Waves Helpful Hints New Swimmers and Their Families For every meet, swimmers and their families need to know who we are swimming against, where, when, the directions, meet requirements, and where they can sit. If you read the meet requirements for which ever team is hosting the meet, it will tell you all, or at least most of the information that you need to know. Make sure you check the white board at each meet and practice, because times change or the coaches need you there before the time listed in the meet requirements. Second Year or More Swimmers and Their Families Do you remember how confusing everything was when you first came to the meets? Now the new families are in the same boat. Please greet those you do not know and see if they need some extra advice to prepare and enjoy this great sport and team. Suit Maintenance To preserve your swim suits be sure to soak them in cold water after each use and hang them to dry. DO NOT WASH THEM! Washing them causes the suit to wear out much faster. Also, wearing your team suit only at swim meets also helps it last through the season. Swimmers Ear - How Not To Get It To prevent "swimmers ear," pour a little alcohol (isopropyl) in your swimmers ear and let the alcohol dry up any excess water (about 30 seconds) and let drain. Repeat with the opposite ear. If they complain of pain, add a little white vinegar to the alcohol to kill any bacteria. There are also several commercial products available at most drug stores. Attendance If you know your swimmer will be missing a meet, please write your name and the dates on a piece of paper and give them to your coach. It takes a lot of time to arrange the line-ups so the sooner you let the coach know the better. Also keep in mind that in some age groups, the absence of your swimmer may affect their team-mates by making them not have enough people for relays. Food and Beverages Be sure to have your swimmer drink plenty of fluids, especially water. Despite the fact your kids are swimming in water, swimming dehydrates them very easily. When the meet begins, try to avoid drinks with carbonation. It can cause bubbles in the muscles and could lead to injury. Also, carbohydrates are the key to extra energy on meet day... pasta and rice are always good choices. Towels Bring plenty of towels to the swim meet. You will need 3-4 towels per swimmer. It is always nice for the kids to have a dry towel after each event. Warm Clothes Bring a sweatshirt/sweat pants for your swimmer. Even though it is summer the evenings can be cool and breezy and your swimmer (especially the little ones) can get cold after their events. Canopies/Umbrellas If you have a canopy or beach umbrella, it is a good idea to bring them to the meet. Some of the pools we swim at have very little shade. Chairs and Blankets Chairs are a must for parents; you can only sit in bleachers for so long! As for the kids, they like to hang out and play games in their group area, so an old blanket or sleeping bag is a good choice (be aware that the blanket and sleeping bag will get trampled under many swimmers' feet!). Some kids may prefer to have their own chair too. Between Events It is always helpful to have something for the kids to do in between their events. Activities that keep them in their group area so that the line-up parent and coaches don't have to search for them when it's time to swim are best. Bring card games, travel games, electronic games, iPods, etc. Avoiding the Lost and Found The best way to avoid the Lost and Found or the "just plain lost" is to make sure your name is on all of your swimmers' belongings: caps, goggles, team sweatshirts, team t-shirts, and especially towels. There are a lot of identical towels at swim meets and practices.