Important Meet Info for Returning and New Families

The meet is this Thursday at:

Cooper’s Pond Community

97 Coopers Pond Dr

Lawrenceville, GA 30044

The meet starts at 6pm. We have the second warm up. Swimmers should arrive no later than 5:15pm however, we suggest arriving closer to 5pm. Parking lots at community pools are very small and you will likely need to park on the street in the community. Please be mindful of homeowners and do not park driveways.

We will hand out swim caps and remaining team shirts upon arrival. There are a handful of extra shirts left. You may purchase onsite for first come first serve. $12 exact change cash or check made out to Waterton Community Association

Veteran families, please help new families navigate the heat sheets and label their swimmers.

We suggest spectators bring bug spray.

Reminder ALL SWIMMERS ARE TO STAY IN THE BULLPEN! Volunteers WILL NOT go find swimmers who are not in the bullpen area. The kids should bring something to entertain themselves. (Like cards or coloring, no electronics or things of value.)  Please have your swimmer clean up all of their trash prior to leaving.  We need to leave the facilities like we found it, or better!

All volunteers are to check in with Mary Beth Durham upon arrival (She will be wearing a lime green team shirt and be located near the bullpen.)  Timer/Officials meeting for those working either half is usually between 5:30-5:45pm. Listen for announcement from home team.

FUN FRIDAY/Stroke Clinic Coach Abby has offered to teach stroke clinics before fun Friday. This week from 9a-10a she will work on Starts and Turns. All team swimmers are welcome. At 10am will begin Fun Friday. Each swimmer can pick up their ribbons earned from the night before and have a light donut snack. There will also be a team spirit activity of decorating a welcome banner and drawing team tattoos!

Swimmers are to be supervised by a parent or adult age 18 and over. Fun Friday ends at 11am and those who are not pool members will be required to exit the pool deck.

NEW PARENTS, BASIC MEET INFORMATION return parents are welcome to keep reading 😉

Key Parent team volunteers and coaches will be wearing lime green shirts to make it easy to find us on deck. Have a question? Find us we will help or partner you with a veteran family.

WHAT TO BRING:

Chairs: all spectators need their own chair, we do not use pool furniture. Swimmers will sit on their towels in the bullpen

Sunscreen/Bug Spray

Sharpies (explained below)

Cooler: drinks/snacks if desired, concession stand will be available as well.

Extra Towels

Goggles

The meet program is called the “heat sheet”. This program is sold by teams usually for $1-$2. This lineup will tell you which event, heat and lane your swimmer is swimming in. The Events are listed by stroke, age and gender. (EVENT #1: Girls 6 and under backstroke) Heats are the individual races within the event. Although most host teams will reward the swimmer in each heat, all of the times compete against all of the heats in their event. So, its possible for the swimmer to win their heat but place further down in the standings. (See a veteran parent if you need help with explanation!) We label our swimmers by using a sharpie marker so the kids know which events they are in. A veteran family or teen swimmer will help you. It is also suggested to write your swimmers LAST NAME and AGE on their back. It helps timers make sure they have the right kid. (You can also tell your swimmer to tell the timer their last name as they step up.)

Meet Length The meet has 82 events. Most swimmers age 8 and under are finished in the first half. Swimmers are free to leave after they have swam ALL of their events AND asked Coach Scott or Coach Abby. Its important swimmers don’t leave without checking. Relays are often changed after arrival due to absences. If a swimmer leaves early and they are slotted for the relay, the other 3 swimmers will be left unable to swim.

The entire meet is usually done around 10pm. This can vary based off size of team or technical issues.

WEATHER DELAY If there is a lightning delay, the pool deck will be cleared, and families will be sent to wait in their cars. We ask that you DO NOT LEAVE. We do everything we can to wait out the storm and get the meet in. Returning another day, requires hours of pool set up time and often volunteers or swimmers cannot attend the make-up date which ends up in a poor meet for all. We will send out REMIND 101 updates during delays.

Controlled Chaos is the only way to describe a summer swim meet. The deck WILL be crowded and a lot goes on. Hang in there and understand each week will seem a little less stressful.

Get your camera’s ready to watch your swimmers conquer their goals! You’ll be amazing at the progress each week! Starting with ribbons for meet 2, RAINBOW ribbons will be awarded for swimmers who beat their previous times. According to Coach Scott, THESE mean more than 1^st place! It shows your swimmer is improving.

EXCITED to see you all at Cooper’s Pond!

Your Parent Board:

Kari Scull- Primary Council

Mike Stagl- Secondary Council

Gio De La Pena- Treasurer

Eric Jenson- Board Member/Concession Stand Chairperson