Greenwood Forest Swim Team

• Team swimsuit preferred. Alternatively, for women/girls a racer-back or suit with crossed straps (No two-piece suits) and for men/boys jammers. 
• Goggles which are required to help swimmers see underwater and reduce eye irritation. You should bring an extra pair just in case.
• Swim cap is required, and particularly important for anyone with long hair. Just like a racing suit, a cap reduces drag in the water. Swim caps may only be decorated with the Breakers team name or with a corporate logo (i.e., Nike, Speedo, etc.). 
• Team t-shirt to show your team spirit
• Hat
• Towel
• Sunscreen
• Sharpie or felt marker to write swimmer events on their arm or leg
• Plenty of healthy snacks & drinks to keep your swimmer hydrated and energized.
• Cash (small bills) in case you want to buy a snack, drink or merchandise 
• Games for your swimmer busy in between events (travel games, books, DS etc.)
• Folding chairs to sit on
• Canopy for shade
• Wagon to carry everything

NOTE: Please MARK EVERYTHING with the swimmers name so we can avoid lost shirts, towels, caps, bathing suits, etc. 

• Please arrive at the pool on time for all meets. The start time of the meets can be found in the Meet email sent out on Fridays, usually parents and swimmers will be required to arrive between 6:00am - 7:00am because warm ups begin well before the first event.
• Upon arrival, swimmers will need to sign in at the front entrance to confirm they have arrived. If your swimmer is not signed in they will be scratched from their heats by the coaches. If your child is sick on the day of the swim meet or is otherwise unable to attend, please email the head coach Amber Stepanik. When signing in, swimmers can write down their event details.
• If you have signed up to volunteer NO MATTER WHAT SHIFT, please check in with our volunteer coordinator as soon as you get to the pool. We LOVE our volunteers and like to know we have all our bases covered. Volunteer descriptions can be found on the Volunteer page.
• Ensure your swimmer has sunscreen on and is marked up with his/her event information.

You should mark your swimmer to reflect which events, heat and lane they are racing. This is used to help remind the swimmer of their events and help ready bench volunteers. Use the sign in heat sheet at the entrance to get your event details. See example below: 

Stroke: If you'd like to note the stroke do so after the lane designation.
- FR = Freestyle
- BA = Back Stroke
- BR = Breast Stroke
- FLY = Butterfly
- IM = Individual Medley
- FRR = Free Relay (All swimmers swim freestyle)
- MR = Medley Relay (Each swimmer swims a different stroke: 1st = back, 2nd=breast, 3rd=fly, 4th=free)

Relay Marking: This will designate the relay leg the child is swimming.
- 1/1 = Lane 1, first relay leg
- 4/2 = Lane 4, 2nd relay leg **If the Medley Relay this will be Breast Stroke

For younger swimmers, you are encouraged to write your swimmers last name and first initial on their back to help ready bench place your swimmer in the correct place. 

• COACHING: During the meet our coaches will be on deck observing each child. These observations will be used in upcoming practices to help swimmers improve. The assistant coaches will be helping swimmer get set up for starts, reminding swimmers of specifics for each race (stroke type, sequence, etc...). Please allow them to focus on these activities. No parents should be in the ready bench area, start or finish areas that are not working a volunteer shift.
• WHAT YOUR SWIMMER SHOULD KNOW: First and foremost have fun! Do their best and enjoy the meet. PLEASE leave the coaching to our amazing coaches and just encourage your swimmers. If you are volunteering and leaving your swimmer especially our younger swimmers, please make sure they know where all their "stuff" is snacks, goggles, money and entertainment. Please lather your swimmers with sunscreen prior to arriving at the pool.
• FOOD AND REFRESHMENTS: As a general rule we like to promote “green” thinking so bring a reusable water bottle. Water containers will be available. At home meets breakfast tacos are for sale in the early morning. Also donuts, coffee, drinks, watermelon/fruit and snacks of all kinds will be available. Around 11:00 the food choices change to hot dogs and hamburgers with a variety of snacks available. You can bring in food and drinks, but we ask that people do not bring in glass or cans.
• READY BENCH: The announcer will call age event numbers to the Ready Bench. It is the parent/swimmer's responsibility to get to report to the ready bench in a timely manner.
• RELAYS: Please don't cancel on relays, especially last minute - if your swimmer is signed up to swim the relay and for some reason you cannot stay, or make it, PLEASE INFORM the age group parents immediately. A relay is 4 swimmers and if one isn't there, the whole relay team has to forfeit. It makes everyone sad when this happens. When signing up for a meet, Swimtopia allows you to note your relay preference: Please indicate if your child won't be available for early or late relays. 
• HEAT RIBBONS: Place ribbons are awarded on the Monday following the meet either before or after practice. Ribbons are provided to the top six swimmers in each individual event and the first place relay teams. A Personal Achievement ribbon is also given to swimmers with improvements of 3% over their previous best time.
• DISQUALIFIED: Swimmers will be DQ'd (disqualified) for improper strokes. If your child is DQ'd please assure your swimmer that it is okay and how proud you are of them for trying. The coaches do get a list of what the swimmer was DQ'd for and they will go over with the swimmers in practice!
• SPORTSMANSHIP: Swimmers stay in the water at the end of their races until all swimmers have touched the wall, it's respectful to other swimmers. Once all swimmers have finished the race swimmers may exit the pool. Have fun watching all the kids experience summer swim.  Please congratulate the winner no matter what team they are on, please encourage all swimmers and please encourage your swimmers to do the same. Our swimmers will follow our example.

A typical swim meet schedule will look like the following.

**check each week's email for exact times**