Our first home meet is done. I don't have the final score but can report that we won! A great effort by our swimmers against a tough team. As usual, thanks so much to all our great coaches. And Meghan Eddy, volunteer coordinator, sends a HUGE thank you to the parents who helped out. By the end of the night, the City team supplied over 75% of the volunteers for the meet last night. All of you were very gracious with your time and commitment to the team. AMAZING!!
Thank Meghan for all her hard work wrangling volunteers before and during the meet, as well as running the table. Below, she has sent some information to help clarify volunteer expectations, so the next meet can go even more smoothly than last nights. Please take the time to read through it all.
Missing a meet?
We had a number of families who did not use the opt-out to let the coaches know that their swimmers would not be at the meet. We have a limited number of swimmers who can be listed as 'official' (and thereby earn points for the team) in each event. Those meet entries have to be done by a specific deadline, days ahead of the meet. We cannot substitute swimmers at the meet. If the coaches enter your swimmers and they do not attend the meet, they have taken the place of another swimmer who might have earned points for the team. Note that because of how the scoring is done, it is not just the top few swimmers who earn points -- they can be earned fairly far down the list of finishers. Don't think your swimmer doesn't contribute to the team just because he or she doesn't end up in the top three spots in their events! Please use to the opt-out link to let the coaches know your swimmers status by 10:30 on the Friday before the meet,
A few clarifications for volunteers from Meghan:
*Please stop by the volunteer table as soon as you arrive to pick up your name tag. This allows us to know you are at the meet and not scramble to find you.
*First Half Workers, you must be ready at 5:45PM. If you are timing, listen for the timers' meeting. If you are not there, we have to go looking for you. Stroke and turn judges likewise need to listen for the officials meeting, usually held around 5:45. If you are working S&T in the second half and will miss that meeting, please emailswordfishswimteam@gmail.com so that we know you are coming.
*Second half workers should all report to their positions before the breaststroke ends. Breaststroke ends at event 40. It is your responsibility to pay attention and report to your volunteer position on time. You cannot wait until you hear they are on backstrokes and then decide to walk over. That is too late.
*We will not stop the meet to switch workers. It is the first half workers' responsibility to make sure the second half worker to replace them understands the position. We have several new families and they need some orientation. Thanks!
*As backstroke begins, I will go around and check that all first half workers have been relieved. You may end up timing 3 or four heats of backstroke, but I promise, you will get relief.
*NEVER, leave your volunteer slot until you are relieved. At Wednesday's meet, we had some timers leave even though their replacement had not arrived. (Not sure which team, so just wanted to remind everyone.)
*We do assign timers by lane to help with the transition from first to second half. Sometimes we need to be flexible and switch lanes. Please check that all lanes have relief before leaving the swim deck.
Remember, it takes 90+ volunteers from our team to run a meet. We can't do this without help from all families.
Thanks and GO SWORDFISH!!!!
