Hello Piranha Families, 

Our next meet is tomorrow, June 3. Please the message below for all the details. Give yourself plenty of time to arrive, there is always lots to traffic to this meet. Heat Sheets and Lane Writers are not ready yet, but if you go into the Swimtopia App, you will be able to view your swimmer's individual events. 

Location & parking:

Our pool is located at Smoke Rise Country Club (4900 Chedworth Drive, Stone Mountain). There is minimal parking at the pool but parking is available up the hill from the pool at the Country Club. We will be reserving 2 parking spaces at the pool for the coach, team rep, and the official. The club also allows parking along one side of the road.

Food:

Since the County Club hosts our meets and they have a restaurant license, we are not allowed to bring in outside food to the pool. The swimmers can bring water bottles and small snacks, but we are not allowed to bring other food into the pool area (pizza, subs, etc). The club's concessions consist of hotdogs, hamburgers, snacks, and drinks. They will accept both cash and credit/debit cards.

Timers:

We will be using regular stop watches for timing and a whistle (or starter) to start the races.

Seating:

There is some seating but we recommend spectators bring chairs. The bullpen will be partially covered (depending on the size of your team) but there is not room on the pool deck for additional tents.

Sunscreen & Bug Spray:

As with all pools - it's recommended to bring sunscreen and bug spray. 

Arrival Time & Check-In

Meets start at 6:00pm and usually end around 9:30pm. 6 and under are usually finished at 8:00pm. All swimmers and volunteers should arrive at away location by 5pm. Swimmers and Volunteers should check in with the Meet Volunteer/Swimmer Check in Coordinator, usually Malessa Paez. Swimmers should then report to the Bullpen area. Ideally, swimmers should arrive “marked up”. The team will warm up before the meet starts, usually around 5:30pm. Families should then locate their swimmers’s bullpen

Bullpens

Designated area where younger swimmers or relay teams gather before their events to be organized into heats, lanes, and relays. Bullpens for younger swimmers can never have too many parent volunteers. We absolutely cannot run a meet without bullpen volunteers. If you know your child will not stay in the bullpen, a parent or caregiver will need to stay in the bullpen with them. Swimmers MUST stay in the bullpen andbe easy for volunteers to locate. Swimmers who cannot be located may miss their events. Parents, the proper procedure is to check your child in at their designated bullpen (look for the signs) with their bullpen parents when you arrive, after which your swimmer must remain in the bullpen. You may take your child to the bathroom or to grab a bite to eat; however, you must inform one of their bullpen parents where you will be and agree to have them back to their bullpen well in advance of their next event. We have bullpens for a reason (to ensure that our swimmers get to their proper events in a timely manner), and if a swimmer is missing, it causes undue stress and chaos for the bullpen parents, deck managers, and coaches.

Marking your Swimmers, Event-Heat-Lane Grid

Each swim meet is organized into events (e.g., 25 yard freestyle, 50 yard backstroke), which are further divided into heats (races) based on swimmer times. Each heat has swimmers assigned to lanes. Swimmers, parents, and coaches write their event number, heat number, and lane number on their skin using a sharpie. This helps swimmers remember which event, heat, and lane they are in, and also helps coaches and volunteers quickly identify swimmers at the meet.

Coaches and volunteers will help families mark up their swimmers. If you are a veteran family, please try to mark up your swimmer yourself. Here is a tutorial:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1tngebIJtwegRAQfgLaIFt5FRMKNtL70-E40x2ufqsus/edit?usp=sharing

Also, please do not put sunscreen on your swimmers over the top of their event-heat-lane grids. We may have to make some revisions, and the sunscreen makes that very difficult. I suggest that you put their grid on the inside of one of their forearms, so sun exposure shouldn’t be a big issue.

What to bring

Swimmers should wear their black racing suit, team cap and goggles for meets.

For your swimmers: (suit, goggles, at least 2 towels) and change of clothes. Some kids also appreciate a chair. Your swimmer will be getting wet and drying off frequently. Clothes are good to have around to stay warm/dry. Sunscreen and insect repellent are good to have on hand. Bring hats for children and adults who are sun-sensitive. Snacks and water. Concessions are usually available too.

Meet Communications, Results, Heat Sheet

All meet communications for weather, volunteer issues and any other urgent issues will be via alerts through the Swimtopia

Event results will be posted to the Swimtopia app upon completion of the event.

A heat sheet is a document that lists the events, heats, and lane assignments for each swimmer. Heat sheets are usually sent out to the team the afternoon of the meet. Sometimes we do not have them until we arrive at the meet You can also access the heat sheet on the mobile app

Download the app, sign in to your Swimtopia account and turn on push notifications in the settings.

Meet Etiquette

Give yourself plenty of time to drive to the away meet in rush-hour traffic.

There will be a concession stand at most meets. This is a fundraiser for the home team. Please support our hosts.

Encourage your swimmer and the other swimmers. Everyone is doing their best, do not be critical of your child or any other swimmers.

If there is a reason you need to leave the meet or cannot attend please let the Meet Coordinator know. Malessa [email protected].

Swimmers should remain in the bullpens. If they need to leave for any reason, bullpen volunteers should be notified.

Swimmers should wait for every swimmer in their heat to finish before exiting the pool. Swimmers should make an effort to shake hands with their lane neighbors.

At the end of a meet, please encourage your swimmers to tidy the waiting/bullpen area. Lots of personal items get left, along with trash. Please do not leave our hosts with a mess. Please keep in mind that some items are easily lost during swim meets, so please label EVERYTHING.

Weather

Unless specifically notified otherwise, please arrive at the pool on time regardless of weather. Meets adhere to ASA weather guidelines, which do not allow swimming in thunder or lightning but do allow swimming during rain.