~ New to Swim Meets ~

If you are new to competitive swimming, you just might have a lot of questions about swim meets ;) So here are some tidbits of information that have helped other new families in the past:

• Swim meets are hosted by other teams. The host teams will decide when and if certain events will be offered. Once everything is set up on their end they will send out the meet information to other teams like us. Once we receive that information, we will post it to our team webiste.

• 8 & under swimmers may be offered races as short as 25 yards. Everyone 9 & up must swim events that are 50 yards or longer.

• Who choses races? You and your swimmer can choose the races that they are interested in swimming. If we feel like it is not an appropriate event for your swimmer, we will edit your selections from our end and let you know of the changes. You can also click “Yes, I will attend” and leave the selections blank for us to choose - just let us know in the Notes section which days you are available. We like to try and set your swimmer up for a positive experience by keeping them out of events in which we know they will get disqualified.

• Yes, little kids will be disqualified. Everyone has to follow the same swimming rules; from little 4 year olds to Olympians.

• What should you bring?: An extra towel or two (they’ll be getting in and out of the water several times), water, snacks and, if you have them, extra caps and goggles. Something to play or read in between races is also a good idea.

• Do they need a team suit? A team suit is great but it is not required. Any competitive suit (without another team's logo) will do. Please consider purchasing a Swim Dogs suit from MI Sports if you can.

• Swim cap? You will get a latex cap with your registration. If your swimmer prefers a silicone cap, one can be purchased for $12. We'll just charge your account unless you've got cash or a check.

• Swim meets will start with a warm up session where we get in the pool as a team, get to know the pool, and practice some starts off of the blocks. This may seem like absolute chaos as the whole team is usually in one lane with other teams crammed into the other lanes. Sometimes, since we are a smaller team, we may need to share a warm up lane with another small team.

• Please plan on arriving 15 minutes before the start of our warm up time. The warm up time will be shared on the team site as soon as we get that information from the host team.

• Where should you sit? This will depend on the venue. Some have bleachers, for some you will need to bring your own chair. We will try and sit together as a team but that can be very hard at some pools. Coaches will be at the coaches tables and sometimes we will have the swimmers hang out with us instead of their families if the family section is too far away from the pool.

• We often mark younger swimmers with their Event, Heat and Lane on their hands or arms to help them remember when and where their races are. These are done with a Sharpie so just let us know if you don’t want us to temporarily tattoo your child with random numbers.

• ALL swimmers should come talk to a coach before AND after their races.

• Please remember that the timers and officials are all volunteers. There will also be times when we will ask for volunteers from our own team for swim meets.

• Sometimes things may not go smoothly at the meet. Some of those hiccups can lead to practicing some important life skills such as: seeking help from the appropriate people, self-advocacy, perseverance, persistence and a myriad of other wonderful skills we all need as adults. This is just another aspect of what makes swimming such a great sport for kids!

How to Sign Up for Swim Meets (website):

1. Sign in to your team's TeamUnify website.

2. Go to your Events page.  In the side menu click Events & Competition > Team Events.

3. Click your desired event’s Attend/Decline (or Edit Commitment) button.

4. Click the name of your athlete whom you want to attend.

5. Click the Declaration dropdown and click Yes, please sign [Name] up for this event (or No, thanks, [Name] will NOT attend this event, enter any Notes, and then click Save Changes).
   

6. Enter any Notes you want the coach to see.

7. If a team admin has allowed you to select events, check the boxes of the events you want your athlete to enter.
   
    

   1. Red times indicate your athlete is not qualified to enter those events.

   2. Events you choose are subject to coach approval.

8. Otherwise select which days and sessions your athlete will attend and a coach will then pick which events your athlete will enter.
   
    

   1. You may click a day/session button to see what events are scheduled.

9. When finished, click Save Changes.

10. Repeat for all other athletes you may have.

How to Sign-up for Swim Meets (OnDeck):

Tap the DECLARE button (may also be labeled RSVP or EDIT COMMITMENT) to sign up your athletes for upcoming meets and events. There are three kinds of events and the process is almost identical for each—select an athlete, select Yes or No if they will attend, enter any notes, and possibly select days/sessions or events in the meet.

To access any of these, tap   > Events > Events & Meet Entries. Once you tap RSVP or DECLARE/EDIT COMMITMENT for a meet, you can tell what kind of meet it is at the top, under the meet name:

Commit by Event Meets

1. Tap EDIT COMMITMENT by meet.

2. Tap an athlete's name.

3. Select No, thanks, or Yes, please if they will attend.

4. Optionally enter any Notes.

5. You may tap the up arrow by the Yes/No radio buttons to hide notes and make more room for days/sessions.

6. Tap a Day/Session blue bar to see all events for that session.
   

7. Check the boxes by events you want them to attend. A coach will need to approve them.

8. Tap SAVE CHANGES and then OK.