Raintree Country Club Swim Team

What to Expect at Your First Swim Meet: 

Swim meets are a great opportunity for the whole family to spend time together as well as with all the other families on the team. Below are guidelines and tips geared to help you through your first couple of swim meets. 

What to take to a Swim Meet: 

1. Raintree Country Club Swimsuit, swim cap, and goggles. Having an extra pair of goggles and a cap is always a great idea!
2. Towels – swimmers will be in and out of the water, so pack at least two (it’s nice to have a dry one at the end of a meet). 
3. Something comfy for you to sit* in. Most parents bring camping chairs. (
4. Small cooler* of healthy snacks and drinks (if allowed at host pool). Suggestions for items to bring: Water, fruit juice, Gatorade, granola bars, fruit, yogurt, cereal, trail mix, sandwiches. 
5. Sharpie marker, pen, highlighter.

Before the Meet Starts: 

1. Arrive at on deck at least 15 minutes before the scheduled warm-up time begins. Often coaches announce or post exact warm-up times several days before a meet. 
2. Find a place to put your swimmer’s “stuff.” The team usually sits together in a common area so look for some familiar faces and then set up camp. 
3. Help your swimmer find their coach and check in. Look for coaches on deck or sometimes in the crash area to let them know you are at the meet. 
4. Find a heat sheet. A Heat Sheet lists all swimmers in each event in order of “seed time”. This is where you will find what heat and lane your swimmer is in for each event they’ve entered. We will try to send out and/or post swimmer entries prior to each swim meet. 
5. Write on your swimmer. Write each event number, heat, and lane on your swimmer’s arm in “permanent” (i.e., waterproof) marker, like a Sharpie. This helps your swimmer remember what events he or she is swimming, what event number to listen for, and what lane to get lined up behind. This step is sometimes saved until after the swimmers are done with warm-ups, but can also be done before going to a meet. Abbreviations: E=Event number, H= Heat number, L= Lane number What=The length of the swim (in yards) and the stroke FR, BK, BR, FL = freestyle, backstroke, breaststroke, butterfly  The event number refers to distance/stroke/age/gender for each race The Heat number is used when there are more swimmers than can swim at once within one event (example: 20 9-10 girls in a 6 lane pool would require 4 heats). Placement of lane numbers can vary by pool.
6. Swimmers report to the pool and coach for warm-ups. It is very important for all swimmers to warm-up with the team. Swimmers’ bodies are just like cars on a cold day; they need to get the engine going and warmed-up before being able to go all out. This is a good time for parents to check and see if extra timers are needed while the kids are busy! 
7. Swimmers return to their spot after warm-ups. Time to dry off, put on warm clothes, go to the bathroom, and write events on the arm if this wasn’t done earlier. Swimmers should check to see if they are in a relay at the meet start and not go too far away.