1. What Does My Child Bring to Meets?
- Make sure your child wears their team suit to the meet!
- Swim goggles (plus an extra pair in case of loss or breakage)
- Woodside-Only Swim caps (Woodside caps available for purchase at the front desk and at Bloomfield Sports Shop)
- Flip-flops or sandals
- Sunscreen
- A swim coverup or sweatshirt (Woodside wear is even better!) to wear between/after events
- Towel (possibly extras for duplicate events)
- Money for snack or packed snack (there are food concessions at every meet)
- Some compact, waterproof activity for the younger ones to keep them entertained between events when they're not cheering their teammates on!
- Bag or backpack to hold it all!
- For home meets, we ask that each swim family bring a beverage 12-pack (type depends on your alphabetical last name which will be detailed later). Families are also asked to contribute baked goods, bagels, cut-up fruit, etc. prior to each home meet (we'll try to post a sign-up sheet both at the club and online a few days before each home meet to make this easier for swim families). These things will be sold by parent volunteers during the meet as a team fundraiser. Proceeds from these concession sales go toward team expenses not completely covered by the swimmer registration fees.
3. How Does a Typical Meet Work?
CHECK-IN: At each meet, Woodside will have a check-in table set up with that meet's lineup. Swim parent volunteers will help children figure out which event/heat/lane number they will be swimming that day. Parents will write the child's events on the younger kids' hands to make marshaling easier. (For instance, 18 /3 / 2 means your child will be swimming in the 18th event, 3rd heat, in Lane 2). IT IS THE PARENT'S RESPONSIBILITY TO HAVE THEIR CHILD READY FOR WARM UPS AND AGAIN FOR MARSHALING AT EACH EVENT SO PLEASE WATCH THE MARSHALING BOARDS TO SEE WHICH EVENT IS CURRENTLY BEING MARSHALED!
WARMâUPS: We meet 2 hours prior to the start of a home meet (1 hour prior for away meets) for warm up. We want our children's muscles loosened up to avoid injury and give them the opportunity to dive off the starting blocks and become familiar with the pool, especially away meets. Please be on time!
MARSHALING: Parent volunteers will guide all the younger swimmers (10 & under) in getting to the right starting block at the right time. Once you check your younger swimmer in with a marshaling volunteer, there is no need to stay with them (and not much room to do so either, so you can point out to them where you'll be standing/sitting and meet them at the end of their race with a nice, dry towel and some congratulatory hugs and kisses!). IT IS THE PARENT'S RESPONSIBILITY TO HAVE THEIR CHILD READY FOR MARSHALING AT EACH EVENT SO PLEASE WATCH THE MARSHALING BOARDS TO SEE WHICH EVENT IS CURRENTLY BEING MARSHALED!
MEET RIBBONS: There will be a table and bulletin boards setup at each meet where parent volunteers (another volunteer opportunity if you're keeping track!) will assign each child a ribbon based on their finishing place. ALL SWIMMERS EARN A RIBBON FOR EACH EVENT, REGARDLESS OF EXHIBITION VS SCORED. It does take time for finishing results and ribbons to be ready, so please be patient and allow time for the volunteers to get all swimmer names on the ribbon backs and clipped to the bulletin boards before asking them for them. Ribbons will be clipped together by event number. Ribbons not picked up during the meet will be available the next day at Woodside outside the locker rooms.
EXHIBITION vs. SCORED EVENTS: It is important for parents and swimmers to understand all swim team members are valuable, whether they are swimming exhibition or for points. Since only the fastest three swimmers in each event can earn points, there are a lot more exhibition heats than point-earning ... please remember to cheer for everyone!
TIME TO GO: We encourage everyone to stay for the entire meet so all swimmers can cheer on all other swimmers (and there are fun parties planned at the end of each home meet). When you're ready to leave the meet, please make sure you leave with everything you came with (towels, swim caps, water bottles, etc.) as well as ensure your child's garbage is thrown away. Don't forget to pick up any ribbons your child has won - these are hard-earned treasures!
4. Can my children join the team if there is a vacation planned during swim season?
If your child is unable to attend a swim meet, please let us know as soon as possible by signing out on the "Can't Swim" list on the team bulletin board downstairs. Meet lineups have to be submitted to the league in advance so the earlier we know, the better. In an emergency (on the day of a meet sick child, etc.) please email Wendy Sims, woodsideswimming@gmail.com, or Coach Anne Wind.
5. Can my children participate in both swimming and tennis teams?
Schedules are designed to avoid conflict, so although busy it's doable.
6. Where do I get the team suit and any Woodside apparel?
Our team suits and Woodside team apparel (t shirts, sweatshirts, etc. for swimmers, siblings AND parents!) are available at Bloomfield Sports Shop which is located on the northeast corner of Maple & Lahser. Woodside swim caps are available for purchase at the front desk, although swimmers will be issued one team cap at our Time Trials on June 8th. Latex caps are available at Bloomfield Sports Shop.
