Attending a PVS meet:
What to Expect when you’re Winter Swimming!
USA Swimming Registration: Please see Meet Entries under Meets/Events for more information.
Meet Fees: Meet fees are approximately $7-8 per event at a meet. Swimmers in High School Prep, Jr. Development, Advanced Clinic and Stroke Clinic will be charged for the events they swim. Some meets also charge a “swimmer surcharge”. The meet fee and swimmer surcharge fee, when applicable, will be put on your account and you will receive an emailed invoice. Meet fees and swimmer surcharge fees are included in the program cost for our competition swimmers (Celeste, Celeste Plus, Azul, and Blanco).
The Meet Calendar: Prior to each season, the TIBU coaches create a tentative calendar of meets that we wish to enter as a team, which can be found under the Meets/Events tab. Check the TIBU calendar to find meets that are suitable for you. All of the meets listed on the TIBU calendar are sanctioned by PVS. You can read complete meet announcements at the PVS website at www.pvswim.org. TIBU competes in approximately one meet per-month for each age group. Eight and under athletes usually swim separately in PVS-sanctioned mini-meets, although some meets do include all age groups. Please note that TIBU does not compete in every PVS meet, only the ones listed on the TIBU calendar! Please be aware that PVS makes changes to its calendar frequently; therefore, it is sometimes necessary for our team to make changes as well. Check the website and your regular team emails for the latest meet information. As meet details are posted on the PVS website, we list them on the TIBU website under the “Meets/Event” tab. About two weeks prior to the due date for meet entries, we will send an email to all families with swimmers who are USA Swimming-registered, reminding you to submit meet entries.
Entering a Meet: Watch for emails that tell you it’s time to sign up for each meet. When the meet entry file has been posted, swimmers/parents simply log into the TIBU website and sign themselves up for events. Please do not select more than three events per session. Remember: unlike in MCSL “A” meets, you sign yourself up to swim; the coach does not create the line-up. Swimmers are encouraged to communicate with their coach with regards to selecting events. You may want to consider the timing between events to allow your swimmer to have time to rest before their next swim. The coaches will assume that any swimmer who is signed in as available is participating in the meet and the family will be responsible for any entry fees. Make sure that you complete your event entries by the TIBU deadline; this date is usually several days before the PVS deadline listed on the meet announcement. Coaches reserve the right to make changes to a swimmers events when they believe it to be in the swimmer's best interest or according to the coach's plan. When the coaches or TIBU office sends out an email stating that the Meet Lineup has been posted, read the lineup carefully to be sure that you/your swimmer has been entered in the correct events. You are responsible for double-checking the correctness of your swimmer's events. Finally, watch your email for reminders/announcements/changes to meet information.
Meets with Relays: please plan on staying throughout the session your swimmer is in, as the coaches will be making relay teams based on swimmers attending that session. If you can not stay, please let the coaches know BEFORE the sign-up deadline.
Meet information: When available, we will email the meet timeline and psych sheet. The timeline will give you an idea of when each event is scheduled to begin. The psych sheet shows the swimmers entered in each event, usually listed fastest to slowest, and will give you an idea of the heat in which your swimmer is likely to compete. Generally, events are swum slowest to fastest in either an 8- or 10-lane pool. Longer distance events, for example the 500 freestyle or 400 IM, are typically swum fastest to slowest and will usually require parents to help time their swimmers. The official Meet Announcement —which will be posted for each meet we are attending under the meet on the TIBU website, will give you all the information about a meet, including number of lanes, events, warm-up times, etc. Meet programs are sometimes available for purchase, however, not every meet provides this. We will try to update on our website if programs will be available.
At the meet: Please have your swimmer at the pool at least 15 minutes before the warm-up period begins. Parents are typically not allowed on-deck unless they are volunteering. As over-whelming as it feels to send your swimmer on-deck without you, they will be fine! Have them look for a TIBU coach — who will always be wearing some type of TIBU clothing. Please remind your swimmer that electronics should not be used during a meet- they should use this time to cheer on other TIBU swimmers and learn from watching other races. Unlike an MCSL meet, there will not be a clerk-of-course. Please make sure your swimmer knows what events they are swimming (they can be written on an index card, or even on their arm) and remind them that they are responsible for getting to the blocks in time for their heat. Heat sheets are usually available on deck for swimmers, and if they can’t find that information, the coaches can help.
Food and Drinks at the meet: make sure that your swimmer has HEALTHY snacks for between races and LOTS of WATER. It's important to HYDRATE before, during and after the meet. Please do NOT bring candy to a meet.
Volunteering: TIBU is required to provide volunteers at every meet, usually timing fulfills this. When available, we will email a volunteer signup. All TIBU parents are expected to volunteer throughout the season- please see Volunteering under the Policies tab for more information. When volunteering, you will need to check in on deck- getting to the pool deck is different at each pool, sometimes there are steps, sometimes you have to go through the locker room. Please ask, and if you can’t find anyone to help, follow the stream of swimmers.
Positive Check-In: PVS-sanctioned meets generally require what is known as Positive Check-in for any event 200 or higher and increasingly the requirement for positive check-in for all events is becoming a regularity. What this means is within a certain time period; a swimmer must personally verify that they are on the pool deck. If a swimmer does not sign in when positive check-in is required, they will not be able to participate. Positive check-ins avoid empty lanes in busy meets and greatly help the meet stay on schedule. Coaches will let swimmers know when positive check-ins are required and help younger swimmers with the process.
Warm-Ups: Warm-ups typically last at least 30 minutes, depending on the meet. Warm-up times often change, and larger meets can have two separate warm-up periods for swimmers. TIBU will try to get that information out to you via email if possible. It’s wise to regularly check your email and the TIBU website on meet weekend. You can also check the PVS website which updates meet information regularly.
Qualifying meets: Qualifying meets are those that require a certain time in events in order to participate and are indicated in blue on our website. Swimmers who do not meet the time standard will usually have other meet options during the same month as the qualifying meet takes place. Swimmers are encouraged to swim a variety of events from the beginning of the season so that they have the opportunity to get qualifying times, and will not be left out of meets that require a time (see NT).
NT: This notation means no-time. Some meets will not allow a swimmer to enter a specific event with an NT. TIBU coaches stress that swimmers select a wide variety of events throughout the season to avoid NTs.
No-show policy: Please email Jorge, Nathan, and Beth to let them know when you will NOT be able to make a meet. With the exception of illness, a swimmer who does not show up for a meet into which he/she has been entered, will be charged for the meet fees.
Swimming Glossary: please see Glossary under Meets/Events for full glossary of commonly used swimming terms.
After the meet: Within a few days of each meet concluding, please check the TIBU website under the Meet Results tab to view the official results from each meet. Each swimmers’ times will also be entered in each members’ account under My Meet Results selection beneath the My Account header in the left-hand menus on the homepage. Monthly during the season, the TIBU office will also update the Team Records templates on the homepage.
