St Marlo Seals

What Happens on Meet Day?

Thursday Morning Practices

All swimmers are REQUIRED to attend Thursday morning practices before a meet. This is an important time as coaches "write" on swimmers during that practice. That's right, coaches write with a Sharpie on each swimmer's arm (or sometimes leg for the tiniest swimmers) each event the swimmer is participating in at that meet. These markings include the Event, Heat, Lane, and Stroke for each race the swimmer is scheduled to swim as shown below. This is important for swimmers because they don't carry heat sheets and this helps them, as well as coaches and volunteers, see where they need to be next!

E H L S_____
11 1 4 25 Free
33 3 2 25 Back

It is important to notify the head coach if you need to be late or miss a Thursday morning. If you aren't there and we don't know why, it is likely you will be replaced for swim events that evening!

Heat Sheets

A Heat Sheet is a document which lists all the swim events 1 through 86 in order. Each event includes the following information:

• Swimmer's Name
• Swimmer's Heat
• Swimmer's Lane
• Swimmer's Age
• Swimmer's Previous Best Time in that event (if the swimmer has competed in that event before). It will show "NT" for "No Time" if the swimmer has no recorded time.

To keep track of when your swimmer is swimming, it is a good idea to go through the heat sheet and highlight each of your swimmer’s events/heats. Heat sheets are usually for sale at each swim meet.

If you are volunteering as a shepherd at the meet, it is your responsibility to ensure that each swimmer has events listed on his/her arm. If you aren't sure how to locate this information on a heat sheet, ask a coach or swim committee member for help.

What to Bring to Meets

It is always a good idea for each swimmer to have a couple of towels - for little swimmers, parents may want to hold onto one, so the swimmer has one dry towel at the end. Swimmers may also want to have a waterproof type blanket to sit on under the bullpen tent. Other ideas are games and books to keep swimmers occupied while they wait for their events. Some swimmers bring small coolers with drinks and snacks, although we always have a fully stocked concession stand at home meets. We discourage bringing anything of extreme value as these items could get lost of broken. You know your child so use your best judgment. Put your name on EVERYTHING! Also, it is a good idea for parents of younger swimmers to have an extra pair of goggles and swim cap in their bag just in case...

Swimmers:

• Towels
• Something to sit on (extra towel or blanket)
• Swim cap
• 2 pairs of goggles
• Footwear – flip flops or crocs
• Games – cards, video game, etc. – swimmers are responsible for their own items.
• Money for concessions stands (or your own snacks and water)
• Dry shirt and shorts or sweatpants to change into
• Sunscreen
• Bag to put all the above in

Spectators:

• At some meets, seating is limited. Please feel free to bring a folding chair.
• Sunscreen
• Snacks and drinks, if desired
• Sharpie/pen (you may want to write down your child’s event/heat/lane info)
• Money for concessions (concession profits are used to purchase equipment, trophies and fund swim team activities). Be sure to visit the concession stand at home meets to support our swim team.
• Camera