Crismark Comets

Day of the Meet

What does my child need for meets?

Team swimsuit

Towels (2)

Snacks for themselves (orange slices, apple slices, crackers, gatorade, water)

Swim Cap and a backup swim cap

Goggles and Back-up Goggles

If your child cannot attend a meet, please notify the coach by email as soon as possible. If you already know dates that your family will be out of town, you may give her/him those at the beginning of the season. A missing swimmer affects relay teams and may cause a swimmer to miss their chance at swimming that evening. We understand that emergencies happen. If that is the case, please call the coach as soon as possible to let her know so changes can be made.

What time do I need to be there?

Most meets require swimmers arrive 1 hour before the meet. All meets start at 6 pm sharp. So...we request that swimmers arrive by 5 pm. This gives swimmers time to acclimate to the pool environment. It also gives coaches time to ensure all assigned swimmers are present and to make any necessary changes. Warm-ups usually start around 5:15. Swimmers start reporting to the Clerk of Course around 5:45.

How Long Do These Meet Run?

The time it takes to complete a swim meet is a long-running joke within the swim team families. Times vary based on several factors: the number of swimmers, weather, and how organized the teams are at keeping swimmers up to date on their event lineups. Our league allows for approximately 70 events. That's a lot of events. Organization is the key. Most meets can be completed in about 3 hours (sometimes a little longer). This is why it is important for swimmers to know their events and for parents to help ensure their kids are ready at the scheduled event time.

What happens at a meet?

Swimmers will compete in stroke events against the visiting team and the clock! Each meet will have designated age groups per event. Each swimmer may compete in 3 individual events and 2 relay events. This is their opportunity to compete in a friendly way with teammates and showcase their hard work from practice. We require that the team sit together and cheer for one another.

To Eat or not to Eat?

EAT! Swimmers burn up a ton of calories at practice and at meets. They should not eat a full-course meal before swimming. Any type of carbs, protein, and fruits are great to eat about an hour or so before a meet. Your swimmer should also have snacks to munch on after every event. Pretzels, goldfish crackers, watermelon, granola bars, etc.

Hydrate, Hydrate, Hydrate!

Water is best. But Gatorade, Powerade, and other sports drinks are ok in moderation. Some products contain high levels of sugar and sodium, so read the labels. Soda is not the best, but it can be a quick sugar fix if your swimmer needs it. Swimmers can and often do dehydrate. Please encourage hydration. Swimmers sweat, you just can’t see it!

Heat Sheets

Heat Sheets list the stroke, distance, and heats for each event. This will provide you with information on which event, heat, and pool lane your swimmer will swim in during the meet. Our division has decided not to sell them during regular-season meets. However, the All-Star meet will sell them to offset printing costs. All-star heat sheets usually run $5 per copy. During our regular-season dual meets, we will try to email you a copy so you can print it at your convenience.

Why do you need a Heat Sheet?

Everyone always asks this question. Heat sheets help the team.

• They help you know who is swimming in each lane and in which event they are swimming.
• They sometimes provide advertisements for our sponsors.
• They help with the overall organization of the meet.