IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE CITY OF CHARLESTON
SURVIVAL
GUIDE
SWIM MEET SURVIVAL GUIDE 1. Eat a healthy meal that day at least 30 minutes before the start of warm-ups. 2. Remember sunscreen, a towel, cap and goggles. Also, as crazy as it sounds, something to keep your swimmer warm (like a sweatshirt or a long-sleeved T) because it might get chilly once the sun goes down. 3. You might want to bring something for the swimmers to sit on besides their towels so they can use the towels to dry off with. 4. Keep an eye on the Heat Sheet. Many swimmers like to write their events on their arms/hands/legs to help them remember what they are swimming. This will also help you as a parent to keep track of what your child is swimming and when. 5. All swimmers might need some guidance the first few meets, just remind them what event it is and have them be aware of when they are swimming. Volunteers will line them up for their races. Once you drop them off in the designated area or “bull pen” you can go and enjoy the races. 6. Listen for events to be called and try to have your swimmer ready (cap on goggles in hand). If your child misses his/her race there is nothing we can do about it. This is why it is so important to listen carefully and pay attention to what events are currently in the water. 7. If your child wants to snack, try to have something healthy on hand like bagels, granola bars, pretzels, fruits and vegetables. Save the pizza and nachos for after they are all done swimming. 8. Also, staying hydrated is very important especially during the summer. Please have plenty of water, Gatorade or Power-Ade for your child to drink. Stay away from sodas and juice with lots of sugar. 9. You are welcome to cheer as much as you want, but if you have a heat sheet you will be certain to see your own child swim. Heat sheets are only $1.00 each! 10. WARM-UPS for meets will begin promptly at 6:00, there is not a lot of time for latecomers so please allow plenty of time for traffic and finding the facility when traveling to other pools. 11. VOLUNTEERS please be at your assigned area or checked in no later than 6:30. If you are unsure of what your job is, don’t be afraid to ask one of the Swim moms. They will gladly help you. 12. Last but not least, this is a team sport we highly encourage team spirit by dressing up in Starfish gear and cheering for others as they swim. Also, sportsmanship is a MUST; we want our swimmers to be the most respectful swimmers in the entire league!
13. Swimming “Lingo”: One lap of the pool is 25 yards or meters depending on the pool, you will hear coaches saying things like 25, 50 or 100 it just means the number of laps times 25; to be “DQ’d” means to be disqualified; the “bull pen” is the place where swimmers line up before they line up behind the blocks. 14. Please be aware, meets can run as late as 10pm. If you need to leave early, please make sure you let Coach B know before the meet so she doesn’t schedule your child in a later event. 15. The Order of Events is as follows: • 200m Medley Relay (four swimmers in a relay 1. Back 2. Breast 3. Fly 4. Free) • Freestyle (free) • Butterfly (fly) • Backstroke (back) • Breaststroke (breast) • 100m Individual Medley (I.M.) (Fly, Back, Breast, Free) • 200m Freestyle Relay (all four swimmers swim Freestyle) 16. The distance each age-group will swim in a race is as follow: • 6 and unders swim only a 25 freestyle exhibition (not-for-points event) • 7-8’s swim 25’s of all the strokes (no I.M. for this age group) • 9 and up swim 50s of all the events (100 for the I.M.) 17. Once your child is done with ALL of his/her events you are allowed to leave, but we encourage you to stay as long as you can to continue cheering on the Starfish teammates. If you need to leave before your child is done for some reason, please find a coach or swim mom to notify before you go. This could affect relays and line-ups, leaving early should be for emergencies only.
Thank you for being there for ou WE APPRE r swimmers... CIATE IT!
Please Remember: The JCC is a Kosher Facility. Any food/drink that comes onto the campus must have one of the below Kosher symbols on it.