Our first meet is Monday at the Lake Forest Lodge Pool! We are so excited to get the season underway! All swimmers need to arrive by 4:45 and set up in their age group areas and check in with the age group parents for your group so they know who has arrived. Look for the signs hanging on the deck inside the fenced pool deck labeling in which area each age group should sit. Bring bag chairs to sit in! All the pool chairs will be moved out to make room for the swimmers. Parking at the Lodge will get crowded so please follow the parking rules and do not park in the fire lane or any no parking areas. Warms up start at 5:00.

I want to provide some information to the team, especially new families, so everyone feels they know what to expect on Monday.  Please read this entire email.  I know it is long but it will answer most of your questions.

SIGNING UP DEADLINE HAS PASSED FOR MONDAY

I want to thank everyone for logging into the website and signing up yes or no for the first meet. We had to send out a number of last minute reminders to parents who were not signed up as the deadline approached which we will not do in the future. We will need you to commit yes or no on the website for each meet for the rest of the season. We would hate for any swimmer to get left out of a meet because they did not sign up YES by the deadline.

LAST MINUTE CHANGES AND NO SHOWS

If something comes up last minute between now and Monday at meet time, like a swimmer gets sick or there is a family emergency, you must contact Coach OLIVIA on her cell phone 864-525-9197 and let her know as soon as possible. Please contact Coach Olivia directly with last minute issues. You must contact Coach Olivia ahead of time because any changes to the events have to be made in the meet computer, and coaches need time to find replacement swimmers.

Please understand that last minute changes or no shows at meets have great negative downstream effects on other kids and the team’s ability to score points and win the meet. If a swimmer is a no show at a meet, then a lane goes empty that could have been filled with another swimmer from the age group. So someone missed out on a chance to swim. And there are limited heats in back, breast and fly.  We need every lane filled!  And a no show also means a relay is missing a swimmer and the other 3 swimmers in the relay cannot race and have to scratch.

COVID ISSUES

For this first home meet we are still under 75% capacity restrictions inside the pool area so we have developed some rules for this first meet. We will be at 100% by the time the second home meet happens. So please follow these rules and be patient will us and everyone. Remember this is all for the kids!

1) we will have only swimmers and meet workers on the pool deck inside the fence during the meet. All spectators will remain outside the fence.  Swimmers and meet workers will use the gate at the top of the ramp down to the pool.

• 2) we will have an area (the raised deck area between the big pool and adult pool) for parents to step up to watch their kids race and then step out of that area to allow the next set of parents to watch the next race. We will have Pool Marshalls in yellow vests directing this traffic flow.  Parents will use the gate by the adult pool to access the observation area.
  
  3) spectators can set up their chairs in the grass area outside the fence to the left of the pool. They can spread out as fits their comfort level.
  
  4) we will have the away team sit on the grassy area towards the playground and volleyball court.
  
  5) we will have a concession stand open that will be selling commercially produced, individually wrapped or bagged food items.
  
  6) we will not require mask wearing but encourage unvaccinated and those who so chose to wear a mask and socially distance as they see fit.
  
  Perhaps this is not the meet to bring extra spectators. Most of all we ask that everyone be patient with and respectful of others.

HEAT SHEETS

A heat sheet is a printed listing that tells everyone what events each swimmer will compete in. There are 80 events total in a meet. It also lists the swimmer’s heat and lane assignment per event. Lanes are typically assigned based on seed times (best prior times), with the fastest swimmers in the last heat and in the center lanes of the pool in each heat. The heat sheet will be emailed out to everyone on as soon as it is ready. You do not have to email or text us and ask if it is ready. We will email it out as soon as I get it. Please print it at home and bring it with you to the meet so you can follow along and know when your kids will swim. But when you arrive at the meet, please ask the age group parents if there have been any last minute changes that might affect your swimmer’s age group.

We need parents to write their kid’s events, heat and lane assignments with a sharpie on their arm and their first name and swimmer number on their shoulder before you arrive at the pool for the meet. I am attaching a document to this email that explains how to do this. If you do not understand, feel free to contact me or an experienced swim team parent for an explanation. This helps the kids know what their next event is and helps age group parents gather the right swimmers for each event.

IF YOU HAVE HAVE A VOLUNTEER JOB AT THE MEET – all volunteers need to check in at the Volunteer Table inside the fenced pool deck down by the shallow end when you arrive! That way we know all volunteers have shown up. If you do not show up and check in with Susie the volunteer coordinator, then your credit card will be charged $100 for each missed meet you were supposed to volunteer.

If you have any questions or issues about your volunteer job, please contact our volunteer coordinator directly: Susie Pechaur: [email protected].

When you arrive at the pool on Monday, all first half volunteers need to check in immediately at the Lake Forest Volunteer Table so we know you have reported for duty and can give you any equipment needed. Second half workers need to check in at the Lake Forest Volunteer Table any time before the mid-way break of the meet (break occurs after event 40).

