Our Association meet in Bend, May 19th to 21st
If you only participate in one pool meet this year, this is the one to do. This is the one where you will represent your workout group and where you will enjoy the company of your teammates. There is even a competition for team spirit.
Why participate?
If you are novice and have been working out from the beginning of the year, it might be the occasion to see where you are at.
This is a competition where everybody is welcome from the youngest 18 year old to our oldest 100 year old, from the fastest to the slowest competitors, from the experienced pool swimmers to the first timers, to the open water or water polo swimmers.
This is an opportunity to better know your teammates as you may not always attend the same workouts or even the same pools for the bigger teams. Even if you are swimming together, you might be in a different lane, or your coach might not give you enough time to talk!!!
On Saturday, there is a social where you will also meet swimmers from different teams but who share the same passion for swimming.
This year it is in Bend, one of the best playgrounds in Central Oregon. Come and enjoy what Bend has to offer. It is also hosted by one of the most welcoming swim teams in our area.
Now if you have not registered yet, it is time to do it as the registration is closing soon. Register here!
From a practical point of view, here are a few tips to follow if you want to have a good first experience:
This is Central Oregon, and this is an outdoor pool. Be ready for any type of weather! Bring your coat, parka, hats and mittens, enough dry clothes and towels, socks, shoes, flipflops. You will be miserable if you are cold and wet. It can also be sunny, don’t forget the sunscreen, sunglasses, and hat.
It is also recommended to bring your own chair. There will be some bleachers but they are cold and not comfortable.
Bring your own healthy food. The swim meet will probably last until the middle of the afternoon. It is better to eat and drink in small quantities between races. Masters meets usually do not have any food concessions, be ready!!
Don’t stress about it! It’s OK to be DQ’ed, it is OK to skip races, it is OK not to dive or do flip turns. It will not be in the newspaper on Monday! Your teammates will help and support you. It will get better as the meet goes along; you need to get that FIRST race out of your system.
Remember you are setting up your new benchmarks. If you have not been in competition for a while, forget about those old times, they are old! If you are getting up in age, you are resetting your benchmarks every five years. If you have been injured or out of the water, enjoy those new times and being able to compete again.
As we are getting into the last two weeks before the meet, it is time to sleep more, eat healthier, decrease your mileage but increase your speed in the pool, practice your turns and streamlines. Review the rules of competition.
Bring your family along to cheer you on. The hosting team might also appreciate their help if they can be timers for awhile.
I am always looking forward to the Association Meet and to make new friends. Enjoy and have fun in Bend.