Hello again!

Martha here, offering a giant shout-out to everyone for our successful first meet at Decatur. 😁

I heard a lot of feedback that night, for example:

- the check in table was super useful

- the meet went smoothly- smoother than expected

- the meet was chaos

- my swimmer had a lot of fun

- my swimmer was challenged and did an amazing job

- it was hard to keep track of swimmers

- Martha sent so many messages, but they were actually helpful

- the deck was too crowded

- there wasn't enough guidance to show new parents what to do

- we made it happen!

I think, in retrospect, that all of this was true. For better or for worse, in the 7 or so years that I've been part of this youth sport, it was a lot better than some of our first meets, and it was huge! The Gators and the Piranhas teams, combined, are very large.

Here are some Piranhas (and general swim meet) observations:

- 5/28/2024 was the first meet where two things happened: 1) we brought about 100 swimmers and 2) 100% of our job needs were covered. [previously our highest are probably 80 swimmers and 80% job coverage]

- Next week will go more smoothly because everyone has one meet down.

- Ultimately our goal is to ensure that our swimmers have a good time. I think that all things considered, we did that.

- More detailed job descriptions would be helpful, especially as it comes to organizing relays. Relays are, hands down, the most difficult part of a swim meet to run. I remember putting the 7-8 boys’ relays together during my son's first swim season and literally saying to myself, "you have to be kidding me!" The boys kept getting out of order and some ran away. The free relay was harder than the medley because the 7-10 year olds were so tired and excited it was mayhem. It's amazing my boys ever swam because I found it hard to get them to the deck to dive in! However, I have a video to prove they did- it's of two of these boys, who are now 15-year-olds on our team, racing backstroke in the 7-8 boys medley relay at Smoke Rise. They grow up fast! And they learn to set up their own relays. All of this to say, we have enough swimmers to run 4 teams for some age groups- that means it is 2x harder than when I started out as a 7-8 boys’ bullpen parent 7 years ago. So, if you know this process well, and you have some spare time to write up some instructions, I know we would all really appreciate it.

I'd welcome your feedback about our swim meet organization, and if you want to write a relay how-to guide, we will be grateful.

Thanks everyone!

Have a great day,

Martha