I have a Flames swimmer, do I need to volunteer at each meet?*

Yes, one adult per family needs to volunteer at each meet that your child attends.

I only have a Sparks swimmer, do I need to volunteer at each meet?

No, if you only have children in our Sparks program you do NOT need to volunteer at the meets. 

When/how do I sign up for a volunteer position?

Sign-ups for meets will be the week before each meet - see the "Volunteers" section of our website for directions on how to sign up. One parent from each family is required to volunteer for every meet which your child participates in. You are responsible for your Volunteer Position for each swim meet. Should an emergency occur, it is also your responsibility to let us know ASAP and you may need to find your own sub to fill your position. If your position is not filled and left unattended, your child will not be allowed to swim at the next attended swim meet.

Why was my volunteer job changed?

When you sign up for a volunteer position you are putting in a request. There is no guarantee that the job you selected via the website is the one you will be assigned. Changes may be necessary based on the number of jobs that need to be filled and the makeup of the pool of volunteers. A parent that has a 14 year old daughter will not be put in the Boys 7/8s bullpen. A parent who has their small child with them will not be assigned to be a timer or place judge. Of course, we always seem to have cases where a swimmer has to drop out of a meet due to illness or injury which cause us to have to reassign jobs after the “final” volunteer schedule has been posted. If you will be in the care of a younger sibling during the meet please indicate this on the notes field of your child's RSVP/meet declaration.

What are the different volunteer positions?

ANNOUNCER (Home meets only)
DECK MANAGER
PLACE JUDGE
JUDGES RECORDER
MASTER RECORDER (Away meets only)
COMPUTER ENTRY (Duties differ between home and away meets)
RIBBONS
TIMERS
CONCESSIONS (Home meets only)
BULL PEN
SETUP / TAKEDOWN (Home meets only)
TENT TRANSPORTATION (Away meets only)

Please see our Volunteer Information Page for a more detailed explanation of each position. Some jobs do require training or previous experience.

If I'm volunteering how will I get to see my child swim?

Parents should never miss seeing their child swim because they are volunteering. You can coordinate with other volunteers to make sure you can see your child(ren) swim during their events.

How many meets are there?
We have five regular season meets and a championship meet. They are typically on Thursday nights starting the first Thursday after the kids get out of school. This year we have our last regular season one on a Tuesday night and a possible championship meet at GA Tech on the Friday morning after our last meet.

There is an OPTIONAL championship meet (ASA Championship) on Friday, June 27th at Georgia Tech that all kids can enter (entry deadline will be in early June). There may be a swimmer fee required to enter. At the Championship Meet, you pick two individual events to swim and we will try our best (based on our team participation) to place you in one or two relays with members of our TCF team.

We will have a coach at our ASA Championship session.

When do I arrive for meets?

Swim meets start at 5:30 pm, but we ask that your swimmer be there at 4:00 pm for home meets and 4:20 pm for away meets. Why so early? The home team warms up first as a courtesy to give the visiting team a little more time to get there. So at a home meet, our kids warm up at 4:15 pm, then the other team warms up around 4:45pm, then the Sparks swim their exhibition lap at 5:10 pm and the meet starts after that. For away meets, you need to be there at 4:20 pm. Parent volunteers need to arrive by 4:00 pm for home meets and 4:20 pm for away meets.

How long do the meets last?

It depends on the number of swimmers. We usually have around 200 Flames each season (but not everyone comes to every meet.) Many of our opponents have roughly the same number of swimmers, so meets may last until 9:00 or 9:30 pm. Bring your chairs, have dinner at the concession stand and enjoy a night of hanging out with friends and getting to watch some great kids swim! It is definitely hot at swim meets, so come prepared.

Will my Sparks swimmer get to participate at meets?

We love to show off our awesome Sparks swimmers at home meets! We have either 2 or 3 home meets, depending on our schedule. Sometimes an away team will also invite our Sparks to do an exhibition lap if they have a mini-team too.

How are the kids grouped at meets?

(age determined as of May 31st)

(one lap for individual events)
6U girls
6U boys
7-8 girls
7-8 boys
9-10 girls
9-10 boys

(two laps for individual events)
11-12 girls
11-12 boys
13-14 girls
13-14 boys
15-18 girls
15-18 boys

What do I do when I get to the meet?

All meet volunteers need to check in with the Volunteer Coordinator at the volunteer table. All Flames swimmers need to check in with their bullpen parent.

When will my Sparks swimmer get to swim during the meet?

