Swim Meet 101
Swim Meets
Participation on a swim team is a big time commitment for the parents and swimmers. Swim meets take place on either or both Saturdays and Wednesdays. Arrival times for Saturday meets are usually to be on deck by 7:00 am, ready to get in the water by 7:15 am. Wednesday evening meets usually require the swimmers to be on deck by 5:00 pm and ready to get in the water by 5:15 pm. Saturday morning meets start promptly at 8 am and Wednesday evening meets start promptly at 6 pm. Please check the website for any changes to meet times/places and on deck times.
All swimmers should come to the meet, prepared to swim, with their caps and goggles on. Due to parking issues it is necessary to arrive ready to get in the water. Please drop your child at the pool entrance, when necessary, due to parking restrictions. At our pool and other teams’ pools please be aware of and obey any “NO PARKING SIGNS”. It is imperative that every meet begins on time!
Meet Events
All competitions are by age group and gender except where it calls out for mixed gender or mixed age for relays. The lengths of the individual races are as follows:
| Age | Distance | Age | Distance |
| 6 & under: | 25 meters | 11/12: | 50 meters |
| 7/8: | 25 meters | 13/14: | 50 meters |
| 9/10: | 50 meters (25 meters butterfly) | 15 – 18: | 50 meters |
The swim events are Freestyle, Backstroke, Breaststroke, Butterfly, Medley Relays, Individual Medleys (IM), and Freestyle Relay.
An IM (Individual Medley) is for swimmers that can swim all four strokes in one race. The order of events would be Butterfly, Backstroke, Breaststroke, and Freestyle. A coach will determine if a child can swim an IM based on their performances at meets and practices. All strokes are 25 meters; the total for the IM would be 100 meters. A swimmer must have a legal stroke for all four of the strokes to be considered for an IM.
A relay will consist of 4 different swimmers in their age group. Each swimmer will swim 25 meters of an assigned stroke. The order of strokes is Backstroke, Breaststroke, Butterfly, and Freestyle for the Medley Relays.
Swimmers should sign up to swim a maximum of 3 Individual events and up to 2 relays at each meet.
Meet Check-In
Swimmers are required to check in with their Age Group Coordinator and/or Coach at least 30 min before the meet starts. Failure to comply with this rule will cause the swimmer to be dropped from relays and individual events. Home team warm-ups begin at least 30-45 min prior to meet start time. Swimmers need to check in before warming up.
During a Meet
Swimmers should remain in the age group area designated by an age group sign during the meet. This allows swimmers to rest between races and to be found in time for their events. Playing cards or reading is encouraged during this time. Also, it sure is a great time for socializing with their age group friends! If for some reason a swimmer needs to leave the team area (i.e. Bathroom, getting something to eat, seeing their parents) they should notify their coaches before leaving. Swimmers will not be allowed in other parts of the pool while the meet is going on (whether the meet is at our pool or another teams).
The Age Group Coordinator volunteers and/or junior coaches get the swimmers lined up in order of heats/lanes. It is the swimmer’s responsibility to stay in their place once they have been lined up. If the swimmer needs to go to the restroom they must notify a volunteer or the Clerk of Course.
If a swimmer needs to leave before his/her event they will need to notify their coordinator or they will be considered a no-show. The ultimate responsibility belongs to the swimmers!
Missed Meets
Every parent (or swimmer) is required to designate online for each meet whether or not your swimmer will participate in the meet. Pay attention to emails regarding deadlines. Seeding meets takes time. Adding swimmers after the fact is not easy and in most cases cannot be done. If you do not designate for a meet we will assume your swimmer is not swimming. With our new timing system we will not be able to add swimmers at the meet. If you designate yes and then cannot come you must let the Coach know. Sometimes we have to scratch a relay because we were not notified of a swimmer not attending and it hurts the others that wanted to swim. If you are a no-show and you do not communicate that, you let down the other swimmers on that relay team. The swimmers look forward to the relays and really enjoy working with the other swimmers on that relay team. Once a meet is seeded and merged with the other team it is very difficult to add swimmers. It is critical for the success of the meet to know who will and will not be able to attend the meet. If you need to leave early or arrive late you need to also let the coach/team manager know.
Post-Season Meets
There are two (2) types of “Post- Season” meets. The Divisional Meets and the All Star Meet. There will be an alternate structure for the Divisional Meets. This alternate structure will not impact the regular season structure or schedule. This structure will be determined by the board each year to ensure that each Divisional Meet will have approximately the same number of teams and swimmers. The All Star Meet is only for those that meet qualifying times.
Post-season Meet Criteria and Qualifications:
Any swimmer that competes in at least two (2) League-sanctioned meets during the current regular season will be eligible to compete in one (1) of the two (2) Post-Season meets. A swimmer may only swim in one (1) Post-Season meet, either Divisionals or All-Stars, but not both. A swimmer without an official league time (NT) in an event cannot swim that event in the Divisional Meets or the All-Star Meet. Participation in the All-Star Meet will be based on league-set cut off times.
