Top Tips for Competitions

With the competition season now hotting up for all our squads please read below for some top tips on what to do before and during your meet!

Before:

Ø  Be prepared.It is best to know what you are swimming BEFORE the warm up so you know exactly what to practice and warm up for. 

Ø  Pack your bags.Make sure all your equipment is packed the night before so you are not rushing in the morning.  Things you will need include: warm up/racing costume, goggles, hats, towels, water bottles, snacks and skipping ropes.   Also have spares of everything just in case!

Ø  Arrive in time.  Give yourself enough time to get there and make sure you arrive at least 15 minutes before the start of warm up for the team land warm up!

During:

Ø  Be a team.  Most importantly we are a team and we sit and cheer as a team.  Get to know your team mates and give encouragement to everyone.

Ø  Stay positive.  Having a positive attitude will rub off on both yourself and everyone around you.  If you have a bad swim, learn from it and move on including if you get a disqualification!

Ø  Drinks and snacks.  Ensure you have plenty to drink at competitions.  A 2% loss in body weight through dehydration can result in a 10% drop in performance.  Also make sure you have plenty of healthy snacks to replenish energy levels after races.  Sweets and chocolate are not healthy foods!

Ø  Warm up and swim down.  Warm ups are important to prepare your body for racing so make sure you arrive on time for the land warm up and talk to your coach about what to do in the pool warm up.  Swim downs are essential if there is another pool as it helps remove lactic acid and return the body to a pre-exercise state ready for the next race.  If no pool is available, skipping can be just as effective.

Ø  Talk to your coach.  Make sure you speak to your coach before every race and after the swim down of the race.  This way you can get race tactics and feedback on your swim.

Ø  Show respect.Respect all officials and other teams.  Remember many of them are volunteers so if you get DQ’d don’t worry, just learn from it.  Finally make sure you clear up all your litter and make sure you have collected all your belongings before you leave.