Swim Meet 101
A Parent Guide to Swim Meets!
POOL LOCATION: Home meets are at the Haddon Hall community pool located at 1101 Haywards Heath Lane Apex, NC 27502.
ARRIVAL TIME
HOME MEETS: Everyone (swimmers and volunteers) should arrive no later than 4:45 (4:00pm for those doing setup), for check in before warm ups. Everyone, SWIMMERS AND VOLUNTEERS, need to check in as soon as you arrive at the pool. Warm ups begin PROMPTLY AT 5:00.
AWAY MEETS: Arrive by 5:15 for check in. Warm ups start at 5:30.
Swim Meets start at 6:00.
WHAT TO BRING
Team swimsuit, cap (optional), goggles (an extra pair of goggles is a good idea!), towel or 2 (they get wet!), sunscreen, and a sweatshirt if it is going to be a chilly night. Make sure all items are well labeled with your child's name, especially their swim team t-shirt, there are 124 of them!
Plenty of snacks and drinks to keep your swimmer hydrated and energized. A refillable water bottle. (Concessions will also be available during the meet).
Games for your child for time in between meets. (travel games, books, ds etc)
Folding camp chairs to sit on if you have one.
UPON ARRIVAL
Be on Time! Warm-ups begin well before the meet start time.
Everyone, SWIMMERS AND VOLUNTEERS, need to check in as soon as you arrive at the pool.
Ensure your swimmer has sunscreen on and is marked up with his/her swimmer number. Please write your swimmer(s)’ ID number(s) on each of his/her arms in dark, thick marker. Numbers should be large enough for timers and other meet officials to see clearly. Be sure to include all digits. In addition, please include the abbreviation “HH” to represent Haddon Hall; this makes it easy for our timers to differentiate our swimmers from the other team’s swimmers.
Swimmers report to the appropriate age group Kid Pusher volunteer to sign him/her in. Age group seating areas are clearly labeled at both home and away meets. You must let the kid pusher volunteer for your child’s age group know that your child is present. The same goes for the end of the meet, PLEASE inform the age group parents you are taking your swimmer home especially our 6 and under parents.
VOLUNTEERS:If you have signed up to volunteer, PLEASE check in with our volunteer coordinator as soon as you get to the pool. We must ensure that we have all of our bases covered in order to run the swim meet.
DURING THE MEET
WHAT YOUR SWIMMER SHOULD KNOW: First and foremost have fun! Do their 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 especially our younger swimmers, please make sure they know where all their "stuff" is snacks, goggles, money and entertainment. Please remind your swimmers to stay with their Kid Pusher and not wander off, as this can create chaos when time comes to swim.
FOOD AND REFRESHMENTS: You may bring your own food and beverage to the meets, but there will be concessions offered at each meet.
CLERK OF COURSE: Kid Pusher parents are responsible for getting our swimmers to the Clerk of Course prior to their swim, so if you choose to take your child out of the age group area during a meet, you are responsible for informing the Kid Pusher parent and getting them to the Clerk of Course on time. Failure to get to the Clerk of Course on time will mean your swimmer is scratched from the race.
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 Kid Pusher parents 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.
HEAT RIBBONS:We give out heat ribbons to first place swimmers all heats for the 10 and under swimmers. This is a reward for working hard in practice and improving their time to achieve first place in their heat. Please explain to your children the intention of heat ribbons and the importance of being a good sport. Heat ribbons are given to the first swimmer to touch the wall, they may still be DQ’d depending on stroke judge.
DISQUALIFIED: In the MAIN Heat, 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 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 swimmers may exit the pool. The Hammerheads 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. Our swimmers will follow our example.
CONDUCT: Swimmers must be respectful and attend to the instruction of their Kid Pusher and the Clerk of Course. When swimmers are not paying attention, they may end up swimming in the wrong heat or missing their heat altogether.
Swimmers should NOT have any part of their bodies in the water unless they are swimming in their assigned event. This includes dangling their feet in the pool!
Parents, swimmers, and others who are not serving as volunteers: please DO NOT cut through the Clerk of Course area to access the restroom, playground, etc. This is a very busy area and is limited to swimmers and volunteers only.
Additional Thoughts
Please MARK EVERYTHINGwith the swimmers name so we can avoid lost shirts, towels, caps, bathing suits, etc. We encourage all parents and swimmers to stay until the end of the meet to cheer on all of our Hammerheads.
Bring cash and small bills – Concessions will not have change for anything over a $20.00!
Have fun watching all the kids experience summer swim. The sub-pages under Meets & Events teams often include some tips for parents who are new to swim meets, including:
- Swimmer and volunteer check in procedure
- What to bring (and what not to bring)
- Snack suggestions
- Timeline, etc.
