New MICC Swim Families
Here are some general guidelines for what to expect as a new swim team family at your first swim meet!
If your swimmer is competing in the home meet at MICC, please have them at MICC no later than 4:30pm. Warmup begins at 4:45pm but you will want to have time to set up and change clothes.
If your swimmer is competing in the away meet please arrive at the opposing pool no later than 4:30pm. Warmups will begin at 4:45pm and since it isn’t our home pool and we aren’t always sure where to sit, it can take a little longer to get situated.
When you arrive at a swim meet:
1. Have your swimmer check in at the MICC swimmer check-in desk. At MICC this is located near the picnic table area. The location at other clubs will obviously vary but should be well identified. Depending on your swimmer's age they will either be given a slip of paper (heat sheet) with their event assignments or you will be directed to a posted heat sheet.
2. Using a Sharpie pen, write down your swimmers event/heat info on the forearm as shown above.
3. If you have signed up to volunteer at the meet check yourself in at the Volunteer check-in station. Please do this as soon as you arrive at the pool, even if you are not volunteering until the second half of the meet. You will receive instructions about your volunteer post at this time.
4. Find a spot in the picnic table/grass area for you and your swimmer to spend non-swimming time. The lawn at MICC will be divided to seat our team in one section (by the grills & playground) and we try to all sit together. At away meets we also try to sit together in a “team” spot. The kids will have free time between their events and often like to read, play cards, games, etc. Make sure to stay in range of hearing the announcer so swimmers don't miss their next event!
5. Have you swimmer ready for warmups and ready to jump into the pool. This means sunscreen, cap on, googles ready, etc.
In addition to the announcer there will also be a visual flip chart posting event and heat numbers next to the announcer's table on the East side of the pool. At MICC and a few other pools that have digital scoreboards, the event number will be on the scoreboard. Unless otherwise directed by the coaches it is a good idea for swimmers to be ready to line up behind the blocks 1 event prior to their next event. This means that if you are in event 18 you want to be behind the blocks at event 16 or 17. The event numbers will not flip to event 18 until event 18 has started, so if you are in heat 1 you will have missed your heat. If you have an 8 & under please help them get to the blocks or the “corralling” station. At MICC we gather by the diving board about two events before each race to help organize and get the kids to the right spot. At away pools, the coaches will be trying to round up the kids, so please help them as much as you can! Unless they are preparing to line up, please remind your swimmer not to linger in the area behind the blocks. When this area becomes too congested and noisy it is very distracting for the teammates who are preparing to swim as well as for the coaches, timers and judges.
The official heat sheet will show start times for each event. Please know that these are approximate times and there are many factors that may lead these to become inaccurate. You should use these times only as a guide - the meets often run faster or slower so it's best not to rely too heavily on the posted start times.
Food for dinner and snacks will be available for purchase at every meet. Our MICC Swim Team committee has lined up some wonderful food trucks for all of our home swim meets. These trucks park in the MICC parking lot and usually are open throughout the entire meet. Other swim clubs will also have dinner foods available for purchase. There will be a concession stand at all meets, typically selling instant soups, candy, beverages, energy bars, etc. You are also welcome to bring in your own food and beverages. Your swimmer will have plenty of time between events to eat dinner and rehydrate.
Swim meets typically last until 8 or 9pm, depending on the number of swimmers the two teams has competing. It is not required for your swimmer to stay until the end of the meet once their events have finished but the relays at the end of each meet are some of the most exciting, team spirit-raising events so most of the kids like to stay to cheer on their teammates. Plus the score for who won the meet will only be announced at the very end.
Swim meets are structured so that each set of relays or strokes cycles through all age groups (ladies first) before moving on to the next stroke. The stroke starts with the youngest, moving up in age for each event. Plan for your child to be in and out of the water up to 5 times, including warmup with a potentially long stretch of time before going back into the water again. For the younger kids this can mean lots of warm dry towels. Relays score a lot of points for our team so please plan for the possibility of swimming in the free relays at the end of the meet! If you have an 8 & Under child they could be in any 4 of the following events:
Medley Relay: #9 Girls 8&U, #10 Boys 8&U
Individual Medley: 8&U does not swim more than 25 yards so they do not swim in the Individual Medley set of races
Free: #27 Girls 8&U, #28 Boys 8&U
Back: #37 Girls 8&U, #38 Boys 8&U
Free Relay: #47 Girls 8&U, #48 Boys 8&U
Breast: #51 Girls 8&U, #52 Boys 8&U
Fly: #61 Girls 8&U, #62 Boys 8&U
Other things to remember: During home meets at MICC, we want to encourage the kids to cheer for each other and to watch each other swim. As a result kids are not allowed in the clubhouse or the upper lounge during the meet unless they are using the restroom. Another important thing to remember is that if you are a working parent we encourage carpooling and helping each other out at meets! Also if you have a family babysitter or older children that are not swimming, they can sub in for you and you will still get credit for your volunteer hours.
Any questions? Please reach out to our New Parent Coordinators Marni Seneker and Jen Riley.
Again, welcome to the MICC Swim Team! We are looking forward to a fun season and great summer!