If you are a timer or Stroke and Turn judge you will be expected to attend a 10 minute informational meeting with the LSA reps at around 5:30 to 5:45 (for first half workers) or during the mid-way break (for second half workers). Please listen for announcements made over the PA about when and where the timers meetings and officials meeting will take place. If you do not go to this meeting or arrive late to the meeting, you will delay the start of the meet/second half while we try to find you. For home meets at the Lodge pool this meeting will take place inside the glass room inside the lower level of the Lodge. Not sure where other teams do it for away meet so just listen for the announcement.

ALL TIMERS AND JUDGES NEED TO HAVE THE SWIMMINGLY APP DOWNLOADED (OR UPDATED IF YOU HAVE IT FROM TWO YEARS AGO) AND A FULLY CHARGED PHONE OR IPAD BEFORE THEY ARRIVE AT THE POOL. Apple devices be updated to the newest iOS version, but at least 12, and your swimmingly app should be updated to version 8. Android users can only use a device that is between android 6-10. Please download and charge before you come, otherwise you will delay the start of the meet if we have to download the app or charge your device at the pool.

If anyone has any old Iphones, Ipods, or Android devices that they would donate or we that we could borrow this would be a huge help. The iphones should be 6 or higher and able to update to the latest iOS.

Please contact Casey Johnson at [email protected] if you have questions about timer and judge devices or have an old Iphone or Ipad we can borrow for the next few weeks.

Age group parents need to be in their age group areas by 4:45 with the clipboard and materials they pick up at the Volunteer Tableto take attendance of all the swimmers in the age group swimming in the meet as they arrive and make sure everyone has their events written on their arms. If a swimmer has not shown up by the time the kids get in the water for warm ups, please find Coach Olivia and tell her. You will need to get your swimmers to the start end of the pool and lined up in the correct lanes about 3 heats before your age group’s event start. You know when this is by following along on your heat sheet and listening to the announcements. I am attaching some materials about How To Read A Heat Sheet and Tips for Age Group Parents to this email to help. Please review before Monday. Especially the part about how to line up the relays so that the right kids are on the right sides of the pool. Laura Haara will be around to help with this during the first meet if you have questions.

Please remember, age group parents are not responsible to babysit your child. They are only there to get your swimmer from the age group area to the edge of the pool at the time of their race. Please instruct your children to stay in the age group area and not wander or go play on the playground while the meet is going on. Age group parents should not have to run around and find your child. If a swimmer needs to go to the restroom, they should ask the age group parent if there is time to go before the next race. If there are behavior issues in the age group tent, you may be asked to directly supervise your child during the meet.

The first meet of the season is always a little crazy since it is the first one, but we will get through it together and it will be so much easier at subsequent meets. Promise! Please bear with us!

WHAT HAPPENS IF IT RAINS ON MEET DAY?

For those families new to the swim team, I want to let you know about how things are handled in case of rain on the night of a swim meet. If there is rain on a meet day, even rain at 4:30 when everyone is arriving at the pool for the meet, PLEASE STILL COME to the meet unless otherwise instructed by a rained out text alert from Coach Olivia. We will have the meet unless there is thunder and lightning or rain so hard it obscures the bottom of the pool at that time. We will swim in a light rain. We need everyone to come unless there is a cancellation text because if individuals decide they would rather not come in the rain then the relays are ruined for all kids and there is mass confusion due to “no shows.” So please come! And bring rain ponchos, umbrellas, and weather appropriate clothing if need be.

We do everything we can to have the meets as scheduled. Trying to reschedule a cancelled meet for later in the same week is a logistical nightmare. That might mean starting the meet, stopping to wait for heavy rain or lightening to pass over, and then restarting the meet in the same night. This might even happen a couple of times in one night. In that case we ask everyone to wait in their cars or in the lower level of the Lodge out of the weather, but PLEASE do not leave the premises. Coach Ben will send a text alert when the meet is to restart and you can come back to the pool deck. If bad weather looks like it will be sustained and not let up, the two teams’ LSA reps may might a joint decision to call off the meet after consulting the radar. We will send a text alert out if that happens.

If weather cancels a meet or we have to stop the meet before event 40 and it does not restart, then we will have to reschedule the meet. This will probably happen on the Thursday night of the same week. If we reschedule a meet we will have to do a brand new swimmer sign up and brand new volunteer assignment, all in 3 days, so we really, really hope that does not happen. If we get past event 40 before a meet is cancelled for weather, it is considered a completed meet and will not be rescheduled.

WHAT TO BRING TO A MEET

* Chairs for parents (those bagged, camp chairs work best).

* Multiple towels and weather appropriate clothing to keep kids warm/dry between events.

* A towel, blanket, or chair for your swimmer(s) to sit on. (Kids will sit with their age group, so if you have two or more children, they will each need this.)

* A cooler with water, Gatorade, or any other non-alcoholic drinks you may like, and healthy snacks. Yu can bring your own food. A snack bar will be available at home meets and we will have individually wrapped Chick Fil A and other snacks for sale. No pizza at this first meet due to covid concerns since not wrapped.

* Games or small toys for the young kids to play with in the age group tents to keep them occupied while they wait for their events.

* A highlighter to mark your children’s names on the heat sheets and a black sharpie to mark your child’s arm with their events.

* A happy, positive attitude!

If anyone has any questions, you can call me at 502-235-4304. Thanks, Laura Haara