Please see below for an important message from Coach Julia on B meets.
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Good evening parents!
What a meet on Saturday! Above all- I am proud of the way the swimmers conducted themselves, tried their best, and most importantly had fun. The energy at GP was stellar. Every time I looked around, our team was smiling and enjoying the experience. I had so much fun coaching the meet and thank you all for making it such a great morning for myself and my assistants.
I wanted to clarify something as I have had many parents come to me with requests for B meet events. Regardless of what has been the precedent in the past- if your child has a full A meet lineup on Saturdays (2 individuals, 2 relays) and is a qualifier- they truly should not be swimming in B meets. This is a rule we established as a coaching staff and had addressed it with both the kids and parents earlier in the season.
B meets are a chance for other swimmers, who do not necessarily get a chance to be in an A meet lineup at all- a lane and a race. Believe it or not, we know that swimmers are capable of swimming more than just the events they might have swam on Saturday (Week one!). As we continue into the season, we will make sure that kids can swim other events at A meets if we know they will either be close qualifying, or gain points. Do not worry!!!
If your child is an A meet swimmer with a full lineup every Saturday, and has NOT qualified- they may ONLY swim an “off” event at B meets, not their A events.
Swimmers who are qualifiers, always in a full A meet lineup, and especially my year-round club swimmers, should not be asking to swim in B meets. Even if it has been allowed in years past- we have explained that we are turning over a new leaf and bringing a certain culture back to the team. Please be understanding with this matter.
8 and unders are the only exception to this rule- but still- if you qualified for your event, you should not be swimming it at a B meet. Swimmers can talk directly to coaches about events they would like to swim.
I understand that a lot of parents work B meets, so they want their children swimming. If this is the case, and you feel the need to have your child swimming a race, they may only swim an “off” event that they otherwise would not qualify in or haven’t qualified in.
Thank you for your understanding, support, and enthusiasm thus far.
9 & ups- bring an old T-shirt to practice tomorrow!
Thanks again.
Coach Julia
