Meet 101

The season begins with Time Trials. This is a Practice Swim Meet where all swimmers are timed in each stroke, if he/she can swim it ‘legally.’ We have 5 “A” meets scheduled, 4 ”B” meets scheduled, 1 Individual Medley Invitational meet, 1 Relay Carnival Meet, a Divisional Meet, and Relay and Individual All Star meets. Please see the swim season calendar for specific details.

Participation in “A” meets will be based solely upon official times established under meet conditions either in Time Trials, an “A” meet, or a “B” meet.

Teams are allowed to enter three swimmers in each event at “A” meets. However, swimmers may participate in no more than two individual events per meet. Every attempt is made to place the three fastest swimmers in each event. Due to restrictions on the number of events an individual may swim, and the need to place swimmers according to the strengths of the opposing teams, the coaches, in consultation with the Team Rep will decide where to place the swimmers. The Team Rep will have the final decision on the meet entries. All concerns must be referred to the Team Rep.

A Meets

The score is kept at A Meets for the NVSL. In the individual events, a first place finish earns 5 points for the team, a second place scores 3 points and a third place finish scores 1 point. We make every attempt to field 3 swimmers in each event for each age group. Sometimes, we may ask a younger swimmer to compete in an older group to fill an empty lane. Every point counts in A Meets! 

Relay events are swum at the end of A Meets and receive 5 points for a win. A swimmer should always find out if he/she is swimming in one of the relays and plan to stay at the pool until the end of the meet. Swimmers should notify their coaches prior to leaving a meet.

All swimmers must check with the head coach if he/she must leave before the end of a meet.

B Meets

A schedule of “B” or Developmental meets is arranged, usually with our closest neighboring pools. They are held on Monday evenings and begin at 6 p.m. No team score is kept, but individual times are recorded for use in later meets and to record swimmers’ improvement. These meets serve several purposes. First, they provide a chance for younger and less accomplished swimmers to swim in a competitive environment. “B” meets are organized and officiated under the same standards as “A” meets. Swimmers are prohibited from participating in a “B” meet event if they have placed 1st, 2nd, or 3rd in that event at the previous Saturday’s “A” meet. This restriction provides “B” meet swimmers with a more ‘level playing field’, increasing their confidence while developing their skills. This also helps “A” meet swimmers to develop their off strokes.

Relay Carnival

The Relay Carnival is a competitive meet and is for relay teams only. It is the championship relay meet for our division. We will select the fastest swimmers to be on the relay teams for this meet. Each division has this meet on the same evening. We will take our best relay teams to this meet. If any of our relay teams happen to finish in the top 18 places in the league, then that team will advance to the All Star Relay Meet the next week.

Divisional Meet

The Divisional Meet, scheduled for Saturday, July 20th, is the Division Individual Championship meet. This meet is commonly referred to as ‘Divisionals.’ Each team is allowed to enter two swimmers in each event and a swimmer cannot enter more than two events. If a team does not have two swimmers for an event, the other teams can bid in other swimmers to fill empty lanes. The swimmers with the fastest times earn spots at this meet. The Team Rep and Head Coach will ask swimmers who are likely to be bid in to attend the meet.