Swim Meets
It is up to your family to decide if your swimmer wants to compete at swim meets. During meets, swimmers compete in age groups and will swim against athletes of similar ability. Every season the BSC coaches will choose the meets that we will be attending as a team and post them on the website. You will need to go to www.brookingsswimclub.com and navigate to the "Team Info" tab; select "Events Schedule" in the dropdown options to see these meets. Swimmers are welcome to discuss their choice of events with the coaches prior to the entry deadline.
How to Sign up for a swim meet:
Log on to the BSC website. Navigate to the "Team Info" tab; select "Events Schedule" in the dropdown options. Click on the meet you wish your child to attend. On the upper right corner, click on the “Attend/Decline” box. You will be taken to the sign-up screen. Click on your child’s name. In the “declaration” box, click on “Yes, please sign XXX up for this event. In the “notes” box you can leave messages for the coaches to see, for example if you can only attend one day of a two-day meet, you can leave a note for your coach about that here. Click on “save changes”. Keep in mind every Meet has a registration deadline. In the BSC website, when you click on the event you want to register your swimmer for, you will see the deadline date below the event date. Make sure to register your swimmer online before or by the deadline.
How to find your child’s events for an upcoming swim meet:
Coaches pick the events for athletes based on their skill level, personal goals, coach’s goals, and order of events, overall team points (State Meet), level of competition, meet entry limitations, etc. Once the coaches submit athlete entries to the host team, they will be visible on our team website.
Log into www.brookingsswimclub.com
Click on the “Events” tab at the top
Scroll down to the meet you are looking for
Click on “Edit Commitment” and the list will come up
The list of events for your athlete(s) will include the event number, day of meet/session number, name of event, and athlete seed time. The athlete seed time will be the fastest time the athlete has swum the event. A “NT” (stands for “No Time”) means this is the first time the athlete will be swimming the event without a disqualification. It is a good idea to print this screen and take it with you to the meet as it makes it easier to find your athlete in the program if you know what events they are swimming.
The app MeetMobile is available to be purchased for approximately $6.99.This app is renewed yearly and provides full access to meet results.
What your family should bring to the swim meet:
Depending on how long you will be at the meet and if “camping” space is available (you can determine both of these by reading the meet invite), you may want to take items from the list below. Families/teams generally “camp” together in the gym/hallways. Some teams/venues prohibit “camping” in the pool viewing area (i.e. bleachers, pool deck, etc…) requiring spectators to “camp” in the designated area and go to the viewing area only when their athlete is racing. This avoids overcrowding in the viewing area and gives everyone a chance to view their athletes while they are racing. Items to bring:
Bag lawn chairs and blankets
Cooler with drinks/healthy snacks. Most meets offer concessions (noted in the meet invite), however, healthy choices are not always available. Taking healthy snacks/drinks for athletes is recommended.Note: The Midco in Sioux Falls does not allow outside food and drink.
Highlighter (to mark meet program)
Fine Point Sharpie Marker (to mark events on your athlete)
Swim Bag – towels, 2 suits, 2 goggles, 2 swim caps, sweatshirt/sweatpants (some camping spaces are cool and the athletes need to stay warm between races
Books, board games, video games, mp3 players, etc… (athletes love to hang out together between races)
Before the Meet Starts:
Arrive at the pool at least 15 minutes before the scheduled warm-up time begins.
Upon arrival to put your swimmers blankets, swim bags and/or sleeping bags.The team usually sits in one place together so look for some familiar faces.
Write each event number with corresponding heat and lane on your swimmers hand in ink (shown below).This helps him/her remember what events he/she is swimming and what event number to listen for.
Your swimmer now gets his/her cap and goggles and reports to the pool and/or coach for warm-up instructions.It is very important for all swimmers to warm up with the team.Swimmers bodies are just like cars on a cold day- he/she needs to get the engine going and warmed up before he/she can go all out.
While your swimmer is warming up, a meet program can be purchased usually at the concessions area of the pool.These programs usually sell for $8-$10.It lists all swimmers in each event in order of “seed time” When the team entry is sent in, each swimmer and his/her previous best time in that event is listed.If the swimmer is swimming and event for the first time, he/she will be entered as a “no-time” or “NT”.A “no-time” swimmer will usually swim in one of the first heats of the event.
After warm-up your swimmer will go back to the area where his/her towels are and sit there until the next event is called.This is a good time to make sure he/she goes to the bathroom if necessary, gets a drink, or just gets settled in.
The meet will usually start 10 – 15 minutes after warm-ups are over.
