A Parent Guide to Swim Meets!

POOL LOCATION: Home meets are at GQMF (https://gqmf.swimtopia.com/visiting-team-info) located at 2842 Gant Quarters Drive, Maritta, Georgia 30068. Away Pool locations are listed on the calendar, click on "Meet Details" for more information.

ARRIVAL TIME: Please arrive at the pool on time for all meets. The start time of the meets can be found in the Meet email sent out on Mondays, usually parents and swimmers will be required to arrive between 4:45 pm - 5:00pm. Please sign in with the Volunteer Coordinator as you enter before you proceed to your child’s age group area.

COACHING: During the meet Coach 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 swimmer get set up for starts, reminding swimmers of specifics for each race (stroke type, sequence, etc...). Please allow them to focus on these activities. 

What to Bring

• Team swimsuit, cap, goggles (an extra pair of goggles is a good idea!), team tshirt, towel, and sunscreen. Make sure all items are well labeled with your child's name.
• Plenty of snacks and drinks to keep your swimmer hydrated and energized. (Piranhas Café also sells food & drink during the meet).
• Games for your child for time in between meets. (travel games, books, ds etc)
• Folding camp chairs to sit on, and maybe a canopy for shade if you have one.
• Event reports/heat sheets printed from the website, and a black sharpie marker for marking up your child
• Print HEAT SHEETS.  Heat sheets will be emailed out the morning of the meet.  PLEASE print out your heat sheet and bring to the meet. There are no extras at 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 may have NT next to their time which means NO TIME. Our returning swimmers may have their time from the previous year on the sheet.

Upon Arrival

• Be on Time! Warm-ups begin well before the meet start time.
• Ensure your swimmer has sunscreen on and is marked up with his/her event information. (Age group parents can help new swimmer parents with marking up their swimmer).
• VOLUNTEERS: If you have signed up to volunteer NO MATTER WHAT SHIFT, 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.

• 
  

  E	H	L	S
  11	2	5	IM
  19	3	8	FREE
  33	2	8	BA
  41	2	6	BR

  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 infomation:

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

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 in the age group bullpen and not wander off as this can create chaos when time comes to swim. Please lather your swimmers with sunscreen prior to arriving at the pool.
• FOOD AND REFRESHMENTS:  At home meets, the Piranhas Cafe' will have a full selection of dinner and snack items to purchase.  You can bring in food and drinks, but we ask that people do not bring in glass or cans. Please be aware of any food allergies in your age group and discourage children from sharing foods. If your child has an allergy please ensure you have an epi-pen on hand and the Coach is informed.
• 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 Coach 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. Read the Relay Policy! (link to be added).
• HEAT RIBBONS: In an effort to have more kids have a chance, we give out heat ribbons to place swimmers in their heat. 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: 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: Piranha 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.

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. We encourage all parents and swimmers to stay until the end of the meet to cheer on all of our Piranhas.
• Wear sunscreen!
• Bring cash and small bills – The Piranhas Cafe will not have change for anything over a $20.00!
• Have fun watching all the kids experience summer swim. Most of all, the Piranhas 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.
• T-SHIRTS: Wear Piranha or Red t-shirts or spirit gear to meets, if you would like to buy a t-shirt, please go to the Team Store page (link to be added).

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

GO PIRANHAS!