The Night Before

What’s a great prep for the night before?

Eat a healthy, balanced meal. Avoid fast food, greasy or sugary food, or otherwise unhealthy food. It is advisable to eat a good portion of carbohydrates before a meet (ideally 1-2 days before) with some good protein as well. Drink lots of water! Only hydrating on the day of the meet does not work. It’s important to start hydrating early so that the swimmer is in shape to swim his or her best on the day of the meet.

 

Additionally, it’s always helpful to pack your swim bag ahead of leaving your house. 

 

Look to see if there are any last minute changes sent via email and/or access to a heat sheet. 

 

Before You Go

What all does my swimmer need to bring / have ready for when they arrive at the pool? 

> Suit – obviously a very important thing to have for the meet but pack an extra in case anything happens to the first one

> Cap & Goggles – at least 2 caps and 2 pairs of goggles are recommended because it is more common than not that one of them break at the most inopportune times! 

> Towels - recommended to bring one towel for the swimmer to use during the meet, and one to dry off after the meet

> Great footwear – pool decks can be quite nasty, so flip-flops or other deck shoes are definitely a must

> The Tattoo – swimmers must come with the following tattoo on their arm which lists their events for the day… sometimes when heat sheets are available ahead of time, the heat and lane assignments will also be available to write as well… it’s best to use a Sharpie to write down this info

• The first column, E, is the event # -- this is the event number of events entered [YOU COME WITH - FROM ENTRY REPORT]

• The second column, H, is the heat # -- this is the race grouping within each event [FROM HEAT SHEET]

• The third column, L, is the lane # -- [FROM HEAT SHEET]

• The final column is the actual event -- aka, the distance and stroke. [YOU COME WITH - FROM ENTRY REPORT]

> Hoodies & Sweats – at most meets, regardless of outside weather, the stands range from comfortably toasty to boiling but the pool deck generally ranges from chilly to arctic… swimmers should bring comfortable clothes so that the swimmer can stay warm between events

> Snacks – while there is usually a snack bar at the meet, it is more convenient and familiar to simply pack your own food… a good combination of protein, carbs, and fruit/veggies is a great idea, like baby carrots, bagels, granola bars, cereal… 

> Gatorade or Water – as in any sport, swimmers lose hydration as they race, so it is important to hydrate throughout the meet in order to restore lost hydration

> Hair Stuff – for the girls, pack plenty of hair things because they inevitably break or mysteriously disappear, and it’s very hard to get a swim cap on a swimmer whose hair isn’t pulled back

 

What does my swimmer need to wear?

See Coach Luke’s  “Meet Information” message for “The Look” - it tells you which shirt to wear and which Coach to report to on deck. For younger swimmers, we would like for them to arrive with their suits on. 

 

What do I need to wear?

Spectators should dress in short-sleeves. Even in the middle of winter, the stands are almost always warm and humid.

 

What do I need to bring?

It’s definitely helpful to bring some reading, or iPads, or whatever else you need to occupy the many minutes when your swimmer is not in the water. And cash, because there will inevitably be a few stops at the concession stand (not all clubs are cashless like we are!).

 

How do we know when to show up?

Be on the lookout for Coach Luke’s “Meet Information” message, which is sent on the Thursday of every meet. You’ll see the report time - that is the time your swimmer should be on deck and checked in with the Coach for that session. 

 

The Arrival

We’re running late. Or, someone’s sick and we can’t show up anymore. What do we do?

Either way, totally ok. Just as a best practice for all meets to help Coaches, please send an email to [email protected] letting us know. This address hits all of the Coaches and it gives notice to everyone, just in case we have a staffing change as well. 

 

Can I walk my swimmer on deck to the Coach?

Nope! Especially for meets, parents are not permitted on deck, in accordance with USA Swimming policies. Dependent on the facility, there can be some “drop-off” points that are close to the pool deck for parents to part ways with their swimmer. In all cases, swimmers should be able to walk onto the pool deck by themselves and find the rest of the MLAC team. 

 

During the Meet

What do I do once I drop off my swimmer? 