There is no entry fee for visitors that you invite to come cheer on your swimmer so invite as many as you want.
How to read a swim meet program:
A swim meet program is a list of events that will be swam in that meet, including number of heats per event and a list of swimmers in each heat, with the lane assigned to each swimmer and each swimmer’s seed time in that event, swimmer’s age and club affiliation. Programs are sold usually at the entrance of each swim meet and it is highly recommended that each swimmer family purchase one. Swimmers usually write down the events they are scheduled to swim on their arm or leg, as a reminder, like in the example you see below.
Example of Event Charts Swimmers Arm or Leg:
The Swim Meet Starts:
It is important for any swimmer to know what event numbers he/she is swimming (again, why they should write the event numbers on their hand).He/She may swim right away after warm-up or they may have to wait awhile.
The swimmers event number will be called, usually over the loudspeaker, and he/she will be asked to report to the starting blocks.If the swimmer is new/inexperienced he/she may report to their coach and the coach will bring the swimmer to the starting blocks.
The swimmer swims their race.
After each swim he/she should report to their coach immediately.The coach will discuss their swim to include positive comments or praise or suggestions for improvement.
As a parent this is an opportunity to tell your swimmer how great they did.The coaching staff will be sure to discuss stroke technique with them.The swimmer now waits until his/her next event is called.
When a swimmer has completed all of his/her events the swimmer is encouraged to stay and cheer on their teammates although at this time they may go home.
How to view your athlete’s results:
At the BSC website (a few days after the meet is over):
Log into www.brookingsswimclub.com
Click on “My Account” on the left hand side
Click on “My Meet Results” If you have more than one athlete, click on the “Member” dropdown menu, choose an athlete, and then click “search”. You can narrow your search by the type of pool (LCM, SCM, or SCY), particular stroke, event distance, and date range. After setting one or more of these parameters, click on “search”
Meet Mobile (downloads to your smartphone or tablet)
You can check your swimmer’s results and also other swimmers results if they’re at a different meet. There is a small annual charge for using this service. Many parents find this very helpful.
On Deck Parent (downloads to your smartphone or tablet)
Connects with teams through team unify site. You use the same login and password details that you use on the website as well as the team alias: sdsbsc. This app gives you your meet results, time standards, splits, and various other useful tools to track your swimmers progress.
Host teams place printed results on a wall at the meet site
Home Swim Meets
Parent(s) are required to help run swim meets hosted by BSC during the season(s) your swimmer(s) is active, dues paying member of the team (regardless of whether their swimmer participates in the meet). BSC normally hosts three regular home meets (one each in November, February, and June). Any changes to this schedule will be communicated to the membership.
The volunteer work requirements are established by the board prior to each meet based on attendance and needs for that meet, but typically consist of each family working 3-4 shifts (approx 9-16 hours) per meet with lesser requirements (1-2 shifts) for new families. Families are allowed to find friends or families to help with their shifts.
“New” families are given fewer required shifts for meets to allow them to slowly transition into the club. Families are considered “New” during their first season of the sport (either one school year season or one summer season).
Families that do not fulfill their meet requirement by serving or finding substitutions to serve for them will be charged a $200 non-volunteer fee for that meet.
Families will be sent information prior to the meet to sign up to get their required shifts covered. One reminder email will be sent out after the sign-up deadline.
How to sign up to work at a home meet:
Before every home meet, parents will receive an email inviting them to sign up for volunteering in that meet. There will be a link in the email that directs you to the event page. On the event page, in addition to seeing the commitment button for your swimmer there will also be a job sign-up button. Click on the job sign up link and see the screen with the list of jobs organized by shifts during the different days of the meet.
Most jobs are taken on a first come/first serve basis. Click on the boxes by the jobs/shifts you wish to volunteer, then click “save” on the bottom of the page. Most jobs either do not require training (i.e. concessions, program sales, etc…) or the training will be provided at or prior to the meet (i.e. timing, meet marshall).
Some jobs do require training and that is noted in the job sign-up, for example officials, the timing table staff, announcers and section heads (such as head timers). If you are interested in one of the positions that require training, we encourage you to give it a try as a training shift.
Meet Hospitality
When hosting a swim meet, it is required to provide a Hospitality area for the Coaches and Officials. The cost is divided among families. Families are charged a $10.00/day Hospitality fee. This fee will be charged to your account the week after every home meet.This fee is used by the hospitality committee to purchase needed items.This is in lieu of having all families make/buy items to donate to the hospitality/concession area.
