Forrest Crossing Flippers

POOL LOCATION: Home meets are at Forrest Crossing's neighborhood pool located at 1010 Riverview Drive (see Location under Team Handbook tab). Away meet locations are listed on the Calendar Schedule under Practices tab.

ARRIVAL TIME: Please arrive at the pool on time for all meets. Warm-ups are at 3pm and meets start at 4pm unless otherwise stated. Please check in with the Meet Director if you have signed up for a volunteer position at the meet.

COACHING: During the meet our head coach will be on deck observing each child. These observations will be used in upcoming practices to help swimmers improve. The assistant coaches will be helping swimmer get set up for starts, reminding swimmers of specifics for each race (stroke type, sequence, etc...).

What to Bring

• Team swimsuit, cap, goggles (if needed), team t-shirt, 2 towels (one to sit on also), and sunscreen. Make sure all items are well labeled with your child's name.
• Plenty of snacks and drinks to keep your swimmer hydrated and energized. Concessions are always open during meets.
• Black (and Red if needed) sharpie marker for marking up your child.

Upon Arrival

1. Apply sunscreen and let dry for at least 30 minutes before marking up your swimmer. This is where you use a sharpie to write on your swimmer, so coaches and volunteers know who they are and what events they are swimming. If the sunscreen is not dry, the marker will rub off on everything and will be illegible.
2. Write "FC" on left shoulder blade and child's FIRST and LAST name, age and swimmer number (found on Heat sheet) on right shoulder blade with a black sharpie. (See pictures below)
3. If your child cannot swim by themselves across the pool and need coach assistance, please mark a LARGE RED X on his/her left shoulder (See pictures below).
4. Write EVENT - HEAT - LANE on your child's upper or forearm. The events your child will be competing in will be emailed the night before the meet. Label (E = event, H = heat, L = lane, S = Stroke). (See pictures below)
   *** Heat Sheets & Lineup By Swimmer will be emailed the night before every meet ***
5. Arrive early before warm-ups begin to allow time to set up and help others around you. warm-ups help the swimmer get more comfortable and ready for the meet to start.
6. Flippers have a designated team area and will have signs by age group for each group to sit together. This helps the shepards collect them for their events.
7. Check in if you have a volunteer job with the meet director. If you see a need, meet a need!
8. Be ready to cheer for our Flippers!

During the meet

• WHAT YOUR SWIMMER SHOULD KNOW: First and foremost have fun! Do their best and enjoy the meet. PLEASE leave the coaching to our amazing coaches and just encourage your swimmers. If you are volunteering and leaving your swimmer especially our younger swimmers, please make sure they know where all their "stuff" is snacks, goggles, money and entertainment. Please remind your swimmers to stay with the age group parents and not wander off as this can create chaos when time comes to swim. Please lather your swimmers with sunscreen prior to arriving at the pool.
• FOOD AND REFRESHMENTS: As a general rule we like to promote “green” thinking so bring a reusable water bottle. Concessions will be open during all home meets.
• READY BENCH: Age group parents are responsible for getting our swimmers to the ready bench so if you choose to take your child out of the age group area during a meet, you are responsible for informing the Shepard and getting them to the ready bench on time. Failure to get to the ready bench will mean your swimmer is scratched from the race.
• RELAYS: Please do NOT cancel on relays, especially last minute - if your swimmer is signed up to swim the relay and for some reason you cannot stay, or make it, PLEASE INFORM the age group parents immediately. A relay is 4 swimmers and if one is not there, the whole relay team has to forfeit. It makes everyone sad when this happens. There will be a "Can't make the Meet" folder at practices where you can mark the days your child will not be at a meet or you can request "no relays".
• HEAT RIBBONS: In an effort to have more kids have a chance we give out heat ribbons to first place swimmers in their heat. This is a reward for working hard in practice and improving their time to achieve first place in their heat. Please explain to your children the intention of heat ribbons and the importance of being a good sport. Heat ribbons are given to the first swimmer to touch the wall, they may still be DQ’d depending on stroke judge.
• DISQUALIFIED: Swimmers will be DQ'd (disqualified) for improper strokes. If your child is DQ'd please assure your swimmer that it is okay and how proud you are of them for trying. The coaches do get a list of what the swimmer was DQ'd for and they will go over with the swimmers in practice!
• SPORTSMANSHIP: Flippers swimmers stay in the water at the end of their races until all swimmers have touched the wall, it's respectful to other swimmers. Once all swimmers have finished the race swimmers may exit the pool.

Additional Thoughts

• Please MARK EVERYTHING with the swimmers name so we can avoid lost shirts, towels, caps, bathing suits, etc. The meets usually end around 7pm. Again if you are leaving early please tell the age group parent. We encourage all parents and swimmers to stay until the end of the meet to cheer on all of our Flippers!
• Wear sunscreen!
• Have fun watching all the kids experience summer swim. Most of all, the FLIPPERS want to be known for our good sportsmanship. Please congratulate the winner no matter what team they are on, please encourage all swimmers and please encourage your swimmers to do the same. Our swimmers will follow our example.
• T-SHIRTS: Wear Flippers t-shirts or spirit gear to meets! Vintage t-shirts, new t-shirts, caps, backpacks & towels will be sold at concessions and at most practices.

Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions. Our coaches and our parent leads will also be able to answer questions you might have at the meet. Most importantly HAVE FUN and ENJOY the day!