Our Sparks swim their lap before the official start of our home meets (and possibly some away meets). The Sparks will meet in a designated location about 20-30 minutes before the official meet begins. The swimmers will line up at the starting blocks and one swimmer per lane will enter the pool to swim their race. The coaches will be in the water and will be next to the swimmers to cheer them on or assist them to the finish line. After they race they will receive a ribbon.

What will my child be doing at the meet when they aren't swimming?

All the swimmers need to stay in their bullpen during the meet. Please take some time to speak to your children about respecting the bullpen parents and obeying the rules set forth by our team and by the team that is hosting us. NO ONE IS ALLOWED IN ANY POOL UNLESS THEY ARE SWIMMING AN EVENT. This is the rule at our pool and at our opponent’s pools. No one is allowed in the baby pool, on the steps of the main pool or in the slide area of our pool.

What is a bullpen?

During meets, kids are grouped by age and gender. Three to six parents are assigned to each bullpen (depending on the age of the swimmers). Your child needs to stay in their bullpen for the duration of the meet. If they need to go to the restroom or want to come talk to a parent, they need to tell a bullpen parent first. Bullpen parents are responsible for lining up the kids and getting them to the block for their races. They cannot be chasing children down all over the pool. Swim meets are run at a fast pace and they do not wait for missing swimmers. We would hate for your child to miss one of their events! We encourage you to bring cards, books, coloring books, and other simple activities to keep the kids busy during the meets. We do not encourage electronics because things get stepped on and water is everywhere! Once 6U backstroke is complete, those swimmers will be released to their parents for the remainder of the meet. 

What events are available for my child to swim?

There are two types of relays: medley (for ages 7 and up, where each swimmer swims a different type of stroke) and freestyle (for all ages - where each swimmer swims a lap of freestyle). The individual events are short free, long free, backstroke, IM (Individual Medley), breaststroke, and butterfly.

Who swims what?

In a typical meet, a child would swim 2 individual events and 1-2 relays. 6U swimmers only swim one relay (the freestyle relay). The individual events your child swims will be determined by time trials and times from past meets. For older swimmers where we have less than one heat of a particular age and gender, they will swim more individual events. ASA rules require that every swimmer on the team be entered in at least two scoring heats before a swimmer can have three individual events.

What is a heat?

We are assigned half of the lanes in each heat (the other team has the other half). Some events will have multiple heats because there are more than three swimmers in an event. Heats are based on times, so your child will be swimming with children of a similar skill level. 

Will my Flames swimmer get a ribbon for each race they swim?

Yes! And ribbons are done per heat, not per event. So if your child gets first place in the 2nd heat, they will get a first place ribbon, even though other swimmers in the first heat may have had faster times. It is not done this way at County or State, but it is for regular meets. Please work with your child to emphasize how their time is improving from week to week, regardless of which ribbon they won. If a swimmer moves up to a faster heat, they may get a lower place, but still have a faster time. Ribbons will be available to pick up from the file boxes on the Friday after the meet.

Do Sparks swimmers get ribbons?

Yes. The Sparks swimmers will get their ribbon when they get out of the pool after swimming their lap during the "Sparks Meet".

Why are you writing on my child's shoulder and arms? 

On meet Thursdays, the coaches will take a few minutes at the start of practice to write the events that your child is swimming on their arm (event, heat, and lane assignments). This will help you and your child know which events they are in and it helps the volunteers at the meet as well. At a swim meet, when the kids are in the same swimsuits and many are in swim caps, it is hard to tell them apart! So we also ask bullpen parents to write the name of your child on their right shoulder to help the coaches and Deck Manager keep the meet running smoothly. This is done with a Sharpie so that it stays on in the water. Many of the kids also choose to write on each other’s backs and arms (“Eat my bubbles”, “Go Flames” etc). As long as the messages are reflective of good sportsmanship, we are fine with that. If you do not want your child to do this, please discuss with them ahead of time. If you need to get it off the next day, orange solvents and spray sunscreens work well. :)

How do I know when my child’s event is close?

At home meets, someone will sit in the lifeguard chair at the base of the slide with an event number sign. Write down your child’s event and heat numbers ahead of time and you can keep track of where we are in the meet with those signs.

What are DQs?

Swimmers may be disqualified for doing an incorrect stroke technique or multiple false starts. In the first few meets, the official is more lenient on this. Most of the time, the kids and parents never know if their child is DQ’d. We have to record it in the meet computer and our team does not get the points for that child’s swim, but we print the ribbons anyway.

What if we are going to be on vacation or are coming late to an event?

