New England 14-Under Age Group Championships – July 23-26

Hosted by Seacoast Swimming Association

Coach Update (19Jul09)

Hello Coaches,

Once again, welcome to the 2009 14-Under Age Group Championships. Just by qualifying for this meet, your swimmers have plenty to be proud of. Seacoast Swimming is looking forward to hosting the meet at the Jenny Thompson Pool. There are several items of note to point out as we close in on the start date:

1-FINAL UPDATES: Updated times and new cuts achieved after the entry deadline will be accepted until July 20, 2009 at midnight. Updates should be sent via email to tim@seacoastswimming.com. Since the meet program has to go to the printer well before the Tuesday evening cutoff, updated times and entries will not be reflected in the program. The program will reflect updates through Saturday, July 17.

2-DECK ACCESS: Please remind your parents and team followers that the “deck” at the Jenny Thompson Pool is defined as the pool deck and grass inside the fenced in area. Only athletes, coaches and meet officials will be allowed on deck. Due to insurance reasons, this rule is STRICTLY INFORCED. Meet management staff and timers are required to wear special badges so they can be easily identified. Coaches should have their coaching credentials displayed.

3-WARM-UP: Lanes 5 and 6 will be designated as sprint lanes for the last 15 minutes of each non-relay warm-up session. The diving well will be open for warm-up and warm-down throughout the meet. This area is designated for warm-up and warm-down only. Swimmers must enter from the starting end of the pool only, feet first only. Swimmers may exit the diving well from any of the three sides.

4-WEATHER: The Jenny Thompson Pool is an outdoor facility. While we hope for great weather conditions we must be prepared for bad weather. In the event of inclement weather all coaches and athletes are required to move over to the Dover Arena. Coaches are required to monitor their swimmers while at the Arena. In the event of a delay, the meet management team will keep in contact with the arena and provide updates. If bad weather prohibits a finals session, the preliminary order will be the final standings. Cancellation will be the decision of the Meet Director, Meet Referee and Meet Committee, in conjunction with the City of Dover lifeguard staff.

5-10-UNDER CHECK-IN: For 10-under swimmers, a coach from each team needs to locate their team folder in the clear bin (with blue top) at the office window on deck (between the locker rooms). Each folder will contain a team check-in report for each of the weekend sessions. A coach from each team is required to pick up the sheet and mark off which swimmers (or events) to be scratched. You then need to sign the check-in report and turn it in to someone in the meet office at least 40 minutes before the start of the session. We will be making numerous announcement reminders

6-WEEKEND SCHEDULE: A draft weekend schedule accompanies this document. This timeline has been put together with great care, however due to the natural ebbs and flows of swim meets, it may not always be 100 percent accurate.

7-PARKING: Parking is available in the parking lots on each side of the JTP, along Portland Ave. and behind “Philbrick’s Sports Center”. Please do not park in the baseball field parking lot or in the lot immediately adjacent to the Arena. If you park in the lots in front of the local businesses across the street from the pool, you run the risk of getting towed.

8-HOSPITALITY: Seacoast Swimming is hosting a hospitality area on deck for coaches and officials. We’ll be serving meals at a variety of times during the day until the food runs out. See the signs posted in the hospitality area for more information We do ask is that you enjoy your food in the hospitality area and not bring it out on the pool deck. Dropped or spilled food near the pool can be a health and safety hazard.

9-OFFICIALS AND TIMERS: Several officials have already signed up to work the meet and their teams are credited accordingly. The final timing assignments can be found here: Timing Assignments. It is always tough to predict which teams will be represented in the finals sessions. We’ve looked at top 12 swimmers in each event for a given session and tabbed teams accordingly. If you wish to trade sessions with another team, please let the meet management staff know before departing.

10-PRESENTATIONS: The coach of the first place swimmer in an event will be asked to present all medals for the event. The meet management team will have the awards ready for the presentation. The coach should make themselves available at the appropriate time.

11-EVENING FINALS: Swimmers in the “B Final” are asked to report behind the blocks for the start of their race. Their names and team affiliation will be announced while they are in the water. Swimmers will clear the pool before the next race is swum. Swimmers in the “A Final” are to report to the ready area (behind the 1-meter diving board) to be paraded out to the blocks. Their names and team affiliation will be announced prior to the race.

12-800 & 1500 EVENTS: These events will be held at the end of their respective sessions. The fastest heat of each event will be swum during the finals session.

13-AWARDS: A correction to a typographical error in the meet information. Team awards will be given for combined 14&Under Team High Point – places 1 through 8.

That’s it for now. There may be another update coming out next week.

Travel safe and we’ll see you in Dover.

--SSA Meet Management Team