Swim Meet 101
Dual Meet Organization
A swim meet consists of 70 events, each of which may have several heats depending on the number of swimmers. The four individual strokes are freestyle, backstroke, breaststroke, and butterfly. For these events, 8 & Unders and 9-10s swim 25M (one length of the pool) while 11-12s, 13-14s and 15-18s swim 50M (two lengths of the pool). The individual medley (IM) is a combination of these strokes consisting of one length of each stroke in the following order: butterfly, backstroke, breaststroke, freestyle. There are also two sets of relay events for each age group – freestyle and medley. The freestyle relay consists of four different swimmers in the same age group all swimming freestyle. The medley relay consists of four different swimmers in the same age group each swimming different strokes in the following order: backstroke, breaststroke, butterfly, freestyle.
Swimmers who are 6 & Under (Shrimpers) can participate in the 25M freestyle events that start off each meet. Shrimpers must be able to swim one length of the pool unassisted. The results of this race are not added to the team score.
Swimmers may swim a maximum of 3 individual events and 2 relays per meet.
Ribbons will be awarded in all individual events to the First through Fourth place finishers. Ribbons will be awarded in all relay events to the First and Second place finishers. Additional ribbons include Heat ribbons for the heat winners in 6&U, 8&U, and 9-10 individual events and Participation ribbons for all 6 &U freestyle swimmers.
Meets typically last about 3 hours.
Time Trials
The first event of the season is called Time Trials. It is run like a dual meet but without an opponent. Every swimmer is expected to swim all strokes to the best of their ability, except the Shrimpers, who will swim only freestyle. The Time Trials is not a scored event. It gives the coaches a baseline for each swimmer’s ability and helps identify areas for improvement. It also provides swimmers with a benchmark time to improve upon throughout the season.
All-Star Meet
A Division All-Star Championship meet will take place against all other teams in the division. The 2025 Division IV All-Star meet will be held on Saturday, June 28th at 1:00 pm. This year it will be held at MCAC in uptown.
Each team is limited to two eligible swimmers in each individual event and one eligible relay team in each relay event. Two eligible alternate swimmers are allowed for each event and will be listed as such on the general entry sheets. Swimmers will be chosen for the All-Star meet based on their event performance during the season, as well as their attendance record at practice and meets.
Disqualifications
Disqualifications are part of competitive swimming. If a swimmer swims with illegal stroke technique during a meet, that swimmer will be disqualified (DQ’d) by the Stroke & Turn judge. This is part of the learning process for young swimmers and is in no way a measure of a swimmer’s potential. If a swimmer is disqualified, no points will be awarded for that event. It is the role of the coach to inform the swimmer of the DQ and work with them to correct their technique. Generally, as swimmers get older, the more strictly they are judged.
Swimmer Guidelines
Swimmers are expected to arrive 1 hour before meet start time to get settled and participate in the team warm-up. All swimmers are expected to stay in the designated team area for the entire meet, except for their events. This is necessary so swimmers can be easily located! Swimmers are not allowed to leave a meet without checking in with a coach first to confirm that they are not needed for a relay event. When a swimmer misses a relay that he is scheduled for, it ruins the events for three other swimmers and causes confusion for officials.
Spectator Guidelines
Spectators must stay in designated areas. The area behind timers, as well as the clerk of course, must be kept clear so that coaches, officials and swimmers can stay organized. The call for quiet before each race must be observed so the Starter can start each race easily and fairly. Please cheer for your team, your children and friends – just do it at the right time and place! Please turn off your cell phones in the pool area to avoid accidentally disrupting a start.
Volunteers & Parent Participation
A swim team cannot exist without parental involvement. Volunteers are required for every meet, both home and away. All parents are required to earn at least two volunteer points during the season.
Eat Our Bubbles!
