Peachtree Corners Waverunners

It is Thursday night in June in Peachtree Corners.  Where are all the kids?  That's right, they are at a swim meet.  Its hot, its crazy, its miserable, its a giant tailgate party with few laps thrown in.  Its also tons of fun.  Let's just hope there's no rain.

Meet prep

• Meet entries and logistics: Our coaches will enter your swimmer in his/her events several days prior to the meet. Please let us know by the Saturday before if you will be missing a meet.  Meet entries are exchanged two days before a meet, and it is difficult to add swimmers once the entries have been exchanged.  
• Heat sheets: Meet programs, or heat sheets, will be emailed out the day of the meet. The heat sheet includes all the information about who is swimming, when and where. It will help you navigate each race in the meet. Bring a highlighter or sharpie to mark your child’s events and other key races you don’t want to miss. Heat sheets will not be available at the meet, so please print these at home.
• Relay teams: Relay teams are seeded by the coaches prior to the meet and swimmers will typically find out their relay team upon check-in at the meet. We have a magnetic board in the bullpen area that displays the relay teams. ALWAYS check the relay board before you leave a meet, as they may change during the meet.  Please also check one age group up, as swimmers sometimes swim up to fill a relay.  If your child scratches from a relay, it hurts the other 3 swimmers in the relay.  Keep an eye on the relay board and listen for your swimmer's name before these races, sometimes we need last minute subs!

Day of meet

• Swimmer nutrition and rest: Your swimmer should have down time or rest during the afternoon prior to the meet. Swimming requires proper hydration and nutrition to do your best. Eat healthy snacks, avoid dairy and limit candy or sweets the day of a race.
• Swimmer Check-In: Swimmers should arrive at the meet between 4:45 – 5:00 p.m. Check the "Weekly Wave" for exact times.  Swimmers should wait in the bull pen until they are called up for warm ups.
• Swimmer warm-ups: Each team warms up before meets. When we are the AWAY team, our team warm up begins around 5pm. When we are the HOME team, our team warms up at 5:30 p.m. Be on time for warm ups! We have a very limited block of time for ALL our swimmers to get in the water and loosen up before the meet begins.

During the meet

• Start and end time: You’ve probably heard the saying "If its my last day on earth, make it a swim meet, those things last forever!"  But, it is really not that bad.  All meets begin at 6 p.m. If you have young swimmers, you may only have events during the first half and may be done by 8 p.m. Meets can go until 11:00 pm for some age groups and strokes, based on the size of both teams.  Most are done by 10:00 pm.  Really!
• Events: All events and heats are announced by the starter. The event board on the deck will show which event is in progress. The bull pen event board will show which event is currently being “called” to take to the staging area.
• Concessions: Concessions are available for purchase at meets and help support the local swim teams. Bring cash to purchase food and drink. All teams can take cards or a pay app, but sometimes these are down, so bringing cash as a back-up is a good idea.
• Disqualifications (DQs): A DQ is given when a stroke and turn judge notices that the swimmer had an issue with their start, stroke, turn or finish. Don’t worry if your child gets a DQ! Be positive with your child and let them know this is a normal part of learning swimming strokes. A “DQ” will be reflected in the final results and no time will be recorded.
• Support your swimmer and our coaches: Have fun and celebrate their participation in the event. We’ll focus on critique and improvements during the follow week’s practice. We want the meet to be a fun experience for all!
• Inclement weather: We always watch the weather and will use "Remind" to update you. During thunder or lightning, no one is allowed in the pool or on the pool deck for 30 minutes from the start of each occurrence.  Yes, that means please go sit in your car. This is part of the fun of summer swim! Really!

Post meet

• Leaving a meet: Always check in with the bullpen before leaving a meet to be sure your swimmer hasn’t been added to a later relay.  Please make sure you have all your stuff.  Swimmers seem to spread out, and you'd be amazed at what is left behind sometimes.  Single shoes????
• Event results: As races are completed, the results are printed and posted. Please check your child's events and placement.  If your child was marked as "NS" and you saw your child swim, please let a co-chair know.  It is easier to fix things like this at a meet, than afterward.  
• Ribbons: Ribbons are awarded for places 1 to 6 for individual events and relay teams. All swimmers receive participation ribbons for events they swim in if they don't place and do not "DQ".  Rainbow “Speed Breaker” ribbons are awarded during the season for time improvement in any race. “Speed Breakers” encourage our swimmers to compete against themselves! Ribbons are not awarded to swimmers who are disqualified during a race.  Please be patient with the Ribbon works on Friday mornings - they still have to stick and file the Rainbow Ribbons.  
• Fun Friday: Fridays after meets, we host a Fun Friday event from 10 – 11:30 a.m. for all swimmers. We have a team meeting and donuts!  Swimmers can pick up their ribbons from the ribbon box at Fun Friday or throughout the week.

Parent checklist

• Your own chair
• Water bottles
• Coolers are allowed, but no glass or alcoholic beverages, please
• Sunscreen
• Bug spray
• Visor or hat
• Sunglasses
• Pen or highlighter to mark your heat sheets
• CASH/CARD/APP! Support the swim team by purchasing dinner at the concession stand. 
• Make sure your swimmer knows where you are seated or volunteering, but they should wait in the bullpen.
• Encourage your child to get to know other kids in the bull pen area and listen out for their races.

Swimmer checklist

• Small bag to keep all items.  Plastic file boxes keep towels dry.
• Label, label, label! Everything looks alike so make sure you have your swimmer’s name on everything!
• Sharpie pen to write meet information on your swimmer if needed. (tip: apply sunscreen at home, then write on swimmer. Sunscreen erases Sharpie marks)
• Two towels (one to sit on, one to dry with)
• Two pair of goggles (in case one breaks)
• Swim Cap
• Team T-shirt and another tech-tshirt or swim shirt that you can put on wet skin
• Shoes/sandals
• Activities to do while waiting for races – cards, books, games, etc.
• Water bottle
• Money for drinks and food
• Sunscreen
• A good attitude, primed for fun!