A GUIDE TO SWIMMING:
Reasons for entering your child in a swim meet What swim meets are all about Swimming terminology
10 good reasons for entering your child in a swim meet:
1. Swim meets are a great family experience! The whole family can spend time together supporting the swimmers and watching them race. 2. Competition can be fun and motivational. 3. Team spirit and team unity are built at swim meets. 4. Meets build self-confidence! Almost all kids are afraid or anxious for their first meets, but they learn to overcome those fears and grow from the experiences. 5. Coaches get to watch the kids apply what they have learned in practice. 6. Swimmers can establish “times” for different events. Over the course of the season, swimmers compare their baseline “times” with most recent swims to measure their progress. 7. Swimmers and parents can meet and make friends with people from other swim teams. 8. Kids get to see the results of their hard work. 9. Some swimmers will have opportunities to swim in relays, which are very exciting (especially for the parents)! 10. If you sit with veteran swim parents, you can learn a lot about the sport and meet some nice people!
What swim meets are all about…
Weeks prior to a meet, the coach will generally send out an email to let everyone know of an upcoming deadline to sign up for a meet. Most of the general meet information (pool location, directions, the schedule for warm-ups and races, and which events are swum on which days) can be found in the Meet Letter, available as a link from the “Meets” page on our website. Signing up for a swim meet – If you want your child to swim in a specific meet, click on the “Meet Signup” link from the front page of our website or the “Try it” button on the “Meets” page, and then follow the directions. Invitational swim meets are typically held over the course of 3 days, starting Friday evening and ending Sunday evening. You do not have to attend all 3 days – you can sign up for one, two or three days of a swim meet. If it is your child’s first meet, you may want to limit your commitment to one day. A week or so before the meet, the specific events/races that your child has been entered in will be posted on our website – click “Entries” on the “SC Meets” page. An email will be 1 of 6
sent by the coach prior to each meet which will give you the location of the swim meet and the warm-up times for each age group. A list of individual entries for upcoming meets will usually be posted on the ZSC bulletin board at the Pool, and an event sheet (a piece of paper with a list of your child’s entries) is sometimes placed in the swimmer's folder, found in the filebox in the pool lobby. What to wear – Most swimmers wear their team suits to the meet with sweats and/or parkas over the suits. Team suits are not required, but our coaches want all swimmers to wear a team swim cap. At the meet, between events, swimmers usually put on sweats to keep warm. Parents should wear short-sleeved shirts and dress in layers to stay comfortable in the typically warm and humid bleachers or stands. What to pack/take – Each swimmer may want to take a sleeping bag or blanket for "camping" with the team in the hallway, cafeteria, or gym of the school where the meet is held. Look for the Zionsville banner or other team members and sit together. Swimmers should bring several towels for drying off after each event. Many swimmers also bring things to help pass the time between events: a book, deck of cards, game boy, etc. Food (snacks and sometimes breakfast and lunch) is usually sold at swim meets, but you may want to bring your own drinks or snacks such as fruit, fruit snacks, pretzels, applesauce, power bars, granola bars or snack mix. When you arrive – Plan to arrive at the meet at least 15 minutes before your swimmer’s warm-up time. As soon as you arrive, your swimmer must find the place to “sign in” – there will be several pieces of paper posted on a wall or on a table. The sign-in sheets list the swimmers’ names and the events in which they have been entered for that day. Swimmers must circle or highlight their name and events (or follow any instructions given) to indicate that they are present and intend to swim. Failure to sign in before the sign-in sheets are taken down will cause them to be scratched (withdrawn) from the events. New sign-in sheets are posted each day, so swimmers must sign in each day they attend the meet. Keep in mind that each age group and gender may have a separate sheet. If a swimmer cannot find his/her name on any of the sheets, find a ZSC coach and let them know! Report to the Coach – After swimmers have signed in and deposited their belongings, they must report to the coach on the pool deck for warm-ups. Warm-up time is limited and the pool will be very crowded, so the team has to make the best possible use of this pool time. After warm-ups, swimmers return to the "camp area" or sit on the bleachers and watch until it is time for their first event. Write on your hand – The best way for swimmers to keep track of their events (the races they will swim) is to write the event numbers, the distance and the stroke on the back of their hand. Some swimmers also add the heat number and lane number. It might look like this: #72 100 back H3 L2 #76 50 fly H2 L8 #80 100 free H1 L4 All of this event information can be found on the “heat sheets,” which are posted on the walls of the pool deck just before the meet starts. Heat sheets are a listing of the events, the
