Your First Meet! Helpful Information

 

Please visit the USA Swimming Website for important information if this will be your child’s first meet!

 

Click here to go to the USA Swimming website

 

What To Take To The Meet

  1. Most important: Swim Suit, Team Cap--and goggles (if your swimmer uses them). 
  2. Baby or talcum powder--To "dust" the inside of swim cap. This helps preserve the cap and makes it easier to put on. 
  3. Towels-Realize your swimmer will be there awhile, so pack at least two.
  4. Something to sit on. Oftentimes the swimmer area may be located in a gym or cafeteria. Example: sleeping bag, old blanket, or anything that will be comfortable to sit on. The swimmers will be spending a lot of time on it. 
  5. Sweat suits: bring one. Each swimmer may want to bring two because they can get wet and soggy.
  6. Team T-shirts: Two or three. Same reason as above. 
  7. Games: travel games, coloring books, books, anything to pass the time.
  8. Food: Each swimmer is usually allowed to bring a small cooler. It is better to bring snacks. They usually have snack bars at the meet, but the lines are long and most of the time they only sell junk food. Suggestions for items to bring:
    1. Drinks: Hi-C, Fruit juice, Gatorade
    2. Snacks: Granola bars, Fun fruits, yogurt, cereal, jello cubes, sandwiches

Once you have attended one or two meets this will all become very routine. Please do not hesitate to ask any other parent for help or information! These meets are a lot of fun for the swimmers! He/she gets to visit with his/her friends, play games, and meet kids from other teams. He/she also gets to "race" and see how much he/she has improved from all the hard work he/she has put in at practice.

Special Parent's Note

The pool area is usually very warm. Therefore, you need to make sure you dress appropriately. Nothing is worse than being hot at a swim meet. It makes the time pass very slowly! At some of the meets, the parents are allowed to sit with the swimmers at the blanket area. If you don't think that a gym floor is comfortable, feel free to bring folding chairs to sit on. Better yet, become an official and get involved! You get to be close to the action and take the focus off of your own child!