Who Can Compete?

Any of our swimmers in the novice transition, novice, age group, pre-senior or senior groups are welcome to compete at swim meets. The shortest events are 50 yards, so they are going to need to be able to swim a full lap (down & back) without stopping or touching the bottom of the pool.

What if my swimmer does not want to compete?

We do not force anyone to compete. Each swimmer is ready at their own time, and some just do not have the interest. That is fine. We coach everyone the same way, and they decide if competition is right for them, when & how often. We will encourage everyone to compete, but there are no consequences if they choose not to.

Where do I get information about the meet?

Each meet has an information packet attached towards the bottom of its event page. PLEASE read these! They lay out all the information you need to know about that specific meet. Location, fees, approximate timeline, sessions, order of events, maximum entries, etc. It is especially important to read this so you know what you will be charged for attending the meet. Sometimes, meet information is subject to change after all teams' entries have been received. This is usually due to a lower than expected number of entries, and this information would be communicated with you as soon as we know.

Why is our team entry deadline earlier than the deadline posted in the meet information?

Entries for the meets are accepted until the meet is full and closed completely 10 days before the first day of the meet. For this reason, on the meets we anticipate will fill fast, we need to submit our entries as early as possible or we risk not being accepted into the meet. Sometimes, our deadline is as soon as the day before entries are due to the host team, and sometimes they are as far as a week away. Once our deadline passes, there is no guarantee that you can be added to the meet, but you can always email Coach Marissa to check.

Why don't they give specific times?

The time frame of a swim meet is based on how many swimmers are competing in the meet, which is not firm until entries close 10 days before the meet. The morning session start time gets set, and that is about all the guarantees that can be made. The afternoon session starts when the morning session finishes.

For instance, the morning session starts at 7am with warm-ups and the meet starts at 8am. If the entries are low and it will only take 2 hours to complete the morning session, the afternoon warmups will start at 10am with the meet starting at 11am. BUT, if the morning session is big and lasts 4 hours, the afternoon warm-ups start at noon and meet starts at 1pm. And no one knows until entries are all in and the host team is able to process everything, which can also take days. We try our best to get the most updated info out to attending families as soon as we can!

How can I attend or decline a meet?

• On the Team Unify site, there are multiple ways to get to the same place. Log into your account on Team Unify. Once logged in, you can do one of the following 
  1. select "events & competition" on the left navigation, OR 
  2. select "View Team Website" from the very bottom left navigation, OR 
  3. select the "meets/events" tab on the website OR
  4. follow this link (ensure you're logged into your account)
• Scroll down until you see the meet you're trying to attend. Review all of the meet information (including attached meet file). 
  1. Once you have reviewed everything, click the "Attend/Decline" button.
  2. Select your swimmer's name towards the bottom.
  3. Select the appropriate declaration from the dropdown menu.
     1. Notes can be added for Coach Michael & Coach Marissa to review. (Please note that we will try to put all swimmers in at least one relay unless otherwise noted in this space for all home meets)
     2. If yes is chosen, select the events in the appropriate day and session, OR leave a note for coaches to pick.
        1. Please double check that you are selecting the correct age group for your swimmer. Events marked "OPEN" are only for ages 15+ unless there are no corresponding events in your age group.
  4. Click "SAVE CHANGES" and you are all set!

What if I don't know which events my swimmer should swim?

That is fine! Just put in a note in the notes section for a coach to select the appropriate events.

Event Selection

• If you are selecting events for your swimmer, please be careful in your selections. Most meets have a 4 individual event maximum per day. Most swim meet events are broken down into age brackets (8 & under, 9-10, 11-12, 13-14, 15-16, 17 and over, senior, and open). Each meet is slightly different. The important takeaway here is that you NEED to sign up for the events in the age bracket your swimmer is in (age at the time of the meet). Senior & Open events are for the older swimmers. If a meet does not have a specific age group breakdown for your swimmer, that is when you can sign up for the OPEN events. You want to stay in your age group bracket because you are more likely to swim at similar paces as those in that group. USA Swimming requires swimmers to swim in the appropriate age bracket for that meet and cannot swim in another bracket simply because it is more convenient.

