Team Reps and Head Coaches,

Happy 4th! It’s hard to believe that the GKAISA Championship Meet will start in 16 days.

Team registration will be opening on Monday, July 10. We will send out the link for registration then. Each team will register as a team, include athlete information, tent order, parking passes, t-shirts, hospitality, etc. and will be able to pay with one payment at the end via credit card OR by bringing a check to the Meet Entry meeting on July 12.

GKAISA CHAMPIONSHIP MEET DETAILS

City Meet will take place Thursday, July 20 through Saturday, July 22. Preliminaries for swimmers 10-Under will be held on Thursday, July 20. Warm-ups will begin at 1:00 pm, with a meet start time of 3:00 pm. Preliminaries for swimmers 11-Up will be held on Friday, July 21. Warm-ups will begin at 7:00 am, with a meet start time of 9:00 am. Finals will be held on Saturday, July 22 for the top 16 in each event. Warm-ups will begin at 7:00 am, with a start time of 9:00 am. Additional details may be found in the Meet Invitation, which is under the City Meet tab on the GKAISA website.

https://gkaisa.swimtopia.com/2023-gkaisa-city-championship-meet

Teams need to register for City Meet by either clicking on the Registration tab on the GKAISA website or by attending the Meet Entry Meeting on Wednesday, July 12 at 6:00 pm at Allan Jones Intercollegiate Aquatic Center.

HOSPITALITY

We are asking teams to assist with hospitality costs this year. When registering, teams should pay $10 per coach who is planning to coach during the weekend. As food costs have increased and as restaurants are less willing to donate, we are asking teams to help with these costs. NOTE: We will need to limit the number of coaches on deck at a time due to some space issues; however, coaches who have paid and who have completed training will be allowed to eat in Hospitality.

Also, on Wednesday, July 19 between noon and 3:00 pm or Thursday morning, July 20, we are asking each team to please bring 3 boxes of 12-count cans of soft drinks to Allan Jones. If your team does not wish to bring drinks, you can pay $25 with your team registration so that they can be purchased. Please pay in the Merchandise section of online registration or bring a check payable to GKAISA to the Meet Entry Meeting.

CITY MEET TENTS

All tents must be reserved through GKAISA. We have contracted with All Occasions Party Rentals, who will place tents on Tuesday, July 18 and will remove them following the Finals session on Sunday, July 23. You must reserve them online with City Meet registration. Payment can be made either online in the Merchandise section of online registration or by check payable to GKAISA at the Meet Entry meeting.

Prices are as follows:

20 x 20 $373.50

20 x 30 $477.00

20 x 40 $625.50

If you are requesting a different size tent than your team has had in the past or if you are requesting a different location, please contact Nick Hall at 865.332.8334 or by email at [email protected].

CITY MEET ADS

Ad sales help us defray the cost of City Meet for our teams and help us provide scholarship money to our graduating seniors. We are asking your assistance by promoting City Meet ad sales with your teams. Please see the media packet on the website and from earlier emails.

For inquiries or to place an advertisement, please contact Nick Hall at Nick Hall at 865.332.8334 or by email at [email protected].

For payment, please mail a check (Pay To: GKAISA) to Shawna Davis at 7540 Lyle Bend Lane, Knoxville, TN 37918. An invoice is available upon request.

GKAISA CITY MEET T-SHIRTS

Please promote the sale of City Meet t-shirts to your parents and swimmers. Proceeds from t-shirt sales go toward helping defray the costs of City Meet and to assist in funding GKAISA scholarships for swimmers. Cost will be $15. Sizes available will be Youth S, M and L and Adult S, M, L, XL, XXL and XXXL. This year’s logo is on the City Meet page.

Shirts must be ordered through our online Registration link (one order per team). Payment can be made either by credit card through the website or by check at the Meet Entry meeting.

All orders must be submitted prior to the City Meet Entry Meeting on July 12.

TEAM LOGOS AND SENIOR SWIMMER RECOGNITION

We will be able to post team logos on the video boards during our Senior Swimmer recognition. If your team has seniors who will be recognized, please upload a list of your seniors into the following link, along with your logo in .jpg format

GKAISA Graduating Seniors (google.com)

Questions: contact Marshall Goldman at [email protected]. Logos and swimmer names must be received by July 12 in order to be posted.

NATIONAL ANTHEM AND TOP QUALIFIER MUSIC

If anyone on your team is interested in auditioning to perform the National Anthem, please have him or her contact Brad Salsbury at 865.603.8435. Auditions may be carried out in person, over the phone or by video audition (preferable) sent to [email protected].

For more information, see the City Meet tab on the GKAISA website. Deadline to submit is Monday, July 17.

