Swim Meet 101

The following is an introductory guide to swim meets.  Please reach out to coaching staff with any additional questions.

Seasons

  • Short Course Season begins in August and ends with an Age Group SCY Championship Meet (States) at the end of February, as well as a Junior Age Group SCY Championship Meet (JAGS) in March.
  • Long Course Season begins in April and ends with an Age Group LCM Championship Meet (States) in July.

Meets/Events

  • Meets that PAQ will participate in are posted on SportsEngine Motion (SportsEngine), formerly known as Team Unify. Meet notices with detailed information, including location, warm-up times, qualifications, bonus events, session(s), schedule, and events are posted to SportsEngine as soon as they become available from the host.  Posting times may vary.
  • Other more competitive meets for swimmers achieving zone and faster times are held on the mainland at various locations.
  • Typical Meets:
    • ABC Meets are for swimmers with no times or who have achieved “A”, “B”, or “C times. Swimmers with invitational times or higher are typically ineligible to swim at ABC Meets.  Meets are usually 4 hours long.
    • A+ Meets are for swimmers that have achieved “A” times and higher and are typically 1 day long with morning and afternoon sessions that are each 4 hours long.
    • Invitational Meets are for swimmers who have achieved invitational times and higher and are typically 2 days long with morning and afternoon sessions on each day that are each 4 hours long.
    • Distance Meets have longer distance events only and both age and time requirements. Meets are usually 4 hours long.
    • State Championship Meets also referred to as States or Age Group Championship Meets are held at the end of each season and are for the best swimmers in each age group within the state who have achieved championship times. States is typically 4 days long and JAGS 2 days long.  Locations vary each year but are usually held at the Veterans Memorial Aquatic Center (VMAC) on Oahu, Kona Community Aquatic Center on the Big Island, or Kihei Aquatic Center on Maui.

Entering Meets

  • Swimmers must have qualifying times to enter a meet and commit/declare (click “attend/decline” on the website or “RSVP” on the app) on SportsEngine before the deadline.
  • Coaching staff decide which meets a swimmer attends and the events they compete in.
  • A final entry report which lists the event(s) a swimmer will be racing is typically posted on SportsEngine 2-3 days before the meet.
  • If a swimmer that has committed to attend a meet and is eligible to participate in a meet is unable to attend and unable to change their commitment status to decline attendance on SportsEngine because the registration deadline has passed, families must immediately notify the coaching staff. PAQ incurs fees for registered swimmers that “no show” at a meet.

Qualifying Time Standards

  • Meets have different qualifying age and time standards.
  • Time standards can be found on SportsEngine and on the PAQ website. Find your swimmer’s age group and gender and the minimum B, A, Invitational, Championship and Zone times will be listed.

Travel Meets:

  • Travel Meets typically have qualifying standards.
  • A minimum number of registered swimmers may be required for PAQ to attend a Travel Meet.
  • Traveling swimmers may be assessed an additional fee to help pay for the travel expenses of coaches.
  • More information will be provided by coaching staff before the Travel Meet. Please reach out to coaching staff with specific questions.

Parent Volunteers/Donations

  • Meets are run solely by volunteers. All families are expected to volunteer at meets as timers or marshals or assist with tent transportation.  Announcements and signups for volunteers are typically posted on Sports Engine 2-3 days before the meet.  Early signup is appreciated.
  • Timers 2 timers are typically assigned to each lane. One timer has a manual stopwatch and a button.  The second timer records swimmer times on the provided clipboard and lane timer sheets and has a second manual stopwatch.  No prior experience is necessary, however, first-time timers are encouraged to arrive early to receive instructions.  (Three timers with stopwatches per lane may be required if manual timing is needed.)
  • Marshalls: enforce the warm-up procedures and maintain order in the swimming venue.
  • Tent Transportation: Pop-up tents (qty 2-3), buckets, and ropes are stored at the pool. Arrangements will need to be made with security to pickup and drop off tents, buckets, and ropes. 
  • Donations (drinks and snacks) for meets or club events may be requested of families.

What To Bring

  • Swimsuit
  • PAQ team swim cap
  • Goggles
  • Sunscreen
  • Warm clothing (swim parka, sweatshirt, sweatpants, etc.)
  • 1-2 dry towels
  • Water Bottle
  • Healthy snacks (food vendors may not have healthy options).
  • Chair or Blanket to sit on
  • Sharpie to write events, heats, and lane assignments on arm

Expectations

  • Swimmers must arrive 15 minutes before warmup time.
  • Check in with your coach before and after you race (or the coach assigned to your group).
  • PAQ typically has 2-3 team tents at each meet. Swimmers sit together under the team tents.
  • Families and other spectators usually sit separately from swimmers.
  • Swimmers are responsible for showing up to their events 

During the Meet

  • Pay attention to the meet timeline and event and heat numbers to anticipate the next race.
  • Swimmers check-in with their coach before and after each race.
  • Swimmers check-out with their coach before leaving a meet session.

Meet Results

  • Meet results are usually posted at the meet.
  • Meet results are also posted to hawaiiswim.org.
  • Meet Mobile (a paid app) also reports results for most meets.
  • Results for individual swimmers will get posted to SportsEngine, but posting times may vary.

Team Apparel

  • Orders for team apparel are placed several times a year. Coaches will notify you of upcoming opportunities to place an order.