How Does a Swim Meet work?

• In a typical Dual Meet, two teams come together to swim against one another, with the winner being determined by an overall point total.
• A meet is divided into 76 events, or individual races. 
  • An “event” at a swim meet consists of a gender, stroke and a distance. 
    • For example, the girls 6 & U 25-yard freestyle, the 7-8 boys 25-yard freestyle, the 11-12 boys 50-yard freestyle, and the 13-14 girls 50-yard butterfly are four separate events. 
  • The age groups are 6 & U, 7-8, 9-10, 11-12, 13-14, and 15-18.
  • A 25-yard race is one length of the pool, and a 50-yard race is 2 lengths. 
  • Since there are usually more swimmers entered in each event than there are lanes, there may be several races, or “heats”, in each event.
  • Freestyle Relay: Four swimmers each swim freestyle. 
    • However, the distance per relay participant differs by age group.
  • Medley Relay: Four swimmers participate, each of whom swims a different stroke.
    • The first swimmer swims Backstroke (BA), the second Breaststroke (BR), the third Butterfly (FL), and the fourth Freestyle (FR). 
      • An easy way to remember this is: BA, BR, FL, FR are in alphabetical order.
  • 100 IM (individual medley) is an event in which ONE swimmer swims four different strokes: 25 yards of butterfly, 25 yards of backstroke, 25 yards of breaststroke and 25 yards of freestyle, in this order.


• Swimming is both an individual and a team sport. 
  • Each swimmer should strive to better their personal times from previous meets. 
  • They should also cheer and encourage their teammates because the team score is determined by total number of points, NOT by how many firsts a team wins.

What are the volunteer requirements?

• Each family is required to volunteer for four meet jobs (points) throughout the season. 
• You can spread your jobs out in any way you choose, although most people do one job per meet. 
• Please see the Meet Volunteer Job Descriptions tab for an explanation of each job.

What time should I be at the swim meets with my swimmer?

• Swimmers should arrive by 4:30 with their sunscreen on and events marked on their arms (see below) ready to swim. 
• For home meets, our warm up starts at 4:45 so it is important to be on time and ready to go when you arrive.

When will I find out what events my child is swimming?

• The weekend before each dual meet, Coach Katie creates the line-up which has to be turned in on Monday mid-day to the other team. 
• Event assignments are usually available by Monday night or Tuesday morning practice, and will also be emailed out and uploaded to SwimTopia. 
  • Each athlete (and their grown-ups) should check their event/heat/lane assignments listed on the heat sheets and event lists emailed out/find them posted in the Breezeway at the pool (this is what you will write on their arm in Sharpie, see below for photo).

How do I read the heat sheet?

• Find your child's information sorted by name. Refer to the example below on how to interpret the swim-speak.
  • EXAMPLE:
    • Swimmer, Jane -- Female -- Age: 7 -- Ind/Rel: 2 / 2
      • #3 Girls 8&U 100 Medley Relay (2) 1/2
      • #25 Girls 8&U 25 Free 3/4 NT
      • #37 Girls 8&U 25 Back 2/5 25.62
      • #67 Girls 8&U 100 Free Relay (1) 1/4
        • The first line contains the swimmer’s name and age as well as how many individual and relay events that child is entered to swim in the upcoming meet.
        • The # indicates the event followed by a written description of the event. 
          • In the example above, the swimmer is entered in event #3, which is the Girls 8&U 100 Medley Relay.
        • The numbers that look like fractions (e.g. “1/4”) after the event names indicate the Heat / Lane that your child will be swimming. 
          • In the example, the swimmer will be in Heat 1 and Lane 4 for event #67.
        • The time to the right of the event is a swimmer’s recorded personal best time for this event. NT stands for No Time, meaning that the swimmer does not have an official time for the stroke/distance
          • For relays, the number in parenthesis “(#)” indicates the leg on the relay your child is swimming.
            • In a Medley Relay, the order of the strokes are (1) Back, (2) Breast, (3) Fly, (4) Free. 
              • In this above example, “#3 Girls 8&U 100 Medley Relay (2) 1/2″, the (2) indicates that this swimmer will swim BREASTSTROKE in the SECOND leg of the relay.
            • In a Free Relay, all legs of the relay are freestyle.
              • In the above example, #67 Girls 8&U 100 Free Relay (1) 1/4, the (1) indicates that this swimmer will swim FREESTYLE in the FIRST leg of the relay.

What do you mean, "Write on my swimmer?"

• Before the meet, mark your child’s name and age group on their back using a dark-colored Sharpie pen. 
  • This really helps our volunteers get kids into the right place at the right time; see example below: Molly, 8 & Under
    • (Sharpie DOES come off if rubbed with rubbing alcohol or acetone! Your swimmer won’t be tattooed, don’t worry!)

• If possible (if you are familiar with swim meets), please also write your child’s events/heats/lanes on his/her arm. 
  • This helps your child keep track of their events and also coaches and volunteers know how to direct them; see example below.
    • The first column is “E” for EVENT
    • The second column is “H” for HEAT
      • For example, if there are 24 kids swimming the 50 Free in an 8-lane pool, then there will be 3 heats.
    • The third column is “L” for LANE
      • Some people like to add a fourth column, "S" for STROKE, which is helpful for younger swimmers and those in a medley relay.

What is the difference between the IM and the Medley Relay?

• IM stands for Individual Medley. 
  • It is always swum in the following order: butterfly, backstroke, breaststroke, and freestyle.
• The Medley Relay consists of the same strokes, but the order is different. 
  • The Medley relay order is backstroke, breaststroke, butterfly, freestyle. 
    • Note that BA, BR, FL, FR is in alphabetical order.

How will my swimmer know when to report for his/her race?

• Swimmers generally report to the area behind the blocks (younger swimmers who sit in the bullpen will be taken by their age group parent) between 5-10 races prior to the start of their race. 
  • Parents and swimmers will need to pay attention to where we are in the meet to know when to report. 
• There is an age group parent volunteer for 6 & U, 7-8, and 9-10 year old swimmers to assist in getting them to the blocks in an efficient manner. 
  • Look for the brightly colored "Age Group Parent" signs during the meet if you need help knowing when to send your swimmer.

When will my child get official results/times from the meet?

• Each swimmer receives a ribbon for each event they participate in (as long as they finish and aren’t disqualified). 
  • The ribbons have a sticker on the back listing the official time results. 
• Ribbons are usually distributed at the Donuts and Ribbons celebration generally held each Wednesday morning from 10 – 11 am the morning after meets, or at the Wednesday afternoon practice for those who don't attend morning practice. 

Are all the pool areas open during the swim meet?

• The baby pool, playground, volleyball pit, and basketball court are all closed during meets.

What should I bring to a meet?

• Chairs (pool lounge chairs will be put away for the meet and there are only a limited number of Adirondack chairs)
• Tents (optional, but many choose to sit in the grassy area under a tent)
• WATER
• Any supplies your swimmer needs (goggles, towels, etc.)

Where do we sit (Home Meets)?

• Parents generally sit either in the Adirondack chairs or on the grass.
• Swimmers age 10 & Under will sit in the Nottaway Bullpen, which will be on the Basketball Court. 
  • A swimmer must specifically ask Coach Katie if they need to sit elsewhere, as our volunteers lining up our athletes will be looking for them in the bullpen and we need to know where everyone is; remaining in the bullpen is the expectation!
• Swimmers age 11 & Up may sit with their family or friends, but are responsible for getting themselves to the blocks in time for their events. 
  • Missing an event is unacceptable and will result in the swimmer being asked to sit in the bullpen for the remainder of the season.