STING swimmers and families, 

The YMCA Championship meet is this Saturday, March 1, at the GA Tech Aquatics Center (750 Ferst Dr Atlanta). The swimmers have been practicing since August. I am confident they will do their best and represent our team and YMCA well. PLEASE take the time to read all the information in this email. 

Session 1: Swimmers in age groups 10 and younger

• Swimmers need to arrive and be on the pool deck with the team by 10:30am.
• Warm-up for our team is 11:00am - 11:25am.
• The events begin at 11:45am. 

Session 2: Swimmers in age groups 11 and older

• Swimmers need to arrive and be on the pool deck with the team by 2:30pm.
• Warm-up for our team is 3:00pm - 3:25pm. 
• The events begin at 3:45pm. 

Before you arrive at GA Tech:

• The heat sheets and event sheet are attached to this email. Please print your own copy of the heat sheet to follow the events at the meet. 
• The event sheet will give you your swimmer's events with heats/lanes. Mark your swimmer with his/her name and "IAY" on their back shoulder and their events/heat/lane on their arm or leg. 

When you arrive at GA Tech:

• Give yourself plenty of time to park and get into the aquatics center. I cannot stress this enough!!!! There is no prepaid parking this year. Please see the attached campus parking maps. Parking in year's past has been ~$12 (I don't know for certain how much it is this year). 
• In the aquatics center you will want to head to the spectator seating area. At the far end by the scoreboard there is a staircase down to the pool deck. This is where the swimmers will enter the pool deck and sit with the team. The bleachers where the team will be sitting are just to the right of the stairs. 
  • Please have your swimmer wear his/her STING team t-shirt. This will help volunteers get the swimmers to the team. 
  • Please ask your swimmer to check-in with the team parent volunteer when he/she arrives at the bleachers. 
  • Swimmers MUST sit with the team in the bleachers. They CANNOT go back and forth to spectator seating.

What to bring:

• Swimmers should wear their team suit. They need to bring a swim cap and goggles. I would recommend having an extra of both!
• Extra towels for sitting on and drying off. 
• Drinks and snacks for during the meet. 

Other important information: 

• When your swimmer is finished with his/her events, they are free to leave. Please have them check-out with the parent volunteer so they know they have left. You will meet your swimmer at the stairs by the scoreboard for them to exit the pool deck. 
  • Swimmers at Session 2 be sure to stick around for the end when the Team places are announced. 
• Parent volunteers are still needed for both Sessions. If you can volunteer, please use this link to register: Sign Up to Volunteer Here
• If you pre-ordered any spirit wear it can be picked up in the lobby outside the spectator seating. 
• Parents (other than volunteers) are not allowed on the pool deck. There is security at the access points and they are very strict. 
• When choosing where to sit in the spectator seating, you will want to sit in front of the middle pool. Both pools are used for warm-up, but only the middle pool is where the events are held. The pool by the diving platforms is not used at all for the meet. 
• If you have any questions regarding which Session your swimmer is in, please reach out. A swimmer's age group is determined based on their age as of September 1, 2024. It does not change during the season. 
• You may follow the events and results on the MeetMobile app. This app is updated real time during the meet. The subscription is $6.49/month. The results will be available in SwimTopia after the meet (probably sometime next week). 
• Please remind your swimmer(s) of the following:
  • Good sportsmanship is #1! Congratulate a teammate or a swimmer from another team on a race well done. 
  • Your swimmer MUST stay with the team on the bleachers. There are bathrooms on the pool deck. If they need to use the bathroom they must tell an adult volunteer they are going.

If for any reason you are running late or not able to attend, please contact Coach Juan Carlos (juansame on GroupMe) or Philipp ([email protected]) immediately. The swimmer's have worked so hard and it is very disappointing when a teammate does not attend. This impacts relays as well as the entire team. 

If you have any questions. Please feel free to reach out. 

GO STING!!!