• Check the website the day before the event in case of timing changes.
• Enquire about parking facilities.
• Plan your journey to the venue carefully so that you arrive with plenty of time to sign -in , find your team and prepare for the warm - up. 
•  Do not be late ! If you will be delayed , advise the coach allocated to this meet / gala.
• If running late , ask someone you know to sign you in where applicable ;the meet organizers will take out any swimmer who hasn’t signed in prior to the deadline.
• Some galas will run a withdraw system meaning that if you intend not to swim you must withdraw yourself from any or all  events ; failure to do so may result in financial penalty being imposed on the Club and this will be passed on to the swimmer . If you are unable  to do a  withdrawal  yourself , please inform the coach or the Club competition secretary to ensure that the withdrawal procedure is being followed. 

• Find your coach/helper  on poolside and  make yourself known to them. 
• Follow their instructions. 
• All Wandsworth SC swimmers should be wearing club hats and kit poolside , and where directed , on the way to/from the meet .
• Swimmers need enough towels ,costumes/trunks , dry change of clothing , especially during a 2 or 3 sessions meets as the day can be long . It is very useful to have more than one training costume / pair of trunks as you may want a dry one for each session . You should have at least one racing costume / pair of trunks , ​do not wear this for warm up , but change into it before your first race. 
• Go to the marshalling area well on time . Listen to the coaches but also to the announcements . Adults on poolside will not be held responsible if you miss your race / event . If you arrive too late for your event , even if not started but all swimmers got called , you may not be allowed to swim .   - Do not leave the pool area without telling the coach ( or Team Manager if there is one ). This is especially important to ensure that swimmers do not miss their races . Parents should not ask children to leave poolside during the swim sessions.
• For older , more experienced swimmers , help the younger ones , show a good example.
• Perform blood flow exercises before the warm-up and each of your races . There is nothing worse than being injured because you didn’t do the exercises.
• Always go to your coach to get feedback immediately after your race , even if the coach doesn’t know you , they have years of experience so take any advice they give you.
• If a warm - down pool is available , take advantage of it ! No messing around as you will be excluded from using it ; remember , it is a warm - down pool not a play - pool !
• If a warm - down pool is available you go there first and then you come back for feedback . You should have your drink with you so that you rehydrate ( fluids ) during the warm - down ; afterwards you refuel ( food - high in carbohydrates ) - you have 30 minutes window to rehydrate and refuel to help your body recover after the race. 

Most swimmers are disqualified at least once , usually several times , when they start swimming competitively ​-so ,  do not worry​ ​! Disqualifications are there for a reason , so do not feel frustrated , don’t take it on the coaches / officials / helpers / other swimmers if you (for  parents -  your child ) got disqualified but you felt it was wrong,

• DQs are there to make sure all swimmers are treated the same and swimming according to the rules on a fair level.
• DQs are there to teach swimmers to follow these rules.
• If you have a video of your child swimming and you feel the DQ was unfair or incorrect , videos are not accepted in any case as evidence.​The Referee’s decision is final , based on facts and cannot be overturned , unless there were mitigating circumstances like noise at the start , another swimmer interrupting a race by swimming out in front of a swimmer , object in the pool , etc.   - When you get disqualified find out why and learn from the mistake. 

Swimmers - please do not leave poolside until you have asked your coach / team manager . Parents will need to make arrangements for their children between sessions . There may be a change of coaches / team managers or the coach / team manager may go to lunch so swimmers  be unsupervised . If the parents are not there they will need to make arrangements for their child to be with someone else . 

At the end of any meet/gala , the meet manager has to send the results to the Swim England  for them to load into Rankings . There can be an issue raised by the Swim England  or identified by the meet manager , which explains why the results are not instantly showing in the rankings .

• Generally speaking , results are published within 2 days , but not always .
• Hytek and TU do not have an agreement with Swim England  to be able to download the times directly from the Rankings , so we rely entirely on the promoters sending us the results . 

• Please enter Open Meets and Championships promoted and included in Wandsworth SC Competition Calendar relatively to your level of ability / experience.
• Support the club League   - Know your official and unofficial Personal Best ( PBs ) , official times will be required to enter County , Regional , and National competitions . Some open meets will also require official times ; these can be found via Team Unify and the Swim England Rankings. 

 
Always have all events  approved by your coach  before submitting a meet / gala  entry .