We are excited about our PRACTICE meet tonight! Our goal is to help everyone learn a little about how a swim meet is run and have some fun. Tonight's meet will be slightly different because it's just our team. Here is some helpful information to help you prepare for tonight and the upcoming swim meets. The Heat Sheet can be found HERE.

Before the meet:

• Go to https://daltondolphins.swimtopia.com/ and let us know if your child will or will not be attending the swim meet. This step is essential so the coaches can get everyone in the swim meet and plan for the best possible line-up. Please sign up for Monday's dual meets by the previous Thursday.
• While you're at it, sign up to volunteer. We need many people to run a good swim meet. You will make some great friends, making the time pass more quickly. We still need some volunteers for tonight. There are plenty of opportunities to shadow our more experienced parents.
• 10 and Unders should arrive at the pool with their First Initial, Last Name, and Age written in Sharpie on their right shoulder. This helps our bullpen workers find your child more quickly and get them in place.
• We will try to send the heat sheet by 3 PM the day of the meet. It is helpful to mark your swimmer's Event, Heat, andLane on their forearm with a sharpie.
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• Sometimes, things happen, and you may be running late or not be able to make it. Please let Coach Jason know as soon as you know. The earlier we know, the easier it is for us to update the line-up.

What to Bring

What Competitors Should Bring

1. A couple of towels for drying off
2. T-shirt, sweatshirt, sweat pants, and hat (for sun protection)
3. A book, cards, or quiet games to share (we have had children lose Gameboys – bringing valuables is not recommended)
4. Swimsuit, cap, goggles; backup pair of goggles, cap, and swimsuit; log book, and pencil
5. Sunblock, eardrops, bug spray, band-aids, healthy snacks, and plenty of drinking water to prevent dehydration
6. A small cooler with healthy drinks and snacks (water, sports drinks, fruit, protein bar)

What Observers Should Bring

1. Chairs or blankets to sit on
2. Golf umbrella for shade
3. Sunblock
4. Bug spray
5. Keep in mind you will be there for a few hours.
6. Consider bringing a cooler with snacks and a picnic dinner.

Arriving at the Meet

• Take a deep breath and relax. It's time to have some fun.
• When you arrive at the pool, please check in at our volunteer/swimmer check-in table. It is easy to find: just go to the tables by the windows on the side of the pool. We need to know who is in attendance to make changes if necessary.
• Our team will sit together in the same area. Find some familiar faces and set up your space.
• Look for our 10 and under bullpen area. We will have some volunteers lining up our 10 and under. We are going to bullpen them behind the blocks tonight. Our volunteers will let me know how they want it set up at future home meets. At away meets, we will have blue tents for the 10 and under to report to. Please do not set up your seating area there.
• Have your swimmers find their coach and get ready for warm-ups. Generally, we will have the younger swimmers warm up first so our bullpen has time to prepare them for the first race. Older swimmers will warm up last.

Once the Meet Starts

• You're volunteering, right???
• Help your 10 and unders find their way to the bullpen on time.
• Cheer loud for our team! Make new friends.
• If you have a question about an official's call. Ask a coach, but DO NOT approach the official. We will not tolerate people disrespecting our officials.
• If you think there is an error with a time or place entered in the computer, DO NOT approach the volunteers entering places and times into the computer. We will not tolerate people disrespecting our volunteers. Ask a coach, and we will check on it.
• We encourage everyone to stay until the end of the meeting, but we also understand that people have to get ready for work. Please check in with your coach before leaving. If you leave early, we could unnecessarily lose a meet.

After the Meet

• Please make sure to clean up your area.
• Help us clean our pool area if it is a home meet.
• We'll see you at the next practice.