Good Morning Gators!

It's meet day!  Feels like it's been awhile since we've been able to say that!  We've been able to get a lot of practices in since our last meet and our kids have learned a lot!  We are ready to rock tonight!  Please read through this whole email.  I'm so sorry I can't be there tonight - thanks to everyone who has stepped up to help!  FYI- I will send an email later with heat sheets and events by athlete.

1.  Important swimming notes for our team by age group:

6 and unders:  We do not have enough 6U swimmers to make either a boys relay or a girls relay at the beginning of the meet.  In the event we cannot fill our 7-8 medley relay at the beginning of the meet, we may call upon a 6U swimmer to fill the spot.  However, we CAN put a few of the 6U swimmers in the 7-8 free relay at the END of the meet.  Right now we have Clint, Remy and Lee in a free relay at the end of the meet.  If you cannot stay until the end of the meet, please let Sydney know as soon as possible and we can scratch the relay.  We encourage everyone to stay so they can swim a relay! In the event we cannot fill our 7-8 medley relay at the beginning of the meet, we may call upon a 6U swimmer to fill the spot.  The 6U coaches helping parents tonight will be Chloe and Emily.  The 6U warm up tonight will consist of walking them around the pool to show them where to line up and where to meet after their events.  The reason we don't have 6U kids swim in a warm up as the visiting team is because it is a more valuable use of our time to get them familiar with the layout of the pool than to actually get into the pool.  

7-8 swimmers: There are a lot of 7-8 swimmers tonight!  To save time, please have your child arrive to the meet with their events written on their arm and their names on their backs. Sydney, Melynn and Jackson Stuart will be helping the 7-8 swimmers tonight but we need as many 7-8 parents as possible to help get everyone where they need to be at the beginning of the meet.  If your 7-8 year old child is in a medley relay at the beginning of the meet, please help escort them where they need to be so no one misses an event.  The order of a medley relay is back, breast, fly, free.  The backstroke and fly swimmers need to be on the deep end side of the pool and the breaststroke and freestyle swimmers need to be on the shallow side of the pool.  

9-10 swimmers: We have enough 9-10 swimmers (girls and boys) to make relays but not much extra.  If your 9-10 swimmer cannot swim in a relay, please communicate with Sydney as soon as possible and she can pull an alternate.  Coaches helping with 9-10 swimmers will be Brian and Andrew.

11 and older swimmers: Clemie and Charlie will be helping this age group tonight.  We don't have any alternates for the girls relays so we need everyone to swim! We will not have 13-14 boys relays.  Madison Owles will be swimming up in the 15 and older medley relay (swimming freestyle) since she will be a little late to the meet and so we can still have a relay.  AnnaKate will swim up on the girls 13 and 14 free relay.  Jacob, Jackson and Preston will swim up with Brian on the 15 and older relay.  If your 11 older boy isn't on a relay, they are an alternate.

All age groups:  We have kids that are schedule to swim IM, distance free, fly and breast in all age group.  Some may be doing it for the first time!  You are put in these events because we see you WORKING HARD at practice and because WE BELIEVE IN YOU!!  Parents- please pump your kids up for this because they deserve it!  Talk about their strokes on the car ride over.  Ask them what they are supposed to do when they start their race and when they finish.  If they can visualize what they want to do, they can do it!  Remember - EVERY swim matters tonight!!

2.  Important Information from Old Town

• Pool address:  2875 Old Town Club Rd., Winston Salem 27106
• Visiting Team Setup
  • We ask the visiting team to gather around the children’s pool side of the pool deck - this is the side closest to the playground and parking lot. Most of our deck and pool chairs will be stacked away, so bringing your own camp chairs and tents are encouraged.
  • Unfortunately, the Baby Pool will be closed!
• Pool Logistics
  • Our pool length is 80 ft. Swimtopia will automatically convert times to 25 yards. We want to let you know this in advance so your swimmers are not disappointed in their clocked times.
  • We will use Dive overs for older kids when possible (11 & up)
  • No Diving in the shallow end.
• Food & Beverage
  • OTC will be offering a dinner buffet - CASH ONLY! $12 for adults, $8 for kids 4-12 and kids under 3 years old are free. See menu attached.
  • We will also offer basic sundries at our snack bar and adult beverages at a separate bar - CASH ONLY.
• The playground will be open, but can get very slippery when wet, so please advise children to use caution.
• Schedule
  • You may arrive at 4:30 or later
  • Home team warm up @ 4:55-5:10 PM.
  • Away team warm up @ 5:10-5:25 PM.
  • Timers/officials meeting @ 5:10 PM - Please gather on the pool deck near the scorer's tent; the tent will be on the side of the pool deck closest to the golf course.
  • Meet will start @ 5:30 PM

Good luck to EVERYONE tonight! Swim hard, cheer harder and have FUN!  I can't wait to hear how it goes!!

GO GATORS!!!!

Karen