A Parent Guide to Swim Meets!

POOL LOCATION: Home meets are at Arden Lake Swimming Pool located at 4251 Edgewater Dr. NW, Kennesaw, GA 30144. Away Pool locations are listed on the calendar.

ARRIVAL TIME: Please arrive at the pool on time for all meets. The start time of the meets can be found in the meet section of the website. Parents and swimmers will be required to arrive between 5pm-5:30pm. Please sign in with the Volunteer Coordinator as you enter before you unpack.

COACHING: During the meet the coaches will be on deck observing each child. These observations will be used in upcoming practices to help swimmers improve. The assistant coaches will be helping swimmers  get set up for starts, reminding swimmers of specifics for each race (stroke type, sequence, etc...). Please allow them to focus on these activities. No parents should be in the deck area, start or finish areas that are not working a volunteer shift.

Heat Sheets

Heat sheets will be available via email the day of the meet. Please print out your heat sheet and bring to the meet. For our new parents, the heat sheet is the master key to the meet. All the events and swimmers are listed on the heat sheet. For our new swimmers, they will have NT next to their time which means NO TIME. Our returning swimmers will have their time from the previous year on the sheet.

Upon Arrival

• Be on Time! Warm-ups begin an hour before the meet start time.
• Ensure your swimmer is marked up with his/her event information.
• Find a spot to set up and get comfy--it's a long night!
• VOLUNTEERS: If you have signed up to volunteer, please check in with our volunteer coordinator as soon as you get to the pool. We LOVE our volunteers and like to know we have all our bases covered. 

Marking up your Swimmer

• Find your child’s race information on the Event Reports/Heat Sheets.

• Label your swimmers with a black sharpie with their race details. On their back, mark their name ‘ J. SMITH’. On their forearm, mark their event information:

(E = event, H = heat, L = lane, S = Stroke). For relays, add a column for position on team, ie. 1,2,3,4

• See a photo and more on arm marking.

During the Meet

• WHAT YOUR SWIMMER SHOULD KNOW: First and foremost-- have fun, do your best, and enjoy the meet. Please leave the coaching to our amazing coaches and just encourage your swimmers. If you are volunteering and leaving your swimmer, please make sure they know where all their "stuff" is-- snacks, goggles, money and entertainment. Please remind your swimmers to stay engaged and not wander off as this can create chaos when time comes to swim.
• FOOD AND REFRESHMENTS: There will be a concession stand selling a number of different hot and cold items. These include, but aren't limited to hamburgers, pizza, sodas, water, candy, etc.  The concession stand is cash card, and Venmo.
• ON DECK:  General rule is your child should get in line 3 events prior to their event
• RELAYS: Please don't cancel on relays, especially last minute - if your swimmer is signed up to swim the relay and for some reason you cannot stay or make it, PLEASE INFORM the coaches immediately. A relay is 4 swimmers and if one isn't there, the whole relay team has to forfeit. It makes everyone sad when this happens. When signing up for a meet, Swimtopia allows you to note your relay preference: Please indicate if your child won't be available for early or late relays.
• DISQUALIFIED: Swimmers will be DQ'd (disqualified) for improper strokes. If your child is DQ'd please assure your swimmer that it is okay and how proud you are of them for trying. The coaches do get a list of what the swimmer was DQ'd for and they will go over it with the swimmers in practice.
• SPORTSMANSHIP: Swimmers stay in the water at the end of their races until all swimmers have touched the wall. It's respectful to other swimmers. Once all swimmers have finished the race quickly look to shake the other swimmer's hand and then quickly exit the pool.

Additional Thoughts

• Please MARK EVERYTHING with the swimmers name so we can avoid lost shirts, towels, caps, bathing suits, etc. The meet should finish between 10PM and 11PM. Again if you are leaving early please tell the coach. 
• Have fun watching all the kids experience summer swim. Most of all, the Alligators want to be known for our good sportsmanship. Please congratulate the winner no matter what team they are on, please encourage all swimmers and please encourage your swimmers to do the same. The goal is for our children to really love swimming!

Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions. Our coaches will also be able to answer questions you might have at the meet. Most importantly HAVE FUN and ENJOY the day!

GO Alligators!!!