Cheyenne Mountain Aquatics

1. Family guide to your first swim meet Please take the time to learn the CMA web site – it will save you time and frustration – www.cmaswim.com Check List for Swim Meet Marking The Arm (MTA) Wear CMA shirt – parents and children Arrive for warm-up early Goggles (2 pair, just in case one breaks) Swim suit and cap 2 Towels Warm clothes for after race Healthy snacks and drinks/water Get heat-sheet (cost approx. 2-5 dollars, need highlighter) Mark The Arm E/H/L/Stroke (need sharpie) Warm-up Parent check-in with volunteer organizer Watch for first call of your event Talk to coach before race Race Talk to coach after race Rest for next race and cheer other racers Have a fun time Purchase a meet heat sheet Highlight your child’s events/heats Assure you have a Sharpie to write with Write Event/heat/lane/stroke on arm Stroke E H L Relay 1 3 6 25 Free 3 1 1 Cheyenne Mountain Aquatics 50 Back 2 2 3 50 free 4 4 4 Your children should visit their coach when they see their event as 1st call and then move behind the starting blocks following this meeting Swim Race Organization Swimmer warm-up Swimmers are normally asked to arrive 1 to 1-1/2 hours before the start of the race for warm-ups Race structure Events – this is the name of the individual race which is a stroke at a certain distance. Each event is numbered so you will know when your event will take place during the meet. The event is normally announced or posted with first/second and last call before the event, example - Girls 100 fly Heats – An event normally has several heats, or groups of swimmer racing head to head in the same type of race. Normally swimmers are in a heat with kids who have times that are similar to theirs. The fastest time for all the heats determines the winner of the event. Lanes – A heat normally has up to 8 swimmers, depending on the number of open lanes in the pool. It is important that a swimmer knows his or her Event/Heat/Lane to prevent missing a race. (See the section on Marking The Arm – MTA) Cheering for the Swimmers Cheering helps overall team morale; however, the individual swimmers really can’t hear you Swimmers are encouraged to cheer for their teammates when possible Parents are encouraged to also cheer all team members; however, remember the most important time to encourage or congratulate a swimmers is after the event. Special note to parents (from a parent who has learned the hard way) Swimming is harder than it looks! CMA swimmers have particularly smooth strokes and thus sometimes appear to not be trying very hard. Do not be fooled by this appearance, because they are working very hard! Please remember this when you see them after the race – thanks.

2. Our Families are what make our team great – Thanks. Chaperone (a good way to get to know the younger swimmer) • This person is tasked with helping to assure the younger swimmers get to each race, on time. • Identify 10 and under CMA swimmers for each event (D1 and D2 mainly) • It is best to keep all the kids sitting in a designated spot so it is easy to find the kids • After talking to coach walk all swimmers so each one is standing behind their scheduled lane • Stand nearby assuring child starts in correct heat and lane. • This is particularly important in 25 yard races, since the timers are not there to help • organize the children. Runner This person is responsible for collecting the times from each lane after each event is complete Walk behind each lane after event complete and collect event sheet from timers. Walk sheet to Information Technology Center. How Can You Help During a Meet Concessions – money used to support CMA activities Donations Concessions requires a certain amount of donations from familiesfor CMA hosted meets Example – baked goods, muffins, coffee, fruit, Ramen noodles, breakfast burritos, baked potatoes, Gatorade, ect. Workers During the swim meet 2-3 people work behind the concessions table and sell food to kids and parents. This is a great service that swimmers really appreciate and helps generate funds for the swim team. Timer Guide - Two timers for each lane (required for times to be official) Timers need to report to timer meeting prior to race start to get directions and watches Timers normally work in 1-2 hour shifts . Each team is normally required to cover 1 to 2 lanes with timers Timer responsibilities #1 timer has watch and heat sheets/pencil. *Looks at heat sheets and help assure swimmers are in the area and are in the correct lane #2 timer has watch and pickle (digital stopwatch at edge of pool) Start of race - Both timers start watch when strobe flashes (look don’t listen) Finish- Both timers stop watch (+pickle for timer #2) when swimmer touches wall. Timer #1 then records both watch times on the heat sheet (at end of event runner will pick up individual sheet) During 25 yard races, timers will be asked to walk to the far end of the pool to time. If either timer misses start or watch malfunctions, raise hand for New running watch from head timer Other Opportunities to Volunteer Organizing or supporting the hospitality room for the coaches and officials Scoreboard, Head timer, Safety officer, set-up, clean-up, data entry person Once Again, CMA really depends on its families - THANKS!