Greenway Gators

IMPORTANT!! 

Contact Coach Emma if your declared swimmer(s) cannot attend a meet after the declaration deadline. Meet entries may need to be adjusted to fill in gaps in relays, or to adjust lane assignments. The sooner we know of an absence, the easier it is to make any necessary adjustments.

THE WEEK PRIOR TO A MEET

• Declare your swimmer’s availability as early as possible so we can create the meet lineup!
  • Monday at 7 PM for Wednesday meets
  • Thursday at 7 PM for Saturday meets
• Visit https://greenwaygators.swimtopia.com and sign in to your Swimtopia account
• Click on the "Meets & Events" tab and open the “Meets & Events Calendar”
• Scroll down to each meet and click the button for "Meet Entry"
  • This is where you "declare" whether your swimmer will or will not attend that meet and whether they are available for relays
• Scroll down to each meet and click the button for "Job Signup"
  • This is where you sign up for your volunteer shifts. All families are asked to volunteer during meets at least 3 times each season.
  • You must ensure your family completes your volunteer shift at the meet. You can do it yourself or appoint a mom, dad, grandma, your older responsible teenager, Uncle Bob, or Aunt Sally. We need every family to pitch in to ensure our meets run smoothly!

THE NIGHT BEFORE A MEET

• We highly recommend that you label everything! Team shirts, caps, goggles, bags, towels, etc.
• Pack your swimmer’s bag.
• Have your swimmer eat a healthy dinner and get some sleep.

WHAT TO BRING TO THE MEET

• Your child in their Gators suit with sunscreen already applied.
• Goggles & Cap. These are the number one and two items that are forgotten and can cause stress, especially for a new swimmer. Please label them!
• Towels. Labeled with your child’s name.
• Chairs/Canopy tent. Create a “home base” for your family and friends!
• Snacks. If you forget to pack healthy snacks for your swimmer to munch on, each team typically has concessions available.
• Water. Keep your swimmer hydrated!

WHEN YOU ARRIVE/BEFORE THE MEET STARTS

• HOME MEETS – Please enter through the locker rooms, not the game room.
• Parking fills up quickly! Plan extra time to park and walk to the pool. Parking is also available on Meade Dr. and Greenway Dr for home meets.
• Check in, or have your swimmer check in, with their coach. This is when they can confirm their event number(s), heat number(s), and lane number(s). You may want to mark those on your swimmer’s arm beforehand using a Sharpie. Fresh sunscreen smears Sharpie so make sure to apply sunscreen before you arrive or take care not to smear the marking.
• Warm-Ups. For HOME meets, warm-ups begin at 7:10 AM. For AWAY meets, warm-ups begin at 7:30 AM. Please plan to arrive 15-20 minutes early to check-in so warm-ups can begin on time.
• Volunteer Check-In. All volunteers should check in and wear their name tag. These can be picked up when checking in with the Volunteer Coordinators.
• Volunteer Assignment Meetings. Please listen to the Announcer for pre-meet briefings that will take place for certain volunteers. All ‘on deck’ positions will have a pre-meet briefing, and all first- and second-half volunteers will need to attend the meeting.
• SwimTopia (Meet Maestro) will be used this season to track results. Results will be reconciled ASAP at the conclusion of each meet. Results are posted to the team website, updated in your swimmer’s SwimTopia profile, and will also be sent to you via email.

DURING THE MEET

• All meets begin with the National Anthem
• Please encourage your swimmers to stay in the team area during meets so our coaches can get them lined up.
  • For home meets, the team area is located under the sunshade at the deep end of the pool. Visiting teams use the snack area.
  • For away meets, the team area will be sent to you just prior to the meet.
• Individual events are split into multiple heats based on the number of swimmers participating in each event. Heats are sorted from fastest to slowest entry times. You can expect a swimmer who does not yet have a time (NT) for an event to swim in a later heat.
• Relay Events - In each relay, teams of four swimmers compete with each person swimming the appropriate number of laps. In the medley relay, each swimmer has a different stroke, back, breast, fly, or free. In the freestyle relay, all swimmers perform freestyle.
  • If your swimmer has been assigned to a relay, they must stay for the duration of the meet. If they are not in their lane ready to participate, the other members of the relay team cannot swim. PLEASE BE CONSIDERATE of the rest of the relay team and get to your lane in plenty of time.
  • If a swimmer must leave a meet early and cannot participate in an assigned race, please notify the coaches immediately so another swimmer can take your place.
• The event order is as follows. All events are run youngest to oldest, with boys followed by girls in each age group.
  • Freestyle
  • Backstroke
  • Breaststroke
  • Butterfly
  • Individual Medley
  • Relays
• For regular season meets, ribbons are awarded to the top 6 swimmers with the fastest time across each event (not heat). Ribbons are placed in your family folder during the practice following each meet.
• You are free to leave the meet once your swimmer is done swimming their events AND your volunteer shift is also complete. However, we do encourage everyone to stay for the full meet. Relays are exciting for everyone, in and out of the pool, and are often one of the most lively parts of the day!

AFTER THE MEET

• Please remember to clean up after yourselves and your swimmers! Help out by picking up trash, even if it’s not yours. We need to be sure that we leave the pool and pool house in the same or better shape than how we found it.
• Check your email, the team website, and/or your SwimTopia account for your swimmer’s results and improvements.
• Be sure to check your family folder during practices after each meet for your swimmer’s ribbons!