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    6.03.23 rsvp, volunteer & first meets

    June 3rd

    6.03.23

    It has been a great week back in the pool! Thanks to the parents for remaining outside the fence or on the upper deck during practices. We see you and appreciate your following the request. It helps swimmers better focus on the coaches and keeps the area clear for the team to move around.

    Calendar:

    • Regular practice Monday - Friday
    • June 5 - Away meet against Catoosa - Wear all the Red you can!
      • 19 Van Cleve St., Fort Oglethorpe, GA 30742
      • 5:00p StH Warm Up & volunteer check in
      • 5:30p Meet Starts
      • Mac’s Food Truck available
    • June 8 - Home meet against Dalton - Wear Blue for World Ocean Day!
      • 5-8:30p Truckin’ Treats Food Truck & Concessions open
      • 5:00p StH Warm Up & volunteer check in
      • 6:00p Meet Starts
    • June 9 - Doughnuts after practice

    ✅Has your swimmer declared their meet attendance? A RSVP for each meet is critical and needed at least a day ahead. The final heat sheet will be posted after 1pm on the day of the meet. Changes and updates are made prior to that time and our StH swimmers are merged with the other team's swimmers for the full meet info. The SwimTopia app is free but to see the heat sheets, you will need a subscription, just $2.99/month. There is usually one copy printed and posted at the pool but the most convenient method is to download the app. It is really worth the cost.

    • Log into our SwimTopia website
    • Click on EVENT/MEETS CALENDAR tab
    • Scroll down to each meet (yes, it will take a little time)
    • Click the green MEET ENTRY button and EDIT your swimmer(s)
    • Pick a volunteer job shift (We will have training before the first meet!)
    • Remember to SAVE before leaving the page
    • Repeat for each event & meet.

    ✋Volunteers need to report by 5:00. If you have not signed up to help, please do! We literally cannot have a swim meet without these positions filled:

    • Volunteer Sign In - please arrive by 4:45. Check with a board member to get your sign in information. You will be in charge of organizing the other volunteers for this meet.
    • Deck Parent - arrive by 5:00 to sign in. You will have a printed heat sheet and will organize our littles and get them to the correct lane on time. A perfect job for a parent with a younger swimmer.
    • Place Judge - arrive by 5:00 to sign in. You will watch the finish of each heat and determine the order in which the swimmer's finished. A great job for a fast paced front row seat.
    • Lane Timer - arrive by 5:00 to sign in. You will stand behind the block and record the swimmer’s time. Each timer is provided a stopwatch, heat sheet and assigned a lane. A great job to stay cool with the spray of pool water.
    • Scorekeeper - arrive by 5:00 to sign in. You will work with the other team’s scorekeeper to enter the scores immediately after each event.

    ⏰Timeline of a meet:

    • Day of - pre-meet prep
      • Hydrate and eat healthy food
      • EHL (see below) written on arm with sharpie
      • Littles need first initial, last name, & age written on the back, right shoulder
      • Pack a towel, team suit & cap, goggles, healthy and hydrating snacks and water
      • With a sharpie, write the swimmer name on the right shoulder blade.  First intitial, last name and age.
      • After approximately 2pm, check SwimTopia for the meet heat sheet.  Write the Event-Heat-Lane on your swimmer so they know where to be & when. 

    Heating Sheets - Dam West Dolphins

    • Five minutes before warmup - swimmers need to be on deck, behind the blocks, and fully ready to get in the water
      • goggles and StH cap on (no other team cap is allowed)
      • In practice group/with Coach
    • WarmUp with coaches will be 30 minutes (or less for the younger swimmers)
    • Summer swim meets will take approximately four hours from beginning to end
      • If there is a weather delay, please go to your vehicle or into a building but do not leave. If the meet is canceled/or to be rescheduled, we will let you know.

    General meet info:

    • Swimmers must wear StH team caps to every meet. We will get those to you on Monday! We hope to see all swimmers in our team suit. It looks so great to see everyone on deck in our uniform. There are still a limited number of suits available at Front Runner for 50%off.
    • During the meet, our 8 & unders should sit together so it is easy for our Deck Parent to find them and get them to the blocks on time. Big Sharks will be managing themselves.
    • It is so important that parents & swimmers listen to the announcer and be ready to report to the appropriate lane at least one event before. Summer swim meets go pretty fast, so it is critical that everyone pay attention.
    • Every swimmer has the chance to earn points for our team and every point counts. The team with the most points at the end of the meet wins. And Sharks always want to win!
    • Points are awarded to the team for swimmers placing 1 through 8 in individual meets, plus first and second in relays. Relay points are huge! We always have tough competition in our division and want to be the team that works the hardest and has the most fun!
    • If something happens and a swimmer misses an event, go directly to the head official (wearing white, usually with a whistle/microphone). If you are lucky, you may be able to get into another heat. This is not always possible so it is very important for swimmers (and their parents) to pay attention to the event numbers.
    • The reasons are complicated, but sometimes coaches will enter an athlete as an exhibition swimmer. This means the swimmer cannot earn points but can still swim for practice and sportsmanship.
    • A DQ is a disqualification from an event due to a mistake in a start, stroke, turn, or finish. If you are disqualified in a race, the judge will raise their arm, fill out a DQ slip, and your time will not be counted. This will happen. It is part of the learning process. It is not ideal, but no reason to scold a swimmer. We are all out there to have fun. Yes, we want to win, but developing a love of the sport and enjoying the team comradery is so much more important.
    • Good sportsmanship is essential. Stay in the pool until everyone from the heat is finished. Shake hands with the swimmers on either side of you. We are the team with the best integrity and will remain so.
    • If you don’t make it until the very end of the meet, we will post the final points on Facebook & Instagram.
    • We are a TEAM. Please encourage your swimmer to cheer on the other Sharks. The atmosphere of a summer swim meet can be so much fun with full participation.
    • So on that note, the team cheer kicks off each meet. The cheer is repeated three times: soft, loud, then screamy, and a ”GO SHARKS!” finale.

    If you ordered team swag, we will let you know when those are ready. We do have caps as well as a limited number of vintage shirts available. Please bring cash or check to a meet to purchase.

    Finally, we recognize this email is a lot. We always want parents & swimmers to be comfortable and ready. There is even more info to be found in our Team Handbook and Tips page on the website (links below). Please reach out if you have any questions and let’s take a bite out of those Catoosa Sharks & Dalton Dolphins!

    #sharks4life

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