Swim Team Friends,

We are so proud of you all! What a joy to watch you in the water these past 3+ weeks. And now…it’s the real deal. We can’t wait to see you put your “fins” to the test in our 1^st virtual, home swim meet against Riverside on Thursday, May 27^th. Here’s the run-down:

And don't forget...morning practice starts tomorrow (yes, we practice on meet days): 8:30 AM-9:00 AM 6&Under, 9:00 AM-9:45 AM 7-8, 9:45 AM-10:45 AM 9&UP

One more thing - the theme of this meet is sports teams (parents, guests and athletes are encouraged to come to the meet wearing their favorite college and pro sports apparel and accessories). Go crazy (oversized foam fingers = MAJOR bonus!)

Swimmers

Upon 4:30 PM arrival for a swim meet, a swimmer’s four basic responsibilities are as follows:

1. Report to their respective bullpen preparation area and let the bullpen volunteer know that they have arrived (bullpen preparation areas are located in the baby pool area.)
2. Ensure they are marked up by the bullpen volunteer with first name, last name initial, age group, and the events they are swimming (the only exception is 13&Up who will mark themselves)
3. Report on-time to warm-up (begins at 5:00 PM)
4. Once the meet starts, report to the bullpen waiting area at least 5 heats before they are to swim and sit on the bench according to heat and lane number (volunteers will be there to assist).

Volunteers

Upon arrival for a swim meet, a volunteer’s three basic responsibilities are as follows:

1. Let the Volunteer Chairperson (Deana Menikoff) know they have arrived and obtain a name tag (Deana will be at the check-in desk at the entrance to the pool)
2. Report any volunteer job concerns or questions to the Volunteer Chairperson
3. Report on-time to designated location for their volunteer job

Side note: Timers, Judges and Coaches will have a brief meeting with the ASA official assigned to our meet around 5:15 PM. Listen for the call to do so

Spectators

Virtual meets were designed so that our athletes can invite their entire family and any friends to support and watch them compete. You do not need to be a member to watch a swim meet. 

• Shall be gracious (and have fun!) as they cheer on all our Barracudas in a respectful manner
• Shall not engage in loud, intimidating, disrespectful or negative behavior toward officials, athletes, other spectators, support personnel or pool staff (including lifeguards)

Tips for a Successful Meet

1. Wear your sports team attire! Have fun with the themed meet night guys! 
2. Bring cash for concessions. A credit card is only accepted for merchandise, not food/beverage items. Checks are not accepted for either. Bills over $50.00 are also not accepted. We will have pizza, chicken nuggets, chicken sandwiches, pasta salad, assorted candy, chips and drinks. Support our concessions please!
3. Do not put sunscreen on the right/back shoulder blade and left/inside forearm of your swimmer(s). This is because we write on those areas for each swimmer and the ink will not transfer if you have sunscreen there.
4. Bring fold-up chairs, activities and sunscreen. Basically, anything that will make your experience more enjoyable and quiet activities (like cards) which will make your swimmer(s) less restless in between events.
5. Clean up, throw away trash. Please, be a good neighbor and don't leave our volunteers and Team Reps to clean up after you.
6. Drive slow through the neighborhood, do not block driveways or mailboxes when parking.
7. Swimmers need to stay in their designated bullpen preparation area (in the baby pool area) until they have completed all their events. If your child comes to you after their event, please quickly congratulate your child and send him/her back to the bullpen area. In order to keep the meet running smoothly, it is important for your child to be in the team area to know when to proceed to the deck to line up for his/her event. Ownership is on parent and athlete to ensure the swimmer is lined up on deck and ready for their event. Bullpen volunteers will help in the process however they have a lot of swimmers to keep track of and need the extra help.

Schedule for Thursday, May 27th: VIRTUAL, HOME against Riverside

• 4:30 PM arrival for swimmers & 1st shift volunteers
• 5:00 PM Barracuda’s warm-up
• 5:30 PM meet start
• 6:30 PM arrival for 2nd shift volunteers

Finally…during this meet, let’s demonstrate our finest moments of kindness, compassion, patience, and support! This is what swim team season is all about. We are grateful to have swimmers that have the physical ability to participate in the sport and families who are present for their athletes and positive influences to those around them. Let’s not forget it swim team family – THESE. ARE. GIFTS.

We love swimming with you!

Amber Cooley & Brooke Brown (your team reps)