1st USMS MEET

1. Have fun - If you're all alone, sit with a team that seems to be having fun...they'll surely welcome you Another good thing to bring is one of those folding camp chairs. They're dirt cheap to buy and are great for swim meets. I think I saw them advertised in the Fred Meyer ad in the Sunday paper for $5.99.

Check ahead however, my recent meet didnt allow chairs

Go to any of the Ande threads for advice on almost any swimming question. Have fun & do the best you can on any given swim. thanks man! Ask Ande SFF Index Tip 341 Index of SFF Tips for Swimmers Who are Preparing for a BIG Meet one popular Tip is Paul Smith's Top 10 ways to Blow your Meet Good luck in your meet race smart have fun

Check ahead however, my recent meet didnt allow chairs Should be no problem at this meet. Lots of space.

Have you been doing any long course training? If not, a couple trips up to Titlow Pool in Tacoma might help you get used to swimming long course. My only advice is to go slightly easier on the first 100 of the 200 than you would if you were swimming short course. To me the 200 free is a much different race long course. My 100 splits are usually within two seconds short course, but not so long course. I agree and would add save your legs on your first 100, you'll need them on the 2nd 100, feel fairly decent, swimmers tend to gain whatever time they give up on their first 100 of a 200, but don't go too easy, 92% effort is about right. ideally you want your 2nd, 3rd, & 4th 50's to be very close to each other they won't be if you go out too hard Breathe often, humans need air & lack of air can keep you from doing the best swim you are capable of

They may say no deck chairs BUT - I think that is for the hundreds of age group parents/kids that set up camps !! :cheerleader::bliss:

Good idea! I have about six of those in my garage ;) Question for those going to this meet... Will there be space on the deck or close by for my wife to record my events? Is that allowed? Yes to all those questions. Mount Hood Community College's LCM pool is outdoors with a large spectator area. They hosted 2008 LCM Nationals with hundreds of swimmers with no problem. Swimphone says there are 97 swimmers registered; once you add in probably a few more who registered via snail mail, you're still only talking about maybe 110 swimmers. There will be tons of room around the pooldeck. If it's raining then maybe it'll be an issue but probably not - 2009 LCM Zones were there, it rained, and there was plenty of cover so it was no problem. There's also an indoor 6-lane 25-yard pool for warmup/warmdown. And a hot tub near the indoor pool. :D

Good luck and don't worry about your first meet. We had a number of first time Masters swimmers at our Eastern NC Long Course meet last Saturday, and all were excited to find out how nice and supportive we oldtimers are. We even had one guy who was swimming his first meet in 50 years who just dove right in and swam as his first event the 1500! Welcome to the club!

Another good thing to bring is one of those folding camp chairs. They're dirt cheap to buy and are great for swim meets. I think I saw them advertised in the Fred Meyer ad in the Sunday paper for $5.99. Good idea! I have about six of those in my garage ;) Question for those going to this meet... Will there be space on the deck or close by for my wife to record my events? Is that allowed?

I agree and would add save your legs on your first 100, you'll need them on the 2nd 100, feel fairly decent, swimmers tend to gain whatever time they give up on their first 100 of a 200, but don't go too easy, 92% effort is about right. ideally you want your 2nd, 3rd, & 4th 50's to be very close to each other they won't be if you go out too hard Breathe often, humans need air & lack of air can keep you from doing the best swim you are capable of Thanks for the tips! I don't think I'll have a problem saving my legs. I tend to have very little kick, usually just enough to keep me afloat:cane: but I'm working on it. I saw you "help my flutter kick is horrible" posting and am going to test myself this Friday. Thanks again!