What to take

Before the Meet Starts

Arrive at the pool ten to fifteen minutes early prior to warm up!  

• In addition to the meet information, the coaching staff will announce what time swimmers should be on deck, ready for warm-up.  
• Swimmers need to be at the site beforehand so they can change, stretch, and find the team area.  
• Once there, swimmers need to prepare to enter the water.  
• Goggles and caps should be located and put on in preparation for the team warm-up.  
• The staff cannot emphasize enough how important warm-up is to the swimmers.  Without proper warm-up, the swimmers will not perform as well and, more importantly, risk serious injury to muscles.  

From this point on, the coaches will take care of your swimmer.  No parents are allowed on deck for any reason.  The officials running the meet will escort you from the deck.  Teams can be fined if parents are on deck.  Only licensed coaches and officials can join the meet volunteers on deck.  Any questions parents may have about meet results, officiating, or how the meet runs should be addressed to the coaching staff when they are not busy with the swimmers and should occur off deck.

When the Meet Starts…

The meet will usually start about 10-15 minutes after warm-up.  The order of events will be listed in a program, for sale by the hosting team.  

• The program lists all swimmers and their “seed time”, or entry time.  
• Swimmers are placed in “heats" based on their seed time.  Heats are groups of swimmers racing together at one time.  For example, 30 swimmers in a 6-lane pool would make up 5 heats of 6 swimmers each.  Most events are seeded slowest to fastest. 

During the meet, the coaches will guide the swimmers.  They will make sure the swimmers know what, where, and when they are swimming. 

After each swim, the swimmer should report back to the coach.  The coach will then offer constructive feedback of the swimmer’s race performance.  This feedback consists of three components:

• Positive comments or praise. 
• Suggestions for improvements.  
• Further instructions (such as cool down swims).

Between races, swimmers should stick close to the team area.  They may have time to eat or drink or visit with parents, but should check with a coach to be sure.  Any time the swimmers leave the pool deck they should tell a coach.  

Results and Awards

Results from events are posted somewhere in the facility, usually between the pool and the concession area.  These results list official times and places for each swimmer.  Awards are usually ready to pick up once the race results have been posted on the wall.  The last races may not be ready; in that case, coaches will take any remaining awards at the conclusion of the meet and hand them out to swimmers in swim practice..

Your meet registration sheet usually indicates what type (if any) of awards are handed out; most awards are given through 12 year olds.  Often 13 and above do not get ribbons or medals.  Awards are usually awarded through sixth or eighth place, depending on the number of lanes in the pool.  Certificates may be given if a swimmer advances to a new level with their time (i.e. a “C” time to a “B” time).

If Your Child Has a Disappointing Race…

If your child has a poor race and feels badly, talk about the positives.  There is always something good to say about a race!  There is nothing wrong with the swimmer acknowledging a poor race; they should know when they did not perform well.  Many times, swimmers learn much more from a poor race than a quality one.  That’s part of swimming and part of learning life-skills.  Be positive, though, and let the coach handle the negative aspects.  The parent’s role is to be supportive, no matter what.  If your swimmer is disqualified, do not criticize; be supportive.  For swimmers, a disqualification (DQ) should be a learning experience, not a punishment.  A DQ alerts the swimmer and coach to what aspect of a stroke needs work.  A DQ is much like an incorrect answer in school; it points out what the swimmer must improve on or may not understand.

Disqualifications are needed to keep the sport fair and equitable.  Proper treatment of DQs by parents, swimmers, coaches, and officials will keep a DQ’ed swimmer’s experience positive.

(Very) Basic Competition/Swimming Rules

The following are the most common reasons for DQs:

·         False starts are not allowed.  Any movement before the starting signal can result in disqualification (DQ).  

·         Freestyle turns and finishes are legal as long as the swimmer touches the wall.  

·          Breaststroke and butterfly turns and finishes must be conducted with a two-handed, simultaneous touch. 

·                      Backstroke turns must be initiated on the final stroke and completed before that stroke ends.  Any gliding on the stomach is grounds for a DQ.  The finish must be completed on the back with some part of the body above the surface.  

·          When swimming breast and fly, both arms and legs must move simultaneously.

Championship Meets

One of our team goals is to qualify as many swimmers as possible for the State Championship meet.  The Championship meets are a special experience and extremely important in the athletes’ development.  Swimmers quickly learn that they typically swim faster at Championship meets.  The adrenaline pumps faster, and the excitement is more intense.  The privilege of swimming at these meets is earned through dedicated, hard work.  There is a big difference between “wanting” to go, and “deserving” to go.

To make the most of a State meet, swimmers must be properly prepared.  Swimmers:

·                     Need a minimum of 12 weeks of solid training before the meet.  This is a minimum requirement, provided the swimmer attends practices regularly.

·                     Must attend meets to have the race experience necessary to excel.  Racing is different than training, and races must be practiced under race conditions.  There is no substitute for experience.

The State Championship meet is not the ultimate goal, however.  It is a seasonal goal that leads to higher goals, such as Zones or Sectionals.  Making a qualifying time is merely earning the right to participate.  While participating is the first step, the goal is to be prepared to swim as fast as possible at the highest level possible.

The coaching staff rewards swimmers who make the commitment to preparation by selecting them for relay spots.  This means that the four fastest swimmers are not always the ones who swim on relays.  Coaches will inform swimmers of the criteria needed to make a relay team.