​Swim Team Season 

The season typically starts with a first (afternoon) practice the day after Memorial Day, and it ends with MCSL’s All-Star Meets the last weekend in July. Most swimmers are finished by the time of our team banquet which is held on the Sunday following the Divisional swim meet. Screenings and practices begin the day after Memorial Day. Afternoon practice is held until MCPS is out of school. Once MCPS is out morning practices begin. The team will release a calendar year which is typically available on the website by mid-April. 

Swim Meets 

Several types of meets take place each season. Weekly swim meets are held for the majority of the season and are divided into “A” and “B” Categories. The “A” and “B” designation refers to the meet’s position within the League’s weekly schedule.  MCSL weeks start on Saturday with an “A” meet.  Wednesday Evening’s host that week’s “B” meet. Detailed information about these categories is below. Each meeting has its own “theme” (e.g. Mean & Green, Cowboys and Cowgirls, Hawaiian, Disney Princess & Star Wars, Red White & Blue, Neon Knights, Rock N Roll). Swimmers dress up according to the theme to show team spirit. The coaches also teach the swimmers several cheers. (e.g. Bananas, Gimme A “G-A-T-O-R-S”, Boom Chika Boom, Icky La Picky Wicky). Loud and enthusiastic cheering is a staple of all Gator’s meets. 

Time Trials

Time Trials are an opportunity for the coaches to get the first times for each swimmer of the season. Time Trials is run like a swim meet and is typically held the second Saturday in June. This event is how coaches determine who will swim in the first A meet. All swimmers must make Time Trials. Note that coaches may, at their discretion, make arrangements for some swimmers to make up Time Trials events if they have an irreconcilable conflict for the day. For these and other reasons (discussed in the A-Meet section below), swimmers should understand that they may not qualify for the A-Meet even though they were one of the top swimmers at the Saturday Time Trials. 

“B”- Meets 

The four B-Meets give ALL Gators a chance to race. The B-Meets are held on Wednesday evenings against nearby swim teams. These are not scored events. Any swimmer on the team can swim events, as long as they didn’t swim the same event in the preceding A-Meet. B-Meets also allow previous A-Meet swimmers to try other events. B-Meets are wonderful team bonding opportunities. All swimmers, including A-Meet swimmers, are encouraged to participate and to cheer on their teammates. Swimmers are encouraged to participate in all B-meet events for which they are eligible, not only to challenge themselves but also to obtain times that will give the coaches the most options when developing the A-Meet line-ups. 

With so many participating swimmers, B-Meets can be hectic and very busy. Swimmers should stay in their team area and listen for the starter to call out each event. Swimmers must report to the Clerk of Course before their event. The Clerk of Course will assign your heat and lane. (Clerk of Course is located by the slide for FK home meets). Swimmers should stay in their rows once seated by the Clerk of Course. Coaches cannot be expected to track down individual swimmers not in the team area. 

Wednesday nights in June and July often have unpredictable weather. B-Meets are routinely interrupted or canceled by thunderstorms. Please prepare your swimmer for the possibility that they may not be able to swim all events, particularly those in the latter part of the meet (breaststroke and butterfly). 

Often the team will go out after the B-Meet. All swimmers are invited. This is a fun team bonding opportunity, but may occur after the bedtimes of some of the younger swimmers. Be prepared to set expectations for your swimmer regarding post-meet activities. (How is the location announced?) 

“A”- Meets 

“A”-Meets are competitive meets for which swimmers qualify according to their times. A-Meets consist of Dual Meets, Relay Carnival, Divisionals, and All-Star Meets. A-Meets take place on Saturday mornings.