What if we can't attend both days?

No problem! You only have to sign up for the days you can make it. If you are asking coach to select events and can only make a specific day, please indicate that as well.

What if I need to change my event selection?

You can log into your account any time before the deadline and make adjustments to the selections. Once we have reached the deadline, entries will be reviewed, approved and locked in place. No more changes can be made.

What is a seed time?

A seed time is the time that a swimmer is entered into an event with. It is generally the best/fastest time they have achieved in that event previously. Depending on the meet, there are certain times that can and cannot be used, which may adjust the seed time. Official meets are meets that are sanctioned by USA swimming and have certified officials observing the meet: this is almost all of the meets we attend. Unofficial meets are the mock meets, where no officials are enforcing legal strokes. Unofficial times cannot be used as seed times into official meets with time standards (championship meets). For meets with no time standards, the coach may estimate a swimmer's time to help ensure they swim with others roughly the same speed as them at a meet.

What about relays?

• If there are enough swimmers, the coach may choose to create relay teams. This is an additional fee, usually the same cost as an individual swim (i.e. the meet info says relays are $20. This is divided by 4, and each person in the relay pays $5).
• If you do not want your swimmer on a relay team, this needs to be indicated in the notes on the sign up page. If it is not indicated to be excluded from relays, they could be signed up and you are responsible for the fees.
• **If you get signed up for a relay, please make every effort to be at the meet. The other people on the relay team are counting on you and many times we do not have an alternate swimmer available to fill in. Then the whole relay team is unable to swim and everyone is out their money.

We signed up to swim, and something came up so now we cannot make it... what now?

If you realize this before our team entry deadline, you can remove your swimmer. Once the deadline has passed, we are responsible for payment of all entries. So even if your swimmer does not swim, you must still pay the whole amount due.

How do we pay?

Once our entries have been accepted by the host team, we will invoice your account's form of payment on file.

When will we get a timeline and details?

Once the entry deadline has passed, the host team gets started organizing the meet. Once everything is in place, which may only be a few days before the meet, they will email Coach Michael or Coach Marissa timeline details which will be distributed to the participants as soon as possible. These emails may contain additional notes from the host team (such as parking, seating arrangements, livestream links, etc) so it is very important to read thoroughly before you arrive at the meet.

How do we get to the meet?

Each family is responsible for transportation to and from the meets. Some families choose to carpool together.

What should my swimmer bring?

• Your swimsuit! And a backup suit!
• Goggles & back-up goggles in case one set breaks
• A swim cap & a back-up
• Two towels - one to dry off between events and one for after the meet
• Comfortable sweatshirt & sweatpants to wear between events. Keep those muscles as warm as possible!
• Water or an electrolyte drink & healthy snacks (fruit, bagel, nuts, etc. - NO candy!)
• Card games, a book, etc. - something to do in large gaps between events
• TEAM SPIRIT!!

The pool decks tend to get crowded. Swimmers should only bring their water, towel & sweats on deck. The rest should stay with a parent. Most meets have a "camping" area for families to hang out between events. Bring a chair, blanket, etc. to get comfy.

What should we expect at the meet?

• Get there early. Parking can be crazy. Give yourself time to find the locker rooms and get changed. ONLY SWIMMERS are allowed on the pool deck & in the locker rooms. No parents. This is a USA Swimming rule. When out of the locker room, the swimmer should look for one of the coaches and/or teammates on the pool deck. The team sits together on the deck. Swimmers should be on the pool deck no earlier than 10 minutes before the warm-ups are to start. Coaches need time to get there and do their pre-meet tasks before they are responsible for the swimmers.
• Warmups are mandatory for all swimmers, regardless of when they swim their first event. In some cases, there may be an additional warmup pool available during the meet for swimmers to use concurrently with competition. Typically, this only occurs at championship meets and would be the only time skipping the scheduled team warmup would be acceptable. This option requires coach approval from the coach attending the meet.
• If there are large gaps (45minutes or more) between events, swimmers are allowed to come out to their family. You are responsible for following along to make sure your swimmer is back on the pool deck well before their event. The coach cannot leave the pool deck to find swimmers. If your swimmer misses their event, they may not be able to swim it at all. Swimmers should not leave the meet facility in between their events.
• Once your swimmer is done with their events, they are allowed to leave. Please make sure they let the coach know they are leaving with their parent so we know they have gone home.
• PLEASE have them eat healthy snacks and foods during the meet. Big meals and sugary treats will not be good for their body.
• Swimmers should cheer for your teammates at the end of the pool during their swims! Supporting your teammates helps everyone swim fast!

