Amador Polar Bears is a nonprofit organization and strives to keep swimming costs affordable for all. To meet that goal, meets are run solely by volunteers - meaning parents - meaning you. Therefore it is very important and mandatory on our team that if your child swims in a meet, you must take a volunteer position.
Leading up to the meet, you will receive an email from our volunteer coordinator asking you to sign-up for a volunteer position. Please do so. The sooner we get things done before the meet, the easier it is on the day of the meet.
Visit our Parent Volunteers page for more information about volunteering at the swim meets.
At the Meet
Arrival time: Normally anywhere from 7am to 7:15 am. A day or two before the meet, you will receive a notification from the team indicating arrival and warm-up times.
Check-in: There will be “a check in person” at the entrance. It is very important to be there on time since the computer people will make event/heat program based on check in. If you are running late or cannot make the meet, please text the team through Remind right away. ALL SWIMMERS MUST CHECK IN OR SCRATCHED before they can run the program.
After check-in: swimmers need to go to appropriate Age Group Tent and get their assigned event # written on their arm. Then swimmer will find a coach for warm ups. Parents and guardians will set up ones’ area (tent, blanket etc), and go to their volunteer positions. (Timers, snack bar etc).
General Timeline: Meet normally starts at 8:30 and ends around 1pm.
Volunteer Shifts: There are usually two shifts in a given meet. First shift goes from the start of event # 1 to the end of event #43. Second shift starts at event # 44 through the end of the meet. We cannot give the exact start and end time for each shift. The shift change is driven by the events rather than time since we need to accommodate the events, heats, swimmers, changes, technical difficulties, etc. It is important to remember that 1st shift people cannot leave their positions until they are relieved by 2nd shift people. All positions are important in a meet and need to be staffed for the meet to run properly and comply with swimming rules. Volunteers for both shifts need to be on-time and available until their shift ends.
Events:
#1-11 Medley relay
#12-17 Individual Medley ( age 9 and up)
#20-31 Free Style
#32-43 Back strokes
#44-53 long Free style
#54-63 Breast strokes
#64-73 Butterfly
#74-83 Free style relay
Heats: a heat is order or a group which one swims within an event. For example, if you are in Event #32, heat one; you will be swimming in a first group of back stroke.
When to send a child to APB tent during a meet: APB’s job is to gather the group and take them to the ready bench. They are NOT responsible to babysit all swimmers during a meet. Please make sure to feed/hydrate/sunscreen swimmers. And please send your child to APB tent about 5 events prior to your child’s event.
What to bring to a meet: Shade (parasol, EZ up), Drink (water, lots of it), Sunscreen, Towels, cap/goggles, snacks, blankets, folding chairs, games, money. Often Host team has a snack bar where you can buy snacks and lunch so that you don’t have to pack early in the morning. BUT good to bring some snacks and plenty of water.