Team Reps and Head Coaches,

It is hard to believe that City Meet is this week! Thank you for everything that you continue to do for your teams and for helping us all make City Meet a success. As always, we appreciate your help in securing Heat Sheet ads. With rising costs, you are playing an integral part in helping us keep swimmer registration fees down this year. We also appreciate your chipping in with Hospitality. The restaurant industry has been hit harder than almost all others during the pandemic, and it is more difficult to secure food donations for Hospitality. We are providing 5 meals and snacks for our coaches, officials and marshals with the funds contributed by your teams. We appreciate all of you!

PARKING PASS PICK-UP

Parking passes are available for pick-up, beginning Tuesday, July 18. Pick up times will be 10:00 am – 2:00 pm at Allan Jones on Tuesday, and 9:00 am- 3:00 pm at Allan Jones on Wednesday. If you cannot pick up during these times, please give Angelia Nystrom at call at 865.851.0262 or send an email to [email protected] make arrangements to pick up the passes for your team. 

NOTE: Passes will NOT be available until Tuesday. We apologize for any inconvenience.

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. 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.

HOSPITALITY

If you did not pay for the purchase of soft drinks, your team can drop off on Wednesday, July 19 between noon and 3:00 pm or Thursday morning, July 20. As always, we are asking each team to please bring 3 boxes of 12-count cans of soft drinks to Allan Jones.

Also, please note that the number of wristbands in your Coaches’ Packets on Thursday will correspond to the number of coaches for whom you have paid the Hospitality fee.

NATIONAL ANTHEM, INVOCATION AND TOP QUALIFIER MUSIC

If anyone on your team is interested in auditioning to perform the National Anthem or deliver the invocation, please have him or her contact Brad Salsbury. Auditions may be carried out in person, over the phone or by video audition (preferable). Brad can be reached at 865.603.8435 or at [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 music with an Explicit rating will not be allowed.

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 no later than 5:00 pm on Friday, July 21. 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.

Photos of all winners will be displayed on the scoreboard at City Meet.

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. ABSOLUTELY NO CELL PHONES OR CAMERAS IN THE LOCKER ROOMS OR CHANGING AREAS 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

If you have parents who did not purchase parking, free parking will be available at the Metron Center lot off Kingston Pike (approximately 1 mile away near Tyson Park). No shuttle service will be provided.

A limited number of passes will be for sale each day on a first-come, first-served basis. Price will be $20 per pass.

IMPORTANT DATES

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

James Rich Courage Award nominations due

National Anthem Audition and Invocation Deadline

July 18: Mandatory Coaches’ Meeting (via Zoom) at 9:00 pm—Details to follow.

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

Mandatory Timers’ Meeting (via Zoom) at 7:00 pm—Details to follow.

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

EXPECT A LOT MORE INFORMATION TO FOLLOW....

… AND FINALLY…..

We look forward to seeing you at the GKAISA Championship Meet. In the meantime, we hope you have a great final week of the season. Good luck as you wrap up your meets and practices. See you at the Championship!

Happy Swimming!

GKAISA Board