STING parents and swimmers, 

The first STING swim meet is this Saturday, October 4, at 3:00pm at the Forsyth County YMCA. It is located at 6050 Y St. in Cumming. Below are the details you need to know for Saturday.

Swimmers need to arrive between 2:00-2:15pm. Warm-ups are 2:25-2:50pm. The meet begins at 3:00pm. We estimate the meet will last about 3-3.5 hours.

Before you arrive at the YMCA:

• The heat sheet with events and lanes will be emailed to the team Friday night or Saturday morning when it is available. Please print your own copy at home to follow the events at the meet.
• Mark your swimmer with his/her name on their back shoulder and their Events/Heats/Lanes on their arm. A Sharpie marker works best. If you have never marked your swimmer, please refer to the document on the team website with instructions:https://iaysting.swimtopia.com/swim-meet-101.
  • For this meet only we will have a veteran parent who will be at the check-in table to assist with marking swimmers if this is your first time.

When you arrive at the YMCA:

• Check in your swimmer at the check-in table. The table will be located outside the gym at the bottom of the stairs. Volunteers will also check-in at the table and get their name tag.
• Direct your swimmer to the basketball gym to set up where they want to sit and get ready for warm-ups.
• If you are running late and will not be to the Y by 2:25pm when warm-ups start, please send Emily Crenshaw a direct message in GroupMe. That way, we know you are on your way. Otherwise, we will start calling missing swimmers at 2:30pm if we have not heard from you.

What to bring:

• Swimmers should wear the team suit or a solid black racing suit. They need to bring a swim cap and goggles. I recommend bringing extras of both - you never know when something might break.
  • Team swim caps will not arrive in time for the meet. If your swimmer needs a swim cap, Wal-Mart or Dick's Sporting Goods carry plain black latex swim caps for ~$5/each. 
• Swimmers and families should bring folding chairs, blankets, towels, etc. to sit on in the gym.
• Extra towels - for sitting on and drying off with. I would also recommend bringing a sweatshirt, blanket, parka, etc. The last time we had a meet at the Forsyth YMCA the gym was very cold.
• Swimmers should bring drinks and snacks and anything they want to entertain themselves with during the meet - books, cards, games, etc.
• PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE put your swimmer's name or initials in all their gear - swimsuits, team t-shirts, cap, goggles, swim bag, water bottles, etc. Things get lost very easily!
• Swimmer's are welcome to wear a STING t-shirt from previous years. We expect to have this year's team t-shirt before the November meet. 

General information about the meet:

• Swimmers may NOT be dropped off for the meet. A parent must be present and stay for the duration of the meet. 
• All swimmers MUST sit in the basketball gym. This is where the swimmers' names will be called for lining up for events. The Bullpen parents will not call names outside the gym or go looking for swimmers. Swimmers may NOT sit with families outside of the gym. Families ARE welcome to sit in the gym.
• ABSOLUTELY NO RUNNING IN THE GYM!!! I cannot stress this enough! The floor gets slippery and we don't want anyone getting hurt.
• Families may sit in the basketball gym with the swimmers. Parents MAY NOT sit on the pool deck for the duration of the meet.
• When it is your swimmer's event, you are welcome to walk onto the pool deck to watch his/her event. Please exit the pool deck when your swimmer's event is over. You may also observe races from the observation deck on the 2nd floor or the glass viewing area on the bottom floor. 
• You are free to leave the meet when your swimmer is finished swimming his/her events. Please make sure to pick up all belongings and pick up any trash.
• Parents are requested to supervise if your swimmer uses the locker room.
• Results will be posted in Swimtopia when they are available (this may be Saturday or the beginning of the week depending on data entry). Ribbons for the top 8 finishers in each event will be available next week at practice.

If for any reason your swimmer cannot attend, please contact Coach Juan Carlos immediately. You can send him a direct message on GroupMe. He is "Juansame". A swimmer not coming to the meet impacts the entire team. 

Thanks to the parents who have volunteered for the meet. A separate email with further details and instructions will be sent to the volunteers on Friday. 

Attached please find the entries for Saturday's meet. This lists the events your swimmer has been assigned to swim. This is also available in the Swimtopia app. The heat sheet with heat/lane assignments will be sent later in the week when it is available. Over the first few meets all swimmers will swim all events in order to have official times for each. 

If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out.

GO STING!!