Marking Up Your Swimmer for Meets
Hello Dolphin Families! Here is one important thing you can do to help your kids have the best summer swim team experience yet. Mark your swimmers with a SHARPIE before you leave the house! Here's a guide:
1. Write "Peace Haven" or "PH" on your child's LEFT shoulder blade. Write your child's first initial and last name, and age on their RIGHT shoulder blade. Example: R. SMITH 11
2. Find the Heat Sheet. These are emailed the day of the meet and are also available on Swimtopia the same day. Print at home if you like a hard copy--otherwise you can view on your phone.
3. Find your kids' names on the Heat Sheet. You can search the Entries list by name to find your swimmers races (this will give you Event # and Stroke but you will have to consult heat sheet for Heat and Lane)
4. Highlight your kids' names on the heat sheet.
5. Mark your kids' arm or leg with their events. Make sure it is facing towards them, so they can read it! (see photo below for example)
- E - Event #
- H - Heat #
- L - Lane #
- S - Stroke (optional) - you can abbreviate: for example MR = medley relay, FL = Fly, BR = breast, etc.
6. Don't forget relays! it's a SAD time when a relay is missing a swimmer and cannot race.
Medley Relay order (read left to right, top to bottom on heat sheet):
- 1st leg BACK
- 2nd leg BREAST
- 3rd leg FLY
- 4th leg FREE
Freestyle Relay order (read left to right, top to bottom on heat sheet). It can help your child if you mark their position on the relay: for example #4 for final leg.
7. Take a few minutes to explain to your child what the markings on their arm mean. Swim meets can seem chaotic at first, but understanding how they work, even for the kids--helps make it a fun event for all!
8. After the meet you can remove Sharpie markings by applying spray sunscreen and wiping off.
