Last updated on October 26th, 2021 at 11:15 am
I recently saw an anonymous quote I liked. It said, “Never let the things you want make you forget the things you have.” As swim meet hosts, officials and workers, it’s easy to focus on the things we want. This week, consider expressing thanks to those who help make meets possible. Even if it’s been a while since the competition, better late than never.
Contents for Express Thanks and Build Your Swim Community
Quick and Easy Ways To Express Thanks
We often don’t have lots of extra time to create ways to say thank you. Pinterest and other internet sources have lots of ideas. Here are a few meet-specific ways that don’t require a lot of extra time, energy, or forethought. For more on who, and why to thank, see the post, Thank You.
At Meets
- Add, “Say thank you” to the meeting agenda for officials, timers, meet marshals and other workers
- When possible, circulate the deck towards the end of a meet and thank people for helping
- Thank facility staff
- Remember to thank the “behind the scenes” people like equipment managers, those who help set-up and clean-up, etc.
After Meets
- Send thank you emails or messages
- If you used an Online Volunteer Sign-up you may have easy access to an email address for most volunteers
- Consider sending a thank you email to each team who sent athletes. Ask them to forward it to their parents, or parents of athletes who attended the meet. Sure, it may go to some people who didn’t help. But who knows, it might help encourage some to help out next time.
- Use social media
- It’s easy to create visual “Thank You’s” with online resources like canva.com. Or, you can use one of these:
Involve Swimmers
At Meets
- Brad Graham, a high school coach, encourages his swimmers to say “thank you” every meet. They walk around the pool at the end of the meet and thank each official, timer, and other meet workers. I’ve been on the receiving end of this long line of swimmers each saying “thank you.” I loved it.
- At a large, regional championship meet for swimmers ages 8-14, the meet host promoted a “Gratitude Campaign.” It required some planning and prep. However, it’s a relatively simple and inexpensive activity that yielded great results. To find out more, read Swim Meet Athlete Gratitude Campaign.
After Meets
- Coach Alex Farlow, of Arizona Swimming, hung a blank piece of poster board on the wall with some markers at practice. She then asked athletes to express their thanks. This could also be done at a meet. If desired, take a picture and share it via email, social media or on your team or meet website.
Summary
There are many, many ways to express thanks. Choose what works for you and express thanks to those who help host and run swim meets where you are. Doing so not only feels great, but it also helps build a positive swim community.