Meet Schedule
2024 Long Course Schedule: click HERE
Information About Meets
What to Bring to a Swim Meet: click HERE
Most meets take place on weekends and typically last 1-3 days. Meets are usually divided into two sessions per day, with specific age groups participating in each session. We will occasionaly host intra-squad meets for new swimmers to practice. In those practice/fun meets the times achieved will not be official times.
The current Ransom Everglades Aquatic Club meet schedule is posted above. Please take note of the meets indicated for your child's swim group. During meets, we encourage our athletes to focus on specific performance goals. All the meets we host/attend are sanctioned by USA Swimming, which ensures that consistent standards for meet conduct, officiating and safety are observed. Any athlete who swims in a meet must be an active member of USA Swimming.
- Some meets are open to all swimmers while others require specific time standards to enter.
- At a timed final meet, each athlete swims his/her race(s) once, with places determined by times.
- In a prelims/finals meet, all athletes compete during prelims. Those qualifying for finals (usually the Top 8 or Top 16 athletes) swim again in the finals session.
- The performance in finals determines places and points.
- Swimmers who qualify for finals but fail to show up are usually barred from participating in the rest of the meet (per USA Swimming Rules).
- Swimmers should never leave a preliminary session without knowing whether they are finalists or alternates.
- The coaching staff encourages swimmers to attend meets. Coaches will recommend meets that will provide a positive yet challenging experience for individual athletes. Although parents/swimmers may select events to enter, the coaches will have the final say on race entry.
- The short course yards (SCY) season runs from September through March. All meets take place in 25-yard pools.
- The long course meters (LCM) season runs from April through August. Most of these meets take place in 50-meter pools.
- Both seasons culminate in state championship meets.
- All swimmers are expected to participate in championship meets for which they qualify and as well as practices leading up to those meets.
- For higher-level Championship meets, there are time standards that must be met.
- For the lower-level championship meets, there are no time standards.
- Please do not encourage your child to chase a time standard; focus on times takes away the primary purpose of executing to the best of their ablities...which then results in lower performance
- All swimmers are expected to participate in championship meets for which they qualify and as well as practices leading up to those meets.
Signing up for Meets
- Once available, meet information and signup is posted on the Events Page of our website. A Meet Invitation/Information packet explains the rules of a meet (including entry limits) and events offered, so it should be reviewed carefully before selecting events. To enter a meet, log in and then click on "Edit Commitment" for a particular meet.
- Meet entry fees are automatically calculated and will be billed, typically, the week following the meet. The meet entry fee includes a per-event charge (listed in the Meet Invite), FGC Splash fee, and club processing fee (currently $10/meet for each athlete). The club processing fee covers relay fees and meet-associated coaching costs. Some meets also charge a facility fee. If you enter after the meet deadline, late entry fees apply and are usually double the listed "per event" rate.
- Ransom Everglades Aquatic Club occasionally offers team trips for 13-and-over swimmers. The team trip fee covers transportation and lodging and is not part of the meet entry fee.
Team Procedures at Swim Meets
Before the Meet
- Please arrive at the pool at least 15 minutes before the scheduled warm-up time and check in with a coach.
- Once you arrive, look for familiar faces since the team usually sits together in one area and under a tent.
- Heat Sheets will either be available ahead of time online or they will be forsale in hard copy form at the meet. These include heat/lane assignments for each event as well as seed times. You can also purchase an app called Meet Mobile which will typically have results. Meet Mobile results are Unofficial.
- Using a heat sheet, verify the events your athletes will be swimming. Some younger swimmers get their events and heats written on their hand so they can remember. This helps!
- Swimmers should collect their cap and goggles and report to the coach for warm-up. A swimmer's body is just like a car on a cold day - warming up the engine is required for optimal performance!
- After warm-ups are over, swimmers need to prepare for the meet. This is a great time for them to use the restroom and/or get a drink.
- Parents are not allowed on the pool deck unless they are serving in an official capacity, per USA Swimming Rules reagrding Child Abuse Prevention.
During the Meet
- Swimmers should talk with a coach before each race, to review technique, strategy and race plans. Athletes should also visit with a coach immediately after each event, to review their swims.
- Once an event number is called (generally over the loudspeaker), swimmers report behind the blocks to their assigned lane. Remember to take a cap and goggles! Some meets will ask swimmers to report to the clerk of course rather than behind the blocks. The clerk of course then lines up all the swimmers and escorts them to the blocks.
- If you have questions about meet results, disqualifications, or meet conduct, please discuss them with one of our coaches. He/she will then investigate and clarify any issues.
After the Meet
- Once swimmers have completed all their individual and relay events, swimmers should check with the coaches before leaving.
