Your First Meet With GMAC

Swim meets are a great way to see all the improvement swimmers have been making at practice. Meets can appear a little overwhelming in the beginning, but they are truly a fun and exciting experience. Below is a list of MUSTS for our swimmers' first meet. If you have any additional questions, do not hesitate to reach out to us at [email protected], or through your coach.

What to Bring to a Meet

1. Most important: swimsuit, your GMAC cap, and goggles.
2. Towels: swimmers will most likely have multiple events, and they will be there awhile, so pack at least two.
3. Deck clothes: GMAC t-shirts are required to be worn on deck, but also consider bringing a GMAC hoodie and/or other warm clothes–pool decks can be cold and swimmers need to keep warm so that they can race fast! (Multiple sets of clothes are recommended, as pool decks are very wet).
4. Food: it is recommended that swimmers bring a couple small snacks to keep their energy up. Swim meets can be long and it is important to fuel for greatness! If you are not sure what snacks are meet-appropriate, check out our nutrition slideshow under the “Swimmers’ Nutrition Tab.”

Prior to the Start of a Meet

1. It is recommended that swimmers look at their meet entries as soon as the preliminary entries come out. This gives them the ability to talk to their coaches about any concerns they may have with their events, and also to prepare for specific race-elements of each event at practices leading up to the meet.

​Day of the Meet

1. ​Swimmers should arrive at the pool at least 15 minutes (additional time is always recommend; you can never be too early!) before the scheduled warm-up time begins. Start times will be listed in the meet information emailed out to all GMAC swimmers, or can be easily found under the  “Upcoming Events” tab on the website’s homepage.
2. Upon arrival, swimmers are to place their bags and gear on deck, in the same area as the other GMAC swimmers. This ensures that the team stays together and help to minimize the ever-present race-day chaos.
3. Swimmers should make sure to look over the heat sheets posted on deck or with their coach(es) to find out when and where they are swimming. Take into account: event numbers, heat numbers, and specific lane placements.
4. Swimmers should then join in with GMAC’s team activation to prepare for their meet warm up. Activation is always done together and lead by coaches or older swimmers. Following activation, a team cheer typically ensues.
5. Once activation is over, grab your cap and goggles and report to your coach for warm-up instructions. It is very important for all swimmers to warm-up with the team. Swimmer's bodies are just like cars on a cold day and they need to get the engine going and warmed-up before they can go all out.
6. After warm-up, swimmers will return to the area where their bags are and sit there until their event is up. This is a good time to make sure to use the bathroom if necessary, get a drink, grab a snack, and/or just get settled in.
7. The meet will usually start about 10-15 minutes after warm-ups are over.

During the Meet

1. It is important for swimmers to know what event numbers they are swimming. They may swim right away after warm-up or they may have to wait awhile.
2. Swimmers should pay attention to the order of events, follow the heat sheets, and watch for heat and event numbers displayed on the timing-board.
3. Prior to racing, swimmers are to see their coach for race instructions.
4. After speaking to their coach, swimmers should make their way to marshalling. A swimmer's event number and heat will be called, and they will be organized into lane numbers and lead to their blocks for each race. Swimmers should report with their cap and goggles. Generally, girls events are first, followed by boys events.
5. The swimmer swims their race.

​After Each Swim: 

1. Swimmers should go immediately to their coach. The coach will discuss each swimmers’ race with them, citing things to improve and praising the things they excelled at. 
2. ​If swimmers have multiple events that day, they will repeat the process from the steps in "During the Meet" until their last event is swum.
3. Prior to packing up and going home, swimmers must check that they have completed all of their events. Make sure to check with their coach before leaving to they have no additional events (ie. relays–it is not fair to other swimmers who may have stayed to swim on a relay where your swimmer is expected to be a member and they are absent).

For the Parents

Parents are not allowed on deck unless they are serving in an official capacity. Similarly, all questions concerning meet results, an officiating call, or the conduct of a meet, should be referred to the coaching staff. They, in turn, will pursue the matter through the proper channels. 

Heat Sheets (What are they? How do I read them?)

A heat sheet is usually available for sale in the lobby or concession area of the pool. Heat sheets generally sell for one to two dollars per day. It lists all swimmers in each event in order of "seed time". When the team entry is sent in, each swimmer and their previous best time in that event is listed. If the swimmer is swimming an event for the first time, they will be entered as a "no-time" or "NT". A "no-time" swimmer will most likely swim in one of the first heats of the event.

Things You, As a Parent, Can Do After Each Swim

Tell your swimmer how great they did! The coaching staff will be sure to discuss stroke technique with them. You need to tell them how proud you are and what a great job they did. As a parent, it is not your job to be a coach, please refrain from critiquing their races (Role of the GMAC Parent).

What Happens If Your Child has a Disappointing Swim? 

If your child has a poor race and comes out of it feeling bad, talk about the good things. You never talk about the negative things. If your child comes up to you and says, "That was a bad race, don't tell me it wasn't," there is nothing wrong with a swimmer negatively evaluating a race. The important thing is for the child not to dwell on it. You should move the swimmer on to something good. "All right, you have had a bad race. How do you think you can do better next time?" Immediately start talking about the positive things.