Meet Info / Entry Procedures / Declaration Process - 2025
The following contains information on descriptions of the different types of meets, how to declare for these meets, and how swimmers earn ribbons.
A Meet Description:
A Meets are scored meets between our team and one of the other five teams in our Division (currently White Division). Swimmers are selected by the coaches and may swim up to three individual and two relay events, depending on what they qualify for.
We swim all four strokes (freestyle, backstroke, breaststroke, and butterfly) plus three types of relays, the age group medley, the mixed age freestyle, and the mixed age/mixed gender medley. The medley relay will have four swimmers from an age group, each swimming one leg of the relay using a different stroke. The order is Back, Breast, Fly, Free. The mixed age freestyle relay consists of a swimmer from the following age groups, 9/10, 11/12, 13/14, 15-18, and has them each swim a leg of the relay. The mixed age/gender medley will include both male and female swimmers from age groups 9/10, 11/12, 13/14 and 15-18, each swimming one of the four strokes (same order as the age group medley).
These events are all scored and a meet winner is declared. These wins and losses are used to determine several Divisional awards, to include overall team Division winner, as well as team age group and team overall male/female winners.
Time permitting, we will generally swim the Individual Medley (IM) event at the end of the meet. These are un-scored and open to any swimmer that would like to swim them, with Head Coach approval. These do not count against the three individual/2 relay event limit.
We do sometimes swim exhibitions events as well, which are un-scored, but allow additional swimmers the opportunity to attend an A Meet. These are usually 6 and under or 8 and under Free and Back events, but both teams must be in agreement on the events, so this is not always the case from week to week.
Selection process for A Meets:
Each week, starting with Time Trials, we compile a list of all the swimmers' fastest times for the current season, from Time Trials moving forward. We call this a Team Ladder. We compile the first ladder using the Time Trial times, and update it again after every Wednesday meet, to include the previous Saturday and Wednesday times, so it always takes into account the most recent times as well as all previous times for the season.
The ladder will show the top 10 swimmers per event (time-wise) based on the season best times to date. This ladder is what the coaches use to determine the swimmers for the upcoming scored Saturday A Meet. Coaches have the discretion to select the swimmer that they think will best benefit the team, taking into account the ladder, as well as availability declarations, attendance, and other factors as they see fit, but a large portion of the selection decision is based off of the ladder. The ladder will be posted on the Meet Files tab as it is completed.
A Meet Declaration and confirmation procedures:
You may think that your swimmer will never make an A Meet, but many families have been surprised to find their swimmer listed on the entries. With vacation and camp absences, illness, and exhibition heats in some A Meets, it is not unusual to have swimmers further down the ladder be selected for an A Meet.
There is a quick turnaround for meet selection, so it is imperative that everyone keeps their availability accurate for all meets through the season. The deadline is listed on each meet, but we would suggest that you complete them all now, and update your swimmer’s availability as the season progresses, if it should change later. Please click here for a guide on how to make these declarations.
Please be considerate and make sure you declare your availability (even if not attending), and if you say that your swimmer is available, please make sure they are able to attend if selected (barring illness or injury, of course). Declaration deadlines are firm.
Once a meet’s lineup is completed, it will be posted on the Meet Files page and send an email that it is available. Anyone with a swimmer listed on the lineup needs to email [email protected] to acknowledge that they will indeed attend.
The league compiles all A Meet results and a league-wide ladder each week, which you can locate at http://csl.nvblu.com/.
B Meets:
B Meets, also known as Developmental Meets, are open to ALL swimmers on the team. Swimmers can select their own events, subject to coach’s approval of stroke eligibility (legal or close to legal). Swimmers must be capable of swimming a stroke in accordance with the rules for that stroke - we refer to this as being legal in that stroke. If you have questions about signing a swimmer up for a particular stroke, please ask the Head and Assistant Coaches.
These meets are not scored meets, but we do swim against other teams in the Colonial Swim League. There are a few limitations to stroke signup:
-
Due to the larger number of swimmers attending these meets, the teams will agree on an entry limit and this will be published once the meet opens for signup.
-
Swimmers that placed 1st - 3rd in the previous Saturday meet ARE NOT allowed to swim the events that they placed in at the following B Meet. This allows other swimmers the opportunity to compete and place in these strokes at the B Meets. This is a league rule and must be enforced.
You can log back into your account and go back to the Events tab, and click Edit Commitment for the meet and your swimmer’s name, to see what events the coaches have approved.
B Meet Declaration procedures:
You will receive an email each week, on Saturday evening or Sunday morning, that the B Meet is open for signups. Please log into Team Unify and declare attendance, and if attending, which strokes your swimmers would like to swim (subject to coach’s approval of stroke eligibility). Please click here for a guide on how to make these declarations.
Even if you are not attending, please take a minute to declare this so that we know you will not be there, and have not just missed selecting the entries.
Entry deadlines will be listed in the Events descriptions and will be FIRM.
Divisional Meet and All Star Meet:
The Divisional Meet is similar to the A Meet, but all six teams in the division compete together at one meet. It is a more individual-based meet, where swimmers are trying to earn a spot in the All Star meet, versus swimming as a scored, team event. The selection process is similar to the A Meet process, with the top three available ladder swimmers being selected for each event. The IM does become a competitive event for the swimmers and they can choose up to three events, including the IM, depending on what they qualify for. If a swimmer is top three on the ladder for more than three events, they will choose the three that they want to compete in and the coaches move down the ladder filling in the remaining spots. We need to have availability declared in advance just like the A Meets. If you know your swimmer’s availability early in the season, please declare it. You can go back and edit it later if their status changes.
After the four divisions complete their Divisional Meet, the league compiles a league-wide ladder from the Divisional results and they use this ladder to select the All Star Meet swimmers. The top 18 swimmers in the league will be selected to swim, then they choose 3 alternate swimmers and a few more that are “on the bubble”. They will hold a ‘scratch’ meeting where they will remove any swimmers that are unavailable to attend, and move alternate and ‘bubble’ swimmers up accordingly. We will send out additional details on these meets closer to the events, but we do need you to declare availability for these once you have that information as well. Only those swimmers attending the Divisional meet are eligible for the All Star meet, and only Divisional meet times are used to determine selection, rather than their season best times.
Ribbons:
Ribbons are distributed for all legal swims at A and B meets, and the Divisional Meet.
A Meets provide place ribbons for 1st - 3rd place for scored events, using merged results of both teams. Other places (4th-6th), IM swims, and exhibition swims will receive participation ribbons.
B Meet place ribbons are distributed for 1st - 6th places in all events. Other legal swims outside of this place range will receive participation ribbons. We also distribute heat winner ribbons at home meets for any swimmer that wins their individual heat. We distribute B Meet ribbons using just our team for results, so even though a swimmer may finish 4th overall, for instance, they may get a 1st place ribbon if they were the fastest Barracuda swimmer in the event. We don’t consider the other team’s swimmers in determining B Meet results.
For both A and B meets, we also distribute personal best ribbons to any swimmer that beats their season best time in an event, after establishing a starting time (usually their time trial time, or first legal swim for an event).
There are record breaker ribbons for anyone breaking a team record as well.
Helpful Resources Linked:
Meet Declaration Procedures Guide
