Swim Meets

By its very name, the purpose of competitive swimming is to compete and that means attending swim meets! Individuals seeking membership in the EVOLUTION Aquatics should understand that we are a competitive team, not a recreational team. Swimmers should be willing to accept the responsibility of membership and participate in meets. For many new swimmers, taking the first step and going to their first competitive meet is a big undertaking. Our coaches understand this and are happy to share information about each meet and what meet’s may be good for beginners.

Short & Long Course Seasons

EVOLUTION Aquatics has 1 swim season it is a calendar year. The season begins around end of August and ending in the beginning of August. Each season is separated into two different “courses” Usually The fall and winter is is referred to as the short course season. During the short course season meets are recognized as “yard” events or 25 yards. There is also a long course (50 meters or Olympic sized pools) that usually begins in April and ends in early August. Meets during long course season are recognized as “meter” events. The EVOLUTION Aquatics “swim season” runs from September to August each year.

Meet Schedules

All EVOLUTION Aquatics swim meet schedules can be found on the Team Unify website under events. All meets are subject to change by the meet hosts. If a meet is cancelled by weather or the meet host meet fees will be refunded to your account.

Swim Meet Procedures

As a competitive swim team, we encourage all swimmers to attend swim meets and compete in events recommended by their coaches. Swim meets provide an opportunity for the swimmers to measure the progress of their training and practice. They are also a social time, which enables the swimmers to build friendships with fellow teammates.

Swimmer Events

Your swimmer’s will select the events that they will participate in. Coaches will approve events after they have been entered. Events may be added or removed, and this will be communicated to parents and swimmers by their coaches. The coaching plan, swimmer ability, coach-swimmer goals, and other factors will be considered as the events are being selected. Swimmers and parents/guardians are able to request events during the sign-up process, but the coaches make the final decision.

Newer swimmers will initially be placed in events that they will succeed in. As their skills build, they will be placed in more challenging events as determined by their coach.

Meet Fees

A meet entry fee (approximately $6.00) and event fees (approximately $3.00 per event) are required for entry in a swim meet. Meet fees for swim meets are the responsibility of the parent. The Meet Administrator will invoice the swimmer’s account and payments may be made along with the following month’s dues. Delinquent meet fees will result in a suspension in meet privileges until the swimmer’s account becomes current.

Upon passage of the meet sign up deadline, EVOLUTION AQUATICS submits all entries and meet fees to the meet host. Meet fees are non-refundable EVOLUTION AQUATICS once they have been submitted to the meet host. If a swimmer is unable to attend the meet (for any reason) after the submission of the entries and payment, the swimmer will still be responsible for payment of the meet fees. If EVOLUTION AQUATICS coaches or staff make an error in a swimmer’s entries, the team will be responsible for the subsequent erroneous fees.

Signing Up for a Swim Meets

Not all groups attend the same meets throughout the season so please check the Meet Schedule, and with your group coach to determine if a swim meet is appropriate for your swimmer’s level before you commit.

Please pay attention to the deadline and commit your swimmer through your Team Unify as early as possible! After committing, please select the event you swimmer would like to swim. The coaching staff will confirm these events and may select additional event based on what the coaches think the swimmers should be doing.

E-mail from Team

Each family will receive an e-mail from EVOLUTION AQUATICS approximately 4 weeks before each swim meet.  The e-mail will contain a link to the EVOLUTION AQUATICS website.

Click on the link to go to the EVENT SIGN UP page of the EVOLUTION AQUATICS website.

Team Unify Home Page Access

If signing up through the home page of the EVOLUTION AQUATICS website (instead of directly through the e-mail link), find the swim meet you would like to enter under EVENTS. It should be listed as a red heading. Click on the rectangular box beneath the heading “Attend this event.” ” Attend this event” will also take you to the EVENT SIGN UP page of the EVOLUTION AQUATICS website.

Commit to this Event

The EVENT SIGN UP page will bring up a chart with the swimmer(s)’ name(s) from your family. Click on the swimmer’s name in the left column. A commit to the event heading will appear for that swimmer. When accessing the pull-down bar, there will be a choice of “yes, please sign (name) up for this event” or “no, thanks (name) will not attend this event.” Please mark NO if you do not plan on attending, so that the coach knows that you have considered your attendance at the meet. If you mark YES, you will have a choice of session to attend. If the meet is held on Saturday and Sunday, you may select one or both days to attend.  Make sure to

 select the rectangular box on the bottom right corner that states “save changes” or your request will not be processed. The screen will change to show the athlete’s name, a box with a check mark, and “committed.”  You must repeat this process for each of the swimmers in your family.

Notes to the Coach

On the EVENT SIGN UP page, there is a rectangular box for notes. Although the coaches will select the events that your swimmer will participate in, you may place a request or suggestion to the coach in the notes section. Please note that your swimmer may not be able to participate in various events due to a minimum or maximum time requirement. The coach will ultimately determine if the event is appropriate for the swimmer.

Confirming your Events

EVOLUTION AQUATICS recommends that you return to the EVENT SIGN UP page to see which events your coach has selected for your swimmer. Do this as soon as possible after the meet closing date, which can be found on the meet form. If you find an error, please contact your coach immediately.

Important Swim Meet Information

Meet Information

Each swim meet will have a meet information sheet that will provide information such as location, date, time, directions, events, cost of events, etc.  Please consult this meet sheet prior to signing up.  It can be accessed through the EVOLUTION AQUATICS website, Events tab. This will take you to the Event page where you can select the meet and see a brief description. The meet sheet may be found under the Forms/Documents heading, as a .pdf document listed in red. Click on the .pdf heading and the meet sheet will open.

Meet Psych Sheet

Usually Meet host post a “psych sheet” to indicate entries received and ranking of the swimmers in each event before seeding. This is to catch any entry errors before seeding the meet. EVOLUTION will post the psych sheet when available. Swimmers and parent\s should check the psych sheet when posted and notify their coaches of any errors

Timeline for the Swim Meet

Some swim teams provide a timeline for the swim meet. The timeline will show the estimated time for each event, which will allow you to better plan your weekend. You may visit the same Forms/Document heading as for the meet sheet above, to see if a timeline is available. Do not use this timeline to determine your arrival time at the meet. Your swimmers’ coach will tell them when to arrive for warm-up.

Timing Assignments

When attending away meets, EVOLUTION swimmers and families may be asked to provide a timer for the time assigned to them by the Away Meet Coordinator. Timers must be at least 16 years of age. EVOLUTION AQUATICS will provide timing assignments based on the number of chairs required, the number of swimmers/families in attendance. In most cases, you will receive an e-mail on the Thursday or Friday prior to the meet letting you know your assignment(s).

Meet Heat Sheets

When arriving at a swim meet please obtain a heat sheet. The Heat sheet will tell you what event and order the events will run in. It will indicate which heat and lane your swimmer is swimming in for their events. If you notice any errors, please let your swimmers coach know and they will deal with it appropriately