Roxboro Sharks at ASA Championship Timed Finals on Thursday June 26

A lot of you have questions about this meet, so I am going to try and answer as many of those as possible.  This information is based on previous years and our experience, it is subject to change.

The ASA Championship Timed Finals is one of the largest swim meets in the USA. Held over 6 sessions, hundreds of teams, and thousands of swimmers. The pool at the Georgia Tech Campus Recreation Center is the same pool that hosted the 1996 Olympics Swimming and Diving. It will look, sound, and feel very big to many of our Sharks. Fun fact, we actually swim a shorter distance there than we do at Roxboro. Roxboro is a 25meter length pool and the pool at GT will be set up in 25yard lengths. Boys typically race in the pool at the score board end of the natatorium and the girls race in the pool in the middle of the natatorium.

Parking is available in the deck next to the Campus Recreation Center, but must be pre-purchased via ParkMobile.  Make sure you purchase for JUNE 26 morning.  Additional parking is usually available a little farther down and across the street at the Student Center.  It is a short and easy walk.

Roxboro Sharks are assigned to swim the Thursday June 26 morning session. The meet starts promptly at 9:30am and usually finishes around 12:30/1pm. We will be assigned a team entry time that could be as early as 7:45am. You may leave as soon as your Shark finishes their races. Per the rules of this meet, all Sharks and coaches must enter as a team. All teams are assigned a specific seating area and that could be in the grandstands or on the pool deck. Parents and spectators are free to sit anywhere in the grandstands.

We will have two adult volunteers that will sit in our team area for the entire meet and they will provide their contact numbers. They will help coordinate getting your Shark to you when they have finished their races. Coaches are responsible for getting every Shark to the mandatory pre-race bullpen and then meeting them at the end of their race to get them back to our team area. All swimmers are required to go thru the mandatory pre-race bullpen before every race.

Roxboro Sharks are usually assigned an additional 4-6 volunteer jobs at the meet. Timers, Award Labels, or Runners are usually the jobs we get. The jobs are for only half of the meet. This is a requirement for our participation so I will be asking for volunteers as soon as I get those assignments.

You and your Shark will select up to two individual events to swim. Coach Eli and Coach Mary will build relay teams based on swimmer signups. Your Shark must be able to independently swim the entire length of their race.

How to best prepare your Shark for a fun meet experience: talk to your Shark about the meet before you sign them up. They will sit with the team, this is a non-negotiable. They could be DQ’d (disqualified from earning a ribbon in their race). This meet is a Georgia Swimming observed meet allowing many year round or club swimmers to get times to be used at future meets, therefore it will be held to the USA Swimming standards. 

It will be fun! It will be loud! It will be crowded! It will be fun!

I will continue to share more information as it is made available. If you have any specific questions, please reach out to me via email or on the pool deck during practices.

Thank you,

Jennifer Entrekin