Good afternoon Hollymead Hammerheads, 

Please see the below information from Fry's Spring Beach Club regarding the meet on Wednesday July 16. 

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FSBC is a LONG COURSE pool, and as such we have some different procedures. These differences are highlighted in yellow and include information about the order of events and when we switch halves for volunteers. We have a slightly different order of events for our home meets so that we can run the evening efficiently and end the meet on time. Given these differences, we want to be sure we can address any questions or concerns in advance of your coaches doing their entries.

Please note that we have reserved Thursday, July 17 for a rain date for the meet in case of postponement due to weather.

General Info for Visiting Families

Heat Sheets

A link to the final heat sheet will be provided to you and the coaches prior to the meet for distribution to your team. We will also have a QR code posted so people can access heat sheets on their phones at the pool. We will provide paper copies for coaches and officials only. Please encourage your parents and swimmers who want their own paper copy to print these at home.

Arrival

When you arrive at the pool, you'll see that our main parking lot is reserved for your team. Our own team will be parking on the grassy lot (on the right). We reserve three spaces by the front gate for your computer operator, head coach, and meet director. These are marked.

With the size of our teams and the limited space in our lot, it would be wonderful if you could encourage families to carpool if at all possible (we will do the same). We apologize for parking difficulties people may experience as we try to make it work. Families are welcome to pull up and drop off swimmers and coolers, bags, etc. at the gate if they must park at a distance.

Please advise your families that while parking on the street along Jefferson Park Avenue is fine for overflow, help us be good neighbors to the churches in the area by not parking in their lots during the meet. Thank you!

Team Setup

Your team can set up anywhere you'd like: on the hill by the middle pool (just to the left of the sidewalk as you come down the hill). Another good spot is in the shade, by the tennis courts, which is just to the right of the sidewalk after you enter the gate. We do not mark off specific team spaces given the amount of space we have to spread out. We have lots of chairs and shade! No one should set up on deck itself due to our reliance on runners at our pool.

Warm-ups

Your team will get in the water for warm-ups at 5:05 pm, and warm-ups will conclude at 5:30 pm. Seven long course lanes will be available for your team. FSBC will warm up just prior to this, from 4:40 to 5:05 pm.

Food options

We have a wonderful cafe offering typical grill items (burgers, quesadillas, nachos), as well as salads, wraps and rotating specials. Of course, the usual beverages, ice creams, and snack foods are available. The cafe accepts cash and cards.

Safety

The Middle Pool and Baby Pool are closed during the meet and not lifeguarded. Unfortunately we cannot physically blockade these areas because of the location of the clerk and the starting blocks. Please remind your families that these areas are off-limits.

Should anyone require assistance, a staffed first aid station is by the middle pool.

In the case of Thunder, everyone must clear the deck. In the case of lightning, everyone must return to their cars to wait. Thanks for sharing this plan with families!

Meet Logistics

Pool info. A reminder that we have a 50-meter long course pool with 7 lanes. Per the schedule, we will swim LF and Medley relays (the latter for 9/10 and up only).

Team Size, Heats, Exhibition Heats.Given the size of our teams, please reserve exhibition swims for special cases. While we are glad to slot exhibition swimmers into available lanes in these cases, we do not anticipate adding additional heats beyond those required by JSL rules. Please do reach out if you have circumstances that require exhibitions and we can work together on a plan!

25-Meter Events. We pull a rope with noodles across the pool for our 25-meter events. We provide older swimmers as "catchers" to help make sure the littles can get to the sides of the pool. We welcome, if they desire, older swimmers from your team to serve as catchers in your lanes, but are happy to provide all if needed.

Because 25s require us to shift all volunteers (as well as pull the 25 rope across the pool), we group the 25s into two blocks rather than 4. We have attached the order of events at our pool. We have generally found the turnaround time is only a problem when 6-year-olds are swimming “up” into the 7-8 breast or fly events immediately following free or back. However, we have found it is the only efficient way to consistently finish meets in Division 1 before 10 pm and allow our older swimmers to complete their events.

For lineup purposes, please make sure your coaches are aware that for 8 and unders, 25 Freestyle is immediately followed by 25 Breaststroke, and 25 Backstroke is immediately followed by 25 Butterfly.

Volunteers

FIRST HALF volunteers stay in their positions until the end of the 25 Butterfly (EVENT 51); please see the attached order of events). SECOND HALF volunteers begin their jobs with the next event, the 9-10 Boys 50 Meter Backstroke (EVENT 43).

There will be a Timer’s Meeting at 5:45 pm at the deep end of the pool near the blocks, and we ask that first half timers come to the meeting prepared to remain in place for the start of the meet.

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Go Hammerheads!  Remember, let's have good sportsmanship, great attitudes, and lots of fun! 

Warmly, 

Skye