I wanted to pass along a few pointers for those of you attending the meet, feel free to ask any other questions you might have!
- First and foremost one of the hardest things for some people to adjust to is the height of the starting blocks off the pool deck. Because we have zero depth pool entry the blocks are about 10" higher than a standard pool....and some folks can get a little wobbly up there. Note...the distance to the water is the same!
- The flip side of zero depth is that its MUCH easier to climb out of!
- Our blocks are longer than most pools so you have plenty of room for track starts (especially for people with big feet) and they are outstanding for doing step up relay starts.
- Outside lanes are VERY fast...so don't be concerned if thats where you are in your heat.
I remember thinking the blocks seemed awful high when I swam at the AZ SW Zones meet a couple of weeks ago at Kino. But, as Paul said, the distance from the block to the water is the same. And, boy, did I appreciate the zero depth feature.
Here's a photo I took from across the pool, which gives a good perspective on the block height, as well as the lane line configuration that I believe will be in use for Nats.
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- For our fast food crowd - In N Out!
I hope that's not the only fast food place in the Phoenix area...a man's got to eat something!!!!
I'm Motel 6'n it too :) Why spend money on a motel that you're never in???
It looks like the gold medal sponsor area is away from the pool a bit...will there be a repeater speaker of the announcer so we can keep track of where we are in the meet?
I hope that's not the only fast food place in the Phoenix area...a man's got to eat something!!!! We've got all the crap, I mean fast food you could ask for. For your $ and taste though, it's hard to beat a double-double (bestuff.com/.../in-n-out-double-double). On top of that, since it will sit in your stomach like a rock, your age group competitors will really appreciate it if you down one right before your 200 fly.
It looks like the gold medal sponsor area is away from the pool a bit...will there be a repeater speaker of the announcer so we can keep track of where we are in the meet?
Gold Medal/Hospitality is directly in front of the south warm-up pool and about 70 yds from the primary team area. It is set-up with inside and outside seating and there will be no problem hearing the announcer.
Registration, awards and sponsors/vendors are in the gym which is just off the pool deck and we are looking at a PA system feed into that area.
Here in Chicagoland, we do not have In& out burgers. I have had them out west& they are good.
Chick-Fil-A is another great heart attack in waiting that a lot of folks from out of the area seem to seek out! www.chick-fil-a.com/Home
We've got all the crap, I mean fast food you could ask for. For your $ and taste though, it's hard to beat a double-double (bestuff.com/.../in-n-out-double-double). On top of that, since it will sit in your stomach like a rock, your age group competitors will really appreciate it if you down one right before your 200 fly.
:hijack:
I remember one day in college around the 1997 season, when McDonalds had the 19 cent hamburgers/29 cent cheeseburgers on sale for a limited time. We took the whole men's team on a field trip (school wasn't in session this day), and were required to buy minimum 10 cheeseburgers and a large Coke, then try to finish it. This was at about 1:00pm or so. Practice started at 3:00pm. Most at all 10 burgers...me included. The coach just shook her head as we all came to practice and put down our 44oz. "water bottles" from McDonalds. That practice was fun, let me tell you. :eeew:
