General Information
Deck Cards
Heating
Roped Off Areas
Meet Clean-Up
What to Bring to a Meet
Where to Set Up Camp
Directions to other Pools
General Information
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Meets are held on Saturdays. Warm-ups begin at 6:45am, and meets generally
end by 2pm.
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Swimmers must participate in at least 10 practices and two dual meets in
order to be eligible for Prelims and Finals.
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Swimmers must notify the coaches, preferably IN WRITING on the Tuesday
before each meet if they will not be attending. Please notify the coach or
team rep if a last minute emergency prevents you from attending the meet.
Event sign up sheets for the meets are available at morning practice during
the week.
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Meets consist of a series of events, which are defined by the age group,
gender, distance, and stroke. For example: 8&Under Boys 25M Butterfly.
Each event may have multiple heats depending on the number of entrants in
the event. There are 2 types of events, individual and relay. Relay events
have 4 swimmers on a team.
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Franklin families are asked to bring a 6 pack of beverages to each home meet
to donate to our concessions.
DECK CARDS
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Each swimmer is given a deck card for each individual event they are entered
to swim; deck cards are pink for girls, blue for boys. The card has
information regarding the event and heat the swimmer is in, and what lane
they will swim in.
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Swimmers are responsible for getting their cards from the card parent and
holding onto them until the time for that event.
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Relay cards are held by coaches, who will also ensure that the entire relay
team gets to the heating area.
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Card parents can be found near the pool entrance during warm-ups.
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Parents of younger children are asked to assist their swimmers with getting
their cards, holding onto them, and getting them to their events on time,
with their card.
Before
swimming in an event, swimmers report to the heating area. This is a holding
area for the upcoming events, where the swimmers are organized in rows of chairs
that represent heat and lane assignments. Heating volunteers make sure all
swimmers for the event are present and in place to move to their event together.
Flip charts outside of the heating area show what events are being heated, and
what events are being swum. The meet announcer also calls events to heating.
The
roped-off areas around the pool are specifically for the coaches, officials
(starter/referee, timers, runners, stroke judges, heaters, etc.), and swimmers
involved in the current event. Parents and swimmers not involved in the current
event are asked to stay behind the ropes.
Please
remember to help us keep the pool area clean, both at home and away meets.
Please clean up your area when the meet is over, help pick up and empty trash in
general, and make sure the kids help so they know this is their responsibility
too.
What to bring to a swim meet:
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Sunscreen
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Towels
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Chairs, blankets to sit on (the ground is sometimes damp)
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Something to do between events
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Money for food at concessions stand, healthy snacks
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Water (also sold at concessions)
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Umbrellas or small tent for shade
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Goggles, plus spares in case of breakage
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Swim caps
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Extra swimsuit for emergencies
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Warm clothing for between events, depending on weather
On cool
mornings it is crucial that swimmers be kept warm. Bring extra towels,
blankets, sleeping bags, robes, or anything else to keep your kids warm.
Where to set up camp
Generally, the home team sets up inside the pool fences, and the visiting team
sets up outside the fence. Swimmers can hang out together at both home and away
meets in the Franklin Team tent area. At away meets, you can check the
volunteer sign up sheets for the jobs you volunteered for at the Franklin
tent. You should also be able to find a parent rep at the tent if you have
questions or problems.
This information can be
found on the RMSL website, www.rmsl.org.
Printed directions will also be available at Franklin in the week preceding away
meets and Prelims.