Anonymous
03/25/2024 15:35
Subject: Re:SA Spring Champs at Fairland: how long?
Anonymous wrote:OP here as well: agreed, PP. I thought it was really well-run, all things considered (I noticed that the merch booth ran out of logos, which was perhaps a sign of how much people enjoyed the meet and wanted a shirt?), but it was long and very crowded, especially Saturday. I was, however, impressed with the general speed of many of the Meet Mobile updates: it wasn't perfect, but much better than previous meets this year. And I was also impressed at how closely Sunday, in particular, aligned with the published meet timeline, as well.
For next year's attendees: I know there are rules about spectator chairs, but I envied the folks who had folding chairs out in the _lobby_ and outdoors. The vending machines are almost totally shut down, so bringing refreshments for audience members and swimmers is a must (there's really not much close by for a quick drive out and back). Fairland is very light on lobby electrical outlets, so bring a power strip so you can share if necessary. And Fairland is the warmest pool environment I've ever been in - pretty punishing, in fact. Dress as lightly as reasonable and leave coats and as many belongings as possible in the car.
PP directly above you - I'm glad it seemed well-run from your perspective! I was timing at the 12&U Saturday session and it was pretty chaotic down on the pool deck. If that chaos translated to a smooth meet, I'm glad.
Fairland is our home pool and it's always that humid (and the vending machines consistently unreliable). I basically dress to workout when I'm timing. For those who want a break during events, there are some lovely walking trails around the Fairland complex
Anonymous
03/25/2024 12:14
Subject: Re:SA Spring Champs at Fairland: how long?
OP here as well: agreed, PP. I thought it was really well-run, all things considered (I noticed that the merch booth ran out of logos, which was perhaps a sign of how much people enjoyed the meet and wanted a shirt?), but it was long and very crowded, especially Saturday. I was, however, impressed with the general speed of many of the Meet Mobile updates: it wasn't perfect, but much better than previous meets this year. And I was also impressed at how closely Sunday, in particular, aligned with the published meet timeline, as well.
For next year's attendees: I know there are rules about spectator chairs, but I envied the folks who had folding chairs out in the _lobby_ and outdoors. The vending machines are almost totally shut down, so bringing refreshments for audience members and swimmers is a must (there's really not much close by for a quick drive out and back). Fairland is very light on lobby electrical outlets, so bring a power strip so you can share if necessary. And Fairland is the warmest pool environment I've ever been in - pretty punishing, in fact. Dress as lightly as reasonable and leave coats and as many belongings as possible in the car.
For next year's attendees: I know there are rules about spectator chairs, but I envied the folks who had folding chairs out in the _lobby_ and outdoors. The vending machines are almost totally shut down, so bringing refreshments for audience members and swimmers is a must (there's really not much close by for a quick drive out and back). Fairland is very light on lobby electrical outlets, so bring a power strip so you can share if necessary. And Fairland is the warmest pool environment I've ever been in - pretty punishing, in fact. Dress as lightly as reasonable and leave coats and as many belongings as possible in the car.
Anonymous
03/25/2024 11:05
Subject: SA Spring Champs at Fairland: how long?
PP from above - bumping this in case it's helpful for future Spring Champs. The meet was not short. It was busy and hectic and lots of fun, but neither small nor quick as far as time commitments go.
Anonymous
03/18/2024 11:38
Subject: SA Spring Champs at Fairland: how long?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:We're new to this meet this year, too; the blocks 13&0 and 12&U prelims are about five hours long each, which sounds long to me. Maybe they added more buffer time than usual, but this doesn't look like a short meet. I have two kids swimming and am timing, so would be glad to be wrong about the length!
There's no way to know for sure until the psych sheet comes out...
Psych sheets are out! So many 12&U entries that they're running Saturday prelims in two separate pools (by gender) so things don't run too long. The estimated start time for Saturday finals is 5:40PM. Sunday is a little less crowded, with finals estimated to start at 6:10PM.
Anonymous
03/05/2024 10:06
Subject: SA Spring Champs at Fairland: how long?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:We're new to this meet this year, too; the blocks 13&0 and 12&U prelims are about five hours long each, which sounds long to me. Maybe they added more buffer time than usual, but this doesn't look like a short meet. I have two kids swimming and am timing, so would be glad to be wrong about the length!
There's no way to know for sure until the psych sheet comes out...
Right, but those are also the longest time blocks I've seen of any of the meets we've gone to this year, which include the October and November Opens, Black History, assorted mini meets. If more than one NCAP site is participating, that's a lot of kids. Both Maryland Machine sites are participating, as are FAST, Suburban Aquatics, and DCPR. So, yeah. We won't know for sure until the psych sheets come out, but I wouldn't assume at this point it will be a short meet.
Anonymous
03/04/2024 16:10
Subject: SA Spring Champs at Fairland: how long?
NCAP-West is participating in the meet this year, and they are a large team even with their JO qualifiers not competing.
Anonymous
03/04/2024 15:52
Subject: SA Spring Champs at Fairland: how long?
Anonymous wrote:We're new to this meet this year, too; the blocks 13&0 and 12&U prelims are about five hours long each, which sounds long to me. Maybe they added more buffer time than usual, but this doesn't look like a short meet. I have two kids swimming and am timing, so would be glad to be wrong about the length!
There's no way to know for sure until the psych sheet comes out...
Anonymous
03/04/2024 09:17
Subject: SA Spring Champs at Fairland: how long?
We're new to this meet this year, too; the blocks 13&0 and 12&U prelims are about five hours long each, which sounds long to me. Maybe they added more buffer time than usual, but this doesn't look like a short meet. I have two kids swimming and am timing, so would be glad to be wrong about the length!
Anonymous
03/04/2024 08:04
Subject: SA Spring Champs at Fairland: how long?
Anonymous wrote:In the past, this has been a pretty small/quick meet because not that many teams are invited, and those that are invited are relatively small. Unless the host broadened the invite for some reason, should be the same this year.
This is very helpful: thank you so much!
Anonymous
03/03/2024 21:14
Subject: SA Spring Champs at Fairland: how long?
In the past, this has been a pretty small/quick meet because not that many teams are invited, and those that are invited are relatively small. Unless the host broadened the invite for some reason, should be the same this year.
Anonymous
03/03/2024 19:38
Subject: SA Spring Champs at Fairland: how long?
This meet is NFT, so I think there will probably be lots of entries. Anyone from previous seasons have a sense of how long this one tends to run?