Our GP Board of Directors and GP Frog Volunteers are off to a great start for the planning of our TriCounty Swim Championships that we are hosting this year.
I wanted to give you a some background and a summary of our efforts, and begin to enlist your efforts at helping with this huge task.
What is "TriCounty"?
The TriCounty Swimming Pool Association was established in 1956 by swim clubs in the Cherry Hill area. The association has grown to 36 members from Burlington, Camden and Gloucester Counties (there is one swim club each from Salem and Cumberland Counties as well). Greenwood Park joined TriCo in 1973.
What are the TriCounty Championships?
Swimmers ages 5-18 from each swim club compete against each other every summer in a dual meet format. Individual championships and a league champion are crowned at the end of each season at a two-day meet held the first weekend in August. To qualify for the championships, swimmers must swim a specified time. Approximately 1500 swimmers compete in the championships and the meet is attend by about 4500 spectators over the course of two days.
What is Greenwood Park's involvement?
The championship meet is organized/held each year by a member club on a rotating basis. Every TriCo member club has the opportunity to host the championship approximately every 30 years. Some clubs are too small to host and decline the opportunity. Greenwood Park hosted once before in 1985 and hosts this year's meet on August 1 and 2.
How does the meet work?
The 1500 swimmers who qualify will compete in 66 events for individual championships. Preliminary heats are held on Saturday. The top sixteen swimmers and relays from Saturday qualify for the finals on Sunday. In the finals, team points are awarded for each individual/relay event and a team champion is crowned.
More Than a Swim Meet
The championship meet has a festival atmosphere with food, apparel and other vendors selling items. Many of swimmers have been competing for years and swim all year round with winter swim clubs. The meet is a chance for swimmers to see old friends and catch up with their teammates from winter swimming. "Tent City" is an area of the meet where the teams pitch their canopy tents and the swimmers rest/prepare between races. Tent City is the real center of the meet and is a colorful mix of team colors and the many, many swimmers who are fortunate to qualify.
What is the impact of hosting on Greenwood Park?
Greenwood Park will be closed from Wednesday July 29 through Monday August 3 to prepare for and clean up from the meet. During the meet on August 1 and 2, the Bells Lake community will be closed to vehicular traffic except for residents. Hosting the meet is a great opportunity for the swim club to raise money for many of the needs of the club.
Meet Planning and Organization
The Greenwood Park Board of Directors and volunteers from the swim team have been meeting since last fall to plan the meet. Club President Chad Julian and Swim Team Chair Greg Fondacaro are leading the effort. Committees have been formed to focus on areas of planning including food/beverage, apparel sales, parking/traffic, facilities, security, admissions and fundraising.
Meet Logistics
All swimmers and spectators will be directed to park at Washington Twp. High School (WTHS). Buses will transport everyone from WTHS to the swim club. There will be a swimmer drop at the back entrance of our club and a spectator drop off at our parking lot. Wheel chair - handicap parking will be provided by permit for parking in the club parking lot. Gates open at 6:00am on Saturday August 1 for the morning prelims for ages 8&U, 9-10 and 11-12 boys. That session ends around 12noon and warmups for the afternoon prelims for ages 11-12 girls, 13-14 and 15-18 starts at 1:00pm. That session will end at approximately 6:00pm. Doors open for the Sunday finals at 8:00am and the meet should end at approximately 4:30pm. Admission is tentatively set at $5 for each day. Programs are also sold for $5.
HOW CAN I HELP?
Fundraising: Attached, please find two flyers for meet advertising and sponsorship opportunities. We would like every swim team family to sell at least one ad. This opportunity comes along only once every 30 years!
Volunteer: GP needs more than 100 people to successfully manage the meet. We need help with everything from meet set up to food prep. Please look for a Sign Up Genius very soon where you can volunteer your particular skills to help make the meet a success!
Please let me know if you have any questions.
Thanks.
Mike D'Andrea
GP TriCo Rep