Also, we will again be asking each top qualifier from the 15-18 age group to choose “walk-out” music for Finals on Saturday. This music will be played over the indoor speaker system after the Consolation heat has been swum and before the finalists are introduced. Please note: This music must be appropriate for all age groups. Any style of music is allowed, but absolutely no lyrics with an explicit rating will be allowed. All music will be screened for content and must be that which is generally played on mainstream radio.

If you have a swimmer or relay that is top-qualifier, please email the title of the song and name of the artist to Brad Salsbury at [email protected]no later than 5:00 pm on Friday, July 22. Please put “GKAISA Heat Winner Music” in the subject and include your name, your team, your event, and your event number in the email. Approximately, 30-45 seconds will be played.

SCHOLARSHIP INFORMATION

2023 GKAISA Scholarship Information is available on the GKAISA website. We will award four scholarships this year: the Tom Schumann and Bill Lauer Service Awards, the James Rich Courage Award, and the Terry Gardner Memorial Scholarship.

For the Tom Schumann and Bill Lauer Service Awards, only one girl and one boy from a team may be nominated. The nomination must be signed by the head coach and must include an essay from the swimmer.

The James Rich Courage Award is given to a swimmer in the 15-18 age group who has either demonstrated great courage in the face of adversity or who has shown exceptional leadership in a difficult situation. The nomination must be made by the head coach.

The applications for these three awards are due by July 17 to GKAISA President Angelia Nystrom at [email protected]. Please include a photo (head shot) of the nominee. Scholarships will be awarded during Finals on Saturday, July 22.

The Terry Gardner Memorial Scholarship has been established by the family of former GKAISA President Terry Gardner. Terry is remembered for his nearly two decade dedication to swimming in the area and for his leadership of GKAISA, which was instrumental in improving the swimmer and parent experience. The recipient of the Terry Gardner Memorial Scholarship is meant to embody the values and qualities that Terry represented and believed in. The criteria for the scholarship and information on submission is on the GKAISA website. Please note that the deadline for submissions is Friday, July 14 at noon.

Photos of all winners will be displayed on the scoreboard at City Meet, and recipients will be recognized in the Heat Sheets.

ATHLETE PROTECTION AND OTHER POLICIES IN PLACE AT AJIAC

The Minor Athlete Abuse Prevention Program (MAAPP) is in effect at City Meet. UT’s Allan Jones Intercollegiate Aquatic Center will enforce this policy. At all times during City Meet, the UT team locker room will be used for athletes, coaches, workers and officials ages 18-up. The visiting locker rooms will be used for athletes under 18 years of age. There will be signs posted during the meet to direct people, but we thought it would be helpful to advise you of this prior to the meet.

Marshals will be doing periodic sweeps of the locker rooms to be sure that proper behavior is taking place. ABSOLUTELY NO CELL PHONES OR CAMERAS IN THE LOCKER ROOMS AT ANY TIME.

Also, the diving well at Allan Jones will be closed on Thursday and Saturday of City Meet. We have been requested to advise that absolutely no one will be allowed in the diving well on these dates.

PARKING

Parking will be available in the garage across from Allan Jones at the cost of $10 per day.

Please have your parents order passes through your team and submit the number and payment when you register for City Meet. Be sure you specify the day for each of the passes. For Finals Saturday: If you reasonably believe that a swimmer will qualify for Finals, please encourage that swimmer's parent to purchase a Saturday pass. We will have a very limited number available for purchase on Friday for Saturday finals.

If you have parents who do not want to purchase parking, parking will be available at the Metron Center lot off Kingston Pike (approximately 1 mile away near Tyson Park). ABSOLUTELYNO shuttle service will be provided.

IMPORTANT DATES

July 12: City Meet Registration Due

City Meet Entries Due

Senior Names and Logos Due

July 14: City Meet Ad Deadline

Terry Gardner Memorial Scholarship Deadline (noon)

July 17: Tom Schumann and Bill Lauer Service Award nominations due

James Rich Courage Award nominations due

National Anthem Audition Deadline

July 19: Drink delivery to Allan Jones (noon-3:00 pm)

July 20: City Meet Preliminaries (10-Under)

July 21: City Meet Preliminaries (11-Up)

Senior Walk-out Music due 5:00 pm

July 22: City Meet Finals (All Ages)

Scholarship Recognition

Hall of Fame Recognition

… AND FINALLY…..

Claire Wingard will once again be collecting gently used swim equipment (caps, goggles, kickboards, etc.) and swimsuits in all sizes for Emerald Youth’s JustLead Learn-to-Swim and Community Swim Programs. A collection bin will be placed in front of the booth at Allan Jones (where Heat Sheets are sold). These programs at Emerald Youth serve Knoxville’s urban youth with reliable and safe Learn-to-Swim and Community Swim programs.

Please promote this with your families so that all children in our community are given the opportunity to learn to swim.

Happy Swimming!

GKAISA Board

Questions: Call Angelia Nystrom, GKAISA President, at 865.851.0262