Swim Meets 101
Welcome to the Aquatic Club of Ephrata! We love that your child has decided to take the plunge and join our team. If n you are NEW to swim life and maybe feeling a bit overwhelmed, we hope the below information will help.
Is there a "uniform" requirement for the swim team? The only requirement is a swim suit. Our team colors are black/purple/gold, so we ask swimmers to stick to black, or a combination of the above colors if possible during meets. As a convenience to families, we offer suits in our team store leading up to the start of the season, but these specific suits are not required.
Swim caps are highly recommended, but not required. We also offer these in a team store. Please note that the name customized caps are usually only sold in PAIRS, while the plain logo caps are sold as singles. The price difference per cap is not nearly as significant as it initially appears. Please check the product descriptions for specific information. Plain black caps would also be an acceptable option if you're purchasing caps elsewhere.
What should I bring to a meet? Your swimmer, chairs, food, some money (admission fee and heat sheets at invitational meets only), concession stands will be open. Please also bring your willingness to volunteer!! We will need your help.
What should a swimmer bring to a meet? A swim-suit, cap, goggles, towels (usually more than one), warm clothing, something to read or play with, food and drinks, maybe a little money. (See above)
How long does a meet last? A dual meet is a swim meet against one other team. There will be a “warm-up” period prior to the actual meet start time. It usually lasts several hours depending on the size of each team. The coaches decide the events for each swimmer. An invitational meet is usually on a Saturday/Sunday and gives swimmers the chance to swim against many other swimmers on other teams. Sometimes the invitationals are split by ages or genders. These invitationals sessions last several hours.
What is the order of events during each meet? The meet starts with the youngest swimmers and goes up to the oldest age group. Girls swim first and then boys swim. The order of strokes/events are: freestyle, backstroke, breaststroke, butterfly, and freestyle relays. The relays consist of 4 swimmers.
How will I know what my child is swimming during the dual meet? The coaches make the line-ups and may be making last minute changes up through the warm-up session (on occasion). If you have committed to attend a meet it is very important that you are there…especially when it comes to relays. A line-up will be emailed out prior to the meet. And always check in with a coach before you leave if the meet has not concluded.
What is a heat sheet? This is a program of events listing swimmer’s events, heats and lane assignments.
What is an event? It is the age group, length and stroke being swum.
What is a heat? It is the placement in the event that a swimmer is assigned. This is usually assigned based on a swimmers time. This allows the swimmers to compete against swimmers of comparable skill levels.
What is an exhibition heat? It is a heat where the contestant swims for time, but not for score.
What is a live heat? It is a heat that counts for overall team score.
What is staging? This is placing the swimmers in a designated area prior to their heat of competition. This avoids missed swims.
How is a meet scored? During the live heat points are awarded to the top three finishes. During the relay part of competition only the top finish scores points. These points are tallied for a final team score.
What is a DQ? It is a disqualification. Swimmers disqualify themselves when they are not swimming a stroke according to USS/League rules. This is not something bad. It is a way to help swimmers improve.
Does my child have to dive off the blocks? No, if a swimmer is not comfortable going off the blocks he/she may jump or dive from the side of pool along side the block - subject to forward start rules.
What is a flip turn? It is a type of turn performed at the end of the first length of a multi-length event.
What makes a pool fast? A "fast" pool has a good gutter system on the sides that allows water to flow out easily and does not allow waves to bounce back toward the middle of the pool. The lane lines also help control the waves, and the deeper the pool is, the fewer waves hit the bottom and bounce back up toward the surface. The inflatable kiddie pool in your backyard is not a fast pool.
I'm a new swimmer. What are some of those terms you're using?
Crawl Stroke: a stroke performed on the stomach and using alternating arm cycles and a flutter kick. It is also a technical description of one of the four legs of a medley event.
Freestyle: usually used synonymously with crawl stroke. A freestyle race is a race in which contestants may use any stroke to complete the distance. Because crawl stroke is the fastest, it is always used during freestyle races
Fins: (also called flippers) worn on your feet to make you swim faster (and walk like a duck)
Interval: a specific time period in which you must swim a specified distance. A set of ten 50 meter swims on a 1:30 (one minute and thirty second) interval means that you must complete each swim in less than 1:30. If you complete your 50 meters in 50 seconds, then you have forty seconds to rest before your next swim. Most people feel that if you are going to gain the greatest physical benefit from swimming, you have to incorporate intervals into your workout.
Kickboard: a flat rectangular piece of Styrofoam used to isolate leg muscles in kick sets.
Lap: a lap is either one or two lengths of the pool. Whether it is commonly used to designate one or two lengths can vary from area to area and even pool to pool. It's usually easier to describe a distance in yards/meters or in number of lengths.
Long course: used as both an adjective and a noun in describing a 50-meter-long pool
Pull buoy: usually two cylinders of Styrofoam tied together with rope placed between the legs. It enables you to focus on your pull without kicking.
Set: a number of repeated swims at specified distances with a stated rest interval between each swim
If one team is larger than the other is any handicap given? No - teams are limited only by the number of “live” heats each swimmer can swim. It is therefore possible that much smaller teams will in fact have just as many swimmers in a meet that can earn points as the larger team. See next question.
Do we have to have a certain amount of entrants or is there a limit? Each swimmer may swim a maximum of three events per meet which effectively limits the maximum opportunities that each team can score points. There is no minimum number of entries - it is in the team’s best interest to field swimmers in as many live heats as possible. It is therefore part of the team strategy to “age up” strong younger swimmers occasionally to bolster an age group with fewer numbers.
