Swim Meet Schedule & Info
Reminders
General
Wednesday meets start promptly at 6:00 pm, swimmers are expected to report at 5 pm for warm-ups
Saturday meets start promptly at 9:00 am, swimmers are expected to report at 8 am for warm-ups.
If you have to leave a meet early it is your responsibility to inform the coaches asap.
Parents are responsible for their children's behavior at swim meets. If you are volunteering please arrange for another parent to monitor your children
We need volunteers at ALL meets. Parents are expected to volunteer for at least a 1/2 of each home meet and some away meets (please see the Volunteers page on our Swimtopia site for additional information)
Home Meets
Please park on the street or in the section of the parking lot further away from the pool. The parking spots closest to the pool should be reserved for our guests.
Bring LOTS of SLUG JUICE!!!
Slug Juice is simply bottle of green water made using green food coloring. It is tradition for our swimmers to pour their Slug Juice in the pool prior to all home meets.
Note: if you don't have green food coloring, regular ol' water works too!!!
Also visit the Swim Meet Tips - New Families page on Swimtopia for additional suggestions and helpful information to help our new swim families prepare for their first swim meet (even useful returning families as we get back to normal swim meet operations after two years off)
Races
The first couple of meets, it’s mystifying trying to figure out when your kid swims. After that, it’s very easy because the numbers of the races tend to stay the same in following meets.
Heats (aka races) are numbered 1-70 and the detailed Order of Meets can be found on the SSL's website
Heats are also ordered by stroke (freestyle, butterfly, backstroke, & breaststroke), book-ended by both medleys and relays
Heats within a stroke are ordered by age (6U, 8U, 9-10, 11-12, 13-14, & 15-18) and within each age bracket alternating by gender (Girls = odd numbers || Boys = even numbers)
Heats 1-8 are medley relays (4 swimmers to a team, each swimmer swims a different stroke)
Heats 9 & 10 are Open (13-18) 50 (2-lap) Freestyle races
Heats 11-60 are individual races.
Younger swimmers swim one lap
At age 9-10, swimmers will swim 2 laps of freestyle
Ages 11+ swim a minimum of 2 laps per stroke
Heats 61-70 are freestyle relays (4 swimmers to a team, each swimmer swims freestyle)
Each swimmer has the opportunity to swim in a combination of up to three events, or may swim in a fourth event - providing that two of their four events are relays (e.g., swimmer will swim a medley & freestyle in addition to two individual strokes)
The total number of events a swimmer will compete in is at the discretion of the coaching staff and dependent on items such as a swimmer's ability or number of available swimmers in a given age bracket.
Please be sure to stay for the WHOLE meet as sometimes line-ups can change in the middle of the meet,
Please let the coaches know ahead of time if you need to arrive late or cannot say for a whole meet. It makes things very difficult for the coaches if people leave in the middle of a meet unannounced.
Lining Up
Lining up is primarily done for the sake of the younger or newer swimmers.
Lining up means that an older swimmer on the team is asked to keep track a group by age & gender (e.g., 8U Boys) in order to get the swimmers to their races in a timely manner.
Please make sure you know where your children are at all times so you can help the liner uppers get swimmers to their races as they WILL come to you when they cannot locate a swimmer.
It cannot be stressed enough that without fail right before a race is when most swimmers seem to lose their goggles. We ask right after your swimmer's races, have her or him put their goggles in a spot where they can be easily and quickly be located before prior to the start of their next race.
In Between Races
When not racing, swimmers are encouraged to cheer for their teammates, socialize/play with their teammates, or to get a snack. Swimmers SHOULD NOT wander away or play on the playground (the swing set it roped off prior to all home meets).
New families can find additional tips and helpful hints on our Swimtopia website.