In determining the lineup for each A-Meet, coaches make strategic decisions about who will swim in which event based on a variety of factors, primarily intended to maximize the chances of a Gators team win. While swimmers and parents may ask the coaches about lineup decisions, they should respect the coaches’ decision-making and understand that sometimes the best interest of the team may supersede individual swimmers’ preferences. Order of events can be found here 

Please Note: Since the team can only put a limited number of swimmers in each event for A-Meets, it is VERY IMPORTANT for families to let coaches know when a child is unavailable to swim because of vacation or other plans. So be on the lookout for the lineup posted on Thursdays at the pool, and amended on Fridays. Please let the coaches know ASAP if your swimmer is not going to be available. If the coaches don’t know you will be unable to swim until Saturday morning they will be forced to “scratch” your swimmer from their scheduled events, which can cost the team valuable points in the meet. Swimmers with competitive times at a B-meet should check the line-up with on Thursday and Friday in the event an A-meet swimmer canceled and an opportunity opened for them to swim. 

For away A-Meets, swimmers are asked to meet in the Franklin Knolls parking lot before convoying to the opposing team’s pool. PLEASE bring your swimmers to the pre-meet at FKP. This is where coaches will take attendance and verify participation for the meet. Do not plan to meet the team at the opposing team’s pool as this makes the coaches’ job harder. Also, the team will take a group photo which is always included in the end of the year slideshow. For both home and away meets, please ensure that your child arrives at the time designated by the coaches. Team warm-ups are important (even for second half swimmers), not only to prepare the swimmer for their event(s), but because swimmers that arrive after warm-ups risk being scratched from the meet altogether, an irrevocable decision. 

Types of A-Meets 

Dual Meets: There are 5 dual meets (2-teams competing) each season, swum against 5 other teams in our division. The dual A-meets are how the team competes for standings in the MCSL. The meets are held on Saturday mornings. There are a total of 50 events, comprised of boys and girls relays, freestyle, backstroke, breaststroke, butterfly, and individual medley (IM) broken out by age groups (8 & under, 9-10, 11-12, 13-14, and 15-18). Qualification for the events is determined by the swimmer’s age on June 1st of the year. 

On the Thursday prior to the A-Meet, the coaches post the lineup of swimmers for Saturday’s A-Meet. Generally, the three fastest swimmers in each event (top six freestylers) swim in the A-Meet. According to MCSL rules, however, swimmers may not swim in more than 3 individual events plus IM, and may only swim in 1 relay event. 

There are 2 relay events for each gender, and two teams for each event:

● The Open Age Relay, where each swimmer swims 50 meters of one of the 4 stoked (typically these are swimmers in the 15-18 age group although occasionally younger swimmers will be asked to participate); and 

● The 14-and-under Graduated Freestyle Relay, which are the last two events of the meet. A Graduated Freestyle Relay team consists of one swimmer from each of the 4 age groups under 14 (8&U, 9-10, 11-12, & 13-14). Graduated Freestyle Relay swimmers are usually chosen during the meet - generally the two fastest freestyle times that day in each applicable age group, although there may be occasions in which the 3rd or 4th fastest swimmer will be asked to participate. PLEASE do not leave the A-Meet before the final relay events unless you are certain that your swimmer is not expected to swim in the Graduated Relay event. The line-up for this relay can change during the meet. 

Relay Carnival: There is a Divisional Relay Carnival held at some point during the season (usually on a Sunday morning). The week of that meet, families will need to be watching for two meet lineups to see if their swimmers will be in the meet on Sunday as well as the Dual A-Meet on Saturday. Typically the coaches will distribute a tentative Relay Carnival lineup earlier in the week; however, the lineup will typically be adjusted after the Saturday A-Meet, so final decisions will not be made until Saturday afternoon. 

Divisionals: After the 5 Dual A-Meets, the team competes in a championship meet against the 5 teams in our division. This Divisional Championships will determine the final division standings. For this meet, the best 2 swimmers in each event generally represent the team (although swimmers are still limited in the number of events in which they may participate.) 

All-Stars: The season concludes the last weekend in July when the very best swimmers league -wide compete against each other at the All-Star Meets - individual and relays - held in Rockville on a Saturday and Sunday. Swimmers need a qualifying “All-Star” time and must also be among the top-ranked swimmers in the county. Relay teams that win their event at Relay Carnival compete in the Relay All-Stars Meet on Saturday. Swimmers that are among the top sixteen swimmers in MCSL (or a designated alternate) compete in the individual All-Stars Meet on Sunday. Swimmers can check their standing on the MCSL All-Star website.