Two Rivers Aquatics

A Parent Guide to Summer Swim Meets!

POOL LOCATIONS: Summer home meets are at Palmer Pool located at 3001 Farmersville Rd., Easton, PA 18045. Away Meet locations are listed on the Pool Locations tab.

ARRIVAL TIME: Please arrive at the pool on time for all meets. The start time of the meets is normally 6pm and warm-ups start at 5pm. Parents - please sign in with the Volunteer Coordinator as you enter – this helps to make sure the meet can start on time.

COACHES: During the meet, the coaches will be on deck watching all the swimmers. These observations will be used in upcoming practices to help swimmers improve. The assistant coaches will be helping swimmers get set up for starts, reminding swimmers of specifics for each race (stroke, sequence, etc...). Please allow them to focus on these activities.

WHAT TO BRING:

• Team swimsuit, cap, goggles (an extra pair of goggles is a good idea!), and towels. Make sure all items are well labeled with your child's name, especially any team fanwear gear.
• Plenty of water to keep your swimmer hydrated and energized. (Shark Bites snack stand also sells food & drink during the meet).
• Folding camp chairs or towels to sit on.

EVENTS: The Coaches will decide what events the kids will swim based on team needs. Please do not insist on different events – they are doing what they think is best for the team. Encourage your swimmers to do their best in whatever events they are entered in. If you would like your swimmer to try a particular event, please reach out to the coaches at an appropriate time or via email and they will do their best to accommodate you.

The order of events for summer meets are standard:

• Medley Relays
• Individual Medleys (IMs)
• Freestyle
• Breaststroke
• Backstroke
• Butterfly
• Free Relays

DURING THE MEET:

WHAT YOUR SWIMMER SHOULD KNOW: First and foremost have fun! Do their best and enjoy the meet. PLEASE leave the coaching to our amazing coaches and just encourage your swimmers. If you are volunteering and leaving your swimmer, especially our younger swimmers, please make sure they know where all their "stuff" is - snacks, goggles, and money. Please remind your swimmers to stay in our team area and not wander off as this can create chaos when time comes to swim - our coaches WILL NOT search the entire pool for swimmers.

FOOD AND REFRESHMENTS: You can bring in food and drinks, but we ask that you please do not bring in glass water bottles to the pool area.

RELAYS: Please don't cancel on relays, especially last minute - if your swimmer is signed up to swim the relay and for some reason you cannot stay, or make it, PLEASE INFORM a coach immediately. A relay is 4 swimmers and if one isn't there, the whole relay team has to forfeit and this makes everyone sad when this happens. When signing up for a meet, SwimTopia allows you to note your relay availability - please indicate if your child won't be available for early or late relays.

DISQUALIFIED: Swimmers can be DQ'd (disqualified) for improper strokes. If your child is DQ'd, please assure your swimmer that it is okay and how proud you are of them for trying. The coaches do get a list of what the swimmer was DQ'd for and they will go over it with the swimmers during practice!

SPORTSMANSHIP: Tiger Shark swimmers stay in the water at the end of their races until all swimmers have touched the wall, it's respectful to other swimmers. Once all swimmers have finished the race, swimmers may exit the pool. At the end of the meet, we also do a cheer and high five the other team.

ADDITIONAL THOUGHTS:

Please MARK EVERYTHING with the swimmer’s name so we can avoid lost shirts, towels, caps, etc.

The meets should finish around 8PM. We encourage all parents and swimmers to stay until the end of the meet to cheer on all of our Tiger Sharks.

Bring cash and small bills – The Shark Bites snack stand will not have change for anything over a $20.00!

Have fun watching all the kids experience summer swim. Most of all, the Tiger Sharks want to be known for our good sportsmanship. Please congratulate the winner no matter what team they are on, please encourage all swimmers and please encourage your swimmers to do the same. Our swimmers will follow our example.

Wear spirit gear to meets or anything orange/navy to cheer on our team.

Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions. Our coaches and our parent board will also be able to answer questions you might have. Most importantly HAVE FUN and ENJOY the meet!

GO TIGER SHARKS!

Frequently Asked Questions:

Does my swimmer need to go to ever meet? No, please pick and choose the meets your family is available for.  Some of our families do not prefer to travel and only swim at our local meets.  This is fine!  We encourage swimmers to swim at at least 1 session each month, so they get a competitive experience and see the progress they are making in practice.

Meets are 2 to 3 days, do I have to go to all days? Meets offer different events on different days.  You may declare for 1 day, 2 days, or all days of any meet.  You do not have to swim all sessions.

How long is a session? USA Swim sanctions a session cannot go longer than 4 hours.  Most USA sessions will be between 3-4 hours.  Psych sheets usually come out a few days before each meet with an approximate timing of events.  Expect 30 minutes to 1 hour in between events.  

Why does the website say my swimmer is not eligible for a session? Different age groups swim in different sessions.  Often, but not always 13-14 and 15 and over swim together.  9-10 and 11-12 often swim together.  Your swimmer's age will make them eligible or not for a session.  A few of our meets have qualifying times and require a specific time to be eligible. 

How do I choose event?  Please declare if your swimmer will be at a session.  Coaches will choose which events swimmers will participate in based on what they are working on in practice. 

What are meet fees? Each event is $12 and do at the time of the meet.

What if my swimmer doesn't end up swimming the meet? Once the deadline for meet changes passes (approx. 3 weeks before a meet) all meet fees are due.  Notifications will go out before each deadline. 

Can I go on Deck during a swim meet? During USA season, only coaches and swimmers may be on the deck.  All parents and spectators must stay in the stands.  This is for the swimmers protection.