Swim Families,

We hope you enjoyed the cupcakes (10-Under) and pizza (11-Up) at practice tonight! We have a BIG week of swimming ahead! Please read this email carefully, as it contains LOTS of relevant information. 

MEET VERSUS ROCKWOOD FRIDAY NIGHT (JULY 9)

Our final HOME meet of the season is TOMORROW NIGHT (July 9) Versus Rockwood. Our team will warm-up from 5:00-5:30, with a Meet start time of 6:00 pm. Job Sign-ups are STILL open, and we have a number of positions that need to be filled. Families with swimmers participating are required to sign-up for at least one shift per meet.

SMOKY MOUNTAIN INVITATIONAL JULY 10-11

The Smoky Mountain Invitational will take place this Saturday (11-Up) and Sunday (10-Under) at Springbrook Park in Alcoa. We have a large number of participants each day in this Meet. There will be a tent map at the entrance that will direct you to our team tent.

Warm-ups will begin at 7:50 each morning. Please plan to meet at the team tent BEFORE 7:40 to walk to the warm-up lanes. If your swimmers are late, they will not be permitted to warm up.

Meet Workers Needed: Our team is required to provide workers each day. We need a parent to pick up our worker packet each morning prior to the worker meeting. 

On Saturday, we will be required to provide a Timer for Lane 1 for Shifts 1, 2 and 3.

On Sunday, we are required to provide a Spotter for Lanes 3 and 4 for Shifts 1, 2 and 3. The Spotter works behind the blocks to be sure that the swimmers are in the correct chairs. We are ALSO required to provide a Score Entry/ Computer Operator for Shifts 1, 2 and 3. This person will sit poolside and enter data at the director of the Head Scorer.

Shifts are as follows:

Day 1

1st session = Events 1 - 18

2nd Session = Events 19 - 33

3rd Session = Events 34 - 52

Day 2

1st Session = Events 53 - 64

2nd Session = 65 - 74

3rd Session = 75 - 86

If you have swimmers participating in the Meet, please plan on working at least one shift. Failure to fulfill our shift assignments will result in loss of points for our team.

MEET VERSUS CHEROKEE COUNTRY CLUB (JULY 13)

Our final regular season meet will be held on Tuesday, July 13 at Cherokee Country Club. The pool is located at 5205 Lyons View Pike. It is on the opposite side of the street from the main clubhouse.

Facility Details:

Parking: There is plenty of parking around the pool area. There will be overflow parking near the tennis and golf areas. If needed, there is parking across the street at the main clubhouse. There is a tunnel that runs under the street for easy access back to the swimming pool.

Pool: 25 yd with 6 lanes

blocks on the starting ends of the pool

Depths: 12 feet starting end, and 3 1/2 feet on the finish end

Relays will start in the water at the shallow end of the pool.

There are two pools at the Cherokee facility. The upper pool will be closed during the meet. There will be a lifeguard at the pool to keep the children out of the water.

Seating: All spectator seating will be around the upper pool. They will have a 20x10 tent set up for the team. It will be at the far side of the upper pool, closest to the tennis courts. This will allow easy access to the clerk of course for the swimmers. There are pool chairs for families and participants to sit. The lower pool, where the race will take place, is standing room only as there isn’t enough room for chairs and volunteers to move about the pool area. No outside tents are permitted.

Concessions: Cherokee will have a concession stand open during the meet. They will offer a full dinner buffet ( hamburgers, trimmings, salad bar, chicken tenders, waffle fries, pasta salad, fruit, drinks and dessert). Adults $10 and Children $6. The concession stand will be cash only. No large coolers please.

Meet Details: The meet will begin at 6:00 pm. We will have the pool for warm-ups starting at 5:30pm.

TEAM PHOTOS (JULY 15)

TSS Photography will be on hand to make our individual and team photos on Thursday, July 15. Individual photos will be made at 6:00 pm, with the team photo at 6:30 pm. TSS will be sending an order form, which we will send out prior to the 15^th. For the team photo, swimmers should wear their team suit and team t-shirt.

TEAM T-SHIRTS

Our team t-shirts are available. Please have your swimmers see Mrs. Neubauer to pick up their shirts. Parents, if you would like a team shirt, they can be purchased for $15 via check OR through our the website.

