1.  What are Minnesota Swimming's Time Standards, and where can I find them?

  • Time standards are a set of times set by Minnesota Swimming. They are in place to encourage swimmers to step their swimming up to the next level and to also allow swimmers to compete against swimmers of similar ability. This makes races and competitions more fair and equal in terms of times and who swims against who.   Minnesota uses a set of times labeled C, B, A, Champ and Zone times.  Each is a new level of achievement; starting with C and ending with Zone.  You can find a complete list of all the times at Minnesota Swimmings website.

2.  What is a disqualification, and what are some examples of how it could happen?

  • The technical rules of swimming are designed to provide fair and equitable conditions of competition and to promote uniformity in the sport. Each swimming stroke has specific rules designed to ensure that no swimmer gets an unfair competitive advantage over another swimmer.
  • Trained officials observe the swimmers during each event to ensure compliance with these technical rules. If a swimmer commits an infraction of the rules that is observed by an official, a disqualification (DQ) will result. This means that the swimmer will not receive an official time and will not be eligible for an award in that event. A disqualification may result from actions such as not getting to the starting blocks on time, false starting, performing strokes in an illegal manner, or unsportsman-­like conduct. 

DQs are also a result of technical rules violations. They include but are not limited to:

  • Freestyle: Walking on the bottom, pulling on the lane rope, not touching the wall on a turn, or not completing the distance.
  • Backstroke: Pulling or kicking into the wall once a swimmer has turned passed the vertical onto the breast. Turning onto the breast before touching the wall with the hand at the finish of the race.
  • Breaststroke: An illegal kick such as flutter (freestyle), dolphin (butterfly), or scissors (side stroke); not on the breast; alternating movements of the arms; taking two arm strokes or two leg kicks while the head is under water; touching with only one hand at the turns or finish. 
  • Butterfly: Alternating movements of the arms or legs; pushing the arms forward under instead of over the water surface (underwater recovery); a breaststroke style of kick; touching with only one hand at the turns or finish.


3.  What type of swim meets are there, and in which ones can my child participate?

  • Minnesota swimming has many types of meets.  Each is designed to meet the needs of different levels of swimmers.  Here are a few of the types of meets and what level of swimmer should attend.
  • "ABC Open Meet"  This meet is open to all of our swimmers, youngest to oldest, beginners to the most skilled.
  • "BC Open Meet"  This meet is open to all swimmers with times no faster then a B times. 
  • "A Meet"  This meet is for those swimmers who have achieved an A time.  You must at least meet this standard in any event that you swim.
  • "C Finals"  This is a championship meet for those swimmers who have achieved a C time and no faster.
  • "A/B Finals"  This meet is a championship meet for those swimmers who have achieved at least a B but not faster than an A time.
  • "State Meet"  This is a championship meet for all of those swimmers who have achieved a state (Champ) qualifying time.  This is one of the largest meets in Minnesota every year.
  • "Zone Meet"  This is a summer championship meet that requires a swimmer to have achieved a Zone time standard.  It is swum long course and usually out-of-state.  This meet takes teams composed of swimmers from all over different states and has them compete against each other as representatives of their state.

4.  What is the Swims Database?

  • The Swims Database is USA Swimmings list of all a swimmers times from USA Swimming Meets.  

5.  How do I register my child for a swim meet?

  • Log-on to our website.  Click on the "Meets" tab on the top of our website.  Scroll down to the meet you wish your child to attend, and click on the "Attend this Event" button.  Choose the name of the child you wish to register, and click on it.  You will see a tab that ask for Yes or No to attend this event; choose yes.  You can then choose you child's events below or write a note asking for the coach to do so.

6.  What does it mean if my child's time is black, red or a NT when I register for a swim meet?

  • If you child's time shows up as black, he/she is able to swim that event at this meet.  If you child's time shows up as red, he/she is unable to swim that event at that meet either due to being too fast or too slow.  If the time shows up as a NT, that means he/she does not have a time in that event or a recorded time in our system.

7.  How do I view my times or my child's times on our website?

  • Click on "My Account" and then "My Meet Results".   Select "My Results" and modify the search as you wish.  Hit the "Search" button when you are ready.  You should see all of your times or your child's times.

8.  Are we required to attend both days of a swim meet?

  • Most of the meets that we attend are two days, Saturday and Sunday.  They are broken up as younger kids swimming in the morning and older kids swimming in the afternoons.  The morning sessions are no longer than 5 hours including warm ups.  You are not required to attend both days of the swim meet.  Families can pick one day that works better or one day that has more events a child would like to participate in. 
 

BEFORE THE START OF THE SWIM MEET

1. Arrive at the pool at least 15 minutes before the scheduled warm-up time begins. If your child needs a bit more time to get ready to get in the water, please take this into account and plan accordingly. Some meets have lots of teams, and swimmers competing and warm-ups can be chaotic and crowded.  The more time your child has to warm up the better their swims will be. This time will be listed in the meet information handed out to all swimmers, emailed by Coach Chris or Coach Ali, as well as posted on the website.
 
