Swim Meet 101
Before the meet:
Declare attendance in Swimtopia by Sunday at noon. Email Coach Conor afterwards if plans change.
Parking: Please park on the tennis court side of the lot, leaving the other side for the visiting team.
Where to Sit: at home meets, please sit on the side of the pool with the blocks or bring chairs and sit between the pool and the clubhouse (leaving the shallow end and far side of the pool for visiting families). Please do not sit at the tables by the pumphouse or anywhere on the shallow end side of the dive well--this space is for the visiting team. See diagram below.
Schedule:
5:00pm - Home team warm-ups
5:30pm - Away team warm-ups
5:00/5:30 - Volunteer check-in (5:00 for home meets)
5:45pm - Timers meeting
6:00pm - Meet starts
Order of Events:
Meets start with Medley Relays for the 7-8, 9-10, 11-12, 13-14 and 15-18 age groups.
Following the Medley Relays, all ages will swim the four competitive swimming strokes, freestyle, backstroke, breaststroke and butterfly, with the exception that 6 and under swimmers do not participate in butterfly. Some 6 and unders may only participate in freestyle.
The Freestyle Relays are at the end of the meet for the same age groups as the Medley Relays.
What to bring:
Team suit, cap, goggles, plenty of towels, water, snacks. Some nights are chilly and a jacket or sweatshirt is good to have on hand.
General Tips:
- We MUST have nearly 40 volunteers to run each meet. Each family is asked to volunteer for a minimum of 4 shifts throughout the season (yes, even parents of 6 and under swimmers!). You will be able to see your swimmer's events even if you volunteer. Use the meet sign up early to avoid being recruited on-deck.
- 10 and under swimmers have 'kid pushers' to help them line up for events. 11 and older swimmers are responsible for checking in behind the blocks on their own.
- Write younger children's name on their backs to help kid pushers and the Clerk of Course to know who's who.
- 6 and under swimmers only swim Freestyle, Backstroke and Breaststroke events. Coaches will enter swimmers only in events they are able to complete independently. We have kid catchers at the end of the 15 yards to help them get to the end of the pool but they must swim the 15 yards independently.
- Each pool generally has some food for sale at a snack bar or food truck. Look out for details in the email before the meet. For swimmers it's a good idea to pack dinner/ several healthy snacks.
- Volunteers typically are provided with water throughout the meet.
Important Rules:
- Only swimmers, timers, Clerk of Course, Kid Pushers and Runners should be behind the blocks. NO PHOTOS from behind the blocks.
- Swimmers remain in the water until all swimmers in their heat have finished the race.
- No recreational swimming or wading is allowed in any area of the pool during the meet.
- NO WV Swimmers on the playground.
- NO ALCOHOL is allowed on deck.
HOW TO TRACK YOUR EVENTS
Write down your event number(E), heat(H), and lane(L) as soon as you get your heat sheet. These are also available in the SwimTopia app under the meet. Some swimmers prefer to write them on their hand or arm with a waterproof marker, example below.
