for the meet.
The following is a good summary to use –
Contact the session Team Manager directly regarding scratchings or withdrawals.
Contact details for each session are on the roster sent out by our Official’s Coordinator.
Make sure that swimmers have enough food and drink to see them through the session. This is particularly important for longer swim meets.
The Team Managers will do their best to get swimmers to their event on time but swimmers still need to know what events they are swimming in each session, including event, heat number and roughly what time. Some swimmers find it helpful to have their event and heat written in vivid on their arm.
It is helpful if swimmers can keep track of what event the meet is up to and when they are swimming so they don’t badger the team managers with questions about how long until they’re racing.
Programmes are seldom printed now for environmental reasons, and parents are encouraged to either print their own or follow the meet on MeetMobile (free app for iPhone and Android which you can load event data from). It is pay to use service, but many parents find it helpful. It also gives updates on race results during the day even if you’re not at the pool (although note not all meets are on MeetMobile).
If swimmers are going for a walk ( or the bathroom) they must tell the Team Manager what they are doing and where they are going. The Team Managers will not going looking for swimmers if they are not around when they need to go down for their races.
Whilst it is the timekeepers responsibility to check the name of the child in the events/lane, it is good practice for the swimmers to get in the habit of telling the timekeepers their name and checking they are in the right lane.
At the end of the race swimmers need to move away from the touch pads and wait quietly and still at the side of the lane while the next race starts….. not waving to their friends or parents in the stands or talking to swimmers on the starting blocks!
It’s great to see the kids having a good time, but they do need to remember they must be quiet at the start of each race when the whistle is blown.
And last bit not least, all swimmers should make sure they don’t leave anything behind when they go home. It’s good practice to check around all the seats near where you’ve been sitting and get your mates to tidy up too it’s not fair to expect the team managers to have to clear up litter or lost property!