GKAISA League 4 Teams
Cherokee Country Club
Kingston Swim Team
Maryville Alcoa Flying Dolphins
University Swim Club
Fox Den Country Club
NEW SWIM PARENT FAQ
1.Do I stay for the whole swim meet? It depends. Yes if you are signed up to work a second shift job. Yes, if your child is swimming in the freestyle relay at the end of the meet (events 61-70) Otherwise, you may leave the meet after your child has completed their last event. *** of special note, sometimes emergencies happen (kids get sick during a meet, etc) and parents need to leave before the freestyle relay has occurred. Please do not leave if it all possible, and if you must, please please please inform a coach because it impacts the entire relay team.***
2.Are there Lifeguards? There will be a lifeguard present for every swim meet.
3.Do I have to volunteer? What are the jobs? One family, one shift per meet. See attached job descriptions. To declare your swimmer and sign up for jobs, go to the SwimTopia app. You will then need to click on “visit website”. Then click on the appropriate meet to declare your swimmer & sign up for jobs.
4.What Equipment is required? Cap, goggles, team swimsuit.
5.How are results communicated? Download the SwimTopia app for more instant results. Comprehensive meet results will also be emailed the following day.
6.Protocol for weather cancellations or delays. Heavy rain (can’t see the bottom of the pool) and lightning will halt a meet/practice. For meets, you will wait in your car for any weather delays. DO NOT LEAVE until communication from meet directors have officially cancelled the meet. Communication will be posted in SwimTopia.
7.Basic format of summer swim meet. Note: this will change slightly for Smokey & city meets (race numbers). Races 1-10: individual medley. Races 11-20: Freestyle. Races 21-30: Medley Relays. Races 31-40: Backstroke. Races 41-50: Breaststroke. Races 51-60: Butterfly. Races 61-70: Freestyle Relays. Women are always odd numbered races, Men even numbered races. First half events 1-40. Second half events 41-70.
8.How to write races on body. Prior to warm ups, Please make sure to write your child’s first & last name and age group on their back right shoulder with sharpie. This helps to ensure that the timer is timing the correct child. Include grid diagram of event, heat, lane, you can also include race type for young swimmers. ***note that sunscreen will smear sharpie so apply sunscreen prior to sharpie and allow time to dry OR avoid sunscreen to that area***
9.How do relays work (medley & free). Your child may be grouped with 3 others for a relay. The medley relay is when each child swims a different stroke (events 21-30). The freestyle relay is when each child swims freestyle (events 61-70). It is very helpful for a parent to help collect the entire group of 4 swimmers and walk them to the clerk of course together. If a swimmer leaves early and misses a relay race, it impacts the entire group. Please avoid this if possible and alert a coach if it is unavoidable!
10.10 & under swimmers/clerk of course: parents are responsible for walking their kids down to the clerk of course prior to race (ideally 2 events prior to kid’s scheduled event). For relays, it is very helpful for a parent to collect the entire group of 4 and walk the swimmers together to clerk of course. This becomes increasingly difficult in the dark!! You may not know all the swimmers in your group, but now would be a great time to make new friends!! The clerk of course IS NOT responsible for tracking down the kids for their races. They are there to help organize the kids into their appropriate heats and lanes only.
Meet Volunteer Job Descriptions
Fox Den Red Foxes Swim Team Parents
There is a volunteer meeting at the beginning of each meet to give instructions for specific jobs. Do not be intimidated because you don’t know how to do a job. Someone will help you!
MEET WORKER JOB DESCRIPTIONS
Clerk of Course Volunteer Coordinator: Melissa Lear
These jobs are great for…..
-families new to swim team trying to learn how things work
-parents who don’t love the responsibility of timing or judging,
-families who have young swimmers – it’s a great way to meet your child’s friends!
Clerk of Course: This person oversees the clerk of course area and the volunteers in this area. She/he makes sure everyone is in line for their events.
Relay Clerk of Course: These people assist with clerking duties specifically during relays by helping to organize relay teams and walking swimmers from the clerk area to the starting blocks.
Event Sign: This person flips the sign to help communicate the order of events (home meets only)
Timer Volunteer Coordinator: Nate Dobbins
These jobs are great for…..
-families new to swim team trying to learn how things work
-parents who like to be on deck and close to the action
-families who like to get their exercise at the swim meet (runners!)
Timers: These people time the swimmers’ events and record the times on event cards or tell the time to the scribe (if there is one, timer and scribe are often combined).
Scribes: These people work with the timers to record the times onto the event card and pass them to the runner (if there is one, timer and scribe are often combined).
Head Timer: This is the person who oversees all the timers and holds up the paddle to let the starter know that the timers are ready for the start of a race. This person is also responsible for being backup timer in case any of the timers doesn’t start/stop their stopwatch on time.
Runners: These people pick up the event cards from the timers/scribes and the event finish cards from the finish/overcall judges and deliver them to the scoring table. (Can also include DQ runner job duties if needed).
Disqualification (DQ) Runners: These people pick up disqualification cards from the jump judges and stroke and turn judges and sends to the referee for review, then to the scoring table for scoring. (This job can be combined with a regular runner if needed).
Officials Volunteer Coordinator: Jill Pacelli
These jobs are great for…..
- -families who have seasoned swimmers who like to be a part of the action
- -parents who like to understand and support the technical side of their child’s swimming efforts
- -families who want to continue to see the Fox Den Swim team grow!
Finish Judge: These people sit at the finish line and record the order in which the swimmers finish each race.
Overcall Judge: This person is the third finish judge who will break a tie if the first two finish judges disagree on the order of the finish. (home meets only)
Jump Judge: These people watch to see that no swimmer leaves the block before the previous swimmer touches the wall. (Relays only)
Sorter: This person sits at the scoring table and organizes timing slips, finish cards, jump judge cards, and DQ slips for the scorer to enter times into the computer system.
MEET INFORMATION
It is very important that you attend the meets that you and your swimmer sign up for. This is a team sport, and when swimmers or volunteers don’t show up, it causes many problems for the coaches, volunteers and most importantly the other swimmers. You must contact Coach Marissa and Rob Burris if there is an emergency and you and/or your child cannot attend.
When you arrive at the meet, swimmers and volunteers must report to the Swimmer and Worker Check-In area near the large Fox Den Red Foxes banner. Swimmers will need to check themselves in and check the swimmer/event listings to determine the events, heat and lane they will be swimming that swim meet. Volunteers must also check in and receive their badges indicating the position and shift they will be working that swim meet. Parents of younger swimmers are responsible for getting their swimmers to the Clerk of Course area several events before their actual race. Please stay aware of which event are currently underway to ensure the swimmers report in a timely manner. The starter announces the event number before each race.
There are two relays for each age group, the medley relay and the freestyle relay. If your child is in a relay, he/she needs to meet his/her team members at the Swimmer and Worker Check-In area at least five events before their relay so that they can proceed to the Clerk of Course or starting area as a group. For example, if your child is in the 8 and under girls’ medley relay, event 21, she needs to be at the white display board by event 16. For the younger swimmers, we will need at least one swimmer’s parent to gather all relay members. From there, a volunteer or coach will make sure that all the members of that relay team get to their proper starting position. There is only one event card for each relay team. The card parent volunteer will have the card and can also assist gathering swimmers as necessary. Getting the 10 and under relay teams situated can be challenging, so it is very important that the parents make sure that their kids are at the Check-In area in plenty of time.
Required Information