Smyrna Sharks

Arrival Times, Away Meets

• Swimmers: no later than 5:00 pm, warmups start at 5:30 pm sharp
• Volunteer Coordinator and Bullpen Parents: no later than 4:45 pm
• Timers, Place Judges and Other Volunteers: no later than 5:40 pm

Arrival Times, Home Meets

• Setup and Parking Volunteers: 4:00 pm
• Swimmers: no later than 4:45 pm, warmups start at 5:00 pm sharp
• Volunteer Coordinator and Bullpen Parents: no later than 4:30 pm
• Concessions Volunteers: 4:45 pm
• Timers and Place Judges and Other Volunteers: no later than 5:40 pm

Check-In Procedures

• Swimmers: check in at your bullpen with your Bullpen Parent
• Volunteers: check in with the Volunteer Coordinator
• Bullpen Parents: after checking in with the Volunteer Coordinator, proceed to the bullpen area and get your clipboard and paperwork from the Bullpen Coordinator.  As your swimmers arrive, check them in.  10 minutes prior to warmups, if you have swimmers that have not yet checked in, notify your Bullpen Coordinator.
• Timers, Place Judges: there will be a meeting with the referee, typically at 5:45 pm.  At the conclusion of this meeting, check in with the Meet Coordinator to get your clipboard, stop watches, and place judge sheets.
• Event Board Operator: for home meets, check in with the Meet Coordinator by 5:30 to get the event board remote and training, if needed. 

Swimsuits and Caps

• All sharks must wear the official team suit in order to compete in the meets this year. If your child comes to a meet without an official team suit, they will not be allowed to participate in the meet. There will be no exceptions to this rule outside of if your suit has been ordered but has not yet arrived.
• Per Cobb Summer Swim League rules, caps from high school or USA teams will not be allowed at CSSL meets, no exceptions.
• All girls and any boys with long hair MUST wear a swim cap during the meet

Weather Delays at Meets

• All communications regarding weather delays at the meets will be done via the Swimtopia app; please make sure that you have downloaded the Swimtopia app and enabled notifications in the settings.  If not, our "alerts" generated from the system will also arrive as emails.
• In the event of a weather delay, please do not leave the meet unless you hear from your Meet Coordinator that it has been cancelled. If you leave and the meet resumes, the team could miss out on points due to the absence of your swimmer, potentially causing us to lose the meet. If this happens, your child will be prohibited from swimming in the next meet.

Bullpens

• With the exception of going to the restroom or grabbing a bite to eat, we request that all swimmers remain in their bullpens during the meet. We have bullpens for a reason, and it is not fair to the bullpen parents to have to run around at the last minute trying to find kids for an individual event or a relay. Bullpens allow us to ensure that our kids will not miss an event and cost the team points, not to mention that they will miss their event! Remember also, if your child misses a relay, the entire relay team misses their event. Again, all swimmers are to remain in or around their respective bullpens during the meet with the exceptions mentioned above. If you take them out, it is your responsibility to have them back to their bullpen at least 4 to 5 events ahead of their next event.
• If kids want to leave the bullpen to cheer on their teammates, that is OK, particularly for the older kids. Please make sure that your kids notify their bullpen parent where they will be and that they know to be back in their bullpen well in advance, 4 to 5 events, ahead of their next event.

Things to Remember for the Meet

• Heat Sheet and Sharpie - the heat sheet will be emailed meet day at around 3:00 PM (or as soon thereafter as humanly possible). Please print a copy of the heat sheet and bring it, along with a sharpie, to mark up your kids with their events.  One advantage of Swimtopia will be the ability to see your kids' events in the app.  As many of you know, issues often arise that delay the heat sheet, so the app will allow us to get you the information as quickly as possible in last minute scenarios.
• Lawn Chairs - you need to bring your own seating for the meet
• Tents - the first couple of hours at our meets are often very hot, and you are welcome to bring a tent to help us cover bullpens, and depending on the pool we are at, you may have room to set up tents in the spectator area.  This is allowed at our pool on a limited basis, as room allows.
• Towels - bring plenty of towels for your kids to sit on and dry off with
• Goggles - always have at least two pairs of goggles in your kid’s swim bag. There will come a time when you will need those back up goggles!
• Coolers - this is optional, but coolers are allowed at all meets (with a rare exception if we swim at certain country clubs, like Indian Hills). Always pack plenty of liquids and healthy snacks. However, please make sure to also patronize the concessions stands, both at home and away meets, as concessions sales are an important revenue source for all of the teams in our league.
• Sunscreen - it will be hot and there will be limited shade at some of the pools we compete at
• Games - you may want to consider bringing your kids some games or other activities to keep them busy, particularly your younger kids. Swim meets can get long, and the kids often enjoy playing UNO and other such games to help pass the time between events.

Parent Behavior

• See the excerpt below from the Cobb Summer Swim League Meet Manual regarding the Code of Conduct.
• Good sportsmanship is expected of everyone involved with our organization, including board members, coordinators, coaches, parents and swimmers
• Referees - parents are strictly prohibited from addressing or harassing a referee at a meet. If there is any sort of problem, please address it with your Meet Coordinator. If it is something that needs to be addressed with the referee, the Meet Coordinator will handle that interaction. Violation of this policy will result in you being removed from the pool deck.
• Volunteers - parents are also strictly prohibited from addressing or harassing volunteers from our team and especially the other team (this includes timers, place judges, etc.) at a meet. If there is any sort of problem, please address it with your Meet Coordinator. If it is something that needs to be addressed with one of the volunteers or the coordinator from the other team, the Meet Coordinator will take care of it. Please remember that these are all parents volunteering their time to help us run these meets. They are not professionals, and we will not tolerate them being harassed in any manner. Violation of this policy will result in you being removed from the pool deck.

Code of Conduct (excerpt from CSSL Meet Manual)

Cobb Summer Swim League, Inc. provides an opportunity for children to compete in a wholesome and fun atmosphere. The competition ceases to be fun when adults and swimmers behave in an unacceptable manner. The Cobb Summer Swim League Executive Council has decided that unacceptable behavior will no longer be tolerated. The following rules, regulations, and penalties will be implemented and will be subject to penalties!

• Smoking and alcoholic beverages are not allowed in the fenced pool area during a CSSL meet. It is the Team Coordinator’s responsibility to assure all families are aware of this rule.
• Alcoholic beverages inside the fence will cause the meet to be delayed while the offender removes them from the pool deck.
• A second offense by the same team will result in forfeiture of the meet and a written warning to the Team.
• A third offense will result in the team forfeiting the meet and a fine of $250/incident. The team may choose to pass this fine along to the offender, but the League will require payment prior to any further meet participation by this team.
• Unruly, disruptive or unsafe conduct may be cause for removal from the fenced pool area.
• Coordinators, coaches and volunteers are to conduct themselves with honesty, responsibility and good sportsmanship or face possible sanction by the CSSL organization. 
• Please be reminded that jumping in at the end of a swim meet is prohibited and will result in a forfeit.