Hello OBST families,

This upcoming week is a BIG week for us! Please take time to read all of the information below regarding meet protocol and other details in order for Tuesday's home meet to be a success. 

Tuesday is NOT a practice. This is the first invitational swim meet we are to host at our facility. A parent or guardian MUST be present for the duration of the meet. If you cannot be here, your child will not be allowed to compete. Doors to the facility will open at 4 p.m. Please enter the facility through the front doors or the side gate to the back right of the property. The gate entrance will be outlined with barricades and signage for easy recognition and clear access.

All OBST athletes are to be ready to hop in for warm-up lanes 4-6 at 4:15 p.m. sharp! GSST will warm-up in lanes 1-3 from 4:15-4:45 p.m. and CFST will have the entire pool from 4:45-5:15 p.m. The meet will begin promptly at 5:30 p.m.

Swimmers are welcome to utilize the deep end of the pool to cool down from races, but if swimmers hang out or horseplay occurs, our lifeguards will shut it down. 

If you are bringing a tent, please set up your tent outside the fence line. You will be able to come in and out through the aforementioned gate. If you are simply bringing chairs, you may sit on deck. The area from clerk-of-course, behind the blocks, and past the timing console will be open access to athletes, coaches, and volunteers ONLY. The kiddie pool area will remain closed. 

As of now, we have 33 of 45 athletes registered to swim on Tuesday. I would love for all our swimmers to be present. The only swimmers I have not seen confirmed in SwimTopia are Taj Erikson and Ronin McCann.

Volunteers are necessary to the fluidity of this meet's function. If you are able to, please sign up for a position via SwimTopia by clicking the sign-up calendar, scroll to the home meet event, and proceed to the "jobs" button. We will particularly need timers and additional hands for clerk-of-course. Volunteers will meet with me and/or aquatic center staff at 4:45 p.m. at clerk-of-course (covered pavillion) for an intro meeting.

We are in the midst of securing a food truck for the meet, SugarLove. Just in case the food truck does not pan out, please be prepared with appropriate snacks and beverages for the family. We will have water bottles available/distributed to all volunteers on deck.

OBST merch and swim caps will be for sale at the front desk of the aquatics center if interested. 

Our restrooms will be open to all attendees, however, the shower/changing rooms will be strictly available to athletes ONLY per USA Swimming Safe Sport. Please be respectful of that policy or you will be asked to leave the facility.

I will have heat sheets sent to you for self-printing this weekend -- or latest Monday afternoon -- entries are due from visiting teams on Saturday. This meet will also publish to Meet Mobile. A limited amount of paper copies will be available for $1 at the front desk.

Lastly, there is going to be major traffic and road closures on Tuesday and throughout the week on Canal Rd due to the bridge construction. If coming from Gulf Shores or off of HWY 59, I would consider leaving a bit earlier than usual to take Beach Blvd around to the pool from 161 instead.

Got grit? Be loud, proud and let's swim our hearts out!

Best,

Coach Dakota