Hello Families!

This weekend is Smoky Mountain Invitational and we can’t wait for a fun weekend full of fast races! As a reminder, 11&Up swimmers swim on Saturday, and 10&Unders swim on Sunday. On each day, we have a warm-up time of 7:05, so please be sure to be at the pool and ready to swim by then; we recommend arriving 6:45 to guarantee time for parking and getting settled. Gates will open at 6:05, so you are welcome to come in any time after that.

If you are volunteering, you will need to make sure you get a Spectator Swim Wristband; this wristband will be your all-day pass for the day! There will be a form included in our team packets that you will need to fill out, or you can stop by the pool during practice and fill it out ahead of time!

A few other notes. I have attached the tent map for our swimmers and team tent. Additionally, you will be able to purchase heat sheets for $15 at the meet or you can preorder them here - https://www.zeffy.com/en-US/ticketing/smi-heat-sheet-preorder. We know it looks like rain this weekend, but we want to assure you that there are already weather plans in place in case of any storms this weekend, so make sure to keep an eye out for any SwimTopia alerts or messages that come through, but as of now, we can’t wait for this weekend!

We still need to fill a few volunteer positions for SMI: they are listed on the website, and listed below:

• Saturday Marshal: Stands at the edge of the bridge over the creek awaiting swimmers from Clerk of Course (COC). When groups of swimmers approach from COC, pull ropes across deck to stop the flow of traffic and let the swimmers enter the block area quickly. Keep non-authorized people from entering COC from the bridge side.
• Saturday Relay Card Organizer (x3 for 3 different time shifts): Works at COC with the Relay Baskets each time the Coaches hand in the cards. The relay cards are due at COC at three different deadlines during the day in order by Medley, Mixed, and Free relay events. Relay Card Sorters report to COC 15 minutes before each deadline. Sorts the relay cards Team first and compares the cards from each Team to printed relay sheets to verify that each Team has turned in all their cards. Relay sheets do NOT need to be marked with any changes from the relay cards. Tells Announcer to call any coach to COC who has a missing relay card. Next, sorts relay cards by event, heat, and lane. On Sunday there will be duplicate cards paper clipped together for each relay team: one card for swimmers 1 & 3 and one card for swimmers 2 & 4. Clipped cards are checked to make sure any changes are the same on both cards. Duplicate cards on Sunday must remain clipped together. Verifies with the COC Meet Manager Computer Operator and Heat Sheet any missing team information. Relays scratched should have cards marked "Scratch" or "X". Relay Cards are grouped by heat in lane order with clothes pins holding each heat. Heats are put in order and placed in the basket marked for that event. When finished, transports Relay Card baskets from Card Sorter tables to Computer Operator table near Yeller.
• Sunday Assistant Spotter Lanes 3-4 (x3 for 3 shifts): Work poolside from the second row to the last row of chairs between two lanes, asking the name of the swimmer and checking the heat sheet to be sure the swimmer in that heat/lane is in a row with the other swimmers of that heat. The three Assistant Spotters work together to keep the swimmers in each heat together in the same row of chairs. These three Assistant Spotters are assigned to Lanes 1-2, 3-4, and 5-6. Mark empty "No Show" chairs with an orange cone so swimmers behind the missing person will not advance to the next chair before their correct heat is called to move forward.

Thanks for all your help, and we will see you at Springbrook Pool this weekend!