Do I have to be at warm-ups?

YES! And please do not be late. Warm-ups are very important, even if their first event is not for a while after warm-ups. In some cases, there may be an additional warmup pool available during the meet for swimmers to use concurrently with competition. Typically, this only occurs at championship meets and would be the only time skipping the scheduled team warmup would be acceptable. This option requires coach approval from the coach attending the meet.

How do I follow along?

Recently, many meets have had programs available online, but do not provide printed programs for parents. If programs are available online, Coach Michael or Coach Marissa will include them in PDF form or a link to download them in the email with the timeline. These are helpful to know what heat and lane your swimmer will be in. Many teams also use the Meet Mobile app. There are generally no admission fees to get into meets.

What heat??!!

Each event (i.e. the 100 Free) is broken down into multiple swims depending on how many kids sign up for it. Each swim of an event is called a "Heat". Generally, the slowest swimmers swim in the early heats and the faster swimmers swim in the later heats. Sometimes there is only one heat, other events have many.

My swimmer is getting DQed. Is that normal?

All swimmers will get disqualified (DQed) at some point in their competitive experience. As swimmers are learning the starts, turns & strokes and making them "legal" - they will DQ for doing something wrong. These are great learning lessons. If a DQ is received, the time does not count for personal bests or entering other meets.

Don't worry, most of the time swimmers do not even realize it happened. They do not get stopped. An official will raise their hand to indicate they saw one of the swimmers in the pool do something wrong. The swimmer completes their race as usual. The official fills out a slip, it gets processed and given to the coach.

Results

The host team will have an area where results are posted. Some meets do awards. The meet info packet will describe what, if any, awards are given out.

Time Standards; Bronze, Silver, Gold, etc - WHAT?!?!

These are categories of time standards. NT means no time. Either they have not swam the event in an official meet before, or if they have and got DQed, they still do not have a time. Bronze is the next level standard, the next fastest is Silver, Gold, and so on. MN Swimming sets the current time standards, which are updated each year. The SCY (Short Course Yards) Standards are the ones we go by for most of our meets. During the summer, we may attend LCM (Long Course Meters) meets and use those time standards. This shows you what time they need to achieve to make the next cut in each event and age group. In order to qualify for championship meets, both SCY and LCM standards are accepted. For example, if you have a Champ time in the SCY 100 Breaststroke at the spring state meet, you can also enter the LCM 100 Breaststroke during the summer state meet as well.

My swimmer is "aging up." What does that mean?

Aging up means your swimmer is moving into a new time standard bracket. So if your swimmer is 10, on their 11th birthday they will "age up." This simply means new events may now be available to them to swim, and some events may no longer be available to swim. And the times they need to achieve for a Bronze time, Silver time, etc are harder. They do not lose the personal best times they have. But if they had a Sliver time as a 10-11 year old, as a 12-13 year old, it may only be a Bronze time.

What if I have more questions not addressed here?

No worries! This is a lot of information to process and can get very confusing since every meet is different. If you still have questions, please feel free to email Coach Marissa or Coach Michael for help.

MySwimIO is a helpful data analysis website that allows you to track swimmer progress. https://www.myswimio.com/

SwimSwam - Swim news, swimming videos, college swimming and Olympic swimming coverage, everything for the swimmer and the swim fan. https://swimswam.com/