Practice times

Practice times are held so that they are considerate for all involved parties. We know that many families have two working parents and that it can be hard to make the afternoon practice times for the younger children. This is okay and should not be a stressful part of your life.  Try to partner with other parents if you can.  We also can't have practices too late in the evening as other paying patrons are paying for use of the pool. If practices started at 6 p.m., then wouldn't end until 9 p.m. and many paying patrons do not have kids on the swim team and should be able to use the pool in the evenings. This is why practice times are set the way they are. 

Swim meets

Swim meets are a lot of fun, but can be confusing to a new swimmer. Veteran Gator parents have compiled the following info to help new Gator families prepare for the organized chaos of swim meets. If you’re confused about something, just ask!

Swim meets are exciting, fun, and often long. Meets start at 6 p.m. and, depending on the size of the teams, can last until 10 p.m. Our main goal is to let every swimmer have the opportunity to compete. Please be patient and understand that our first and primary goal is a fun, inclusive, competitive, family-friendly swim meet in which all swimmers have the chance to participate.

Warm ups are at 5:00 p.m. for home meets and 5:30 p.m. for away meets. Please arrive at least 15 minutes early, with plenty of time to get your swimmer settled so they are ready to jump in for warm ups on time!

6-and-under swimmers must have their number written on both arms with a Sharpie marker. (This number remains the same all season, and is available on the line up sheets. Feel free to mark your swimmer yourself once you know their number. Otherwise the age group parents will take care of this task.) Swimmers should report to their age group section, and wait with the group for warm-ups to start. Swimmers may also have their name on their arm.

During meets, swimmers are asked to stay with their designated age group at all times. If a swimmer needs to leave the age group area for any reason, they must inform the age group parent before doing so. This is for safety as well as to ensure swimmers do not miss their event.

It is sometimes difficult for one or two parents to keep control of 30 little ones so PLEASE also monitor your own child as much as possible and reinforce GOOD BEHAVIOR.  

It's hard with so many 6-and-unders (more than sixty last year),for the coaches (only four of them) to really dive into individual stroke work with the 6-and-under group. This group also has a huge range of skill level which presents its own challenges. We try as best we can to make it a positive and fun experience for all kids, but our expectations need to be realistic when it comes to individual training. If you want some great one-on-one stroke work, we encourage you to sign up them up for swim lessons as all of our coaches have extensive swim experience.  The "swim lessons" with the coaches are not just for learning how to swim.  Our coaches can help improve starts, technique, or whatever else you may feel your swimmer needs to work on.  

Checklist for meets

BRING CASH FOR THE GATOR GRILL.  The Gator Grill does not take cards so have cash on hand to feed your family.  $40 will easily cover food and snacks for a family of four.  

Here’s a checklist to help your swimmer (and you) cope with the fun and fury of a swim meet:

• Pack plenty of towels and save a thick one for the final dry-off.
• Pack chairs for yourself and your swimmer. Much of the poolside furniture will be in use or moved.
• Enforce a Tuesday afternoon rest period. No team swimmer is allowed at the pool on Tuesday afternoons. That’s one of the reasons for our Tuesday Gators on the Go social activities.
• Feed your swimmer power food: macaroni and cheese, pasta, or some other complex carbohydrate after morning practice for energy.
• Pack cards, hand-held games, markers, etc., to that swimmers can share and enjoy together between races. Go low-tech.
• Check the Gator Gossip to see if the host pool has a snack bar. Many pools have food available, but it’s best to plan ahead with subs or another easy-to-carry supper in case food is not on site.
• Consider a babysitter for younger siblings who cannot participate. Nights can be warm and long.
• Decide ahead of time how much junk food you’ll allow.
• Stay with your younger swimmer until they're comfortable.
• Be at the end of the lane with a towel, hugs, and congratulations on a job well done.

Weather Policy

Rain alone is not grounds for rescheduling or delaying a meet. Please plan to arrive at the meet at the proper time even if it appears likely that weather will impact the event. Every attempt is made to run a meet as scheduled because of inconvenience to the host club and staff to reschedule to the following night, and the difficulty in getting swimmers and families (volunteers!) back due to conflict with other activities. This results in changes to the lineup, which could potentially impact the outcome of the meet. If a meet is postponed to the next day, communicate with coaches if your child cannot come back to swim.

Expect thunderstorms. It can be frustrating, but please stick around if they plan to continue the meet. It's not always fun, but thunderstorms are a fact of summertime. 

Meet Absences

Summer is a busy time for families with vacations and other wonderful activities. Understanding that swim team is just one of many fun activities in your plans, we still hope for your participation at as many meets as possible.  We need a strong family commitment to be present at as many meets as possible - this includes home and especially away meets. Please declare whether or not your child will be present for each and every meet.  

Coaches need this information no later than 6 p.m. on the Sunday prior to the scheduled meet. If you find out after the deadline that your child cannot attend, please contact a coach as soon as possible. Email any changes to [email protected].

The scoring system of competitive swimming is based on individual events. Each swimmer is entered electronically into the events well before the start of the meet. This information is distributed to meet officials and volunteers, and is used as the building blocks for a successful, smoothly run met. If your child is a no-show or leaves early without signing out, it can affect scoring of the individual event, the line up of their fellow swimmers, can put relays in jeopardy, and cause frustration among volunteers and teammates.  This can be the difference between winning or losing a swim meet.

Volunteer Policy

Swim meets require 70+ parent volunteers to run a home swim meet, fewer for an away meet. Swim team families are required to volunteer at time trials and three meets. Your swimmer’s registration will not be considered complete until the volunteer requirements for each family have been met. Should you sign up for a volunteer slot that you cannot fill, please first attempt to find a friend who can fill your spot for you. If not, please contact the volunteer coordinators to help you. 

Ribbons

Ribbons for main event swimmers who place first through sixth are distributed on Wednesday mornings, at Ribbons and Donuts. At the meet, Heat Winner ribbons are given to the first place swimmers for all heats held after the main heat. Participation ribbons are available for all other swimmers who would like one. If your child is not handed a ribbon after their swim, but would like one, please see a ribbon volunteer at the end of the pool opposite the starting blocks. Typically, swimmers ages 11-and-up do not want participation ribbons, but they are available.

Ribbons and Donuts occurs at 10 a.m. on Wednesday mornings. (Sometimes at 9 a.m., if there is another fun swim team event to follow!) This is a fun chance to celebrate our success and congratulate our swimmers. Coaches identify personal best swims, as well as recognize two swimmers who have shown the most “Gator Guts” during the previous week by awarding two Gutsy Gator trophies.

Ribbons that are not picked up are placed in a filing box at the lifeguard stand and are available for pick up there.