What to bring with you for your meet

For those of you that are new to swimming the idea of preparing for a day-long or even weekend-long meet may seem daunting. The important thing to remember, the club is full of members that have been in this exact same position as you. So make sure you ask coaches, volunteers, other parents for their experiences and lessons they have learnt. Try not to let the organising and preparing stress your kids out at first, soon they will be old-hands and will know exactly what they need and when.

Here are some items that are essential to bring to all swim meets - again, this will become second nature soon, and dont worry if you forget something - everyone does. We also have a few points to think about as you start your racing journey.

Essentials

• Swim trunks/suit and spare costume. You may want to bring additional costumes if you are swimming multiple sessions in one day
• Appropriate pool-side shoes / crocs / flip-flops (No outdoor shoes)
• Two pairs of goggles (both sets pre-adjusted for race conditions)
• Two swimming hats (1 Club). Club hats can be purchased from The Club Shop
• CoStA T Shirt and Shorts plus tracksuit / sweatshirt & joggers, to keep warm between races (named please)
• Two towels (one for poolside and one for getting dried at the end of the day)
• Filled water bottle – and remember to sip throughout the session
• Food/snacks

Things to think about

Be aware of eating at the right time for when you are swimming – you are not swimming the channel so don’t need too much! Watch out for sugar highs - keep the Haribo for the car journey home if possible.

If you are going to eat something try to make it at least 15-30 minutes before your race – make it little things like raisins, fruit, etc. Nothing too sweet!

If you are going to be at a meet all day and/or have more than a half hour gap between races you can eat slightly bigger things like pasta, banana, bread and jam, soreen bar. Not too much and make sure you finish eating around half hour before your race. Chocolate will melt!

There may be a lot of waiting around between events. As well as supporting your teammates, you may want to bring something to keep you occupied between races (Books, Magazines, card games etc). Prefer no electronic/mobile devices unless this is for contacting parents

Dont forget!

Finally - and this may seem obvious - remember to take all of your belongings home at the end of the day, and put your rubbish in the bins provided