It has been a great season!  Our last competition is this weekend – City Meet!  There is lots of information below, but please read all of the items and let us know if you have any questions!

GKAISA City Meet Championship

When:  This Weekend...

Sharks 11yrs. and up swim Friday, July 28th

Sharks 10 and under swim Saturday, July 29th

Top 18 (16 swimmers or relays and two alternates)  in each event, all ages swim Sunday, July 30th

Where:  UT Campus - Alan Jones Aquatic Center

Time:  Please be under the tent by 7:20 am - ALLOW TIME FOR THE SHUTTLE

Sharks - when you arrive, please double check your events and please find all the members of your relay teams.  If you do not find someone that is swimming on your relay team, please let a Coach know as soon as possible. 

Tent Location:  Our tent will be directly behind the AJAC on the right side (closest to Volunteer Blvd.)

Parking:  Parking is free and located at the Metron/Kingston Building next to Tyson Park (2309 Kingston Pike.) It is approximately one mile from the AJIAC. Shuttle busses will be provided between the pool and parking area from 7:00 a.m. until the end of the meet on all three days. The swimmer and their family will have unlimited use of the shuttle service throughout the weekend. There will be a designated shuttle bus stop on UT Drive between the Student Aquatic Center and the Allan Jones Intercollegiate Aquatic Center.

Traffic on UT Drive will be one-way throughout the meet, from Andy Holt Avenue to Volunteer Blvd. Drop-off and Unloading is available as follows (AJAC tents): turn right on to UT Drive from Andy Holt Avenue. ABSOLUTELY NO UNLOADING in front of the Allan Jones Intercollegiate Aquatic Center. The street is not wide enough and officers WILL WRITE TICKETS to persons who block traffic by stopping there. UT Drive will be open all day for loading and unloading. The shuttle will also stop here.

Police officers will be present to direct traffic and ensure everyone’s safety. Any cars parked in the parking garage across from AJIAC or in any UT parking lot WILL BE TICKETED.

Warm-ups:  7:40 - 7:55 am lanes 1 - 3 on the scoreboard side on Friday and Saturday.  7:55-8:10am lanes 1-3 on the scoreboard side on Sunday.  All swimmers should be present for warm ups.  It can be extremely overwhelming to see the inside of the Aquatic Center for the first time...best to see it early and know what to expect!!

What to Bring:  Chairs,  extra towels and goggles, sharpie, a highlighter, money for a Heat Sheet, cooler with Water & Snacks, Sunscreen, A book or game for the kids, Electronics - please make sure you have your name on these items and keep up with them, camera, bug spray...

Important!!!  Radio:  Meet announcements will be made on a FM radio station.  We will need a few volunteers to bring battery operated radios to broadcast the announcements throughout the tent.  Please let us know if you can provide one for the days your swimmer will be there.

General Swimmer Procedures:  The clerk of Course tent is located right next to our team tent.  This is where you will bring your child as the calls are made for their events; relay teams should gather together before heading to the clerk tent.  Parents are not permitted in this area...as soon as you drop off your swimmer you can head to the front of the building to secure your spot to watch up in the stands.  After their event the swimmers will exit the aquatic center on the lower level right under the stairs in the front of the building and you can meet them there or back at the tent.  

  *** On Friday and Saturday boys and girls will swim in two separate pools.  The boys will swim on the scoreboard side of the Aquatic Center and the girls on the diving side.  The two sides will run independently of one another, meaning the girls side may have completed IM races and moved on to freestyle while the boys are still completing their IMs.  The exception will be the Mixed relays which are the first event each day.***

On Sunday, Finals, all events, will be in one side of the pool. 

VERY IMPORTANT:  How do you know if you return on Sunday?:  

The placing information will be posted in the hallway of AJAC.  Look for large crowds looking at a white wall,  that is  where the printouts are posted.    ALL kids and relay teams that place in the top 18 will return on Sunday.  The top 16 swim and 2 alternates must be on site, just in case.    We want to ensure all of our Shark Finalists swim on Sunday!!

A Bit About Scoring:  Friday and Saturday are preliminaries – they do not score points for the team on those days, the overall goal is to finish in the top 18 to return on Sunday for the finals.

When you get to the meet and buy a heat sheet on Friday and Saturday, you’ll see that the swimmers are placed in heats according to time – the slower times are in the first heats. The fastest 24 swimmers are evenly distributed across the last 3 heats. Times are recorded for every swimmer, and the top 18 times (regardless of what heat they were in during prelims) will return for finals on Sunday.

On Sunday, heat 2 will be the “ribbon heat” consisting of swimmers whose times placed them at #9-#16 ranking, points are given according to the place they get in that heat.   Heat 1 is the “medal heat” – swimmers with rankings of #1-#8 swim in it, and points are given according to the place they get in that heat. If someone in Heat 1 doesn’t return on Sunday, then the #9 swimmer from heat 2 moves up, and the #17 alternate swimmer moves into heat 2. 

WEBSITE for additional CITY MEET Information, tent maps, event results, etc…  http://gkaisa.swim-league.us/

After all of the hard week this weekend, Sharks need to EAT!!! – So come for Pizza at the pool Sunday July 30th  - When the championship ends, we will text out the time for everyone to meet back at the pool for a little pizza and swimming. All swimmers are invited, the time will be around 6:00pm.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to ask!!

GO Gulf Park Blue Sharks!!

Jennifer and Matt Manrod

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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