GKAISA CHAMPIONSHIP MEET

GKAISA City Meet will take place Thursday, July 29 through Saturday, July 31. Preliminaries for swimmers 10-Under will be held on Thursday, July 29. Warm-ups will begin at 1:00 pm, with a meet start time of 3:00 pm. Preliminaries for swimmers 11-Up will be held on Friday, July 30. Warm-ups will begin at 7:00 am, with a meet start time of 9:00 am. Finals will be held on Saturday, July 31. Warm-ups will begin at 7:00 am, with a start time of 9:00 am.

Heat Sheet Ads

Heat Sheet Ad sales help GKAISA defray the cost of City Meet for our teams and help us provide scholarship money to our graduating seniors. If you have a business (or if you know of a business that may be interested, the following provides information on the purchase of ads:

Promotional Banners:

Hang your team or a business banner from the railing on the concession side of the Allan Jones Aquatic Center (under the scoreboard). The cost to hang a banner will be approximately $250 for all three days, depending upon your banner size. Anyone who pays to hang a banner will also receive a 1/2 page ad in the City Meet Heat Sheet.

Posters:

Spaces to hang posters in the concourse of the Allan Jones Aquatic Center will be available for purchase. Costs are as follows:

12” x 18” $10.00

18” x 24” $15.00

24” x 36” $20.00

Posters should be on poster board or construction paper and submitted to Brad Salsbury and Kelley Perkins for approval by Wednesday, July 28.

Heat Sheet Ads:

Heat Sheet Ads are also available for purchase. Prices are as follows:

1/2 page $150.00

Full page $250.00

If you have any questions about banners, posters or heat sheet ads, please contact Brad Salsbury at [email protected] or Kelley Perkins at [email protected].

GKAISA City Meet T-Shirts

It's already time to start thinking about City Meet T-shirts. Proceeds from t-shirt sales go toward helping defray the costs of City Meet and to assist in funding GKAISA scholarships for senior swimmers. Cost will be $15.

You can purchase shirts through our website, beginning later this week. We will submit a team order, and shirts will be available on the first day of City Meet. NOTE: There are different t-shirts for 11-Up Swimmers and 10-Under Swimmers. When you purchase, be sure that you indicate which shirt you want.

National Anthem

If your swimmer is interested in auditioning to perform the National Anthem, please have him or her contact Harry Whiteside at [email protected] or at 865.936.5454. Auditions may be carried out in person, over the phone or by video audition (preferable) sent to the email listed. For more information, see the City Meet tab on the GKAISA website. www.gkaisa.swimtopia.com

Parking Passes

If you have not purchased a parking pass for the summer, you will need to purchase a parking pass for City Meet. City Meet parking will be available in the garage across from Allan Jones. Cost for passes is $10 per day, and you will be able to purchase them on our website, beginning later this week. No passes will be sold at the door.

COVID-19 WARNING FOR GKAISA CHAMPIONSHIP MEET

An inherent risk of exposure to COVID-19 exists in a public place where people are present. Unvaccinated individuals are encouraged to wear masks at all times, pursuant to relevant CDC guidelines.

COVID-19 is an extremely contagious disease that can cause severe illness or death. BY ATTENDING OR PARTICIPATING IN THIS COMPETITION, YOU VOLUNTARILY ASSUME ALL RISKS ASSOCIATED WITH COVID-19 AND FOREVER RELEASE AND HOLD HARMLESS GKAISA AND THE UNIVERSITY OF TENNESSEE AND EACH OF THEIR OFFICERS, DIRECTORS, AGENTS, EMPLOYEES OR OTHER REPRESENTATIVES FROM ANY LIABILITY OR CLAIMS INCLUDING PERSONAL INJURIES, DEATH, DISEASE OR PROPERTY LOSSES, OR ANY OTHER LOSS, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO CLAIMS OF NEGLIGENCE AND GIVE UP ANY CLAIMS YOU MAY HAVE TO SEEK DAMAGES, WHETHER KNOWN OR UNKNOWN, FORESEEN OR UNFORESEEN, IN CONNECTION WITH EXPOSURE, INFECTION, AND/OR SPREAD OF COVID-19 RELATED TO PARTICIPATION IN OR ATTENDANCE AT THIS COMPETITION.

--- AND FINALLY…

The University of Tennessee will be holding swim clinics during the month of July. These clinics are a great opportunity for your swimmers to get some extra pointers as we head toward the Championship Meet. For more information, please check out the following link:

https://www.tennesseeswimcamp.com/july-camps.cfm

Happy Swimming!

Coach Joe and the USC Parent Committee