2. Upon arrival, find a place to put your swimmer's blankets, swim bags and/or sleeping bags. The team usually sits in one place together, so look for some familiar faces. Some meets there is an area set aside in a gymnasium or cafeteria like area, other pools have enough deck/bleacher space for the swimmers gear to stay on deck with them.   Look for the Winona Wizards banner.
 
3. Once your swimmer has checked in/found the coaches and found a place for his or her gear.  Swimmers can choose to write or have  each event-number on his or her hand/arm in ink. This helps him/her remember what events he/she is swimming and what event number to listen or watch for.  Coaches will also make sure swimmers are up at the blocks before their event and ready to swim.  Writing the event number is not necessary for swimmers if they/or the parent wish to not have writing on them.
 
4. Your  swimmer now gets his/her cap and goggles and reports to the pool and/or coach for warm-up instructions. It is very important for all swimmers to warm-up with the team. A swimmer's body is just like a car on a cold day-he/she needs to get the engine going and warmed-up before he/she can go all out.
 
5. After warm-up, your swimmer will go back to the area where his/her team is sitting and wait there until his first event is called. This is a good time to make sure he/she goes to the bathroom if necessary, gets a drink, or just gets settled in.
 
6. According to USA Swimming rules (because of insurance purposes), parents are not allowed on deck unless they are serving in an official capacity. Similarly, all questions concerning meet results, an officiating call, or the conduct of a meet, should be referred to a coach. He or she in turn, will pursue the matter through the proper channels.
 
7. Psyche Sheet or Heat Sheets. A psyche sheet/program as they are often called is usually available for sale in the lobby or concession area of the pool. It lists all swimmers in each event in order of "seed time". When the team entry is sent in, each swimmer and his/her previous best time (up to the date that the entry was submitted) in that event is listed. If the swimmer is swimming an event for the first time, he/she will be entered as a "no-time" or "NT". A "no-time" swimmer will most likely swim in one of the first heats of the event. A Heat sheet may be available close to the start of the meet that lists the actual heat and lane a swimmer will be competing in.

DURING THE MEET

1. It is important for any swimmer to know what event numbers he/she is swimming. He/she may swim right away after warm-up or they may have to wait awhile. Coach Chris and Coach Ali will be there helping swimmers get to the correct lane and for the correct heat of their events.
 
2. Most meets are computerized. There are generally two ways a swimmer gets to his/her lane:
  • A swimmer usually reports directly to his/her lane for competition a number of heats before he/she actually swims. Check with your swimmer's coach for specific instructions.
  • At many meets, the timers of each lane (usually parents of the host swim team) will double and triple check names of swimmers to ensure they are in the correct order.  Coaches will also take any swimmer to their correct lane and make sure they are in the correct lane, order of heats and prepared for their event. 
  • In some novice meets, a swimmer's event number will be called, usually over the loudspeaker, and he/she will be asked to report to the "clerk of course" or “bullpen”. Swimmers should report with his/her cap and goggle.
  • Generally, girls events are odd-numbered and boys events are even-numbered. Example: "Event #26, 10-Under Boys, 50 freestyle, report to Clerk of Course." The "Clerk of Course" or “bullpen” area is usually where all swimmers checked in before the warm-up.
  • The clerk will usually line up all the swimmers and take them down to the pool in correct order. You can expect at least 4-8 heats of each event.
3. The swimmer swims his or her race
4. After each swim:
  • He/she is to ask the timers (people behind the blocks at each lane) his/her time, if he/she chooses.  The swimmer can also look at the score board to see the official time from the electronic system. 
  • Depending on the coaches instructions, the swimmer may be asked to do some recovery swimming if a "warm down" pool or lanes are available.
  • The swimmer should then go immediately to his or her coach. The coach will discuss the swim with each swimmer. Some coaches may wish to talk with the swimmer before her recovery swim.
5. Generally, the coach follows these guidelines when discussing swims:
  • Positive comments or praise
  • Suggestions for improvement
  • Positive comments
6. Things you, as a parent, can do after each swim:
  • Tell him/her how great he did! The coaching staff will be sure to discuss stroke technique with him. You need to tell him/her how proud you are and what a great job he/she did.
  • Take him/her back to the team area and relax.
  • This is another good time to check out the bathrooms, get a drink or something light to eat.
7. The swimmer now waits until his/her next event is called and starts the procedure again. When a swimmer has completed all of her events she/he and her/his parents get to go home. Make sure, however, you, as a parent, check with the coach before leaving to make sure your swimmer is not included on a relay. It is not fair to other swimmers who may have stayed to swim on a relay where your swimmer is expected to be a member and she/he is not there.
 
8. Results are usually posted somewhere in the facility. Awards are often gathered for a team and given to the coach at the end of the meet. The coach will give the awards to the swimmers at a later time.