Forget Me Nots: Essential Items Needed For Every Swim Meet

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Forget Me Nots: Essential Items Needed For Every Swim Meet

Too often, swimmers need to remember their swim meet essentials. Coaches always have swimmers who may have forgotten the items they needed to race and found out too late. Swim meets can be hectic, and it’s normal to forget specific equipment. However, there are certain things that every swimmer should have when they go to a meet to be fully prepared to race.

Food and Drink

Swim meets generally last a very long time. During this time, swimmers need to have food and water, as they can help them get ready for their events. During the meet, it’s easier to keep up your energy up with healthy snacks, especially if there is a long time between events. A water bottle or sports drink will help a swimmer stay hydrated during and after the competition. It is beneficial to have a variety of small snacks, but ensure they are light and full of energy.

Goggles and Cap

Every swimmer knows that swim caps and goggles are prone to tearing and breaking. These unfortunate occurrences seem to happen at the worst possible time, most frequently during competitions. Personal goggles are the best because they are already adjusted to fit the swimmer. A swimmer can have goggles loaned to them by someone else, but the goggles may not fit correctly, or they may need to be more comfortable while competing. Caps, however, can tear or stretch out and not fit properly. This can cause the cap to fall off during an event, create more drag on the swimmer, or cause the swimmer not to swim with a cap. Having backups is a wise idea.

Suits and Tech Suits

Photo Courtesy: TYR

At swim meets, a swimsuit is, without a doubt, the single most critical piece of equipment that should be brought to the venue. It’s best to remember to bring a suit, whether a tech suit or a team suit. Make sure to bring multiple tech suits to the meet if allowed to wear one during the competition. Because these suits can get torn easily if the swimmer wearing them isn’t careful, it’s best to bring a backup suit to competitions whenever possible.

Clothes/Towels and Shoes For the Deck

The pool deck is usually cold, especially after a swimmer finishes an event and walks back to their team. A swimmer needs to conserve as much energy as possible for their competitions. Saving energy means keeping the body warm between events. Make sure to pack dry clothes to change into when out of the water to maintain the appropriate body temperature on the deck. Cooler temperatures cause the body to shiver, which uses energy. To avoid this problem, bring warm clothing, such as sweatpants, a shirt, or a towel. Also, getting shoes to protect your feet will make you less likely to slip, and shoes will help keep your body temperature stable.

Bringing the necessary equipment to a swim meet is very important. Items can be forgotten, but more than likely, a swimmer can find an alternative during a meet. It may seem like overkill in some ways, although it’s best to be prepared. A swimmer never knows what may happen, even if they are 100% prepared. The swimmer must keep a cool head if an item is forgotten or misplaced. These items are essential, but a swimmer must remember to keep the right mindset and focus on their race.

All commentaries are the opinion of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Swimming World Magazine nor its staff.

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