SIGNING UP FOR MEETS
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Swimmers must be signed in or out for every meet on the Active.com swim portal. Instructions are provided here.
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You will receive an email when new meets are added, and will be provided with a deadline to respond. If you do not make a choice by the deadline, your swimmer will be signed "out" and unable to attend the meet.
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Meet FAQs are provided below.
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SIGNING UP FOR VOLUNTEERING
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You will receive a link when volunteering sign-ups are open for each meet.
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Volunteer descriptions are provided below.
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Do download a description of all volunteer positions click here.
Meet FAQs
What should I bring to meets?
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2-3 towels
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Goggles
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Team suit
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Team swim cap
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Folding chair
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Water bottle/snacks
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Meet sheet (if available prior to meet)
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Pop-up tent (optional for outdoor meets)
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Cash for snack stand (optional)
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Games/stuff to keep busy (optional)
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When should I arrive and where do I go?
Always arrive by the arrival time listed for each meet. Try to arrive earlier if you can, so you have time to set up your things and mark up your swimmers (more on that below). Being ready ensures your swimmer has the proper warm-up time. Away meets may be up to an hour away, so please plan accordingly.
When will I know which events my swimmer is in?
Typically, meet sheets (i.e., list of events/swimmers) are sent out the day of the meet. In some cases, you will have time to print out the meet sheet and bring it with you. If the meet host sends out the meet sheets too late to print, Spirit volunteers will bring several copies to the meet to share but copies will be limited to Angels/Timers/Officials.
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How should I mark up my swimmer?
Black Sharpies work best for marking. On the back of your swimmer's right shoulder, you will write the last name and age of the swimmer (in big letters). This is very helpful for timers/officials. On your swimmers' forearm, you will write their events as shown in the picture below. This is helpful for your swimmers, so they understand when they need to get ready to swim and know which stroke they're competing with.
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E = Event
H = Heat
L = Lane
S = Stroke
* = Relay
Under the (S) Stroke, MR stands for Medley Relay and FR stands for Freestyle Relay.
The Medley Relay (MR) order is as follows: Back, Breast, Fly, Free
All swimmers in the Freestyle Relay (FR) swim FREESTYLE, and are arranged in the order of when they will swim: 1, 2, 3, 4
Do we need to check in when we arrive?
All volunteers will check in with a specially designated person who will be announced prior to the meet. This person will be able to tell you who your child's "Angel" is (12 and under only).
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Does the Angel walk my swimmer to the starting blocks, or do I?
For ages 12 and under, the Angel will make sure your swimmer gets to the starting blocks on time. If the Angel needs parent assistance, he/she will let you know. Please talk to your children about listening to their angels and coaches and staying with or near their angels so that they get to their races on time.
For ages 13 and older, swimmers do not have Angels. They must pay attention to the event numbers and line up at least 5 events before their race.
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What if my child is sick and cannot make the meet?
You must notify the team immediately by sending a text message to Jennifer at 716-713-9257. Remember that if your child is in a relay and you fail to notify the team, three other children are unable to swim one of their races. But if the team is notified in time, we can make adjustments to relays (if possible).
Volunteer Descriptions
Each family will need to volunteer this season, and every family is expected to help for home meets. We need all the help we can get for a meet to run smoothly!!
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Angels (all meets) – Angels are needed for each age group (up to 12 years old), and for each male and female group. For example, we require one angel for 11-12 girls and one angel for 11-12 boys. Angels keep track of all the swimmers in their group and make sure they get to their races on time. Some of the larger groups will need two volunteers. Angels are needed at both away and home meets. We need volunteers for:
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Boys 6 and under
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Girls 6 and under
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Boys 7-8
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Girls 7-8
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Boy 9-10
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Girls 9-10
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Boys 11-12
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Girls 11-12
Clerk of Course (home meets only) – We will be using a Clerk of Course set up area for all our home meets. We will need the angels to help get swimmers to the area so we can line them up 3 races in advance. We will need 3-4 volunteers for EACH half of the meet to help. At all times, Clerk of Course volunteers need to be in control of the swimmers from the time they are checked in until they are done with their event. We will have a separate set of instructions for these volunteers to help!
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Concessions (home meets only) – A sign-up genius will be sent requesting concession donations from our team parents. Concessions are a huge money maker for the team; we need all families to donate items. We also need people to help set up the concession stand (tables, ez-up canopies, etc.) and 3-4 people to help work the concession stand.
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Officials (all meets) – Officials will need to complete training provided by Delmarva Swim. We will need approximately 3 officials per home meet. We also need to provide 1-2 officials for each away meet. We need extra officials so we can rotate the meets.
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Ribbons (home meets only) – Once the race times have been entered in the computer, we print off labels for the ribbons to give out to the swimmers. We need between 1-2 people to help stick the labels on the ribbons and sort them between our swimmers and the other team’s swimmers.
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Runners (home meets only) – We need one person to collect papers from the timers and bring them to the people running computer entries.
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Timers (all meets) – Timers will stand at the end of the lane and run the stop watch or record the times for each lane. Because each lane needs 2-3 timers, plus we need some relief timers, lots of timers are needed to volunteer for each meet. Not only do we need timers for the home meets, but the away team is also required to provide half of the timers. This is an excellent way to get a close-up view of your swimmer in the pool!
Team Record Keeping (all meets) – This position is needed during the entire season and it would be ideal if ONE person does this throughout the season. We will provide the list of all swimmers' meet times for each meet. Keep an Excel file for each age group and each gender (Ages 6 & under for both girls & boys).