Swim Meet FAQ
All Meets are held on Tuesday evenings 5-11pm
Swim Meet FAQs
1. You will be emailed a heat sheet on Tuesday with a listing of every event that every swimmer is swimming. They are all separated by age and gender. 5-6 boys/girls, 7-8 boys/girls, 9-10 boys/girls, 11-12 boys/girls, 13-14 boys/girls, 15-18 men/women.
2. 5-6yr old swim only 1 lap per race; 7-8yr old swim only 1 lap per race UNLESS they swim the 50 free; 9-10yr old swim only 1 lap per race UNLESS they swim the 50 free or IM; 11 and up swim 2-4 laps for every race 50 or 100.
3. At the meet, we will have a print-out of what your child is swimming- this MIGHT be slightly different from the heat sheet (sometimes swimmers get sick, forgot to tell the coaches they weren’t coming, cancel last minute, etc.) and line-ups have to change.
4. Write your swimmers swim info on them in sharpie- either on their forearm or thigh- as well as their first name and last initial on their shoulder blade. This is especially important for the little ones and our lane managers when organizing the kids!
Write events like this: Event #, Heat, Lane-- 32- 1- 4 (event 32, heat 1, lane 4)
5. Relays require extra attention! 10 and under swim 1 lap, 11 and older swim two laps; 10 and under are numbered in the relay- 1 and 3 are with the starters, 2 and 4 are at the opposite end of the pool.
Medley Relay is 1)backstroke, 2)breaststroke, 3)butterfly, 4)freestyle
6. Get your child to their designated lane 2-3 events early and check in with the lane manager. The current event is listed on a large board somewhere near the pool- keep an eye on it! There will also be announcements for every event so you can hear that you are getting close
7. Bring chairs, bug spray, cash (most meets have concessions that sell food and drinks including meals, chips, sandwiches, candy, etc.), toys for siblings, extra towels, umbrellas, patience and a sense of humor Many times it will be less crowded outside of the pool deck- in the grass. Carpool if possible!
8. Swim meets start promptly at 6pm. Arrival is typically 4:45 with warm-ups at 5pm (home meets) or 5:30pm (away meets). Parking is often a challenge- be prepared to walk a good distance. Most meets, weather permitting, last until 10pm. Most 5-6yr old swimmers are done with their events by 8ish. If your child can swim breaststroke or butterfly, you will be there until the bitter end unless you tell the coach you need to leave by a specific time.
9. RSVP!!!- Each meet you will HAVE to declare your swimmer as ATTENDING or NOT ATTENDING on the website. If you do not do this, your child will NOT be added to any events. If there is a last minute change, please call, text or email Lisa Perreca.
10. Trust the coaches- they may put your child in an event they are scared to do. The coach will put them in events they know they can do well in! Swimmers under 8 are not disqualified or "DQ'd" until the 3rd meet unless it is for a safety violation (diving in a no-diving area).
11. Ribbons- Every swimmer gets a ribbon for all heats unless they are disqualified or "DQ'd." We have a parent volunteer that will have these ribbons ready during "Wacky Wet Wednesday" practice time. There are times the ribbons may not be ready at the start of practice, but swimmers will always get their ribbons.
12. Volunteering- All families are expected to volunteer for 6 halves or 3 whole meets. Descriptions of Positions:
Alternate - placed in any position where needed; both halves or Wednesday morning cleanup
Announcer - utilizes speaker system to announce each event; sits beside pool under tent with starter
Clean-up- home meets; clean up deck and clubhouse after end of meet and next morning during "Wacky Wet Wednesday"
Computer- sit at computer in clubhouse and insert swim time information for meet and scoring - training required; must work whole meet
Concessions- help set-up, prepare and sell food, and clean-up
Display Signs for Meet - Gather directional signs and parking signs to display in neighborhood prior to swim meet Tuesday morning and pick up signs Wednesday morning to return to pool house
Event Board- flip numbers of events during meet (must pay attention)
Lane Manager- keep track of swimmers in a lane, line up and assist younger swimmers when to get ready and jump in to start race
Place Judge- watch the end of each race and assign 1st, 2nd, 3rd, etc. positions
Relay Line-up- assist with lining up 5yr-10yr old swimmers for relays
Runners- collect time sheets from home lanes only and return to computer volunteer to input
Starter- press the air horn for the start at each race
Timers- use stopwatch to time each event, write down time on time sheet and give to runners to take to computer volunteer
Traffic Assistant- direct traffic for home meets; MUST BE AT BACK POOL at working by 4:30pm! Do not be late!!
Trash- check on trash cans during meet and empty as needed throughout entire meet
Volunteer Check In - MUST arrive between 415-430 in order to organize paperwork, materials and check in volunteers for swim meet; must ensure 2nd half volunteers have replaced 1st half; offer volunteers water each half of swim meet
IF you cannot help with any of these, please contact Larisa Rosenberg [email protected] and see how else you can help out the team.
Swim Team takes a LOT of volunteers to run smoothly!