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swimmers in the events, the order in which they will swim, and the lane that they will swim in. Coaches and veteran swimmers are always willing to help new swimmers with this! Psyche sheets – Psyche sheets (programs) can usually be purchased at each meet. These provide a list of what events are being swum in each session and all swimmers in each event ranked by their entry times. Parents can highlight their child and other ZSC swimmers in the Psyche Sheet so they do not miss the events they are swimming. Remember that meets do not always begin with Event 1. Heat sheets– When the host team takes the sign-in sheets down, they withdraw the swimmers that did not sign in and then “seed” the meet with only those swimmers who are present. Each swimmer is assigned a heat and lane for each event. Events are swum slowest to fastest, which means the first heat in each event has the swimmers with the slowest recorded times for that event. In the last heat will be the fastest swimmers with the fastest recorded times. Each heat is also seeded from fastest to slowest as follows: starting with the fastest swimmer in lane 4. The next fastest is in lane 5, then lane 3, lane 6, lane 2, lane 7, lane 1, and finally, lane 8. At some meets, the Heat Sheets for each session are available for purchase. Clerk of Course – At most meets, there will be a Clerk of Course to help the “8-and-unders” (swimmers who are 8 years old and younger) and sometimes the “10-and-unders.” Swimmers should pay close attention to the event numbers that are being announced and report to the Clerk of Course area (ask a Coach where it is) about 4 or 5 events before their event. When swimmers get to this area, they should tell the Clerk their name. They will receive a card identifying the event, heat number, and lane number. The swimmers will be instructed to sit in order, usually one heat per row. The row will then move forward to the next row of chairs until it is time for that heat to go to the pool area. For older swimmers, there usually is no Clerk of Course and it is the swimmer’s responsibility to be at their assigned lane several heats before their own. Getting ready for your event – When swimmers get to the pool area, they should follow the instructions of the adults there. Swimmers usually stand or sit behind the lane in which they’ll be swimming. When their heat is about to race, 8-and-unders should give their card to the timer in their lane and stand behind the starting block. Swimmers can always check with the timer (person behind the starting block who has a stopwatch) to confirm the correct heat and lane for their event. The start – When the referee blows the whistle in a series of short blows, the swimmer is supposed to make sure their goggles are on and they are ready to race. Then the referee will blow one long whistle, signaling the swimmers to step up onto the starting block. The starter will say, “Take your mark,” and the swimmers are supposed to get into their starting position and STAY STILL. The electronic beep is the signal to GO. After swimming an event – After completing any race, it is extremely important that swimmers report to the coach on the pool deck for a brief chat about their swim. Then they should dry off and camp with other swimmers, rest, or cheer for teammates.
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Results – Results of each event are computerized and posted on a wall as soon as they are printed out. You can check the results to see your swimmer’s official time and place. Awards for each meet vary. Some meets give medals for 1st – 6th place and ribbons for 7th – 12th place, and some give ribbons for 1st – 16th. Some give ribbons to each heat winner. If you are interested, you can record your swimmer’s times in a log book to chart their improvement throughout the season. Competition is stiff at U.S. A. Swimming meets, but new swimmers take incredible amounts of time off their events from meet to meet. Focus on their progress in terms of how their times improved, not necessarily on how they placed overall. Electronic timing – Most pools have electronic timing systems. An electronic beep with a strobe light signals the start of each race, and electronic touch pads in each lane record finish times. Each swimmer should make a good, solid touch. As backup for the electronic timing systems, there are people stationed at each lane using stop watches and timing buttons. False starts – A false start occurs when a swimmer leaves the starting block early or there is a problem with the gun or equipment. In the event of a false start, the recall starter sounds the electronic beep repeatedly, signaling swimmers to stop. A rope is also lowered into the water to stop swimmers who do not respond to the noise. If all these fail, a coach or older swimmer jumps in to stop the swimmer! If the false start is the result of a swimmer starting before the beep or gun, that swimmer will be disqualified from that event. If this is the case, the starter will tell the swimmer personally. Officials – Many officials are present on the pool deck in a sanctioned U.S.A. Swimming meet. They usually wear white shirts and dark blue or khaki pants or shorts. Most meets have a referee, starter, recall starter, a stroke judge for each 3 (or 4) lanes of the pool, and two turn judges on the ends of the pool. Each lane also usually has two timers present as backup for the electronic system. This organization and structure ensures that each U.S.A Swimming meet is run consistently throughout the national organization and that all times are "official." Times made at U.S.A. Swimming meets can be used to qualify for the state and higher level meets. Disqualifications – A swimmer may be disqualified by the judges or other qualified officials for not swimming a stroke correctly, making an improper turn, etc. For example, a swimmer could be disqualified for doing a flutter kick (alternating feet) with the butterfly stroke or failure to touch the wall in a turn. Most swimmers get disqualified at some point in their swimming careers! Swimmers will be told by an official if they were disqualified and for what reason. The swimmer must see the coach after this occurs to discuss what happened to ensure that it doesn’t happen again. After the swimmer understands what the mistake was, he or she should "shake it off" and focus on his next event. Parents should be supportive, rather than critical, treating the disqualification as a learning experience.
