Hydro Swim Meet Tips 101
Swim meets are a great family experience! They're a place where the whole family can spend time together. Listed below are some very in-depth guidelines geared to help you through your first couple of swim meets. It may seem a little overwhelming, but we tried to be as specific and as detailed as we possibly could. If you have any questions, please ask your coach or our staff.
Signup:
All swimmers must be registered with USA Swimming prior to the meet. This can be done by parents online on the USA Swimming website.
Meet entries will be due typically a week or two prior to the meet itself. It is very important to keep a lookout for email reminders for the registration deadline - there is a lot of planning that goes into these meets and officials must have information on time. Once the meet file is sent, we will be unable to give refunds or make changes.
If you would like to sign your child up for a meet, make sure to “commit” them to the meet on the team website through the link sent out via email. From there, you and your swimmer can choose what events they would like to compete in. Typically, swimmers will only be allowed to compete in 3 events per session. Coaches will review these entries and if they feel a change is necessary, it will be discussed. Please ask your swimmers coach about meet entries if you are unsure.
Please also note that there will be a $35 travel charge per swimmer for all away meets to cover the cost of coaches’ travel and lodging.
What To Take To the Meet:
1. Gear, including:
a. Swim Suit
b. Hydro Swim Cap
c. Goggles
d. Hydro T-shirt (2-3 may be good as they'll get wet and soggy)
e. Sweat Suit, flip flops
*All Team Gear can be purchased directly through our website!
2. Towels:
a. Realize your swimmer will be there awhile, so pack at least two.
3. Something to sit on:
a. Sleeping bag, old blanket, or anything that will be comfortable to sit on.
4. Games:
a. Travel games, coloring books, books, anything to pass the time.
5. Food:
a. Each swimmer is usually allowed to bring a small cooler. Though they usually have concessions at the meet, it is better to bring snacks. Suggestions for items to bring:
i. Drinks: Hi-C, Fruit juice, Gatorade
ii. Snacks: Granola bars, Fun fruits, yogurt, cereal, jello cubes, sandwiches
6. Outdoor Meets:
a. Hats, sunscreen, extra water, ice, anything to keep your swimmer out of the sun and cooled off
Before the Meet Starts:
1. Arrive at the pool at least 15 minutes before the scheduled warm-up time begins. This time will be discussed with the swimmers at practice, posted on the Hydro website and sent in a team email.
2. Upon arrival, find a place to put your swimmer's chair and swim bags. The team usually sits in one place together, so look for some familiar faces.
3. Have your swimmer check themselves in with their coach.
4. Once "checked in", write each event-number on your swimmer's arm or leg in sharpie. This helps him/her remember what events he/she is swimming and what event number to listen for. 5. 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. Swimmer's 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.
6. 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.
7. The meet will usually start about 10-15 minutes after warm-ups are over. 8. According to USA Swimming rules (because of insurance purposes), parents are not allowed on deck unless they are serving in an official capacity. Similarly, all questions concerning meet results, an officiating call, or the conduct of a meet, should be referred to the coaching staff. They, in turn, will pursue the matter through the proper channels.
Heat Sheets:
A heat sheet is usually available for sale at the concession area of the pool. 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 an event for the first time, he/she will be entered as a "no-time" or "NT". A "no-time" swimmer will most likely swim in one of the first heats of the event.
Athletes will typically write their event, heat, lane and stroke on their arm!
Meet Starts:
1. It is important for any swimmer to know what event numbers he/she is swimming (again, why they should have the numbers on their hand/arm). He/she may swim right away after warm-up or they may have to wait awhile.
2. The swimmer should check in with their coach before and after each race. 3. A swimmer's event number will be called, usually over the loudspeaker, and he/she will be asked to go behind the blocks. Swimmers should report with his/her cap and goggles. Generally, girl’s events are odd-numbered and boy’s events are even-numbered. Example: "Event #26, 10-Under Boys, 50 freestyle, should be behind the blocks."
4. Once behind the blocks the swimmer should check in with the timer.
5. The swimmer swims their race.
6. After each swim:
- He/she should go immediately to their coach. The coach will discuss the swim with each swimmer.
- Generally, the coach follows these guidelines when discussing swims:
- a. Positive comments
- b. Suggestions for improvement
- c. Positive comments
Things you, as a parent, can do after each swim:
● Tell him/her how great they did! The coaching staff will be sure to discuss stroke technique with them. You need to tell him/her how proud you are and what a great job he/she did.
● Take him/her back to the towel area and relax.
● This is a good time to check out the bathrooms, get a drink or something light to eat.
