Swim Meet 101

What to Expect

  • Swimmers will arrive 15 min before the start of warm-ups. PLEASE BE ON TIME.
    • We need to account for all swimmers and let the meet director know if there are any changes. We also select swimmers for relays based on attendance.
  • Swimmers should always notify the coach, or "check out," before they leave a meet.
  • Your swimmer will have the privilege of being coached by all of the dedicated coaches on our staff.
  • Parents/guardians play a crucial role in providing support, encouragement, and transportation to and from the meet venue.
    • 3 Pieces of the Pie: 1) Swimmer, Parent, Coach 2) Parent’s role is to support 3) Let the Coach coach
  • Expect a long event! Meets last up to 4 hours for 12 & Under sessions and possibly longer for 13 & Over swimmers--plan accordingly! Pre-meet emails contain a list of what to bring
  • Meets typically run Friday to Sunday broken up into different age group sessions, most typically 12&U in the AM and 13&O in the PM. Try to go all 3 days for the full experience!
  • Everyone plays a role at the meet:
    • Swimmers focus on racing hard and being good teammates
    • Coaches provide strategy, advice and feedback
    • Parents cheer and help support after good and tough races
  • Volunteers are often needed at meets as timers, don’t be afraid to help out and get a front row seat to the action!

Committing/Registering for a Meet

  1. Sign in to the MAC SportsEngine site (the one you're on right now!)
  2. Go to "Meets & Events"
  3. Select the event
  4. you wish to sign your swimmer up for
    1. Find the attached document labeled "Meet Info" or something similar. Be sure to check the event notes to be sure the meet is appropriate for your swimmer; the coaches leave notes for which meet is appropriate for each training group.
  5. Select "Edit Commitment"
  6. Choose "Yes, please sign up [Athlete Name] for this event" and then select the sessions your swimmer will attend.
    1. Alternatively, if you know your swimmer cannot attend a meet, please select "No, thanks, [Athlete Name] will NOT attend this meet."
    2. Be sure to leave notes for event preferences or any sessions your swimmer cannot attend.

One the most helpful things you can do at the beginning of the season is to commit or decline to all of the meets posted. If you are unsure of whether your swimmer will be available for a meet, it's advisable to still commit since it is much easier to take a swimmer out of a meet than add them in past any commitment deadlines. The coaches will choose appropriate events for your swimmers. Relays will be decided the week of the competition. If your swimmer has requests for particular events or days, you can add those in the note section.

After the commitment deadline has passed, the coaches will send out a Meet Entry Report--please check to make sure your swimmer is on this report. If you committed to the meet but your swimmer is not listed, please let their coach know as soon as possible. The entry report is sent a few days ahead of when meet entries open, giving the coaches a chance to make last minute corrections or additions.

Additional meet information will be sent out the week of the competition and will include an updated timeline, heat sheets, volunteer opportunities and helpful venue information. It is not unusual for host teams to send updated information out the day before a meet, so often the email will not be sent until the night before a meet. The coaches will regularly update the event information on SportsEngine with heat sheets, psych sheets, timelines, relay teams, and other pertinent information.

Here is a step-by-step instructional video to help parents navigate the swim meet registration process. The video covers how to navigate through the meet info, selecting the right sessions, and attending/declining meets. This video shows how to sign up for the Forest Grove Christmas Invite (from 12/13/24).

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1E3gf0sgUPWhjOPGbtYXOpcF68FgSJg-O/view?usp=sharing

Meet Timelines

Heat Sheets

A heat sheet is a document that lists the order of events, heats, and lane assignments for each swimmer at a swimming meet. It's also known as the meet program. Heat sheets are used by coaches, parents, and volunteers to know who is swimming, when, and where. They are sent out by the coaches one or two days prior to the first day of a swim meet and posted to the event on our SportsEngine site. The most convenient mode of access is through Meet Mobile. The annual cost of is $19.99 and provides access to heat sheets and results through the app for every swim meet we attend.

Event Number: This number is important since it denotes the stroke, distance, age group, and whether it is boys or girls.

Heats: A group of swimmers who race at the same time. There are multiple heats for any given event. 

Lane assignments: Lanes are usually assigned based on seed times or the fastest time a swimmer has swam that event in the past, with the fastest swimmers in the center lanes (4 + 5).

Heat sheets can be changed at any time with the discretion of the head referee. A common change is to combine two heats into one if there is a low number of swimmers in two heats. This can be a surprise for swimmers to think they are in heat 2 of an event but perhaps heat 1 only has 2 swimmers and heat 2 only has 4 swimmers so the meet referee decides to combine heats 1 and 2 to save time.   

Racing Nutrition

Pre-Race

Certain foods make for optimal pre- and post-race nutrition to help athletes recover and maintain consistent energy for a meet weekend. Carbohydrates are the most imporant macronutrient for a swimmer, since swimmers need glucose to fuel fast races! Great pre-meet meals could include:
  • Yogurt with fruit and granola
  • Bagel or toast with nut butter and a banana
  • Eggs and toast with a cup of fruit
  • Instant oatmeal, substituting milk for water

Generally, easily digestible and nutrient dense foods are recommended the morning of a meet.

Between Races

If a swimmer has an hour or greater between races, they should refuel with a small snack. Good meet snack foods include:
  • Granola
  • Sports bars/granola bars
  • Trail mix/mixed nuts
  • Dried fruit
  • Jerky
  • Peanut butter/nut butter
  • Veggies and hummus

Volunteer at Meets

Swim meets are a fantastic opportunity for parents to get involved as volunteers. One of the easiest ways to get involved is through lane timing. You get the best seat in the house, refreshments sometimes provided by the host team, and all you need to do is start/stop a timer, hit a special button, and record times on a sheet of paper. Timer sign ups are often provided before the meet in the updated information sent by coaches or are posted at the venue during a session warm up.

An extremely important volunteer position at meets is for officials. Officials are specially trained volunteers who referee and administrate meets under USA Swimming guidelines. This is much more involved, but MAC has reputation of providing numerous, well-trained officials at the meets we attend. Teams with more officials are given priority entry into swim meets.  There is training required to do this, but MAC Boosters will reimburse any costs associated with the training.  See the For Parents drop down tab on the website for information about how to become an Official.