North Chevy Chase Sharx

What is meet sign-up (meet commitment)? How do I do it?

• For every meet, Coach Dana needs to know which swimmers are available so she can assign them to races. This must be done well in advance so the meet lineup can be completed in the computer system; it is a joint process with the opposing team.
• To let us know if your swimmer is available to swim, find the meet in the list of events and complete the Meet Entry. This will normally be required 1 week in advance, so go ahead and do the meet entry for the full season or as soon as you know your schedule.

How do I know if my swimmer will be in a meet?

• All athletes can swim in Time Trials; all athletes can swim in every Wednesday meet; some athletes will swim in one or more Saturday meets.
• If you indicate your swimmer is available on a Weds, they WILL be swimming. If you indicate they are available on a Saturday, they may or may not end up swimming.
• Dana will send out the meet lineup several days before the meet so you know what races your child is swimming on Weds and if they are swimming the Saturday A meet.
• "A" meet participation is limited to 3 swimmers for each race, age group, and boy/girl division. For freestyle, it's 6 swimmers. These are based largely on fastest times, but additional factors affect Saturday participation such as vacations, plus times change a lot during the season so the Saturday lineup is fluid from week to week as well.

How can I volunteer if I have a young swimmer on the team who needs me?

• During meets, swimmers should stay in the team area, which is for swimmers and coaches - not parents. Young and/or new swimmers adapt quickly and you'll be surprised how independent they are by the 2nd or 3rd meet! 
• Consider taking a 2nd shift role for a week or two until you feel comfortable that your swimmer is independent.

When can I connect with my child during the meet?

• Please encourage your swimmers to stay in the team area so we can find them when it's their time to race and they don't miss it (this does happen!)
• Immediately following a race, swimmers should immediately go to the coaches for feedback.
• After talking to coaches, this is the time to use the bathroom, say hello to you, or grab a quick snack.
• They should return to team area as quickly as possible to get ready for the next race.

How does meet-day go?

• For home meets and B away meets, be sure to arrive 15 mins before warm-up.
• For A away meets, the team will caravan from the parking lot of the pool and will announce a meeting time during the week preceding the meet (usually 7:30am). Caravaning is not mandatory.
• Refer to Swim Meet 101 for info on what to bring and expected swimmer conduct.
• At home meets, the Sharx Bite Cafe is open early with coffee and bagels (Time Trials) and additional hot foods (regular season meets). Typically there are snack options at away meets, and we'll try and confirm this via weekly communications in advance of meets.
• There are 48 - 50 events in the meet, depending if relays are done, and they are always competed in the same order. Events are listed here.
• There are stroke officials to ensure the swim is "legal" and sometimes kids get disqualified. This can be disappointing but it truly happens to all swimmers as they are learning and even occasionally to really experienced swimmers. The coaches will talk to your swimmer about DQs if that happens. It's most common in breast stroke.
• At home meets, race results will be posted near the water fountain on the wall. We are also testing to see if they can also get loaded into the app called Meet Mobile. Stay tuned.

What do I need to do for Time Trials?

• If you haven't completed your swimmer entry (availability), do that TODAY. Entries are due Friday by noon.
• Please bring a shelf-stable food item with individual packaging to donate to the Sharx Cafe. This is a one-time request.
• Introduce yourselves! Reps will be in royal blue shirts at the meet and we'd love to meet you.
• Reassure your swimmers that MANY people are new, and many swimmers haven't done this in a while. No one is a pro! This is about learning and having fun.