Sit back and relax… in the stands! Some facilities offer seating areas that are not in the pool area, which tend to be more climate-friendly and a great place for less noise. It’s advisable to talk to other parents (great networking opportunity!), read a book, or have a crossword puzzle handy. Be courteous. You represent the team to the other people in the stands. Don’t criticize swimmers in the pool, even if they are not from your team; you never know who is listening.

 

Should my swimmer camp out with me the whole time?

Honestly, nope! It’s a great team building experience and a whole lot of fun when all of the kids are together, hanging out. Plus, it eliminates the chaos of the Coach on deck trying to locate swimmers who are thisclose to missing their race. Swimmers can totally go visit you in the stands for a bit after their race, but we strongly want them on deck with their teammates. 

 

When does my swimmer actually race?

Every meet begins with a warm-up, and these are usually assigned by teams (and lanes, at times) for each warm-up session. Sometimes we’re the first warm-up session, sometimes we’re the last. Once all warm-up sessions are done, the actual meet session (aka, the racing) begins. It’s important to look at the session breakdown of events to know which event number the session begins with - in other words, there’s only one event #1, and that will kickoff session #1 (usually Saturday AM), so a later session (Sunday PM, for example) will start on a later event number.

 

What’s the pacing of the meet?

Meets, as part of governing policy of USA Swimming, for sessions with 12&U swimmers are to be planned for about four hours in competition duration max for the entire session. Depending on which events your swimmer is in, it could be much less than that. Also factor in warm-ups to your estimation for how long you’ll be at the pool.

 

Most meets, swimmers will have a good chunk of time in between their races to talk to the Coach post-race, get their towel and snack, and chill.

 

If your swimmer might have to leave the meet early for any reason, notify the coaches at the beginning of the meet.

 

If your child is assigned to swim on a relay, either be sure to stay for the relay or have the swimmer tell his or her coach at the beginning of the meet they won’t be able to swim the relay. Otherwise, coaches won’t know to make substitutions and the other relay members will be left unable to compete.

 

My swimmer missed their race! What do we do?

Mistakes happen, and it’s totally ok. The first thing to do is not freak out - simply send your swimmer over to the Coach and have them discuss with the Coach. 

 

It is important for your swimmer to pay attention and try to prevent this from happening, mistakes happen. This isn’t preferable, but as long as it’s only a very occasional occurrence, avoid getting too mad. Instead, explain to them that they must be more aware next time.

 

The results show a DQ for my swimmer. What do I do?

Especially for young swimmers, DQs happen very frequently, and that’s totally fine. It’s simply a part of the learning process - no swimmer starts out with a perfectly legal stroke. So, the coaches will discuss with a swimmer if they see an infraction or are quickly notified of a call. 

 

As part of the learning process, it’s important to not dispute the Officials’ call. It is what it is. Instead, tell your swimmer what they did well in the race. Support them and give them perspective. Also, DQs and Dairy Queen conveniently have the same initials… if your child is really upset about a disqualification, this is a good trick to remember.

 

What’s the overall expectation for a meet?

Remember that club meets are in no way comparable to the Olympics. They are important, and swimmers should try their best at every event, but also make sure to keep it fun. No matter how fast or slow their times are, it is the experience on deck that will make your child look forward to meets.

 

Swimming is about beating personal bests before beating the other swimmers. A swimmer who beats their seed time could have a great race, even if they’re the last one to finish to the wall. Winning a heat isn’t that important but when it happens, it can be a few moments of happiness.

 

That said, unfortunately your child will not have their best race every single race. They will swim slower than their seed times. This isn’t the end of the world. You shouldn’t dwell on this, and neither should they. Coaches will let your swimmer know how they should feel about their race.

 

Quick Lingo to Know

Entry Report

This is what MLAC submits to the host club and what we send out - it is a listing of every swimmer from our club in the meet and their respective events (races) being swum

 

Heat Sheet

This is a listing of every event in the session, split by each heat and by each lane within a heat, detailing the assignment for each swimmer in every race

 

Disqualification (DQ)

It is a stroke / rule infraction, observed by and confirmed by USA Swimming Officials on deck.