● The swimmer now waits until his/her next event is called and starts the procedure again.
When a swimmer has completed all of his/her events he/she and their parents get to go home. Make sure, however, you, as a parent, check with the coach before leaving to make sure your swimmer is not included on a relay. It is not fair to other swimmers who may have stayed to swim on a relay where your swimmer is expected to be a member and he/she is not there.
Results/Resources:
Meet results are typically posted on the pool deck and in the stands shortly after the conclusion of each event. Meet results are also posted in real time on “Meet Mobile” which is available for purchase through your phone on the app store. Meet results can also be found after the meet on our website, USA Swimming Individual Time Search, and SwimCloud.com. They can also be found on our website within 48 hours of meet final.
It is very important during a “trials finals meet” that you and your swimmer pay attention to the results in case they make it back for finals. If your swimmer makes finals and does not want to swim, it is very important to tell a coach as soon as possible so another swimmer has the opportunity to swim in that finals heat.
Time Standards:
The time standards set varying marks for swimmers of every age group, ranging from B to AAAA based on relative speed within the age group. Each age group has B standards, BB standards, A standards, AA standards, AAA standards and AAAA standards to give swimmers benchmarks for goal-setting and to track improvement.
Some local club meets also set qualifying standards based on the USA Swimming times, requiring swimmers to be faster than, or in some cases slower than, an A time or a BB time, for example, for entry.
Per USA Swimming’s website: “Here you will find age group time standards designed to encourage age group swimmers to step their swimming up to the next level. These time standards guide you from just starting out in your age group to reaching your highest potential. Start at Level B and work your way up to Level AAAA times.” You can find these time standards by visiting USA Swimming’s website.
Championship Meets:
There are various levels of championship meets that swimmers can qualify for based off of their age and meet performance. Swimmers ages 14 and under will largely be shooting for “Florida Age Group Swimming” time standards while the senior swimmers 15 and over will be aiming for “Senior Championships” cuts. Swimmers can find the time standards for these meets on the Florida Swimming website.
From there, swimmers can qualify for Sectionals, Zones, Futures, Nationals, and Olympic Trials. These time standards can be found on the USA Swimming website as swimmers progress to each level.
What Happens If Your Child has a Disappointing Swim:
If your child has a poor race and comes out of it feeling bad, talk about the good things. The first thing you say is, "Hey that is not like you. You're usually a top swimmer." Then you can go on and talk about the good things the child did. You never talk about the negative things.
If your child comes up to you and says, "That was a bad race, don't tell me it wasn't," there is nothing wrong with a swimmer negatively evaluating a race. The important thing is for the child not to dwell on it. You should move the swimmer on to something good. "All right, you have had a bad race. How do you think you can do better next time?" Immediately start talking about the positive things.
Once you have attended one or two meets this will all become a routine. Please do not hesitate to ask any other Hydro parent for help or information!
These meets are a lot of fun for the swimmers! He/she gets to visit with his/her friends, play games, and meet kids from other teams. He/she also gets to "race" and see how much he/she has improved from all the hard work he/she has put in at practice.
Parent's Note:
The pool area is usually very warm. Therefore, you need to make sure you dress appropriately. Nothing is worse than being hot at a swim meet. It makes the time pass very slowly! If you don't think that a gym floor is comfortable, feel free to bring folding chairs to sit on.
Home Meet Specifics:
In order to fundraise and continue improving the Hydro Swim Club experience, we typically host 2-3 home meets per year. These meets are required for all swimmers to participate in as we want to make sure to make the meet as successful and competitive as possible!
Volunteering:
We always need volunteers for set up and breakdown, timing, controlling the pool deck, and making sure our officials are taken care of during those long days! If you are unable to volunteer, a $75 fee will be added per swimmer to cover the cost of putting on the meet.
Becoming an Official:
We need officials! If you think swimming may be part of your life for the next few years, please consider volunteering as an official.
It's a rewarding opportunity to support your swimmer, gain a better understanding of swimming, have the best spot on deck to watch your swimmer race, meet a great group of people while completing your volunteer hours. There are no prerequisites in terms of your time on the team, the age and experience level of your swimmer, or prior swimming participation in your younger years. Officials also receive a $25 credit each day they work a meet!
The minimum requirements are that a person must be 18 years or older, can pass a background check, complete the training, and volunteer your time at swim meets. Certification is gained in four steps, which can be completed independently: Become a member of USA Swimming, Attend a Stroke & Turn (S&T) Clinic, Complete the S&T online test and shadow at meets.To learn more, check out MV LSC Become an Official page.