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TERMINOLOGY – additional terminology is available on the USA Swimming website
(www.usaswimming.org) in the Parents’ section, under “Swimming 101,” “Glossary” Add – when a swimmer adds time in an event they have swum before (swims an event slower than they have in the past) Age group – a division of swimmers according to age. The National Age Group divisions are: 10-under, 11-12, 13-14, 15-16, and 17-18. Sometimes swimmers are divided into 8-under, 13-Over, 15-Over Alternate – In a Prelims/Finals meet, after the finalists are determined, the next two fastest swimmers other than the finalists are designated as alternates. The faster of the 2 being first alternate and the next being second alternate. If a finalist does not participate in finals, the alternates are called to take their place, often on a moment’s notice. Blocks/starting blocks – the platforms at the end(s) of the pool that swimmers dive from at the start of a race Clerk/Clerk of Course – an adult volunteers who usually lines up all the younger swimmers and take them down to the pool in correct order Cuts/Time standards – a time (set by USA Swimming) that a swimmer must achieve to qualify for a higher level swim meet such as Divisionals, State, Zones or Nationals Deck – The area around the swimming pool reserved for swimmers, officials, and coaches. No one but an "authorized" USA Swimming member may be on the deck during a swim competition. DQ/disqualification – a swimmer’s performance is not counted because of a rules infraction. A disqualification is shown by an official raising one arm with open hand above their head. Drop/Time drop – when a swimmer goes faster than the previous performance (they have "dropped” their time) Dryland – the exercises and various strength and flexibility programs swimmers do out of the water Event – a race or stroke over a given distance. An event equals 1 preliminary with its final, or 1 timed final Finals – the final race of each event. The top 6 or 8 swimmers (depending on the # of pool lanes) in a Prelims/Finals meet who, after the Prelims swim, qualify to return to the Finals Final results – the printed copy of the results of each race of a swim meet Heat – a division of an event when there are too many swimmers to compete at the same time. The results are compiled according to the swimmers’ finish times, after all heats of the event are completed Heat sheet – a printed listing of swimmers’ seed times in the various events. Parents and swimmers enjoy looking at the seedings (how the swimmers are ranked) prior to the race to see the order of events and get a rough idea of how long the meet sessions will last Heat winner – a ribbon or coupon given to the winner of a single heat at an age group swim meet Illegal – doing something against the rules that is cause for disqualification
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Long course – a 50 meter pool Officials – the certified adult volunteers who operate the many facets of a swim competition, including observe the swimmers’ strokes, starts, turns and finishes for rule infractions Pad/touch pad – the removable plate (on the end of pools) that is connected to an automatic timing system. A swimmer must properly touch the touchpad to register an official time in a race Personal best – when a swimmer swims an event faster than they have in the past Preliminary/Prelim – the session of a Prelims/Finals meet in which the qualification heats are conducted to determine which swimmers are eligible for the final heats Prelim/Finals meet – a type of meet with two sessions, where preliminary heats are usually held in the morning session and final heats in the evening. The fastest 6 or 8 (Championship Heat) swimmers, and the next fastest 6 or 8 swimmers (Consolation Heat) return in the evening to compete in the Finals. A swimmer who has qualified in the Consolation Finals may not place in the Championship Finals even if their finals time would place them so. The converse also applies. Psyche sheet – sometimes called a “program,” a set of entry sheets showing all swimmers entered in each individual event Scratch – to withdraw from an event after having declared an intention to participate, or to be withdrawn due to the meet having scratch deadlines and specific scratch rules that were not followed Seed time – a swimmer’s submitted or preliminary time that assigns them to their heat and lane Short course – a 25 yard or 25 meter pool Sign-in/Check-in – sometimes referred to as positive check in, the swimmer must mark their name on a list posted by the meet host in order to swim the meet. Split – a portion of an event, shorter than the total distance, that is timed. For instance, in a 100 meter race, the time it takes the swimmer to reach 50 meters. State – a meet held twice a year (Short Course and Long Course) for which qualification times are usually necessary Timed final – a competition in which only an event is only swum once, and final placings are determined by the those times Timer – the volunteers sitting behind the starting blocks or the finish end of the pool who are responsible for getting watch times on events and activating the backup buttons for the timing system Warm down – the recovery swimming a swimmer does immediately after a race if pool space is available Warm-up – the practice session a swimmer does before the meet or before their event is swum to increase circulation to the muscles and loosen up the muscles and tendons
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