Prepare For A Meet By Marking Your Swimmer’s Arm
It’s important to mark your swimmer’s arm with their personal event information before the meet begins and it’s a routine part of how to prepare for a swim meet.
This will help your swimmer remember their events and be at the block on time.
All of the information comes from a Heat Sheet that will be available from the hosting club or school for the meet. There is usually a charge for the Heat Sheet that helps to fund the meet.
You will keep the Heat Sheet during the meet and you can use it to make sure you don’t miss any of your swimmer’s events.
Some swimmers will choose to use the back of their hands but most coaches will recommend using the left or right forearm, to have more space.
Use a black Sharpie and write E H L across the top of the inner forearm. These stand for EVENT, HEAT, and LANE.
Make a grid to separate the information. You can keep using black or if you have a different color Sharpie, use it for the grid to make it easier to read.
Look at the first event on the heat sheet and write the name of the event in the blank and the event number under “E” as shown on the Heat Sheet.
Write in the heat for that event under “H.”
Write the lane number under, “L.”
Repeat the process for each event that your swimmer will be swimming for that day.
Here is what a completed arm will look like. There may be more lines depending on how many events or relays your swimmer has entered.
Some swimmers prefer to write their events on the back of their hand, however, younger swimmers with small hands may find it hard to get all of the information in such a compact space.
Tips For Marking Your Swimmer’s Arm
- Be sure to start writing high enough on your swimmer’s arm to fit all of the events.
- Alcohol will get the Sharpie off of your swimmer’s arm. If your swimmer is swimming a second day, you will need to redo the entire process for the second day.
- Do not use a regular pen. The ink will wash off and your swimmer will be scrambling last minute to figure out when they swim.