STARS BLUE Parents,

Our first meet is finally here!! We are so excited to see our swimmers in the water and look forward to a fun day on Saturday. Yes, this email is long, but it contains very important information regarding the do's and don’ts and in's and out's for Saturday's meet at the Wells Branch Armada so please read it carefully, especially if this is your first year on swim team. For those returning families, a little refresher will not hurt. Contact me with any questions or concerns. Please report your absences as we always assume your swimmer is swimming unless we hear otherwise!

Meet Location: Willow Bend Pool (6 lane pool with .999 conversion)

2801 Sauls Drive

Austin, TX 78728

5:50 Tent Transport and Set-Up Crew arrival

6:30 Tent Parent check-in

6:40 Swimmer check-in

6:40 to 6:55 Volunteer check-in

6:55 to 7:25 Warm-ups

7:10 Judges meeting under the flag

7:15 Timers meeting by the lifeguard office

7:20 All 1st shift workers to their post and events 1,2,3 to ready bench

7:30 Meet starts

Please do NOT be late for check-in! It is very important that we have all Tent Parents in place for swimmer arrival. If your swimmer is late, you risk having them scratched from relays which, in turn, affects other swimmers. Please be on time!

BASIC MEET INFO:

Parking- There is limited parking in the lot adjacent to the pool. There is on-street parking on Sauls Drive and adjacent streets. There is also parking at the Wells Branch Rec Center at 3000 Shoreline Drive. Do not park on Bratton Lane

TENT AREA - Our tents will be set up just outside the gates to the pool.

Important Info:

• Label Everything - team shirt, towels, bags, coolers, etc.
• Pack the night before - you’re going to be getting up really early and the last thing you’ll want to have to do is pack!
• Remember to treat our host team and each other with respect and courtesy. Talk to your kids about showing good sportsmanship! Congratulate and encourage your teammates!
• Please clean up after yourself and ask your swimmer to do the same.

What to bring

• Your child in their Stars team suit and shirt. Make sure you wait until after they’ve been body marked to apply sunscreen! (You will hear me preach this all season so please remember NOT to put sunscreen on your child before the meet. No one is going to get sunburned at 6:00 in the morning!)
• Goggles & Team Cap. These are the number one and two items that are forgotten and can cause a lot of stress, especially for a new swimmer. Please label them! If you forget your cap, our wonderful apparel team will be on hand for you to purchase a replacement. Melissa Sheppard 512.663.9866 or Jodie Pickin 511.470.4861
• Towels. Bring two - one for your swimmer to sit on in the tent and one to dry off with. Again, label with your child’s name.
• Chairs. You will need your own chair to sit on outside the pavilion.
• Toys/Games. There is a lot of down time between events so please pack your swimmer a device, toy or book. Many swimmers will bring their handheld gaming/music devices or phone. Please do not bring balls, Frisbees or other “active” toys as we really need the kids to stay in the tents.
• Snacks. While we definitely encourage everyone to visit the opposing team’s concession stand, we also recommend packing healthy snacks for your swimmer to munch on. Fruit, granola bars, pretzels, and non-soda drinks are perfect. Please remember that we have many swimmers with nut allergies so please let your child’s Tent Parent know if your child has peanut butter or other nuts in their snack bag.
• Bag. Please pack your swimmer’s snacks, games/toys, clothes, towels, etc. in their own bag that you will leave with them in the tent. Swimmers will need to stay in their tents and will not be able to run around trying to find Mom and Dad in order to get a snack or their towel. The Tent Parents are responsible for getting your swimmer to their race on time and wandering children makes that job extremely difficult. If your child wants to go to the concession stand, you will need to take them after you let the Tent Parent know. Tent Parents will take the swimmers to the restroom in groups.
• Siblings & Family/Friends. The more the merrier! However, siblings will be expected to stay with their parents and will NOT be allowed to sit in the tents with the swimmers. Extra children can be very overwhelming for the Tent Parents, so please keep your little ones with you.
• Heat Sheets. The meet entries will be posted on our website and you will be able to print the Heat Sheet for the meet. As we had several last minute cancellations, the relay information may not be totally accurate. Please tell us if your swimmer will be absent as we always assume that your swimmer is going to swim unless we hear otherwise.
• Smart phone/tablet with Meet Mobile App. There is a monthly fee or an annual fee and this is totally optional. It will contain the swimmers' individual event, heat, and lane info from the heat sheets. This will be a good but not definitive account of the actual meet. Results posted are UNOFFICIAL until after the meet ends and the meet directors approve the results. Meet Bop is another app that is free and is an event tracker so that you can keep track, real time, on how the meet is progressing and what event is coming up next.
• Rain gear and mosquito spray (Da*# Zika!)

Before the Meet

Warm-Up:

Our warm-up is scheduled for 6:55 am. This does not mean you can arrive at 6:55! We will begin scratching swimmers from events shortly after check-in time, so please arrive at 6:40! WB will warm-up first and then we will warm-up. Coaches and Tent Parents will escort the swimmers to the pool - please stay back and allow your swimmer to walk to the deck with their age group.

Volunteer Assignment Meetings:

Please listen to the announcer for pre-meet meetings for certain volunteer shifts. All of the “on deck” positions will have a pre-meet meeting to discuss the responsibilities for that position. All 1st and 2nd half Judges will meet at ~7:10 under the flag and Timers will meet by the lifeguard office at ~7:15.

THE MEET!

• The meet is scheduled to start at 7:30
• We will have a “half-time/shift change” after event #46 during which we will have Parent-Coaches relays, time permitting. If you’re interested in swimming in one of these relays, please let me know.
• There will be a Heat Ribbon given to the winner of each heat. The heat ribbon is given to swimmer/relay who touches the wall first regardless of any other factors such as disqualification or overall time. It is rewarded purely on who touches the wall first - plain and simple!
• Overall Ribbons are awarded to the top ten swimmers with the fastest time across an entire event. Those ribbons will be placed in your family folder and can be picked up at Tuesday’s practice. The same is true for the top three finishers in relay events. 5/6 swimmers will receive a Participation Ribbon for every meet and any swimmer who improves his/her time in a given event will receive a Time Improvement ribbon.
• Most of the 5/6’s will be finished with their events at shift change after event #46. They are free to leave the meet once they are done swimming. Please be sure to check them out with their Tent Parent before leaving with them!! If you are staying at the meet for an older child, please keep your 5/6 swimmer with you as the Tent Parents are relieved of duty after the last 5/6 event.
• In the event that there are any controversies at the meet or you need to report an infraction by a judge, timer or other official, DO NOT approach that individual yourself. All issues need to be brought to the attention of the Meet Director, which will be Mitch Aubin (512.413.1899 or [email protected]). Contact him or me with any last minute cancellations.

Please don’t hesitate to contact me if you have any questions or concerns.

GO BLUE!

Albert Wong

512.567.9393

Stars BLUE Team Coordinator