Welcome to RMEA Swim Team! 

We are so glad you're here, and we are excited to have you and your family be a part of the Riptides Family this season! 

You are invited (and encouraged!) to join us on Monday, May 11 at 5:00pm-5:45pm at Roper Mountain Estates Pool (10 Violet Ct) for our New Swimmer Practice and New Family Orientation. 

New Swimmer Practice is for all new swimmers joining Big Team this season. This does not include Guppies. You will have the opportunity to meet the coaches, swim a few laps, and start to get to know RMEA and SAIL swimming. 

New Family Orientation will begin at 5:15pm at the RME Clubhouse. You will meet members of the RMEA Executive Board and learn more about RMEA and SAIL expectations. You will get to hear from some of our veteran Riptides Parents as they share more about what to expect at a swim meet and what you can do to volunteer each week. We hope to see you there!  

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There are many things to learn about summer swimming. Hopefully, the information shared here will answer many of your questions. If not, please don’t hesitate to ask! We’ve all been new to swimming and we understand that it can be a little overwhelming at first. 

Here’s some general information: Every neighborhood swim team in Greenville County swims in SAIL (Swim Association Invitational League). There are over 30 teams and approximately 5000 swimmers. The teams are divided into 6 Divisions: Red, Purple, White, Blue, Green and Gold, with Red being the biggest (and most competitive) division. We are in the Blue Division.  At the end of the 5 regular meet season, teams participate in Divisionals. 

Swim Meet Volunteer Positions 

Swim team is a sport for the entire family. In fact, we require the parents to participate by "working" one half of each meet. Below is an attempt to describe a meet and the volunteer positions. 

When swimmers first arrive, they will go to the Tent, located at the pavilion behind the start end of the pool. This is where the swimmers will claim their spots by setting up their chairs. The swimmers sit together as a team. Please help your child get situated, and let him/her know where you will be. Parents should write the swimmer's event numbers on their arm prior to dropping them off.  Tent Parents will use a Heat Sheet (a list of all 80 events) to line up swimmer's prior to their events.  Swimmers should be listening for his/her name, and be ready to line up when they’re called. If the swimmer can’t be located, they might miss their event so we recommend that the swimmers hang out in the tent during the meets. 

The swimmers will then report to the Clerk of Course. Clerk of Course volunteers line the swimmers up on a series of benches. The goal here is to have all the swimmers in a single heat lined up on the same bench in lane order. The swimmers move up through the benches until they end up behind the starting blocks.

Please know that sometimes there are changes made in Clerk of Course. This means that your child might move into a different heat or lane. No need to worry. These changes are recorded with the Referee and Computer Operator. Just as a friendly reminder, no parents are allowed in the Clerk of Course area or behind the blocks unless they are working the meet. Please hug your swimmer and do all your coaching before they move into these areas. 

At the starting blocks, you have all kinds of people! Each lane has three Timers. At a typical 6-lane pool that means 18 timers. Usually there is a Recording Timer for each lane. As if that is not enough, there is a Head Timer to backup the timers and an Assistant Head Timer to back up that person. 

The Starter seems to be the most important person, but actually that honor belongs to the Referee. There is also an Assistant Referee. 

The starter announces each event and states, "Swimmers, step up" on the block. When the head timer indicates that the timers are ready, the Deck Referee blows the whistle. This is the signal for the fans to be quiet ... the race is about to begin. The starter intones, "Swimmers take your mark," then BEEP! goes the start signal. Once the swimmers are in the water, the Stroke and Turn Judges watch to make sure the swimmers employ the proper strokes correctly. 

The swimmers wind up at the end of the pool. The times are recorded and the swimmers return to socialize some more, usually stopping at concessions to get a treat! In the meantime, the Runner collects the times from each lane and "runs" them over to clubhouse.  The Computer Operator enters times into a software program. Labels are printed for Ribbons marking individual times and placements for swimmers aged 12 and Under. Ribbons are awarded to swimmers aged 12 and Under by the coaches the next day during Fun Friday. 

Volunteers for the first half are asked to report to the deck 20 minutes early. There they will receive any last minute instructions. The starter will announce for 2nd half volunteers around event 36. Please report to your position in a timely manner. Meets typically start at 5:30pm and end around 9:00 (except for when they don't!).