Please fill out the RSVP on the website and let us know. If your child is going to be late or needs to leave early, you can mark them as “Yes” and put a note as to the approximate time they will be there. We will put them in events accordingly.

Why do I have to tell you a week in advance if my swimmer is participating in a meet?

It may seem crazy, but with 200 swimmers on our team and other teams being roughly the same size, planning for the next meet starts a week in advance. It takes our coaches several days to make sure all ASA rules are followed and they have all kids swimming the correct number of races. In addition, we have to exchange our lineup with the other team the day before the meet and after that, very few changes can be made. We are not allowed to move children between events after that deadline.

What if my child gets sick or we have an emergency on the day of the meet?

If your child becomes ill, or you have an emergency at the last minute and you will not be able to participate in the meet (either as a swimmer or volunteer), please contact the Meet Manager ASAP - check for that committee position here!! We know kids get sick or emergencies come up and we understand that (and we appreciate you keeping contagious kids at home). :) But please keep these changes to sickness or emergencies only. Last minute changes are VERY hard to accommodate, and it may mean others will not be able to swim in their relay, or we may not be able to sub someone else in. If you are a "no show" for a meet (do not let us know at all prior to the meet) either as a swimmer or a volunteer, your child will not be able to participate in the following meet.

What do we do in case of bad weather?

We try to never reschedule a meet due to weather! If there are storms, we are required to wait 30 minutes each time we hear thunder. This may delay the start of a meet or cancel warm-ups. If it occurs during the meet, we will confer with the other team and make a decision whether to stop the meet completely. We can swim in the rain as long as we can see the bottom of the pool. Our goal is to get through at least event 43, so we can more easily call the meet per league requirements. We usually wait as long as possible, but keep the safety of our swimmers and their families a priority. Please use SwimTopia Mobile to receive Team Alerts for weather delays/cancellations and check your email! If we have not sent a cancellation, the meet is on!

Where do I park for a meet?

Parking is VERY limited at our pool for swim meets! Please try to drop your swimmers and all of their stuff off, and take the car home if you are close enough to walk. You can only park on ONE side of Homestead, Hearthway, and Three Chimneys Lane, as indicated by the signs that will be posted. Parking at away meets is also limited and it can be a long walk to the pool. Families will often carpool so the driver can drop off one adult, all the children and their stuff close to the pool before parking the car.

What do I do if a swimmer is missing?

If you are a bullpen parent and a child does not show up for warm-ups, please let the meet manager or another committee member know. The committee will contact the parent and find out the situation. If the child is not coming, we will make changes to relays and it may cause some other swimmers to not be able to swim. If you cannot find a particular swimmer when you are lining up for a race, let a committee member and the Deck Manager know but do not let it stop you from getting the other kids to the starting block area. Swim meets do not wait for late swimmers and we would not want the other kids who were in the bullpen to miss their event.

Will my child start in the water or on the starting blocks?

All races begin at the starting blocks and the timers change ends of the pool (depending on whether the race is one lap or multiple laps). Starting in 2013, ASA does not allow children to dive in if the pool depth is less than 4 feet. At our pool, this means all 2nd and 4th legs of U10 relays have to start in the water. Most other pools are in this same situation.

What is an IM and how is it different from the medley relay?

IM stands for Individual Medley and it is an event where one swimmer swims one lap of each stroke. The order for an IM is butterfly, backstroke, breaststroke, and freestyle. A medley relay is where four swimmers on the team work together and each one swims a different stroke. The order is different as well. It is backstroke, breaststroke, butterfly, and then freestyle.

What do I bring to a meet?

(***label everything***)
Goggles
Two towels (One to dry off and one to sit on)
Swim cap
Sunscreen
Snacks
Bug spray
Sweatshirt/pants
Activities to keep busy (preferably not electronics)
Folding/Camp Chairs for adults
Cash for concessions

Is there food available at the meets?

Yes! Please consider supporting our concession stand at our home meets. (Our opponents appreciate  it at their pools too.) This is a big fundraiser for us and it helps us to keep our registration fees lower and enables us to make future equipment purchases for the team. Dinner items are sold as well as drinks, snacks, and candy.

Help, I'm still confused about the meets!

Meets are fun and exciting but can be a little overwhelming, especially for those new to swim team. All of our swim families were newbies once so they are happy to help show our new families the ropes. Our committee members are on deck at each meet (wearing tanks with "Committee" on the back) and are available to answer questions and help out. The only way to truly get a feel for how a meet runs is by experiencing it. After a few meets you will have it all figured out.