As the Dolphins’ season quickly winds down, it’s time to start looking ahead to the County Meet on July 11-13. While the official roster for County will not be set until after the last meet, we would ask each family to go ahead and log into SwimTopia and RSVP – yes or no (we need both!) – for the County Meet. Our coaches have to put together relays and submit entries very quickly for the County Meet, and it is very helpful if they already know they can attend or not. No-show swimmers for the County Meet are fined $100 by the League, so be firm in your commitment to swim. Please RSVP by the end of day Monday, June 23.

You can find basic information about the meet on our team website and also on the Gwinnett County Swim League website. We will share more specific information about the meet as we get closer – parking, warmup times, etc. A big thank you to County Coordinator Lindsey Thiers for stepping into this new leadership role this season! For those participating in the County Meet, you’ll hear from her as we get closer.

Pre-orders for County Meet merchandise are on sale online for one more week. There are a limited number of items on sale at Georgia Tech.

QUALIFYING

Each team sends two relays (free and medley) in each age group to the County Meet. If your swimmer has been regularly swimming on an “A Relay” for Hanarry West, they’ll likely be asked to swim the same at the County Meet.

The top 50 swimmers in the League in each individual event qualify for the County Meet. BUT qualifying swimmers may choose not to swim at the meet, AND each swimmer is limited to swimming 3 individual events (so top swimmers may qualify in 5 but have to choose 3). This means that swimmers ranked higher than 50 at the end of the season may still qualify for the County Meet. June is the deadline for swimmers to declare what events they are swimming. You’ll know by July 3 if your swimmer is in the Top 50 for the Meet.

Each week the County keeps track of the top 75 times in the league. This allows you to keep track of where your swimmer is on the list. Attached is a list from the County of “How High Did We Go” in the rankings from the past few years to give you an idea of the drops in placement that happen at the end. If you have questions about your swimmers’ events or potential to qualify, contact Coach Brown at [email protected].

SCHEDULE
All events are held at the Georgia Tech Aquatic Center. Morning warm-ups typically begin around 7-7:30 a.m. The evening sessions typically end around 7 p.m. Admission to the event is free but seating can be limited (parking is not free). Hanarry West families often try to sit together so we can cheer on the Dolphins together.

Friday, July 11 (afternoon): 15-18s
Saturday, July 12 (morning): 9-10s
Saturday, July 12 (afternoon): 13-14s
Sunday, July 13 (morning): 8 & Under
Sunday, July 13 (afternoon): 11-12s

VOLUNTEERS
The League assigns each team volunteer roles for each session of the meet (normally based on how many swimmers a team has in an age group). We will not have our team’s assignments until the week of the Meet. If your child qualifies to swim, please plan to volunteer in some capacity. We will need parent volunteers at each session of the County Meet. We’ll also be asking parents to serve as Age Group Coordinators (arriving early to save seats for team parents, taking photos for Facebook, etc.) and to help distribute County Awards (ribbons, medals, etc) to swimmers in the week following the event.

PRACTICE
Practice for county-qualifying swimmers starts immediately following the end of the regular season. Practice is not mandatory, but strongly encouraged. Swimmers qualifying for individual events can continue to improve their strokes, and relay team members can practice together. We will post the County practice schedule soon.

CELEBRATION
We’ll hold a celebration for our County swimmers on Thursday, July 10 from 11 a.m. - 1 p.m. after morning practice at the Hanarry West pool. More info to come.