Hello Crocs!

Meet Selection: All swimmers need to be marked as attending each meet (or not). Meet selections are due by Saturday at 10pm prior to each meet. This allows the sufficient time to build the lineup, merge the lineups between the two teams, and print all necessary paperwork. While you are in the system, verify your volunteer sign-up/sign-up to volunteer. The easiest way to make a meet selection is through the app - the home screen lists all meets under "events" and after selecting a meet, there is a "meet signup" button which takes you through a few screens to declare attendance for each swimmer. Alternatively, you can access this information on the website by clicking on the signup calendar under "meets and events" or via the upcoming events section in the right-hand panel of any of the website pages. If meet selections are not made by the deadline, the swimmer will be automatically marked as NOT attending and will be excluded from the lineups.

Meet Timing: We will send out a reminder each week to make meet selections (and verify volunteer selections). We will also include information related to swimmer & volunteer check-in, parking, location, etc. Generally speaking, home meets require swimmers and volunteers to check-in by 4:45 (warm ups begin at 5) and away meets require swimmers and volunteers to check-in by 5:15 (warm ups begin a 5:30). Meets start at 6. Unless the pool has lights, meets must end within 30 min of sunset (typically by 9:00 or 9:30).

What about weather?: We make every attempt to swim a full meet on Tuesday. In order for a meet to be considered "completed", we have to get through breast stroke. In rare circumstances, we may move to main events only in order to complete the meet on the original Tuesday date. We reserve this as a last resort, as we want all swimmers to have the opportunity to swim all strokes. If the meet is delayed too long or cancelled altogether due to inclement weather, the makeup day is Wednesday.

Things I Wish Someone Had Told Me

We have a lot of new families (or families who only participated in a single season prior to the Covid pause) and with that comes a lot of new information to learn. I promise, it is not as overwhelming as it looks/sounds! Below are helpful informational tidbits I wish someone had shared with me when I was a new swim parent.

Order of events: The order of the events is the same each week: medley relay, freestyle, back stroke, breast stroke, butterfly, freestyle relay. We start with the youngest eligible age group for each stroke/event (first boys, then girls for each age) and work up to the oldest age group. After all ages have completed a stroke, we move onto the next stroke and start again with the youngest.

How many events does each swimmer participate in: 6 and unders participate in free, back, and breast while all other age groups are eligible to participate in all events. In rare situations, a 6 and under may be asked to swim up to help complete a relay team. If your swimmer is not ready to swim a particular stroke or simply wishes not to, then they can be excluded from the stroke. Please be sure to communicate any preferences to the coaches so that they can build the lineup appropriately.

What lengths do swimmers swim: 6 and unders swim 15 yards (about 2/3 the length of the pool and have a kid catcher at the 15 yard line to help them exit the pool or assist should they not be able to make the full 15 yards safely). 7/8 and 9/10 age groups swim 25 yards (one length of the pool). 11/12, 13/14, and 15-18 swim 50 yards (2 lengths of the pool, ending at the starting blocks). Timers, place judges, and recorder move around the pool to always be at the ending location of each race.

Main Events vs Heats: The first group of swimmers in each age/gender for every stroke is considered the main event. This is the scoring event and the only race for that age/gender/stroke for which place judges determine order of finish. All remaining groups of swimmers for the event are considered heats. These races are not scored. Swimmers are allowed to swim 3 individual main events (two for 6 and unders). If they swim the remaining individual race, it will be as a heat participant only. Relay participation does not count toward the maximum allowable main events a swimmer can participate in.

Ribbons: Swimmers who participate in main events will receive a place ribbon on the practice following the meet. 6-10 year old swimmers who participate in heats will receive a participant or heat winner ribbon at the end if their heat race. If your young swimmer does not receive a ribbon when they exit the pool after each race, it is very likely because they participated in a main event and will receive a place ribbon the next day.

There is a lot more information that could be shared, but these are the main points that it's useful to know. It is recommended that everyone take a few minutes to review the information on the Swim Meets 101 page.