Ladd Park Sharks

Preparing for a Swim Meet:

What to Bring:

Girls- Team one-piece racing suit Boys- Team jammer racing suit
Team Caps- Please wear your Sharks swim caps.
Goggles – consider having an extra pair for back-up
Team T-shirt – Show your Team Spirit and support sponsors!
2-3 Towels – One to sit on, and one to dry off with after each race.
Sunscreen – We want Sharks not Lobsters!
Sharpie – for body marking
Nutritional snacks and drink and/or money for the concession stand.
Games, Books, etc. to enjoy during wait time.
Please label all items!!!

What to do prior to Arrival:

• Please body mark (write all of your child’s events in permanent marker and their 3 digit ID) on your child prior to warm-ups. Events will be emailed before the meet and will also be posted at the meet (Please see how to read a heat sheet below). If at all possible, body mark before arriving to the pool. Trying to mark several swimmers at a time creates confusion and can rattle the nerves of an anxious swimmer.
• How to body Mark your swimmer(s):Parents will write E, H, L on each swimmers arm or forearm, where they can see it. Under “E” the event number will be written and possibly what stroke so the child knows but doesn’t always indicate as what it is. (Fr=Freestyle, Bk=Backstroke, Br=Breaststroke, Fl=Butterfly), under “H” the heat number will be written, and under “L” the lane will be written. E, H, L are the column titles and each event will be written on different rows. Please put sunscreen on your child 30 minutes BEFORE body marking. (The sunscreen not only rubs off the marker, but also rubs the marker off on the chairs and anything else the swimmer comes in contact with.)

What to do upon Arrival:

• Look for the designated team area.
• Please set your child up in his/her age group area & sign your child in with the head shepherd.
• Sign in at the parent job table for your designated parent job.
• Warm-ups: each team is allowed a 20 minute warm-up period. The home team always warms ups first. It is important that your child is with the coaches warming up at this time. Children should arrive at warm ups with their team suit, goggles, and swim cap.
• At the conclusion of warm ups, your child should return to his/her designated age group area and wait for their first event.
• Meets will begin promptly at their schedules start time. We will be moving through events quickly, so it is vital your child stay in his or her age group area. We do not want any swimmer to miss a race because team marshals couldn’t locate him/her for their event.
• Each swimmer may compete in up to 2 individual events plus the I.M. and also two relays.
• Please help with the clean up after each meet. Chairs will need to be moved, trash will need to be picked up and taken out, etc. Swimmers are invited to help with clean up as well.