Hello Shark Families! Next week is our Blue and White meet. Please consider attending even if you're not sure if your swimmer is ready. It's amazing what a little competition can do! This email is long but full of important info.

Blue & White Meet - Tuesday, June 9th

The Blue & White meet is our trial run where us parents remember how to run a meet and our kids learn how to swim a meet.

When: Tuesday, June 9th

Time: Arrive at 5:00, warm ups begin at 5:15 & the Meet will begin at 6:00 sharp. All swimmers should be at the pool, settled, and ready to get in the water at 5:15 pm. Please check the display boards for your child's name and place a check mark by their name. This allows the coaches to see who is at the meet and who we need to account for. Do this at every meet! You'll also see your child's events by their name during check in.

We will be swimming an adjusted schedule for the Blue & White Meet; we will start with freestyle and backstroke, followed by breaststroke, and butterfly. All swimmers will swim free, back, and those swimmers that the coaches decide are able will swim breast and fly. This will give each swimmer a base time in their strokes. There will be no relays.

Spirit Theme: Don't forget to show your BLUE SHARK SPIRIT! Each meet will have a theme for your child to dress up. This meet's theme is Blue Team vs. White Team. If your swimmer's birthday is January - June, they are on the Blue team. If their birthday is July - December, they are on the White team. Typically, swimmers will dress up in all blue or white attire. Be creative!!

Availability:Go to the team websitehttps://gulfpark.swimtopia.com/and sign into your account. On the home page you will see the Blue & White Meet under the Upcoming Events Header and under the 'Schedule' Tab. Click on the meet to declare your child's availability! Click on Meet Entry, then click 'Edit'. Click the arrow icon for each child and select ATTENDING or NOT ATTENDING. Even if you are not attending, please LET US KNOW! This must usually be done at least 3 days prior to each swim meet for your swimmer to be scheduled properly in the meet! It is best to go ahead and mark your swimmers availability now for all meets; you can always go back and edit later if the need arises.

Volunteers: We require each family to provide a volunteer for at least 1/2 of the meet, and if possible if each adult works 1/2 of the meet it would be GREATLY appreciated. It truly takes a village to put on the meet and we need all hands on deck!! Because the Blue & White meet is just us...all hands must literally be on deck!! Go to the team websitehttps://gulfpark.swimtopia.com/and sign into your account. On the home page you will see an Upcoming events listing and you will see the Blue & White meet listed. Click on the meet, click on Job Sign Up, Click on each parent/guardian and 'SIGN UP FOR JOBS'. The first half of the meet begins at 5:30-5:45 for most jobs - parking needs to check in by 4:00. The second half of the meet begins when we are halfway through the events. Please do not leave your job until someone is physically there to relieve you. Disregard current times on the site if different as they are incorrect. The first half of the meet covers events 1 - 35 and the second half covers events 36 - 70. Check in with your Volunteer Coordinators - when you arrive at the meet - should be around 5:00.

Please see the attached document with jobs and their definitions.

Parking: Very Important!!!!! The upper parking lot is always reserved for staff, emergency vehicles and people with disabilities. If you try to park in the upper lot, you will be asked to move your vehicle. You may park in the lower lot or along one side of the street in the neighborhood. It is CRITICAL that you be mindful of the residents in the neighborhood when street parking. Please do not park in the cul-de-sac, do not block driveways, and only park on ONE SIDE of the street throughout the neighborhood. It is critical that you do NOT park in the upper pool lot off of Cedar Bluff Road or block that driveway - we must keep that clear to allow for emergency vehicles. Parking is available at Cedar Bluff Elementary School as well.

(Please take note of the one side of the street parking regulations or you may have to leave the swim meet to move your car!)

Food:We urge you all to "Eat at the Meet” and have a few options to serve you! On the side of the pool nearest the kiddie pool, our concession stand will be open and features packaged snacks, sports drinks, and ice cream. Our Hospitality area is called the SHARK BITES CAFE-it will be set up along tables at the concession stand at home meets. We will have hamburgers and hotdogs combo meals and prices range from $6.00 to $8.00 (includes 2 sides and a drink).

Please come and start your account for hospitality using cash, PayPal, or Venmo. This is great because you don’t have to carry cash and your child can run down between swims and grab a snack. Remember WE need your help with donations!! You can sign up to bring items in the ‘Jobs’ tab in the same place you sign up to volunteer! Please bring cases of bottled water and canned soft drinks. We also need bagged chips and cookies. Let’s talk about FRUIT!! Frozen grapes are a huge hit and sell fast and so are strawberries. Please don’t drop food until Tuesday at the meet but drinks are welcome anytime. But make sure to bring your contribution!

What to Bring: For those of you, who are new to the team, please pack a towel, folding chairs, goggles, swim cap and a sweatshirt. A sharpie is also handy for jotting your events on your hand for reference. Many kids also bring hand held electronics, books or playing cards to pass time between events. (Please be mindful that swimmers are responsible for all of these belongings.)

Chairs/Setting Up Your “Camp”: The chairs/tables will be moved from under the pavilion. Families can set up their stuff here. Please do not set up in the grassy area next to the pool pump area. For the Blue and White Meet, we will have more room to spread out, so you may also set up in the playground/grassy area. For dual meets, this is where the away team will make their camp.

Misc. Notes...

8 and under parents: Please help your little ones get to Clerk of Course on time. Pay attention to the order of events (the event number is on display at the starters table) and direct them to the blocks where a volunteer will line them up. Please bring them to the clerk of course for relays, we will need assistance separating them and getting them to the correct sides of the pool. At our pool, all events finish on the Cedar Bluff Road side of the pool!

*Please be sure to check the bulletin board when you arrive to get your child’s events/heats/lanes. Typically, these are written on your child’s arm or hand like this Event–Heat-Lane. For example, if your daughter is 7 years old and is swimming the IM Heat 1, Lane 1, you would write it on their arm/hand like this 1 - 1 - 1. If they are swimming 25 freestyle, heat 2, lane 3, you would write it like this 11 - 2 - 3. I also write my kids’ events on my hand so I’ll know what they are swimming!

*Download the Swimtopia App. This is a great way to get information and your child’s swim times, events, etc. There may be a fee to access all information.

*It is especially important to take note of relays. We won’t be swimming relays at the Blue and White Meet, but please be aware that Free Relays are the last events of the evening. If your child is scheduled to swim the Free Relay and will be unable to stay for that event, it is imperative to let a Meet Director or Coach know as soon as possible. Remember the relays affect all 4 scheduled swimmers and in many cases a swim meet score is decided by these last events!

Order of Events: Attached to this email. Please note, these change slightly for Smoky and City Meet. (And we won't be doing every event at the Blue and White Meet.)

Reminder: No smoking or alcohol at swim meets. Per GKAISA rules, all smoking and alcoholic beverages are absolutely prohibited at the pool area in all GKAISA meets - Dual, Tri, Relay and Championship.

Traditions: Gulf Park Blue Sharks have been swimming since 1970, and we have many time-honored traditions. In addition, at the end of every home meet, the whole team dances "The Time Warp" and leaps into the pool. These traditions began long before us, and will continue as long as there is a Blue Shark at Gulf Park!

Good job - you made it through your first long email from me! This is my first year as meet director so if you have questions please let me know.

THANKS and see you Tuesday! If you have questions, please ask! We are happy to help!

Go Sharks!

Stephanie Wasserman (Daniel 12, Benjamin 8)